What would be an ideal 3 character party?

[Wasp]

Hello everyone

after realizing that our 3 character party may be on the squishy side if all players in the group stick to their dream characters, I was wondering:

What is an ideal 3 character party that can survive a normal D&D adventure?

Can characters even stay out of melee in such a constellation? What roles need to be fulfilled, what roles are expandable? What classes may be able to fulfiull double duties and for example compensate for a lack of a rogue/fighter/wizard/cleric...?

Can this be even done or would there be a need for DM cooperation (so that they for example provide more healing potions etc if there's no cleric).

What do you think?

[DarkKnightJin]

The first table I got to play at is a 3 character party, and we're rocking a Battlemaster, a Bladelock, and my Fighter 1/Death Cleric.
We're doing alright, using our hit dice instead of spells or potions to keep truckin' for the game day.

We're 4th level currently, so not super squishy, but not super tanky either.
Overall, we're just having fun, and I personally keep some character ideas in my backpocket in case I need a new character because my Cleric bit it.

[KorvinStarmast]

Hello everyone

after realizing that our 3 character party may be on the squishy side if all players in the group stick to their dream characters, I was wondering:

What is an ideal 3 character party that can survive a normal D&D adventure?

Can characters even stay out of melee in such a constellation? What roles need to be fulfilled, what roles are expandable? What classes may be able to fulfiull double duties and for example compensate for a lack of a rogue/fighter/wizard/cleric...?

Can this be even done or would there be a need for DM cooperation (so that they for example provide more healing potions etc if there's no cleric).

What do you think? I'd say a Ranger, a Paladin, and a cleric is a very good three character party, particularly if the Ranger takes an urchin or criminal background to get a few thief/rogue skills into the mix. Decent mix of magic and combat, though the real heavy hitting like Wizard or Sorcerer is lacking.

Our Devotion Paladin/Hunter Ranger/Nature Cleric. might not be the optimized three, but it's a good start.

[damascoplay]

Someone who can grab a melee weapon and go to town with it. A character who can support his fellow members by buffing them or giving debuffs to his enemies, while having some defense/offensive capabilities. And a sneaky rogue who can solve the party problems quietly and successfully.

Sounds like your typical D&D party. I know. But it works pretty well.

[CTurbo]

I think the best possible 3 man party is a Paladin, Cleric, and Bard.

But honestly, in 5e, almost anything could work. I ran a one shot with a Lore Bard, Draconic Sorcerer, and Illusionist Wizard. As you can see, the party had no "tank" or melee capable character, but it still managed just fine. No need to overthink it too much.

Of course, overthinking things can be fun too lol so if you really want to cover all bases, I'd want at least one really Charismatic character, one really Wise character, at least one Str character, at least one Stealthy character, at least one that can provide good ranged DPR, at least one melee focused, etc...

[Lord8Ball]

Wizard(conjurer/cleric1)
-Mold earth cantrip, braille language, keen mind
Pros: summoned components, memorize spells in the dark with strategy above, summons meat shields, mephits could carry you into the sky, does what a normal wizard does.
Wizard(illusionist/warlock2)
-feat healer
-mask of many faces/misty vision invocations
Pros: controls the battlefield through obscurement and misdirection, invisibility + fly (requires both wizards), at will solid illusory walls, cages, falling boulders, blends well with the crowd and enemies
Rouge(assassin/???)
- mage initiate(wizard) disguise self
- feat actor
Pros: able to travel the battlefield with ease, almost always gets sneak attack and a help action from summons, sabotage the enemy from the inside, gain power through impersonation and subterfuge.

[CTurbo]

Here is a 3 man party I've always wanted to try-

Oathbreaker Paladin
Necromancer Wizard
Death Cleric


The synergy between Oathbreaker and Necromancer is just too good

[Ogre Mage]

I think a dedicated bard is highly useful in such a situation because the class is flexible enough to cover multiple roles. It has some healing and support magic and with the right skills and backgrounds can fulfill thief duties.

A paladin can tank, heal and provide some party support.

With a bard and paladin the only thing the party is really lacking is a strong ranged attack. I think wizards are the most flexible of the arcane casters, so I would tend in that direction for a three person party. But that wizard is going to need to be tougher than normal in a party of only three. So I would take take a one-level dip in cleric. I like the knowledge domain for cleric/wizard multiclass because it fits thematically and provides good benefits on a 1-level dip. For extra protection I would make it an abjurer wizard.

