Hey guys! So for my next campaign I definitely wanted to have a Dragonborn...but I'm hella torn on what class to make him. I haven't played a Paladin, Monk, or Fighter yet so I was thinking about assigning him to one of those classes...I just don't know which one to pick. So kinda just wanted to gauge your guys thoughts and opinions on the classes to help me possibly narrow my choices down.
Paladin is kind of the default Dragonborn class. Dragonborns natively get a boost to CHA and STR, which is exactly what you want for a Paladin. A Paladin is also usually a frontline fighter, and the additional damage resistance that every Dragonborn gets is a solid boost in that regard.
That said, none of these are bad options. Monk gets the least obvious benefit from being Dragonborn... Monks benefit from DEX more than STR, and CHA doesn't do much for them. The extra damage resistance is nice, since Monks are just a bit squishier than Fighters or Paladins and can't take advantage of armor, but unless you have a very specific build in mind it's got the least synergy with Dragonborn.
Fighter is probably the most adaptable class in the game. Whether you want to focus on STR or DEX... you can be a quick hit-and-run fighter, a ranged fighter, or you can even get spellcasting.
I would mainly mimic what Transmorpher says, with Paladin being the "best" mechanically, with the default racial setup, Fighter being the simplest to fit into an off shaped box (stats) and Monk the lowest fit, with Dex and Wis being their preference and Dragonborn giving neither.
With all that in mind, a Monk would certainly benefit from the resistance, due to being squishy, a shot of a breath weapon here and there would be a nice perk, too. You could do it, but would be wanting to forego any Feats as you'd be wanting every ASI for Wis and Dex to make him/her as useful and effective as possible. I made a Genasi Monk, so only got a 1 point boost to my Wis to help stats and I am having a ton of fun with him. The Monk skirmisher role (as Open Hand, anyway) is all kinds of fun, although I admit my low Wis and thus low DC for Stunning strike is annoying lol. I haven't played a Fighter or Paladin, so can't compare the fun factor. I do see the Fighter as amazingly versatile and if single classed seems to get an ASI every other session (yes, I am exaggerating, but he's gotten more than the rest of us and we're only 10!) so building stats and grabbing a feat here and there is a lot more viable.
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Talk to your Players.Talk to your DM. If more people used this advice, there would be 24.74% fewer threads on Tactics, Rules and DM discussions.
If you are allowed to use Tasha’s variant on ability scores the. The default Dragonborn bonuses don’t matter, you can put them in Dex and Wis and be fine as a Monk.
Do you have any thoughts on the type of character you want to play? Not class, but are you of trying to fit a theme? A character from a movie or book? Want to be standing toe to toe slugging it out? Or a mobile combatant?
Although somewhat weaker on a relative basis, thematically a Sun Soul or Four Elements Monk could be an interesting fit with a Dragonborn using similar elements. As ThriKreen mentioned, it’s a lot easier if your DM allows the stat bonuses to vary per Tasha’s.
If you go this route, you’d likely spend your ki doing ranged magic attacks instead of Stunning Strike. That could feed into your breath weapon too. It would probably be pretty fun to do close up AOEs alternating with punches, but it’s going to be mathematically weaker than the Paladin.
Tasha's variant ability scores with Way of the Ascendant Monk would be interesting and thematically fun.
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"...or you can find the secret tunnel that leads to the Vault of Dickish DM which is filled with 10,000,000 copper coins and a 5,000 pound solid gold statue of a middle finger that is too big to fit through the door."
Thematically I like monk the best, but mechanically they suck huge, sagging and swinging Christimas ornaments. Personally I would choose fighter. What are you looking to get out of your choice?
I am partial to Fighter, always have been and always will be. If you have never played one I suggest it as with the added benefits from being dragonborn you have a very tough character to begin with. I find that while spells and cool abilities are fun, playing as a Fighter taps into your creativity in combat. Shove attacks to knock prone or pushing into obstacles, trying to use the environment to your benefit or the enemies detriment makes combat way more interesting than i swing my greatsword and chop them down.
Also the subclasses offer alot, battlemaster superiority dice reset on short rests, so does action surge and second wind. So does the breath weapon. Alot of ASIs or feats which allows for very unique playstyles. You want some spells? Go Eldritch knight. The rune knight is also very cool.
I am partial to Fighter, always have been and always will be. If you have never played one I suggest it as with the added benefits from being dragonborn you have a very tough character to begin with. I find that while spells and cool abilities are fun, playing as a Fighter taps into your creativity in combat. Shove attacks to knock prone or pushing into obstacles, trying to use the environment to your benefit or the enemies detriment makes combat way more interesting than i swing my greatsword and chop them down.
