[Tancred]

A lot of threads have talked about the composition of NPCs. A few have gone on to think about the party as a whole. I hope to think a little more basic than that...

Which 'type' of party do you prefer? Thinking hard about this, one can identify many different 'types' of parties, disregarding alignment or race. I shall give a few examples of parties I have thought of.

The 'Specialist' party

Basically, a Party in which each member holds dominance over a particular area. No multi-class characters, no strange kits, just good no-nonsense D&D party composition. To give you an example, my BG 'evil' party consisted of:

Malvolio, Fighter
Shar-Teel, Fighter
Kagain, Fighter
Viconia, Cleric
Montaron, Fighter/Thief
Edwin, Conjuror

There you have it. Three fighters, one thief, one cleric, one mage. Basic stuff. In a fight, the three fighters and the cleric fight, the thief uses a crossbow and the mage casts spells. Simple stuff. This party lends itself well to standard combat situations, and as each member grows more powerful, the party becomes more and more a team, as no character can fight every situation alone. Characters are given equipment to further their own speciality.

The 'Generalist' party

Basically, a party with very general abilities. Expect a few Dual-classers, some Multi-classers. Most of the shortcomings of the classes are supplemented by magic items; a mage gets a robe to augment his AC, a fighter recieves an item to increace his magic resistance. This parry tends toward individuals, allowing each member to function as a seperate entity. A perfect example - of which I am proud - is my BG2 party:

Tancred, Cavalier
Minsc, Ranger
Jahiera, Fighter/Druid
Anomen, Fighter/Cleric
Imoen, Thief/Mage
Nalia, Thief/Mage

A very adaptable party. Everyone can fight, a little or a lot; everyone can cast spells of some type; everyone can use a missile weapon, except for the Cavalier. On occasion, two members will work together - the two thief/mages will scout as a pair, the two priests will heal during combat. In effect, the whole party is geared to do anything, anytime.

The 'Themed' party

A party designed to do one thing, and one thing only. Every situation is met with the same answer, be it brute force, magic or a hail of arrows. Every character is from the same class, usually - some are multi or dual-classed, but only to something similar to the first class. An example might be this BG2 party:

Remillard, Sorceror
Cernd, Druid
Viconia, Cleric
Aerie, Cleric/Mage
Edwin, Conjuror
Nalia, Thief/Mage

You've got a few members that could defend the party in a fight, but basically every character casts spells. A very dangerous choice of party - a high-risk gamble that can decimate foes with strength or sorcery but can die very quickly if up against the wrong type of foe.

The 'Individualist' party

A party in which every member is designed to fight alone. To hell with teamwork - the party splits up, with each member carving its' way through whatever happens to be there. Party tactics tend towards misdirection, for it is in this party - usually - that you see the most creative and the more desperate plans. Of course, the party fights together against a single foe, but there is no concept of a united front. For example:

Hargan, Bezerker
Valygar, Stalker
Korgan, Beserker
Haer'Dalis, Blade
Jan, Illusionist/Thief
Yoshimo, Bounty Hunter

Here we have a party designed to split up. The two beserkers run riot, moving in seperate directions. Haer'Dalis and Valygar can do all kinds of things - Haer'Dalis is fast, and can move from place-to-place quickly, or defend well. Valygar can shoot and fight as well as two others. Yoshimo and Jan use guerilla tactics against their foes. When the encounter is over, the party forms back up and moves on.

Any other ideas? Post your parties here and try to understand the theory behind them, if there is one. If you can think of a different category, tell us.

Tancred

Of course, there's also the 'First NPCs I came across' party or the 'Mega-hard Multiplayer' party.