Do you guys think a Shield Master Rogue with a Dex focus would be effective with Shield Master? My idea was to build a frontline warrior with a touch of classic Rogue utility, plus those devastating SA Ripostes can't hurt. Would Expertise in Athletics with only 10 Strength be enough to make Shield Master shoves reliable? Most monsters don't really have high Athletics and Acrobatics, so it should rarely matter whether I roll 18 or 30 on my Shove check.
The idea of the build: mainly a Fighter role, but with some utility in the form of stealth, high Insight and Ear for Deceit, good overall saves (prof. in Wisdom saves, Con saves, high Dex+Shield Master for Dex saves) and decent ranged damage.
2 LVL - Rogue (get Expertise ASAP plus Stealth proficiency from the Rogue multiclass freebie)
3-7 LVL - Fighter (Battlemaster, 2 ASI one of which goes into Resilient:Wisdom, another into +2 DEX)
8-11 LVL - Rogue (pick Inquisitive for out of combat utility and easy sneak attacks, go Rogue 5 for another ASI, Uncanny Dodge and 3d6 SA)
12-16 - Fighter (chasing that third attack, getting extra HP, more Battlemaster maneuvers etc. Fairly weak levels until I reach Extra Attack 3, but c'est la vie)
17-20 - Rogue (probably never getting there, I get Evasion that would overlap with Shield Master, but I get it so late it doesn't matter)
Any helpful comments, folks? I'm mainly concerned about mid levels and the usefulness of Shield Master. Would it hurt my "fightiness" to go Fighter 6/Rogue 1 and then sprint directly into Fighter 6/Rogue 9? Will Trip Attack alone suffice for keeping targets prone, making the bonus action Shove less useful? Are Shield Master passives even good with only +4/5 DEX save?
I would recommend taking 1st level in Rogue instead of Fighter. You lose 2 HP and Strength and Con Saves and access to Heavy Armor, to gain 2 more skills, thieves' tools, and Dexterity and Intelligence Saves. If you really want to maximize Shield Mastery against spells then you want the Dexterity Saves.
Nothing in Shield Master says you have to be proficient in shields. 1st lvl you're going to be sub-optimized as you'll be a normal Rogue with a Feat you can't use. At 2nd lvl take Fighter, take Duelist. You'll have access to medium armor if Chain shirt or Breastplate comes up, as well as Medium Armor Mastery could be an option for your 4th lvl Feat. You'll have the added damage at 1st lvl for Sneak Attack, at 2nd lvl you'll be using Shield Master to knock enemies down as a Bonus Action. At this point Cunning Action is probably less useful as you won't be using it to Disengage from Melee nor Hide. You could still use it to Dash into combat from farther away.
Question: Why Resilient Wisdom? I mean it's an important Spell Save, but any other reason? I think Inquisitive Rogue is a bad combination. You'll be using your Bonus Action to Shove enemies to the ground so you get Advantage on the attack rolls and Sneak Attack. Insightful Fighting also uses your Bonus Action, so you'll constantly be choosing which to use. Swashbuckler lets you get Sneak Attack even if you don't have an ally, a bonus to Initiative equal to your Charisma, and the ability to Disengage from free from a single target. Scout gives you 2 more skills (Nature & Survival with Expertise in both and gives you half your movement as a ReAction to move away from an enemy without any AoOs after their movement. That said anything that uses your ReAction is going to be fighting with your lvl with BattleMaster as well as leaving you open against an AoE attack.
As for your base Strength? I think Gauntlets of Ogre Power are your prized magic item. These boost your Strength to 19, so you get +4 on Athletics and you can start using Strength instead of Dex for attacks if it's lower. That aside if you have a +0 Strength and Expertise in Athletics. Any Strength Bonus would add to these numbers. <= 4th lvl: +4 <= 8th lvl: +6 <= 12th lvl: +8 That's not exceptional but competitive, assume a Fighter with 16 Strength and Training would be: <= 4th lvl: +5 <= 8th lvl: +6 <= 12th lvl: +7
Resilient Wisdom just for the spell save. I find it annoying to get charmed and feared all too often, and I want this character to have strong willpower and mind, despite him seemengly being a simple thug. It also allows me to naturally have all even stats if I use Point Buy, which my group prefers.
You're right about Inquisitive, although you can use Insightful Fighting outside of combat as well. I picked it partly thanks to it's out of combat features. The idea is for this character to be a simple swordsman, but make him incredibly perceptive and cunning. Xanathar's Guide has the Gaming Set proficiency give you advantage on Insight checks against people you're playing, making which means you can read people like an open book, plus the Battlemaster feature (Know Your Enemy I think) and Insightful Fighting synergize to give the character high powers of observation from the flavor stand point.
I'm afraid that having no proficiency in Constitution might be really bad for a frontline character. Dexterity saves just make you take more damage, but a bad Con save may take you out of the fight. Which is why I'm thinking that taking Tough instead of Shield Master might be a better idea. Just take those Fireballs to the face. Still, going Rogue on the first level is certainly worth considering.
Swashbuckler is nice, but it doesn't give me anything outside of combat prowess, while Inquisitive at least lets me see through people's lies and quickly find my bearings in unknown places through Eye for Detail.
