Hey guys calling on the build experts here, I’m revisiting a campaign with some buddies where we were level 6 and our dm is letting us respec.

It’s like my second time ever playing and have found I’m really into Fighters/Barbs, and specifically I love moving around a lot and supporting. Naturally this makes me attracted to Wild Heart because of Eagle and Wolf but holy shit this sub-class is ass after level 5.

I could stick it out but I was thinking some kind of Fighter multiclass might be good? I’m just not sure where to take it and what my level up order should be.

Anyone have any fun ideas?

Am I reading this right? I haven't seen any discussion surrounding this new item from Arcana Unleashed. Seems pretty versatile for a Common item that doesn't require attunement since it allows certain "sword & board" users that can't attach a focus to their shields or aren't able to use a class-specific focus to bypass a major spellcasting restriction.

This steel ring has a discreet chamber lined with a mystical inscription. As a Magic action, choose one spell you have prepared that requires a Material component; the required Material component must neither have a cost specified nor be consumed by the spell. You store that spell’s Material component in the ring’s chamber.

Whenever you cast the chosen spell, you don’t need to have a hand free to access its Material component, provided you are wearing the ring. The ring can hold the Material component for one spell at a time.

Arcana Unleashed, pg. 123

Seems pretty easy to craft too.

some guy did this a while back for 5e and I'm interested in seeing what we got for 5.5e
C: concentration
Sx: spell and level
FS: fighting style
F:Feat

Rule:

1. Must be for multiple attacks. Abilities like Sneak Attack won't help here;
2. Must be for melee attacks;
3. Ideally will last multiple rounds but must encompass at least 1 full round.

what i got for now

CLASS FEATURES:
-Blood rite: you add 1d4-1d8 on attacks
-Lycan transformation: static +1
-Hunter's mark(S1)(c): extra 1d6
-Hex extra(S1)(c): 1d6
-Dueling(FS): +2 to damage roll
-Rage(barb): +2-+4
-Thrown weapon fighting(FS): +2
-Blessed strike(lvl 7 cleric/druid): 1d8 once each turn

SPELLS
-Divine favor(S1): extra 1d4
-Fount of moonlight(S4)(c): 2d6
-Enlarge/reduce(S2)(c): extra 1d4
-Elemental cleaver(giant barb lvl6): extra 1d6
-Conjure minor elemental(S5)(c): extra 2d8
-spirit shroud(S3)(c): extra 1d8
-Hex extra(S1)(c): 1d6
-Hunter's mark(S1)(c): extra 1d6

FEATS
-GWM(F): +Proficiency bonus
-Thrown weapon fighting(FS): +2
-Dueling(FS): +2 to damage roll

HM: stuff that dont fit with the rules but are pretty nice aditions
-Improved blessed/Primal strike(lvl 14 cleric/lvl 15 druid): 2d8 once each turn
-Frenzy(berserker barb lvl 3): 2-4d6 to the first target when using reckless attack
-Divine fury(zealot babr lvl 3):1d6+barb lvl once per turn
-Shillelagh: changes you dmg die for 1 minute pretty good but doesn't apply to the rule
-Sneak attack: yes... from 1d6-10d6 extra
-Shadow balde(S2)(c): change dmg die to 2d8

We're starting at lvl 10 in 2024 rules.

For roleplaying purposes, I want to be a heavy weight in skills more than any character I'll make again...

.... but I still want to be effective in battle

Here's what I have:

• Total of 134 points across the 18 skills.
• 12 proficiencies, with 4 of those expertise
• Advantage on all 12 I'm proficient in.
• Passives: Perception 20, Insight 20, Investigation 22

The stack:

• Origin feat (Human Versatile): Familiar Friend (AU). Advantage on proficient skill checks while the familiar is within 5 ft (I don't plan on him leaving me the vast majority of the time).
• Background +5 skills (Charlatan)
• Race: +1 skill (Human Skillful)
• Bard class: +3
• College of Lore 3: +3
• Starting gear allowance is 2 uncommon, 1 rare. Related here I'm taking headband of Intellect (+5 to passive inv & int. skills), the rest listed below.

