Welcome, possible contestants, to the fifth monthly Throwdown (Backup Band Edition)!
You may notice that I am neither DorkForge, Yurei453 ,Third_sundering , a Tabaxy with a lot of OccupationsI'm not even, as most may have expectedIr0nS0ul. However, DorkForge still seems to not have taken back his legacy and as the last winner doesn't have time to start the next throwdown, I took it upon myself to uphold this proud tradition of nerds, hopefully the next winner may take over from here on out. I will also be keeping Yurei's version of voting, as I thought it worked quite well for quite some rounds now.
Just as with last round, I will be using a new theme! (Taken from Ir0ns0ul's suggestion)
Concept
The Dwarfe - The Dwarfiest Dwarf of all Dwarves that ever dwarfed
The rythmic sounds of the hammer hitting hot iron, forging the mightiest armor there ever was, the force behind the pickaxe, digging for gems, mithril and gold, the axe swung with such unrelenting defiance of death, to stubborn to stop for the ork's head. All those are examples of the highest of dwarfenkind. Well that and beer. So go on out there dwarfes of this world! Bring me the best of your kind, bring me the smiths, bring me the stonecutters, bring me the warriors and bring me the most stubborn!
A reminder for people entering builds:
This character needs to be dwarfen in any kind. I'll not place the restriction on race however. If you want to enter a build that is most dwarfen without being a dwarf, so be it, try as you might!
The Rules
- No UA or homebrew rules, only published material. Critical Role content (Gunslingers, Cobalt Soul/Oath of the Open Sea, Blood Hunters) is permitted.
- Stats must be included at each point of the build. Stat arrays can utilize either standard array or point buy, as the builder desires.
- Demonstrate how your build grows, with a description of how it performs at levels 1, 5, 11, 17, and 20 IF YOU DO NOT INCLUDE BREAKDOWNS AT THESE LEVELS, YOUR BUILD WILL BE DISQUALIFIED. If you provide breakdowns at every level, make sure that the ones at these levels are more in-depth than those of any other level. How your character grows, both mechanically and thematically, needs to be clearly spelled out at these levels. Keep us engaged with both, as they are both important.
- Multiclassing is in play; multiclass prerequisites are as per the book(s). Feats are also in play.
- Start your build with a supernatural gift (chosen from the Hollow One or those listed in Mythic Odysseys of Theros) or feat of your choice.
- Any legal species, subspecies, or variant species is valid.
- Magic items are not allowed, unless you’re an artificer using Infusions or otherwise have a way to get magic items from your features (Pact of the Blade, Forge Warlock, etc). EXCEPTION: Characters can use common items with no significant in-game effects, such as prosthetic limbs, ersatz eyes, capes of billowing, or other ‘fluff’ items to help sell their aesthetic/character.
- Your character can use any weapon from first level outward. Expensive armor (anything above a hundred gold) is assumed to be obtained after level 5. FIREARMS ARE ALLOWED AFTER LEVEL 5 (both Exandria and Renaissance versions, no Futuristic or Modern). You are only proficient in them if you are an Artificer, Gunslinger, or have the Gunner feat. If your build uses guns, you must still follow the theme of the build (being "indestructible" and able to take multiple hits). Repeating Shot will be allowed to work with firearms with the Reload (4-6) or Loading properties.
- Catchy names and engaging stories are MANDATORY. Entertain us! Demonstrate your ability to weave words, craft engaging stories, and charm people with your characters as well as your build's numbers! Build a character, not just abuild. Characters have personality, are relatable, and should be people we care about. If you need some examples, here they are: 1, 2, 3
- You can edit your post to fix mistakes or make changes to your build entry(s) at any time before submissions are closed and voting begins. Edits caught after that period will disqualify your build. Catch your typos before the deadline, folks!
Suggested Format
Name (level 20 class/classes) Stats: (Str | Dex | Con | Int | Wis | Cha) Species Background
First-Level Stats and Commentary
Fifth-Level Stats and Commentary
Eleventh-Level Stats and Commentary
Seventeenth-Level Stats and Commentary
Twentieth-Level Stats and Commentary
ART
You must provide at least one piece of art that fits your character. This can be through the excellent resource of HeroForge to create 3D, fully colored characters of a vast variety of races, or any other piece of art you can find that fits your character (if you use someone else's art, credit them). We need to not only be able to relate to your character, but we also need to see them. (Yes, I'm changing things up a bit. This is an experiment.) The more art, the better!
VOTING
In this contest, each person who votes gets five points they can distribute as they please amongst any/all builds in the Throwdown. Love one build to death? Give it all five points! Can’t quite pick between two great builds? Give one three points and one two! Wanna spread the love? Give five different builds a point each (if you have to, anyways). The winner of the Throwdown will be the build that accumulates the most points once voting is tallied.
