This throwdown is a little different as we throw wide the gates of our ambitions and let slip the dogs of optimisation! Please pay attention to the modified rules in play for this throwdown so you don't miss out!
The Concept: Powergamer's Potluck
This time the concept is broad and open, channel your inner powergamers to find the most powerful and interesting builds, there's no specific aim this time, just powergame your hearts out.
-You must include a stat array (This throwdown will use a modified standard array of: 17, 16, 14, 12, 10, 8
-Build to 20 with insights on how the build hands at levels 5, 11, 17 and 20 (include hp and AC at each point for each of reading)
-Multiclassing and feat optional rules in play
-Variants for races available (V. Human, Dragonmarks, SCAG variants)
-No magic items unless you have a way to create them from a class feature
-Normal starting items and gold, mundane armor upgrades be assumed to happen during tier 2 (so you can mention Plate/Half Plate in your commentary but you can only include it in snapshots for levels 11,17 and the final 20).
-Catchy names and fluff are not a requirement but are always nice to read
-Reminder that the races and subclasses from Mythic Odysses of Theros are now available!
Suggested format:
Level 20 level split:
Race:
Stats: Str x Dex x Con x Int x Wis x Cha x
Background:
Starting level:
Any guidance or commentary you want
At 5th level:
Any guidance or commentary you want
At 11th level:
Any guidance or commentary you want
At 17th level:
Any guidance or commentary you want
At 20th level and final thoughts:
Voting:
To sort the wheat from the chaff we'll vote on builds and declare a 'winner' (a concept that will hopefully continue in future threads and put the contest into this), to vote simply make a post quoting the build you want to vote for (snipping the content to keep things getting out of hand) and say something that indicates you're voting e.g. +1, get's my vote etc.
-Each user only gets one vote but you can edit your post at any time before the deadline to change your mind.
-If you submit a build, you must vote for someone for your entry to be considered valid
-A user can submit more than one build but they must be in separate posts (and not back to back to respect forum rules)
-You cannot vote for yourself
-Each throwdown thread will run for 7 days after which no new builds will be accepted for contention, when the build deadline has closed votes will be accepted. The voting deadline will be five days after the build deadline, votes will be tallied and the winner announced (any vote edits after the deadline has passed will also not be counted, if the original vote cannot be seen the vote will be null and void).
Potluck build deadline/Voting opens: 08/10/2020 @ 9pm BST/4pm ET
Voting deadline: 13/10/2020 @ 9pm BST/4pm ET
PLEASE NOTE THAT VOTING IS NOW ONLY ONCE THE BUILD DEADLINE HAS PASSED.
I'm looking forward to what all the optimisers around here come up with so without further ado, let's THROWDOWN
Threw something together. Might to another build of I get the time.
Slithering Doom
Deep in the snake-infested southern jungles there is a temple that many have heard of, but few outsiders have visited and lived to tale their story. Those who do speak of fantastical paradise where ripe fruits can be plucked from every tree and your every desire can be satisfied. They also speak of the terrible guardians of this earthly paradise. One such guardian is known simply as the Slithering Doom.
This creature is said to once have been an ordinary human but one who has gone through the horrifying ritual that turns mortals into something darker and far more deadly. Taken from their family at a young age they are forced to live in the wilderness amongst the wild animals. Those who survive are then force fed a lethal mixture of snake venom and toxic plants. The survivors are stronger but no longer just human. They are then put through a deadly regime of martial training as well as the practice of some unknown dark art. The result is deadly. This strange guardians now serve the will of the temple, whatever that can be.
Level 20 level split: Moon Druid 12 Open Hand monk 8
Race: Yuan-ti Pureblood
Stats: Str 12 Dex 17 Con 14 Int 10+1 Wis 16 Cha 8+2 HP 10
Background: Fanatical assassin (custom background) for Religion and Stealth as well as poisoner’s kit.
Starting level: Druid AC 14 Making the cut It might seem weird to use a race that doesn’t give any bonuses to any of our main stats but with the beefed up stat array we can still easily max out everything we need and not having to worry about any penalties. The process of turning a human child into a guardian leaves the person scarred for life, meaning that they don’t have much in the way of a personality and they have a very rudimentary level of education. That won’t matter that much though since we have magic resistance! Pick up Guidance and Shilleleagh for some combat abilities. Goodberries and Thunderwave should keep us alive for now. Perception allows us to make good use of of our high Wisdom.
At 5th level: Surviving the training Druid 4, Monk 1 Stats: Str 12 Dex 17 Con 14 Int 11 Wis 18 Cha 10 AC 17 HP 38 We start of by multiclassing to Monk at level 2 for some unarmored defence and martial arts. The temple guardians are trained to fight not only with their bodies but also with any weapon available to them including short bows for deadly ambushes. The young guardians are then inducted in the Circle of the Serpent Moon which allows them to shift their bodies into various animalistic forms. Sacrificing these animal shapes allows them fight on for extended periods of time. With the help of Pass without a trace they are almost unseen in the jungle and Hold Person and Heat Metal helps them make short work of any intruder. With the class variant UA you can also summon a small feathered snake (just re-flavor and owl) to assist you in battle. ASI to raise wisdom to 18 at Druid level 4.
Level 11: Becoming the beast Druid 7, Monk 4 Stats: Str 12 Dex 17 Con 14 Int 11 Wis 20 Cha 10 AC 18 HP 80 Training in the deadly martial arts continues and Slithering Doom now has earned a reputation as a ferocious and deadly fighter no matter what shape they take. Moving almost unseen through the jungle they can strike from any place in any shape. Wary explorers can never know if the beast that watches them from a tree is just a normal animal or death coming to claim them. Even when they think that they are alone, a poisoned arrow can strike without warning (UA Monk feature, Distant Eye). Slithering Doom has been trained in the Way of the Open hand and thus is not only quicker than most humans, they can also deflect missiles or disengage and dodge more easily, all while in Wild Shape. We can easily knock things Prone or push them back with a maxed out Spell DC. Going to Druid level 7 make our attacks in Wild Shape magical and as a last way resort we can use Polymorph once per day. This still allows us to use pretty much all of our Monk abilities since none really requires hand or speech. Two words: Karate T-rex (assuming that we go by character level and not druid level, otherwise, wait a level).
Level 17. The Beast that Haunts the Wild Druid 10, Monk 7 Stats: Str 12 Dex 17 Con 14 Int 11 Wis 20 Cha 10 AC 18 HP 122 If our Karate T-Rex was not enough how about a Kung Fu Fire Elemental? An Aikdio Air Elemental or an Wing Chun Water Elemental? Slithering Doom is a terrifying weapon that haunts the southern jungles. They can fly, they can swim, they can hide without ever being seen before striking without warning. With spells, strikes and savage wild shapes this monster can and will destroy anyone who dares defile the temple grounds without permission. For the 8th level of Druid we pick up the Alert feat to make sure that no-one or no thing can get the drop on Doom. Their natural Magic resistance helps them against fear and charm but in the unlikely event that they would get scared or charmed they can just ignore it using Stillness of Mind. If they get wounded they can heal themselves using magic, Monk abilities or by spending spells slots when in Wild Shape. Monk 5 also gives us an extra attack.
Level 20 and final thoughts: The Nightmare in the Green. Druid 12, Monk 8 Stats: Str 12 Dex 18 Con 14 Int 12 Wis 20 Cha 10 AC 19 HP 143 We pick up a final 8th level of Monk for more Ki points and Resilient: Dexterity. This in combination with Evasion from the 7th Monk level makes them almost immune to fireballs and other similar spells. Two more levels of Druid gives us more spells, better Wild Shapes and the Observant feat. It is simply impossible to sneak up on the Slithering Doom. Parents now tell their children to always praise the forest gods unless the Green might take them.
All in all, the Slithering Doom is a combat monsterosity regardless of shape. With a base AC 19, 143 HP in their mortal form and magic attacks in any form they can take on most enemies. They laugh at dexterity saving throws and the chance that you would be able to hurt them with a Fireball or similar is almost non-existent with a +10 save with advantage, Evasion and resistance on top of that. At least three different methods of healing, one which allows them to attack in the same round. Shillileagh allows them to attack with their Wisdom instead of their slightly lower Dexterity. Nothing surprises them or catches them unawares (passive Perception of 26). They can fly, then can spy using Scrying, they can travel through plants, they can spit acid and they can Karate Chop your ass in half using tiny T-rex arms. Be afraid. Be very afraid.
EDIT: Just realized I missed the free feat at level one. Throw in Lucky since only the toughest and the luckiest survive the process of becoming one of the Green's Chosen Guardians.
Let's see how an old favorite of mine holds up. Heh, especially curious to see how my definition of 'optimization' works out here.
EDIT: Looks like I forgot to allocate a feat in the original write-up, at Fighter 8/character 16. Deeerp. Corrected in the level 17 write-up.
EDIT2: And courtesy of HeroForge, now in Technicolor!
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“The elves of the world of Tyberos are different than the elves you may be familiar with. Insular, territorial, and disinclined to interact with any other race, elves protect their Groves and their Feystones with terrifying warriors known as Feywardens. Supernaturally skilled with blade and bow, possessed of near infinite reserves of talent and training, and gifted with the magics of the natural world, a single Feywarden is all it takes to eliminate entire platoons of intruders. Though they take decades to train, there is no mortal soldier of any other kith kind that can compare to the honed precision and infallible expertise of an experienced Feywarden.”
“Let us follow the life of a specific Feywarden – Yferna of Starlily Grove, a hopeful who will one day become a full-fledged Feywarden herself...provided she survives the challenges and hardships
At first level, Yferna barely qualifies as an elf, let alone a Feywarden. She’s only one of her Grove’s neophytes, undergoing foundational training in the hopes of attracting the eye of a mentor and become a true initiate. Her first level’s training is in Rogue, acquiring double the normal count of proficiencies and Expertise in key skills. Stealth, Acrobatics, Sleight of Hand, and Investigation from rogue proficiencies, with Expertise in Stealth and Perception, the Feywarden’s two most critical skill proficiencies. Elf Weapon Training allows Yferna to make use of her signature longbow from the beginning, but her instructors despair of her ever mastering its use. The road ahead for Yferna is a long one indeed...though at the very least, she does succeed in every powergamer’s Level 1 goal by beginning the game with a 20 in her principle stat. Even from her earliest days, Yferna’s accuracy is...acceptable...to her instructors.
Starlily Grove Initiate: Level Five Rogue 3 (Scout) \ Fighter 1 \ Ranger 1 HP: 40 AC/Stats: Both unchanged
By fifth level, Yferna has distinguished herself enough from her peers to earn occasional tutelage from the more experienced Feywardens who return to the Grove for rest. Levels two and three of rogue grant Yferna exceptional sneakery and mobility via Cunning Action, as well as Expertise in Survival and Nature as any self-respecting elven warrior should have. Attaining her Scout’s badge is all the rogue’s training our Feywarden initiate requires, and further levels in this class are abandoned. Instead, Yferna takes her first level in both fighter and ranger, acquiring the Archery fighting style from her fighter level and selecting both the Favored Foe and Deft Explorer Class Variant Features from her Ranger level (as well as proficiency in Animal Handling, to help deal peacefully with her Grove’s wildlife). DE gives us Roving, increasing our movement speed by an additional 5 feet for a total of 40 and giving us the same distance as both a climbing and swimming speed. Favored Foe grants us three ‘free’ Hunter’s Marks at this level, with more to come later.
As a fifth-level character with naught but a 2d6 sneak attack and Hunter’s Mark, Yferna struggles to feel adequate next to the more focused, quicker-trained adventurers she occasionally watches her instructors dispatch from the shadows...but her day will come.
By eleventh level, Yferna’s training has progressed enough to earn her a steady mentor – a teacher who has acknowledged her potential and begun her instruction in the deeper arts of the Feywarden She takes a second level of ranger and gains her second fighting style – Dueling, in this case, rather than Defense. Feywardens are expected to be peerless warriors with both bow and blade, able to snuff out their enemies’ lives with a silent shot from the dark or a silent stroke of the knife with equal ease. After this second ranger level, her next four are intensive training in the fundamentals of war. Yferna learns the elven arts that gave rise to the kith concept of the Battlemaster, learning how to apply her superiority as effectively as possible. Student of War grants her proficiency with woodcarver’s tools, allowing her to craft her own arrows and easily maintain her weapons in the field. She hones her mind, improving her resistance to hindering effects (and rounding off her WIS score) with Resilient (Wisdom), before finally claiming her second attack at 10 level.
Once this milestone is achieved, her final stage of training at this tier is a third level of Ranger, training herself as a Gloom Stalker. Now the deep shadows of the forest are as much Yferna’s home as the Grove itself, and her initial alpha strike carries tremendous force. Taking Primal Awareness rather than Primeval grants her access to both Detect Magic and Speak with Animals, as well as one free cast a day of each. She is a warrior to be feared by the rest of kithkind...but still only half a Feywarden, at best.
By seventeenth level, Yferna has likely spent over fifty years honing her craft, training herself, observing her mentor and meditating on what she’s seen. By the standards of the rest of Tyberos, she is a fearsome and deadly warrior. Two additional levels of fighter grant a bonus ASI, which is the only one she takes as an ASI – at twelfth level Yferna maximizes her Wisdom score. At fighter 7/character 13, she obtains two more Maneuvers to add to her superiority pool, which she takes as Riposte and Snipe, from the CFV document. The former allows her to Sneak Attack as a reaction when using a dagger or her traditional scimitar, while the latter grants her a bonus-action ranged attack she can use irrespective of whatever her main action is. After this, a fourth Ranger level grants access to the Sharpshooter feat, denying Yferna’s enemies the protection of distance or cover and allowing her to deal exceptional damage to her foes with Power Shots.
It’s after this that Yferna’s mentor deems her worthy to finally take the oaths of her Grove. Inks formed from wood ash, animal blood, and the dust of her Feystone is embedded in her skin, the voice of the Grove is revealed to her, and she attains her one and only Druid level. This allows her to prepare up to six Druid spells of 1 level, grants her two cantrips – Guidance and Shillelagh – and tips her just over the line into a 2nd-level caster. That doubles her spell slots and allows her to upcast her prepared Cure Wounds or her attacking spells.
After her oaths, it’s a straight shot to the top, refining her arts and her abilities as a warrior. Still pursuing her ultimate goal, the title awarded only to those rare few who complete their arduous training. At fighter 8/character 16, Yferna attains a handy trick in Wood Elf Magic, granting her once-a-day free access to Longstrider and the vastly more useful Pass Without a Trace, and giving her one final Druid cantrip - Mold Earth in this case. To make foxholes, help her manipulate terrain to her advantage, and to quietly hide the bodies of those who intrude in her forest.
