Help with small group party make up

[Baronmwd]

Hello everyone, I’m new here and to make matters worse. I’ve been away from the game for about 10-12 years. Just picked up the P&H and been reading through it. Going to be rolling up characters in a couple weeks once we get up to speed on 5th Edition.

My biggest issue is our group will only have 3 players so 3 party adventures. I need some guidance on what 3 characters we should make to cover most of party needs. We are very open to making multiclasses to to be able to cover more roles of the party.

Thanks for any help you may be able to share.

[AvvyR]

5th Edition is a lot more generous with party roles than previous editions. Anyone proficient with thieves tools (you can get proficiency with background) can disable traps, so the rogue class is not specifically necessary for dungeoneering. Healing in combat is terribly inefficient, and short rest healing is available to all, so a hardline healer is also not required.

Bards, Clerics, Paladins, Druids, Celestial Pact Warlocks, Divine Soul Sorcerers, and Artificers are all capable of being party healers. It's probably best to have at least one of them in the party for emergencies, though not strictly required. You probably also want the ability to do both ranged and melee damage of a few different types, have access to a spread of skill proficiencies, and some control options, either from spellcasting, or a feature like Battlemaster Fighter's maneuvers will help too.

....Of course a well built Valor Bard with the criminal background can do every single thing I just said simultaneously. :smallbiggrin:

[Melphizard]

Optimal 3 player party makeup in my opinion (all characters level 3):

-3 Artificer [Artillerist] : Provides amazing temp hp each turn which at tier 1 can shield entire rounds of attacks. You also get infusions for magic items on the fly as well as all the tools you'll ever need for utility.

-1 Cleric [Life], 2 Druid [Moon] : While Shepard druid could do more healing, a Moon druid is always a great tank and damage dealer throughout all the levels and is invaluable. Always drop the cleric if you want more levels of druid since druids get good bonuses every level, especially Moon druids. By having a level of life cleric, you can get good berries (first level slot) which as an action can be eaten to restore 4 hp each. With 10 total good berries, that's 40 hp for a first level slot, complete insanity.

- 3 Bard [Eloquence] : Bards are the skill-monkeys and a valuable asset in any party without a rogue. They do great control spells, semi-decent healing, and can act as the party face; however, the subclass eloquence allows for the party face to seem like the party demi-god / renowned hero. College of Eloquence basically gives you the Rogue feature of reliable talent but only for persuasion and deception, making any roll 9 or lower a 10. With an average +5 persuasion and deception, that's a guaranteed, 15 on both!!! You could lie or talk with near-perfection in most situations (not saying to skip RP because of this, but it's a good safety net so your RP speech isn't a nat 1) making sure that opinion of you is at worst neutral. With the eventual glimmer of expertise in your sights, this can go to ridiculous levels.

[Greywander]

As AvvyR says, 5e is a lot more generous, so really any party combination is potentially viable. You can certainly optimize in order to perform better, but it's not really necessary to be competent.

Every 5e character gets at least two skills from their class, and two more from their background. With your background you can also pick up two tools or two languages; background customization is part of the rules, so anyone can pick any set of two skills and two tools/languages instead of using what's listed in the specific backgrounds. Anyone can pick up proficiency with thieves' tools via their background, so a rogue is not strictly necessary. Anyone with good CHA can pick up at least two face skills, more if they're on their class skill list.

You probably want at least one spellcaster, as magic opens up a lot of utility options. Wizard is the classic, with the largest spell list that they can prepare from. Bards are more limited in spells known, but they can get a little bit of everything, and double as decent skill monkeys. Druids, especially Moon druids, make fantastic wildcards, able to fill any role in the party. Healing can be useful at times, but it's usually more effective to prevent the damage in the first place by using control spells. Support and control spells can make fights a lot easier, and nothing beats a well-placed Fireball when it comes to clearing out hordes of goblins and other weaker creatures that would take martials a long time to churn through.

