Most viable yet entertaining party of 3?

[DnDegenerates]

Hey DnDers,

My group of 3 is going to be doing our session zero soon and they've been stewing a bit on which kind of characters they want to play, as well as what kind of campaign we want to run.

The local shops have a thing going on where once or twice a week they demo d&d and other games by having some of us play, then inviting other people to try it. Surprisingly it has been popular. We've had thirty people watching us for an unadvertised d&d event and twice that when advertised a week in advance.

So what we are doing is playing an hour to entice folks, and give an example or a weekly session that follows a story. Then we take turns dming groups of drop in players up to 5 door the next couple or hours.

For the Characters, we are thinking traditional classes and races so that people can sort of relate to them. Obviously backstory and player role-play dedication as well as humor and witty quips are going to entertain an audience more, as well as quality of narrative. Yet we want a bit of variety and viability without going too much into the math and more into what might catch your average comic store browser's ear.

I am just trying to develop some suggestions for my group so that we make a group that is going to flow well as a trio in a standard 5e campaign.

Get party crafting!

Thanks folks,

Dndegenerates

[N810]

Off the top of my head, I'm gonna say:
Rogue, Bard and Barbarian.

Shenanigans will be had. :p

[strangebloke]

The main thing is to ensure that the PCs are very intuitive, so that newbies can grasp what the character is all about.

I would pick: Barbarian, Tempest Cleric, Bard/Rogue.

[Grear Bylls]

I'd say make something out of the ordinary. I consistently play a wrestling BardBarian who always teams up with a bard to play his theme music. This is an out of the box thing and results in many funny scenarios, like challenging an Oni Mage to a Chris Pratt style dance off. If we won, we passed through its lair, and if not, battle. I destroyed it.

My advice is to make something that shows D&D is whatever you want it to be.

[TheCleverGuy]

I'd say make a Lawful Good Fighter or Paladin, a Chaotic Neutral Rogue, and an Evil Wizard or Cleric. All working towards the same goal.

[Demonslayer666]

The 3 bard mariachi band, of course.

[N810]

"The 3 bard mariachi band, of course." :elan:
http://www.tvovermind.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/Three-Amigos-origianl.jpg

[Nifft]

One of the few areas where a small party has an advantage over a large party is stealth.

You might build a very effective party who can avoid combat when they don't want to fight, and pick fights when they have a significant tactical edge -- for example, when the enemy's forces are split in some manner.

A stealthy party made of PHB options might be:
- Shadow Monk
- Arcane Trickster Rogue
- Lore Bard

Warlocks get some stealth-oriented Invocations, if you're starting at high enough level. Trickster Cleric might work; Druids with sufficiently clever animal shenanigans might work; a Sorcerer with subtle spell might be amazingly good with the right background.

[Spiritchaser]

Wherever possible combine a paladin and a warlock for maximum entertainment value.

Yes it’s been done before, but there’s so MUCH great material

And hey, if they’re on speaking terms with each other be sure to be sure to bring popcorn for any interrogations.

A high quality good cop/possessed cop routine is not to be missed. Definitely let the warlock’s intimidation skill be used to aid with the paladin’s persuasion in this case.

Pick a stoic high wisdom third class to avoid too much insanity. Dex paladin, Dex blastlock and Druid with pass without trace go well, though I imagine monk might be as good or better...

[KorvinStarmast]

Off the top of my head, I'm gonna say:
Rogue, Bard and Barbarian. :p I was gonna suggest Monk, Barbarian, and Shadow Sorcerer, but I like your line up.

[N810]

Yea, I figured with that lineup, your solutions will general be
steal it, seduce it, or break it. Hilarity should follow.
:haley: :nale: :thog:

[GlenSmash!]

A Warrior type (Barbarian, Fighter, Paladin), a Mage type(Wizard, Bard, Cleric,Druid), and a specialist type(Rogue. Monk and Ranger too especially if you pick up thieves tools proficiency somewhere).

Bard is especially good as it covers Knowing Lore, being the Party Face, and Healing all in one package.

[Orc_Lord]

One of the best setups I have heard is

Rogue Scout / Ranger Hunter (ranged damage dealer and stealth)

Wizard Diviner / Light Cleric (healing, control, utility)

Paladin / Sorcerer (face, damage, front line)

[KorvinStarmast]

Another option:

Ranger with a Criminal background: get's thieves tools. (Spy variant to taste)

Barbarian: Spirit Guardian or Totem Path

Bard: Lore. Spell selection with care.