By twentieth level, Yferna has finally completed her training. Her mentor has awarded her the arms and armor of her station and she’s granted the final marks of her position. A Feywarden in truth, Yferna has become one of the deadliest cabal of warriors Tyberos has ever seen. Her final few fighter levels grant her two additional maneuvers – Tripping Attack and Goading Attack. She gains the ability to reroll a faileds save once per rest, her superiority grows sharper, and she gains the ability to fire a third shot or make a third strike on each turn. Finally, she gains one final feat. Mobile enhances her movement speed to 50 feet – including her swim and climb speeds – and grants her the ability to dash easily over rough forest terrain. With her 1/day free Longstrider up, Yferna moves a full 60 feet on a normal movement, 120 with a dash, and can move a full 30 feet away from anyone who closes with her using the Skirmisher reaction she gained all the way back at level 3. Should she ever need to flee a foe, her blade strikes allow her to do so without concern. Almost nothing can keep Yferna pinned down.
Silent. Lethal. Skilled beyond the easy grasp of most kith. Wise beyond her years. A Feywarden of the Groves is a supreme warrior, able to do with nothing but a full quiver and sharpened talent what men would need fifty blundering conscripts to accomplish. Elves produce only a handful of these elite hunters in each generation.
Speaking strictly to mechanics, this is one of my absolute favorite Ludicrous High-Level Powergame builds. It’s a four freaking class multiclass that doesn’t really pop until you max it out...but once you do, the Feywarden is a different breed of Power Build. Most powergamers only ever optimize for combat, figuring that a first-turn nova and outrageous DPR is all they need to Win D&D Forever. The Feywarden is different. The Feywarden is a character which defies optimization and instead insists that an elven hunter-killer should be able to care for an animal, plan an invasion, foil an invasion, conn a ship, create a garden, write a ballad, create their equipment, build fortifications, treat the wounded, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, analyze a problem, solve the problem, hide the bodies, decipher a spell, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, and die never. Specialization is for lesser kith. The Feywarden is a better skillmonkey than the bard, a better sneak than the rogue, a better archer than the ranger, a better melee combatant than the fighter, and has enough magic to glue it all together. A properly trained Feywarden optimizes for everything save High Magic (which can only be done with a monoclass spellcaster anyways) and lets other people pretend they can be good at things, too.
The price is a pretty torturous progression and a character that doesn’t really come online until midway through Tier 3 at the earliest, but that just kinda fits with the fluff of these suckers as hyper-elite elven murder commandos that take forever to train. Nevertheless, let’s break it down.
The Feywarden has numerous ways of generating the Advantage needed for its Elven Accuracy, with the best option being Faerie Fire. Faerie Firing a gaggle of enemies means Elven Super Advantage on every shot, and with Sharpshooter bonus damage plus the ability to dump all of one’s Superiority on their first turn if they need to (three attacks base, +1 Gloom Stalker, +1 bonus Snipe), the Feywarden’s first-turn nova competes decently well with even Paladin Supah Smitahs – 5d8+2d6+5d10+75, discounting crits or misses, with an additional 5d6 if she managed to land a Hunter’s Mark on her key target before opening combat. An average of ~150 damage for her alpha strike (assuming the Hunter’s Mark), which is perfectly respectable for a critless blast - and that's before you Action Surge to hit them again with another 3d8+3d6+45, i.e. ~69 average damage. Even the most Smite-tastic paladin build can be hard-pressed to manage over 200 damage in an opening volley, and if they do pull it off they'll be just as out of gas as as you are.
But that hardly matters, because where you've got the typical Smite-based nova builds beat hands down is at-will round-over-round damage. Let’s examine the more typical use case of “expend no resources save at-will abilities”. At that point, the Feywarden can either Hide or Cunning Aim as a bonus action on her turn to grant herself advantage on her first attack, enabling Sneak Attack, and with Dex 20, Archery, and Elven Super Advantage, that first shot is a shoe-in for Sharpshooter, as well. 3d8+2d6 dice damage from three longbow shows and a minor Sneak Attack, with +25 flat damage for one Sharpshooter shot and normal Dex damage. Average of ~46 damage per round using nothing but her basic longbow attack, one Sharpshooter bonus hit on the attack she can guarantee rolling 3d20 for, and her mod. Almost a quarter of her Maximum Nova damage, at will. And so long as she’s got Superiority available to her, our Feywarden can add to that damage as well as manipulate or control her enemies with a variety of Green Arrow trick shots.
But what if the bow isn’t a go? What if Yferna needs magical damage, or she’s in tight quarters where the longbow doesn’t function? No issue! In close she can use a dagger, shortsword or scimitar to carve her enemies while retaining her Sneak Attack damage, and almost all of her Maneuvers still apply. She even gains a new one in Riposte, letting her Sneak twice a round for as long as her Superiority lasts. If magical damage is required, the Feywarden can resort to a hardwood fighting baton or light staff enchanted with Shillelagh, gaining a d8 weapon that works off of Wisdom – which our Feywarden is just as comfortable attacking with as with Dexterity. Furthermore, Wisdom-driven Shillelagh blows qualify for Elven Accuracy, meaning Elven Super Advantage when a target is Faerie Fire’d or when Yferna can afford to Hide or Cunning Aim – or to Trip her enemy, putting them prone and letting her hammer them freely. No Sneak Attack, sadly, but there are options aplenty. And in all of these cases, Dueling ensures her damage is at least comparable to her basic longbow shots (if, sadly, without the bonuses of Sharpshooter).
And finally, the ‘Expert’ and ‘Spellcaster’ aspects of the character. By level 20, Yferna is a 2nd-level spellcaster with three Druid cantrips, two Wood Elf specialty spells, six prepared Druid spells, and seven known Ranger spells – three chosen, three granted by the Class Feature Variant options Favored Foe and Primal Awareness, and one Gloom Stalker spell. Twelve spells and two cantrips is not bad for a character that is otherwise a martial powerhouse. She gets six casts a day, which isn’t a lot, but she doesn’t generally use her magic for combat outside of setting it up or marking her foes. With five free concentration-free Hunter’s Marks, she can Mark a target and hold Faerie Fire up. And while she’s doing all that? Our Feywarden has nine (of eighteen) skill proficiencies, four of them at Expertise level. With Guidance she can Stealth better than the best rogues (discounting Reliable Talent, anyways), hunt quarry even the gods couldn’t find via Survival, and see damn near into the future with Perception. There’s nary a skill check in the game a DM could ask Yferna to make (outside of most knowledge or charisma checks, her admitted weaknesses) that she wouldn’t easily ace.
This is proper optimization. Who cares if you’re good at combat? Damn near everybody in this game is good at combat. If you want to be a truly optimal player, you need to be good at EVERYTHING, not just fighting. And nobody does ‘good at everything’ quite like my beloved Feywarden.
Okay, this is my first Throwdown, but I hope it goes well. This is one of my favorite combos.
Okay, Boomer
(Due to Hero Forge's update, I can actually make colored characters for these in the future.)
Sir Okay Boomer was raised in a small settlement near the forests of Thatroger, born of his retired druid mother and wizard father. His father, Ol' Pop, was a linguist and sage who learned the art of bladesinging from the high elves of Thatroger Grove, while his mother had learned from the wood elves of the realm how to speak with animals and nature spirits. His whole childhood he was taught by his parents to honor power in all of its forms, and protect all who need protecting. During his teenage years, he began practicing both arts of his parents, blending together both divine, nature, and arcane magic together, and learning how to track others and guard the city from monsters and other enemies.
Once he grew out of his adolescence, Okay Boomer journeyed throughout the land, becoming a knight in many realms, finding the tracks of feral creatures and hunting down sinister extraplanar entities. He began to serve magic in all of its forms, merging all aspects of magical melee fighting together using his devotion and training in these practices. Due to this, he is now a veteran adventurer, renown throughout all the land for his deadly reputation and renown thunderous booming strikes.
Sir Okay Boomer Variant Human Arcana Cleric 10/Horizon Walker Ranger 4/Spores Druid 2/Battlemaster Fighter 4 Strength 8, Dexterity 14, Constitution 16 (17), Intelligence 12, Wisdom 17 (18), Charisma 10 Sage Background HP: 11 AC: 18 (shield, scale mail), 20 with Shield of Faith DPR: 1d8+4 (with possible extra thunder due to BB) or 1d8+4 plus 4 fire damage to another target. (Using Class Feature Variants for Favored Enemy and Favored Terrain and Channel Divinity)
Novice Blended Mage:
At level one, Okay Boomer is an Arcana Cleric, taking Shillelagh and Thorn Whip, as well as Thunderwave with Magic Initiate (Druid) due to the extra feat from Variant Human, Booming Blade and Green Flame Blade from the Arcana Cleric level one feature. He wields a Quarterstaff in one hand, and starts combat with Shillelagh as a bonus action and Booming Blade or Green Flame Blade as an action after that. His second feat at level one is Ritual Caster Wizard, which he uses to get his familiar "Zool," the fox and the Comprehend Languages ritual.
This leads to a few exploits at this level. First, he never needs to increase his Strength or Dexterity higher in order to deal damage, he can completely focus on Wisdom, which is any minmaxer's dream. Second, Zool uses the Help action every turn to give him advantage on his attacks, which he already has a +6 bonus to at level one. Third, his holy symbol is inscribed on his shield, allowing him to use it as a spellcasting focus in combat. Fourth, he starts out with an Armor Class of 20 while concentrating on Shield of Faith, which is very helpful to avoid taking hits.
Another advantage of this character is that they are also very good at using their magic when melee combat fails. He has Magic Missile, Guiding Bolt, and Inflict Wounds, all of which will help him deal a bit more damage in different circumstances. While he is next to adjacent enemies, he uses Green Flame Blade. While near an enemy that is likely to run away, when needing to guard an ally or escort, or when fighting only one creature he uses Booming Blade.
Seasoned Booming Knight: Arcana Cleric 5 HP: 35 AC: 19 (shield, half-plate), 21 with Shield of Faith DPR: 2d8+5 (BB) or 2d8+5 plus 1d8+5 to another target (possible Spiritual Weapon as a bonus action, adding 1d8+5/2d8+5)
At fifth level, Sir Okay Boomer has just been awarded knighthood by the region's King Borin. He is granted half-plate and a bit of new equipment during this time (nothing else that is notable). His AC is now 21 while concentrating on Shield of Faith, and his Booming Blade and Green-Flame Blade are both improved in damage. Depending on whether his enemies are better with hitting or have a higher AC, he will alternate between Magic Weapon on his Quarterstaff and Shield of Faith to increase his own AC. At this time, he gets Arcane Banishment/Abjuration, which he doesn't use often, but will use in certain situations (with a few extraplanar monsters, mostly). He also occasionally uses Harness Divine Power from the CFV UA to regain a spell slot during most short rests.
He also takes Animate Dead, which he uses to create zombies that he positions to protect himself and those he wishes to protect, typically moving them into position to absorb damage and make opportunity attacks.
He continues to start with Shillelagh and either Green Flame Blade or Booming Blade (situationally alternated as described above). With his 4th level ASI he boosts his Wisdom to 20, just to finish upgrading his most important ability. For his spells, he prepares Hold Person, Spiritual Weapon, and a few others for utility. His second turn normally comprises of Spiritual Weapon to take up his bonus actions on later turns and give him a bit of ranged capabilities.
Veteran Striking Hunter: Arcana Cleric 8/Horizon Walker 3 HP: 97 AC: 19 (half-plate, shield), 21 with Shield of Faith DPR: 3d8+12 (with possible extra damage as BB) or 3d8+12 plus 2d8+10 to an additional target (spiritual weapon/planar warrior and hunter's mark to add more damage)
This is where things get a bit more complicated for Sir Okay Boomer. He takes himself all the way to level 8 Arcana Cleric before taking his first three levels in ranger. This allows him to snag Potent Spellcasting, giving him the ability to deal extra damage with Greenflame Blade and Booming Blade equal to his Wisdom modifier (which allows for him to add it twice to the damage). It also gives him a bit more spells that are useful to this build (Guardian of Faith, Freedom of Movement). He uses his next ASI to take Resilient (Constitution), granting him proficiency in Con saves to help with concentration later down the line.
Then, he takes three levels in ranger, getting a few extremely useful spells (Absorb Elements, Ensnaring Strike, Hunter's Mark, Goodberry). At his first level of ranger, he gains another boost in damage to GFB and BB, allowing for him to deal even more damage. He starts combat the same as normal (shillelagh and GFM or BB), and his second turn comprises of Hunter's Mark (Favored Foe) and GFB or BB. Due to Favored Foe allowing Hunter's Mark for free with no concentration, he is still able to cast some of his concentration spells during combat (Hold Person, Shield of Faith, Ensnaring Strike, Zephyr Strike).
At 2nd level ranger, he takes the Dueling Fighting Style, giving him a +2 bonus to damage with GFB and BB. When he becomes a horizon walker, he gets the ability to turn all of his attacks' damages to force, aiding in overcoming the common resistance to fire damage for GFB. Depending on the circumstances, both Spiritual Weapon and Planar Warrior could be better options to use. Planar Warrior doesn't take any spell slots and deals extra damage for "free" while Spiritual Weapon allows for a bit more range and extra opportunities to attack.
Old Time Boomer: Arcana Cleric 9/Horizon Walker Ranger 3/Spores Druid 2/Battlemaster Fighter 3 HP: 165 AC: 20 (half-plate, shield), 22 with Shield of Faith DPR: 4d8+12 (with possible extra damage as BB) or 4d8+12 plus 3d8+10 to an additional target (spiritual weapon/planar warrior and hunter's mark to add more damage) plus 1d6 from symbiotic entity, plus 2d8 from Holy Weapon, plus a possible 1d8 from Sweeping Attack.
Now, Sir Okay Boomer has begun delving more into the traditional class of his mother, becoming a druid and also becoming a fighter. At level 2 he becomes a Circle of Spores Druid, using Symbiotic Entity to add an additional 1d6 to his GFB and BB. The most notable spells are Blindness/Deafness, Heat Metal, Flaming Sphere. He is not evil, but believes that recycling corpses for the purposes of protecting others has nothing inherently wrong with it. Fungal Infestation supports his undead powers as well. He concentrates on Holy Weapon, which adds to increase his damage by quite a bit.
The damages for GFB and BB increase again, now allowing for him to be even better in melee combat. His first turn now starts with Shillelagh and either Symbiotic Entity or one of his battle cantrips. His second turn uses Holy Weapon (which we have proficiency in Con saves to help with Concentration) and GFB/BB. His next turn he uses Hunter's Mark, and later turns for Spiritual Weapon/Planar Warrior as well as GFB and BB.
Becoming a Fighter gives us Second Wind, which is nice but not needed. He gets another Fighting Style, and we'll take Defense. We also get Action Surge, which is amazing, especially to increase your one turn damage by a lot, and you become a Battlemaster. We choose Precision Attack, Riposte, and Sweeping Attack. Precision Attack helps us when we roll low, which is unlikely but it is devastating when we miss, so this helps us even more be sure that we will hit. Riposte will let you attack even more each round, which is great for this build. Sweeping Attack will help us deal more damage as well.