Given that you're a smaller party, it's not a bad idea to shore up your defenses. Take a look at the multiclassing rules and see if you can get medium or heavy armor and shields on every party member (except monks); e.g. the wizard can dip one level into cleric. Having a paladin in the party can boost the whole party's saves after 6th level, and the Bless spell can also help with saves. Artillerist artificers can use their protector cannon to give the party temp HP every round, and it's not hard to have your cannon up for every fight. Grapplers can make pretty effective tanks, if somewhat unconventional, and grappling doesn't actually require a huge investment to be effective (just make sure to get advantage on STR checks and expertise in Athletics, plus at least two attacks). The best grappler right now is probably the Rune Knight from Tasha's with the Skill Expert feat, but even with just the PHB you could take an Eldritch Knight (for Enlarge/Reduce and Extra Attacks) or barbarian (for Rage) and dip into rogue for expertise. Bards can also make good grapplers with Enhance Ability, and they already get expertise.

Don't forget that things like caltrops and ball bearings are a thing; they can be especially handy for surviving the low levels, and still remain somewhat useful at higher levels against hordes of weak enemies if you can deploy them before the fight starts. In general, you'll need to fight smarter if you want to take on some of the same challenges that a larger party would. Don't forget that you can sneak around some fights and talk your way out of others. You may want to lean more toward Combat as War rather than Combat as Sport, though that's largely a matter of playstyle preference, and may depend on what the DM is expecting of you as well.

If you have some specific builds in mind, I'm sure we could help you optimize them, or look for possible synergies that can be leveraged. But really, if you don't want to worry about that, you don't need to; a party of three barbarians, for example, would work fine. It might help to know what kind of campaign you'll be playing, or what your preferred playstyle is.

[Eldariel]

Well, if you want to make sure you've got all your bases covered:
- Bard
- Cleric
- Druid

Are all great classes, able to cast healing spells (important mostly for getting downed allies up especially if Healing Potions are hard to access), able to fight, and able to cast control spells. I'd pick two of that bunch and round it out with a great generalist (e.g. Wizard) to ultimately ensure I have access to all the important Ritual magic, control spells and utility. If I were making a 3-person party I'd probably go:
Lore Bard: The greatest skill monkey in the game between 8 base skills, 4 Expertises, Enhance Ability on 3, Cutting Words to knock down enemy checks, Jack of All Trades for the other skills, etc. Also a great debuffer. Early on can contribute in damage with Light Crossbow just fine. Later on can learn e.g. Conjure Animals, Animate Dead or Fireball on 6 if you need to keep up damage.

Shepherd Druid: You can't really bring more firepower to the table than this (for Tier 2+). Goodberry is of course the best in longevity enhancement: every evening convert all your remaining slots into Goodberries for the next day. Unicorn and Bear totem both greatly enhance party durability and now with Tasha's, Druid can finally Revivify making it just as good as Cleric at keeping the party going. Pass without Trace is a godlike spell for your arsenal from level 3, making the whole party super stealthy. And on levels 1-4 you'll do just fine with Magic Stone or Shillelagh and on level 5 you unlock Conjure Animals, which means you get 8 meatwalls whenever you want (and on level 6 they bite through defenses too).

Wizard: A third great controller, that also gives you a lot of extra actions early on (on level 1 you get Find Familiar and Unseen Servant; these can use Goodberries or Healing Potions on allies or drop Oil in enemy square for Conjure Bonfire + CC comboes or Ball Bearings for square control or whatever). Like the Lore Bard, any Wizard can start with Light Crossbow and thanks to Find Familiar, do more DPR than basically any other class on this level. Sleep + Web + Hypnotic Pattern is just nice to have and doubled up with Bard means low levels are gonna be a breeze: you have so many slots for this it's not even funny.

I didn't specify Wizard subclass, because you can take it in few different directions. Diviner and Chronurgist would enhance the already considerable CC powers of the party by adding reliability to the CC and thus conserving slots. OTOH Bladesinger would give the party a reliable DPR type. Particularly a Sharpshooter Bladesinger would enhance the party's ability to engage at long ranges if needed (when e.g. dropping Dragons or whatever) while still being a Wizard. It's a hard call: you can never have too much die manipulation especially early on. Diviner always pays back in spades and Chronurgist's +Int to Initiative is huge. OTOH it's quite nice being able to reliably drop Dragons outside their effective range of engagement - with a Shepherd Druid in the party you're already covered in the short ranges. I'd probably lean towards Bladesinger but it's close (just going utility Wizard and leaving fighting to minions is more than viable).


