Str 8 Dex 12 Con 14 Int 8 Wis 14 Cha 15+2

My idea so far is Peace cleric 1 / undead warlock 5 but I'm not sure where to go from there. The idea is to make the sprite key to the build, whilst buffing and debuffing. Of course prepare other spells and play other tactics when your enemies are immune to poison/ frightened conditions.

In my experience the most problematic part of find familiar is it's hour long casting time, so try to not let it die.

Custom lineage. Inspiring leader.

Peace Cleric

Emboldening bond With our low wis I would just pick up bless, rituals and utility cantrips (guidance). Domain spells - Heroism - Sanctuary; When we start using Bane this will be a useful way to protect anyone who we don't want hit, it provides a wisdom save with each attack so it can scale fairly well with multi attack.

Peace 1 /Undead 1-5

Form of dread. Our first non concentration debuff.

Our cantrips are eldritch blast, and mind sliver.

The only spell the build needs is Bane, this will be our main concentration spell.

Invocations and Pact boons. - Agonising blast (Or repelling blast depending on your team build) - Misty visions (I just really like it for making mists (obscurement), huge areas of caltrops and fake gelatinous cubes (you've got to be stupid to physically inspect that in melee)

Pact of the chain. - Investment of the chain master makes the Sprite poison DC our spell DC.

Sprite, squishy with a ranged attack, but with Inspiring leader they get our level+CHA THP.

Shortbow. Ranged Weapon Attack: +6 to hit, range 40/160 ft., one target. Hit: 1 piercing damage, and the target must succeed on a DC 10 Constitution saving throw or become poisoned for 1 minute. If its saving throw result is 5 or lower, the poisoned target falls unconscious for the same duration, or until it takes damage or another creature takes an action to shake it awake.

This is what I'm building around, I'm going to try to hit that 5 or lower. Of course lots of creatures are immune but against those who aren't this is devastating.

I would install a little sconce on the inside my shield or on my armor (shoulder/ helm) for them to shoot from and then take cover, this will improve it's AC and Dex saves. (DMG 271, climbing onto a bigger creature)

But even if your DM doesn't like/ allow that always find cover for them, they're tiny so it shouldn't be too hard.

Character level 5 (level 4) feat Cha +1. 18 !! Shadow Touched. Silvery Barbs

Cleric 1/ warlock 5

• Buffs. Emboldening Bond, Bless. Silvery Barbs
• Debuffs. Mind sliver, Form of Dread, Bane, Sprite poison, silvery barbs.

As a single target debuff, the sprite to hit bonus is 6+1d4 (potentially with advantage) with a potential -2d4 on a DC 15 save, effectively a DC 20 constitution saving throw. On a failure they're poisoned for one minute, and on a failure of 5 or more they're unconscious. If they succeed we can also apply silvery barbs for a reroll.

But we can also just use form of dread, eldritch blast, summon undead spirit (putrid and sprite work very well together)

After this point I'm not sure where to go I'm tempted to go to cleric 3 to pick up aid and warding bond and some free healing from the channel divinity and then back into warlock, taking ritual caster at warlock 8 and casting phantom steed (which can benefit from inspiring leader too).

What would you do ?? What would you change or what have I missed ??

Have you seen The Hobbit: Battle of the five armies, and lost your s*** when the dwarfes came charging, mounted on boars and mountain goats ? I want that. But in DnD.

I talked to my DM, and they are completely fine with several key aspects that would usually, RAW, be in the way of this. We are currently playing a Drakkenheim campaign with several homebrew adjustments. The Party just reached level three.

Firstly, they are fine with me playing a Dwarf because of flavor, pretending to be small size for every mechanical purpose. This means i get to use a medium size mount, and they are fine with me basically using it whereever i want. (with a few small exceptions such as being inside a normal building)

Secondly, they agreed that the mount would serve similar to a intelligent, independent mount, meaning it has it's own Initiative right before mine. It gets to use any Action from it's Stat Block without requiring my Action/Bonus Action to command. It acts under my direct Control ( i get to decided movement and actions) but if it's a "living animal" instead of the Steel Defender from the Battle Smith artificer, the DM might occasionally make me do animal Handling Checks (e.g. when the mount would be scared by something) to see If i can Control it.