Some additional rules: >Each poster only gets one voting post. You’re more than welcome to vote even if you didn’t enter. >If you enter a build, you must submit a vote as well for your build to qualify to win. >Clearly Label your voting post. Examples of acceptable voting posts are in this thread. >You cannot assign points to your own build(s). >You can enter more than one build, so long as they respect the forum’s rules against double posting. >Votes must be cast AFTER the end of submissionand the opening of voting. Any votes cast or points assigned prior to that date will be ignored. Everybody gets a chance to enter. >To encourage feedback: anyone who writes feedback on everyone else’s build in the Throwdown (even just a line or two) gets a bonus point added to their own entry. If they have more than one build, the point will be added to their highest-scoring entry.
This experiment will run until August 11th (or thereabouts), when I will close submissions and open voting. Until I post and say submissions are closed, feel free to enter abuild (or multiple builds). After that, voting will run for roughly a week before I announce an end to the voting stage and start tabulating up a winner.
The only prizes I can offer are the satisfaction of winning, a place in the Hall of Victory in future Throwdowns, and a digital trophy (in the form of this emoji; 🏆).
DorkForge, the originator of these Throwdown contests here in DDB, has a Youtube channel discussing D&D 5e mechanics, character builds, and newly released character options. Recently, DF’s been plugging through the big mess of nonsense that came from Tasha’s Cauldron. Give it a look-see if you enjoy that sort of content.
Mord had trained for years in the Sneaky Halfling Organization for Rogue Training (SHORT), but he was nervous. As the tallest and strongest halfling, he was tasked with an important first mission: infiltrate the military in the dwarf city of Beerville. Or was it Beardland? He couldn’t remember. As Mord surveyed the bulky soldiers pacing around the line for signup, he wondered if they should have sent someone more experienced. His facial hair itched. “NEXT!” bellowed the recruiter. Mord was up. “I’m Beard. Beard McAle,” he said in his best dwarf voice. “AXE OR HAMMAH?” “Crossbow, sir.” “GREAT! YA HIRED. NEXT!” Mord walked to his tent, fingering his sturdy new bow, and finally let himself smile. He was in, and ready to take down Beerville. Or Beardland. He still couldn’t remember.
Mord starts as a pretty typical halfling rogue. His heavy crossbow (a most dwarvish weapon) is his weapon of choice, and he boasts good deception and a disguise kit to seem as dwarfy as possible. He’s are pretty well rounded, with 14s in charisma and all physical stats (dumping strength would be most un-dwarfish) and decent wisdom as well. Pretty dwarfy for a halfling!
Mord had risen through the ranks quickly. He was getting used to Beerville (or Beardland, he never figured that out), and was making a quite convincing dwarf, but as pleased as SHORT was, they wanted more. Which was why he was in an alley, aiming a crossbow at the commander. The bolt struck true, a perfect hit, and the dwarf collapsed, when a shout came from behind and a warhammer swung at Mord. It clanged hard against his breastplate, but he ducked out of most of the blow, and swung up with his handaxes, felling the soldier. His letters of promotion came the next day: one was from SHORT, appointing him as a master assassin, the other dubbed him Commander Ale of Beerville (or maybe Beardland).
Mord gains his subclass, assassin, giving him some truly huge burst damage with surprise, cunning action, increasing his versatility and giving him steady aim if there’s no other way to sneak attack, and uncanny dodge. He’s not too dwarfy yet, but he takes “fake it till you make it” to heart.
Mord was starting to like living in Beerville. (He also liked living in Beardland. He didn’t like forgetting what the correct was was, but that’s a different story). The dwarfs were rambunctious and stubborn at times, but they were loyal, strong and beer-y. Or maybe beard-y? He was till training as an assassin and archer, but the dwarf’s warrior training had helped him too. In all this excitement, he’d forgotten (or perhaps refused) to update SHORT. At all. Still, he was surprised when he ran into his old accomplice Shady Steve on a small street. “Why haven’t you been sending messages to boss? We thought something happened to you.” “Uh…” Steve raised an eyebrow. “Uh… INTRUDER!!! IT’S A HALFLIN’!!” Mord shouted, drawing his bow and shooting two bolts rapidly at Shady, both striking with deadly force, and a few dwarven soldiers ran up the alley. “You… you triple crosser! You’re a halfling!” growled Steve, as Mord aimed another bolt. “Na… I’m a dwarf now.”
Mechanically, this is probably where the build peaks. Using a high deception(+10) or stealth(+12) to get surprise, Mord can use action surge to shoot 2 bolts, both sneak attacked assassinate crits, before calling on his dwarves allies to engage in melee and whale on the target, giving him more sneak attacks. Evasion and second wind are nice defensive boosts to give Mord some dwarves toughness, and infiltration expert prevents anyone from realizing that he’s not Beard McAle, Commander or Beerville (Beardland?)
A wave of enemies charged, clashing with the sturdy line of dwarves warriors. Mord leveledhis crossbow. “FOR BEERVILLE! OR MAYBE BEARDLAND!” The arrow hit the enemy general, sending his sword flying, and General Beer McAle prepared to strike again, sizing up his opponents. The second bolt hit another soldier, exploiting his weaknesses as he engaged a dwarf. As the enemy turned to face Mord, Mord’s warrior followed suit, striking the soldier down. The halfling general grinned. Beerville, nor Beardland, would fall today.
