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Does Party Composition Matter in 5E D&D

What’s the worst statement one player can utter to another at the gaming table? In my opinion it’s when one player looks to another and says “We need a X. You should play that.” This is such a pet peeve of mine. One I hate the formulaic approach to D&D or any tabletop RPG for that matter. Two I’m not overly fond of other people telling others how to play the game.Three why not play the role yourself if you feel it’s so very important to the adventuring party.

We even did a video about D&D adventuring party composition awhile back.

First and foremost a creative group of players will figure ways around their short comings. In game like 4th edition Dungeons and Dragons or 5E D&D it’s hardly an issue at all. Sure the encounters themselves might be harder to get through and you won’t be able to do as many in a single day as an adventuring party with magical healing, but this isn’t a game breaker in my opinion.

Maybe the adventuring party without any magical healing will look for more non-violent resolutions to conflict since there isn’t anyone to put them back together after all hell breaks loose.

Parties without mages may lean more heavily on strategy and tactics, because their is no one lay down the crowd control. No rogue no problem, now the players look for alternate methods of disarming traps and picking locks.

Whether it’s a magical solution or something more mundane like a boot to the door.

These are only from the players perspective of the game which is only half the equation. The other half of the equation is of course your friendly neighborhood Dungeon Master. The game master for any giving gaming group should be tailoring stories and quests to the players and the adventuring party they’ve presented to him or her. This doesn’t mean you’ve got to coddle your players because of their choices, but there isn’t really a need to punish them for those choices either.

It matters less in 5E D&D

5E has made it a lot easier to ignore the concept of roles by blurring the lines between them. The criminal background is the poor man’s version of having a rogue. Feats like healer and inspiring leader assist heavily in the hit point department. In this edition there are five classes that can lay down at least a little bit of healing. That is 5 out of 12 classes. Than there is the simple fact that so many of the classes archetypes have gish paths.

Maybe this situation will inspire one of your players to use mundane items a bit more creatively. The fighter now never leaves home without a 10′ pole.

He’s been pricked by needle traps so many times by this point without thinking he always dumps a vial acid on the workings of any lock he finds.

Without a wizard to lay down the area of effect spells maybe your rogue is now moonlighting as grenadier. She is forever armed with tanglefoot bags, alchemist fire, and mundane tricks to control the battlefield.

Lack of a character class, race or background shouldn’t be seen as negative in your game, but instead as something that is going to offer new and different chances to come up with creative and hopefully fun solutions. I personally believe your D&D sessions will be greatly improved as the party is forced to think out of the box more and more often.

As an aside to Dungeon Masters resist the urge to shore up the weak spots in group let the players come up with the solution. I know both players and DMs alike want to just fill roles with NPCs. Don’t. The game is for the players to solve problems and come up with solutions don’t rob them of that by offering up the cleric, mage, or rogue as a quick fix.

In closing Dms trust your players. Players trust your DM. Most importantly DMs and players trust yourselves it’s going to be Ok

Until next time “Stay Nerdy”