I'm curious to see how these builds compare to the obvious tank, so I'm going to throw it here just for the sake of being able to directly compare.
Hill Dwarf Barbarian 20
Level 20 Stats: Str 15 | Dex 17 | Con 24 | Int 11 | Wis 11 | Cha 10
Would you mind putting in your starting stats? Trying to do the math backwards makes my brain hurt. :P
Also, sleep is one of the things that DOES end even persistant rages. That's why you pick a sneaky half-elf instead. ;) Another thing is that you can only take the Resilient Feat once.
Jank the Tank (Oath of the Crown Paladin 4 / Glamour Bard 16)
Key Points
- This build is not designed to just absorb as much damage as possible, it comes at the "terminator" from a different perspective: locking down everything on the battlefield so it can take it's opponents down one by one.
- It uses a combination of spells and abilities to control the battlefield: Dragon Fear (1/Short Rest, DC 19 Wis save) to make everything in 30ft of you Frightened of you. Channel Divinity - Champion Challenge (1/Short Rest, DC 19 Wis save) to make everything within 30ft of you to be unable to move more than 30ft away from you. Unbreakable Majesty (1/Short Rest, DC 19 Charisma save) to make anyone attacking you for the first time on the turn to either save or use a new target/waste it's attack. Magical Secrets - Armor of Agathys to reduce any incoming attack and do some reactionary damage as well. Compelled Duel (DC 19 Wis save) to engage in battle with a singular target. Hellish Rebuke (DC 19 Dex save) to do some more reactionary damage if hit. Shield of Faith to increase AC when needed.
- The strategy: Champion Challenge and Dragon Fear on the first round - if they fail both saves they cannot move closer to you and they cannot move further away than 30ft either. Anyone that succeeds in their Saves is your primary target for Compelled Duel. Later on, Unbreakable Majesty protects you almost completely. from any attack as they have to overcome Fear (Disadvantage) and a Charisma Save to even get an attack.
Race: Copper Dragonborn (because Acid resistance is cool)
Stats: Str 15, Dex 8, Con 15, Int 8, Wis 8, Cha 15
Background: Entertainer
Feat order: Dragon Fear Cha+1, Heavy Armor Master Str+1, ASI Str+2, ASI Cha+1/Con+1, ASI Cha+2
Starting levels: Paladin 4
Focus on getting Dragon Fear. You start out with Chain Mail but you're going to upgrade to Plate ASAP. Once you have level 4 you are already in the meat and potatoes of the build - Champion Challenge and Dragon Fear. Take Defense fighting style.
Level 5: Paladin 4/Bard 1
Now you start grabbing all the spells you can to give yourself as many buffs as you can each battle. Once that Challenge and Fear hits, you're all about absorbing and/or resisting damage with your spells, and picking off the others with Compelled Duel.
Level 14: Paladin 4/Bard 10
This is when Magical Secrets comes in. Options like Armor of Agathys become very potent, Shield that will outright block some of the attacks, Hellish Rebuke to supplement the Agathys damage, or even Stoneskin to add more durability to Agathys.
Level 20: Paladin 4/Bard 16
This is when Unbreakable Majesty comes into play. With Champion Challenge, Dragon Fear, Compelled Duel, and Unbreakable Majesty... you will likely become completely un-targetable, being able to 1v1 any of the opponents you want. The real benefit of all of this is that you could play this character in a party full of ranged attackers.
In the end:
You have a Str 20, Dex 8, Con 16, Int 8, Wis 8, Cha 20
AC: 21 (but almost all enemies will be at Disadvantage to hit you)
168 HP (with Armor of Agathys cast any number of times, Heavy Armor Master reducing all damage by 3, and spells like Stoneskin reducing that again by half)
Spells: the equivalent to a 18th level spellcaster, so all the benefits that come with that.
- This build is not designed to just absorb as much damage as possible, it comes at the "terminator" from a different perspective: locking down everything on the battlefield so it can take it's opponents down one by one.
- It uses a combination of spells and abilities to control the battlefield: Dragon Fear (1/Short Rest, DC 19 Wis save) to make everything in 30ft of you Frightened of you. Channel Divinity - Champion Challenge (1/Short Rest, DC 19 Wis save) to make everything within 30ft of you to be unable to move more than 30ft away from you. Unbreakable Majesty (1/Short Rest, DC 19 Charisma save) to make anyone attacking you for the first time on the turn to either save or use a new target/waste it's attack. Magical Secrets - Armor of Agathys to reduce any incoming attack and do some reactionary damage as well. Compelled Duel (DC 19 Wis save) to engage in battle with a singular target. Hellish Rebuke (DC 19 Dex save) to do some more reactionary damage if hit. Shield of Faith to increase AC when needed.
- The strategy: Champion Challenge and Dragon Fear on the first round - if they fail both saves they cannot move closer to you and they cannot move further away than 30ft either. Anyone that succeeds in their Saves is your primary target for Compelled Duel. Later on, Unbreakable Majesty protects you almost completely. from any attack as they have to overcome Fear (Disadvantage) and a Charisma Save to even get an attack.