We have a fighter subclass! Mord gets some battlemaster maneuvers, and finally maxes out dex. Sneak attack is starting to fall behind, but extra attack makes up for it. While he’s becoming more of a fighter, Mord is still an infiltrater at heart, and with infiltration expertise and +15 deception, he can use know your enemy to great extent.
Mord creeped down the hallway, crossbow drawn, hand on axe. Only a few on the strongest and stealthiest dwarves accompanied him on this mission: take down SHORT once and for all. He hadn’t been in these halls for years, and this wasn’t how he’s imagined returning when he’d left for Beerville (Or was it Beardland?). But here he was. He cocked his bow and got into position. The head of SHORT was in range. 6 bolts fired in rapid succession, each hitting their mark. His warriors charged. The battle had begun.
We’re finishing with more fighter. Mord picks up a few more maneuvers, indomitable, a third attack, and a bucketload of hit points. Otherwise, not too much changes. I hope you enjoyed my build and the tale of the dwarfiest halfling in Beerville. Although it might be the dwarfiest halfling in Beardland. I’m not sure. :)
I'm going to try to make a build, but my mind is blank right now.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
All stars fade. Some stars forever fall. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Homebrew (Mostly Outdated):Magic Items,Monsters,Spells,Subclasses ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- If there was no light, people wouldn't fear the dark.
Yeah.....all my characters dont really fit into any race stereotypes, Im much better at writing them as their own person.....Thisll be a tough theme
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
NNCHRIS: SOUL THIEF, MASTER OF THE ARCANE, AND KING OF NEW YORKNN Gdl Creator of Ilheia and her Knights of the Fallen Stars ldG Lesser Student of Technomancy [undergrad student in computer science] Supporter of the 2014 rules, and a MASSIVE Homebrewer. Come to me all ye who seek salvation in wording thy brews! Open to homebrew trades at any time!! Or feel free to request HB, and Ill see if I can get it done for ya! Characters (Outdated)
I will accept builds of ANY race, they don't have to be exclusively dwarfs. Just keep the spirit of a dwarf in the back of your head - stubborn, proud and traditional.
Consider this throwing my axe in the ring as a place holder. Will probably not have time to write anything in the next few weeks but if the competition is still going whenI have time I'll do something.
I don't like to build out characters that never get played, so instead i'm going to completely ignore the rules and submit Hamrik Stonebeardaxe, the dwarf fighter (champion) I played in a campaign the x wing podcast group i'm part of played during the pandemic. It's long enough ago that i honestly couldn't tell you what our "highlights" were and i was belligerently inebriated for the entirety of more than one session. We also fall squarely under the category of " buddies screwing around" and not "entertainers putting on a show." That said I think Hamrick absolutely deserves the title of "dwarfiest dwarf of all." Hamrick was fond of saying "All the best dwarven names have stone beard or axe in em and the stonebeardaxe clan gots all three" and Hamrick absolutely sought to prove it.
A few actual thoughts: If i were to play this character again I would absolutely play a samurai instead of a champion, and would strongly consider the dueling style over great weapon fighting since i didn't know at the time that I could use a shield with dueling. The lack of mobility definitely drove me a little mad, I was strongly considering taking the mobile or charger feat, but my dm gifted me a throwing axe that granted teleportation so that pretty much solved that issue.
Okay, it seems the competition doesn't track a lot of attention this time, I guess the theme wasn't very open. I will start Voting tomorrow unless anybody wants to submit another build.
Gah. I totally forgot about this. I wanted to build something that would make both CS Lewis, Tolkien and Terry Pratchett proud but I just didn't have the time. Oh well. I might have time to do it tomorrow but I'm totally fine if you start the vote without me.
G'day. My name is Muscles McBeard and not only was I BORN a Dwarf, I was birthed under a mountain carved in the IMAGE of a Dwarf and called The Dwarven Peak.
Mountain Dwarf, Haunted One (you'll see why later).
Str 16, Dex 10, Con 16, Int 10, Wis 10, Cha 14
Lvl 1-12 I spent my career as a Fighter/Champion. I fought with dual Battle Axes (two-weapon fighting style and Dual Wielder at lvl 4). I grew stronger as I grew older (+2 Str at level 6 and again at lvl 8). My experience made me better at avoiding damage (Defense fighting style at lvl 10) and tougher (Dwarven Fortitude Feat at lvl 12.
Level 13-20 I found religion due to a horrible injustice that I had committed and spent my remaining years as a Paladin. I learned to fight even in total darkness (Blind Fighting Style) but I never strayed from my Oath of Vengeance. I became even more durable (Durable Feat at lvl 4) and heartier (+2 Con at lvl 8).