A party like that would also give you a lot of downtime magic and utility between the ritual casting and the generous array of slots. Cleric is the one big class missing but this way you get Int/Wis/Cha skills covered efficiently, while also having skill specialists and your combat ability is more rounded. Cleric would of course have to take the slot of the Shepherd Druid but I find the Druid probably adds more to the party than your average Cleric with the easy source of Temp HP (though Twilight Cleric does that too, even better), Goodberries for endurance, Pass without Trace for party stealth (obviously a party like this is gonna be pretty good at stealthing around - everyone should have good Dex and Stealth proficiency), two familiars for scouting and utility (as per Tasha's for Druid), Wildshape Druid for getting to and from small spaces from level 2 (and Misty Step Wizard for going through anything on level 3).

[Baronmwd]

Thanks for the quick replies.

As far as some builds that we are considering.

I really like
Paladin 6/ ??? Idea as my tank/melee dmg dealer smite & healer

IÂ’m really interested in some sort of Bard or Bard multiclass. Not sure his role maybe range buffing & damage. Last time I played, bard was not a very good class. So, IÂ’m glad the Bard class got some love in 5e.

Lastly, maybe a Cleric multiclass but not necessarily for healing but IÂ’ve always loved Clerics in game. I guess itÂ’s just the old school in me and I never had a party without a Cleric. LOL

Thanks for your help

[Cheesegear]

My biggest issue is our group will only have 3 players so 3 party adventures. I need some guidance on what 3 characters we should make to cover most of party needs. We are very open to making multiclasses to to be able to cover more roles of the party.

From Level 1, my favourite 3-person party is Paladin, Ranger and Bard.
If your party is willing to Summon/Conjure/Animate things, and your DM is willing to put up with that nonsense, than it's Cleric, Cleric, Druid...But nobody wants to do that. Right?

[Eldariel]

Thanks for the quick replies.

As far as some builds that we are considering.

I really like
Paladin 6/ ??? Idea as my tank/melee dmg dealer smite & healer

IÂ’m really interested in some sort of Bard or Bard multiclass. Not sure his role maybe range buffing & damage. Last time I played, bard was not a very good class. So, IÂ’m glad the Bard class got some love in 5e.

Lastly, maybe a Cleric multiclass but not necessarily for healing but IÂ’ve always loved Clerics in game. I guess itÂ’s just the old school in me and I never had a party without a Cleric. LOL

Thanks for your help

Well, Sorcerer goes best with Paladin; Bard also works but Sorcerer has Font of Magic to optimise your smites and such. Definitely suggest single classing your other casters though, since the higher you go, the better those high level spells get.

Lore Bard or Eloquence Bard is my recommendation: Eloquence is for ****ing with enemy saves with Lore Bard is for ****ing with enemy skills and attacks (including Initiative), and Lore Bard's Extra Magical Secrets on level 6 is just massive (giving you Counterspell, which is a superhuge spell you will not have otherwise if you don't get a Wizard, and one other big impact spell you might miss out on).

For Cleric, Twilight Cleric is just great. Their Channel Divinity pumps the party full of temporary HP based on Cleric level. All Clerics are great (and they can multiclass after 5-7 since that's when they get their big spells; their Tier 3 spells aren't all that so as long as you multiclass into something that gets higher level slots, it's almost as good as a straight Cleric). One of my players is running a Battlemaster 5/War Cleric, which works pretty well. Ironically War Cleric is a lousy fighter as a standalone class but with Extra Attack, it actually brings a lot to the table (though he's swearing about his lack of access to higher level Cleric spells all the time so it's still not all roses for multiclassing).

