Combat Roles - Overview

So orcs ambush your party. Do you know what to do?

In general the answer will be "Kill the orcs." The true question behind that is how do you do that? How does your party do that? How do you help the party do that?

D&D throughout the ages has been based on the "well rounded party" of one rogue, one fighter, one wizard, and one cleric. In 4th edition, they've broadened the concept to Strikers, Defenders, Controllers, etc. These terms are derived from MMO terms, such as tank, healer and support.

3.5 exists between old D&D and 4th edition. The CRs and challenges are based off of the idea that you have a team of 4, each fulfilling their roles. But I believe that the roles in 3.5 are much more abstracted. For a party to be successful you need more than just generic roles. You need to have defined combat roles, not just class labels. Some of the roles are Battlefield Control, Ranged Damage, Arcane focus, Melee Damage, Melee Soak, Stealth/Recon, Support, and Healing to name just a few.

Some classes are clearly based off of fulfilling some of these roles. You'd be hard pressed to present a strong case that bards can act as Melee Soak. However, with the variety of feats, magical gear, and class combinations, you can fulfill any role with nearly any character.

These roles are purely abstract and completely open for debate. I'll be going over each role and as well as the theory as to why it is necessary.