(Final Stats - Str 20, Dex 10, Con 20, Int 10, Wis 10, Cha 14, AC 20 in Plate Armor with 224 HP and twin battle axes that have +11 to hit and 1D8+5 damage each with 3 base Attacks and a Bonus Action Attack with Crit on 19+. If I take the Dodge Action in combat I can regain 1 Hit Die of HP for a minimum of 10 + Con bonus or 15 HP)
Muscles was born into a fairly typical Dwarven mountain village. He took up his family's trade of stonework and trained with the local militia as all male Dwarves do. He was acquitted a good fighter and during one particularly harsh winter, he was selected to try and get to the next village to bring back food. A storm trapped him in a cave for three days and nights and when he returned to his village he found every slain by a band of marauding Orcs. He swore to slay those that had killed his village and set out on a quest of revenge.
Muscles tracked the raiding party for a week before finding them sheltered in a valley at the base of a waterfall. There were nearly a hundred of them and while his heart burned for vengeance he knew that the odds were too steep. He formulated a plan and over the course of the winter, he built a dam across the lip of the falls. The water began to build up behind his dam but the villagers didn't notice as the falls froze over every winter anyway. In the spring, when the snows melted, the small pond behind the falls had grown into a huge lake. Muscles waited for the first rain and then broke the dam. The water poured over the falls and rose well beyond the banks of the river. The village was completely flooded and Muscles could hear the cries of anguish from high above.
He raced down the hillside and into the ruined village as the waters began to recede. He slew every Orc he found whether they were armed or not, standing or half-drowned. At the far end of the village, atop another hill, he saw a cave with several Orcs scurrying into it. He thundered into the cave, intent on slaughtering all that he saw. Inside, he found not a band of evil marauders but rather the old, the young, and the women from the village. In that moment, looking into the eyes of those helpless Orcs, he understood the wrong he had done. In the laws of his people, it was not wrong for him to seek out the raiders that had destroyed his village...but this was mindless slaughter. In his blind rage, he'd slain the old, the weak, and the defenseless young.
He turned away in shame and vowed to never again raise his weapons against the helpless. He swore an oath to defend the weak and punish those who would do as he had done, slaying those weaker than themselves.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
To post a comment, please login or register a new account.
Welcome, possible contestants, to the fifth monthly Throwdown (Backup Band Edition)!
You may notice that I am neither DorkForge, Yurei453 , Third_sundering , a Tabaxy with a lot of Occupations I'm not even, as most may have expected Ir0nS0ul. However, DorkForge still seems to not have taken back his legacy and as the last winner doesn't have time to start the next throwdown, I took it upon myself to uphold this proud tradition of nerds, hopefully the next winner may take over from here on out. I will also be keeping Yurei's version of voting, as I thought it worked quite well for quite some rounds now.
Just as with last round, I will be using a new theme! (Taken from Ir0ns0ul's suggestion)
Concept
The Dwarfe - The Dwarfiest Dwarf of all Dwarves that ever dwarfed
The rythmic sounds of the hammer hitting hot iron, forging the mightiest armor there ever was, the force behind the pickaxe, digging for gems, mithril and gold, the axe swung with such unrelenting defiance of death, to stubborn to stop for the ork's head. All those are examples of the highest of dwarfenkind. Well that and beer. So go on out there dwarfes of this world! Bring me the best of your kind, bring me the smiths, bring me the stonecutters, bring me the warriors and bring me the most stubborn!
A reminder for people entering builds:
This character needs to be dwarfen in any kind. I'll not place the restriction on race however. If you want to enter a build that is most dwarfen without being a dwarf, so be it, try as you might!
The Rules
- No UA or homebrew rules, only published material. Critical Role content (Gunslingers, Cobalt Soul/Oath of the Open Sea, Blood Hunters) is permitted.
- Stats must be included at each point of the build. Stat arrays can utilize either standard array or point buy, as the builder desires.
- Demonstrate how your build grows, with a description of how it performs at levels 1, 5, 11, 17, and 20 IF YOU DO NOT INCLUDE BREAKDOWNS AT THESE LEVELS, YOUR BUILD WILL BE DISQUALIFIED. If you provide breakdowns at every level, make sure that the ones at these levels are more in-depth than those of any other level. How your character grows, both mechanically and thematically, needs to be clearly spelled out at these levels. Keep us engaged with both, as they are both important.
- Multiclassing is in play; multiclass prerequisites are as per the book(s). Feats are also in play.
- Start your build with a supernatural gift (chosen from the Hollow One or those listed in Mythic Odysseys of Theros) or feat of your choice.
- Any legal species, subspecies, or variant species is valid.
- Magic items are not allowed, unless you’re an artificer using Infusions or otherwise have a way to get magic items from your features (Pact of the Blade, Forge Warlock, etc). EXCEPTION: Characters can use common items with no significant in-game effects, such as prosthetic limbs, ersatz eyes, capes of billowing, or other ‘fluff’ items to help sell their aesthetic/character.