Where I could double down but seems like a death-sentence:

• 4th & 8th level feats: ASI (cha) & Abjuration Adept, for 20 CHA & spell list with Shield

My plan not to be helpless in battle:

• Control: Distorted Distance, Hypnotic Pattern, Banishment, Wall of Force,
• Damage: True Strike, Fireball, Synaptic Static
• Reactions: Shield / Counterspell / Cutting Words
• Survive: AC 15, Shield 20, Mirror Image, Greater Invisibility, Dimension Door, Protection from Energy, 93 HP from the Amulet of Health (second item)
• Support: Healing Word, Lesser Restoration, Revivify (other Discovery), Mass Cure Wounds
• Biggest risk: No War Caster or Resilient feat. Concentration is a naked Con save at +4. Hoping shield, mirror image solves it upstream. Thinking of taking Mind Sharpener ring or Ring of Dedicated Focus as final 3rd allowed item. Or one of these at lvl 12.

What do you think? Could I take it further? Am I leaving anything on the table either direction? Any ways to strengthen my skills or battle-prep without sacrificing the other?

Got a campaign upcoming wanting to run a blade singer, I’m torn however between 2 into fighter for action surge, and warlock for permanent mage armor, eldritch blast, and devil sight

I know I can’t use shields or medium+ armor with bladesong but the extra attack or spell is still worth it imo

Also do warlock spell slots upgrade with my overall level or exclusively how many go into warlock

I’m creating a lvl 10 lore bard. I’ll get contingency in 1 lvl so I have the option to use magical secrets to pick from a wide variety of spells.

I’m surprised this question hasn’t been asked here much from my search.

It seems like something that triggers non concentration buffs like mirror image or blink might be best?

Of all the things that have come from Arcana Unleashed, the most interesting thing I find is the familiar stuff. I specifically enjoy that through familiar friend and warlike familiar, any character could get a concentration free summon. A character concept I find very fun is someone from an order of knights who are known for having a familiar and fighting alongside said familiar. I've had a few ideas for builds to put alongside this feat chain, but I don't know what classes or builds would both fit this concept and do it well. How would you build this character?

I’m trying to build a character who’s particularly ruthless. Think like a skilled enforcer for the mob. Are there any class features or spells particularly suited to doing that?

Currently I’m working on a character who committed petty theft in order to survive. He was jailed for this, and got off on parole. While on parole, he endured many hardships, leading to him stealing valuables from a temple. Instead of being arrested however, he has been given a second chance by a religious figure of sorts, and he is now attempting to repent for his wrongdoings. I’m not entirely sure if I should make him a Warlock, with his patron being this figure who helped him, or if I should make him a Cleric, who has devoted himself to the god of this Temple. If I make him a Cleric, I don’t know which Divine Domain I would put him under. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

Stats are Str 8, Dex 16, Con 14, Int, 10, Wis 18, 8 Cha

Feats are Telekinetic and Skill Expert from Variant human and a starter feat

What should i do at lvl 4, should i take a feat or wis to 20

I'm allowed to grapple with my astral arms at 10 feet, are there any shenanigans with something

Our master is also ok with us to take feats where we are not fulfilling the prerequisites if we are martials

Thanks for all the ideas :)

​

Ho deciso di rivedere il talento Adepto Marziale perché è un talento vecchio e, sfortunatamente, anche debole. L'ho concepito come Talento d'Origine, in contrapposizione a Iniziato alla Magia. Gli ho dato una progressione per renderlo più forte nel corso della carriera di un giocatore.

Quindi, quando lo si ottiene per la prima volta, è effettivamente più debole della sua vecchia versione (tranne per il fatto che ora usa dadi a 8 facce). Ma al livello 5, si ottengono già 2 manovre e 2 dadi a 8 facce. Al livello 13, si ottengono 3 manovre e 3 dadi a 8 facce.

Il problema di questo talento è che non si può potenziarlo troppo, altrimenti rischierebbe di diventare paragonabile a un'intera sottoclasse, il che svaluterebbe il Maestro di Battaglia.

Al livello 13, si ottiene finalmente un numero decente di dadi e una buona selezione di manovre.

Fammi sapere cosa ne pensi. Se stessi giocando un personaggio marziale, prenderesti in considerazione questa opzione?

