When playing Dungeons and Dragons, the way classes work doesn’t translate in the same way as when you create a video game character. You don’t make a “Tank”, you make a “Frontliner”. You never want to take damage as that puts you closer to death, and the character themselves most likely would not want to get harmed. A Frontliner’s job is to control the aggro and take the attention off their allies by being seen as a powerful threat the enemies cannot just ignore.

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In one of the many D&D video game adaptations, Baldur’s Gate 3, you will have a party of four adventures to manage. Each of them should bring something to the table both in, and out, of combat. There are many different roles you can give a character, and making them excellent at their role will see you scoring many more successful outcomes. In this guide, we'll show you which roles your companions will be able to fill around your central character.

Frontliner: Hogging All The Aggro

A Frontliner is the closest thing you will get to a typical tank. They tend to have a lot of HP and are the ones you want your enemies to be focused on. It is not uncommon for characters with high HP to still go down, even in medium encounters. This is because they are not meant to take damage, rather, they are the least likely to be hit. Having a Frontliner between an enemy and one of your more fragile characters means the more fragile member of your party cannot be rushed by the enemy. You will want characters with high HP on the frontline, such as a Fighter or Paladin.

Striker: Dealing Out Damage

Strikers are able to deal more consistent damage than other classes. This can be due to many factors such as being able to deal damage at range every turn or using a melee approach to be the first to close the gap each time. There are many different kinds of Strikers: some are purely magical, some melee, others ranged, and some utilize combinations of all styles.

However, there are 2 main approaches you can use to pour on the damage. A Striker will primarily hit many enemies with large AoE spells, or they will focus on taking down individual targets first to minimize the potential damage that stronger enemies can deal to the party. Some good Strikers are Barbarians, Sorcerers, and Rogues.

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Scout: Looks Before Leaping

A Scout is all about Stealth and will have Dexterity as their primary Ability Score. They will go in quietly and see how things look to gather valuable Intel for the party. This gives you knowledge of the map and lets you see enemies in advance, which you can then plan for by having your other characters surround the area. Having a Scout that also has high perception will be of great benefit, allowing you to pick up on additional details or uncover things while scouting. Some great Scouts are the Ranger and Rogue classes.

Leader: Keeps Everyone Going

Leaders tend to go by many different names. They are mostly referred to as Healers and Support. When someone takes a heavy blow or is nearing Death’s door, these characters keep them alive to fight another day. A lot of characters can fill different roles, but Leaders fill multiple roles simultaneously. A perfect example is a Paladin that is able to cast healing spells using their Charisma while wearing heavy armor and having high Strength. A Leader could also be a Circle of the Moon Druid who can wildshape into a bear to soak up Aggro and then back into a spellcaster to heal up someone who just lost the majority of their health.

Controller: World Shaper

Controllers are able to change the tide of a fight by either removing or adding new elements to the situation, even with low-level spells. Creating a wall can give a struggling party time to recoup and prep to get back into battle. Coating a staircase full of enemies with oil to set a blaze will cause them to take a lot of damage every subsequent turn. Or they can simply freeze a large threat, so an ally can reposition.

These are just some of the useful utility options that a Controller can bring to the table as they change the flow of the battle. The best controller is the Wizard due to their Spell List having a vast array of spells that can cater to any situation, especially Divination Wizards. However, many other classes can fill this spot with the right subclasses, such as the Arcane Trickster Rogue, Knowledge Domain Cleric, and Battlemaster Fighter.

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Face: Social Juggernaut

The Face of the group does not necessarily have to have high charisma, they just need to have the highest total for one of the many social skills featured in the game. These skills involve the following:

• Persuasion - The art of manipulating others through the use of the truth and pure facts
• Deception - Manipulating others using lies and subterfuge
• Intimidation - Playing on their fears of what will happen should they not do what it is you wish
• Performance - Influencing others covertly, even if you don’t acknowledge them directly. This can take the form of whipping a crowd into a frenzy or trying to make someone react by what you're saying, even without them knowing they are the target. Performance can also be used to captivate attention while other members do something else.