Okay, Boomer: Arcana Cleric 10/Horizon Walker Ranger 4/Spores Druid 2/Battlemaster Fighter 4 HP: 194 AC: Same as above DPR: 4d8+12 (with possible extra damage as BB) or 4d8+12 plus 3d8+10 to an additional target (spiritual weapon/planar warrior add at least an extra 1d8) plus 1d6 from symbiotic entity plus 1d6 from Hunter's Mark, plus 2d8 from Holy Weapon, plus a possible 1d8 from Sweeping Attack.
With his next ASI, Okay Boomer takes Spell Sniper, allowing for him to make his GFB and BB attacks from 10 feet away, as well as a few other nice benefits (I chose the Primal Savagery cantrip). He also takes War Caster, which will let us cast a Booming Blade as an opportunity attack, which is extremely useful and a great combo.
Okay, Boomer is a loner, only traveling with companions that he creates with his own magic. Zombies, Skeletons, Familiars, and other "natural" beings that he can create with his magic are almost always with him at this point, protecting him, empowering him, and guarding others.
At this point, he finally takes his last level in Cleric. This gives him Divine Intervention, which isn't going to help most of the time.
Final Calculated DPR Breakdown: Once you get all of your features and spells stacked, on a normal hit with Booming Blade you deal an average of 46 damage with another possible 18 thunder damage if the target moves, or with Green-Flame Blade against two targets, you deal a total of 46 to the first creature, 23 to the second, plus 4 from Sweeping Blade.
What makes this build good, what are its weaknesses, and how to make it better?
Okay, Boomer focuses on maximizing damage with Green Flame Blade and Booming Blade. This is why he multiclasses between four classes, to take advantage of many different features and spells in order to pile up the damage as much as possible. With Planar Warrior, he can transform all of the attack damage from GFB and BB into force damage, as well as adding extra damage to it. This is extremely helpful at higher levels, allowing for you to ignore resistances/immunities to fire and poison damage, transforming it all into force, which is extremely rare as a damage immunity/resistance. Additionally, the build allows for you to attack at advantage all the time, already with a high bonus to hit due to shillelagh, ensuring that you make the most out of your attacks. This build is good at tanking, using high AC, fairly high HP, and spells to empower this part of this build's identity.
This build starts out with good damage, and it only increases from there. It also has many bonus action options, from commanding minions, empowering their own attacks, attacking at range, controlling AoE effects, and casting spells. It also has many reaction capabilities, from spell opportunity attacks and halo of spores to absorb elements and a few other niche options. Your turns will be filled with options for nearly any action type you can take. Another strength of this build is that you mostly only have to focus on Wisdom and Constitution, making it so you don't have to care about STR, INT, CHA, and DEX (to an extent). The strongest part of this build is the amount of features that stack with this feature, while not being drained (GFB/BB, Potent Spellcasting, Shillelagh, Planar Warrior) and being able to regain most of the ones that are drained on a short rest (Wild Shape, Hunter's Mark due to CFV UA's Channel Divinity).
A weakness of this build is that its concentration is always being fought for by multiple spells, but most spellcasters have that issue anyways. Another weakness is one of its strengths, how many options it has. This is not a build for novice players. You have to seriously know how to take advantage of each feature and turn if you want to make this build be worth it. Another weakness of this build is that they almost always are limited to one attack a turn, or two with spiritual weapon. This makes it super important that your familiar gives you advantage each round, or else all of your damage dogpiling and action economy expenses will go to waste when you miss.
If you want to make this build better, there are a few different options, mostly from different UA and magic items. You will want to get a magic quarterstaff with some kind of bonus to hit and damage. This will increase your combat capabilities a lot. I recommend a Staff of Thunder and Lightning, a Staff of Withering, or a Staff of the Woodlands. Most magical armor and shields will also help you tank better, which would help you in combat a lot. If you can, get your hands on Illusionist's Bracers. This will let you attack using GFB or BB as a bonus action each round, which will practically double your damage in most scenarios.
I chose most of the feats that this build has for flavor and some design reasons, but some of them are not essential to the build (Warcaster, Sentinel, Spell Sniper, Resilient, Lucky). If you're having problems with damage resistance at lower levels, you might want to consider Elemental Adept (Thunder and/or Fire). If you choose Tiefling as a race, Flames of Phlegethos would be useful if you focus on Green-Flame Blade. Many feats from the most recent Feats UA will help this build, especially Metamagic Adept to take Quickened Spell, Crusher for an increase in battlefield control, Fighting Initiate to get another fighting style (preferably the CFV UA Superior Technique), Fey Touched for Hex and teleportation, or Tracker for thematic and slight mechanical benefits.
I chose Variant Human as a race to grab another feat at level one, but you could choose a different race for a variety of reasons. Wood Elves, Wildhunt Shifters, Firbolg, Githzerai, certain Dragonmarked races, and many others could be very viable for this combo. Elves and Half-Elves could snag Elven Accuracy, which would be incredibly useful for this build. Wildhunt Shifters could get access to their extremely useful shifting feature. Githzerai's innate shield would help this character tank at earlier levels, Firbolgs fit the theme of the build very well. Mark of Handling, Mark of Finding, Mark of Shielding, and even the Mark of Making races could be good fits with this build.
Thanks for reading!
Edit 1: Changing things a tiny bit. Instead of being level 9 druid and level 8 cleric, it is now level 8 druid and level 9 cleric. This lets us snag Holy Weapon, increasing our damage significantly.
Edit 2: Switched 6 levels of Druid to Battlemaster Fighter for 4 levels, and one more level in both clerics and rangers. This helps add even more damage, and give even more useful features.
Edit 3: Fixed hit points and a few other typos and clarifications.
Disclaimer: [Builds done, but i'm going to ceaselessly correct this because I am bad at spelling and many more things to which if you continue reading will become apparent in no short order]
I struggled with even entering this but I wanted to see Whertvoll show up somewhere and get some attention from people outside the group. This is not the original design but it's very close regardless, the idea was a magic infused holy healer type... but from a guy who absolutely cannot stand down to the bone marrow playing clerics of any kind. Not a shot at a cleric, I just find the class hyper boring. Either way here, we, go.
One many of my DM's will loathe, hate, and despise until the end of time. A warforged themed up as a 2ft porcelain doll (if you ever watched / read Rozen Maiden you get the idea). Enjoy.
The Dolls head righted itself to look at the thief who was lifting its body, "Aren't you sorry for the things you do to people?"
Without thinking the I stuffed the lavishly dressed and accented doll into my sack and moved on, "No, no I am not." I said lowly to myself assuming the response to be an automated reply.
Shortly thereafter I felt rustling in the sack and heard a thud and rhythmic yet frantic light steps headed away in the darkness. Swinging around my torch realizing the Doll had escaped the bag I began to feel tense only to hear from the shadows, "You will be."
—Manolovo the Traitor, Memoirs of a Scoundrel
"Whertvoll was just a piece of mud until dad realized he needed an assistance so mom wouldn't yell at him in the workshop anymore. I'm told I'm made from the best mud. Peak quality, and worth every soul spent!"
"Whertvoll Bernstein" Level 20 level split: 14 Warlock / 6 Sorcerer Race: Warforged Stats: Str 8 Dex 16(+1) Con 14(+2) Int 10 Wis 12 Cha 17(+1) Background: Charlatan Starter Feat: Actor
(1st Level) Warlock 1 "Kilnborn" HP11 AC14
Whertvol began life as a high quality lab assistant, primarily because even powerful beings make poor decisions. At level 1 The build really isn't but she has prof's in Deception, Intimidation, Performance, Persuasion and Slight of Hand. Spells include, Light, Mage Hand, Magic Stone, Sacred Flame as cantrips, and Armor of Agathys and Cure Wounds. Item wise she only has a dress (clothes), a box, and her forgery equipment. Language chosen for Warforged was Dwarvish.
Disguise kit and Glassblowers kit from Charlatan and Warforged respectively. Disguise used to pass herself off as a random child. Glassblowers to do trinkets or make bottles / flasks for pots if downtime is available. (With all of these is also a scam artist selling "potions" at an enhanced price making her Performance and Persuasion prof's important at this point.
For the Warlock Level 3 you take, Pact of the Chain. For invocations Armor of Shadows, and Voice of the Chain Master* (more on this later). Pickup Flaming sphere and Mirror image for level 2 spells. As for sorcerer levels you'll want to select Divine soul for the origin. Then law in divine magic to get bless for "free". For cantrips you're going to want Friends, Guidance, Message and Control Flames. For actual level one spells you want. Expeditious Retreat, Sanctuary and Ceremony.
*Familiar, This is also where you want to summon your trusty Crab or Bat familiar (for blindsight)... and companionship... but mostly blindsight.
(11th Level) Warlock 8 / Sorcerer 3 "Never scheme a schemer." HP: 88 AC: 14 + (16 Mage armor) Stats: Str 8 Dex 17 Con 16 Int 10 Wis 12 Cha 20
Welp here we are. Warlock selection up to level 8 and the following invocations selected in order. "Gift of the Ever Living Ones" for healing reasons to yourself and for maximum sustain. Level 7 invocation "Tricksters Escape". This allows you to maintain a stats of not locked down as much as possible combined with the previous spell selection. You also now get access to the Radiant Soul feature, while not as good as Eldrich Blast buffing I still think this setup has its uses. And its also not eldrich blast.... again.
ASI's come in the form of +2 Charisma and the Skilled feat, picking up Stealth, Acrobatics, and Insight
Sorcerer 3 you finally get meta magic, "Subtle Spell" and "Twinned Spell" are your options here.
Spells: Level 2: Detect Thoughts.
(17th Level) Warlock 14 / Sorcerer 3 "Who does this to themselves?" HP: 136 AC: 15 + (17 mage armor) Stats: Str 8 Dex 18 Con 16 Int 10 Wis 12 Cha 20
So you chose to go past 11 on Warlock... what do you get for your trouble?
Mystic Arcanum 6: Investiture of Flame Mystic Arcanum 7: Crown of Stars ASI : Feat Athelete (+1 Dex) Even better mundane movement and evasion when combined with the entire shenanigan show you already have. Celestial Resistance gives you additional temp HP in addition to the other ways you have to generate it mid combat.
Searing Vengance means putting you down only results in more explosions. Michael Bay would be proud. But they're radiant explosions. So your god would also be proud. ... Is Michael Bay a Celestial? He did direct Aliens... nevermind off topic. Anyway the hopefully nuclear option VS all those undead your party almost managed to kill.
Invocation Level 9: Whispers of the Grave, becuase talking to the dead might usually require a spell, but you're better than that. You're made from much better materials.
Invocation Level 12: Ghostly Gaze, the ability to see through solid objects to a point combined with your oh so dear and loved, and in no way only summoned for their fancy eyes or ears to be able to see for you with blindsight, no no, chain lock familiar. Glorioius levels of BS, so good. (I'm also willing to bet this one's fairly DM dependent due to the wording on this and Voice of the Chain Master. In the event this combo is shot down, its still a super useful way to get multiple options for a similar task.
Casting picked up at this level Cantrip: Prestidigitation (you don't need it, but you'll never not use it.)
Spells: Level 5: Contact other Plane, Scrying, Wall of Light Talk to god, Creep on someone, Force them to stay out of a specific location for around 10 minutes.
(20th Level) Warlock 14 / Sorcerer 6 "Mistakes were made." HP: 157 AC: 16 + (18 Mage Armor) Stats: Str 8 Dex 20 Con 16 Int 10 Wis 12 Cha 20
3 More levels of Sorcerer!
ASI +2 Dex
Spells: Cantrip: Mold Earth (you are going to be putting a lot of things down, would be nice to have quick burials so one ceremony covers it all) Level 3: Clairvoyance, Catnap, Mass Healing Word
Creep harder, Sleep harder, When you use Searing Vengance, make sure you're entire TPK'd party is no longer TPK'd. "YOU'RE WELCOME!"
I'm organized poorly so here's this synopsis.
General Synopsis and Strengths
Whertvoll Bernstein was originally a troll character I put up on one pal who ended up having me do a crapton of work to make operate properly. I discovered that Celestial Chainlock is apparently quite busted in the right campaign or circumstance. A healbot that can do so more regularly and depending on the game more often than the others at far less of a determent (most direct combat focused skills are just Cantrips. While the spells are mostly buffs, or support as needed.)
With no need to eat, sleep, breathe or other Warforged things you can get away with short rests while remaining aware of your surroundings. Something the party probably does't have, if they do have a magic version it'll probably get dispelled, and if they bought a guard dog, someone somewhere has steaks. You are best guard dog. Guard Crab... whatever.
This leads me into the shenanigans you can get into with a Chainlock operating with a familiar who abuses "Voice of the Chain Master" to its fullest effect. Need to see a creature, use that familiar. Need to make sure you see that invisible, fey dog who's walking on the ceiling, Blindsight crab sitting on your head. Really need to stretch that clairvoyance spell a little far out there where you don't feel safe? Ask that angelic familiar to waltz up there and just use its sight to cast.
Same for the Xray vision the build gets later on. Can't see behind the wall of undead gnolls to that Litch with 1 HP left? Literal Xray vision. Expect the next group to be wearing lead lined armor though.
If you need to run away expiditious retreat combined with mirror image makes for an excellent safety net with the natural saves being okay as well. Get tangled up? Got an invocation for that as well. The entire build is a hard to hit or pin down healer who can do so remotely and often times doubly in the case of twinned spell once obtained. Not the most efficient but certainly useful. Basically difficult to lock down in general.
As a happenstance of this and spell selection along with radiant getting to smack something a little harder than usual sometimes this comes up as a pretty solid combination. Particularly with Wall of Light.
Then there's always the LVL 14 ability which allows you to just "nah death, not today." and retry that living thing. Underrated IMO since it comes with a Radiant AOE as well. Combined with Mass Healing Word for TPK insurance.
Spell slot diversity
Weaknesses are pretty straitforward,
Spell slot diversity
Sorcerer tends to like dips due to points and your spell slots aren't much to write home about.
Ya took Warlock past 6, Mistakes were made.
Even if you're doing a great job as the partys healer you're never going to be as good as a Paladin or Cleric at that specific job.
"I once knew this fella, Aasimar raised in the Underdark. Was like a brother to me. When he escaped we couldn't take much with us. Poor, emaciated husks of the living we were. 'ts okay though. We survived and made our ways. I'll never forget the way the people from my home looked at us when we walked in the archway. Though, I'm frighteningly certain the feelings they would have, had they but the opportunity ta see us leave." --Manolovo the Traitor, Memoirs of a Scoundrel
An assassin of the highest caliber, able to infiltrate any location and remove any target, to strike with deadly accuracy from range or up close and personal. A wide variety of skills allows for this killer to survive on her own in any condition, to blend and mix with every strata of society. A touch of magic in the form of inherited arcane ability and nature spells grants additional damage dealing capability and buffs to important skills. Training in the martial arts allows for working with minimal equipment, improved mobility, and extra defensive abilities to make sure that Tamsin makes it back alive.
