Starman
2020-11-12, 01:22 AM
We don't often hear about party combos. Often, adventurer's want to be independently awesome and not part of a greater whole. But great capabilities await those parties that coordinate their build choices to make a stronger party.
A few of my favorite party combos . . .
1) The Classic Cheese Grater.
Requirements:
A) a speedster/grappler (e.g. Tabaxi Monk)
B) a caster with Spike Growth
C) a caster with Enlarge/Reduce (optional)
With some coordination a party can turn the speedster Monk into an insane creature destroyer. Spike Growth allows the speedster to convert movement into auto-hit magical piercing damage. This combo will likely be enhanced by the introduction of Rune Knight and their Concentration-free Enlarge ability
2) Ghostbusters
Requirements:
A) 1+ Rings of Spell Storing
B) 9th level Wizard with Wall of Force, Wall of Light
C) source of obscurement, e.g. Fog Cloud, Pyrotechnics, or Eversmoking Bottle (optional)
With one or more Rings of Spell Storing not only can you do team coordinating things like gifting everyone a Familiar and a Find Greater Steed but you can also set up some fantastic BBEG death traps.
Charge up a Ring of Spell Storing with a Wall of Light and give it to a party member and you have the foundation for a BBEG death trap. After the player autohits the BBEG with a Wall of Light, the Wizard imprisons the BBEG in a Wall of Force. This will gradually kill almost any BBEG.
This tactic is scaleable. Can the BBEG teleport out of the Wall of Force? No problem. Another caster could cast Fog Cloud before the Wizard casts Wall of Force. Need more damage? Just have another Ring of Spell Storing and load another Wall of Light spell onto it.
If the party winds up with a plentiful number of Rings of Spell Storing then tactics like spamming Suggestion become really powerful.
3) Blind Fury
Requirements:
A) low-end version: Darkness plus multiple Candles of the Deep
B) high-end version: Fog Cloud plus multiple Daggers of Blindsight. Tasha's adds Blind Fighting + Alert as an option.
Everyone groans when the Warlock attempts the Darkness + Devil's Sight Combo and inevitably steps on the toes of the other players who get their vision shut off. However, if everyone gets a common magic item known as the Candle of the Deep then they can maintain a small bubble of magical light around themselves when they want and accomodate the Warlock's selfishness.
The higher-end version involves using heavy obscurement in a party where everyone is effectively immune to that condition (via Dagger of Blindsight, Wildshape into creature with Blindsight, or Blind Fighting Style). It is very hard to organize and get every member of the party on board with this tactic, but if you do the payoff is huge - the entire team will enjoy a tremendous boost in capability. Everyone in the party gets advantage to hit and disadvantage at being hit and cannot be affected by spells or effects requiring a visible target.
What are some of your favorite party combos?
A few of my favorite party combos . . .
1) The Classic Cheese Grater.
Requirements:
A) a speedster/grappler (e.g. Tabaxi Monk)
B) a caster with Spike Growth
C) a caster with Enlarge/Reduce (optional)
With some coordination a party can turn the speedster Monk into an insane creature destroyer. Spike Growth allows the speedster to convert movement into auto-hit magical piercing damage. This combo will likely be enhanced by the introduction of Rune Knight and their Concentration-free Enlarge ability
2) Ghostbusters
Requirements:
A) 1+ Rings of Spell Storing
B) 9th level Wizard with Wall of Force, Wall of Light
C) source of obscurement, e.g. Fog Cloud, Pyrotechnics, or Eversmoking Bottle (optional)
With one or more Rings of Spell Storing not only can you do team coordinating things like gifting everyone a Familiar and a Find Greater Steed but you can also set up some fantastic BBEG death traps.
Charge up a Ring of Spell Storing with a Wall of Light and give it to a party member and you have the foundation for a BBEG death trap. After the player autohits the BBEG with a Wall of Light, the Wizard imprisons the BBEG in a Wall of Force. This will gradually kill almost any BBEG.
This tactic is scaleable. Can the BBEG teleport out of the Wall of Force? No problem. Another caster could cast Fog Cloud before the Wizard casts Wall of Force. Need more damage? Just have another Ring of Spell Storing and load another Wall of Light spell onto it.
If the party winds up with a plentiful number of Rings of Spell Storing then tactics like spamming Suggestion become really powerful.
3) Blind Fury
Requirements:
A) low-end version: Darkness plus multiple Candles of the Deep
B) high-end version: Fog Cloud plus multiple Daggers of Blindsight. Tasha's adds Blind Fighting + Alert as an option.
Everyone groans when the Warlock attempts the Darkness + Devil's Sight Combo and inevitably steps on the toes of the other players who get their vision shut off. However, if everyone gets a common magic item known as the Candle of the Deep then they can maintain a small bubble of magical light around themselves when they want and accomodate the Warlock's selfishness.
The higher-end version involves using heavy obscurement in a party where everyone is effectively immune to that condition (via Dagger of Blindsight, Wildshape into creature with Blindsight, or Blind Fighting Style). It is very hard to organize and get every member of the party on board with this tactic, but if you do the payoff is huge - the entire team will enjoy a tremendous boost in capability. Everyone in the party gets advantage to hit and disadvantage at being hit and cannot be affected by spells or effects requiring a visible target.
What are some of your favorite party combos?