I wanted to compile a list of optional party roles. Basically, itâs something that gives the player a purpose in the party and helps delegate responsibilities in and out of the game world. You can use some or all of these roles, depending on how many players you have and which roles your group actually needs. Iâve divided them into Party Roles, Exploration Roles, and Combat Roles.
These are roles that players can take outside the game world. These are roles to help make the game session run more smoothly.
Cartographer: The map maker. While you might collect vague maps of the world or countries with some landmarks, there are things that are often not mapped that you will need to map yourself. The most common are dungeons and cities. The DM can describe the layout of a city as you explore it or inquire of NPCs where to find certain establishments and people. In the dungeon, I use a game mat that isnât particularly big, meaning that often I will have to keep erasing rooms as the players progress. If a player is mapping out the dungeon, players will be able to backtrack through it and know where they are in the overall layout at any given moment, no matter how many rooms that I erase.
Leader: Another highly optional role that lends itself to players that are chaotic and all over the place. If someone is distinctly assigned as the leader, that player will give the final say to the DM about what the group is doing. Players can still make their own decisions, but nothing progresses in-game until the leader informs the DM.
Initiative Tracker: Normally, the DM is in charge of initiative. But the DM has a lot of things to keep track of! Instead, consider delegating this duty to a player who is only controlling one character (instead of several monsters). This puts less pressure on the DM and can engage players in planning. When the players know when their turn is coming up, they can plan ahead, making combat go quicker. The only times this can get iffy is when fighting creatures with legendary actions or when there is an unknown creature that the players arenât supposed to know about (for instance, a hidden or invisible enemy). The Leader can sometimes take this role as well.
Quartermaster: If you have a lot of players, the Treasurer role can be split into the Quartermaster, who keeps track of things like rations, equipment, and items that the party has, rather than treasure.
Scribe/Historian: This role is the one thatâs the easiest to leave out if players take tons of notes already. If your group does not take the best notes, someone delegated to do so can be a godsend. Players forget things all the time, especially from a made-up fantasy world. Having all the notes in one place instead of scattered throughout the team is very efficient. The ideal method of taking notes, I feel, is having a binder (so you can add pages to different sections). Then make a section for each unique location, plus one for the overall story. Then simply take notes in chronological order, so you can approximately know how far back you need to go to find a note.
Treasurer: The treasure-keeper. Their job is to write down all of the treasure that isnât being worn or kept by a character. They donât need to keep track that the barbarian is holding the Vorpal Longsword, but the Cloak of Elvenkind that isnât attuned to anyone could be sold or used later, so the treasurer writes it down. The treasurer might be the one who holds the Portable Hole or Bag of Holding for the group to carry all their treasure. They should keep track of how much each treasure is worth, and potentially be the one with the highest INT or most useful tools for appraisal (like a jewelerâs kit). They can also keep track of rooms where there was treasure too large to carry.
These are in-game roles for characters to take when they arenât in combat. This make exploration more consistent whether in the city or in the wilderness.
Creator: While it isnât overtly a part of exploring, it is a non-combat downtime role. The creator is a spellcaster that uses some of the partyâs funds to create useful magic items like Potions of Healing or sometimes even greater items. Remember that others can help you reduce the construction time of magic items, as some take a long time. The best creators have access to lots of spells so they can create a variety of items, like a druid, cleric, wizard, or sorcerer. Warlocks can also fill this role but they have less spells to choose from.
Face: The person with the highest social skills, usually the bard, rogue, sorcerer, warlock, or paladin since they tend to have lots of charisma. They are the first people to talk to a new NPC. First impressions are important, after all.
Investigator: This player is usually the rogue, bard, or wizard with the highest Investigation check. They are the ones to search for traps or investigate suspicious objects.
Lookout: This role is for the player with the highest Perception, often the ranger, druid, or monk. This player is the one who is always keeping an eye out for danger in dungeons, on the road, and in cities.
Muscle: The role for the barbarian, paladin, fighter, monk, or ranger. The de facto Athletics check for breaking down doors and moving boulders. Usually they are reserved for combat on the front lines, but sometimes their brute force comes in handy.Â
Pathfinder: This role is the one that makes all the Survival checks in the wilderness and helps prevent the party from getting lost. The best role for a ranger, but some druids, barbarians, or fighters might instead have skills for Survival.
Sage: Whoever has the most or best knowledge skills like Arcana, History, Nature, and Religion. Usually reserved for the wizard, cleric, druid, warlock, or sorcerer.
Scout: Combines the Pathfinder and Lookout duties into one role if you have a smaller party. walks ahead of the party to search for danger. One person is harder to spot than a group of people.
These roles are strictly for combat situations. Most classes already sort of know what they are useful for, but identifying these roles can let players manage spells and abilities more carefully and keep everyone alive.
Controller: The control character has some way of, well, controlling the battlefield. They can either hold down a dangerous creature so the team can take care of weaker creatures first, or restrict the movement of a larger force of enemies so they can be dealt with at a slower pace. Sometimes they have ways of moving themselves or others around the battlefield. Usually this belongs to the wizard, with access to plenty of control spells, or the druid, who has lots of movement-restricting spells.
Defender: The tank. This role tries to be the target of the majority of attacks as they tend to be the most resilient. They are aided by the partyâs support and control to keep their health up and enemies off of them. Meanwhile the damage-dealer keeps up their damage from a safe position. Barbarians, fighters, and paladins make the best defense roles, though a monk can sometimes fill this role through evasive action.
Striker: The damage-dealer. They must be careful not to invoke the ire of a powerful enemy as they often are very weak. Intelligent enemies might see their threat and focus them. The best damage roles are the sorcerer, warlock, ranger (unearthed arcana version is a bit better though), monk, and rogue.
Support: The support character either protects the defender character or provides aid where needed. This can refer to healing, but can also be enhancing buffs to increase armor, health, saves, or skills. The druid or cleric usually fills this roll.