- Your character can use any weapon from first level outward. Expensive armor (anything above a hundred gold) is assumed to be obtained after level 5. FIREARMS ARE ALLOWED AFTER LEVEL 5 (both Exandria and Renaissance versions, no Futuristic or Modern). You are only proficient in them if you are an Artificer, Gunslinger, or have the Gunner feat. If your build uses guns, you must still follow the theme of the build (being "indestructible" and able to take multiple hits). Repeating Shot will be allowed to work with firearms with the Reload (4-6) or Loading properties.
- Catchy names and engaging stories are MANDATORY. Entertain us! Demonstrate your ability to weave words, craft engaging stories, and charm people with your characters as well as your build's numbers! Build a character, not just abuild. Characters have personality, are relatable, and should be people we care about. If you need some examples, here they are: 1, 2, 3
- You can edit your post to fix mistakes or make changes to your build entry(s) at any time before submissions are closed and voting begins. Edits caught after that period will disqualify your build. Catch your typos before the deadline, folks!
Suggested Format
Name (level 20 class/classes)
Stats: (Str | Dex | Con | Int | Wis | Cha)
Species
Background
First-Level Stats and Commentary
Fifth-Level Stats and Commentary
Eleventh-Level Stats and Commentary
Seventeenth-Level Stats and Commentary
Twentieth-Level Stats and Commentary
ART
You must provide at least one piece of art that fits your character. This can be through the excellent resource of HeroForge to create 3D, fully colored characters of a vast variety of races, or any other piece of art you can find that fits your character (if you use someone else's art, credit them). We need to not only be able to relate to your character, but we also need to see them. (Yes, I'm changing things up a bit. This is an experiment.) The more art, the better!
VOTING
In this contest, each person who votes gets five points they can distribute as they please amongst any/all builds in the Throwdown. Love one build to death? Give it all five points! Can’t quite pick between two great builds? Give one three points and one two! Wanna spread the love? Give five different builds a point each (if you have to, anyways). The winner of the Throwdown will be the build that accumulates the most points once voting is tallied.
Some additional rules:
>Each poster only gets one voting post. You’re more than welcome to vote even if you didn’t enter.
>If you enter a build, you must submit a vote as well for your build to qualify to win.
>Clearly Label your voting post. Examples of acceptable voting posts are in this thread.
>You cannot assign points to your own build(s).
>You can enter more than one build, so long as they respect the forum’s rules against double posting.
>Votes must be cast AFTER the end of submissionand the opening of voting. Any votes cast or points assigned prior to that date will be ignored. Everybody gets a chance to enter.
>To encourage feedback: anyone who writes feedback on everyone else’s build in the Throwdown (even just a line or two) gets a bonus point added to their own entry. If they have more than one build, the point will be added to their highest-scoring entry.
This experiment will run until August 11th (or thereabouts), when I will close submissions and open voting. Until I post and say submissions are closed, feel free to enter abuild (or multiple builds). After that, voting will run for roughly a week before I announce an end to the voting stage and start tabulating up a winner.
The only prizes I can offer are the satisfaction of winning, a place in the Hall of Victory in future Throwdowns, and a digital trophy (in the form of this emoji; 🏆).
DorkForge, the originator of these Throwdown contests here in DDB, has a Youtube channel discussing D&D 5e mechanics, character builds, and newly released character options. Recently, DF’s been plugging through the big mess of nonsense that came from Tasha’s Cauldron. Give it a look-see if you enjoy that sort of content.
HALL OF VICTORY
Throwdown #1: The Gish – Yurei’s “Aine, Avandra’s Blade”
Throwdown #2: The Terminator – Yurei’s “AS7 ATLAS”
Throwdown #3: The Solo Tour – GoodBovine’s “The Dark Angel”
Throwdown #4: Powergamer’s Potluck – Yurei’s “Yferna, the Feywarden”
Throwdown #5: Spooky Circumstances – Archeolexi’s “Arissa, the Dark Princess”
Throwdown #6: Magus Maximums – Third_Sundering’s “Impending Doom”
Throwdown #7: Dash Action Through the Difficult Terrain - Yurei453's "Santa's Little Helper"
Throwdown Backup Band #1: The Gish 2: Booming Boogaloo - Third_Sundering's "Urik Zorhav the Steelwarden"
Throwdown Backup Band #2: The Terminator 2.0: Judgement Day Will Come - HeironymusZot's "Inoshishi, the demon of Rinkoku" tied with Sutlo's "Little Jacky Oaths - the Iron Rider"
Throwdown Backup Band #3 : The Villain: There is eeeevil afoot!- TabaxiRogueFighterClericWarlock's Kauss Nielots
Throwdown Backup Band #4 : The Hunter: Someone (or Something) is hunting us - Ir0nS0ul's The Swift Hunter from Abyss
Dang it I have a build I really want to do a submission for but it doesn't fit the theme AT ALL. Okay. Gotta think, gotta think.