Race: Copper Dragonborn (because Acid resistance is cool)
Stats: Str 15, Dex 8, Con 15, Int 8, Wis 8, Cha 15
Background: Entertainer
Starting level: Paladin
You need to remember your level 5, 11, 17 and 20 overview, and the starting level etc. Otherwise, seems pretty sound.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
'The Cleverness of mushrooms always surprises me!' - Ivern Bramblefoot.
I'm curious to see how these builds compare to the obvious tank, so I'm going to throw it here just for the sake of being able to directly compare.
Hill Dwarf Barbarian 20
Level 20 Stats: Str 15 | Dex 17 | Con 24 | Int 11 | Wis 11 | Cha 10
Would you mind putting in your starting stats? Trying to do the math backwards makes my brain hurt. :P
Also, sleep is one of the things that DOES end even persistant rages. That's why you pick a sneaky half-elf instead. ;) Another thing is that you can only take the Resilient Feat once.
Oh no! I did not know you could only pick Resilient once - I'll update my build accordingly.
Starting stats are these:
11 Str | 15 Dex | 15 (17) Con | 10 Int | 10 (11) Wis | 10 Cha
Edit: I can't find anything that says sleep ends rage early with Persistent Rage. Would you mind assisting with a link to where you've seen that? You can still be put to sleep, stunned, etc. but I believe even here you have to essentially "time out" the rage by disallowing the Barb to spend their bonus action to reactive the rage after the 1 minute timer.
The concept here is for something that can put up with anything for the length of a movie shot / D&D battle. At early levels this centres around raising AC while at higher levels saves become more important note that at higher levels concentration will be on resiliant sphere or wall of force meaning if damage is taken there will be know active concentration spell.
Level 20 level Split: single class redemption paladin
Race: Yuan-ti, for immunity to poison and magic resistance
Key Features at level 20 Str=8, Dex=12, Con=16, Int=10, Wis=12, Cha=20 HP=224 +5 on all saves with advantage if they are from magic, with 3 luck points a day if I roll badly AC 21, increasing to 26 by casting shield Immune to poison, frightened and disease resistant to all damage from other creatures Can end a spell on a myself (or anyone else) 5 times a day 2 uses of Wall of Force to stop any damage getting to me at all 4th level slots will be used for either death ward or resiliant sphere (if no 5th level slots left) Lower level spell slots can be used for remove curse, dispel magic, counterspell, lesser restoration, cure wounds and shied. Gets 10+1d6 HP healed per turn (no action) if drops below 112, also has a pool of 100 HP from lay on hands Probably not strictly part of the requirements but the Auras, cleansing touch and many of the selected spells also enabgle party members to much harder to kill making a whole group of "terminators"
Level 1 Stats: Str = 8, Dex=12, Con=15, Int=9+1, Wis=12, Cha=15+2 Equipment: Chainmail armor, Shield and rapier At level 1, AC is 18 and has a positive modifier to all saves, if the attack is magical the save is with advantage. So very hard to damage and has a small a mount of healing right from the start. Walking speed of 20 and puny attack damage are not relevent for this build.
Level 5 Defence Fighting style and plate armor bring the AC up to 21 Sanctuary and Bless would be cast at the sign of conflict to further enhance defence against either attack rolls or saves. Other spells prepared would include lesser restauration and cure wounds in case anything does get through Level 4 ASI take magic initiate sorcerer for shield, to stop anything that gets though sanctuary and AC21. Mold earth and monor illusion could also be used ot create cover if necessary Sanctuary prevents any attacks but terminator is just walking through a storm of attacks with virtually nothing getting through.
Level11 By this stage Terminator can not be frightened and has added dispel magic, counterspell and remove curse to his spells. The extra slots extend his survival time further. Level 8 ASI is +1Cha, +1 Con. AC 21, increased to 26 by casting shield +4+1d4 on all saves with advantage if it is against magic. Immune to disease, frightened and poisoned
Level 17 At 12 takes lucky and at 16 +2 to Charisma Cleansing touch enables de-buff spells that get through to be ended and Prtective spirit adds to healing capibilities From level 13-16 Resiliant sphere would be used ot prevent any damage getting to terminator (with stoneskin as an alternative) but at 17 this is upgraded to wall of force Death Ward with be used in case the worst does happen.
Level 20 At level 19 take tough for extra HP Capstone makes terminator resistant to all damage from other creatures
I'm curious to see how these builds compare to the obvious tank, so I'm going to throw it here just for the sake of being able to directly compare.
Hill Dwarf Barbarian 20
Level 20 Stats: Str 15 | Dex 17 | Con 24 | Int 11 | Wis 11 | Cha 10
Would you mind putting in your starting stats? Trying to do the math backwards makes my brain hurt. :P
Also, sleep is one of the things that DOES end even persistant rages. That's why you pick a sneaky half-elf instead. ;) Another thing is that you can only take the Resilient Feat once.