Also the subclasses offer alot, battlemaster superiority dice reset on short rests, so does action surge and second wind. So does the breath weapon. Alot of ASIs or feats which allows for very unique playstyles. You want some spells? Go Eldritch knight. The rune knight is also very cool.
Dragonborn breath weapon plus Echo Knight offers some cool possibilities, although RAW the breath weapon doesn't use the Attack action
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Active characters:
Carric Aquissar, elven wannabe artist in his deconstructionist period (Archfey warlock) Lan Kidogo, mapach archaeologist and treasure hunter (Knowledge cleric) Mardan Ferres, elven private investigator obsessed with that one unsolved murder (Assassin rogue) Xhekhetiel, halfling survivor of a Betrayer Gods cult (Runechild sorcerer/fighter)
And let's not forget that if you use the new Dragonborn racial choices from Fizban's, you aren't locked into Str/Cha bonuses, they use the new "+2/+1 or +1/+1/+1 wherever you want" which I guess is the default for all new race choices going forward.
"Know your enemy, know your self" Click here to read my Homebrew thread! "Veni, vidi, vici...
Status update: I am going to be afk very frequently for a currently un predictable amount of time, for more information/details on this, check my homebrew thread which can be found easier by clicking the 'here' above ^^^
I say this as I have done that combo before and it worked fairly well.
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"Know your enemy, know your self" Click here to read my Homebrew thread! "Veni, vidi, vici...
Status update: I am going to be afk very frequently for a currently un predictable amount of time, for more information/details on this, check my homebrew thread which can be found easier by clicking the 'here' above ^^^
Plus if you go way of four elements and with the dragonborn's breath weapon that could turn out really good in battle.
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"Know your enemy, know your self" Click here to read my Homebrew thread! "Veni, vidi, vici...
Status update: I am going to be afk very frequently for a currently un predictable amount of time, for more information/details on this, check my homebrew thread which can be found easier by clicking the 'here' above ^^^
I am partial to Fighter, always have been and always will be. If you have never played one I suggest it as with the added benefits from being dragonborn you have a very tough character to begin with. I find that while spells and cool abilities are fun, playing as a Fighter taps into your creativity in combat. Shove attacks to knock prone or pushing into obstacles, trying to use the environment to your benefit or the enemies detriment makes combat way more interesting than i swing my greatsword and chop them down.
Also the subclasses offer alot, battlemaster superiority dice reset on short rests, so does action surge and second wind. So does the breath weapon. Alot of ASIs or feats which allows for very unique playstyles. You want some spells? Go Eldritch knight. The rune knight is also very cool.
Dragonborn breath weapon plus Echo Knight offers some cool possibilities, although RAW the breath weapon doesn't use the Attack action
Not that it's relevant any more for OP, but since this thread floated back up, Fizban's made a dragonborn Echo Knight both mechanically better (since your breath weapon now does use your Attack action) and thematically cooler what with dragons now innately having 'echoes' in different worlds
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Active characters:
Carric Aquissar, elven wannabe artist in his deconstructionist period (Archfey warlock) Lan Kidogo, mapach archaeologist and treasure hunter (Knowledge cleric) Mardan Ferres, elven private investigator obsessed with that one unsolved murder (Assassin rogue) Xhekhetiel, halfling survivor of a Betrayer Gods cult (Runechild sorcerer/fighter)
I am partial to Fighter, always have been and always will be. If you have never played one I suggest it as with the added benefits from being dragonborn you have a very tough character to begin with. I find that while spells and cool abilities are fun, playing as a Fighter taps into your creativity in combat. Shove attacks to knock prone or pushing into obstacles, trying to use the environment to your benefit or the enemies detriment makes combat way more interesting than i swing my greatsword and chop them down.
Also the subclasses offer alot, battlemaster superiority dice reset on short rests, so does action surge and second wind. So does the breath weapon. Alot of ASIs or feats which allows for very unique playstyles. You want some spells? Go Eldritch knight. The rune knight is also very cool.
Dragonborn breath weapon plus Echo Knight offers some cool possibilities, although RAW the breath weapon doesn't use the Attack action
Not that it's relevant any more for OP, but since this thread floated back up, Fizban's made a dragonborn Echo Knight both mechanically better (since your breath weapon now does use your Attack action) and thematically cooler what with dragons now innately having 'echoes' in different worlds
Agreed on both the mechanics and flavor, but you still can't use the breath weapon through your Echo.
When you take the Attack action on your turn, any attack you make with that action can originate from your space or the echo’s space. You make this choice for each attack.