Mord the “Dwarf”
Assassin Rogue 9/Battlemaster Fighter 11
Str: 14 Dex: 20 Con: 16 Int: 10 Wis: 12 Char: 16
Hp: 174
AC: 16
Spy
Feat: Moderately Armored
Skills: Acrobatics, Athletics(Exp) Deception(Exp), Intimidation(Exp), Religion, Stealth(Exp)
Maneuvers: Ambush, Distracting Strike, Disarming Attack, Precision Attack, Pushing Attack, Menacing Attack
Lvl 1: Beard McAle
Rogue 1
Str: 14 Dex: 14 Con: 14 Int: 10 Wis: 12 Char: 14
Hp: 10
Ac: 16
Feat: Moderately Armored
Skills: Acrobatics, Athletics(Exp) Deception(Exp), Intimidation, Religion, Stealth
Mord had trained for years in the Sneaky Halfling Organization for Rogue Training (SHORT), but he was nervous. As the tallest and strongest halfling, he was tasked with an important first mission: infiltrate the military in the dwarf city of Beerville. Or was it Beardland? He couldn’t remember. As Mord surveyed the bulky soldiers pacing around the line for signup, he wondered if they should have sent someone more experienced. His facial hair itched. “NEXT!” bellowed the recruiter. Mord was up. “I’m Beard. Beard McAle,” he said in his best dwarf voice. “AXE OR HAMMAH?” “Crossbow, sir.” “GREAT! YA HIRED. NEXT!” Mord walked to his tent, fingering his sturdy new bow, and finally let himself smile. He was in, and ready to take down Beerville. Or Beardland. He still couldn’t remember.
Mord starts as a pretty typical halfling rogue. His heavy crossbow (a most dwarvish weapon) is his weapon of choice, and he boasts good deception and a disguise kit to seem as dwarfy as possible. He’s are pretty well rounded, with 14s in charisma and all physical stats (dumping strength would be most un-dwarfish) and decent wisdom as well. Pretty dwarfy for a halfling!
Lvl 5: Commander Ale, Master Assassin
Assassin Rogue 5
Str: 14 Dex: 16 Con: 14 Int: 10 Wis: 12 Char: 14
Hp: 38
Ac: 16
Feat: Moderately Armored
Skills: Acrobatics, Athletics(Exp) Deception(Exp), Intimidation, Religion, Stealth
Mord had risen through the ranks quickly. He was getting used to Beerville (or Beardland, he never figured that out), and was making a quite convincing dwarf, but as pleased as SHORT was, they wanted more. Which was why he was in an alley, aiming a crossbow at the commander. The bolt struck true, a perfect hit, and the dwarf collapsed, when a shout came from behind and a warhammer swung at Mord. It clanged hard against his breastplate, but he ducked out of most of the blow, and swung up with his handaxes, felling the soldier. His letters of promotion came the next day: one was from SHORT, appointing him as a master assassin, the other dubbed him Commander Ale of Beerville (or maybe Beardland).
Mord gains his subclass, assassin, giving him some truly huge burst damage with surprise, cunning action, increasing his versatility and giving him steady aim if there’s no other way to sneak attack, and uncanny dodge. He’s not too dwarfy yet, but he takes “fake it till you make it” to heart.
Lvl 11: Triple Crosser
Assassin Rogue 9/Fighter 2
Str: 14 Dex: 18 Con: 14 Int: 10 Wis: 12 Char: 14
Hp: 82
Ac: 16
Feat: Moderately Armored
Skills: Acrobatics, Athletics(Exp) Deception(Exp), Intimidation(Ex), Religion, Stealth(Ex)
Mord was starting to like living in Beerville. (He also liked living in Beardland. He didn’t like forgetting what the correct was was, but that’s a different story). The dwarfs were rambunctious and stubborn at times, but they were loyal, strong and beer-y. Or maybe beard-y? He was till training as an assassin and archer, but the dwarf’s warrior training had helped him too. In all this excitement, he’d forgotten (or perhaps refused) to update SHORT. At all. Still, he was surprised when he ran into his old accomplice Shady Steve on a small street. “Why haven’t you been sending messages to boss? We thought something happened to you.” “Uh…” Steve raised an eyebrow. “Uh… INTRUDER!!! IT’S A HALFLIN’!!” Mord shouted, drawing his bow and shooting two bolts rapidly at Shady, both striking with deadly force, and a few dwarven soldiers ran up the alley. “You… you triple crosser! You’re a halfling!” growled Steve, as Mord aimed another bolt. “Na… I’m a dwarf now.”
Mechanically, this is probably where the build peaks. Using a high deception(+10) or stealth(+12) to get surprise, Mord can use action surge to shoot 2 bolts, both sneak attacked assassinate crits, before calling on his dwarves allies to engage in melee and whale on the target, giving him more sneak attacks. Evasion and second wind are nice defensive boosts to give Mord some dwarves toughness, and infiltration expert prevents anyone from realizing that he’s not Beard McAle, Commander or Beerville (Beardland?)