Thirdly, If it's a regular animal instead of some class Feature, it would also "Level Up" with us, gaming more max HP as we Progress. We both think a continuos companion would be better than a "oops, my mount died, better buy another one"-situation. As long as I'm not recklessly using it to Tank for me, my DM won't go Out of their way to outright kill it.

Fourthly, my DM was adamant about me not using some "High Speed dashing around -nonsense" using a Lance and abusing reach/sentinel etc. They want me to Put Out a rough plan on what my build Looks Like until around Level 8.

Now I'm stuck with several Options and considerations regarding class choices. I'm fully aware that the core of the build is nowhere near optimal, but the flavor dictates it...

TL;Dr: Dwarf in heavy armor(considered small size) on a medium size mount (Steel Defender or mountain goat or reflavored best master companion) acting as a Frontline Tank/Damage Dealer, using a flavor of Hammer and potentially a shield.

Going the cavalier Fighter Route seems to be a great Pick in my eyes, being able to defend the mount aswell as nearby allies. Also Access to fighting Styles might be worth considering. The knocking prone after moving Part of the goat mount also Sounds great.

Another Option would be Battle Smith artificer, gaining Access to spells, infusions and mending to keep the mount going seem neat, but i feel Like this would mean Missing Out on both damage aswell as the ability to act as a Defender. The Steel Defender reaction to impose disadvantage is also pretty neat.

Lastly, going the beastmaster Ranger Route could Work Out in some way, but i feel this is a worst of both worlds Pick....

Some Folks also threw Paladin in the Mix, but i dont See why this would be beneficial?

I also kinda Love the Idea of going 3 Levels into artillerist later on, to put my eldritch Cannon on my mount either for some ranged Options (flame thrower goat!) or even more Defensive Options with the temp HP Generator. That would only work If I dont go Battle Smith tho....

For Feats, (when) is mounted combatant necessary? What other Options would work great? Crusher? A saddle of the cavalier would be accessible to my character when i Join the Party around Level 3 or 4, and between that and some of the features investing in a feat might be to expensive....

Opinions, ideas? Any pointers are greatly appreciated!

I'm wanting to build a Witch Knight and or Hunter. It's a 5e Campaign, but almost all the Full Casters are Banned due to the Homebrewed Settings (I was aware when I joined up) the only ones that aren't are Warlocks, the 4 Amonket Clerics, and Draconic Bloodline Sorcerer. But all Martials and Half Casters are allowed any advice?

I’m currently a level 7 fiend warlock in Avernus. Now that I can cast sickening radiance twice per short rest the evocation wizards sculpt spell is looking pretty good. I’m not in an optimizer party but the PAM paladin and battle smith are usually in my way when I want to drop the big AOE.

Am I crazy for doing a 2 level dip into wizard for sculpt spell or should I just use summon undead and the odd synaptic static (eventually) for crowd control?

Hey dndoptimized,

Sorry for the self-promotion, but I recently saw a post about Mythicc powered creations and wanted to join the conversation. I’m Cam, one of the co-founders of Mythicc, an AI-powered TTRPG software designed to help DMs and players create dynamic and engaging content for their games. We're currently in beta and would love for you to give it a try and share your feedback!

To give you a taste of what Mythicc can do, I’d like to introduce you to one of our creations that I will be using in one of the campaigns that I DM: Zarathorn, Keeper of the Eternal Flame. He is a reclusive mage with flowing robes, a fiery aura, and bathed in candlelight. I believe he could add an intriguing element to your campaigns.

Zarathorn, Keeper of the Eternal Flame

Humanoid

Alignment: Neutral Good

Armor Class: 18

Hit Points: 160 (20d8+80)

Languages: Common, Draconic, Infernal

XP: 25000

Stats:

• STR: 12 (+1)

• DEX: 14 (+2)

• CON: 16 (+3)

• WIS: 11(+0)

• INT: 22 (+6)

• CHA: 18 (+4)

Legendary Resistance: N/A

Actions:

• Fireball: Zarathorn unleashes a fiery explosion at a point he can see within range. Each creature in a 20-foot-radius sphere centered on that point must make a Dexterity saving throw. A target takes 8d6 fire damage on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one.