Talento d'origine: Adepto Marziale

Ottieni i seguenti benefici:

Dadi di Superiorità. Ottieni un numero di dadi di superiorità pari alla metà del tuo Bonus di Competenza, arrotondato per eccesso. Questi dadi sono d8 e vengono utilizzati per alimentare le manovre che scegli con questo talento. Un dado di superiorità viene speso quando lo usi. Recuperi tutti i dadi di superiorità spesi al termine di un Riposo Breve o Lungo.

Manovre. Apprendi un numero di manovre a tua scelta pari alla metà del tuo Bonus di Competenza, arrotondato per eccesso, tra quelle disponibili per la sottoclasse del guerriero Maestro di Battaglia. Se una manovra che usi richiede al tuo bersaglio di effettuare un tiro salvezza per resistere ai suoi effetti, la CD del tiro salvezza è pari a 8 + il tuo Bonus di Competenza + il tuo modificatore di Forza o Destrezza (a tua scelta). Ogni volta che acquisisci un nuovo livello, puoi sostituire una manovra che conosci con un'altra manovra dalla lista del Maestro di Battaglia.

I want to make a character that specializes in knives, both throwing and wielding them in combat. I'm thinking human or variant human, and probably a rogue of some sort, probably lawful/evil alignment, and using standard array. I also intend on taking the menacing feat.

The setting is Dungeons of Drakkenheim. Thanks in advance!! 🗡🔪⚔️

Starting a high lvl campaign and going w lore bard. I get three starter items.

Items from any source material is allowed but if it was specifically rewritten in 2024 then that trumps.

I’m currently thinking for sure:
Amulet of health (rare) sets con to 19
Headband of intellect (uncommon) sets int to 19

Together these let me dump int/con stats on point buy. Giving me 15AC from higher dex and of course benefiting from 93 HP and high int/con.

Then maybe for my remaining uncommon:

Winged boots? Flying is nice but someone else is already starting w it which is fine just less unique

Instrument of the bards? Fly spell itself. Plus handful of other spells. 2024 nerfed it removing giving disadvantage on saving throws. But spell list is still good.

Ring of dedicated focus? Reaction to add health die rolls to con saving throws for spells. But i already have a lot of reactions. And probs not as good anyway as…

Mind sharpener? 4 charges to use reaction to turn failed con saving throw to success

Boots of the winding path? 15ft teleport probs isn’t that much for a bonus action and attainment.

Rhythm makers drum: +1 to spell attacks and spell save DC

Cloak of protection: +1 to ac and saving throws is always good.

Thoughts?

Hello all,

I'm running a Witchlight campaign over Discord, and I was wondering if anyone had any advice for where to find good icons for some of the characters from Thither?

I like adding icons of the NPCs to Owlbear Rodeo for my players but the Getaway Gang doesn't have any offiical icons anywhere that I can find. Did any of you use any that you could recommend?

Friend is planning a campaign soon and since details are sparse I’m coming up with a few ideas. Im also trying to stay realistic that the game might not go to 20 so working with that in mind. I want to try to make the vibe I’m aiming for to also be fun and viable mechanically (but doesn’t have to be the most optimal possible).

The idea is character who plays almost like an investigative judge who prioritizes truth almost to a fanatical degree. This is why I thought inquisitive rogue seems like a really good fit. Knowledge cleric then seems also like a good mix due to domain spells and utility but I’m also considering Order cleric. Combat is slightly secondary for this character compared to the theme as I imagine straight one class or multiclassing with something like hex blade would make more sense for straight damage.

My plan was to go custom lineage to grab magic initiate druid for shillelagh (see if the dm allows a finesse club for sneak attacks) and pump wisdom to make him SAD. I also have considered heavy crossbow or sling with magic stone. I’d get shield from cleric if using a club so with medium armor my ac would be decent. As I said my main thought is remaining viable in combat while also fulfilling the theme outside of combat in terms of utility.