In short I would run a

Bard
Paladin
Wizard X/Cleric 1 multiclass

The entire party could potentially heal if necessary.

[Nifft]

- Moon Druid
- Moon Druid
- Moon Druid

"There's nobody here but us chickens."

-- -- --

Cleric (knowledge)
Cleric (tempest)
Cleric (nature)

"We're on a mission from God."

-- -- --

Warlock (hexblade / blade pact)
Warlock (undying light / chain pact)
Warlock (any other / tome pact)

"The more efficient road to Hell is paved with bad intentions."

[2D8HP]

Either a Barbarian with a high AC and high HP, or another class with high AC from armor or magic to stand next to the foe, then a PC with Fighter's or Ranger"s Archery Fighting Style plus Rogue's Sneak Attack, and the third would have healing ability, maybe a Life Domain Cleric, but something else is fine, they main thing is putting Sneak Attack missiles into the Foe.

Oh yeah, someone having either Natural Explorer, or the Wanderer Feature to scare up lunch in the wilderness is good as well.

I'm sure there's other good stuff, but I can't think of it

[solidork]

I wouldn't worry too terribly much. For example, I played in a game from level 1-6 where the party was an Arcane Trickster Rogue, Open Hand Monk and a Valor Bard. The only time we were ever really in trouble was when we got Fireballed at level 5 and all failed our saves.

[MagneticKitty]

Grave cleric
Vengence dex paladin
Zealot barbarian
Lots of survivability, a face, and healing.

moon druid
Str polearm Calvary fighter mounted combatant / redemption paladin
Dex celestial tomelock / wizard or mystic

Bear riding fighter or paladin.
And int caster if paladin has group face covered. Minor healing

[Protato]

I'd have: Battlemaster sword/board Dex Fighter with Dueling for reliable damage and good tanking, and ranged Light Crossbow damage/melee Rapier damage. He could use Precise Attack as a way to increase his damage more reliable. Life Cleric 1/Dream Druid 2 for healing, support, and utility, efficient with slot use. Finally, a Fiendlock blaster that uses EB with a bunch of invocations like Agonizing, Lethargy, Repelling, and other control additions to EB. Big boy spells are used sparingly between EB uses and are mainly used to open up on big enemies or as a last resort for battlefield control if the Druid's debuffs prove ineffective, or in social situations where things have broken down.

[Gilrad]

Battlemaster fighter, monk, warlock.

Call it "Team short rest", give your DM nightmares trying to find contrivances to allow you guys 1h rests throughout each adventuring day (oh the or sentries just so happen to check in/rotate patrols every two hours, so you should be fine for resting in the guard room before continuing).

[JAL_1138]

It's hard to avoid getting into melee in a three-person party, so Crossbow Expert can become pretty important for ranged damage dealers (edit: including those who use ranged attack-roll cantrips). It's not impossible to go without it, but it helps.

Versatile classes like fullcasters, Warlocks, Paladins, and Rangers are helpful, as are several multiclass builds like Sorcadins or various Warlock dips. There's plenty of combinations that work nicely. Paladins especially are nice to have.

But three-person is workable even with parties you'd expect to be pretty squishy, like Bard+Warlock+Wizard, if they can survive long enough to get some higher-level class features, spells, and/or feats.

I personally recommend having a healer (not necessarily a fullcaster; Paladins can heal quite well for example) but it's not strictly necessary if you can either purchase healing potions/services readily, or you can rest often, or you're not bothered about character death.

[Cespenar]

We had,

Berserker Barb + Moon Druid + Abjuration Wizard (which went extremely well)

Warlock/Fighter + Tempest Cleric + Deepstalker Ranger (which also went well)

Battlemaster + Valor Bard + Draconic Sorcerer (which was okay?)

And Warlock + Monk + Rogue (which was kinda meh in combat situations but pretty good out of it).

As you can see the pattern, at least 2 out of 3 close combatants are kinda a requisite.