Lvl 17: General Ale, Scrounge of Halflings
Assassin Rogue 9/Battlemaster Fighter 8
Str: 14 Dex: 20 Con: 16 Int: 10 Wis: 12 Char: 14
Hp: 147
Ac: 16
Feat: Moderately Armored
Skills: Acrobatics, Athletics(Exp) Deception(Exp), Intimidation(Ex), Religion, Stealth(Ex)
Maneuvers: Ambush, Distracting Strike, Disarming Attack, Precision Attack
A wave of enemies charged, clashing with the sturdy line of dwarves warriors. Mord leveled his crossbow. “FOR BEERVILLE! OR MAYBE BEARDLAND!” The arrow hit the enemy general, sending his sword flying, and General Beer McAle prepared to strike again, sizing up his opponents. The second bolt hit another soldier, exploiting his weaknesses as he engaged a dwarf. As the enemy turned to face Mord, Mord’s warrior followed suit, striking the soldier down. The halfling general grinned. Beerville, nor Beardland, would fall today.
We have a fighter subclass! Mord gets some battlemaster maneuvers, and finally maxes out dex. Sneak attack is starting to fall behind, but extra attack makes up for it. While he’s becoming more of a fighter, Mord is still an infiltrater at heart, and with infiltration expertise and +15 deception, he can use know your enemy to great extent.
Lvl 20: The Dwarfiest Halfling
Assassin Rogue 9/Battlemaster Fighter 11
Str: 14 Dex: 20 Con: 16 Int: 10 Wis: 12 Char: 16
Hp: 174
AC: 16
Feat: Moderately Armored
Skills: Acrobatics, Athletics(Exp) Deception(Exp), Intimidation(Exp), Religion, Stealth(Exp)
Maneuvers: Ambush, Distracting Strike, Disarming Attack, Precision Attack, Pushing Attack, Menacing Attack
Mord creeped down the hallway, crossbow drawn, hand on axe. Only a few on the strongest and stealthiest dwarves accompanied him on this mission: take down SHORT once and for all. He hadn’t been in these halls for years, and this wasn’t how he’s imagined returning when he’d left for Beerville (Or was it Beardland?). But here he was. He cocked his bow and got into position. The head of SHORT was in range. 6 bolts fired in rapid succession, each hitting their mark. His warriors charged. The battle had begun.
We’re finishing with more fighter. Mord picks up a few more maneuvers, indomitable, a third attack, and a bucketload of hit points. Otherwise, not too much changes. I hope you enjoyed my build and the tale of the dwarfiest halfling in Beerville. Although it might be the dwarfiest halfling in Beardland. I’m not sure. :)
RIP Tavern.
All hail King Jovan Fluffycloud Prince
Teleporting elf monk supremacy!, but druids are better
[Cactus]Waffles!”I don’t have any good quotes to put in my sig.” -Me
I'm going to try to make a build, but my mind is blank right now.
All stars fade. Some stars forever fall.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Homebrew (Mostly Outdated): Magic Items, Monsters, Spells, Subclasses
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
If there was no light, people wouldn't fear the dark.
Yeah.....all my characters dont really fit into any race stereotypes, Im much better at writing them as their own person.....Thisll be a tough theme
NNCHRIS: SOUL THIEF, MASTER OF THE ARCANE, AND KING OF NEW YORKNN
Gdl Creator of Ilheia and her Knights of the Fallen Stars ldG
Lesser Student of Technomancy [undergrad student in computer science]
Supporter of the 2014 rules, and a MASSIVE Homebrewer. Come to me all ye who seek salvation in wording thy brews!
Open to homebrew trades at any time!! Or feel free to request HB, and Ill see if I can get it done for ya!
Characters (Outdated)
I will accept builds of ANY race, they don't have to be exclusively dwarfs. Just keep the spirit of a dwarf in the back of your head - stubborn, proud and traditional.
I have a couple of good character ideas. I'll try to post one here.
I have a weird sense of humor.
I also make maps.(That's a link)
Btw, sorry for doing this bit by bit. I’m not on for very long at a time.
RIP Tavern.
All hail King Jovan Fluffycloud Prince
Teleporting elf monk supremacy!, but druids are better
[Cactus]Waffles!”I don’t have any good quotes to put in my sig.” -Me
Done!
RIP Tavern.
All hail King Jovan Fluffycloud Prince
Teleporting elf monk supremacy!, but druids are better
[Cactus]Waffles!”I don’t have any good quotes to put in my sig.” -Me
Consider this throwing my axe in the ring as a place holder. Will probably not have time to write anything in the next few weeks but if the competition is still going whenI have time I'll do something.
Thank you for make it happen! This is amazing!!!
You have a Halfling Rogue wielding a greataxe and somehow landing the hit. Sus.
I forgot he doesn’t have proficiency. :)
RIP Tavern.
