u/Nyalicethotep

We just had an insanely challenging session where we punched above our weight, winning an encounter we weren't supposed to survive given the ratio of beginners to experienced players at our table. (The DM actually anticipated this and had safeguards in place to prevent any character deaths, but we managed to pull through without their help anyway).

Our group consists of two experienced players (the DM and my best friend), myself (an overly enthusiastic player who preps a lot for sessions), and two other new players. Of those two, one is very into roleplay, while the other is an introvert and the least active.

The problem arose during a crucial part of the session when the combat turned into a complex puzzle. It was so complicated that we spent nearly 5–6 minutes per turn just analyzing our options to avoid dying and failing our objectives.

By the end of the session, I realized that the experienced players and I had frequently pressured the newer players into making decisions we deemed "most optimal," leaving them struggling to keep up. Basically, we backseated heavily.

Luckily, there were no hard feelings, and everyone said they had a great time because our in-game accomplishment was remarkable. Looking back, however, I felt very dissatisfied with my own behavior. I had a private discussion with the experienced players, and we all agreed that our approach was unfair to the newcomers. They will inevitably end up in battles they aren't fully prepared for, which leads to the exact dynamic we saw this time.

As a temporary hotfix, we concluded that the campaign should be more beginner-friendly for now to help the new players adapt to the system. Still, I find myself constantly wondering how we can better encourage their engagement while controlling our own urge to intervene.

 

So, I am playing an Eldritch Knight build which focus a lot on INT and I have been having a good time with it thanks to Shillelagh, Ranged Cantrips and True Strike which allowed me to use virtually whatever I want. My INT is capped (20) so I have been using control spells like Mind Whip, Web and Suggestion and I am satisfied with how they have performed so far.

I am going to reach level 8, and I think I want to have more spells and cantrips at my disposal as there is a lot more that I want to try both in and out of combat. I am not the sole damage dealer in my team, as there are three frontliners in my party including me (a Barbarian and a Paladin), there is also an Artificer who is allowed to use Spell Storing Items at level 5 (Sounds broken, I know, but that clutched our asses several times so no one had any problem with that) and a Rouge whose function is mostly being a Skill Monkey as somehow we are severely lacking in that department.

Since I am kinda determined that I would go for Wizard multiclass due to the lack of a full spellcaster, what should I choose between War Wizard and Bladesinger if I still want to do both meele and ranged & Battlefield control playstyle at the same time?

Apparently we have just finished a super-duper hard quest that almost TPK our 5 lv5 PCs party (now lv6, most of us are kinda min-maxxed), and each of us were given one Magic Item that helped out with our build as a reward. Since I am the only pure Martial in our team (Giant Barbarian), he gave me Harkon's Bite and recommended me to choose between Wereraven and Werebear.

After doing a bit research, I just cannot choose between them as both are useful both in-and-outside of combat (our camp is 60% RP/Exploration and 30% combat, but the combat part is brutal while the RP is crucial for not getting manhandled in combat). So, do you guys have any recommendation? Keep in mind that we do use rules such as Oversized Weapon, so Werebear's built-in Large size definitely helps in situation when I must conserve my Rage usage (I am allowed to use Primal Knowledge from 5.5, and it saved me countless time in situation when I am not allowed to rely on other for skill checks and rolls).

As of now I have the two feats that is Strike of the Giants and PAM, and my current character is a Goliath.

There is a Warlock-Paladin multiclass, a Divination Wizard, a Star Druid and a Eloquence Bard in our team.