[Skemo]

About to start our Session 0 as well for a party of three, I think this will be interesting:

Circle of the Moon Druid
Zealot Barbarian (me)
College of Whispers Drow Bard :O

I think the RP will be hilarious :)

[GigaGuess]

Jury's out on "Viable" but I'm in a campaign that's Bard (me), Warlock and Sorcerer. We're having to be really bloody careful on how combat happens, but damn if we don't keep our DM on his toes (and in the best possible way.) It helps that all three of us are pretty creative about our actions.

[Nifft]

Jury's out on "Viable" but I'm in a campaign that's Bard (me), Warlock and Sorcerer.
Look at all that Charisma.

You might have the prettiest party.

You just need someone to multi-class into Paladin.

[Xihirli]

One of the few areas where a small party has an advantage over a large party is stealth.

You might build a very effective party who can avoid combat when they don't want to fight, and pick fights when they have a significant tactical edge -- for example, when the enemy's forces are split in some manner.

A stealthy party made of PHB options might be:
- Shadow Monk
- Arcane Trickster Rogue
- Lore Bard

Warlocks get some stealth-oriented Invocations, if you're starting at high enough level. Trickster Cleric might work; Druids with sufficiently clever animal shenanigans might work; a Sorcerer with subtle spell might be amazingly good with the right background.

Adding to that, a Barbarian is actually one of the better stealthing Tanks due to Unarmored Defense and a high DEX. Bugbears in particular due to the free Stealth proficiency and DEX boost.

[GigaGuess]

Look at all that Charisma.

You might have the prettiest party.

You just need someone to multi-class into Paladin.

Seriously, we could talk ourselves out of a literal apocalypse.

[Sception]

When the larty's under-staffed, you need to bring on all the extra helpers you can get, so the obvious best choice here is three beastmaster rangers.

[Demonslayer666]

"The 3 bard mariachi band, of course." :elan:
http://www.tvovermind.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/Three-Amigos-origianl.jpg

Exactly where I was going with that. :smallbiggrin:

[the secret fire]

Three piece parties are actually my favorite. Having only four people at the table allows for everyone to get ample spotlight time without the game bogging down, and three is pretty much the minimum for building a party that can really cover all its bases.

Generally speaking, the smaller the party the more well-rounded the PCs need to be in order to maximize their chances of survival. If I'm just using published rules with no houseruling, my ideal three PC party would probably be:

Bladesinger
Ranger (Gloom Stalker) 5/Cleric (Grave) 5/Ranger (Gloom Stalker) x
Rogue 1/Cleric (Light) 1/Rogue (AT) x

Basically, this sort of party maximizes flexibility/survivability without giving up much in terms of raw power potential. Why it works:
- all three of the characters can hold their own if engaged in melee. Everybody has good mobility, and meaningful defenses. Nobody needs an escort.
- all three can attack effectively at range.
- all three characters have something useful to do with their concentration slots.
- skills and out of combat magical utility are both well covered.
- the necessary out of combat healing is covered by 10th level, and there are two PCs who can cast Healing Word (and one who might get a potion revive from a familiar). The party will be able to hang in (both fights and campaigns) pretty well.
- party stealth should be effective. Nobody is wearing heavy armor, all should have good Dex, and the Ranger has access to PwoT.

It's about all one can ask for out of a party of three.

[BoxANT]

dwarf fighter
high elf wizard
human cleric

go classic

[MaxWilson]

Hey DnDers,

My group of 3 is going to be doing our session zero soon and they've been stewing a bit on which kind of characters they want to play, as well as what kind of campaign we want to run.

The local shops have a thing going on where once or twice a week they demo d&d and other games by having some of us play, then inviting other people to try it. Surprisingly it has been popular. We've had thirty people watching us for an unadvertised d&d event and twice that when advertised a week in advance.

So what we are doing is playing an hour to entice folks, and give an example or a weekly session that follows a story. Then we take turns dming groups of drop in players up to 5 door the next couple or hours.

For the Characters, we are thinking traditional classes and races so that people can sort of relate to them. Obviously backstory and player role-play dedication as well as humor and witty quips are going to entertain an audience more, as well as quality of narrative. Yet we want a bit of variety and viability without going too much into the math and more into what might catch your average comic store browser's ear.

I am just trying to develop some suggestions for my group so that we make a group that is going to flow well as a trio in a standard 5e campaign.