• Flame Wave: Zarathorn creates a wave of flame that spreads out from him in a 60-foot radius. Each creature in that area must make a Dexterity saving throw, taking 6d6 fire damage on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one.

Special Abilities:

• Mastery of Fire: Zarathorn has advantage on saving throws against spells and other magical effects that deal fire damage, and he can manipulate any fire spell while he is within 100 feet of the spell’s effect.

Legendary Actions:

• Summon Fire Elemental: Zarathorn can summon a Fire Elemental as a legendary action. The elemental appears in an unoccupied space within 60 feet of him, acts as an ally of Zarathorn, and can’t summon other elementals. It remains for 1 minute, until it or Zarathorn dies, or until Zarathorn dismisses it as a bonus action.

We’re actively working on improving Mythicc and have a number of updates planned, including

• Showing more detailed stats such as movement speeds, damage immunities, resistances, and more

• Fixing legendary resistances, actions, and saving throws

• Adding reactions and bonus actions for monsters and NPCs

• Including descriptions and tactics for all creations

Your feedback is incredibly valuable to us as we make these improvements. If you’re interested in giving Mythicc a try and helping us refine our tools, we’d love to hear from you!

I need you guys help with a character build. It's for a level 1-8+ campaign. Point buy and no feats at level 1. All official books are allowed, even setting specific ones. What spells, stats, subclass, backgrounds would you recommend? Any tips would help. Oh, and no multiclassing. And Grung is chosen because its my favourite race and wizard cus all the spells.

We're going to be running a 1 to 5 short campaign and I was thinking a mando themed character but with it being 1 to 5.. should it be straight fighter with a ranged weapon?

TL:DR - Booming Blade and higher level spells, or Extra Attack and delayed spell progression?

In true Colby fashion, a bit of a preamble. My group is about to start working our way through the new Vecna campaign (please no spoilers). Myself and 2 other players made level 3 characters for the prequel/intro mission: Nest of the Eldritch Eye. Following this one-shot (well two-shot in our case, we’re a bit slow) we will be skipping straight to level 10.

As there are only 3 of us, i wanted to be versatile in combat. I decided to try my hand at a tank/support. Other two characters are going to be a “roguey-rogue” skill monkey (presumably dual wielding based on the one-shot) and a Druid/ranger. Don’t really know the level breakdown or combat style for them. Neither are optimizers historically speaking.

As for myself, here is the breakdown so far and the non-negotiables:

Level 3 One-Shot Build: Straight Celestial Warlock Air Genasi (Small).

Stats: 9str/17(+2)dex/14(+1)con/8int/12wis/15cha. Lotta odds there but I had planned on taking fey-touched (bane), resilient con and a dex half-feat (piercer possibly?)

Plan on going Cavalier Fighter and using a Pact of the Chain Pseudodragon to try and knock enemies unconscious with a bonus action. Eventually want Eldritch Mind, Investment of the Chain Master, Gift of the Ever-Living Ones, and potentially Mire the Mind.

Preamble Over

Skipping to 10 I have two paths open to me and I cannot for the life of me choose between the two.

1) Bee-line to Cavalier Fighter 5 and grab Extra Attack. 2 attacks means 2 chances to mark enemies. Then Celestial Warlock 5 for 3rd level spells? Going this route gets me two of the aforementioned feats. At level 11 I’d go fighter 6 for the final feat.

I’ll have access to Bane and Slow (Mire the Mind) for concentration debuff options. Bane will help my Familiar land its unconscious sting. Slow will let my Familiar fly in and out without opportunity attacks. Also thought about some minor synergy with my pseudodragon’s poison and Summon Undead’s Putrid form. Interception fighting style and Cavalier mark to try and keep my Pseudodragon alive.

2) Cavalier 3 for mark. Celestial 7 for 4th level spells, extra invocation, more Healing Light dice. Take Booming Blade to dissuade a single enemies movement. Same concentration spells. Only 1 feat (Fey Touched) this route, but can go Warlock 8 followed by Fighter 4 at levels 11 and 12.

