Is There a Best Way to Build a D&D Party?

We had recently did a series on Playing D&D without Filling Party Roles. We did a video for each party role and how play without them both as the Dungeons Master and a player. As a follow up we thought we’d combine some of the lessons we took away from that series as well as go into the opposite direction.

If your D&D party includes a goat with a cybernetic leg, so be it. [Art by Aleksey Kovalenko]

Making the ultimate D&D party

First we started with how many players and characters would make up the best D&D party. The optimal number of players is 4-6 in our opinion, with one character class for each role — controller, healer, striker, and tank. One to two more characters for support characters round out the party. But the thing is with the fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons game, party roles have completely blurred the lines from one character class to the next. This makes it harder to determine the exact composition.

There are other factors than just D&D party roles and character classes though. What kind of campaign are you playing? What pillars of play does your Dungeons & Dragons game focus on?

A party of tanks might not be very useful if there isn’t a lot combat in the game. A Harry Potter school of wizardry game would call for arcane spellcasters. What if your playing a gritty game without magic? Again, this completely changes what kind of D&D party you are going to build for the game.

I’m also a big fan of people playing whatever they want to play. I don’t like it when other players try to tell someone what type of character to be. If these means we play the game with a party full of the same race or class so be it.

D&D is a game and we play it for fun. Build the adventuring party that is the most fun for you and your friends to play.

Building the Ultimate D&D Party in Your Dungeons and Dragons Game

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