[Greywander]

I really like
Paladin 6/ ??? Idea as my tank/melee dmg dealer smite & healer
Popular paladin multiclasses are with sorcerer or warlock. Sorcerers are full casters, so you get a lot of spell slots for smiting, as well as better spells, and metamagic can be pretty strong, too. Warlocks give you a strong and reliable ranged attack with Eldritch Blast + Agonizing Blast, and their slots recharge on a short rest. Take a look at what each class offers and see what appeals to you most. Straight paladin is also fine, as paladins get a pretty strong capstone at 20, and are a pretty strong class overall.


IÂ’m really interested in some sort of Bard or Bard multiclass. Not sure his role maybe range buffing & damage. Last time I played, bard was not a very good class. So, IÂ’m glad the Bard class got some love in 5e.
I'm not as familiar with bards or bard multiclasses, but bards are pretty good in this edition. Usually CHA casters can multiclass with other CHA caster classes fairly effectively, though keep in mind that dipping too deep in another class will deny you access to 9th level spells, even if you get 9th level slots.


Lastly, maybe a Cleric multiclass but not necessarily for healing but IÂ’ve always loved Clerics in game. I guess itÂ’s just the old school in me and I never had a party without a Cleric. LOL
Clerics are popular to dip into, as even one level gives you medium armor, shields, 1st level cleric spells, and the first domain feature. You get a lot. I don't think they're as popular to dip out of, but I'm not totally sure on that. Straight cleric is definitely fine, and you've got a broad choice of domains to choose from that specialize in different things. Cleric is possibly one of the strongest classes in the game, so it's almost never a bad pick, even when the party already has a cleric. It's also worth noting that clerics are far more than just healers, and each domain can let you specialize in a different role, from blasting to tanking and even to skill checks. Unless you're a Life cleric, you probably shouldn't be using that many healing spells anyway, as there are much more effective ways you can contribute to combat.

There's also the Ritual Caster feat, which allows you to learn and cast all the ritual spells from a particular class. Wizard is usually the best choice, but if you don't have a cleric then Ritual Caster (cleric) can help you get some of those spells. Sadly, there aren't actually that many ritual spells, but for a feat it's pretty solid.

Druid is another option, with a lot of overlap in their spell list with clerics and wizards. Druids get a little of everything, but you might find some of your favorite spells are missing, so YMMV. As previously mentioned, Moon druids are versatile and can fill any combat role as needed, which could be useful in a small party that can't fill every role with a dedicated party member. Straight druid is my recommendation, as a 20th level Moon druid is very strong due to the combination of unlimited Wild Shapes with their better Wild Shape forms and the ability to cast most their spells while Wild Shaped. 20th level is a long way off, but it's something to look forward to. Other druid subclasses might be more amenable to multiclassing since they don't rely as heavily on Wild Shape.

[Baronmwd]

Thanks to everyone for their input, I really am trying to take it all in. So here is where I am at...

1. Paladin (6)Sorcerer (x) - Is it worth taking a dip into Warlock or better to just go Sorcerer 14? This will be my main front liner unless the #3 becomes the tank of the group. If #3 becomes the tank then I don't have to dip as far into Paladin, opening up more levels to Sorcerer or Warlock for ranges goodness.

2. Bard - Not sure which Bard I should go with and why.

3. Cleric or Druid (?)/ ??? - I think I want either a Cleric/multi or a Druid/multi. But which one and what to pair them with?

Also, I'm really not up to date on most of the sub-classes of all of these so I need some help there too.

Thanks for the help,

[Eldariel]

Thanks to everyone for their input, I really am trying to take it all in. So here is where I am at...

1. Paladin (6)Sorcerer (x) - Is it worth taking a dip into Warlock or better to just go Sorcerer 14? This will be my main front liner unless the #3 becomes the tank of the group. If #3 becomes the tank then I don't have to dip as far into Paladin, opening up more levels to Sorcerer or Warlock for ranges goodness.

You don't need levels in Paladin to frontline. Just take them if you want to buff up party saves and smite in melee, but be aware that your ability to stand in melee even as a straight Sorcerer or Wizard, as long as you pick armor proficiencies from race/feats/subclass, is so substantial that you can easily be a complete melee bulwark competitive with any of the more "natural" melee classes.