Get party crafting!

Thanks folks,

Dndegenerates

I'm going to have to suggest a Divine Shepherdlock, a Necrotank, and a Sharpshooter Eldritch Necro-rogue.

At low levels (1-7), you're basically just a Divine Soul 1 (for Con save proficiency, Mage Armor, Shield, etc.)/Shepherd Druid 1-6, a Forge Cleric 1/Necromancer 1-6, and an Eldritch Knight 1-5/Rogue 2. Pretty standard party of healer, tanky wizard, and fighter.

Eventually you grow up to be a Divine Soul 4/Shepherd Druid 11/Celestial Warlock 5, a Forge Cleric 1/Necromancer 19, and a Sharpshooter Eldritch Knight 11/Rogue 2/Necromancer 7. You have two ranged damaged specialists, three summoners, two healers, two tanks, two scouts, two artillery mages, two cursers, three buffers, and two shapechangers, all in just two PCs. Having two wizards lets you pick up a whole bunch of low-level spells that you normally couldn't afford to learn and really broadens your low-level options. You can have the Divine Shepherdlock Conjure Fey VII/VIII (he gets 8th level spell slots) to summon T-Rexes and Giant Apes for the Necromancer to Planar Bind, and because you're a Shepherd Druid, those apes and dinosaurs will be able to damage even creatures like weretigers and Rakshasas (and the Tarrasque and Tiamat) with their natural weapons. And you can also whistle up a flock of Giant Owls or whatever in a single action (Conjure Animals V) and sit back behind them blasting things with your Quickened Agonizing Eldritch Blast [take Spell Sniper eventually]. Plus you've got supercharged healing from Extended [metamagic] Healing Spirit, and Revivify (thanks to warlock) and Greater Restoration (thanks to druid).

The Eldritch Necro-rogue is not only a terrific ranged damage dealer, but with Athletics Expertise and easy access to Enlarge (because wizard 7) he's also a fantastic grappler of creatures up to size Huge. Or he can turn himself invisible with Greater Invisibility to increase his Sharpshooter damage output. And of course he can always whistle up his own flock of supercharged skeleton archers to accompany him.

The Necromancer will by 20th level have moved way past skeleton archers (he'll be Planar Binding True Polymorphed Nycaloths and Glabrezus instead, not to mention those magical Giant Apes/etc.) but at mid-levels the skeletons will still be quite potent. And he's got Healing Word as a backup just in case, not to mention miscellaneous cleric spells like Sanctuary and bonus action Shield of Faith which can also come in handy.

This party would be fun from levels 1-20.

[Ogre Mage]

dwarf fighter
high elf wizard
human cleric

go classic

I like this too. The mountain dwarf fighter and high elf wizard can engage in a lot of good-natured bickering since they often disagree about how to approach a situation, but both know their strengths and weaknesses well compliment the other. The human cleric can be the "mediator" or "voice of reason" which can be even funnier if the cleric has a low charisma.

[chainer1216]

The 3 bard mariachi band, of course.

All bards is the obvious choice. One elf, one human and one dwarf.

[CTurbo]

Gnome Conquest Paladin
Dwarf Wild Sorcerer
15yr old Half-Elf Frenzy Barbarian Princess

[Blood of Gaea]

Wizard, Wizard, Wizard.

[CTurbo]

Wizard, Wizard, Wizard.

Abjurer, Diviner, and......?

[CTurbo]

Ok I got 2 more!


Oathbreaker Paladin
Necromancer Wizard
Death Cleric







and





Shadow Sorcerer
Shadow Monk
Gloom Stalker


each with 3 levels of Assassin

[Blood of Gaea]

Abjurer, Diviner, and......?
Abjuration, Evocation, Necromancy.

Abjurations handles the defensive casting and counterspells.

Necromancy handles the frontline and debuffing.

Evocation blasts AoE attacks directly on top of the friendly and enemy mooks with no problem.

EDIT: If you want that yummy Diviner flavor, all three Wizards are Variant Human and take the Lucky feat at level one.

[Citan]

Hey DnDers,

My group of 3 is going to be doing our session zero soon and they've been stewing a bit on which kind of characters they want to play, as well as what kind of campaign we want to run.

The local shops have a thing going on where once or twice a week they demo d&d and other games by having some of us play, then inviting other people to try it. Surprisingly it has been popular. We've had thirty people watching us for an unadvertised d&d event and twice that when advertised a week in advance.