New Breath Weapon:
When you take the Attack action on your turn, you can replace one of your attacks with an exhalation of magical energy
Guess it depends on whether you interpret "replace" as "you're making a different kind of attack" as opposed to "you're doing something different that isn't an attack"
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Active characters:
Carric Aquissar, elven wannabe artist in his deconstructionist period (Archfey warlock) Lan Kidogo, mapach archaeologist and treasure hunter (Knowledge cleric) Mardan Ferres, elven private investigator obsessed with that one unsolved murder (Assassin rogue) Xhekhetiel, halfling survivor of a Betrayer Gods cult (Runechild sorcerer/fighter)
When you take the Attack action on your turn, any attack you make with that action can originate from your space or the echo’s space. You make this choice for each attack.
New Breath Weapon:
When you take the Attack action on your turn, you can replace one of your attacks with an exhalation of magical energy
Guess it depends on whether you interpret "replace" as "you're making a different kind of attack" as opposed to "you're doing something different that isn't an attack"
I was thinking Unleash Incarnation, which has to be melee. This is a grey area. I'll need to dive into this before I can form an opinion on it.
When you take the Attack action on your turn, you can replace one of your attacks with an exhalation of magical energy in a 30-foot line that is 5 feet wide.
Manifest Echo
When you take the Attack action on your turn, any attack you make with that action can originate from your space or the echo’s space. You make this choice for each attack.
I feel like you can reasonably argue either way on this one.
For: "When you take the attack action ... you can replace" You did take the attack action, and all Manifest Echo does is make that action originate from your echo.
Against: "any attack you make with that action can originate from the echo's space"
So is the breath weapon technically an attack? But since the breath weapon says you're replacing an attack, does it matter?
Hey guys! So for my next campaign I definitely wanted to have a Dragonborn...but I'm hella torn on what class to make him. I haven't played a Paladin, Monk, or Fighter yet so I was thinking about assigning him to one of those classes...I just don't know which one to pick. So kinda just wanted to gauge your guys thoughts and opinions on the classes to help me possibly narrow my choices down.
Paladin is kind of the default Dragonborn class. Dragonborns natively get a boost to CHA and STR, which is exactly what you want for a Paladin. A Paladin is also usually a frontline fighter, and the additional damage resistance that every Dragonborn gets is a solid boost in that regard.
That said, none of these are bad options. Monk gets the least obvious benefit from being Dragonborn... Monks benefit from DEX more than STR, and CHA doesn't do much for them. The extra damage resistance is nice, since Monks are just a bit squishier than Fighters or Paladins and can't take advantage of armor, but unless you have a very specific build in mind it's got the least synergy with Dragonborn.
Fighter is probably the most adaptable class in the game. Whether you want to focus on STR or DEX... you can be a quick hit-and-run fighter, a ranged fighter, or you can even get spellcasting.
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Conquest Paladin getting the Dragon Fear feat level 4 or 8 is great.
I would mainly mimic what Transmorpher says, with Paladin being the "best" mechanically, with the default racial setup, Fighter being the simplest to fit into an off shaped box (stats) and Monk the lowest fit, with Dex and Wis being their preference and Dragonborn giving neither.
With all that in mind, a Monk would certainly benefit from the resistance, due to being squishy, a shot of a breath weapon here and there would be a nice perk, too. You could do it, but would be wanting to forego any Feats as you'd be wanting every ASI for Wis and Dex to make him/her as useful and effective as possible. I made a Genasi Monk, so only got a 1 point boost to my Wis to help stats and I am having a ton of fun with him. The Monk skirmisher role (as Open Hand, anyway) is all kinds of fun, although I admit my low Wis and thus low DC for Stunning strike is annoying lol. I haven't played a Fighter or Paladin, so can't compare the fun factor. I do see the Fighter as amazingly versatile and if single classed seems to get an ASI every other session (yes, I am exaggerating, but he's gotten more than the rest of us and we're only 10!) so building stats and grabbing a feat here and there is a lot more viable.
Talk to your Players. Talk to your DM. If more people used this advice, there would be 24.74% fewer threads on Tactics, Rules and DM discussions.
If you are allowed to use Tasha’s variant on ability scores the. The default Dragonborn bonuses don’t matter, you can put them in Dex and Wis and be fine as a Monk.
Do you have any thoughts on the type of character you want to play? Not class, but are you of trying to fit a theme? A character from a movie or book? Want to be standing toe to toe slugging it out? Or a mobile combatant?
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Although somewhat weaker on a relative basis, thematically a Sun Soul or Four Elements Monk could be an interesting fit with a Dragonborn using similar elements. As ThriKreen mentioned, it’s a lot easier if your DM allows the stat bonuses to vary per Tasha’s.
If you go this route, you’d likely spend your ki doing ranged magic attacks instead of Stunning Strike. That could feed into your breath weapon too. It would probably be pretty fun to do close up AOEs alternating with punches, but it’s going to be mathematically weaker than the Paladin.
Tasha's variant ability scores with Way of the Ascendant Monk would be interesting and thematically fun.