[KillingTime]

Currently playing a low level campaign with:
High Elf Eldritch Knight
Hill Dwarf Life Cleric
Teifling Celestial Warlock

Works pretty well - Plenty of magic. Loads of healing. Good spread of skills.
Cleric is reasonably tanky. Elf is mostly ranged but is completely happy in melee if necessary. Warlock stays back.
It's not completely optimal but it's got plenty going for it.

[Pelle]

3 gunslingers and an owlbear

[opaopajr]

Given a non-AL table, with a GM who allows players to strategize/use tactics to affect their PCs' time and encounter context, there is no such thing. Combat is merely one pillar, out of three, and just like rock-paper-scissors that design keeps everybody on their toes, engaged. Given other GM problems, including metagame-able external restraints, then there is little that could survive without such metagaming munchkinism.

Better to keep the toxic social issues out by having The Talk, Same Paging people's Expectations, and offering a little Mutual Trust.

[hymer]

1: Druid (obviously). Any circle will do, preference for +dex races.
2: Bladesinger. An abjuration mountain dwarf is also unsquishy, but generally lacks in the stealth department.
3: Bard (or possibly Rogue). Capable of sustained damage, and adding some more skills.

The idea is to be stealthy a lot of the time. Avoid combat encounters when practical, bring the conjured minions when you must to overpower anything foolish enough to get in your way.
If the druid is very heal capable (so anything but a moon druid), the rogue in spot 3 is more of an option. You should try to have two people in the party able to toss out a quick heal to bring people back into the fight. Someone with the Healer feat (and perhaps a Thief's quick hands depending on DM interpretation) could do this pretty reliably.

[bc56]

I DM for a party of 3.
They're level 10 now, having started at 1, and they can blaze through many fights.

Devotion paladin
Assassin rogue
Wild magic sorcerer

The paladin doesn't wear armor, being a lizardfolk, so the party still has a shot at being stealthy. That allows the assassin to get the first round autocrit much more often. The sorcerer is an AOE blaster, so large groups of enemies tend to vanish quickly.

[Jrocc]

How about just 3 wild magic sorcerers? No one would ever be able to guess their tactics! Plus it would be the funnest game to play/most frustrating game to dm lol

[FaerieGodfather]

I would go Paladin 2/Valor Bard X for melee and secondary healing. Warlock 3 (Tome)/Sorcerer X for ranged and AoE damage and ritual utility.

I would probably go Rogue 3 (Assassin) on Trickery Cleric for the burglar/healer. Nobody's running at full capacity when they're covering multiple niches, and I reckon Trickery is going to give them more opportunities to avoid damage than Life is going to give them to repair it.

[Davrix]

Basicaly if you want something thats going to handle anything

The list of general things a party is going to need

A face man to handle interactions
A meat shield to take a hit
Some sort of healing, doesn't need to be great
Something to deal lots of damage
Counter-spell and AE

Divine soul Warlock
Bear totem Barbarian
Sharpshooter Gloomstalker Ranger

Would cover most of what you would need if the warlock was willing to be the face man on top of being blasty spam with its EB and saving its spells for clutch moments like counter-spell. This party would still need lots of potions but the divine warlock would be able to heal in a panic moment. And the sharp shooter ranger is just there to basically dish out the damage while trying not to get hit. Or i suppose you could replace the ranger with a rogue for skill monkey and sneak attack fun

[Waazraath]

Several things are important in an 3 peeps party imo:
- all party members should have some serious defenses; when 1 goes down, only 2 are left and then things go downhill really quick. At least 1 should be a big fat tank that's really hard to bring down, and that can soak up attacks / damage.
- related to the point above: at least 2 out of 3 should have some healing ability. Cause else, when the healer goes down, you're in big trouble
- bonusses to all party members are great;
- preferably, the 3 partymembers together are able to cover combat, stealth (important since you'll be less succesful kicking in the door with only 3 partymembers) and diplomacy.
- At least 1 full caster is preferable, to provide utility spells.
- finding a way to get more skills is a pre; one less partymember is (at least) -4 skills
- attempting to have at least a few high ability scores available (all 6 of them probably won't be possible).