Oh no! I did not know you could only pick Resilient once - I'll update my build accordingly.
Starting stats are these:
11 Str | 15 Dex | 15 (17) Con | 10 Int | 10 (11) Wis | 10 Cha
Edit: I can't find anything that says sleep ends rage early with Persistent Rage. Would you mind assisting with a link to where you've seen that? You can still be put to sleep, stunned, etc. but I believe even here you have to essentially "time out" the rage by disallowing the Barb to spend their bonus action to reactive the rage after the 1 minute timer.
Thanks for your contribution! Your rage still ends early if you fall unconscious, a common patch for this on Barbarians is taking a race that makes you immune to this, like any kind of Elf or a Warforged (I believe they're also immune).
Pretty popular build contest this time around. Shall be interesting what people like.
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"Where words fail, swords prevail. Where blood is spilled, my cup is filled" -Cartaphilus
"I have found the answer to the meaning of life. You ask me what the answer is? You already know what the answer to life is. You fear it more than the strike of a viper, the ravages of disease, the ire of a lover. The answer is always death. But death is a gentle mistress with a sweet embrace, and you owe her a debt of restitution. Life is not a gift, it is a loan."
Yeah! I'm really worried I won't be able to decide on my builds! I'll (hopefully 🙄) be doing them today! This is so much fun, and I hope this group keeps on growing!
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'The Cleverness of mushrooms always surprises me!' - Ivern Bramblefoot.
Heqanakthi (Priestess of Osiris, ex-Acolyte of Set)
Zealot Barbarian 14/Grave Cleric 6
Githyanki
Level 20 Stats: STR 18 | DEX 10 | CON 16 | INT 9 | WIS 18 | CHA 8
Level 1 Stats (Point buy): STR 16 | DEX 10 | CON 15 | INT 9 | WIS 15 | CHA 8
Background: Acolyte
Starting Level
Cleric 1
Starts off with scale mail ans shield for 16 AC, a mace, holy symbol, usual adventurer stuff, and the Skills of Insight, Religion, History, and Medicine.
So starting off, she does an unimpressive 1d6+3 damage, though Bless is helpful for increasing attack rolls for multiple party members. Depending on party composiiton, she will either have Cure Wounds or Healing Word prepared as well.
The Grave domain maximizes all healing she performs with spells and she can use Spare the Dying from up to a 30’ distance to stabilize her allies.
5 Level
Cleric 1 | Zealot Barbarian 4
ASI -> STR
At this point, Heqanakthi has attained all the benefits of rage as well as features of the subclass. This includes adding 1d6+2 radiant damage to the first successful attack each round to the flail (1d8+4) attacks she makes due to Divine Fury at the beginning of combat. Once she enters rage, she drops her shield and pulls out her greatsword to do 2d6+4 damage with each swing.
Raise Dead cast on Heqanakthi does not require material components. As such, she does not fear death except at the hands of a Necromancer or similar smears on all that is holy.
Using Githyanki Psionics, Heqanakthi can cast Jump on herself at the start of combat, which combined with her Athletic skill from Z. Barbarian, makes her an often fatal hazard to archers and ranged spellcasters. When she is really in a bind, she uses Misty Step to get out of traps that Jump cannot get her out of or to close the distance with spellcasters using abilities that lock down her allies. In other words, none of the Wall spells, including WoForce can stop her when she really wants to kill you. Since these are psionic abilities, the DM may arguably allow usage while Heqanakthi is in rage mode. Mileage may vary at your table.
11 Level
Cleric 3 | Zealot Barbarian 8
ASI -> CON and WIS
With Fanatical Focus, Haqankthi can re-roll a failed saving throw once per rage. She will generally save it for spells targeting her INT or her CHA since she is already proficient in WIS saves (none of that Dominate Person magic business).
Her Barbarian Fast Movement means that her base movement is 40’. Factoring in her Githyanki psi-Jump ability and her 18 STR, she is even a danger to low-flying creatures and certain ramparts. .
She uses her second level spell slots for Aid and Spiritual Weapon to to execute an extra 1d8+3 points of damage on her turn. She swings twice per round via Extra Attack using primarily her Great Sword (see above) once she invokes her divine rage. She has sold or traded her scale mail for half plate for a base AC of 15, which she augments with a shield until she channels her inner fanatic.
Haqankthi’s further training at the Order of Osiris confers on her the ability to mark her enemies for termination once every short rest. The cursed creature is vulnerable to the next instance of damage done to it.
17 Level
Cleric 6 | Zealot Barbarian 11
ASI -> WIS
Zealous Presence makes her an even deadlier battlefield charger. As a bonus action, up to 10 creatures within 60’ who can hear her rallying cry get advantage to all attacks and saving throws until the the start of her next turn. She saves this for the big fights or for the round after her allies are caught by surprise. Haqankthi still gets to act during the surprise round because of Feral Instinct.
Also Haqanakthi benefits from Relentless Rage and Brutal Critical.