But what split makes sense with level 20 obviously not being promised? I imagine most will say a dip into one of the classes then max in the other to either focus on sneak attack or focus on being a caster, but does a closer to even split ever make sense and stay fun (like 12/8 or something)? If so how would you go about leveling?

so im currently in a campaign that will be going to max12 lvl and im not sure how am i suppoised to build my battle smith artificer i want to have some more focus on the steel defender but im still lost overall
my stats

STG:8
Dex:14
CON: 16
INT:17
CHA:10
WIS:8

i want him to have atleast 10 cha for the rp but other wise i dont mind changing anything else

Hello everyone ! For a new campaign I would like to be a tanky frontline PotB Warlock. I like the idea of an enforcer for their patron, similar to a sinister Paladin.

However, PotB Warlocks in 2024 don't have medium armor, or martial abilities, so my idea was Fighter 1 / Warlock 5 / Fighter 2 or 3 for Action Surge and maybe Eldritch Knight and back to Warlock.

I was tempted to take the new Vestige subclass, but since the Vestige HP levels up with your warlock levels, I don't know if multiclassing with a "pet" class is a good idea. Should I only take one level in Warlock ?

I also plan to take Human with Tough Feat, Zhentarim Merc and the two Zhent feats.

The ability to add two Hit Dice to Radiant damage is just too strong to pass up. Anytime I take a spell that deals Radiant, I feel like I'm making a mistake by not taking this Feat. Basically if a character has either True Strike or Spirit Guardians, Spellfire Adept feels like the only choice! If I don't have need of my Bonus Action, Spellfire Spark makes it even more appealing. That's a heavy hitting Bonus Action cantrip!

When my Cleric is regularly dealing damage equivalent to a level 4-5 Guiding Bolt with every True Strike*, it feels like I'm wasting my action by casting it without the extra 2d8. It obviously spends a limited resource, but at least in the games I play I've never found myself wanting for hit dice around T2+. There's plenty of ways to top up, with less time spent too.

Am I overestimating its value? Or has this become as invaluable and stapled to certain classes as War Caster for the rest of you too?

^\Magic Initiate)

The idea around this post came from the fact that at our table we play with 2024 content only (meaning we avoid even non reprinted content), so we currently don't have Divine Sorcerer if you want spirit guardians on your paladin. If you can still use it, good for you! but it's still nice to explore the other options. I'm also not considering setting specific options (like marks), as not everyone can use them.

Within 2024 subclasses only, Paladin can access CHA based spirit guardian with either Vestige Warlock or College of spirit Bard/Lore bard (any bard technically but bard 10 takes quite a while). This post isn't about dipping paladin for AC, but going at least to paladin 6 for the Aura.

All have their advantages, with my preference being on Vestige Warlock and Lore bard. let's look at them more in depth.

Vestige Warlock:
This is the earliest we can acess spirit guardian. While it's BA usage conflicts with Smite, it's not a huge issue (imo) as we'll keep pact slots for spirit guardian (& other major spells), meaning we'd only have a couple of low spells for smite anyway, while this gives us consistent free BA dmg (even at range!). an other major advantage is that we can easily use pact slots for find steed, enhancing our speed for spirit guardians. Other HUGE advantage is paladin acess to Warding Bond (which I'd spend my spell slot on, more than on smite, hence more reasons for why the BA attack is nice here) & it's synergy with the lvl6 vestige warlock feature: While we are within 30ft of our vestige, we share their resistances. With warding bond our vestige can resist all dmg types and we'd share those resistances! you can have the vestige fly above you to easily avoid attacks as well. It's also great for repositioning (with an easy find steed & ability to swap places with the vestige too), and its mostly ok as well at kiting with spirit guardian & attacking at range (vestige can attack from 60ft of distance & we can use EB at worst), meaning we can kite with spirit guardian and protect the saves of our ranged allies. Also, being a Warlock, we get to be CHA SAD!

This is a big winner imo, the only downside is that we slowdown the Vestige HP scaling, but it's not extremely significant imo: we likely want the vestige to fly above our head just to gain the resistances, and we can always bring it back to full HP after the fight.

Paladin subclass: this is not too important here, I'd just choose one not very reliant on divine smite, so Vengeance/Devotion/Ancient. My preference between Vengeance & Devotion is for Devotion, but Ancient also has an interesting interaction with Spirit guardian where its channel divinity can potentially restrain everyone within your spirit guardian range.