Ideal would be for me:

- variant human totem barbarian, bear at level 3, tiger at level 6j, either GWM or Polearm master as feat. With resistance to almost everything, a feat for extra damage, and 3 skills, it fulfills quite a few of the above
- half elf dex based paladin. Either ancients, for maximum defense for the rest of the party, or maybe redemption, for a +5 channel divinity bonus on persuasion. Possibly with also the prodigy feat (expertise in persuasion, another skill and tool prof.). Half elf gives another +2 skills. Whatever the precise setup, thieves tools proficiency is recommended. Can do the dex and cha skills, and backup healing, and general party booster (with aura's).
- Druid. Very versatile spell list. Nobody in the party has heavy armor, and Druid has Pss without trace, = stealthy party. Healing & healing word (bonus action recovery). Several subclasses are possible. Moon is great melee backup, but then you loose access to spellcasting when in combat in wildshape form, which is meh. Probably Land (more spells) or Circle of the Sheperd are best, Shepard for temp hp. If not shepard, probably 'Inspiring Leader' feat for the pally is a good idea - having all party members have temp hp is good for survivability. Guidance feat improves skill capabilities.

This party has most bases covered, I think. It lacks a char with a high Int score, but that should't be the end of the world.

[The Jack]

Three battlemasters; Ranged, Polearm, shield.

Magic initiates;
Cleric- Guidance,thaumaturgy, Bless (shield of faith is a strong choice too)
Wizard-mold earth and whatever you think's cool.

Someone should pick up ritual casting (wizard) for a familiar, identify and tiny hut.



Alternatively, shield fighter could go wizard multiclass.

[CTurbo]

I think whoever said Paladin, Cleric, and Bard would make the perfect 3 man party is a genius

[Foxhound438]

valor (or swords) bard, light cleric, bladesinger wizard.

Cleric and bladesinger both have better than average defenses thanks to having spells that up AC in both cases, and armor+shields for the cleric and int mod to AC on the wizard. They both can do decent-to-good melee damage*sacred flame is a melee attack trust me, and the cleric's spirit guardians can put a very good amount of sustained damage up. Also, the bard gets to decent AC as well in melee, regardless of which subclass they are.

The valor/swords bard probably specs at least somewhat in ranged damage, using a longbow for the most part. You get to eventually take swift quiver for two extra attacks per round, and outside of that you can do a decent amount of work by just throwing out a control spell turn one before turning to attacks. He also gets jack of all trades, so even if you find need for a skill no one took, your bard can do something for you. This can be supplemented pretty well with guidance from the cleric.

Bard and cleric both get very good support and healing spells, so overall you probably have almost as much healing throughput as a life cleric without needing a "healbot".

And finally, you get plenty of blasting magic between the wizard spell list and the light cleric getting fireball (and radiance of the dawn), which means that now all the classic bases are more than covered.

[strangebloke]

- Moon Druid
- Moon Druid
- Moon Druid

"There's nobody here but us chickens."

-- -- --

Cleric (knowledge)
Cleric (tempest)
Cleric (nature)

"We're on a mission from God."

-- -- --

Warlock (hexblade / blade pact)
Warlock (undying light / chain pact)
Warlock (any other / tome pact)

"The more efficient road to Hell is paved with bad intentions."

You win this thread.

[Citan]

Hi!

I think there is no really ideal, or rather there are several ideal.

A Druid-only party, for example, could simply avoid many (MANY) problems with Wild Shaping into a creature that fits into the environment.

A Rogue-only party, although less flexible, could probably find ways to get a sneak upon most potentially hostile creatures...

A Wizard-only party, although possibly frail at least at first level, could probably take care of most any situation past level 5 or so, provided *maybe* they take a single dip or Healer feat to help with HP. But three Wizards that agree to collaborate mean each learns 6 spells per level, so you can quickly expand everyone's repertoire and maybe afford learning more niche spells.
Plus they could quickly secure a place and manage short rest with rituals.

Of course, this may feel a bit limited to the players, so let's consider we really want different classes for each.

My ideal would probably be Moon or Shepherd Druid, Bladesinger Wizard, Ancients medium-armored Paladin.
Druid would cover sneak, adventuring and environment mainly, occasionally making direct control or heal.
Bladesinger would help with AOE of various natures, while keeping himself in and out of melee as required.
Paladin would be the frontliner.

Each could cover the main "mental" skills and each could make a small dip into something else if needed.
With Paladin using the medium armor that does not impose disadvantage, the whole party could be extremely stealthy thanks to Pass Without Trace too.