Using her additional Sentinel at Deaths’ Door ability, she can cancel critical hits against her person or allied creatures within 30 feet using a reaction. With her 18 WIS, she can do so 4 times between long rests.
At the 6 Cleric level, she can curse two creatures between short rests so that they receive an expeditious Path to the Grave.
Her faced with great numbers of adversaries, she upcasts Spiritual Weapon to inflict 2d8+4 damage with a bonus action each round on top of her 2 strikes from her greatsword.
She uses her 3rd level spell slot to prepare Glyph of Warding on a helmet with a visor. She puts on this helmet any expected day of kicking ass. She triggers the Glyph by opening the visor as an "interact with object" free action, causing the pre-cast Silence spell to be activated, which becomes very useful when she grapples a spellcaster and then proceeds to knock the ***** out of them with her spare battleaxe. She will save the other 3rd level slot to upcast Prayer of Healing on those faithful allies who manage live through each carnage.
20 Level
Cleric 6 | Zealot Barbarian 14
ASI -> Great Weapon Master
With the GWM feat, Haqanakthi can take advantage of Reckless Attack to galvanize her damage on the first attack each round, doing 2d6+4+4+10 from her greatsword and 1d6+7 from her divinely powered radiance. With Path to the Grave, this severe wound is doubled.
Haqanakthi’s devotion to Osiris has elevated her to a nigh unkillable state (from the view of mortal humans anyway). As she can Rage Beyond Death, Haqanakthi can keep fighting regardless of failing multiple death saving throws. In fact, she cannot die until her enemies are but a broken, mess on the floor of whatever hell hole they hid in to evade Osiris’s judgment. When she slips out of rage, however, she can bonus action cast Spare the Dying on herself she has visions of meeting her god to be congratulated for a her service to the Underworld while getting some much deserved sleep after a long night’s work of. Fracturing the faces and snapping the spines of the arcanists who offend the deities of the death realm is what she wakes up in the morning for. If Osiris decrees that it is her time to be judged by at the scale of Anubis, who is a humble priestess to question this?
While many may run from death, there are none who can escape. Haqankthi embodies this ethos in her ferocious devotion to her god. So long as she can stand, she will deliver to her deity the final silence of all those who presume to defile and defy the Order of Osiris.
I'm curious to see how these builds compare to the obvious tank, so I'm going to throw it here just for the sake of being able to directly compare.
Hill Dwarf Barbarian 20
Level 20 Stats: Str 15 | Dex 17 | Con 24 | Int 11 | Wis 11 | Cha 10
Would you mind putting in your starting stats? Trying to do the math backwards makes my brain hurt. :P
Also, sleep is one of the things that DOES end even persistant rages. That's why you pick a sneaky half-elf instead. ;) Another thing is that you can only take the Resilient Feat once.
Oh no! I did not know you could only pick Resilient once - I'll update my build accordingly.
Starting stats are these:
11 Str | 15 Dex | 15 (17) Con | 10 Int | 10 (11) Wis | 10 Cha
Edit: I can't find anything that says sleep ends rage early with Persistent Rage. Would you mind assisting with a link to where you've seen that? You can still be put to sleep, stunned, etc. but I believe even here you have to essentially "time out" the rage by disallowing the Barb to spend their bonus action to reactive the rage after the 1 minute timer.
The Sleep spell renders you unconcious, which is one of the ways Persistant Rage can end. So the lowly sleep spell can kill even the mightiest barbarian (unless they have fey ancestry or is a warforged). :)
Heqanakthi (Priestess of Osiris, ex-Acolyte of Set)
SNIP When she slips out of rage, however, she can bonus action cast Spare the Dying on herself to continue
Fun build. It seems that we are bringing out the religious nutjobs for this one. :D Oh, if you're down to 0 HP and survive solely by Rage beyond death then Spare the dying won't help you. You'll go down before you can actually cast the cantrip.
Stats at Lvl 1: Str 14 + 2, Dex 12, Con 15 +1, Wis 10, Int 8, Cha 13
Starting level: Barbarian - So, we start off with barb for unarmoured AC and the con and strength saves. You should take a greataxe to maximise damage output, and to take full chance of future abilities. Rage is our most useful tool. (HP: 15, AC: 16)
Level 5: Zealot Barb 5 - We can now add 1d6 + 3/2 (Round up or down it doesn't say) Radiant damage to our attacks, and we do this twice a turn. Take our strength to 18 at level 4. We should still rely on raging and our greataxe, while we are more mobile with 35ft movement speed. (Hp: 55, AC: 16)
Level 11: Zealot barb 8/Conquest Paladin 3 - We can now reroll failed saves/checks, meaning we can stop those nasty spells. Feral instinct means that we won't crumble after being surprised, as part of the OP. Taking our strength to 20 is really fun. But the paladin levels are very useful, and our spell slots are ALL for crits, which will get better as time goes on... Pick any spells, though Armour of Agathys is a must, as it gives us temp hp, punishes people for damaging us, and is non concentration. Let's take the great weapon fighting style. The conquest features let us get higher accuracy, and to strike fear into our opponents hearts. (HP: 112, AC: 16)
Level 17: Zealot barb 13/ Conquest paladin 4: We are so close to the big boy features... But our rage damage is now at +3, we have brutal critical 2 dice, which means that fuelling our crits with smites and doubling the damage is a whole lot of damage. The first ASI should be spent on the tough feat, giving us a greater pool of hp (we take it at level 12, with our 4th level of paladin), and then improve our con for some hp and ac. We can also inspire other with our zealotry with the tenth level feature from zealot. (HP: 222, AC: 17)
Level 20: Zealot barb 16/ Conquest Paladin 4 - We have made it. We have the big features that make us a 'boss' *cough* Persistent rage, Rage Beyond death *cough*, and our rage damage has gone up to +4, while we can rage 5 times a long rest, giving us plenty of time to live! Raise our con to 20 giving us extra hp and ac. Our critical hit damage is rolled ANOTHER time, so watch out for him critting you! Our tactic is simple: rage, hit, crit, smite. (HP: 247 [I believe, tell me if I'm wrong 😅], AC: 18).