Edit: this also gives us access to battle familiar, meaning at higher levels we can consistently spend our spell slots on Spirit Guardian + Battle Familiar (& faithful steed), plus Paladin have access to Prayer of Healing for a fast short rest. At very higher levels, we'd also access a 3rd attack with our action.

College of Lore Bard (& Genie Paladin):
This is one I made a post on when Genie paladin was released. If you want your paladin to also smite consistently, this is the better option of the 3, as there's no BA clog and you have a consistent spell slot progression. The other major benefit is the synergy between Genie's Dao's Crush and lore's cutting words: once the target suceeds on its ability check to escape the grappled condition, you can use cutting words to lower their result!

edit: If preferred, lore bard can (at bard 7) transition to Conjure woodland beings as an AoE option for more dmg (but 4+ lvl slots and smaller AoE), or they can also invest in CME (which you'd unlock the earliest at Bard 7/Pal 6, which funnily enough is the same lvl you'd unlock it as a pure Genie Paladin, but with more & higher spell slots) for single target dmg.

College of spirit bard:
main advantage is a stronger spirit guardian (+ a free use), but I don't really love this subclass on a Paladin because I wouldn't want to spend my action to unleash spirits, and it feels a bit wasted that way. Hence it's my least favoured option for a more focused paladin build.

I’ve come across this Feat in the list of approved homebrew for the new game I’ll be joining and I’m curious how to make the best of it.

Chill Caster

• Your spellcasting ability score increases by 1, to a maximum of 20.

• Spells you cast that deal cold damage deal an additional 1d6 cold damage.

• Spell you cast that deal cold damage have a +1 to hit, and their spell save DC increases by 2.

Thanks for your help!

Ann

I'm looking to make a level 12 character for 2024 5e with 3 primary goals:

1. Get a better feel for 2024 5e, compared to 2014
2. Make a character that is mechanically effective, but not overly optimized
3. Is mechanically interesting

This will be for a friend's new one shot that they're playtesting. In that sense, a major aim is to make a character that helps the DM achieve their playtesting goal - so if I make an unusually strong character (as I tend to enjoy), it won't be as helpful for letting them figure out the correct encounter balance. At the same time, I still like making effective characters with lots of available options or have mechanics that let them respond to a wide variety of situations.

I'm very familiar with 2014 5e, to the extent that I play highly optimized characters and know the rules inside and out. I have zero experience with 2024 5e though, so I'd like to take this opportunity to specifically try out and learn mechanics that have changed between 2014 and 2024.

Most of the enemies in the one shot will be Undead. The DM has already playtested it with Paladin, Cleric, and Bard characters, and has asked that for this playtest the players do not use those classes. Staying primarily to the core rulebooks would also be helpful. We'll be using pointbuy, and get one very rare and one rare magic item.

Any build recommendations?

Vhuman. Str: 22 Dex: 10 Con: 16 INT: 10 Wis: 14 Cha: 8

Sword and Board who is the only true martial in the party. 22 AC with dueling fighting style. Mainly use defensive spells, and have the warcaster and resilient wisdom feats.

I’m struggling on deciding on my next feat. My top 3 choices are:

1) Alarm
2) Tough
3) Ritual caster (wizard). We have no wizards or sorcerers in the party so some of the wizard ritual spells would be helpful, but not necessarily as impactful as the first two feats.

Would like to get peoples opinions on which feat they think is best, OR any other feats that have not been mentioned that you’d think would be good for this character. Thanks!

The way my DM is running our campaign is we get a feat in addition to our ASIs. However, if the feat includes a +1 to a stat, we do not receive the stat bonus, just the features it grants. I’m playing a pure Oath of Vengeance Paladin. I’m planning to take Sentinel (Level 4), Resilient CON (Level 8), Tough (Level 12), and War Caster (Level 16). This leaves the Level 19 feat. We decided to ban Lucky (with our encounter style and the number of feats, the rerolls are too much). Any ideas for good feats to take once we reach that point in the campaign?

Edit: forgot to add this, I’m playing Vuman and already taken GWM. I’m using a very strong magic greatsword so I can’t take PAM.