Warlock dip gives you a lot more Sorcery points/low level slots, a ranged option, and potentially Tome (if you go for level 3). It costs you high level spells. As you aren't getting 9th level spells anyways (and thus miss out on Wish for Simulacrums and all the truly superpowered stuff), those 3 levels aren't actually that painful to lose. I'd say there are reasons to go both ways, but Warlock would give you Cha-based attacks and add a respectable ranged attack to your repertoire, so I'd probably take it...eventually. But when? That's the hard question. You want actual Sorc spells and they get pretty good up to level 5-6 (and even thereafter) so you probably want to at least get up to Sorc 9 before taking Warlock dip unless you really need Eldritch Blast (say, the party is kiting a lot and engaging at 300' range). It's worth noting the Hexblade's Curse + Magic Missile synergy as well (which gets better with Tiers).

Do note though, this means you won't have an Int character in the party, putting a hole in your skill coverage. This is why I'd definitely prefer a Bladesinger or an Abjurer or a Diviner/Chronurgist (outsourcing tanking to e.g. Animate Dead and Summon Greater Demon) for this role: better for party spell coverage, party skill coverage, etc. and every bit as formidable up front. Hell, Paladin 2/Bladesinger X is actually a viable build for damage dealing.


2. Bard - Not sure which Bard I should go with and why.

Lore Bard is the best overall skill class in the game, so I'd lean that way. Especially with the less casting heavy option (fewer full casters using CC spells in the party) making Eloquence less impressive. Also, since you have a smaller party, the extra spells from Extra Magical Secrets are even more pronounced. And Cutting Words is just the kind of defensive edge the party wants to ensure nobody goes down too easily.


3. Cleric or Druid (?)/ ??? - I think I want either a Cleric/multi or a Druid/multi. But which one and what to pair them with?

Druid multiclass...well, you can multiclass at level 5-6 depending on subclass. Same with Cleric. They're both great singleclassed too though. As for what to multiclass into, they multiclass kinda decently into one another. Other than that, other casters; you definitely want to keep your spell slot progression (since both have incredible mid level spells that keep scaling up to the stratosphere so the higher level slots, the better). If you don't worry about Tier 4, lacking 9th level spells won't kill you so multiclassing seems fine.

If you want more a fighter than a caster, Pally and Fighter multiclasses are also viable but generally, I think those characters are weaker especially for a small party than full casters.

[Jon talks a lot]

Thanks to everyone for their input, I really am trying to take it all in. So here is where I am at...

1. Paladin (6)Sorcerer (x) - Is it worth taking a dip into Warlock or better to just go Sorcerer 14? This will be my main front liner unless the #3 becomes the tank of the group. If #3 becomes the tank then I don't have to dip as far into Paladin, opening up more levels to Sorcerer or Warlock for ranges goodness.

2. Bard - Not sure which Bard I should go with and why.

3. Cleric or Druid (?)/ ??? - I think I want either a Cleric/multi or a Druid/multi. But which one and what to pair them with?

Also, I'm really not up to date on most of the sub-classes of all of these so I need some help there too.

Thanks for the help,

1. Go paladin 7 for another subclass feature, 1 level in hexblade, and 12 levels in sorcerer.
2. Lore bard is my favorite, but Eloquence is really good.
3. Why not go life cleric 1, druid x.

[KorvinStarmast]

Paladin 6/ ??? Idea as my tank/melee dmg dealer smite & healer

Suggestion:

Paladin (Ancients is my suggestion, but I am biased; Vengeance is fine, Watcher is Fine, Devotion is fine, Conquest can be good)
Bard (Lore, Criminal Background) (Skill monkey, you don't need a rogue now)
Any Cleric or Any Druid
(A reason to go druid instead of cleric is to get summons, so Shepherd is great here)
Life Cleric and Knowledge Cleric are also great choices, and Tempest Cleric is another nice kit.