A Face that makes use of all of these social skills will have the widest range of manipulation rather than just doubling down on a limited amount of options.

Bookworm: Well Of Knowledge

Bookworms are the group's means of acquiring a ton of extra information and lore surrounding people, places, objects, and pretty much anything else the game hides from you. A Face can gather a rumor off the streets, but a Bookworm will have you knowing every single secret, every answer to a riddle, and everything that you can use to exploit a more favorable outcome for the situation.

The Bookworm can also be seen as the Controller for out-of-combat situations in how they can put this information to use in changing outcomes. They are almost always a Wizard, due to a Wizard’s high affinity for Intelligence and already being the Controller of the group. A lot of groups without a wizard will benefit by spreading out Intelligence skills among those that are able to be proficient in them, but two great subclasses for picking up Intelligence skills are the College of Lore Bard and Knowledge Domain Cleric.

Skill Monkey: Jack Of Most Trades

A Skill Monkey is a character that purely rounds off what a group is lacking. The top two Skill Monkeys are the Rogue and the Bard for their high amount of skill proficiencies, and providing a versatile range of options. Some groups will not need Skill Monkeys if they have the right roles. A great party composition that already covers everything will not need a Skill Monkey, but having a Skill Monkey means you will have fewer things to worry about filling.

Putting Together Your Party

The following are just some examples of how to build some compositions that will not go into deep build designs and will only use subclasses when needed. Try out different combinations in the game and see which compositions you find the most fun.

Balanced

The Cleric provides high Wisdom and covers a high chance of perception checks. If they are a Cleric of Light, they can frontline alongside a fighter. The Rogue will cover your stealth and lockpicking needs, while also serving as boost for some good damage output. The Rogue can also serve as the Face by being proficient in social skills with a boost from their expertise feature. Your Wizard covers being the Controller and a Bookworm at the same time. If your Cleric is Light Domain and is the dedicated Frontliner, you can replace the fighter with a Warlock for a dedicated Face and allocate the Rogue to be more effective in its dedicated rolls.

Wild Bunch

Barbarian on the frontlines, Ranger covers the same roles as a Rogue for stealth while also adding some extra Wisdom-powered magic to the mix. The Bard will be a dedicated Face and primary Healer but also can be the Bookworm thanks to the College of Lore. The Druid covers changing between roles whenever one needs to be filled, such as healing and support, or backing up a Barbarian on the frontlines as a bear. Having both a Ranger and Druid means you can cover a lot of perception checks. It is best to make your Player Character a Barbarian or Bard so that you can respec your Hireling Druid and Ranger to whatever the situation throws at you, such as what the Ranger's Natural Explorer will be set to before taking on a cave of poisonous spiders.

Big Guns

Everyone can go on the Front line if three of the four members have high Strength. The Paladin has a lot of Charisma for the support and healing spells, making them the perfect Face and Leader of the group. Eldritch Knight will be your Bookworm and Controller thanks to having access to the Wizard’s Spell List. The Monk has both high Dexterity and Wisdom, meaning they can be your Scout for stealth purposes while also having a very high perception check combination.

Unmatched Exploration

Social and perception checks are two of the most important and frequent checks to make. This grouping allows you top-notch coverage of both with high combat potential. Your Sorcerer or Warlock will serve as your Charismatic spell caster and dedicated Face of the group. Having a Circle of the Moon Druid means you have a wild shaping Frontliner that also makes Wisdom their primary skill for support magic and the Perception skill. The Cleric is the dedicated Healer, also packing high Wisdom for an extra chance to catch small details if the first high perception fumbled. The Arcane Trickster has high Dexterity and Intelligence, along with access to the Wizard’s Spell List and a lot of skill proficiencies. This means they can be your dedicated Controller, Bookworm, Scout, and Lockpicker all at once.

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