The basic skills and abilities that will form the core of Tamsin’s style come online at the very start. Sneak Attack, Green Flame Blade, and a maximum Dexterity score allow for a highly effective damage dealer with good AC at low levels.
5 - Level 3 Rogue (Assassin) / Level 2 Ranger
40 HP, AC 16
Favored Enemy - Humanoids (human and orc)
Fighting Style: Dueling
Skill: Survival
Spells: Hunter's Mark, Zephyr Strike
By level five, Tamsin’s ability to deal out damage at will has progressed apace. Picking up Dueling style, Hunter’s Mark, Zephyr Strike, Assassinate, and increased Sneak Attack gestalt well together in many situations while adding the Survival skill makes for increased out of combat capability.
By now we’ve added the basic Gloom Stalker abilities that work so very well with Sneak Attack and Assassinate. A level of monk adds some flexibility to close combat and an increase over the basic AC. Mobile for extra movement and Sharpshooter for increasingly deadly ranged surprise attacks are icing on the cake.
Increased monk levels gain us Kensai abilities, most notably Kensai’s Shot to increase your ranged sniper killing ability. Deflect Arrows, Patient Defense, Slow Fall, and Unarmored Movement increase survivability and mobility around the battlefield for when it comes time to get up close and personal rather than taking the target out from range. Bump that Wisdom for better AC. Take whip as a Kensai weapon to gain even more flexibility in your combat capabilities. Skulker gets you that second chance to hit from a distance on the off chance that you miss your first shot.
20 - Assassin 11 / Gloom Stalker 5 / Kensai 4
148 HP, AC 20
Spell: Pass Without Trace
ASI: Wisdom +2
High AC. Deadly single shot damage from any range. Add Pass Without Trace to make sure no one can follow you or catch you sneaking in. Bump the Wisdom again for maximum zen, AC, and Initiative. A fifth level of Ranger nets you an extra attack for those situations where you’ve got mooks to wade through. Over all, you end up with a character that is capable of taking out select targets with absolute prejudice. Using the Poisoner’s Kit to dose your ammunition adds that cherry on top. Choice magic items include Bracers of Defense, Boots of Elvenkind, Cloak of Elvenkind, any sort of magic weapons and ammunition.
Great throwdown so far everyone and it's a pleasure to see so many new names taking part!
It's great to finally participate! I've always kept track of these to see who would win (mostly Yurei), but never really had the time or attention span to make a character for this. A lot of these are cool concepts and nice to take inspiration from.
(I have so many ideas for this one, but don't want to make a ton of characters. I guess I'll probably have to wait till the next throwdown to test them out.)
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Please check out my homebrew, I would appreciate feedback:
An assassin of the highest caliber, able to infiltrate any location and remove any target, to strike with deadly accuracy from range or up close and personal. A wide variety of skills allows for this killer to survive on her own in any condition, to blend and mix with every strata of society. A touch of magic in the form of inherited arcane ability and nature spells grants additional damage dealing capability and buffs to important skills. Training in the martial arts allows for working with minimal equipment, improved mobility, and extra defensive abilities to make sure that Tamsin makes it back alive.
The basic skills and abilities that will form the core of Tamsin’s style come online at the very start. Sneak Attack, Green Flame Blade, and a maximum Dexterity score allow for a highly effective damage dealer with good AC at low levels.
5 - Level 3 Rogue (Assassin) / Level 2 Ranger
40 HP, AC 16
Favored Enemy - Humanoids (human and orc)
Fighting Style: Dueling
Skill: Survival
Spells: Hunter's Mark, Zephyr Strike
By level five, Tamsin’s ability to deal out damage at will has progressed apace. Picking up Dueling style, Hunter’s Mark, Zephyr Strike, Assassinate, and increased Sneak Attack gestalt well together in many situations while adding the Survival skill makes for increased out of combat capability.
By now we’ve added the basic Gloom Stalker abilities that work so very well with Sneak Attack and Assassinate. A level of monk adds some flexibility to close combat and an increase over the basic AC. Mobile for extra movement and Sharpshooter for increasingly deadly ranged surprise attacks are icing on the cake.
Increased monk levels gain us Kensai abilities, most notably Kensai’s Shot to increase your ranged sniper killing ability. Deflect Arrows, Patient Defense, Slow Fall, and Unarmored Movement increase survivability and mobility around the battlefield for when it comes time to get up close and personal rather than taking the target out from range. Bump that Wisdom for better AC. Take whip as a Kensai weapon to gain even more flexibility in your combat capabilities. Skulker gets you that second chance to hit from a distance on the off chance that you miss your first shot.
20 - Assassin 11 / Gloom Stalker 5 / Kensai 4
148 HP, AC 20
Spell: Pass Without Trace
ASI: Wisdom +2
High AC. Deadly single shot damage from any range. Add Pass Without Trace to make sure no one can follow you or catch you sneaking in. Bump the Wisdom again for maximum zen, AC, and Initiative. A fifth level of Ranger nets you an extra attack for those situations where you’ve got mooks to wade through. Over all, you end up with a character that is capable of taking out select targets with absolute prejudice. Using the Poisoner’s Kit to dose your ammunition adds that cherry on top. Choice magic items include Bracers of Defense, Boots of Elvenkind, Cloak of Elvenkind, any sort of magic weapons and ammunition.
This is actually quite similar to a second build I was thinking of entering. Not sure if I should now that you demonstrated the basics of it. Nicely done! :)
I'm throwing another hat in the ring, just for the hell of it.
“Bastard”, the Regent’s enforcer
In the Elven Empire of Brighthold status is everything. The purer the blood, the higher the status. Those unfortunate enough to be thre result of careless flings with outside visitors are not treated badly but they are taught their place as second class citizens. They are given menial jobs in the bureaucracy of the empire and most of them are satisfied to live out their comparably short lives like this. Those who don’t often leave to pursue better lives elsewhere. And then there is the eerie figure known only as “the Bastard”. Being a common sight in the palace this obviously human-blooded male is known to do the Regent’s dirty work when all other means have failed. Despite his uncanny demeanour he can still be very persuasive and well-behaved to the point of almost being civilized.
Stats: Str 10 Dex 17+1+1 Con 12 Int 14 Wis 16+1 Cha 8+2
Background: Noble
Starting feat: Elven accuracy, Dex +1
“the Bastard” Half-elf Arcane Trickster 11 / Gloom Stalker 3 / Kensei 6 Stats: Str 10 Dex 17+1+1 Con 12 Int 14 Wis 16+1 Cha 8+2 Noble background Eleven Accuracy Lvl 1. HP: 9 AC: 16 (w/studded leather)
Proficiency with Persuasion, History, Stealth and Intimidation Troubled youth: Level 1
Like many in his situation, the Bastard had a rough childhood and he often got himself into trouble. Luckily he had the skills to get himself out of trouble as well. With expertise in Stealth and Persuasion as well as being proficient in Perception, Acrobatics, Sleight of Hand and Investigation he knows how to see others while not being seen himself.
No-one, not even the Bastard, can go unseen forever though. One move gone wrong, one heist to daring and he found himself in the clutches of the government. Having the choice of being sent to a penal colony or serving the State, he chose the latter. After drilling not only both armed and unarmed combat he was also tutored in the art of the arcane, learning how to literally kill people with his mind (picking up Mage Hand, Toll the Dead and Friends). For spells we pick up Shield, Charm Person and Earth Tremor. His unarmed training gives him a nice AC of 17 and his Ranger training using the UA variant give him Athletics and Expertise with Insight.
After years of gruelling hard work, dangerous missions and more notches on his belt than he cares to remember, the Bastard has made a reputation for himself. For spells we have picked up Booming Blade from Arcane Trickster, Disguise Self, Detect Magic and Goodberries from Ranger. As a Gloom Stalker Ranger he also has the Archery Fighting Style and he is more or less invisible in the dark. For Kensei Weapons he picks up Hand Crossbow and Scimitar as his weapons of choice.
The real payoff comes in the form of the Crossbow Expert and Sharpshooter feats. If he attacks from hiding with Hunter’s Mark on the target he will be able to deliver three attacks at triple advantage that each can do 2D6+16 points of piercing damage with an additional 2D6 Sneak Attack for one of them. Not bad, but it will get better.
And of course, Kensei gives us access to the most important skill in the game, calligraphy.
Not every job is solved by pumping your enemy full of bolts in a dark alleyway. Sometimes you have to take them out at a distance. Luckily at level 6 we can pick up the Longbow as another Kensei weapon. Coupled with Sneak Attack and Hunter’s Mark we can now do 1D8 + 6D6 +14 points of damage and we get three chances of doing it during the first round of combat. Not bad at all. For spells we pick up Hold Person and Shadow Blade.
At this point the Bastard is almost impossible to pin down, he has speed, he has range, he has magic and magical attacks and he can boost his damage with Kensei Shot and Deft Strike. Defensively he has both Evasion and Uncanny Dodge, Patient Defence as well as Agile Parry and the Shield spell. Should anyone actually hit him he has a fair amount of Hit Points thanks to the Tough feat which we took at Rogue level 8. He now has Expertise in Intimidation as well as Acrobatics.
Top of the World: Level 20 Rogue 11(Arcane Trickster) \ Monk (Kensei) 6 \ Ranger (Gloom Stalker) 3 HP: 166 AC: 19
Stats: Str 10 Dex 20 Con 12 Int 14 Wis 18 Cha 10
We finish of with three more levels of Arcane Trickster. As we do we pick up Prestidigitation, Blur and Mirror Image for some more defence, not that we really need it. This level also gives us reliable talent in our 10 proficiencies (5 of which we have expertise). Magical Ambush allows us to cast Hold Person at disadvantage on the target’s saving throw allowing us to slice and dice it at our leisure. If we attack with our Longbow using Kensei Shot and Deft Strike we can cause a total of 1D8+7D6+1D4 +17 points of damage, ignoring magical resistances. (Or 5d8+7D6+5 using a rapier and Booming Blade.) Ghost, werewolves and demons alike all fear the Bastard, and rightly so. We cap of our Dexterity and boost our Wisdom for better AC and upping our stunning strike.
If someone attacks him back they first have to get past a maximum AC of 26 with disadvantage if Blur is up. If we also have Mirror Image up that just makes it even harder. If he is sure that he will be hit no matter what he can use Uncanny Dodge to reduce the damage. Mostly he just stays in the shadows and kills you before you have a chance, though.
This was so hard to decide on. I am just making this post as a place holder, but I'm so excited. I may post a second one, but this one is very fun but is actually very simple. Look out for a wizard with an ice cream cone... Rune stone I mean.
(Mr Ryze was too hard to make, but got another one):
May I present: Sett, The BOSS.
Sett is a remake of a previous edition, one that went a bit bad. But now we have him back, and he's angry.
Starting stats: Str 18, Dex 12, Con 18, Wis 10, Int 8, Cha 14
Background: Outlander
Starting feat: Martial Adept (taking the brace [UA] and parry manoeuvres)
Starting class: Barbarian
He walked along the dusty path, blood dripping from his lip. Half-beast, half-boy, Bastard. Now he was Sett, the Beast-Man Bastard, kicked out from his own fighting pits. But he would have revenge. And it would come sweetly..
Sett starts off as a barbarian, channelling his rage. He has a high HP, and some decent damage. This level isn't the best, but better than others. Take a greataxe and some javelins. HP: 16, AC: 15.
Level 5: Zealot Barbarian 3/Fighter 1/Paladin 1
Sett stood before the obsidian dragon, it's body ablaze with pleasure and power. It held out it's hand, and Sett held it. The power suffused his body... Sett awoke, and realised what had happened. To be a Dragonmancer.. the power it brought, and the responsibility.... As the dust settled around him, Sett grimaced as a pain burned in his eye. People began to let out shrieks of fear, as his eyes turned blue. His once red hair turned white, and his clothes changed. A golden dragon wrapped itself around his waist, and he was made: the Obsidian Dragon.
Sett now starts to get better. He has taken the unarmed fighting style, and now has a host of new features. The ability to have a free heal, and some damage reduction (from race and fighter) makes him tanky. He is doing 1d8+2+4+1d6 damage, and can take some hits. Soon he will be the BOSS though.... HP: 58, AC: 15
His opponent screamed and shouted, struggled as he jumped up with them, holding them tight, and slammed them down into the floor. People had begun to hear the name of Sett the Boss, and they had started to fear it. But tonight would be the one where he travelled to Noxus, and began his career again. And then those in Ionia would learn that he was in charge....
Sett has come into his own now. He has learned to control the draconic power within him, and form it into searing smites, killing his opponents in an instance. The abilities from Paladin include a fighting style (interception from UA to reduce damage even more), smites (yesssss) and the ability to hit when we should miss and make people fear the name 'Sett the Boss'. His damage is very decent as well, and increases by putting an ASI into str up to 20. We also have extra attack, essentially doubling damage. Sett has started to show his true colours (seems to be mostly gold with some blue and white. The colours of champions), and can seriously pack a punch. HP: 118, AC: 15
Sett walked out, the sand blowing viciously in the arena. The pits' master, Draven, stood looking down at him in the stands, and clapping slowly. His opponent lay face down in the sand, apparently dead. Sett had dreamed of nothing more than this, since his father had left him... And yet it pained hm to think of his mother, and to know what she must think. Yet he stood strong, and roared in both triumph and agony. 'Let him come, and let him lose'.
Sett has very much earned the title of 'Boss', and is now an absolute machine in combat. The second ASI goes into Con, making it 20. He can't be frightened by anyone, and has a bonus to his cha mod when making saving throws. He can push out smites and deal even more damage, while his HP and AC go up, and he can fight anything. But he isn't done yet.... HP: 195, AC: 16
A man walked out. His face and arms were covered in scars, while he carried nought but a knuckle duster. He dropped it, and clumsily kicked it over to Sett. He looked down and picked it up, studying it. It looked so familiar, yet so distant. It was exactly the same as his old one. The man smiled and opened his arms, and shouted so the whole arena could hear. His voice was cold and malicious, and caught the attention of Draven, his Brother Darius and even Swain. 'My dear son. Where have you been? Come and make up for the lost years. Come and be kind. Or fight me, and wish you hadn't!' He chuckled, and Sett walked to his father, and slid the knuckled duster onto his right hand. 'So it is' Was all his father said....
Sett is now the BOSS. He has conquered the spirit of the Obsidian Dragon, and learnt to channel it's power into his fists. He has the ability to cause people to be frightened of him just by seeing him, and they will pay dearly for underestimating him. He can end any spell on him, and has bonuses on saving throws. He gets +10 to attack rolls if he wants, and can not be frightened himself. His AC is ok, but his huge health pool and damage reductions (race, class, rage etc) let him tank and sustained damage is no problem. Sett has come back from Ionia, accepted his loss to a Piltovan Robot and come back to fight. HP: 228, AC: 16.
