I have a dilemma with a new character I'm building. She's a young adult 12 years old (~18-22 in human years) Swiftstrider shifter called Nutmeg. She's based on a Tortoiseshell domestic cat and her nature is very kitten-like. Wide-eyed - playful - inquisitive - stupid.
I'd like her to be fast (hence Swiftstrider) - I have her backstory being a courier/posty because she loves running. So obviously my first thought was Monk (Drunken Master probably - just without the drinking). It's perfect because it's dexterity based - gets Unarmoured Movement - can hit and run - and I like that she wouldn't need a weapon. The biggest problem is that Monk relies heavily on Wisdom for their AC and Stunning Strike and I absolutely cannot justify giving her anything higher than an 8 in Wisdom. Would a Monk who can barely stun and have no AC be even remotely viable?
My second choice was Swashbuckler Rogue and dual wield shortswords. This is good because it's dexterity - has hit and run - is thematically fast with sneak attack - but it doesn't get any movement speed increase. The best I could hope for is the Mobile Feat and use Cunning Action Dash a lot but lose an attack.
And the third choice was Barbarian - probably a Totem Warrior - but I don't want to go strength - so I'd lose out on Rage damage - couldn't reckless - and probably other things I can't remember off the top of my head. But with say an Elk totem I could get a lot of speed by 5th level.
Hi! I like all 3 variants a lot - and if you are playing past lvl4 where you could refine some of the aspects with a feat(Mobile is great, but also is only aims to be fast. You could also get a magic initiate with a longstrider spell allowing you to get that 10ft movement and also give you 2 cantrips for a change). I can see me picking a Tabaxi instead of the Swiftstrider for the double movement speed. Also, the Mobile feat gives you a similar feature as the Swashbuckler Rogue (non provoking the apportunity attack). So I personally would go with Tabaxi Scout Rogue, which gives the Jump-Away "Skirmisher" feature with Mobility or Magic Initiate feat using claws instead of daggers and homerule the claws as finesse weapon because wtf its basically daggers and should be also allowed to use DEX :D.
Tabaxi would certainly ease up some of the problems since they are naturally faster and can double their speed on a turn - but I've got my heart set on this little Shifter - so her race isn't on the table to change unfortunately. Scout Rogue was an option I considered but it has a very similar Reaction ability as the race - but most importantly I already have a Scout Rogue so it's not an option either. As for Magic Initiate - I kind of want the character to be as mundane as possible - so no magic. Because of this - Mobile is almost certainly going to be the level 4 Feat no matter what.
Okay - so I may have the opportunity soon to play this character and I still don't really know what to do. I was hoping I might be able to get a bit more input. I recently rolled for her stats and got: 18 15 12 12 9 4. I don't know if that would influence the decision.
Wow. The 4 causes you to have some major sticking points with any dump stat. Monk use too many stats so most people dump it into CHA. Sounds like your character would not do well with a 4 charisma since you are leaning toward Swashbuckler. Putting the 4 into INT or STR would not be justifiable from a roleplaying or encumbrance side. CHA would be about the only place to put it for any monk build you wanted.
I like the swashbuckler idea as you get the Cunning Action which effectively raises your effective movement speed by 50% in combat. if the GM uses feats, pick up the mobile feat which would give you another 10 feet of move and ignore difficult terrain. That would be good for the courier job. 9 INT and 4 WIS could fit well with it. Still have a base move of something like 50 after shifting and the mobile feat.
If you're going swash you don't need the mobile feat-all a swash gains from it is +10 mv.
I agree that w a rolled stat of 4, monk is a tough one, possibly drop the 4 into str, (you can sub wis mod for strike attack & dmg). Stunning strike is a huge waste of ki without a high wis & level because of saves vs your dc.
With those rolled stats, go barbarian, drop the 4 into int, take mobility @lvl4.
For fun, give the character utgard heritage- magic is taboo- was that a spell someone cast? Roll investigation @ -3. Nope, that must have been some completely non-magical magic missile.
If you're going swash you don't need the mobile feat-all a swash gains from it is +10 mv.
For me - the main point of the character is her speed - it's my primary goal to make her fast - so the only reason I'm taking the Mobile feet is for the +10 speed.
But yea it definitely seems that Monk is just an impossibility for this character which is a shame. It has everything I want - but with no Wisdom it's just not viable.
I have a dilemma with a new character I'm building. She's a young adult 12 years old (~18-22 in human years) Swiftstrider shifter called Nutmeg. She's based on a Tortoiseshell domestic cat and her nature is very kitten-like. Wide-eyed - playful - inquisitive - stupid.