#OpenD&D #ORC
"...or you can find the secret tunnel that leads to the Vault of Dickish DM which is filled with 10,000,000 copper coins and a 5,000 pound solid gold statue of a middle finger that is too big to fit through the door."
Thematically I like monk the best, but mechanically they suck huge, sagging and swinging Christimas ornaments. Personally I would choose fighter. What are you looking to get out of your choice?
I am partial to Fighter, always have been and always will be. If you have never played one I suggest it as with the added benefits from being dragonborn you have a very tough character to begin with. I find that while spells and cool abilities are fun, playing as a Fighter taps into your creativity in combat. Shove attacks to knock prone or pushing into obstacles, trying to use the environment to your benefit or the enemies detriment makes combat way more interesting than i swing my greatsword and chop them down.
Also the subclasses offer alot, battlemaster superiority dice reset on short rests, so does action surge and second wind. So does the breath weapon. Alot of ASIs or feats which allows for very unique playstyles. You want some spells? Go Eldritch knight. The rune knight is also very cool.
Dragonborn breath weapon plus Echo Knight offers some cool possibilities, although RAW the breath weapon doesn't use the Attack action
Active characters:
Carric Aquissar, elven wannabe artist in his deconstructionist period (Archfey warlock)
Lan Kidogo, mapach archaeologist and treasure hunter (Knowledge cleric)
Mardan Ferres, elven private investigator obsessed with that one unsolved murder (Assassin rogue)
Xhekhetiel, halfling survivor of a Betrayer Gods cult (Runechild sorcerer/fighter)
And let's not forget that if you use the new Dragonborn racial choices from Fizban's, you aren't locked into Str/Cha bonuses, they use the new "+2/+1 or +1/+1/+1 wherever you want" which I guess is the default for all new race choices going forward.
I would choose monk for the dragonborn
"Know your enemy, know your self"
Click here to read my Homebrew thread!
"Veni, vidi, vici...
Status update:
I am going to be afk very frequently for a currently un predictable amount of time, for more information/details on this, check my homebrew thread which can be found easier by clicking the 'here' above ^^^
I say this as I have done that combo before and it worked fairly well.
"Know your enemy, know your self"
Click here to read my Homebrew thread!
"Veni, vidi, vici...
Status update:
I am going to be afk very frequently for a currently un predictable amount of time, for more information/details on this, check my homebrew thread which can be found easier by clicking the 'here' above ^^^
Plus if you go way of four elements and with the dragonborn's breath weapon that could turn out really good in battle.
"Know your enemy, know your self"
Click here to read my Homebrew thread!
"Veni, vidi, vici...
Status update:
I am going to be afk very frequently for a currently un predictable amount of time, for more information/details on this, check my homebrew thread which can be found easier by clicking the 'here' above ^^^
Not that it's relevant any more for OP, but since this thread floated back up, Fizban's made a dragonborn Echo Knight both mechanically better (since your breath weapon now does use your Attack action) and thematically cooler what with dragons now innately having 'echoes' in different worlds
Active characters:
Carric Aquissar, elven wannabe artist in his deconstructionist period (Archfey warlock)
Lan Kidogo, mapach archaeologist and treasure hunter (Knowledge cleric)
Mardan Ferres, elven private investigator obsessed with that one unsolved murder (Assassin rogue)
Xhekhetiel, halfling survivor of a Betrayer Gods cult (Runechild sorcerer/fighter)
Agreed on both the mechanics and flavor, but you still can't use the breath weapon through your Echo.
Hmm. Echo Knight:
New Breath Weapon:
Guess it depends on whether you interpret "replace" as "you're making a different kind of attack" as opposed to "you're doing something different that isn't an attack"
Active characters:
Carric Aquissar, elven wannabe artist in his deconstructionist period (Archfey warlock)
Lan Kidogo, mapach archaeologist and treasure hunter (Knowledge cleric)
Mardan Ferres, elven private investigator obsessed with that one unsolved murder (Assassin rogue)
Xhekhetiel, halfling survivor of a Betrayer Gods cult (Runechild sorcerer/fighter)
It's part of the Attack action. It just replaces one of your attacks so it ought to be valid for use through an Echo.
Find your own truth, choose your enemies carefully, and never deal with a dragon.
"Canon" is what's factual to D&D lore. "Cannon" is what you're going to be shot with if you keep getting the word wrong.
I was thinking Unleash Incarnation, which has to be melee. This is a grey area. I'll need to dive into this before I can form an opinion on it.
I feel like you can reasonably argue either way on this one.
For: "When you take the attack action ... you can replace" You did take the attack action, and all Manifest Echo does is make that action originate from your echo.
Against: "any attack you make with that action can originate from the echo's space"
So is the breath weapon technically an attack? But since the breath weapon says you're replacing an attack, does it matter?
I'm leaning toward you can.