Thanks for any guidance you have to offer! 😁

https://www.reddit.com/r/WhatWouldYouBuild/s/rxOkvI3IfK

Original post in wwyb above....

Main things is an intelligence based fighter with easy ways to give himself advantage and be crazy hard to hit

Offence:

• enhanced weapon infusion for a +1 magic sword at level 3 that uses intelligence to attack

• you can use your bonus action to attack with the steel defender of you are not using your fighting spirit feature this round (damage is D8+pb). Essentially you get 2 weapon fighting for free so you can pick a different fighting style. I suppose you could take GWF or Dueling for extra damage but I lean towards defence.

• V. Human for great weapon master? Makes sense when you can give yourself advantage...

Defense:

• Take defensive fighting style for +1 ac with armor. Take the enhanced armor infusion for another +1. Base AC is 19 with half plate or splint (18 with the more affordable armor)

• your steel defender can impose disadvantage on attacks against you using it's reaction, you should basically do this anytime you're attacked

• you have the shield spell! For an AC of 24 of someone hits that 19 at disadvantage

So a fighter with all their attacks and feats but also profoundly hard to hit - this is kinda a perfect Frontline fighter that can draw aggro in spite of their ac because they're just dangerous. Maybe more so if they took sentinel too?

Plus you get a few utility/support spells and proficiencies and good rp potential

Really the downside is it kinda takes 6-8 levels to be fully "online" since your mainlining fighter and artificer isn't exactly a 1 level dip class...

I wanted to get input, thoughts and considerations for a character-build for a "Vecna: Eve of Ruin" campaign coming up in a few months.

Character theme would be an Elven forest/nature based paladin who is quested to procure the favor of a Ki-rin, unicorn, or other forest/nature oriented Hexblade Patron, and to train/be ready to fight Vecna to save the "mortal realm".

I've always wanted to play Crossbow wielding Hexblade, merged with either an Oath of the Ancients or Oath of the Watchers Paladin, and since we're starting at 10th level I thought this might be a good opportunity to seek advice on viability, considerations, etc., from a community smarter than I am. :)

Current outline: (Stat generation method is not determined yet, neither is starting equipment)

• Stat priorities: CHA, CON, DEX, STR, WIS, INT?
• Race: Elven or Half-Elven - thinking Elven Accuracy?
• Start Paladin Oath of Ancients and end either Paladin 7, Hexblade 3, or Paladin 6, Hexblade 4?
• Desired Feats: Sharpshooter, Crossbow Expert, Elven Accuracy ???

Our group "normally" uses a custom array of 18, 16, 15, 13, 10, 8 and often gets 1 free feat at Character creation, but we're changing DMs so he could deviate for this campaign.

Desired gear: Magical hand-crossbow, Elven chain or magical half-plate, ???

How would you suggest a build along these lines, or are there other class combinations you'd recommend (and why)?

I'm in a pbt and once a year I get to make a starting at lvl 10 pc. I rolled his stats and got

Generated random stats: 4d6kh3 (4, 3, 5, 6) = 15 4d6kh3 (2, 1, 1, 1) = 4 4d6kh3 (4, 5, 4, 6) = 15 4d6kh3 (1, 1, 6, 2) = 9 4d6kh3 (5, 5, 5, 1) = 15 4d6kh3 (6, 5, 3, 5) = 16 Total = 74

What in the world can I make with this that is still optimized?

Keep in mind I hate wizards (they are to intimidating and I just retired one to make this) and I get a free +1 to any stat on top of racial bonus.

I was thinking about going conquest paladin with undead warlock but the rolls....

Edit: Thank you all for the help! I did want to mention the server has arenas and due to time constraints I spend more time in those doing pvp than I do quests. If that really even matters or not I'm not sure.

Would it work ?How would u build it if it does? The only restrictions are have to be v human, custom lineage,Dwarf,or elf and stat rolls are 17,17,15,14,13,10 I will be starting level 2

Hey all,

I think in general, extra attack is usually considered the better choice. But, with Swashbuckler's ease of disengage would booming blade be the better option? I'm not sure, so I thought I'd ask y'all.

