(Edit: a better title would be "Ultimate successful slacker for Strixhaven")
(This comment contains no spoilers for what happens in the campaign, but does address the mechanics for testing)
While prepping to run a game, I noticed something available in the Player's Handbook that makes it possible for a student to slack their way through Strixhaven, coasting on luck and natural talent. My guess is that some DMs will probably house-rule part of this to prevent players from using it, but it does only require use of options in the Player's Handbook, and the rules for how Strixhaven handles testing and preparation. It doesn't break any other part of the campaign.
It just uses the Variant Human race and Lucky Feat.
This allows the character to end up with the best of four d20 rolls for each part of each test. The trick is in the Lucky feat, which adds one die to the roll, and lets you choose to take the highest of all of the dice. This means you can take the disadvantage by pulling an all-nighter (2 dice), add your re-rolls to each part of the test (adding a third die), and then expending a use of your Lucky Feat for each part of the test (bringing the total to four, with you using the best of them all, turning the disadvantage into triple-advantage, which does work rules-as-written).
Even if you ignore modifiers from Ability scores, proficiencies, and the bonus dice from extracurricular activities, for each individual test in your first year you have:
only a 2% chance of failing
only 13% chance of passing with one success
and a huge 85% chance of acing.
You can expand on it by taking Rogue for your Level 1 class to start with a total of 6 skill proficiencies, with expertise in two of them, and then you can take at least the next three levels in Bard, netting you another four skill proficiencies by the end of the year, with expertise in two more skills.
I do t really know what problem you have with it. There’s a section literally on how the character can cheat on every test.
somehow rerolling some die doesn’t seem like an issue to me when there are many ways to generate advantage within the base rules, let alone the campaign specific bonuses easily possible.
One of the school backgrounds even gives your character the option to choose guidance as a cantrip.
there’s little reason to restrict the results of the die, or to punish a player for building their character to be successful in this way. Especially since the exams have relatively little impact in any way on the campaign.
I do t really know what problem you have with it. There’s a section literally on how the character can cheat on every test.
somehow rerolling some die doesn’t seem like an issue to me when there are many ways to generate advantage within the base rules, let alone the campaign specific bonuses easily possible.
One of the school backgrounds even gives your character the option to choose guidance as a cantrip.
there’s little reason to restrict the results of the die, or to punish a player for building their character to be successful in this way. Especially since the exams have relatively little impact in any way on the campaign.
I don't have a problem with it. I came up with this combination as a 100% rules-as-written to make the tests easy. If anything, the heading should be "Ultimate slacker build", but I can't change the heading once it has been posted.
I said I expect some DMs would make house rules against it, not that I would, and it was a note to players, not a recommendation to DMs.
If the human variant Lucky feat picks rogue, and then eventually goes soul knife while picking expertise on cheating skills, they have about a 95% chance to ACE all the exams in their entirety.
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(Edit: a better title would be "Ultimate successful slacker for Strixhaven")
(This comment contains no spoilers for what happens in the campaign, but does address the mechanics for testing)
While prepping to run a game, I noticed something available in the Player's Handbook that makes it possible for a student to slack their way through Strixhaven, coasting on luck and natural talent. My guess is that some DMs will probably house-rule part of this to prevent players from using it, but it does only require use of options in the Player's Handbook, and the rules for how Strixhaven handles testing and preparation. It doesn't break any other part of the campaign.
It just uses the Variant Human race and Lucky Feat.
This allows the character to end up with the best of four d20 rolls for each part of each test. The trick is in the Lucky feat, which adds one die to the roll, and lets you choose to take the highest of all of the dice. This means you can take the disadvantage by pulling an all-nighter (2 dice), add your re-rolls to each part of the test (adding a third die), and then expending a use of your Lucky Feat for each part of the test (bringing the total to four, with you using the best of them all, turning the disadvantage into triple-advantage, which does work rules-as-written).
Even if you ignore modifiers from Ability scores, proficiencies, and the bonus dice from extracurricular activities, for each individual test in your first year you have:
only a 2% chance of failing
only 13% chance of passing with one success
and a huge 85% chance of acing.
You can expand on it by taking Rogue for your Level 1 class to start with a total of 6 skill proficiencies, with expertise in two of them, and then you can take at least the next three levels in Bard, netting you another four skill proficiencies by the end of the year, with expertise in two more skills.
I do t really know what problem you have with it. There’s a section literally on how the character can cheat on every test.
somehow rerolling some die doesn’t seem like an issue to me when there are many ways to generate advantage within the base rules, let alone the campaign specific bonuses easily possible.
One of the school backgrounds even gives your character the option to choose guidance as a cantrip.
there’s little reason to restrict the results of the die, or to punish a player for building their character to be successful in this way. Especially since the exams have relatively little impact in any way on the campaign.
I don't have a problem with it. I came up with this combination as a 100% rules-as-written to make the tests easy. If anything, the heading should be "Ultimate slacker build", but I can't change the heading once it has been posted.
I said I expect some DMs would make house rules against it, not that I would, and it was a note to players, not a recommendation to DMs.
If the human variant Lucky feat picks rogue, and then eventually goes soul knife while picking expertise on cheating skills, they have about a 95% chance to ACE all the exams in their entirety.