That is my Sett 'the BOSS' build. Another one is coming tomorrow!
Terminator build deadline/Voting opens: 24/07/2020 @ 9pm BST/4pm ET
Voting deadline: 29/07/2020 @ 9pm BST/4pm ET
Well, voting ends on my bday.... Wouldn't it be funny if I win....
'The Cleverness of mushrooms always surprises me!' - Ivern Bramblefoot.
I'll worldbuild for your DnD games!
Just a D&D enjoyer, check out my fiverr page if you need any worldbuilding done for ya!
Would you mind putting in your starting stats? Trying to do the math backwards makes my brain hurt. :P
Also, sleep is one of the things that DOES end even persistant rages. That's why you pick a sneaky half-elf instead. ;) Another thing is that you can only take the Resilient Feat once.
Here's my weird-ass take on this one!
Jank the Tank (Oath of the Crown Paladin 4 / Glamour Bard 16)
Key Points
- This build is not designed to just absorb as much damage as possible, it comes at the "terminator" from a different perspective: locking down everything on the battlefield so it can take it's opponents down one by one.
- It uses a combination of spells and abilities to control the battlefield: Dragon Fear (1/Short Rest, DC 19 Wis save) to make everything in 30ft of you Frightened of you. Channel Divinity - Champion Challenge (1/Short Rest, DC 19 Wis save) to make everything within 30ft of you to be unable to move more than 30ft away from you. Unbreakable Majesty (1/Short Rest, DC 19 Charisma save) to make anyone attacking you for the first time on the turn to either save or use a new target/waste it's attack. Magical Secrets - Armor of Agathys to reduce any incoming attack and do some reactionary damage as well. Compelled Duel (DC 19 Wis save) to engage in battle with a singular target. Hellish Rebuke (DC 19 Dex save) to do some more reactionary damage if hit. Shield of Faith to increase AC when needed.
- The strategy: Champion Challenge and Dragon Fear on the first round - if they fail both saves they cannot move closer to you and they cannot move further away than 30ft either. Anyone that succeeds in their Saves is your primary target for Compelled Duel. Later on, Unbreakable Majesty protects you almost completely. from any attack as they have to overcome Fear (Disadvantage) and a Charisma Save to even get an attack.
Race: Copper Dragonborn (because Acid resistance is cool)
Stats: Str 15, Dex 8, Con 15, Int 8, Wis 8, Cha 15
Background: Entertainer
Feat order: Dragon Fear Cha+1, Heavy Armor Master Str+1, ASI Str+2, ASI Cha+1/Con+1, ASI Cha+2
Starting levels: Paladin 4
Focus on getting Dragon Fear. You start out with Chain Mail but you're going to upgrade to Plate ASAP. Once you have level 4 you are already in the meat and potatoes of the build - Champion Challenge and Dragon Fear. Take Defense fighting style.
Level 5: Paladin 4/Bard 1
Now you start grabbing all the spells you can to give yourself as many buffs as you can each battle. Once that Challenge and Fear hits, you're all about absorbing and/or resisting damage with your spells, and picking off the others with Compelled Duel.
Level 14: Paladin 4/Bard 10
This is when Magical Secrets comes in. Options like Armor of Agathys become very potent, Shield that will outright block some of the attacks, Hellish Rebuke to supplement the Agathys damage, or even Stoneskin to add more durability to Agathys.
Level 20: Paladin 4/Bard 16
This is when Unbreakable Majesty comes into play. With Champion Challenge, Dragon Fear, Compelled Duel, and Unbreakable Majesty... you will likely become completely un-targetable, being able to 1v1 any of the opponents you want. The real benefit of all of this is that you could play this character in a party full of ranged attackers.