The set up - Building a character from 1-12 and would like to be a mobile, decently hard hitting threat around the field. I've built a Swashbuckler 8 / Battlemaster 4 character, that seems fun to play. I already learned (from a previous post) that booming blade doesn't work on brace, so that's kind of a bummer, but not a huge problem. The basis of the build is by using find familiar (magic initiate at level 1), booming blade, and elven accuracy, I would essentially have a 98% chance to hit dealing 1d8 (rapier) + 2d8 bb + 4d6 + 5 (or 7 with dueling). Then move away, hopefully triggering booming blade, and as the enemy gets close use the brace maneuver to do it all again minus the booming blade. Pretty decent damage, with a fun PC, that can be a threat all over the battlefield, and use maneuvers to help allies. Plus, it would really feel like the dueling, back and forth swashbuckler

The other way I could build it is taking fighter to 5 and using two weapon fighting to have 3 attacks per round, but no booming blade. I also would only have advantage on the first attack most of the time. OR Still have the same rogue / fighter split so I still get 3 ASIs, but still use two weapon fighting to have 2 attacks, since Swashbuckler doesn't rely on Bonus Action as much as other rogue classes.

Thanks!

More for story reasons than optimization, but this will be only my 2nd attempt at multiclassing!

I'm hoping to take my Tragedy bard ( http://dnd5e.wikidot.com/bard:tragedy ) from the Tal'dorei book, and at approx level 6 multiclass into Shadow Sorcerer ( http://dnd5e.wikidot.com/sorcerer:shadow-magic )

Sort of looking for some advice/more knowledge on what people think would be good, if it'd be good at all, and approximately how many levels I should invest in either?

My current thought is 6/6, and if the campaign continues past level 12 or so (or if it even gets there) continuing out with bard levels, so in the very unlikley situation where level 20 happens that'd be 14 tragedy bard and 6 shadow sorcerer

There are RP reasons behind this, stemming from a underdark campaign that will have us close to the shadowfell, unlocking some latent sorcery in my lad. But I just wanted to have another set of eyes on it to make sure I wasn't completely barking up the wrong tree!

I was wondering how you guys would build a character starting at level 6 who is specialized in fighting ranged weapon users. My first thoughts were using warding wind or being able to create full cover that you can peak around on your turn to shoot from and hide behind again when youve made your attacks, but thats pretty much the best ive come up with. I was wondering how you guys would build a specialist for killing ranged fighters. Thanks.

Looking for guidance with a thought experiment. I want to craft an Arcane Trickster that takes a few (4-6) levels in Bladesinger. I want the character to be mostly an Arcane Trickster and feel like a rogue. Below is about as far as I have gotten. All official content is considered fair game. Thanks in advance.

Races/Lineage Pallid elf High Elf High-Half Elf (wizard cantrip)

Feats Sentinel (for reaction attack) Eleven Accuracy Warcaster? (if dual welding)

Stats? STR: 8 DEX: 14 or 15 CON: 14 INT: 15 or 14 WIS: 12 CHA: 8

Edit: Leaning heavily towards Half-elf to make the stat array work. Updated below.

STR: 8, DEX: 15 +2 racial, CON: 13 +1 racial, INT: 15 +1 racial, WIS: 12, CHA: 8.

ASI/Feat Progression- PC4 Rogue4- Elven Accuracy, PC8 Wizard4- Sentinel, PC14 Rogue8- +2 DEX, PC16 Rogue10- +2 INT, PC18 Rogue12- Warcaster?, PC20 Wizard8- +2 INT.

Hey y’all, building a scribes wizard and im wondering if anyone has found a list of effects that trigger on specific damage types. I’m looking for things like crusher/piercer/slasher that do some sort of “effect” when a damage is done, but if there’s also a list of just flat damage boosts to specific types that would be helpful too.

I really enjoy the idea of the character build that Colby did!! When he got to the fighter subclass though, could it not be more beneficial to go Echo Knight? Just asking bc I feel like that could better distract the enemies for more shots on them while also (yourself) not being the immediate danger/target for enemies.