You have:

Divine Caster
Arcane Caster
Melee/Tank
Skill Monkey
Face

The reason to go Lore is to ensure that Bard accesses Magical Secrets at level 6 to drag in some Wizard or Warlock spells that are handy.

[Dalinar]

Gonna spoiler tag this because it got a little long and it's sort of evident that I was thinking of new things as I was typing.

If you have a non-Cleric WIS character (i.e. Druid or Ranger, or I guess Monk but they have less use for the spell slots), I'd point out that both Peace 1 and Twilight 2 Cleric dips are ridiculously good.

Actually, while it's a bit cheesy, the Peace 6 + Twilight 2 two-Cleric combo is kind of ridiculous, although it scales much better with a bigger party (maybe the Twilight 2 is also a Shepherd Druid 4?). You can grant people lots of temp HP with Twilight's Channel Divinity (1d6 plus cleric level), and everyone's got an extra d4 to ability checks, attack rolls, and saving throws once per turn AND can tank for each other using said temp HP due to Emboldening/Protective Bond from the Peace Cleric, who also has an AOE heal for their Channel Divinity. Do note that if the DM throws many encounters at you without a rest, Channel Divinity is once per short/long rest until later levels, while Emboldening Bond is proficiency-bonus-times per long rest, so you might get worn down since you're relying on finite resources.

If you go this route, the party still needs a skill monkey and a face, and a good ol' martial wouldn't hurt either for consistent damage that doesn't burn spell slots. My initial idea for this is Lore Bard with a level in Hexblade Warlock. Compared to straight Lore Bard, this sets you back a level on your spell progression, which hurts a lot, but you gain a lot in return: medium armor, shield, and martial weapon proficiency, CHA modifier instead of STR or DEX to attack and damage rolls (so you'll only need like 14 DEX for AC), an extra first-level spell slot that refreshes on a short rest (I'm thinking Shield is the play for that one, but you might have a better idea), and Hexblade's Curse which is itself a really loaded ability. You'll also pick up two extra cantrips from the Warlock list this way; probably grab Eldritch Blast so you have a decent ranged option, and then the other is up to you.

The unfortunate thing with Lore X/Hexblade 1 is that you don't get Extra Attack unless you go all the way to Hexblade 5 and pick it up as an invocation, which will set you back farther than you probably want on your Bard levels; or you switch off of Lore Bard to a different subclass (Valor or Swords), but that cuts you off from some skill proficiencies and a lot of spell options from Additional Magical Secrets at Lore 6.

If you don't mind grabbing one more Hexblade level, you can sacrifice a level of Lore progression (which would've been a feat at 20), take the Agonizing Blast invocation, and just use Eldritch Blast for your spammable offense. This gives you one additional invocation to play with (other Eldritch Blast invocations are also good choices, as is the one that gives you free Deception and Persuasion proficiency if you somehow don't have those yet), one additional short-rest spell slot, and leaves your bonus action less clogged. Honestly, I think this is probably better than anything I could think of to replace Extra Attack, since you can still use a shield in one hand while doing somatic components for spells in the other. You no longer require the attack-with-CHA function of Hexblade, but you do still want that medium armor and shield proficiency to become less DEX reliant for defense, and the other perks are enough that I wouldn't switch subclasses over it.

So tl;dr, my idea for a powerful party of three (given Xanathar's and Tasha's access, not just raw PHB stuff which it sounds like you might be rolling with) is:

Peace Cleric 6+ (anti-focus-fire, buffer, healer in a pinch)
Twilight Cleric 2/Shepherd Druid X (temp HP to whole party, which synergizes with Conjure Animals and Peace Cleric; darkvision to whole party; give somebody advantage on initiative rolls)
Lore Bard X/Hexblade Warlock 2 (party face, skill monkey, spammable damage via Agonizing Blast)

I'd worry a bit about Athletics and INT-based checks, and you might struggle with low offense in Tier 1 (levels 1-4), but boy howdy does this take off in the level 5-6 range. If I were to add one more character to the mix, it'd probably be either a Polearm Master variant human character to carry the early game, or a Wizard--either Abjuration for even more partywide tankiness, or Divination because I just love Portent so much. Or an Artillerist Artificer for an additional source of spammable partywide temp HP for when the Twilight Cleric wasn't doing it.