In the end:
You have a Str 20, Dex 8, Con 16, Int 8, Wis 8, Cha 20
AC: 21 (but almost all enemies will be at Disadvantage to hit you)
168 HP (with Armor of Agathys cast any number of times, Heavy Armor Master reducing all damage by 3, and spells like Stoneskin reducing that again by half)
Spells: the equivalent to a 18th level spellcaster, so all the benefits that come with that.
https://ddb.ac/characters/32312821/hdBbhm
You need to remember your level 5, 11, 17 and 20 overview, and the starting level etc. Otherwise, seems pretty sound.
'The Cleverness of mushrooms always surprises me!' - Ivern Bramblefoot.
I'll worldbuild for your DnD games!
Just a D&D enjoyer, check out my fiverr page if you need any worldbuilding done for ya!
You caught me on an edit! :)
Oh no! I did not know you could only pick Resilient once - I'll update my build accordingly.
Starting stats are these:
11 Str | 15 Dex | 15 (17) Con | 10 Int | 10 (11) Wis | 10 Cha
Edit: I can't find anything that says sleep ends rage early with Persistent Rage. Would you mind assisting with a link to where you've seen that? You can still be put to sleep, stunned, etc. but I believe even here you have to essentially "time out" the rage by disallowing the Barb to spend their bonus action to reactive the rage after the 1 minute timer.
The Redemption Paladin
The concept here is for something that can put up with anything for the length of a movie shot / D&D battle. At early levels this centres around raising AC while at higher levels saves become more important note that at higher levels concentration will be on resiliant sphere or wall of force meaning if damage is taken there will be know active concentration spell.
Level 20 level Split: single class redemption paladin
Race: Yuan-ti, for immunity to poison and magic resistance
Key Features at level 20
Str=8, Dex=12, Con=16, Int=10, Wis=12, Cha=20 HP=224
+5 on all saves with advantage if they are from magic, with 3 luck points a day if I roll badly
AC 21, increasing to 26 by casting shield
Immune to poison, frightened and disease
resistant to all damage from other creatures
Can end a spell on a myself (or anyone else) 5 times a day
2 uses of Wall of Force to stop any damage getting to me at all
4th level slots will be used for either death ward or resiliant sphere (if no 5th level slots left)
Lower level spell slots can be used for remove curse, dispel magic, counterspell, lesser restoration, cure wounds and shied.
Gets 10+1d6 HP healed per turn (no action) if drops below 112, also has a pool of 100 HP from lay on hands
Probably not strictly part of the requirements but the Auras, cleansing touch and many of the selected spells also enabgle party members to much harder to kill making a whole group of "terminators"
Level 1
Stats: Str = 8, Dex=12, Con=15, Int=9+1, Wis=12, Cha=15+2
Equipment: Chainmail armor, Shield and rapier
At level 1, AC is 18 and has a positive modifier to all saves, if the attack is magical the save is with advantage. So very hard to damage and has a small a mount of healing right from the start. Walking speed of 20 and puny attack damage are not relevent for this build.
Level 5
Defence Fighting style and plate armor bring the AC up to 21
Sanctuary and Bless would be cast at the sign of conflict to further enhance defence against either attack rolls or saves. Other spells prepared would include lesser restauration and cure wounds in case anything does get through
Level 4 ASI take magic initiate sorcerer for shield, to stop anything that gets though sanctuary and AC21. Mold earth and monor illusion could also be used ot create cover if necessary
Sanctuary prevents any attacks but terminator is just walking through a storm of attacks with virtually nothing getting through.
Level11
By this stage Terminator can not be frightened and has added dispel magic, counterspell and remove curse to his spells. The extra slots extend his survival time further.
Level 8 ASI is +1Cha, +1 Con.
AC 21, increased to 26 by casting shield
+4+1d4 on all saves with advantage if it is against magic.
Immune to disease, frightened and poisoned
Level 17
At 12 takes lucky and at 16 +2 to Charisma
Cleansing touch enables de-buff spells that get through to be ended and Prtective spirit adds to healing capibilities
From level 13-16 Resiliant sphere would be used ot prevent any damage getting to terminator (with stoneskin as an alternative) but at 17 this is upgraded to wall of force
Death Ward with be used in case the worst does happen.
Level 20
At level 19 take tough for extra HP
Capstone makes terminator resistant to all damage from other creatures
Thanks for your contribution! Your rage still ends early if you fall unconscious, a common patch for this on Barbarians is taking a race that makes you immune to this, like any kind of Elf or a Warforged (I believe they're also immune).
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Pretty popular build contest this time around. Shall be interesting what people like.
"Where words fail, swords prevail. Where blood is spilled, my cup is filled" -Cartaphilus
"I have found the answer to the meaning of life. You ask me what the answer is? You already know what the answer to life is. You fear it more than the strike of a viper, the ravages of disease, the ire of a lover. The answer is always death. But death is a gentle mistress with a sweet embrace, and you owe her a debt of restitution. Life is not a gift, it is a loan."
Yeah! I'm really worried I won't be able to decide on my builds! I'll (hopefully 🙄) be doing them today! This is so much fun, and I hope this group keeps on growing!
'The Cleverness of mushrooms always surprises me!' - Ivern Bramblefoot.
I'll worldbuild for your DnD games!