Sett was lying face up. Blood lay across his face, and his father was lame next to him. Sett had won, though barely. Draven had given him the Fighting pit, yet he said no. He made the long trip back home, and found his mother, nestled in the village where he had grown up. Saw the people that used to bully him. Make fun of him. And yet when he saw his mother, he cried. He cried, and confessed. And she told him 'True strength is the ability to forgive, and to be kind. Thank you, son'. Sett, the Beast-Boy. Sett, the Beast-Man. Sett the Bastard. Sett the Boss. They were all names, for one man of the greatest strength...
Damage: Let's go through this! 2d8+2d6+4+10+12d8=84 (average) and he crits on a 19 0r 20, and can just take damage till the day ends. He is fun to play, and can bring some real power to the table. May the dice roll well, and Sett win!
An assassin of the highest caliber, able to infiltrate any location and remove any target, to strike with deadly accuracy from range or up close and personal. A wide variety of skills allows for this killer to survive on her own in any condition, to blend and mix with every strata of society. A touch of magic in the form of inherited arcane ability and nature spells grants additional damage dealing capability and buffs to important skills. Training in the martial arts allows for working with minimal equipment, improved mobility, and extra defensive abilities to make sure that Tamsin makes it back alive.
The basic skills and abilities that will form the core of Tamsin’s style come online at the very start. Sneak Attack, Green Flame Blade, and a maximum Dexterity score allow for a highly effective damage dealer with good AC at low levels.
5 - Level 3 Rogue (Assassin) / Level 2 Ranger
40 HP, AC 16
Favored Enemy - Humanoids (human and orc)
Fighting Style: Dueling
Skill: Survival
Spells: Hunter's Mark, Zephyr Strike
By level five, Tamsin’s ability to deal out damage at will has progressed apace. Picking up Dueling style, Hunter’s Mark, Zephyr Strike, Assassinate, and increased Sneak Attack gestalt well together in many situations while adding the Survival skill makes for increased out of combat capability.
By now we’ve added the basic Gloom Stalker abilities that work so very well with Sneak Attack and Assassinate. A level of monk adds some flexibility to close combat and an increase over the basic AC. Mobile for extra movement and Sharpshooter for increasingly deadly ranged surprise attacks are icing on the cake.
Increased monk levels gain us Kensai abilities, most notably Kensai’s Shot to increase your ranged sniper killing ability. Deflect Arrows, Patient Defense, Slow Fall, and Unarmored Movement increase survivability and mobility around the battlefield for when it comes time to get up close and personal rather than taking the target out from range. Bump that Wisdom for better AC. Take whip as a Kensai weapon to gain even more flexibility in your combat capabilities. Skulker gets you that second chance to hit from a distance on the off chance that you miss your first shot.
20 - Assassin 11 / Gloom Stalker 5 / Kensai 4
148 HP, AC 20
Spell: Pass Without Trace
ASI: Wisdom +2
High AC. Deadly single shot damage from any range. Add Pass Without Trace to make sure no one can follow you or catch you sneaking in. Bump the Wisdom again for maximum zen, AC, and Initiative. A fifth level of Ranger nets you an extra attack for those situations where you’ve got mooks to wade through. Over all, you end up with a character that is capable of taking out select targets with absolute prejudice. Using the Poisoner’s Kit to dose your ammunition adds that cherry on top. Choice magic items include Bracers of Defense, Boots of Elvenkind, Cloak of Elvenkind, any sort of magic weapons and ammunition.
This is actually quite similar to a second build I was thinking of entering. Not sure if I should now that you demonstrated the basics of it. Nicely done! :)
Thanks! Seems we definitely had some similar ideas on that one
Here is the weirdest power build you ever did see. It is similar to Third sundering's, but....different. (disclaimer! no story :( I just don't have time unfortunately)
Race: Winged Zariel tiefling. Flight is the best. Period
Feat: Tough....we need it and
Stats: Str 12 (+1) Dex 14 Con 16 Int 8 Wis 10 Cha 17 (+2)
Background: Hmmm.....criminal.
Starting level: Warlock! You get Eldritch blast (Your go-to damage for low levels), and GFB. Grab hex, and all the other warlock goodies.
Any guidance or commentary you want: Level 2! Invos: pick up AGonizing blast and Mask of many faces for the luls Level 3! Finally come into your gish glory! Grab pact of the tome for guidance, mage hand and..... shillelagh! Now you have Charisma to attack/damage with a variety of sticks (Note, because it becomes a warlock spell, it now affects charisma not wisdom). Grab Hold person and pretty much anything else Level 4! Feat, for actor. Now you can literally be anyone, sneak in anywhere, and burn down ANYTHING! Oh and max charisma.
At 5th level: third level warlock spells.....how quaint. Anyway Grab counterspell, and fly cause they are pretty useful.
Any guidance or commentary you want: Level six! The first big shabang! Extra Charisma mod damage to GFB? Yes please! Level 7! Sorcerer level! Gives you nothing, deal with it. Well, well actually it gives you more HP and free defence, but apart from that? What has 1 level of sorcerer ever done for us? Level 8! Font of magic! Useless! Level 9! Quickened spell! Font of magic is no longer useless! Level 10! FEAT! Flames of Phlegethos! Your fire damage has just been put to new heights.
At 11th level: Fireball. Fireball. Nothing but fireball. JUST FIREBALL.
Any guidance or commentary you want: 12th level! Your big shabang! another +charisma to fire damage! meaning you get triple charisma to damage. In the words of phil swift 'now thats a lotta damage!'. 13th level! Pally for med armour proficiency and more useless! 14th level! Pally for yet more spell slots and smites. No more fireball, now we be smiting. And duelling fighting style for extra damage 15th level! More sorc, for 4th level spells! There are too many good ones on both the sorc/cleric spell list to list, but Greater invis is amazing! 16th level! More sorc for a Feat! Elemental adept, guess what damage type!
At 17th level: Your final four levels! Fighter here for some much needed defence.... Defence fighting style obviously. 18th level! Fighter for action surge! Yes, I will be describing the Nova at the end... 19th level! Champion for crits! Critfishing will greatly increase your nova potential
At 20th level and final thoughts: Pally for sacred weapon! more attack bonus is always nice, and will allow you to hit way more consistently. As you can tell this is a damage focused Nova build..... Here is a little taste
(Assuming hits, and....2 rounds to set up [you can still attack on these rounds] for hex/shillelagh/):
Total.... 36d8 + 4d6 + 66 damage ≈ 168 damage and a 10% chance to crit and deal 246 damage. Note, this is WITHOUT THE RIDER DAMAGE which would add another 53 damage. the main weakness is squishyness at low levels, but the nova makes up for it by FAR. Being a pad-sor-lock, you have short rest slots and can smite all the time, you have too many resources to count, a ton of healing, your AC and HP are not that bad (19 or 24 AC with shield, and 209 hp at lvl 20). The damage above is not counting feats, cause I am mad at math. If you roll a 1 on a dice, you can re-roll, and if you roll another 1, its a 2, so the average will be increased. You have 14 cantrips, Quite a number of spells, 5th level spell slots,
Hey, DorkForge. I'm not sure if this has been asked before, but how long are we able to edit our builds? I'm assuming that you're able to until the deadline for the builds, but just wanted to make sure.
(My build is mostly done, but I like making slight changes and clarifications to iron it out a bit, so I may edit it occasionally while I'm allowed.)
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Please check out my homebrew, I would appreciate feedback:
Wow, lots of Shillelagh and Greenflame Blade in this thread so far. Seems like when Hexblade's aren't allowed, people go for these to focus the most on one ability score. Also, there aren't any Strength or Intelligence focusing builds yet, mostly Dex, Cha, and Wis, with a healthy amount of Con.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Please check out my homebrew, I would appreciate feedback:
Hey, DorkForge. I'm not sure if this has been asked before, but how long are we able to edit our builds? I'm assuming that you're able to until the deadline for the builds, but just wanted to make sure.
(My build is mostly done, but I like making slight changes and clarifications to iron it out a bit, so I may edit it occasionally while I'm allowed.)
You're right, you can edit your build up until the deadline, then all submissions are finalised.
Total.... 36d8 + 4d6 + 66 damage ≈ 156 damage and a 10% chance to crit and deal 280 damage. Note, this is WITHOUT THE RIDER DAMAGE which would add another 53, or 99 on a crit. the main weakness is squishyness at low levels, but the nova makes up for it by FAR. Being a pad-sor-lock, you have short rest slots and can smite all the time, you have too many resources to count, a ton of healing, your AC and HP are not that bad (19 or 24 AC with shield, and 189 hp at lvl 20).
Doubtful if you can make the attack needed for the BA GFB. And rider damage isn't doubled on crits. Also you seem to be counting four attacks when using an action surge, depending on if three cantrips/ turn is allowed in this powergaming round, two would be max.
And btw, you forgot to use the boosted stat array. :)
This throwdown is a little different as we throw wide the gates of our ambitions and let slip the dogs of optimisation! Please pay attention to the modified rules in play for this throwdown so you don't miss out!
The Concept: Powergamer's Potluck
This time the concept is broad and open, channel your inner powergamers to find the most powerful and interesting builds, there's no specific aim this time, just powergame your hearts out.
Some rules for guidance:
-The Class Variants UA is available for use!
-No UA other than the approved Class Variants
-No Hexblade, let's shake things up!
-Free feat at character level 1!
-You must include a stat array (This throwdown will use a modified standard array of: 17, 16, 14, 12, 10, 8
-Build to 20 with insights on how the build hands at levels 5, 11, 17 and 20 (include hp and AC at each point for each of reading)
-Multiclassing and feat optional rules in play
-Variants for races available (V. Human, Dragonmarks, SCAG variants)
-No magic items unless you have a way to create them from a class feature
-Normal starting items and gold, mundane armor upgrades be assumed to happen during tier 2 (so you can mention Plate/Half Plate in your commentary but you can only include it in snapshots for levels 11,17 and the final 20).
-Catchy names and fluff are not a requirement but are always nice to read
-Reminder that the races and subclasses from Mythic Odysses of Theros are now available!
Suggested format:
Level 20 level split:
Race:
Stats: Str x Dex x Con x Int x Wis x Cha x
Background:
Starting level:
Any guidance or commentary you want
At 5th level:
Any guidance or commentary you want
At 11th level:
Any guidance or commentary you want
At 17th level:
Any guidance or commentary you want
At 20th level and final thoughts:
Voting:
To sort the wheat from the chaff we'll vote on builds and declare a 'winner' (a concept that will hopefully continue in future threads and put the contest into this), to vote simply make a post quoting the build you want to vote for (snipping the content to keep things getting out of hand) and say something that indicates you're voting e.g. +1, get's my vote etc.
-Each user only gets one vote but you can edit your post at any time before the deadline to change your mind.
-If you submit a build, you must vote for someone for your entry to be considered valid
-A user can submit more than one build but they must be in separate posts (and not back to back to respect forum rules)
-You cannot vote for yourself
-Each throwdown thread will run for 7 days after which no new builds will be accepted for contention, when the build deadline has closed votes will be accepted. The voting deadline will be five days after the build deadline, votes will be tallied and the winner announced (any vote edits after the deadline has passed will also not be counted, if the original vote cannot be seen the vote will be null and void).
Potluck build deadline/Voting opens: 08/10/2020 @ 9pm BST/4pm ET
Voting deadline: 13/10/2020 @ 9pm BST/4pm ET
PLEASE NOTE THAT VOTING IS NOW ONLY ONCE THE BUILD DEADLINE HAS PASSED.
I'm looking forward to what all the optimisers around here come up with so without further ado, let's THROWDOWN
The Contestants:
Lostwhilefishing's 'Slithering Doom'
Yurei1453's 'Yferna the Feywarden' WINNER 2 votes
Third_Sundering's 'Okay, Boomer' 1 Vote
xMakeRx's 'Whertvoll Bernstein'
Archaeolexi's 'Tasmin Li, The Viper' *INVALID BUILD, NO POSTER VOTE*
Lostwhilefishing's '"Bastard", the Regent's Enforcer' 1 Vote
Bramblefootdruid's 'Sett, The BOSS' 1 Vote
GoodBovine's 'The Arsonist' 1 Vote
Brewsky's 'Drakken, Knight of the Fell Wood' *INVALID BUILD, NO POSTER VOTE*
Congratulations to Yurei1453!
Previous winners:
Throwdown #1: The Gish - Yurei1453's 'Aine, Avandra's Blade'
Throwdown #2: The Terminator - Yurei's 'ATLAS'
Throwdown #3: The Solo Tour- GoodBovine's 'The Dark Angel'
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So basically, first one to write "Artificer Armorer" wins? :P
Haha fortunately no! The armorer is not part of the Class Variants UA and so is not eligible for the contest!
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Please feel free to message us with any requests or build challenges!
Threw something together. Might to another build of I get the time.
Slithering Doom
Deep in the snake-infested southern jungles there is a temple that many have heard of, but few outsiders have visited and lived to tale their story. Those who do speak of fantastical paradise where ripe fruits can be plucked from every tree and your every desire can be satisfied. They also speak of the terrible guardians of this earthly paradise. One such guardian is known simply as the Slithering Doom.
This creature is said to once have been an ordinary human but one who has gone through the horrifying ritual that turns mortals into something darker and far more deadly. Taken from their family at a young age they are forced to live in the wilderness amongst the wild animals. Those who survive are then force fed a lethal mixture of snake venom and toxic plants. The survivors are stronger but no longer just human. They are then put through a deadly regime of martial training as well as the practice of some unknown dark art. The result is deadly. This strange guardians now serve the will of the temple, whatever that can be.
Level 20 level split: Moon Druid 12 Open Hand monk 8
Race: Yuan-ti Pureblood
Stats: Str 12 Dex 17 Con 14 Int 10+1 Wis 16 Cha 8+2 HP 10
Background: Fanatical assassin (custom background) for Religion and Stealth as well as poisoner’s kit.
Starting level: Druid AC 14 Making the cut
It might seem weird to use a race that doesn’t give any bonuses to any of our main stats but with the beefed up stat array we can still easily max out everything we need and not having to worry about any penalties. The process of turning a human child into a guardian leaves the person scarred for life, meaning that they don’t have much in the way of a personality and they have a very rudimentary level of education. That won’t matter that much though since we have magic resistance! Pick up Guidance and Shilleleagh for some combat abilities. Goodberries and Thunderwave should keep us alive for now. Perception allows us to make good use of of our high Wisdom.
