In a RPG party, if
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Tank → Front line in case the party should be dealt damage
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Damage Dealer → Deals damage to enemies
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Healer → Heals teammates
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etc.
… what's the name of the role for the character that buffs teammates (using spells or auras)?
System-Agnostic – Role of Characters Who Buff Teammates
partysystem-agnosticterminology
Related Solutions
A few thoughts:
- I had a friend who played a weekly pick-up game, he showed up every week, everyone else showed up much less frequently. They all started at Level 1, soon enough he was level 15, most of the rest were somewhere around level 8-10. It was decided that his character should bow out gracefully and he should make a new one (if your DM will allow this). His character ended up facing off against a major campaign enemy, sacrificed himself so the "greener" party members could escape when the fight got too hot.
TL;DR, he killed the bad guy but was mortally wounded. Years later the group STILL talks about that "noble" sacrifice. In the case you name, your character quick-shot his bow. Sure, that may have been in character but if he is THAT good in combat, he's going to be just a little cocky. Next time maybe he shoots his mouth off at the badguy for a round or two taunting him.
It looks like when you showed your math the rest of the party figured that they could do much more damage than they currently were (and if I'm assuming wrong, figuring out opportunities that they miss and helping them to find/use them on their own is a logical step. However, if they are happy, don't try to push unwanted knowledge on the others, they will get annoyed/irritated/mad ). You won't need to nerf yourself if your allies un-nerf themselves!
- Take up another weapon. What I mean is that when Myamoto Mushashi got sick of killing guys with a sword, he would show up to duels carrying a bokken and still win. When that got boring, he would show up with a stick. Yes, a tree limb. Inigo Montoya also stated that he would only be satisfied if he killed the man in black using his left hand (see the cocky part above). Maybe you should start looking into different combat moves. Call a shot to the bad guy's feet (stick his feet to the floor!) Maybe staple him to the wall with arrows, simple things like that. Do things that show you are a badass, without putting yet another mook in yet another coffin.
- Like you mentioned, take an interest in other things. Maybe in adventuring you hear the tale of some almost forgotten hero, start looking up the local history to find more lore/details about this hero.
That would be the Dungeon Master's Screen. Sometimes referred to as a DM Shield, or Game Master's Screen (especially in non-D&D games), they are designed to give the Dungeon Master quick access to frequently referenced rules, and to obscure dice rolls the DM doesn't want to players to see.
They are usually filled cheat sheets to status conditions, more obscure but frequently referenced rules such as how much light a candle generates, or how protected a target is with cover, etc. They also sometimes come equipped with tools for quick generator of names, items, or even encounters!
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Best Answer
The term I have heard the most would be Support, as it is their role to assist the other party members.
While in a lot of system Healers double as Supports, or Supports double as Healers, they're not the same thing. It highly depends on the system, though.
For demonstration of these terms: My next character in an upcoming Pathfinder campaign is a "Rogue oriented Heal and Support". Using this exact phrasing got the message across to the group.
Of course, and I can not stress this enough, it highly depends on the system. Support is kind of a generic name to designate a lot of different things.
Healers can be considered support, and are perhaps the most essential and wide represented "sub-specialization"... Until you use a setting where there is no Healer.
Skill Monkeys in D&D/Pathfinder are "enablers" (thanks @Mast for the term - very fitting), and could be considered as Support. But I rarely saw the term Skill Monkey outside of those systems.
So yes, Support is a voluntarily broad term, that might encompass other things - but it suits the description (someone giving buff is a Support) and is commonly used enough for people to understand the role you want to play.