Party Composition/Feats Advice

[Sindri Balrog]

Hi everybody,

My group used to play a lot of 3.5 edition, we are now finally going to start a 5e campaign.
Being the group’s munchkin, I was tasked to propose an all-around competent and fun to play party composition.
We will start from level 2, point-buy stats, books available are PHB and SCAG. Knowing our group, exploration/social/messing around will be as important as actual combat.

This is what I’ve come up with:

- Race: Human (Variant)
- Background: Uthgard Tribe Member (Blue Bear Tribe)
- Class: Barbarian (Bear Totem warrior) X
- Stats: 16 14 16 8 10 8
- Feats: great weapon master(1)
- Skills: athletics/intimidation/perception/stealth/survival
- Languages: common/goblin/orc
- Tools: leatherworking kit

- Race: Ghostwise Halfling
- Background: Faction Agent (emerald enclave)
- Class: Druid (Moon) X
- Stats: 8 16 14 10 16 10
- Skills: insight/medicine/perception/survival
- Languages: common/dwarvish/Halfling/sylvan/Druidic
- Tools: herbalism kit
- Cantrips: guidance/produce flame

- Race: Half-elf
- Background: Spy
- Class: Cleric (Life) 1 / Bard (Lore) X
- Stats: 9 16 14 8 13 16
- Skills: acrobatics/deception/insight/investigation/perception/persuasion/stealth/
- Languages: common/elvish/giant
- Tools: thieves tools/gaming set/ musical instrument
- Cantrips: guidance/light/thaumaturgy // minor illusion/vicious mockery
- Bard spells: Dissonant whispers/faerie fire/sleep/tasha's hideous laughter

- Race: Deep Gnome
- Background: Faction Agent (harpers)
- Class: Cleric (Knowledge) 1 / Wizard (Divination) X
- Stats: 9 14 14 16 13 10
- Skills: arcana(exp.)/history/insight/investigation/nature/religion(exp.)
- Languages: common/abyssal/draconic/gnomish/infernal/primordial/undercommon
- Tools: none
- Cantrips: mending/resistance/spare the dying // chill touch/message/prestidigitation
- Wizard spells: detect magic/find familiar/magic missile/shield/sleep/unseen servant
- Familiar: owl

Do you see any weakness with this party?
Would you suggest another feat for the barbarian?
For future levels, which feats would you suggest? Consider that barbarian will probably end up using druid as a “mount”..

Thank you in advance!

[Bloodcloud]

Perhaps a bit low on ranged damage. The bard could definitely do away with life cleric, between his song of rests and native bard spells, moon druid, and knowledge cleric/wizard, he'd be better off focusing on single class Lore bard IMO, even more if he's going dex so doesn't need the armor profiency as much. Healing is overcovered here.

Valor bard could allow him to pick a longbow with sharpshooter eventually for very good at-will ranged damage. I believe that would cover the party's need much better.

[Man_Over_Game]

The party does have a problem of not dealing very high damage.

Divination Wizards, for example, make great scouts, but they'll be very redundant with the Lore Bard. They both accomplish relatively similar problems.

As to the Moon Druid and Barbarian. Both are HP tanks that deal relatively low damage.

Sentinel on the Barbarian would work really quite well, as the Moon Druid will be a much more likable target than the Barbarian in armor and halving weapon damage. It'll also provide utility for the Barbarian, so that his low damage won't be as much of an issue.

Or, the Barbarian could still pick up GWM and have the Moon Druid pick up Sentinel.

You could divide the party into two skill sets: "Slow HP Tank" and "Non-Combat Specialist Caster".

Let's say one skill set isn't applicable to a particular problem. Now that one problem cannot be solved by half of the party. Not only that, but now you only have one more skill set to solve the problem.

Make sure your party is aware of that and takes steps to diversify their skill set (Barbarian focuses on Damage, Moon Druid focuses on Druid Casting, Lore Bard focuses on skill/social events, Diviner focuses on scouting).

[Keravath]

Just a couple of comments ...

1) GWM isn't very useful at low levels since the -5 to hit isn't such a useful trade off in many cases. The monster CR and scaling armor class is such that GWM remain situational depending on your actual to hit die roll generally well into tier 3 even with reckless attack. That said, I've seen level 12-15 barbarians inflict massive amounts of melee damage. (However, low level use of GWM can be offset a bit by having bless readily available)

2) The party is a bit weak on ranged damage. The barbarian can always pull out a bow but its otherwise pretty limited.

3) If you are going to take life cleric on the lore bard then you will use either medium or heavy armor so the 16 dex is a waste.

4) You've left out some of the classic hexblade dips :)

5) I am assuming only a party of 4?

6) You could go pure lore bard but they have very few damage options (in my experience vicious mockery doesn't cut it). However, you might want to consider variant human with resilient con and take a two level dip in hexblade warlock so that at level 5 you are 3 lore bard/2 hexblade. The spells will be one tier behind for the character but in exchange the character picks up really decent at will ranged damage (with agonizing blast) and can get devils sight to offset the human inability to see in the dark (along with all the other benefits of hexblade).

7) You could also consider swapping the barbarian for a dex based fighter or paladin since they can be more effective with ranged weapons as well as melee though you lose the large damage available at later levels through GWM/PAM. The alternative might be to swap the moon druid for a character like this. The benefit of the paladin auras on the rest of the party shouldn't be underestimated :) ... on the other hand the druid wildshapes provide for some interesting role play options and their spells (especially summoning) can be a real boost later but again mostly in melee.

8) Another character build to consider is the 2 or 3 hexblade warlock/ X divine soul sorcerer since it can fill a number of roles including supplying some of the higher level clerical spells that can be very useful (lesser and greater restoration/revivify/raise dead ...).

9) Another option is a ranger/rogue or fighter/rogue of some sort for ranged damage and scouting duties. Expertise in perception/investigation/stealth can all be very useful plus both the ranger and fighter can get the archery fighting style to offset the -5 of using the sharpshooter damage boost.


Anyway, in the end, it comes down to what the people want to play ... 5e has FAR LESS need for optimization than 3.5e as I understand it so almost any party composition can work.

[Sindri Balrog]

Thank you for all the very good feedback.
Yes, the party will be of 4 players + DM.
Since I don't know how often we'll manage to play, I would like characters that come "online" as soon as possible.

Hexblade is not on PHB/SCAG. I will try to have the DM approve it but we'll see.

Do you guys think that
-switching Barbarian with vengeance paladin (polearm master)
-- having the bard take 2 levels of hexblade instead of 1 Cleric
Will address the party weaknesses/redundancy?

I think I will also make a new thread as a sort of "challenge" starting from zero.