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Do you guys think a Shield Master Rogue with a Dex focus would be effective with Shield Master? My idea was to build a frontline warrior with a touch of classic Rogue utility, plus those devastating SA Ripostes can't hurt. Would Expertise in Athletics with only 10 Strength be enough to make Shield Master shoves reliable? Most monsters don't really have high Athletics and Acrobatics, so it should rarely matter whether I roll 18 or 30 on my Shove check.
The idea of the build: mainly a Fighter role, but with some utility in the form of stealth, high Insight and Ear for Deceit, good overall saves (prof. in Wisdom saves, Con saves, high Dex+Shield Master for Dex saves) and decent ranged damage.
The build I had in mind was:
Variant Human, Rapier+Shield
1 LVL - Fighter (Dueling style, Con saves, pick Shield Master)
2 LVL - Rogue (get Expertise ASAP plus Stealth proficiency from the Rogue multiclass freebie)
3-7 LVL - Fighter (Battlemaster, 2 ASI one of which goes into Resilient:Wisdom, another into +2 DEX)
8-11 LVL - Rogue (pick Inquisitive for out of combat utility and easy sneak attacks, go Rogue 5 for another ASI, Uncanny Dodge and 3d6 SA)
12-16 - Fighter (chasing that third attack, getting extra HP, more Battlemaster maneuvers etc. Fairly weak levels until I reach Extra Attack 3, but c'est la vie)
17-20 - Rogue (probably never getting there, I get Evasion that would overlap with Shield Master, but I get it so late it doesn't matter)
Any helpful comments, folks? I'm mainly concerned about mid levels and the usefulness of Shield Master. Would it hurt my "fightiness" to go Fighter 6/Rogue 1 and then sprint directly into Fighter 6/Rogue 9? Will Trip Attack alone suffice for keeping targets prone, making the bonus action Shove less useful? Are Shield Master passives even good with only +4/5 DEX save?
I actually have had a similar concept.
I would recommend taking 1st level in Rogue instead of Fighter. You lose 2 HP and Strength and Con Saves and access to Heavy Armor, to gain 2 more skills, thieves' tools, and Dexterity and Intelligence Saves.
If you really want to maximize Shield Mastery against spells then you want the Dexterity Saves.
Nothing in Shield Master says you have to be proficient in shields. 1st lvl you're going to be sub-optimized as you'll be a normal Rogue with a Feat you can't use. At 2nd lvl take Fighter, take Duelist. You'll have access to medium armor if Chain shirt or Breastplate comes up, as well as Medium Armor Mastery could be an option for your 4th lvl Feat. You'll have the added damage at 1st lvl for Sneak Attack, at 2nd lvl you'll be using Shield Master to knock enemies down as a Bonus Action. At this point Cunning Action is probably less useful as you won't be using it to Disengage from Melee nor Hide. You could still use it to Dash into combat from farther away.
Question: Why Resilient Wisdom? I mean it's an important Spell Save, but any other reason?
I think Inquisitive Rogue is a bad combination. You'll be using your Bonus Action to Shove enemies to the ground so you get Advantage on the attack rolls and Sneak Attack. Insightful Fighting also uses your Bonus Action, so you'll constantly be choosing which to use.
Swashbuckler lets you get Sneak Attack even if you don't have an ally, a bonus to Initiative equal to your Charisma, and the ability to Disengage from free from a single target.
Scout gives you 2 more skills (Nature & Survival with Expertise in both and gives you half your movement as a ReAction to move away from an enemy without any AoOs after their movement.
That said anything that uses your ReAction is going to be fighting with your lvl with BattleMaster as well as leaving you open against an AoE attack.
As for your base Strength?
I think Gauntlets of Ogre Power are your prized magic item. These boost your Strength to 19, so you get +4 on Athletics and you can start using Strength instead of Dex for attacks if it's lower.
That aside if you have a +0 Strength and Expertise in Athletics. Any Strength Bonus would add to these numbers.
<= 4th lvl: +4
<= 8th lvl: +6
<= 12th lvl: +8
That's not exceptional but competitive, assume a Fighter with 16 Strength and Training would be:
<= 4th lvl: +5
<= 8th lvl: +6
<= 12th lvl: +7
Resilient Wisdom just for the spell save. I find it annoying to get charmed and feared all too often, and I want this character to have strong willpower and mind, despite him seemengly being a simple thug. It also allows me to naturally have all even stats if I use Point Buy, which my group prefers.
You're right about Inquisitive, although you can use Insightful Fighting outside of combat as well. I picked it partly thanks to it's out of combat features. The idea is for this character to be a simple swordsman, but make him incredibly perceptive and cunning. Xanathar's Guide has the Gaming Set proficiency give you advantage on Insight checks against people you're playing, making which means you can read people like an open book, plus the Battlemaster feature (Know Your Enemy I think) and Insightful Fighting synergize to give the character high powers of observation from the flavor stand point.
I'm afraid that having no proficiency in Constitution might be really bad for a frontline character. Dexterity saves just make you take more damage, but a bad Con save may take you out of the fight. Which is why I'm thinking that taking Tough instead of Shield Master might be a better idea. Just take those Fireballs to the face. Still, going Rogue on the first level is certainly worth considering.
Swashbuckler is nice, but it doesn't give me anything outside of combat prowess, while Inquisitive at least lets me see through people's lies and quickly find my bearings in unknown places through Eye for Detail.