(Actually, combining the two--variant human with PAM and an INT class--would be really funny to me, if a little nonsensical. Let me think on that.)

[Nifft]

Thanks to everyone for their input, I really am trying to take it all in. So here is where I am at...

1. Paladin (6)Sorcerer (x) - Is it worth taking a dip into Warlock or better to just go Sorcerer 14? This will be my main front liner unless the #3 becomes the tank of the group. If #3 becomes the tank then I don't have to dip as far into Paladin, opening up more levels to Sorcerer or Warlock for ranges goodness.

2. Bard - Not sure which Bard I should go with and why.

3. Cleric or Druid (?)/ ??? - I think I want either a Cleric/multi or a Druid/multi. But which one and what to pair them with?

Also, I'm really not up to date on most of the sub-classes of all of these so I need some help there too.

Thanks for the help,

Paladin 6 / and then 14 levels of Paladin, pick Ancients and do awesome goodness while feeling great every day. Multiclass can also be good, but not strictly better, and IMHO you should see what the baseline class plays like before you trade out some of that awesomeness for other (also good) features.

Bard -- any of them really, Bard is great in this edition. Valor is nice for when you can't stay out of combat, and it's a bit less complicated than Lore. Yeah those two are in the PHB, and other books have arguably stronger options, but the two in the core book are competent and not going to break your DM.

I'm going to anti-rec Druid for your first game. It's a great class and I like it, but it's not good for your first game. There's too much complexity on both sides of the screen, especially around the monster conjuring spells. You and your DM (and the rest of your group) need to get a decent handle on the game by playing it for a bit before you can have informed opinions on adjudicating those effects.

For your 3rd, my short list would be Wizard (Abjuration), Cleric (Tempest or Nature), Rogue (Arcane Trickster), or Monk (Open Hand). All of them are solid in strength and fun to play, plus they give you enough stuff to do that you won't often feel like you have no way to contribute.


IMHO you should not multi-class in your first 5e game. Get a feel for the base game first. See what an ASI is worth, and then you can make an informed decision about losing ASIs to get class features instead.

[Eldariel]

Gonna spoiler tag this because it got a little long and it's sort of evident that I was thinking of new things as I was typing.

If you have a non-Cleric WIS character (i.e. Druid or Ranger, or I guess Monk but they have less use for the spell slots), I'd point out that both Peace 1 and Twilight 2 Cleric dips are ridiculously good.

Actually, while it's a bit cheesy, the Peace 6 + Twilight 2 two-Cleric combo is kind of ridiculous, although it scales much better with a bigger party (maybe the Twilight 2 is also a Shepherd Druid 4?). You can grant people lots of temp HP with Twilight's Channel Divinity (1d6 plus cleric level), and everyone's got an extra d4 to ability checks, attack rolls, and saving throws once per turn AND can tank for each other using said temp HP due to Emboldening/Protective Bond from the Peace Cleric, who also has an AOE heal for their Channel Divinity. Do note that if the DM throws many encounters at you without a rest, Channel Divinity is once per short/long rest until later levels, while Emboldening Bond is proficiency-bonus-times per long rest, so you might get worn down since you're relying on finite resources.

If you go this route, the party still needs a skill monkey and a face, and a good ol' martial wouldn't hurt either for consistent damage that doesn't burn spell slots. My initial idea for this is Lore Bard with a level in Hexblade Warlock. Compared to straight Lore Bard, this sets you back a level on your spell progression, which hurts a lot, but you gain a lot in return: medium armor, shield, and martial weapon proficiency, CHA modifier instead of STR or DEX to attack and damage rolls (so you'll only need like 14 DEX for AC), an extra first-level spell slot that refreshes on a short rest (I'm thinking Shield is the play for that one, but you might have a better idea), and Hexblade's Curse which is itself a really loaded ability. You'll also pick up two extra cantrips from the Warlock list this way; probably grab Eldritch Blast so you have a decent ranged option, and then the other is up to you.

