Party
A party, in the context of role-playing games, is a group of player characters working together. Generally, given a group of players, one will be the GM/DM/ST/Aedile, and the other players will take control of the player characters in a party. A party does not need to contain solely Player Characters, and various NPCs may or may not join the party, at the GM's discretion, when the plot demands it, or when players get goofy.
Never split the party. I'm serious, man, it's a bad idea.
Character Roles
As so often with most stories that we know and love as the roleplayers we are, PCs often fit into different roles in the party both inside and outside of combat. This can be planned out before the game starts ("okay, I'll play a melee tanky character so you can get some room while preparing your spells."), to a naturally developed synergy in the party ("Your character is very heroic and has all the good plans - Only natural you be the leader!"), to a party that completely ditches any kinds of tropes and roles and just does whatever the hell they feel like. As a matter of fact, any group will often end up being unique in its own way unless the players are truly devoid of any kind of strategic planning or imagination, or if they play as example characters from the rulebooks... But who does that anyway?
There are, as mentioned, two kinds of roles: What role your character takes in combat (the crunchy role), and what role your character takes during social encounters (the fluffy role).
Crunchy Roles
- The Brick: A big solid wall of "No, you can't", this dude is often a barbarian, fighter or similar, who is build to withstand large amounts of damage and deal them back in kind. The party can always rely on him to do well in battle and take the biggest load of the others back, but the Brick is often a bit weak on the fluffy part. Bricks rule dungeon-crawl games. Lots of crossover with the tank.
- The Beserker: No, not that one. His focus is simple - Get in a fight and kill what can be killed, regardless of damage done to him. Damage is of most importantance to the Beserker, so expect him to flail around with as many and as heavy weapons he can find. Barbarian-equvilants are made to be Beserkers, but other characters, like Sorcerer-likes can do it too through how much magic they can spew through their fingers.
- The Nuke: If you have ever played WoW, then this will sound familiar to you - Do as much damage as possible as fast as possible from as long range as possible. Though this might sound a bit like the Beserker, there is a few key differences, most notably, that the Nuke wants to stay as far away as humanly (or elfishly/drawfishly/orcily/etc.) as possible from the enemy while doing it, and certainly wants to stay alive through a fight rather than go down bleeding. Nukes usually prepare for a very long time before doing their magic, but when they finally get to it, the enemy will know that they are dead already. Often Mages and other magical characters, but ranged characters like Riflemen and Snipers do the same as well.
- The Support: The Support might have the most boring job of all the roles on this list, but he might just be the vital - The Support simply makes sure that what the other PCs can't do, he will make sure they can when they need to. That due can't take that hit? Here, have an armour buff. We are outnumbered? Summoning some magical creature. You hurt? Here, have some healing. This way, the Support is what keeps the pain train chugging along, even if things go bad on the party. Often mages and priests, along with healers and certain warrior-types - Actually, thinking about it, pretty much anyone can be made into a Support, as long as they have something to give the other PCs something to boost them. Love your Support, ladies and gentlemen - He is the life of the party.
- The Nerfer: The direct opposite of the Support: Where the Support takes your mediocre PCs and plates them with titanium and gold, the Nerfer takes the enemy troops and slaps them so hard over the face they lose all hope of doing anything to threaten the party. By removing any strength the enemy have and making them easier to deal with for the rest of the party, the Nerfer is about as powerful as the Support, albit in another way. Nerfers can be sorcerers, mages, rogues and other characters who excel at making the enemy weaker and easier to chew. The Nerfer is also dangerous as all hell to the party itself - If you ever make a Nerfer pissed, he or she might just spill some "screw you" into your cup as well. In fact, some players might even use the capabilities of the Nerfer to manipulate the rest of the party into doing what he or she wants them to. Fear your Nerfer, ladies and gentlemen - He can be the death of the party.
- The Cheerleader: The usual roleplaying party is composed of people with arts in the ways of battle and warfare. They are used to fight for their lives, their beliefs or for something else they deem more important than their wellbeing. They go outside the norm and take up the sword to make a change, changing what they can't and fighting those who stand against them. But, not everyone can be warriors and heroes - They might not have the power to fight for something they believe in, but that doesn't mean they might not have the courage to stand up anyway and do what they feel must be done. He might have been a scholar who have lived his entire life reading and learning, but now, when the daemons of the Infernal Plane are invading, choose to do something with his life and join a party of heroes out to send the infernal creatures back. He might not be able to kill or protect, but he can still be of worth something with his own particular set of skills.
TL:DR: A character who are worth shit in combat. He might simply be weaker than the other character, but is often a more intellectual or social character who simply just isn't proffecient with weaponry and fighting. Parties react very differently to Cheerleaders - Some see the roleplaying-potential in the character and chose to defend the poor sod when problems arise, while others see the usefulness of a Cheerleader as a diversion. Suffice to say, the Cheerleaders can be burdens to the team if not played right, and and if played right, the party will hate your character while not wanting to kill him or her off - Both because the character is well played and because the character has significance to the party in other areas than fighting.
*** More to come - Please add if you have ideas! ***
Fluffy Roles
- The Face: You know it, you love it. Faces are the stereotypical charming, classy, and urbane characters, with good negotiating skills, and the lots of drink-buying for buttering people up. Demands heavy roleplay investment, since no one wants to just announce they're being charming and roll a skill. Some Faces also make heavy use of blackmail along with the charm. Probably the most likely role to get laid without paying for it, though it's rarely as good an idea as one thinks.
- The Diplomat: There's some overlap here with the Face, but less than you'd think. If the Face uses charm, flattery, and negotiation to get his or her way, the Diplomat uses reason and patience to try to mediate a solution. Think the difference between a rhetorician and a lecturer, or between a chaotic and lawful approach to the same problem. Requires patience and willpower on the part of the player, as well as a cool head under pressure and an ability to identify when reason just isn't going to work. Every diplomat needs to know when to try talking things out, and when to switch to threats of force to get everyone's attention.
- The Muscle: Sometimes, negotiations can go better when there's a big beefy guy standing behind the negotiator looking tough. The Muscle is the unspoken threat that keeps everyone's mind on the problem at hand. That's not to say he can't participate: challenging a particular problem to a duel is a great way to help make it go away, and the Muscle can figuratively smash through political combat with bluff, endearing earnestness.
- The Hawk: If there's ever a role that overlaps heavily with others, it's this one. The Hawk looks over everyone involved in the conversation like Sherlock Holmes, gauging their reactions for tells and checking to see what else is going on in the room. If someone's slipping notes, he sees who and why. If someone leans over to whisper in the lord's ear, the Hawk reads their lips. Very much a support role, and a specialized one at that. Lots of parties do without a Hawk, making the Face or the Diplomat cross-train in the role, but it still needs to be filled. Hardest part is knowing when to ask the DM for a skill test and when you're just wasting everyone's time.
- The Wallflower: There's always that one guy. Maybe he's just here to stab stuff, and all this talking just isn't really his thing. Maybe she just always seems to get swept along in other people's plans. Maybe the player's new and worried about messing up. Heck, maybe they just don't fit into any of the other roles and don't want to get underfoot. Any way you slice it, the Wallflower is a non-factor in social interactions. There's nothing wrong with this, per se, so long as they aren't getting bored. If they are, giving them a little mini-interaction with a minor character can help draw them in even if they aren't having much of an impact on the outcome.
*** More to come, please add more if you have ideas! ***