At 5th level: Surviving the training
Druid 4, Monk 1 Stats: Str 12 Dex 17 Con 14 Int 11 Wis 18 Cha 10 AC 17 HP 38
We start of by multiclassing to Monk at level 2 for some unarmored defence and martial arts. The temple guardians are trained to fight not only with their bodies but also with any weapon available to them including short bows for deadly ambushes. The young guardians are then inducted in the Circle of the Serpent Moon which allows them to shift their bodies into various animalistic forms. Sacrificing these animal shapes allows them fight on for extended periods of time. With the help of Pass without a trace they are almost unseen in the jungle and Hold Person and Heat Metal helps them make short work of any intruder. With the class variant UA you can also summon a small feathered snake (just re-flavor and owl) to assist you in battle. ASI to raise wisdom to 18 at Druid level 4.
Level 11: Becoming the beast
Druid 7, Monk 4 Stats: Str 12 Dex 17 Con 14 Int 11 Wis 20 Cha 10 AC 18 HP 80
Training in the deadly martial arts continues and Slithering Doom now has earned a reputation as a ferocious and deadly fighter no matter what shape they take. Moving almost unseen through the jungle they can strike from any place in any shape. Wary explorers can never know if the beast that watches them from a tree is just a normal animal or death coming to claim them. Even when they think that they are alone, a poisoned arrow can strike without warning (UA Monk feature, Distant Eye).
Slithering Doom has been trained in the Way of the Open hand and thus is not only quicker than most humans, they can also deflect missiles or disengage and dodge more easily, all while in Wild Shape. We can easily knock things Prone or push them back with a maxed out Spell DC. Going to Druid level 7 make our attacks in Wild Shape magical and as a last way resort we can use Polymorph once per day. This still allows us to use pretty much all of our Monk abilities since none really requires hand or speech. Two words: Karate T-rex (assuming that we go by character level and not druid level, otherwise, wait a level).
Level 17. The Beast that Haunts the Wild
Druid 10, Monk 7 Stats: Str 12 Dex 17 Con 14 Int 11 Wis 20 Cha 10 AC 18 HP 122
If our Karate T-Rex was not enough how about a Kung Fu Fire Elemental? An Aikdio Air Elemental or an Wing Chun Water Elemental? Slithering Doom is a terrifying weapon that haunts the southern jungles. They can fly, they can swim, they can hide without ever being seen before striking without warning. With spells, strikes and savage wild shapes this monster can and will destroy anyone who dares defile the temple grounds without permission. For the 8th level of Druid we pick up the Alert feat to make sure that no-one or no thing can get the drop on Doom. Their natural Magic resistance helps them against fear and charm but in the unlikely event that they would get scared or charmed they can just ignore it using Stillness of Mind. If they get wounded they can heal themselves using magic, Monk abilities or by spending spells slots when in Wild Shape. Monk 5 also gives us an extra attack.
Level 20 and final thoughts: The Nightmare in the Green.
Druid 12, Monk 8 Stats: Str 12 Dex 18 Con 14 Int 12 Wis 20 Cha 10 AC 19 HP 143
We pick up a final 8th level of Monk for more Ki points and Resilient: Dexterity. This in combination with Evasion from the 7th Monk level makes them almost immune to fireballs and other similar spells. Two more levels of Druid gives us more spells, better Wild Shapes and the Observant feat. It is simply impossible to sneak up on the Slithering Doom. Parents now tell their children to always praise the forest gods unless the Green might take them.
All in all, the Slithering Doom is a combat monsterosity regardless of shape. With a base AC 19, 143 HP in their mortal form and magic attacks in any form they can take on most enemies. They laugh at dexterity saving throws and the chance that you would be able to hurt them with a Fireball or similar is almost non-existent with a +10 save with advantage, Evasion and resistance on top of that. At least three different methods of healing, one which allows them to attack in the same round. Shillileagh allows them to attack with their Wisdom instead of their slightly lower Dexterity. Nothing surprises them or catches them unawares (passive Perception of 26). They can fly, then can spy using Scrying, they can travel through plants, they can spit acid and they can Karate Chop your ass in half using tiny T-rex arms. Be afraid. Be very afraid.
EDIT: Just realized I missed the free feat at level one. Throw in Lucky since only the toughest and the luckiest survive the process of becoming one of the Green's Chosen Guardians.
I have no idea what direction to go in...
I’ll try to slap something together
Let's see how an old favorite of mine holds up. Heh, especially curious to see how my definition of 'optimization' works out here.
EDIT: Looks like I forgot to allocate a feat in the original write-up, at Fighter 8/character 16. Deeerp. Corrected in the level 17 write-up.
EDIT2: And courtesy of HeroForge, now in Technicolor!
* * * * *
“The elves of the world of Tyberos are different than the elves you may be familiar with. Insular, territorial, and disinclined to interact with any other race, elves protect their Groves and their Feystones with terrifying warriors known as Feywardens. Supernaturally skilled with blade and bow, possessed of near infinite reserves of talent and training, and gifted with the magics of the natural world, a single Feywarden is all it takes to eliminate entire platoons of intruders. Though they take decades to train, there is no mortal soldier of any other kith kind that can compare to the honed precision and infallible expertise of an experienced Feywarden.”
“Let us follow the life of a specific Feywarden – Yferna of Starlily Grove, a hopeful who will one day become a full-fledged Feywarden herself...provided she survives the challenges and hardships
Yferna, the Feywarden
Wood Elf Battlemaster 12 / Scout 3 / Gloom Stalker 4 / Druid 1
12 | 17(19/20) | 14 | 10 | 16 (17) | 8
Outlander Background
Eleven Accuracy Lvl 1.
HP: 10
AC: 17 (w/studded leather)
Starlily Grove Neophyte: Level One
At first level, Yferna barely qualifies as an elf, let alone a Feywarden. She’s only one of her Grove’s neophytes, undergoing foundational training in the hopes of attracting the eye of a mentor and become a true initiate. Her first level’s training is in Rogue, acquiring double the normal count of proficiencies and Expertise in key skills. Stealth, Acrobatics, Sleight of Hand, and Investigation from rogue proficiencies, with Expertise in Stealth and Perception, the Feywarden’s two most critical skill proficiencies. Elf Weapon Training allows Yferna to make use of her signature longbow from the beginning, but her instructors despair of her ever mastering its use. The road ahead for Yferna is a long one indeed...though at the very least, she does succeed in every powergamer’s Level 1 goal by beginning the game with a 20 in her principle stat. Even from her earliest days, Yferna’s accuracy is...acceptable...to her instructors.
Starlily Grove Initiate: Level Five
Rogue 3 (Scout) \ Fighter 1 \ Ranger 1
HP: 40
AC/Stats: Both unchanged
By fifth level, Yferna has distinguished herself enough from her peers to earn occasional tutelage from the more experienced Feywardens who return to the Grove for rest. Levels two and three of rogue grant Yferna exceptional sneakery and mobility via Cunning Action, as well as Expertise in Survival and Nature as any self-respecting elven warrior should have. Attaining her Scout’s badge is all the rogue’s training our Feywarden initiate requires, and further levels in this class are abandoned. Instead, Yferna takes her first level in both fighter and ranger, acquiring the Archery fighting style from her fighter level and selecting both the Favored Foe and Deft Explorer Class Variant Features from her Ranger level (as well as proficiency in Animal Handling, to help deal peacefully with her Grove’s wildlife). DE gives us Roving, increasing our movement speed by an additional 5 feet for a total of 40 and giving us the same distance as both a climbing and swimming speed. Favored Foe grants us three ‘free’ Hunter’s Marks at this level, with more to come later.
As a fifth-level character with naught but a 2d6 sneak attack and Hunter’s Mark, Yferna struggles to feel adequate next to the more focused, quicker-trained adventurers she occasionally watches her instructors dispatch from the shadows...but her day will come.
Skills: Acrobatics, Animal Handling, Athletics, Investigation, Nature, Perception, Sleight of Hand, Stealth, Survival
Maneuvers: None (yet)
Spells: None (yet)
Student of Blade and Bow: Level 11
Rogue 3 (Scout) \ Fighter 5 (Battlemaster) \ Ranger 3 (Gloom Stalker)
HP: 80
AC: 17
Stats: 12/20/14/10/18/8
By eleventh level, Yferna’s training has progressed enough to earn her a steady mentor – a teacher who has acknowledged her potential and begun her instruction in the deeper arts of the Feywarden She takes a second level of ranger and gains her second fighting style – Dueling, in this case, rather than Defense. Feywardens are expected to be peerless warriors with both bow and blade, able to snuff out their enemies’ lives with a silent shot from the dark or a silent stroke of the knife with equal ease. After this second ranger level, her next four are intensive training in the fundamentals of war. Yferna learns the elven arts that gave rise to the kith concept of the Battlemaster, learning how to apply her superiority as effectively as possible. Student of War grants her proficiency with woodcarver’s tools, allowing her to craft her own arrows and easily maintain her weapons in the field. She hones her mind, improving her resistance to hindering effects (and rounding off her WIS score) with Resilient (Wisdom), before finally claiming her second attack at 10 level.
Once this milestone is achieved, her final stage of training at this tier is a third level of Ranger, training herself as a Gloom Stalker. Now the deep shadows of the forest are as much Yferna’s home as the Grove itself, and her initial alpha strike carries tremendous force. Taking Primal Awareness rather than Primeval grants her access to both Detect Magic and Speak with Animals, as well as one free cast a day of each. She is a warrior to be feared by the rest of kithkind...but still only half a Feywarden, at best.
Skills: Acrobatics, Animal Handling, Athletics, Investigation, Nature, Perception, Sleight of Hand, Stealth, Survival
Maneuvers: Precision, Pushing, Menacing
Spells: Hunter’s Mark, Ensnaring Strike, Hail of Thorns, Zephyr’s Strike, Disguise Self, Detect Magic, Speak with Animals.
Journeyman of Starlily Grove: Level Seventeen
Rogue 3 (Scout) \ Fighter (Battlemaster) 9 \ Rogue (Gloom Stalker) 4 \ Druid 1
HP: 135
AC: still 17
Stats: 12/20/14/10/20/8
By seventeenth level, Yferna has likely spent over fifty years honing her craft, training herself, observing her mentor and meditating on what she’s seen. By the standards of the rest of Tyberos, she is a fearsome and deadly warrior. Two additional levels of fighter grant a bonus ASI, which is the only one she takes as an ASI – at twelfth level Yferna maximizes her Wisdom score. At fighter 7/character 13, she obtains two more Maneuvers to add to her superiority pool, which she takes as Riposte and Snipe, from the CFV document. The former allows her to Sneak Attack as a reaction when using a dagger or her traditional scimitar, while the latter grants her a bonus-action ranged attack she can use irrespective of whatever her main action is. After this, a fourth Ranger level grants access to the Sharpshooter feat, denying Yferna’s enemies the protection of distance or cover and allowing her to deal exceptional damage to her foes with Power Shots.
It’s after this that Yferna’s mentor deems her worthy to finally take the oaths of her Grove. Inks formed from wood ash, animal blood, and the dust of her Feystone is embedded in her skin, the voice of the Grove is revealed to her, and she attains her one and only Druid level. This allows her to prepare up to six Druid spells of 1 level, grants her two cantrips – Guidance and Shillelagh – and tips her just over the line into a 2nd-level caster. That doubles her spell slots and allows her to upcast her prepared Cure Wounds or her attacking spells.
After her oaths, it’s a straight shot to the top, refining her arts and her abilities as a warrior. Still pursuing her ultimate goal, the title awarded only to those rare few who complete their arduous training. At fighter 8/character 16, Yferna attains a handy trick in Wood Elf Magic, granting her once-a-day free access to Longstrider and the vastly more useful Pass Without a Trace, and giving her one final Druid cantrip - Mold Earth in this case. To make foxholes, help her manipulate terrain to her advantage, and to quietly hide the bodies of those who intrude in her forest.
Skills: Acrobatics, Animal Handling, Athletics, Investigation, Nature, Perception, Sleight of Hand, Stealth, Survival
Maneuvers: Precision, Pushing, Menacing, Riposte, Snipe
Spells: Guidance, Shillelagh, Mold Earth, Longstrider, Pass Without Trace, Hunter’s Mark, Ensnaring Strike, Hail of Thorns, Zephyr’s Strike, Disguise Self, Detect Magic, Speak with Animals, Absorb Elements, Cure Wounds, Faerie Fire, +3 Druid
Feywarden: Level 20
Rogue 3 (Scout) \ Fighter 12 (Battlemaster) \ Ranger 4 (Gloom Stalker) \ Druid 1
HP: 159
AC: Still 17
Stats: 12/20/14/10/20/8
By twentieth level, Yferna has finally completed her training. Her mentor has awarded her the arms and armor of her station and she’s granted the final marks of her position. A Feywarden in truth, Yferna has become one of the deadliest cabal of warriors Tyberos has ever seen. Her final few fighter levels grant her two additional maneuvers – Tripping Attack and Goading Attack. She gains the ability to reroll a faileds save once per rest, her superiority grows sharper, and she gains the ability to fire a third shot or make a third strike on each turn. Finally, she gains one final feat. Mobile enhances her movement speed to 50 feet – including her swim and climb speeds – and grants her the ability to dash easily over rough forest terrain. With her 1/day free Longstrider up, Yferna moves a full 60 feet on a normal movement, 120 with a dash, and can move a full 30 feet away from anyone who closes with her using the Skirmisher reaction she gained all the way back at level 3. Should she ever need to flee a foe, her blade strikes allow her to do so without concern. Almost nothing can keep Yferna pinned down.
Silent. Lethal. Skilled beyond the easy grasp of most kith. Wise beyond her years. A Feywarden of the Groves is a supreme warrior, able to do with nothing but a full quiver and sharpened talent what men would need fifty blundering conscripts to accomplish. Elves produce only a handful of these elite hunters in each generation.
They’ve never needed any more.
Skills: Acrobatics, Animal Handling, Athletics, Investigation, Nature, Perception, Sleight of Hand, Stealth, Survival
Maneuvers: Precision, Pushing, Menacing, Riposte, Snipe, Tripping, Goading
Spells: Guidance, Shillelagh, Mold Earth, Longstrider, Pass Without Trace, Hunter’s Mark, Ensnaring Strike, Hail of Thorns, Zephyr’s Strike. Disguise Self, Detect Magic, Speak with Animals, Absorb Elements, Cure Wounds, Faerie Fire, +3 Druid
The ‘Why Powergamers Care’ Section
Speaking strictly to mechanics, this is one of my absolute favorite Ludicrous High-Level Powergame builds. It’s a four freaking class multiclass that doesn’t really pop until you max it out...but once you do, the Feywarden is a different breed of Power Build. Most powergamers only ever optimize for combat, figuring that a first-turn nova and outrageous DPR is all they need to Win D&D Forever. The Feywarden is different. The Feywarden is a character which defies optimization and instead insists that an elven hunter-killer should be able to care for an animal, plan an invasion, foil an invasion, conn a ship, create a garden, write a ballad, create their equipment, build fortifications, treat the wounded, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, analyze a problem, solve the problem, hide the bodies, decipher a spell, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, and die never. Specialization is for lesser kith. The Feywarden is a better skillmonkey than the bard, a better sneak than the rogue, a better archer than the ranger, a better melee combatant than the fighter, and has enough magic to glue it all together. A properly trained Feywarden optimizes for everything save High Magic (which can only be done with a monoclass spellcaster anyways) and lets other people pretend they can be good at things, too.
