What party of 4 would most showcase what 5e is?

[Wasp]

Hi everyone!

I was thinking about what differentiates 3.5 from 4e from 5e and that lead me to the question:

What would be the quintessential 5e 4-player party to showcase the differences to previous editions and enforces what makes this edition what it is.

I don't know if I can explain what I mean. And maybe there isn't anything like this "quintessential 5e-ness" (like it maybe is with the fourth edition where many new concepts were introduced) but I thought it maybe worthwhile to discuss at least...

Cheers, Waspy

[Teaguethebean]

I would say the archetypal fighter, rouge, cleric, and wizard but they hardly showcase the changes of 5e from 3.5 (I have no real experience with 4e so I wont touch on it)
I would say Warlock(Short rests and cantrips), Rogue (Proficiency instead of skill points), Barbarian(Damage resistance instead of nullifying damage per hit), and Druid(Just because well it shows the players they will never die like ever)

[MilkmanDanimal]

Wizard (spell slots, flexibility in casting, different schools)
Lore Bard (skill proficiencies, full caster, support options, healing)
Barbarian (clearly differentiates advantage/disadvantage with reckless attack, plus resistance)

Those three, then dunno.

[DrKerosene]

I figure the Rogue would be good for demonstrating things.

Being near an ally for sneak-attack instead of flanking in 3.5e days.

Bonus action use (Hide, Disengage, and Dash also being a little different now from how you did such things in 3.5e).

Rogues using Two Weapon Fighting would emphasis you only need/get sneak attack once per turn, and also showcase how TWFing works with bonus actions.

Uncanny Dodge being a Reaction (and how it would compete with an Attack Of Opportunity for your Reaction) but Evasion always being active/“on” would seem similar enough to 3.5e days.

[Kane0]

Paladin, Bard, Warlock and I dunno, monk?

[strangebloke]

Paladins and warlocks best showcase the new resource economy system. They're also the most changed from previous editions, and they're two classes that get cool things at every level up. You could swap the warlock for a monk or fighter.

Rogues to showcase the difference in how skills work.

Cleric, druid, or wizard to showcase how the generalist classes work, which is completely different from previous editions with an emphasis on rituals and cantrips.

If there was a fourth slot, I'd go for a fighter.

[SkipSandwich]

4 monks. Im not even kidding, one of the biggest changes to class design since 3e is subclasses, which have a HUGE impact on how a class feels and plays, and the best way to show that off would to build your archtypical 4-man band from just different builds of the same class.

For monks one way would be;
The Fighter-Open Hand or Kensei
The Rogue - Shadow
The Wizard - 4 Elements
The Cleric - Tranquility

You could even do this with all-rogues;
The Fighter - Swashbuckler
The Rogue - Assassin
The Wizard - Arcane Trickster
The Cleric - Thief(Healer Feat/Potions + Fast Hands for bonus action healing)

Or all Fighters;
The Fighter - Champion
The Rogue - Battlemaster
The Wizard - Eldritch Knight
The Cleric - Purple Dragon Knight(plus Healer and/or Inspiring Presense feats)

[Kane0]

Oh yeah, thats a good point. Four warlocks!

[Jelkan]

You could even do four bards!

The Fighter - Valor Bard
The Rogue - Lore Bard
The Wizard - Lore Bard
The Cleric - Lore Bard

[T.G. Oskar]

Paladin, Bard, Warlock and I dunno, monk?

I'd say Ranger. Even though it's a class that very few people like because of real and perceived issues (real because it focuses too much on the "Exploration" side of the game, whereas the others really don't; perceived because the Ranger can deal really high damage with only a spell), it represents a lot of what 5e brings to the table:

For one, it focuses on the Exploration side. Natural Explorer lets you essentially bypass every difficulty in three specific locations. You pretty much don't have to worry about food, or getting lost.
It's one of the two classes that allows you to get more than 2 skill proficiencies. With the change in terms of proficiencies (there's no more Disable Device or Open Lock, but thieves' tools) and the right background (Criminal, for example), you can be a trapper and trapbuster at once, while still having very useful skills like Perception or Survival.
It has Extra Attack, much like the warrior classes, and a very solid weapon and armor proficiency.
Has one of the best Fighting Styles, period (Archery). It also has Duelist, which is also great, and it doesn't force the Ranger into Archery or TWF.(though you can choose TWF if that's your thing)
It has spells, covering a bit of the Druid's spells plus a few of its own. Most importantly, it has several very good spells.
It has a surprisingly good damage potential; not just because of Hunter's Mark (which is very good by itself), but because most of its classes provide a bonus to damage (Hunter with Colossus Strike being the primary one, but also the XGtE archetypes (Gloom Stalker, Monster Slayer, Horizon Walker) With Extra Attack, it's almost as good as the Rogue with its sole attack.

As it stands, the Ranger combines pretty well with a team of Paladin, Warlock and Bard, as they can do a bit of everything, but still specialize: the Ranger can either go the distance with the Warlock or fight in melee with the Paladin, the Bard and the Ranger cover nearly all the skills (and both the Paladin and Warlock can double-down on social skills), and all but the Warlock can heal, so you're never out of healing potential. It's the kind of team that can go very far no matter what.

[ChildofLuthic]

Oh yeah, thats a good point. Four warlocks!

Fighter - Hexblade
Rogue - Feypact (for charming magic/illusion hijinks) chainlock (for scouting)
Wizard - Some kind of Tomelock w/ ancient secrets?
Cleric - Celestial (maybe tomelock again to get spare the dying)

That would also showcase how little 5e cares about alignment and preserving the fluff of certain classes being good/evil.

EDIT: fixed why I chose feypact

[stoutstien]

the fact you can draw race/ class combos out of a hat and still have a solid 4 man party IS the part IMO is what showcases what 5e is.

[RogueJK]

It's one of the two classes that allows you to get more than 2 skill proficiencies.

Three. Rogue (4), Bard (3), and Ranger (3).

[OverLordOcelot]

It's one of the two classes that allows you to get more than 2 skill proficiencies. With the change in terms of proficiencies (there's no more Disable Device or Open Lock, but thieves' tools) and the right background (Criminal, for example), you can be a trapper and trapbuster at once, while still having very useful skills like Perception or Survival.

Rogue, Ranger, and Bard all get 3 or 4 proficiencies to start and Clerics have multiple domains that give them 3-4 to start, so they're actually one of the four classes, that get more than 2 to start.

[KorvinStarmast]

the Divine Four


Ranger Bow or other dex based, criminal background for Thieve's Tools - while I like gloom stalker, Hunter and monster slayer are also nice

Druid, moon (Because why not, keeps the party going at early levels)

Paladin (Also party face, any but Ancients is fine)

Cleric(so many to choose from, I like them all, but go for Nature to be thematic with the other three)

You have tank
you have off tank
you have dex heavy char, also some damage
You have spells for all characters
You have Nova with Paladin's smites

Good to go.

[Laserlight]

Tempest cleric for "No, clerics aren't healbots".

Lore bard for "Bards can be respected"

Rogue for skill, expertise, stealth, surprise, and sneak attack.

PAM Hexblade for, well, everything that makes a warlock weird anyway, and melee-as-dpr.