Druid could (provided DM allows it, which is certainly not guaranteed) share his "common" spells with Wizard to help expand his spells much quicker.
Most interesting rituals would be covered too.

[EvilAnagram]

Let's look at the ways you can group PCs into threes.

Power source:
Martial
Arcane
Divine


Combat Roles
Support
Damage
Control


Non-combat Roles
Skill-Monkey
Face
Brains


The ideal three-person party covers all of these.

Anyways, the best party is this:
Lore Bard: Arcane, Support/Control, Skill-Monkey/Face
Fighter Battlemaster: Martial, Damage, ?
Tempest Cleric: Divine, Damage/Control, ?

They can all contribute slightly to brains, and the second two can fill gaps in the Bard

[opaopajr]

How about just 3 wild magic sorcerers? No one would ever be able to guess their tactics! Plus it would be the funnest game to play/most frustrating game to dm lol

It would be so fun! :smallcool: I'd gladly GM to keep that Tide of Chaos economy flowing! How much of the party can turn into a plant at a time?! Let's find out! :smalltongue:

[Nidgit]

I'd be most interested in Lore Bard, Hunter/Gloomstalker, and Knowledge Cleric. Something like Swords Bard, Dreams Druid, and Totem Barbarian or Eldritch Knight could work pretty well too.

[BillyBobShorton]

As a DM, when a player makes a PC they really like, I don't ask them to change it to suit how I run or how a module is written. Rather, I give them sweet custom items and abilities that cover some of the "missing gaps", so to speak.

This way they retain the PC they want, while I help them cover more ground.

Say you have a fighter, wizard, & rogue. Missing a healer... well maybe the rogue finds a book that explains how to craft a super concentrated healing syrum (ex-10 healing potions that cure 3d4+3 or something in 1 bottle-1 sip). But they need a certain component which requires learning a location and then a mission to procure it. I'd make the component rare enough to not be abused but not so unheard they couldn't restock now and again to make more potions. (Like... sap from a wierd tree that only oozes out once every 10 days or something.)

In the end they'd essentially get more XP, a fun side quest, and the sense of earning a much needed perk, without realizing I essentially gave the rogue some cleric powers.

But assuming that approach might not suit the author's style, my least flawed 3-person party would be:

Rogue
Cleric
Paladin

Pretty much covers all bases.

[Derpldorf]

valor (or swords) bard, light cleric, bladesinger wizard.

Cleric and bladesinger both have better than average defenses thanks to having spells that up AC in both cases, and armor+shields for the cleric and int mod to AC on the wizard. They both can do decent-to-good melee damage*sacred flame is a melee attack trust me, and the cleric's spirit guardians can put a very good amount of sustained damage up. Also, the bard gets to decent AC as well in melee, regardless of which subclass they are.

The valor/swords bard probably specs at least somewhat in ranged damage, using a longbow for the most part. You get to eventually take swift quiver for two extra attacks per round, and outside of that you can do a decent amount of work by just throwing out a control spell turn one before turning to attacks. He also gets jack of all trades, so even if you find need for a skill no one took, your bard can do something for you. This can be supplemented pretty well with guidance from the cleric.

Bard and cleric both get very good support and healing spells, so overall you probably have almost as much healing throughput as a life cleric without needing a "healbot".

And finally, you get plenty of blasting magic between the wizard spell list and the light cleric getting fireball (and radiance of the dawn), which means that now all the classic bases are more than covered.

Pretty much this, except the Spell Sniper feat in allows you to take one cantrip that takes an attack roll from pretty much any list. Warlock is a list, and Eldritch Blast takes an attack roll. So you can actually build the party towards melee and handle pretty much all range issues with a single feat.

[clash]

For in combat the following roles should be covered:
Controller - you would be surprised how much damage can be circumvented with one of these
Striker - At the end of the day, things gotta die
Meat Shield - This doesn't need to be dedicated but someone will be getting attacked and needs to be able to take a hit

Out of combat things have a way of being solvable no matter your team,b ut some of the following can be useful:
Skill Monkey - Can solve a lot of things with simple rolls
Utility Caster - Can solve a lot of things without rolling

My ideal three person party would be:
Wizard/Druid - Controller, Utility Caster
Fighter/Barbarian/Paladin - Striker, Meat Shield
Rogue/Bard - Controller or Striker/Skill Monkey