So what we are doing is playing an hour to entice folks, and give an example or a weekly session that follows a story. Then we take turns dming groups of drop in players up to 5 door the next couple or hours.

For the Characters, we are thinking traditional classes and races so that people can sort of relate to them. Obviously backstory and player role-play dedication as well as humor and witty quips are going to entertain an audience more, as well as quality of narrative. Yet we want a bit of variety and viability without going too much into the math and more into what might catch your average comic store browser's ear.

I am just trying to develop some suggestions for my group so that we make a group that is going to flow well as a trio in a standard 5e campaign.

Get party crafting!

Thanks folks,

Dndegenerates
Hi!

Well, you have many possibilities.
I'll base my suggestion on the following premises:
- no multiclass, because multiclass is complex, and it's not required to show gameplay diversity imo.
- no UA, because players may only have a chance to play AL.
- "classic" tropes, because those are the ones having the highest chance to trigger empathy from people because they identify it to characters/concepts known to them from other medias.

[
THEMATIC parties
Nature Wardens: Nature Cleric, Moon Druid, Hunter Ranger.
Naturish party, you may be a group of wanderers led by Cleric's deity to protect environment.
+ One "classic" spellcaster, one martial, one versatile displaying one class-specific mechanic.
+ Many different kind of spells and possibilities.
- Possibly too magic-oriented.
- Possibly too naturish, too focused on one aspect.
- Possibly significant overlap in spell selection.

Sentinels: Battlemaster Fighter, Arcane Trickster Rogue, Hunter Ranger.
All DEX builds so adept in melee and ranged alike.
+ Displays how "pure martials" can hold lines and still get creativity.
+ Balanced party between all pillars (Battlemaster = Combat, Rogue = Social, Ranger = Adventuring).
+ Different kind of spells to display.
+ Not too much magic, not too many "tactical" features, so easier to grasp.
- Maybe not enough magic to display how spells can change the shape of an encounter.

Plain and simple: Champion Fighter, FullBear Barbarian, Thief Rogue.
+ no magic means you only get a few class-specific mechanics to understand, nice for a beginner's crowd.
+ martial-heavy also means focus on the combat basic rules, which are a bit more numerous than it seems at first.
- no magic means one whole important aspect is put aside.

Brother in Arms: Eldricht Knight Fighter (high INT), Battlemaster Fighter, Champion Fighter or another Eldricht Knight Fighter (low INT).
+ nice way to demonstrate the diversity of builds one can make inside one same class. Would technically work with most classes (especially Paladins, Clerics and Wizards) but fluff-wise, Fighter seemed the easiest to work (Paladins of different Oath ganging together? Dubious. Clerics of different Domains? Possible for some combinations but not every. Wizards working together? You'd usually rather expect them to avoid/fight each other at high level at least).
Especially if you make one low-INT and one high-INT EK, with related spell selection, while racking up feats on Battlemaster Fighter to display how different "same characters" can be.
If fluff is not a problem, then you could also try Wizards (Bladesinger + Illusionist + Abjurer) or Paladins (Devotion + Ancients + Conquest).
- little to no magic.
- only one specific class feature.

Iconic fantasy tropes: Battlemaster Fighter, Evocation Wizard, Thief/Arcane Trickster Rogue.
+ probably "best" combination for people to identify to, depending on their taste for complexity and magic.
+ put some Persuasion and Perception Expertise for Rogue and social is set.
+ balanced party can tackle most challenges.
+ Rogue gives chance to show bonus action system, and reaction system (also with some Wizard spells).
- the "spellcasting" aspect is shown through the class that is the most complex in micro-management (but not in leveling ;)).

MECHANICALLY FOCUSED YET BALANCED parties
Iconic: Life Cleric, Valor/Swords Bard, Evoker Wizard.
Cleric: WIS and STR
Bard: DEX and CHA
Wizard: INT and CON.
Most important skills are covered, you have plenty enough of healing, and clearly defined roles
- Wizard: blaster with occasional control in fight, daily adventuring utility out.
- Cleric: holding frontline with Bard thanks to Spirit Guardians or keeping mid-line with Spiritual Weapon and Sacred Flame in fight, helping tend wounds and getting global clues on campaign with divination spells.
- Bard: keeping the frontline occupied while using Plant Growth, Blindness, or other spell to reduce enemy threat in fight, taking care of negociations out.