I'd like her to be fast (hence Swiftstrider) - I have her backstory being a courier/posty because she loves running. So obviously my first thought was Monk (Drunken Master probably - just without the drinking). It's perfect because it's dexterity based - gets Unarmoured Movement - can hit and run - and I like that she wouldn't need a weapon. The biggest problem is that Monk relies heavily on Wisdom for their AC and Stunning Strike and I absolutely cannot justify giving her anything higher than an 8 in Wisdom. Would a Monk who can barely stun and have no AC be even remotely viable?
My second choice was Swashbuckler Rogue and dual wield shortswords. This is good because it's dexterity - has hit and run - is thematically fast with sneak attack - but it doesn't get any movement speed increase. The best I could hope for is the Mobile Feat and use Cunning Action Dash a lot but lose an attack.
And the third choice was Barbarian - probably a Totem Warrior - but I don't want to go strength - so I'd lose out on Rage damage - couldn't reckless - and probably other things I can't remember off the top of my head. But with say an Elk totem I could get a lot of speed by 5th level.
I'm at a bit of a loss.
Mega Yahtzee Thread:
Highest 41: brocker2001 (#11,285).
Yahtzee of 2's: Emmber (#36,161).
Lowest 9: JoeltheWalrus (#312), Emmber (#12,505) and Dertinus (#20,953).
Hi! I like all 3 variants a lot - and if you are playing past lvl4 where you could refine some of the aspects with a feat(Mobile is great, but also is only aims to be fast. You could also get a magic initiate with a longstrider spell allowing you to get that 10ft movement and also give you 2 cantrips for a change).
I can see me picking a Tabaxi instead of the Swiftstrider for the double movement speed. Also, the Mobile feat gives you a similar feature as the Swashbuckler Rogue (non provoking the apportunity attack). So I personally would go with Tabaxi Scout Rogue, which gives the Jump-Away "Skirmisher" feature with Mobility or Magic Initiate feat using claws instead of daggers and homerule the claws as finesse weapon because wtf its basically daggers and should be also allowed to use DEX :D.
Tabaxi would certainly ease up some of the problems since they are naturally faster and can double their speed on a turn - but I've got my heart set on this little Shifter - so her race isn't on the table to change unfortunately. Scout Rogue was an option I considered but it has a very similar Reaction ability as the race - but most importantly I already have a Scout Rogue so it's not an option either. As for Magic Initiate - I kind of want the character to be as mundane as possible - so no magic. Because of this - Mobile is almost certainly going to be the level 4 Feat no matter what.
Mega Yahtzee Thread:
Highest 41: brocker2001 (#11,285).
Yahtzee of 2's: Emmber (#36,161).
Lowest 9: JoeltheWalrus (#312), Emmber (#12,505) and Dertinus (#20,953).
Okay - so I may have the opportunity soon to play this character and I still don't really know what to do. I was hoping I might be able to get a bit more input. I recently rolled for her stats and got: 18 15 12 12 9 4. I don't know if that would influence the decision.
Any help is appreciated.
Mega Yahtzee Thread:
Highest 41: brocker2001 (#11,285).
Yahtzee of 2's: Emmber (#36,161).
Lowest 9: JoeltheWalrus (#312), Emmber (#12,505) and Dertinus (#20,953).
Wow. The 4 causes you to have some major sticking points with any dump stat. Monk use too many stats so most people dump it into CHA. Sounds like your character would not do well with a 4 charisma since you are leaning toward Swashbuckler. Putting the 4 into INT or STR would not be justifiable from a roleplaying or encumbrance side. CHA would be about the only place to put it for any monk build you wanted.
I like the swashbuckler idea as you get the Cunning Action which effectively raises your effective movement speed by 50% in combat. if the GM uses feats, pick up the mobile feat which would give you another 10 feet of move and ignore difficult terrain. That would be good for the courier job. 9 INT and 4 WIS could fit well with it. Still have a base move of something like 50 after shifting and the mobile feat.
If you're going swash you don't need the mobile feat-all a swash gains from it is +10 mv.
I agree that w a rolled stat of 4, monk is a tough one, possibly drop the 4 into str, (you can sub wis mod for strike attack & dmg). Stunning strike is a huge waste of ki without a high wis & level because of saves vs your dc.
With those rolled stats, go barbarian, drop the 4 into int, take mobility @lvl4.
For fun, give the character utgard heritage- magic is taboo- was that a spell someone cast? Roll investigation @ -3. Nope, that must have been some completely non-magical magic missile.
For me - the main point of the character is her speed - it's my primary goal to make her fast - so the only reason I'm taking the Mobile feet is for the +10 speed.
But yea it definitely seems that Monk is just an impossibility for this character which is a shame. It has everything I want - but with no Wisdom it's just not viable.
Mega Yahtzee Thread:
Highest 41: brocker2001 (#11,285).
Yahtzee of 2's: Emmber (#36,161).
Lowest 9: JoeltheWalrus (#312), Emmber (#12,505) and Dertinus (#20,953).