Ideas on how to round out this group?

[jaappleton]

I asked this prior for Avernus, but we since has opted for Saltmarsh and now everyone changed characters.

Lizardfolk Monk (going Shadow)
V. Human Storm Sorcerer
V. Human Paladin (Oath undecided)
Gnome Fighter (Archery, going Rune Knight)

So one blaster. One front liner. One skirmisher. And a ranged character.

Fair enough. Pretty well rounded, actually, I have a lot of agency in what to play.

What we don't have is any sort of utility caster, and while the Paladin can heal, its not exactly optimal.

I'm currently giving strong consideration to Artificer, because of their versatility. Grave Cleric is excellent at keeping people on their feet. I also really dig the Circle of Stars Druid. However, there's a lot to be said for Bard. Even though we have two Charisma heavy people already, for versatility, Bard is very tough to beat.

Thoughts?

[TigerT20]

Perhaps go Abjuration Wizard and focus on buffing? Damage that never happens is damage that doesn't need to be healed. Pick up Magic Initiate (Goodberry) if you feel you have to have some form of healing.

[kazaryu]

I asked this prior for Avernus, but we since has opted for Saltmarsh and now everyone changed characters.

Lizardfolk Monk (going Shadow)
V. Human Storm Sorcerer
V. Human Paladin (Oath undecided)
Gnome Fighter (Archery, going Rune Knight)

So one blaster. One front liner. One skirmisher. And a ranged character.

Fair enough. Pretty well rounded, actually, I have a lot of agency in what to play.

What we don't have is any sort of utility caster, and while the Paladin can heal, its not exactly optimal.

I'm currently giving strong consideration to Artificer, because of their versatility. Grave Cleric is excellent at keeping people on their feet. I also really dig the Circle of Stars Druid. However, there's a lot to be said for Bard. Even though we have two Charisma heavy people already, for versatility, Bard is very tough to beat.

Thoughts?

go control warlock!
repelling blast, lance of lethargy, grasp of hadar, uhhhhh....i think there's 1 more...

anyway, focus on control spells (obviously, its in the name!). either area denial (i.e. hunger of hadar...which paris nicely with repellingblast/grasp of hadar for forcing people into the area) or crowd control (hold person is solid, and only gets better as your spell slots level-also, come on, auto potential auto crits for the pally/monk yummy).

celestial: gives some healing, but also gives flaming sphere and wall of fire to increase your area denial options.

fiend: command and blindness/deafness for a more CC focused options. while also providing some more HP utility

GoO: basically gets CC at every level, and evards black tentacles for area denial. in fact their expanded spell list is almost exclusively control spells although their actual features aren't exactly fitting the theme.

basic gameplay: throw down one of your control spells based on the situation, area denial is likely to be more useful in tight quarters, whereas CC is generally more useful for open spaces. From there you use EB to shift your enemies around the field wreaking havoc on their battle lines.

addendum: might be even more effective if you eventually fit some sorc levels in there to get quicken, but thats probably not gonna be ideal until higher levels, as you'll be drastically delaying your access to high level control options.

[da newt]

Random thoughts:

Who will do the rogue stuff?
The party is a little short on spell slinging and healing.
Light on dark vision too.
Who has the WIS to perceive/insight?
I also think every team can benefit from someone w/ GUIDANCE.

Looks like a well rounded team so far, it would be hard to go wrong, but I'd try to ensure someone is able to fill the above.

[MrStabby]

The answer is cleric. Always cleric when in doubt!

Clerics are tough front line shields, they can heal if you really need them to, some can blast and all can do some decent damage with spells. They can cast a good amount of control spells like hold person and banishment though.

With channel divinity they get to have additional resources per short rest and some are really powerful. Sometimes some of their abilities are a bit situational, but when they are right for the circumstance they are awesome.