The unfortunate thing with Lore X/Hexblade 1 is that you don't get Extra Attack unless you go all the way to Hexblade 5 and pick it up as an invocation, which will set you back farther than you probably want on your Bard levels; or you switch off of Lore Bard to a different subclass (Valor or Swords), but that cuts you off from some skill proficiencies and a lot of spell options from Additional Magical Secrets at Lore 6.

If you don't mind grabbing one more Hexblade level, you can sacrifice a level of Lore progression (which would've been a feat at 20), take the Agonizing Blast invocation, and just use Eldritch Blast for your spammable offense. This gives you one additional invocation to play with (other Eldritch Blast invocations are also good choices, as is the one that gives you free Deception and Persuasion proficiency if you somehow don't have those yet), one additional short-rest spell slot, and leaves your bonus action less clogged. Honestly, I think this is probably better than anything I could think of to replace Extra Attack, since you can still use a shield in one hand while doing somatic components for spells in the other. You no longer require the attack-with-CHA function of Hexblade, but you do still want that medium armor and shield proficiency to become less DEX reliant for defense, and the other perks are enough that I wouldn't switch subclasses over it.

So tl;dr, my idea for a powerful party of three (given Xanathar's and Tasha's access, not just raw PHB stuff which it sounds like you might be rolling with) is:

Peace Cleric 6+ (anti-focus-fire, buffer, healer in a pinch)
Twilight Cleric 2/Shepherd Druid X (temp HP to whole party, which synergizes with Conjure Animals and Peace Cleric; darkvision to whole party; give somebody advantage on initiative rolls)
Lore Bard X/Hexblade Warlock 2 (party face, skill monkey, spammable damage via Agonizing Blast)

I'd worry a bit about Athletics and INT-based checks, and you might struggle with low offense in Tier 1 (levels 1-4), but boy howdy does this take off in the level 5-6 range. If I were to add one more character to the mix, it'd probably be either a Polearm Master variant human character to carry the early game, or a Wizard--either Abjuration for even more partywide tankiness, or Divination because I just love Portent so much. Or an Artillerist Artificer for an additional source of spammable partywide temp HP for when the Twilight Cleric wasn't doing it.

(Actually, combining the two--variant human with PAM and an INT class--would be really funny to me, if a little nonsensical. Let me think on that.)

Twilight Cleric 2 is kinda wasted on a Shepherd Druid chassis; first of all, Twilight Cleric's Temp HP are limited by their level and Channel Divinity (in short, you want a lot of levels in the class to make that ability shine) and Shepherd Druid already gives you a great source of temporary HP and temporary HP don't stack.

Similarly, I have a hard time seeing Lore Bard have time for Hexblade dip; that's two levels of spells you give up on. Pings "definitely not worth it" to me. They already have busy turns; and two damage dealers is more than fine. Hexblade 1 and picking up Agonizing Blast via feat is...possible if not especially excellent but Hexblade 2 is just eww.

[Ogre Mage]

I personally would not multiclass if it was my first character/campaign.

1. Paladin. This is your tank who can also heal. Oath of Vengeance or Ancients are my favorites.

2. Valor bard. A lore bard would be better in a larger group but in a 3 person party you may be forced into melee alongside the paladin. The martial weapon and medium armor and shield proficiency will help considerably. And you are still a solid caster and the party face. When your melee presence is not needed, hang back and throw spells. Be sure to take healing word for emergencies.

3. Circle of the Stars Druid (Tasha's Cauldron of Everything). The druid can be a complex class to play but this one is approachable for new players. Instead of the complexity of wildshaping into animals, you use it to assume one of your starry forms: archer (1d8+Wis mod. ranged radiant damage as a bonus action), chalice (buffs your healing spells) or dragon (concentration, wisdom and intelligence check rolls are always a minimum of 10). You also get the guidance cantrip and several free castings of guiding bolt per day. A strong ranged attacker and support caster, plus you bring wilderness lore to the group.

If you don't have access to Tasha's, the Light Domain Cleric is a strong alternative to the Circle of the Stars Druid.