Just a D&D enjoyer, check out my fiverr page if you need any worldbuilding done for ya!
Zealot Barbarian 14/Grave Cleric 6
Githyanki
Level 20 Stats: STR 18 | DEX 10 | CON 16 | INT 9 | WIS 18 | CHA 8
Level 1 Stats (Point buy): STR 16 | DEX 10 | CON 15 | INT 9 | WIS 15 | CHA 8
Background: Acolyte
Starting Level
Cleric 1
Starts off with scale mail ans shield for 16 AC, a mace, holy symbol, usual adventurer stuff, and the Skills of Insight, Religion, History, and Medicine.
So starting off, she does an unimpressive 1d6+3 damage, though Bless is helpful for increasing attack rolls for multiple party members. Depending on party composiiton, she will either have Cure Wounds or Healing Word prepared as well.
The Grave domain maximizes all healing she performs with spells and she can use Spare the Dying from up to a 30’ distance to stabilize her allies.
5 Level
Cleric 1 | Zealot Barbarian 4
ASI -> STR
At this point, Heqanakthi has attained all the benefits of rage as well as features of the subclass. This includes adding 1d6+2 radiant damage to the first successful attack each round to the flail (1d8+4) attacks she makes due to Divine Fury at the beginning of combat. Once she enters rage, she drops her shield and pulls out her greatsword to do 2d6+4 damage with each swing.
Raise Dead cast on Heqanakthi does not require material components. As such, she does not fear death except at the hands of a Necromancer or similar smears on all that is holy.
Using Githyanki Psionics, Heqanakthi can cast Jump on herself at the start of combat, which combined with her Athletic skill from Z. Barbarian, makes her an often fatal hazard to archers and ranged spellcasters. When she is really in a bind, she uses Misty Step to get out of traps that Jump cannot get her out of or to close the distance with spellcasters using abilities that lock down her allies. In other words, none of the Wall spells, including WoForce can stop her when she really wants to kill you. Since these are psionic abilities, the DM may arguably allow usage while Heqanakthi is in rage mode. Mileage may vary at your table.
11 Level
Cleric 3 | Zealot Barbarian 8
ASI -> CON and WIS
With Fanatical Focus, Haqankthi can re-roll a failed saving throw once per rage. She will generally save it for spells targeting her INT or her CHA since she is already proficient in WIS saves (none of that Dominate Person magic business).
Her Barbarian Fast Movement means that her base movement is 40’. Factoring in her Githyanki psi-Jump ability and her 18 STR, she is even a danger to low-flying creatures and certain ramparts. .
She uses her second level spell slots for Aid and Spiritual Weapon to to execute an extra 1d8+3 points of damage on her turn. She swings twice per round via Extra Attack using primarily her Great Sword (see above) once she invokes her divine rage. She has sold or traded her scale mail for half plate for a base AC of 15, which she augments with a shield until she channels her inner fanatic.
Haqankthi’s further training at the Order of Osiris confers on her the ability to mark her enemies for termination once every short rest. The cursed creature is vulnerable to the next instance of damage done to it.
17 Level
Cleric 6 | Zealot Barbarian 11
ASI -> WIS
Zealous Presence makes her an even deadlier battlefield charger. As a bonus action, up to 10 creatures within 60’ who can hear her rallying cry get advantage to all attacks and saving throws until the the start of her next turn. She saves this for the big fights or for the round after her allies are caught by surprise. Haqankthi still gets to act during the surprise round because of Feral Instinct.
Also Haqanakthi benefits from Relentless Rage and Brutal Critical.
Using her additional Sentinel at Deaths’ Door ability, she can cancel critical hits against her person or allied creatures within 30 feet using a reaction. With her 18 WIS, she can do so 4 times between long rests.
At the 6 Cleric level, she can curse two creatures between short rests so that they receive an expeditious Path to the Grave.
Her faced with great numbers of adversaries, she upcasts Spiritual Weapon to inflict 2d8+4 damage with a bonus action each round on top of her 2 strikes from her greatsword.She uses her 3rd level spell slot to prepare Glyph of Warding on a helmet with a visor. She puts on this helmet any expected day of kicking ass. She triggers the Glyph by opening the visor as an "interact with object" free action, causing the pre-cast Silence spell to be activated, which becomes very useful when she grapples a spellcaster and then proceeds to knock the ***** out of them with her spare battleaxe. She will save the other 3rd level slot to upcast Prayer of Healing on those faithful allies who manage live through each carnage.
20 Level
Cleric 6 | Zealot Barbarian 14
ASI -> Great Weapon Master
With the GWM feat, Haqanakthi can take advantage of Reckless Attack to galvanize her damage on the first attack each round, doing 2d6+4+4+10 from her greatsword and 1d6+7 from her divinely powered radiance. With Path to the Grave, this severe wound is doubled.
