My group (of fairly new to somewhat experienced players) is about to start Icewind Dale: Rime of the Frostmaiden (NO SPOILERS PLEASE). We had our Session Zero and came up with the following characters (who will start at Level 1):
Sea Elf Druid (will take Circle of Stars) with Sailor background
Gnome Ranger (will take Swarmkeeper) with Hermit background
Hill Dwarf Artificer (subclass TBD) with Guild Artisan background
Half-Orc Paladin (subclass TBD) with background TBD
The Druid and Ranger will likely both be ranged attackers/casters. The Paladin will likely be strength-based. Not sure yet about the Artificer (depends on the subclass).
I'm wondering if the party seems balanced. What are we missing that might significantly affect our game? Should we rethink our party composition or just dive in and see what happens? (Note that we might be able to swap out the Sea Elf Druid for a Goliath Aberrant Mind Sorcerer, if that would make a major difference in our overall effectiveness.)
I think that your party is actually very well composed for what they're likely to encounter. Paladin is a definite front liner, Ranger is a definite back liner, but I would think that your Druid and Artificer would both be able to switch hit depending on what's needed. I think that the Druid will be a more effective party member for you than a Sorcerer would be, and what's nice is that all four members of your party will have healing spells available to them to some extent, that can be very handy in tough fights or long strings of encounters. Paladin for burst damage, ranger for consistent damage, Artificer for AOEs, and Druid for control and buffs... really not a bad line up. Couple of heavy armor users, couple of medium armor users... Stealth and Thieves' Tools are the only thing I'm not seeing here explicitly, but the Artificer can handle the one and the Ranger the other.
Clan Crafter might be a more useful background feature than Guild Artisan for your Artificer, depending on your DM and whether the Dwarf is a local from the Dale... but background features often aren't very emphasized in a lot of games anyway.
Triton is probably a better race than Sea Elf for your Druid, not for any spoilery reasons, but just because they're the same but better in every way. Unless there's a really specific reason that a +2/+1 stat spread is better than a +1/+1/+1 spread, or the RP demands it, be a Triton.
You'll be fine. To the extent that party balance matters in 5e, you've got WIS/INT/CHA covered, a mix of ranged and melee, three half-casters and a full caster, everyone has darkvision, and a good mix of skills including two characters who are likely to be good at Survival. If the Ranger takes Arctic for Favoured Terrain this is one time where that really shines - if they're otherwise taking Tasha's options, expertise in Survival will still help almost as much (note that the adventure will likely end before the Tireless feature comes online). If this is what everyone wants to play, it's totally fine.
Note that the first few levels go much slower than most adventures, because it's designed to be harrowing (and the weather is less worrisome at higher levels). Just allow for that and don't second guess party composition as the problem.
Going Triton instead of Sea Elf was definitely considered. Cold damage resistance and racial spells would be nice. But went with Sea Elf for Perception skill, weapon proficiencies (some of which will be swapped out for tool proficiencies following Tasha’s optional rules), Trance, Fey Ancestry, and Elven gods (which tie into the backstory and possible future Twilight Cleric dip). Also, Charisma will be a dump stat for the druid, which wouldn’t work well with the Triton’s Charisma-based racial spells.
Going Triton instead of Sea Elf was definitely considered. Cold damage resistance and racial spells would be nice. But went with Sea Elf for Perception skill, weapon proficiencies (some of which will be swapped out for tool proficiencies following Tasha’s optional rules), Trance, Fey Ancestry, and Elven gods (which tie into the backstory and possible future Twilight Cleric dip). Also, Charisma will be a dump stat for the druid, which wouldn’t work well with the Triton’s Charisma-based racial spells.
Gust of wind is the only one that really cares about the charisma and only if you used it to push others around. It still has utility uses. The other factors would be more important considerations.
It looks ok. I have DMed for an ALL Paladin party of six. I could knock them down but they healed next round. 5E is great for not worrying about balance. I do suggest if possible, buy some healing potions. Gloom Stalker is an great build during Icewind Dale because there is only 6 to 8 hours of dim light except during a full moon. 4 hours of dim light around noon. And the book never states how long Auril's glow around midnight last.
