Monstrous Compendium Vol. 1: Spelljammer Creatures
Frozen Sick
D&D Beyond Basic Rules
Basic Rules (2014)
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Monstrous Compendium Vol. 1: Spelljammer CreaturesFrozen SickD&D Beyond Basic RulesBasic Rules (2014)Sign in to view your library & saved favorites.
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Last time in my campaign we leveled up, and I’m not sure what to do. I am currently a 2024 level 8 Ancestral Guardian Barbarian with (among other things) a battleaxe, half-plate, a +1 shield and a cloak of protection i am technically borrowing for an AC of 22. I also have a homebrew item that lets me recall my thrown handaxes after using them. (Our DM has warned us that anything we’ve earned can be taken away.) We have access to pretty much everything ever published. It’s unclear when our campaign will end, but he does not plan for us to make it to level 20.
My stats were rolled. (16+2, 14, 13+1, 10, 12, 14, 12) (So no Warlock multiclass.) My strength is currently 20 with the sentinel and mage slayer feats and my Con is 14. Again, no plans to make it to 20, but the extra feat slots would allow me to get my Con up to 20. (Then again, so would the Barbarian capstone as well as a boost in strength past 20.)
What would you recommend my game-plan be? Should I stay Barbarian? If not, what should I dip into? What subclass? Etc.
Some of the most common ones I’ve seen are Echo Knight fighter and some sort of rogue using a rapier with athletics and a shield. I’m having trouble understanding how they work though; this is my first ever campaign; the one’s before were oneshots with a Sorlock or Warlock with 2014 rules. Plus, most of those suggestions were based on 2014 rules, and they asked for less Barbarian levels.
Not to limit myself, but I’m already having trouble keeping all of my powers straight, so bonus points for simplicity. Thanks.
www.dndbeyond.com/sheet-pdfs/Actionsparda_129017634.pdf
https://www.dndbeyond.com/characters/129017634
First I’d say, if there’s any chance of getting to 20, stay straight barb, the capstone is really great. And, if you’re having trouble remembering your powers, adding another class into the mix will just make that worse.
If you really want to multiclass, fighter can work. 2 levels can get you action surge, second wind, a fighting style. Then a third for a subclass (champion is a good choice for some passive powers that give you a nice boost, but you don’t have to remember as much) and 4 for a feat. But stop there. Extra attack doesn’t stack from different classes, so level 5 in fighter would just be a dead level.
Not to limit myself, but I’m already having trouble keeping all of my powers straight, so bonus points for simplicity. Thanks.
I agree with the above, just stay Barbarian. If you have a 20 strength, why would you use a DEX based weapon? Keep it simple and use strength based weapons. Now you might for versatility get a range weapon that uses Dex, but as you want to build up CON, I would not want to have to build up dex as a 3rd stat. You have a handaxe that returns, that is a nice ranged weapon.
If you want to dip into another class, you have to consider the pro/con of that dip. Not just what you gain but also what you will lose/not get.
If you're talking about the "Rogue with a rapier" thing, rapiers are Finesse weapons. That means you get to choose whether to use Strength or Dexterity with them; you're not limited to Dexterity.
The reason you'd use it in that particular combination is that the Rogue's Sneak Attack feature requires the use of a Ranged or Finesse weapon.
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Thank you for that missing piece. I thought rapier was based only on dex.
As for dipping into 1 level of rogue to get a sneak attack damage of 1d6 versus advance in Barbarian level 9 with a 1d10 added damage. It would appear my details were lightly off, but getting brutal strike is probably a better deal then a dip into rogue for a 1d6.
Yeah, the usefulness of Sneak Attack scales linearly with how many Rogue levels you take, so just one level probably isn't worth it at higher character levels.
(For the record, only ranged weapons use Dexterity exclusively.)
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Thank you everyone for your feedback. I’ve reached out to my party for their advice on the matter also. …maybe I’m an idiot, but I’m still undecided. I’m honestly a little surprised no one said go for it, let alone didn’t side with the options I found online.
Regardless, your input as always has been very much appreciated! I likely will experiment with builds until the deadline this Sunday, but feel free anyone else that wants to weigh in!