The price is a pretty torturous progression and a character that doesn’t really come online until midway through Tier 3 at the earliest, but that just kinda fits with the fluff of these suckers as hyper-elite elven murder commandos that take forever to train. Nevertheless, let’s break it down.
The Feywarden has numerous ways of generating the Advantage needed for its Elven Accuracy, with the best option being Faerie Fire. Faerie Firing a gaggle of enemies means Elven Super Advantage on every shot, and with Sharpshooter bonus damage plus the ability to dump all of one’s Superiority on their first turn if they need to (three attacks base, +1 Gloom Stalker, +1 bonus Snipe), the Feywarden’s first-turn nova competes decently well with even Paladin Supah Smitahs – 5d8+2d6+5d10+75, discounting crits or misses, with an additional 5d6 if she managed to land a Hunter’s Mark on her key target before opening combat. An average of ~150 damage for her alpha strike (assuming the Hunter’s Mark), which is perfectly respectable for a critless blast - and that's before you Action Surge to hit them again with another 3d8+3d6+45, i.e. ~69 average damage. Even the most Smite-tastic paladin build can be hard-pressed to manage over 200 damage in an opening volley, and if they do pull it off they'll be just as out of gas as as you are.
But that hardly matters, because where you've got the typical Smite-based nova builds beat hands down is at-will round-over-round damage. Let’s examine the more typical use case of “expend no resources save at-will abilities”. At that point, the Feywarden can either Hide or Cunning Aim as a bonus action on her turn to grant herself advantage on her first attack, enabling Sneak Attack, and with Dex 20, Archery, and Elven Super Advantage, that first shot is a shoe-in for Sharpshooter, as well. 3d8+2d6 dice damage from three longbow shows and a minor Sneak Attack, with +25 flat damage for one Sharpshooter shot and normal Dex damage. Average of ~46 damage per round using nothing but her basic longbow attack, one Sharpshooter bonus hit on the attack she can guarantee rolling 3d20 for, and her mod. Almost a quarter of her Maximum Nova damage, at will. And so long as she’s got Superiority available to her, our Feywarden can add to that damage as well as manipulate or control her enemies with a variety of Green Arrow trick shots.
But what if the bow isn’t a go? What if Yferna needs magical damage, or she’s in tight quarters where the longbow doesn’t function? No issue! In close she can use a dagger, shortsword or scimitar to carve her enemies while retaining her Sneak Attack damage, and almost all of her Maneuvers still apply. She even gains a new one in Riposte, letting her Sneak twice a round for as long as her Superiority lasts. If magical damage is required, the Feywarden can resort to a hardwood fighting baton or light staff enchanted with Shillelagh, gaining a d8 weapon that works off of Wisdom – which our Feywarden is just as comfortable attacking with as with Dexterity. Furthermore, Wisdom-driven Shillelagh blows qualify for Elven Accuracy, meaning Elven Super Advantage when a target is Faerie Fire’d or when Yferna can afford to Hide or Cunning Aim – or to Trip her enemy, putting them prone and letting her hammer them freely. No Sneak Attack, sadly, but there are options aplenty. And in all of these cases, Dueling ensures her damage is at least comparable to her basic longbow shots (if, sadly, without the bonuses of Sharpshooter).
And finally, the ‘Expert’ and ‘Spellcaster’ aspects of the character. By level 20, Yferna is a 2nd-level spellcaster with three Druid cantrips, two Wood Elf specialty spells, six prepared Druid spells, and seven known Ranger spells – three chosen, three granted by the Class Feature Variant options Favored Foe and Primal Awareness, and one Gloom Stalker spell. Twelve spells and two cantrips is not bad for a character that is otherwise a martial powerhouse. She gets six casts a day, which isn’t a lot, but she doesn’t generally use her magic for combat outside of setting it up or marking her foes. With five free concentration-free Hunter’s Marks, she can Mark a target and hold Faerie Fire up. And while she’s doing all that? Our Feywarden has nine (of eighteen) skill proficiencies, four of them at Expertise level. With Guidance she can Stealth better than the best rogues (discounting Reliable Talent, anyways), hunt quarry even the gods couldn’t find via Survival, and see damn near into the future with Perception. There’s nary a skill check in the game a DM could ask Yferna to make (outside of most knowledge or charisma checks, her admitted weaknesses) that she wouldn’t easily ace.
This is proper optimization. Who cares if you’re good at combat? Damn near everybody in this game is good at combat. If you want to be a truly optimal player, you need to be good at EVERYTHING, not just fighting. And nobody does ‘good at everything’ quite like my beloved Feywarden.
Why you shouldn't start ANOTHER thread about DDB not giving away free redeems on your hardcopy book purchases.
Thinking of starting ANOTHER thread asking why Epic Boons haven't been implemented? Read this first to learn why you shouldn't!
Okay, this is my first Throwdown, but I hope it goes well. This is one of my favorite combos.
Okay, Boomer
(Due to Hero Forge's update, I can actually make colored characters for these in the future.)
Sir Okay Boomer was raised in a small settlement near the forests of Thatroger, born of his retired druid mother and wizard father. His father, Ol' Pop, was a linguist and sage who learned the art of bladesinging from the high elves of Thatroger Grove, while his mother had learned from the wood elves of the realm how to speak with animals and nature spirits. His whole childhood he was taught by his parents to honor power in all of its forms, and protect all who need protecting. During his teenage years, he began practicing both arts of his parents, blending together both divine, nature, and arcane magic together, and learning how to track others and guard the city from monsters and other enemies.
Once he grew out of his adolescence, Okay Boomer journeyed throughout the land, becoming a knight in many realms, finding the tracks of feral creatures and hunting down sinister extraplanar entities. He began to serve magic in all of its forms, merging all aspects of magical melee fighting together using his devotion and training in these practices. Due to this, he is now a veteran adventurer, renown throughout all the land for his deadly reputation and renown thunderous booming strikes.
Sir Okay Boomer
Variant Human Arcana Cleric 10/Horizon Walker Ranger 4/Spores Druid 2/Battlemaster Fighter 4
Strength 8, Dexterity 14, Constitution 16 (17), Intelligence 12, Wisdom 17 (18), Charisma 10
Sage Background
HP: 11
AC: 18 (shield, scale mail), 20 with Shield of Faith
DPR: 1d8+4 (with possible extra thunder due to BB) or 1d8+4 plus 4 fire damage to another target.
(Using Class Feature Variants for Favored Enemy and Favored Terrain and Channel Divinity)
Novice Blended Mage:
At level one, Okay Boomer is an Arcana Cleric, taking Shillelagh and Thorn Whip, as well as Thunderwave with Magic Initiate (Druid) due to the extra feat from Variant Human, Booming Blade and Green Flame Blade from the Arcana Cleric level one feature. He wields a Quarterstaff in one hand, and starts combat with Shillelagh as a bonus action and Booming Blade or Green Flame Blade as an action after that. His second feat at level one is Ritual Caster Wizard, which he uses to get his familiar "Zool," the fox and the Comprehend Languages ritual.
This leads to a few exploits at this level. First, he never needs to increase his Strength or Dexterity higher in order to deal damage, he can completely focus on Wisdom, which is any minmaxer's dream. Second, Zool uses the Help action every turn to give him advantage on his attacks, which he already has a +6 bonus to at level one. Third, his holy symbol is inscribed on his shield, allowing him to use it as a spellcasting focus in combat. Fourth, he starts out with an Armor Class of 20 while concentrating on Shield of Faith, which is very helpful to avoid taking hits.
Another advantage of this character is that they are also very good at using their magic when melee combat fails. He has Magic Missile, Guiding Bolt, and Inflict Wounds, all of which will help him deal a bit more damage in different circumstances. While he is next to adjacent enemies, he uses Green Flame Blade. While near an enemy that is likely to run away, when needing to guard an ally or escort, or when fighting only one creature he uses Booming Blade.
Seasoned Booming Knight:
Arcana Cleric 5
HP: 35
AC: 19 (shield, half-plate), 21 with Shield of Faith
DPR: 2d8+5 (BB) or 2d8+5 plus 1d8+5 to another target (possible Spiritual Weapon as a bonus action, adding 1d8+5/2d8+5)
At fifth level, Sir Okay Boomer has just been awarded knighthood by the region's King Borin. He is granted half-plate and a bit of new equipment during this time (nothing else that is notable). His AC is now 21 while concentrating on Shield of Faith, and his Booming Blade and Green-Flame Blade are both improved in damage. Depending on whether his enemies are better with hitting or have a higher AC, he will alternate between Magic Weapon on his Quarterstaff and Shield of Faith to increase his own AC. At this time, he gets Arcane Banishment/Abjuration, which he doesn't use often, but will use in certain situations (with a few extraplanar monsters, mostly). He also occasionally uses Harness Divine Power from the CFV UA to regain a spell slot during most short rests.
He also takes Animate Dead, which he uses to create zombies that he positions to protect himself and those he wishes to protect, typically moving them into position to absorb damage and make opportunity attacks.
He continues to start with Shillelagh and either Green Flame Blade or Booming Blade (situationally alternated as described above). With his 4th level ASI he boosts his Wisdom to 20, just to finish upgrading his most important ability. For his spells, he prepares Hold Person, Spiritual Weapon, and a few others for utility. His second turn normally comprises of Spiritual Weapon to take up his bonus actions on later turns and give him a bit of ranged capabilities.
Veteran Striking Hunter:
Arcana Cleric 8/Horizon Walker 3
HP: 97
AC: 19 (half-plate, shield), 21 with Shield of Faith
DPR: 3d8+12 (with possible extra damage as BB) or 3d8+12 plus 2d8+10 to an additional target (spiritual weapon/planar warrior and hunter's mark to add more damage)
This is where things get a bit more complicated for Sir Okay Boomer. He takes himself all the way to level 8 Arcana Cleric before taking his first three levels in ranger. This allows him to snag Potent Spellcasting, giving him the ability to deal extra damage with Greenflame Blade and Booming Blade equal to his Wisdom modifier (which allows for him to add it twice to the damage). It also gives him a bit more spells that are useful to this build (Guardian of Faith, Freedom of Movement). He uses his next ASI to take Resilient (Constitution), granting him proficiency in Con saves to help with concentration later down the line.
Then, he takes three levels in ranger, getting a few extremely useful spells (Absorb Elements, Ensnaring Strike, Hunter's Mark, Goodberry). At his first level of ranger, he gains another boost in damage to GFB and BB, allowing for him to deal even more damage. He starts combat the same as normal (shillelagh and GFM or BB), and his second turn comprises of Hunter's Mark (Favored Foe) and GFB or BB. Due to Favored Foe allowing Hunter's Mark for free with no concentration, he is still able to cast some of his concentration spells during combat (Hold Person, Shield of Faith, Ensnaring Strike, Zephyr Strike).
At 2nd level ranger, he takes the Dueling Fighting Style, giving him a +2 bonus to damage with GFB and BB. When he becomes a horizon walker, he gets the ability to turn all of his attacks' damages to force, aiding in overcoming the common resistance to fire damage for GFB. Depending on the circumstances, both Spiritual Weapon and Planar Warrior could be better options to use. Planar Warrior doesn't take any spell slots and deals extra damage for "free" while Spiritual Weapon allows for a bit more range and extra opportunities to attack.
Old Time Boomer:
Arcana Cleric 9/Horizon Walker Ranger 3/Spores Druid 2/Battlemaster Fighter 3
HP: 165
AC: 20 (half-plate, shield), 22 with Shield of Faith
DPR: 4d8+12 (with possible extra damage as BB) or 4d8+12 plus 3d8+10 to an additional target (spiritual weapon/planar warrior and hunter's mark to add more damage) plus 1d6 from symbiotic entity, plus 2d8 from Holy Weapon, plus a possible 1d8 from Sweeping Attack.
Now, Sir Okay Boomer has begun delving more into the traditional class of his mother, becoming a druid and also becoming a fighter. At level 2 he becomes a Circle of Spores Druid, using Symbiotic Entity to add an additional 1d6 to his GFB and BB. The most notable spells are Blindness/Deafness, Heat Metal, Flaming Sphere. He is not evil, but believes that recycling corpses for the purposes of protecting others has nothing inherently wrong with it. Fungal Infestation supports his undead powers as well. He concentrates on Holy Weapon, which adds to increase his damage by quite a bit.
The damages for GFB and BB increase again, now allowing for him to be even better in melee combat. His first turn now starts with Shillelagh and either Symbiotic Entity or one of his battle cantrips. His second turn uses Holy Weapon (which we have proficiency in Con saves to help with Concentration) and GFB/BB. His next turn he uses Hunter's Mark, and later turns for Spiritual Weapon/Planar Warrior as well as GFB and BB.
Becoming a Fighter gives us Second Wind, which is nice but not needed. He gets another Fighting Style, and we'll take Defense. We also get Action Surge, which is amazing, especially to increase your one turn damage by a lot, and you become a Battlemaster. We choose Precision Attack, Riposte, and Sweeping Attack. Precision Attack helps us when we roll low, which is unlikely but it is devastating when we miss, so this helps us even more be sure that we will hit. Riposte will let you attack even more each round, which is great for this build. Sweeping Attack will help us deal more damage as well.
Okay, Boomer:
Arcana Cleric 10/Horizon Walker Ranger 4/Spores Druid 2/Battlemaster Fighter 4
HP: 194
AC: Same as above
DPR: 4d8+12 (with possible extra damage as BB) or 4d8+12 plus 3d8+10 to an additional target (spiritual weapon/planar warrior add at least an extra 1d8) plus 1d6 from symbiotic entity plus 1d6 from Hunter's Mark, plus 2d8 from Holy Weapon, plus a possible 1d8 from Sweeping Attack.
With his next ASI, Okay Boomer takes Spell Sniper, allowing for him to make his GFB and BB attacks from 10 feet away, as well as a few other nice benefits (I chose the Primal Savagery cantrip). He also takes War Caster, which will let us cast a Booming Blade as an opportunity attack, which is extremely useful and a great combo.
Okay, Boomer is a loner, only traveling with companions that he creates with his own magic. Zombies, Skeletons, Familiars, and other "natural" beings that he can create with his magic are almost always with him at this point, protecting him, empowering him, and guarding others.
At this point, he finally takes his last level in Cleric. This gives him Divine Intervention, which isn't going to help most of the time.
Final Calculated DPR Breakdown:
Once you get all of your features and spells stacked, on a normal hit with Booming Blade you deal an average of 46 damage with another possible 18 thunder damage if the target moves, or with Green-Flame Blade against two targets, you deal a total of 46 to the first creature, 23 to the second, plus 4 from Sweeping Blade.
What makes this build good, what are its weaknesses, and how to make it better?