Mobility party: 4E Monk, Bladesinger Wizard or Arcane Trickster Rogue, Divine Soul Sorcerer
4E Monk takes care of melee together with Bladesinger (Mirror Image), Divine Soul can either hang back, Twin Haste on them or buff himself with Mirror Image then set up a Spirit Guardians.
If Monk and Rogue, Sorcerer could even afford to throw some Fireballs without regrets: DEX class + DEX proficiency + Evasion means they usually need no more than a 4 on roll to succeed, risk is worth imo. :)

Animal/Stealth party: Shadow Sorcerer, Moon Druid, Arcane Trickster Rogue with Ritual Caster: Cleric.
Sorcerer Twins Polymorph self and Rogue that may or not have cast Silence, Moon Druid casts Pass Without Trace or Conjure Animal and wild shapes, and party is set!
For simple stealth, Darkness/Fog Cloud/Invisibility + Pass Without Trace + Silence should ample do the trick. :)

[ciarannihill]

There are, as evidenced by the huge variety of replies, a lot of potential options for this question. Having said that, I would personally make sure that your players are versatile, but try to not overlap as much as possible. Each player in a 3 person group has an opportunity to shine on their own without stepping on each others toes during their moments to shine.

There are combat and non-combat roles that can be valuable to have. For combat a healer, a ranged attacker and a frontline brawler are a powerful 3 person combo (and a kind of famous one at that), and for non-combat an explorer (detecting/disabling traps, tracking enemies, Dex/Wis stuff), a face (diplomacy, intimidation, Cha stuff) and a puzzle solver/magic detector (Int or spellcasting stuff) are quite useful. Thankfully these can overlap a bit without stepping on each others' toes too much.

A few combination that might work like this are: Ancients Paladin, Assassin Rogue, Lore Bard
Bear Totem/Zealot Barbarian, Life Cleric, Gloom Stalker Ranger
Battle Master Fighter, Shepherd Druid, Fiend/Tome Warlock
Kensei Monk (a slight stretch, but fun), Divine Soul Sorcerer, Evocation Wizard*

*The most kind of tenuous one, but I like the symmetry of having all the classes represented, plus a party trying to but not being quite able to fit the stereotypical roles could make for a fun campaign.

And plenty more. You can mix and match a lot of these, but I think the key to remember is to make sure that you don't have 2 "mains" of any role. Having a Paladin, which can heal, is fine when you have a more dedicated healer because the Paladin isn't getting that clutch Mass Healing Word off at level 5 to save the party from a wipe. He's on "off-healer" at best.
On the other hand having a Sorcerer and a Warlock together might involve bumping into each others roles, both being high Charisma classes with ranged blaster combat potential and magic based abilities, they overlap too much IMO for a small party.



tl;dr: There's lots of ways to have a well balanced 3 person party be successful, but I would take care to give them each their specialties and niches so no one feels outshined by another. I'd also balance your encounters/campaign in such a way that they each have moments to really be the star.

[CTurbo]

Paladin(any)
Cleric(Light or Tempest)
Lore Bard



Probably the best possible 3 man combination IMO.

[the secret fire]

Abjurer, Diviner, and......?

Illusionist for the win, Bob.

[solidork]

Thor (Tempest Cleric), Loki (Arcane Trickster Rogue) and Valkyrie (Some kind of paladin?)

[DrowPiratRobrts]

dwarf fighter
high elf wizard
human cleric

go classic

This is more in line with where my mind initially went. If you want classic you should stick to those three races, but here's another spin on class options:

Mountain Dwarf Paladin
High Elf Wizard
Human Variant Barbarian (take a large weapon feat)

You have two tanks, two martial, two casters, two non-humans, two tall party members, and a noncaster-1/2 caster- full caster setup. Something like this really covers all your bases and it's so vanilla!

[kamap]

A gnome or halfling ranger riding a giant spider.
A gnome or halfling rogue who specializes in throwing knives (go with a multiclass into pact of the chain warlock if you can and get an imp)
A gnome or halfling bard (We brave gnomes or halflings bravely ran away away, bravely ran away! Then the two other can go, no we didn't!)

You'll have stealth options, you'll have ranged damage, you can play the but they are big and we are small card, lots of rp posibilities.
The ranger rides of into the sunset.
The spider and his passenger crawl unto a bar and order a pint of ale sometime later a drunken spider and halfling or gnome.

The rogue can be all shadowy and deliver a stealthy lethal pun at the right time.

The bard can sing about it all from untop of the drunken spider on the bar.