All hail King Jovan Fluffycloud Prince
Teleporting elf monk supremacy!, but druids are better
[Cactus]Waffles!”I don’t have any good quotes to put in my sig.” -Me
I don't see enough contestants yet!
I'm not inspired. Not feeling very dwarfy 😥
I don't like to build out characters that never get played, so instead i'm going to completely ignore the rules and submit Hamrik Stonebeardaxe, the dwarf fighter (champion) I played in a campaign the x wing podcast group i'm part of played during the pandemic. It's long enough ago that i honestly couldn't tell you what our "highlights" were and i was belligerently inebriated for the entirety of more than one session. We also fall squarely under the category of " buddies screwing around" and not "entertainers putting on a show." That said I think Hamrick absolutely deserves the title of "dwarfiest dwarf of all." Hamrick was fond of saying "All the best dwarven names have stone beard or axe in em and the stonebeardaxe clan gots all three" and Hamrick absolutely sought to prove it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R7DTIx4uk6k&list=PLdF5UXA3PnPQnictrr3OLwFGmi7-PJoPR
A few actual thoughts: If i were to play this character again I would absolutely play a samurai instead of a champion, and would strongly consider the dueling style over great weapon fighting since i didn't know at the time that I could use a shield with dueling. The lack of mobility definitely drove me a little mad, I was strongly considering taking the mobile or charger feat, but my dm gifted me a throwing axe that granted teleportation so that pretty much solved that issue.
Okay, it seems the competition doesn't track a lot of attention this time, I guess the theme wasn't very open. I will start Voting tomorrow unless anybody wants to submit another build.
Gah. I totally forgot about this. I wanted to build something that would make both CS Lewis, Tolkien and Terry Pratchett proud but I just didn't have the time. Oh well. I might have time to do it tomorrow but I'm totally fine if you start the vote without me.
If you get your build done in the next few days I'll definitely give you another few days :)
G'day. My name is Muscles McBeard and not only was I BORN a Dwarf, I was birthed under a mountain carved in the IMAGE of a Dwarf and called The Dwarven Peak.
Mountain Dwarf, Haunted One (you'll see why later).
Str 16, Dex 10, Con 16, Int 10, Wis 10, Cha 14
Lvl 1-12 I spent my career as a Fighter/Champion. I fought with dual Battle Axes (two-weapon fighting style and Dual Wielder at lvl 4). I grew stronger as I grew older (+2 Str at level 6 and again at lvl 8). My experience made me better at avoiding damage (Defense fighting style at lvl 10) and tougher (Dwarven Fortitude Feat at lvl 12.
Level 13-20 I found religion due to a horrible injustice that I had committed and spent my remaining years as a Paladin. I learned to fight even in total darkness (Blind Fighting Style) but I never strayed from my Oath of Vengeance. I became even more durable (Durable Feat at lvl 4) and heartier (+2 Con at lvl 8).
(Final Stats - Str 20, Dex 10, Con 20, Int 10, Wis 10, Cha 14, AC 20 in Plate Armor with 224 HP and twin battle axes that have +11 to hit and 1D8+5 damage each with 3 base Attacks and a Bonus Action Attack with Crit on 19+. If I take the Dodge Action in combat I can regain 1 Hit Die of HP for a minimum of 10 + Con bonus or 15 HP)
Muscles was born into a fairly typical Dwarven mountain village. He took up his family's trade of stonework and trained with the local militia as all male Dwarves do. He was acquitted a good fighter and during one particularly harsh winter, he was selected to try and get to the next village to bring back food. A storm trapped him in a cave for three days and nights and when he returned to his village he found every slain by a band of marauding Orcs. He swore to slay those that had killed his village and set out on a quest of revenge.
Muscles tracked the raiding party for a week before finding them sheltered in a valley at the base of a waterfall. There were nearly a hundred of them and while his heart burned for vengeance he knew that the odds were too steep. He formulated a plan and over the course of the winter, he built a dam across the lip of the falls. The water began to build up behind his dam but the villagers didn't notice as the falls froze over every winter anyway. In the spring, when the snows melted, the small pond behind the falls had grown into a huge lake. Muscles waited for the first rain and then broke the dam. The water poured over the falls and rose well beyond the banks of the river. The village was completely flooded and Muscles could hear the cries of anguish from high above.
He raced down the hillside and into the ruined village as the waters began to recede. He slew every Orc he found whether they were armed or not, standing or half-drowned. At the far end of the village, atop another hill, he saw a cave with several Orcs scurrying into it. He thundered into the cave, intent on slaughtering all that he saw. Inside, he found not a band of evil marauders but rather the old, the young, and the women from the village. In that moment, looking into the eyes of those helpless Orcs, he understood the wrong he had done. In the laws of his people, it was not wrong for him to seek out the raiders that had destroyed his village...but this was mindless slaughter. In his blind rage, he'd slain the old, the weak, and the defenseless young.
He turned away in shame and vowed to never again raise his weapons against the helpless. He swore an oath to defend the weak and punish those who would do as he had done, slaying those weaker than themselves.