Haqanakthi’s devotion to Osiris has elevated her to a nigh unkillable state (from the view of mortal humans anyway). As she can Rage Beyond Death, Haqanakthi can keep fighting regardless of failing multiple death saving throws. In fact, she cannot die until her enemies are but a broken, mess on the floor of whatever hell hole they hid in to evade Osiris’s judgment. When she slips out of rage,
however, she can bonus action cast Spare the Dying on herselfshe has visions of meeting her god to be congratulated for a her service to the Underworldwhile getting some much deserved sleep after a long night’s work of.Fracturing the faces and snapping the spines of the arcanists who offend the deities of the death realm is what she wakes up in the morning for. If Osiris decrees that it is her time to be judged by at the scale of Anubis, who is a humble priestess to question this?While many may run from death, there are none who can escape. Haqankthi embodies this ethos in her ferocious devotion to her god. So long as she can stand, she will deliver to her deity the final silence of all those who presume to defile and defy the Order of Osiris.
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EDITED following input from Lostwhilefishing and Gabrielrockman.
The Sleep spell renders you unconcious, which is one of the ways Persistant Rage can end. So the lowly sleep spell can kill even the mightiest barbarian (unless they have fey ancestry or is a warforged). :)
just a question, why didn't you pick war forged? is it a preference thing or a mechanics thing?
“I will take responsibility for what I have done. [...] If must fall, I will rise each time a better man.” ― Brandon Sanderson, Oathbringer.
Fun build. It seems that we are bringing out the religious nutjobs for this one. :D Oh, if you're down to 0 HP and survive solely by Rage beyond death then Spare the dying won't help you. You'll go down before you can actually cast the cantrip.
You need 7 levels in Cleric to upcast Spiritual Weapon for 2D8 + Wisdom damage.
So, here is my first build!
Name: Sett, the BOSS
Level 20 split: Zealot Barb 16/Conquest Paladin 4
Race: Goliath
Background: Any
Stats at Lvl 1: Str 14 + 2, Dex 12, Con 15 +1, Wis 10, Int 8, Cha 13
Starting level: Barbarian - So, we start off with barb for unarmoured AC and the con and strength saves. You should take a greataxe to maximise damage output, and to take full chance of future abilities. Rage is our most useful tool. (HP: 15, AC: 16)
Level 5: Zealot Barb 5 - We can now add 1d6 + 3/2 (Round up or down it doesn't say) Radiant damage to our attacks, and we do this twice a turn. Take our strength to 18 at level 4. We should still rely on raging and our greataxe, while we are more mobile with 35ft movement speed. (Hp: 55, AC: 16)
Level 11: Zealot barb 8/Conquest Paladin 3 - We can now reroll failed saves/checks, meaning we can stop those nasty spells. Feral instinct means that we won't crumble after being surprised, as part of the OP. Taking our strength to 20 is really fun. But the paladin levels are very useful, and our spell slots are ALL for crits, which will get better as time goes on... Pick any spells, though Armour of Agathys is a must, as it gives us temp hp, punishes people for damaging us, and is non concentration. Let's take the great weapon fighting style. The conquest features let us get higher accuracy, and to strike fear into our opponents hearts. (HP: 112, AC: 16)
Level 17: Zealot barb 13/ Conquest paladin 4: We are so close to the big boy features... But our rage damage is now at +3, we have brutal critical 2 dice, which means that fuelling our crits with smites and doubling the damage is a whole lot of damage. The first ASI should be spent on the tough feat, giving us a greater pool of hp (we take it at level 12, with our 4th level of paladin), and then improve our con for some hp and ac. We can also inspire other with our zealotry with the tenth level feature from zealot. (HP: 222, AC: 17)
Level 20: Zealot barb 16/ Conquest Paladin 4 - We have made it. We have the big features that make us a 'boss' *cough* Persistent rage, Rage Beyond death *cough*, and our rage damage has gone up to +4, while we can rage 5 times a long rest, giving us plenty of time to live! Raise our con to 20 giving us extra hp and ac. Our critical hit damage is rolled ANOTHER time, so watch out for him critting you! Our tactic is simple: rage, hit, crit, smite. (HP: 247 [I believe, tell me if I'm wrong 😅], AC: 18).
That is my Sett 'the BOSS' build. Another one is coming tomorrow!
'The Cleverness of mushrooms always surprises me!' - Ivern Bramblefoot.
I'll worldbuild for your DnD games!
Just a D&D enjoyer, check out my fiverr page if you need any worldbuilding done for ya!
I HAVE PLAYED THIS! awesome build!
“I will take responsibility for what I have done. [...] If must fall, I will rise each time a better man.” ― Brandon Sanderson, Oathbringer.
What? League, or the build? Either one, it is super fun.
'The Cleverness of mushrooms always surprises me!' - Ivern Bramblefoot.
I'll worldbuild for your DnD games!
Just a D&D enjoyer, check out my fiverr page if you need any worldbuilding done for ya!
hehe the build
“I will take responsibility for what I have done. [...] If must fall, I will rise each time a better man.” ― Brandon Sanderson, Oathbringer.
You're right. I'll need to adjust that after I think of something besides Spiritual Weapon to cast for 3rd level slots.