My group (of fairly new to somewhat experienced players) is about to start Icewind Dale: Rime of the Frostmaiden (NO SPOILERS PLEASE). We had our Session Zero and came up with the following characters (who will start at Level 1):
Sea Elf Druid (will take Circle of Stars) with Sailor background
Gnome Ranger (will take Swarmkeeper) with Hermit background
Hill Dwarf Artificer (subclass TBD) with Guild Artisan background
Half-Orc Paladin (subclass TBD) with background TBD
The Druid and Ranger will likely both be ranged attackers/casters. The Paladin will likely be strength-based. Not sure yet about the Artificer (depends on the subclass).
I'm wondering if the party seems balanced. What are we missing that might significantly affect our game? Should we rethink our party composition or just dive in and see what happens? (Note that we might be able to swap out the Sea Elf Druid for a Goliath Aberrant Mind Sorcerer, if that would make a major difference in our overall effectiveness.)
I think that your party is actually very well composed for what they're likely to encounter. Paladin is a definite front liner, Ranger is a definite back liner, but I would think that your Druid and Artificer would both be able to switch hit depending on what's needed. I think that the Druid will be a more effective party member for you than a Sorcerer would be, and what's nice is that all four members of your party will have healing spells available to them to some extent, that can be very handy in tough fights or long strings of encounters. Paladin for burst damage, ranger for consistent damage, Artificer for AOEs, and Druid for control and buffs... really not a bad line up. Couple of heavy armor users, couple of medium armor users... Stealth and Thieves' Tools are the only thing I'm not seeing here explicitly, but the Artificer can handle the one and the Ranger the other.
Clan Crafter might be a more useful background feature than Guild Artisan for your Artificer, depending on your DM and whether the Dwarf is a local from the Dale... but background features often aren't very emphasized in a lot of games anyway.
Triton is probably a better race than Sea Elf for your Druid, not for any spoilery reasons, but just because they're the same but better in every way. Unless there's a really specific reason that a +2/+1 stat spread is better than a +1/+1/+1 spread, or the RP demands it, be a Triton.
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I'm going to make this way harder than it needs to be.
You'll be fine. To the extent that party balance matters in 5e, you've got WIS/INT/CHA covered, a mix of ranged and melee, three half-casters and a full caster, everyone has darkvision, and a good mix of skills including two characters who are likely to be good at Survival. If the Ranger takes Arctic for Favoured Terrain this is one time where that really shines - if they're otherwise taking Tasha's options, expertise in Survival will still help almost as much (note that the adventure will likely end before the Tireless feature comes online). If this is what everyone wants to play, it's totally fine.
Note that the first few levels go much slower than most adventures, because it's designed to be harrowing (and the weather is less worrisome at higher levels). Just allow for that and don't second guess party composition as the problem.
Even a blind squirrel finds a nut once in awhile.
Going Triton instead of Sea Elf was definitely considered. Cold damage resistance and racial spells would be nice. But went with Sea Elf for Perception skill, weapon proficiencies (some of which will be swapped out for tool proficiencies following Tasha’s optional rules), Trance, Fey Ancestry, and Elven gods (which tie into the backstory and possible future Twilight Cleric dip). Also, Charisma will be a dump stat for the druid, which wouldn’t work well with the Triton’s Charisma-based racial spells.
Gust of wind is the only one that really cares about the charisma and only if you used it to push others around. It still has utility uses. The other factors would be more important considerations.
It looks ok. I have DMed for an ALL Paladin party of six. I could knock them down but they healed next round. 5E is great for not worrying about balance. I do suggest if possible, buy some healing potions. Gloom Stalker is an great build during Icewind Dale because there is only 6 to 8 hours of dim light except during a full moon. 4 hours of dim light around noon. And the book never states how long Auril's glow around midnight last.
No Gaming is Better than Bad Gaming.
Dude. Spoilers :(
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I'm going to make this way harder than it needs to be.