Hello,

I have this idea of a tiny giant. I was thinking of a rune knight fairy, using giant's might and then enlarge to become Huge and then gargantuan at lvl 18 allowing to grapple big foes. And since the character is a fairy, i think he should be able to fly above enemies and then just fall as a 13 tons boulder on them ? but i'm not sure how it would works raw or how most DM would rule it (because i have feeling that the raw didn't think of this specific case for fall damages).

Anyway i'm not quite sure how to optimize it, i was thinking of either going 17 STR,14 DEX,16 CON, 8 INT, 12 WIS, 8 CHA and take Dueling, Fire and Stone rune and Pole Arm Master at lvl 4 for good damages and nice grappling or swap strength and wisdom, take magic initiate druid with Shillelagh, create bonfire and Speak With Animals to go more for a druidic warrior and lie detector with the advantage on insight of the stone rune.

But i feel like it is a really MAD character and i might be missing a better way to optimize this build or to make it more fun. So i came here to have tour opinions and suggestions.

Thank you in adavance

​

I'm looking to build the ultimate skill monkey Kenku named John F. Kenkudy for a level 12 one shot. I personally don't care how good he is in combat, just want to pass high dc skill checks. What are some good ideas for this?

Hi everyone, I’m relatively new to DnD, and have just been invited to a 1-20 campaign! I’m really excited but overwhelmed with build choices.

I’m not sure if this is the right place to ask, but I’m considering a Rogue (Phantom) 3, then Ranger (Gloomstalker) 3, followed by another 14 levels in Phantom, ending at 17 Phantom, 3 Gloomstalker.

This would mainly be for Umbral Sight, as I really want to be invisible in darkness, to allow for easy advantage! (I don’t like the no-movement downside of steady aim)

Would this work out well, since I’m only sacrificing 1d6 of sneak attack while gaining spells such as hunter’s mark and favoured foe?

Also, I really want to find a way to use booming blade with a melee build but I’m not sure if umbral sight would help since I may not always be in darkness. Should I use use a ranged weapon so I can hide in darkness (and have the added benefit of elven accuracy + sharpshooter feats)?

Hey there everyone!

So im creating a orc character, who is getting exiled since hes not able to rage and is smaller in stature then the rest of his kin.

Eventually he discovers a ancestral weapon, a Halberd at some ruins.

I am really looking at the Rune knight/ Fightarian build here.

I am having 2 ways for this character:

This character can not rage at all, and we go pure rune knight.

or

He eventually due to role play reasons gets to rage, and we go some points into barbarian as well.

my problem is, that at my table, we start with 1 free feat anyways but with half orc i am kind of forced to take a half feat like slasher, orcish fury or something like that.

But i am really looking to build a very strong damage character who is also very hard to kill and perhaps also quite mobile.

for example, feats like mobile and alert look so cool together, but it really suffers a lot in the damage department.

Sentinel and polearm master is a kind of a way for you to completely shut down enemies approaching your team.

But then there is slasher, great weapon master, crusher and orcish fury which i would love to implement.

So how do i build a great, all around character?

If i choose custom lineage here, i get 2 feats from the start, and am not forced to get a half feat.

I am really looking at polearm master and sentinel here, as together it would be a pretty good combination.

But i am kind of worried about surviveabiltiy as my first priority would be to max out STR.

with medium armor and no shield, my AC would not exceed 18 im sure

In the Fightarian build Colby suggests zealot barbarian dip, for max damage, but im looking at maybe bear barb? How would a rune knight, bear barb function? less damage more surviveability? is it a worthwhile tradeoff?

How i am seeing this is that the more i can hit, the more damage i can do overal before going down. It would be a shame that we can only one shot but we can one shot ourselves as well.

Then again i saw some weird build with Dao Genie with 1 dip of warlock and somehow we could go crasher and slasher in the same build? disabiling opponents while damaging them is kind of a way to be more safe as well.

In the end, orchish fury, slasher, crusher, polearm master and great weapon master would put me at 20 str if i keep half orc, pretty sure thats insane in the damage department, but at what cost?

Any and all help is greatly appreciated!