Okay, Boomer focuses on maximizing damage with Green Flame Blade and Booming Blade. This is why he multiclasses between four classes, to take advantage of many different features and spells in order to pile up the damage as much as possible. With Planar Warrior, he can transform all of the attack damage from GFB and BB into force damage, as well as adding extra damage to it. This is extremely helpful at higher levels, allowing for you to ignore resistances/immunities to fire and poison damage, transforming it all into force, which is extremely rare as a damage immunity/resistance. Additionally, the build allows for you to attack at advantage all the time, already with a high bonus to hit due to shillelagh, ensuring that you make the most out of your attacks. This build is good at tanking, using high AC, fairly high HP, and spells to empower this part of this build's identity.
This build starts out with good damage, and it only increases from there. It also has many bonus action options, from commanding minions, empowering their own attacks, attacking at range, controlling AoE effects, and casting spells. It also has many reaction capabilities, from spell opportunity attacks and halo of spores to absorb elements and a few other niche options. Your turns will be filled with options for nearly any action type you can take. Another strength of this build is that you mostly only have to focus on Wisdom and Constitution, making it so you don't have to care about STR, INT, CHA, and DEX (to an extent). The strongest part of this build is the amount of features that stack with this feature, while not being drained (GFB/BB, Potent Spellcasting, Shillelagh, Planar Warrior) and being able to regain most of the ones that are drained on a short rest (Wild Shape, Hunter's Mark due to CFV UA's Channel Divinity).
A weakness of this build is that its concentration is always being fought for by multiple spells, but most spellcasters have that issue anyways. Another weakness is one of its strengths, how many options it has. This is not a build for novice players. You have to seriously know how to take advantage of each feature and turn if you want to make this build be worth it. Another weakness of this build is that they almost always are limited to one attack a turn, or two with spiritual weapon. This makes it super important that your familiar gives you advantage each round, or else all of your damage dogpiling and action economy expenses will go to waste when you miss.
If you want to make this build better, there are a few different options, mostly from different UA and magic items. You will want to get a magic quarterstaff with some kind of bonus to hit and damage. This will increase your combat capabilities a lot. I recommend a Staff of Thunder and Lightning, a Staff of Withering, or a Staff of the Woodlands. Most magical armor and shields will also help you tank better, which would help you in combat a lot. If you can, get your hands on Illusionist's Bracers. This will let you attack using GFB or BB as a bonus action each round, which will practically double your damage in most scenarios.
I chose most of the feats that this build has for flavor and some design reasons, but some of them are not essential to the build (Warcaster, Sentinel, Spell Sniper, Resilient, Lucky). If you're having problems with damage resistance at lower levels, you might want to consider Elemental Adept (Thunder and/or Fire). If you choose Tiefling as a race, Flames of Phlegethos would be useful if you focus on Green-Flame Blade. Many feats from the most recent Feats UA will help this build, especially Metamagic Adept to take Quickened Spell, Crusher for an increase in battlefield control, Fighting Initiate to get another fighting style (preferably the CFV UA Superior Technique), Fey Touched for Hex and teleportation, or Tracker for thematic and slight mechanical benefits.
I chose Variant Human as a race to grab another feat at level one, but you could choose a different race for a variety of reasons. Wood Elves, Wildhunt Shifters, Firbolg, Githzerai, certain Dragonmarked races, and many others could be very viable for this combo. Elves and Half-Elves could snag Elven Accuracy, which would be incredibly useful for this build. Wildhunt Shifters could get access to their extremely useful shifting feature. Githzerai's innate shield would help this character tank at earlier levels, Firbolgs fit the theme of the build very well. Mark of Handling, Mark of Finding, Mark of Shielding, and even the Mark of Making races could be good fits with this build.
Thanks for reading!
Edit 1: Changing things a tiny bit. Instead of being level 9 druid and level 8 cleric, it is now level 8 druid and level 9 cleric. This lets us snag Holy Weapon, increasing our damage significantly.
Edit 2: Switched 6 levels of Druid to Battlemaster Fighter for 4 levels, and one more level in both clerics and rangers. This helps add even more damage, and give even more useful features.
Edit 3: Fixed hit points and a few other typos and clarifications.
Please check out my homebrew, I would appreciate feedback:
Spells, Monsters, Subclasses, Races, Arcknight Class, Occultist Class, World, Enigmatic Esoterica forms
Disclaimer: [Builds done, but i'm going to ceaselessly correct this because I am bad at spelling and many more things to which if you continue reading will become apparent in no short order]
I struggled with even entering this but I wanted to see Whertvoll show up somewhere and get some attention from people outside the group. This is not the original design but it's very close regardless, the idea was a magic infused holy healer type... but from a guy who absolutely cannot stand down to the bone marrow playing clerics of any kind. Not a shot at a cleric, I just find the class hyper boring. Either way here, we, go.
One many of my DM's will loathe, hate, and despise until the end of time. A warforged themed up as a 2ft porcelain doll (if you ever watched / read Rozen Maiden you get the idea). Enjoy.
"Whertvoll was just a piece of mud until dad realized he needed an assistance so mom wouldn't yell at him in the workshop anymore. I'm told I'm made from the best mud. Peak quality, and worth every soul spent!"
"Whertvoll Bernstein"
Level 20 level split: 14 Warlock / 6 Sorcerer
Race: Warforged
Stats: Str 8 Dex 16(+1) Con 14(+2) Int 10 Wis 12 Cha 17(+1)
Background: Charlatan
Starter Feat: Actor
(1st Level) Warlock 1 "Kilnborn"
HP11
AC14
Whertvol began life as a high quality lab assistant, primarily because even powerful beings make poor decisions. At level 1 The build really isn't but she has prof's in Deception, Intimidation, Performance, Persuasion and Slight of Hand. Spells include, Light, Mage Hand, Magic Stone, Sacred Flame as cantrips, and Armor of Agathys and Cure Wounds. Item wise she only has a dress (clothes), a box, and her forgery equipment. Language chosen for Warforged was Dwarvish.
Disguise kit and Glassblowers kit from Charlatan and Warforged respectively. Disguise used to pass herself off as a random child. Glassblowers to do trinkets or make bottles / flasks for pots if downtime is available. (With all of these is also a scam artist selling "potions" at an enhanced price making her Performance and Persuasion prof's important at this point.
(5th Level) Warlock 3 / Sorcerer 2 "You little !@#$"
HP: 41
AC: 14
For the Warlock Level 3 you take, Pact of the Chain. For invocations Armor of Shadows, and Voice of the Chain Master* (more on this later). Pickup Flaming sphere and Mirror image for level 2 spells. As for sorcerer levels you'll want to select Divine soul for the origin. Then law in divine magic to get bless for "free". For cantrips you're going to want Friends, Guidance, Message and Control Flames. For actual level one spells you want. Expeditious Retreat, Sanctuary and Ceremony.
*Familiar, This is also where you want to summon your trusty Crab or Bat familiar (for blindsight)... and companionship... but mostly blindsight.
(11th Level) Warlock 8 / Sorcerer 3 "Never scheme a schemer."
HP: 88
AC: 14 + (16 Mage armor)
Stats: Str 8 Dex 17 Con 16 Int 10 Wis 12 Cha 20
Welp here we are. Warlock selection up to level 8 and the following invocations selected in order. "Gift of the Ever Living Ones" for healing reasons to yourself and for maximum sustain. Level 7 invocation "Tricksters Escape". This allows you to maintain a stats of not locked down as much as possible combined with the previous spell selection. You also now get access to the Radiant Soul feature, while not as good as Eldrich Blast buffing I still think this setup has its uses. And its also not eldrich blast.... again.
Warlock Spells to add:
Cantrip: Create Bonfire
Level 3: Gaseous Form, Hypnotic Pattern, Dispel Magic.
Level 4: Banishment, Hallucinatory Terrain
ASI's come in the form of +2 Charisma and the Skilled feat, picking up Stealth, Acrobatics, and Insight
Sorcerer 3 you finally get meta magic, "Subtle Spell" and "Twinned Spell" are your options here.
Spells:
Level 2: Detect Thoughts.
(17th Level) Warlock 14 / Sorcerer 3 "Who does this to themselves?"
HP: 136
AC: 15 + (17 mage armor)
Stats: Str 8 Dex 18 Con 16 Int 10 Wis 12 Cha 20
So you chose to go past 11 on Warlock... what do you get for your trouble?
Mystic Arcanum 6: Investiture of Flame
Mystic Arcanum 7: Crown of Stars
ASI : Feat Athelete (+1 Dex) Even better mundane movement and evasion when combined with the entire shenanigan show you already have.
Celestial Resistance gives you additional temp HP in addition to the other ways you have to generate it mid combat.
Searing Vengance means putting you down only results in more explosions. Michael Bay would be proud. But they're radiant explosions. So your god would also be proud. ... Is Michael Bay a Celestial? He did direct Aliens... nevermind off topic. Anyway the hopefully nuclear option VS all those undead your party almost managed to kill.
Invocation Level 9: Whispers of the Grave, becuase talking to the dead might usually require a spell, but you're better than that. You're made from much better materials.
Invocation Level 12: Ghostly Gaze, the ability to see through solid objects to a point combined with your oh so dear and loved, and in no way only summoned for their fancy eyes or ears to be able to see for you with blindsight, no no, chain lock familiar. Glorioius levels of BS, so good. (I'm also willing to bet this one's fairly DM dependent due to the wording on this and Voice of the Chain Master. In the event this combo is shot down, its still a super useful way to get multiple options for a similar task.
Casting picked up at this level
Cantrip: Prestidigitation (you don't need it, but you'll never not use it.)
Spells:
Level 5: Contact other Plane, Scrying, Wall of Light
Talk to god, Creep on someone, Force them to stay out of a specific location for around 10 minutes.
(20th Level) Warlock 14 / Sorcerer 6 "Mistakes were made."
HP: 157
AC: 16 + (18 Mage Armor)
Stats: Str 8 Dex 20 Con 16 Int 10 Wis 12 Cha 20
3 More levels of Sorcerer!
ASI +2 Dex
Spells:
Cantrip: Mold Earth (you are going to be putting a lot of things down, would be nice to have quick burials so one ceremony covers it all)
Level 3: Clairvoyance, Catnap, Mass Healing Word
Creep harder, Sleep harder, When you use Searing Vengance, make sure you're entire TPK'd party is no longer TPK'd. "YOU'RE WELCOME!"
I'm organized poorly so here's this synopsis.
General Synopsis and Strengths
Weaknesses are pretty straitforward,
Whertvoll Bernstein's Character Sheet: https://ddb.ac/characters/36705946/EectSI
"I once knew this fella, Aasimar raised in the Underdark. Was like a brother to me. When he escaped we couldn't take much with us. Poor, emaciated husks of the living we were. 'ts okay though. We survived and made our ways. I'll never forget the way the people from my home looked at us when we walked in the archway. Though, I'm frighteningly certain the feelings they would have, had they but the opportunity ta see us leave." --Manolovo the Traitor, Memoirs of a Scoundrel
Tamsin Li, The Viper
An assassin of the highest caliber, able to infiltrate any location and remove any target, to strike with deadly accuracy from range or up close and personal. A wide variety of skills allows for this killer to survive on her own in any condition, to blend and mix with every strata of society. A touch of magic in the form of inherited arcane ability and nature spells grants additional damage dealing capability and buffs to important skills. Training in the martial arts allows for working with minimal equipment, improved mobility, and extra defensive abilities to make sure that Tamsin makes it back alive.
Level 20 level split: Rogue (Assassin) 11 / Ranger (Gloom Stalker) 5 / Monk (Kensai) 4
Race: High Elf
Stats: Str 12 Dex 20 Con 14 Int 11 Wis 20 Cha 8
Background: Faction Agent
1 - Level 1 Rogue
10 HP, AC 16
Feat: Elven Accuracy
Stats: 12/20/14/11/16/8
Skills: Acrobatics (expert), Athletics, Deception, Insight, Perception, Sleight of Hand, Stealth (expert)
Racial Cantrip: Green Flame Blade
The basic skills and abilities that will form the core of Tamsin’s style come online at the very start. Sneak Attack, Green Flame Blade, and a maximum Dexterity score allow for a highly effective damage dealer with good AC at low levels.
5 - Level 3 Rogue (Assassin) / Level 2 Ranger
40 HP, AC 16
Favored Enemy - Humanoids (human and orc)
Fighting Style: Dueling
Skill: Survival
Spells: Hunter's Mark, Zephyr Strike
By level five, Tamsin’s ability to deal out damage at will has progressed apace. Picking up Dueling style, Hunter’s Mark, Zephyr Strike, Assassinate, and increased Sneak Attack gestalt well together in many situations while adding the Survival skill makes for increased out of combat capability.
11 - Rogue (Assassin) 6 / Ranger (Gloomstalker) 4 / Monk 1
84 HP, AC 18
Expertise: Perception, Athletics
Feats: Mobile, Sharpshooter
By now we’ve added the basic Gloom Stalker abilities that work so very well with Sneak Attack and Assassinate. A level of monk adds some flexibility to close combat and an increase over the basic AC. Mobile for extra movement and Sharpshooter for increasingly deadly ranged surprise attacks are icing on the cake.
17 - Assassin 9 / Gloom Stalker 4 / Monk (Kensai) 4
126 HP, AC 19
Feat: Skulker
Kensai Weapons: Short Bow, Whip
ASI: Wisdom +2
Increased monk levels gain us Kensai abilities, most notably Kensai’s Shot to increase your ranged sniper killing ability. Deflect Arrows, Patient Defense, Slow Fall, and Unarmored Movement increase survivability and mobility around the battlefield for when it comes time to get up close and personal rather than taking the target out from range. Bump that Wisdom for better AC. Take whip as a Kensai weapon to gain even more flexibility in your combat capabilities. Skulker gets you that second chance to hit from a distance on the off chance that you miss your first shot.
20 - Assassin 11 / Gloom Stalker 5 / Kensai 4
148 HP, AC 20
Spell: Pass Without Trace
ASI: Wisdom +2
High AC. Deadly single shot damage from any range. Add Pass Without Trace to make sure no one can follow you or catch you sneaking in. Bump the Wisdom again for maximum zen, AC, and Initiative. A fifth level of Ranger nets you an extra attack for those situations where you’ve got mooks to wade through. Over all, you end up with a character that is capable of taking out select targets with absolute prejudice. Using the Poisoner’s Kit to dose your ammunition adds that cherry on top. Choice magic items include Bracers of Defense, Boots of Elvenkind, Cloak of Elvenkind, any sort of magic weapons and ammunition.
Great throwdown so far everyone and it's a pleasure to see so many new names taking part!
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It's great to finally participate! I've always kept track of these to see who would win (mostly Yurei), but never really had the time or attention span to make a character for this. A lot of these are cool concepts and nice to take inspiration from.
(I have so many ideas for this one, but don't want to make a ton of characters. I guess I'll probably have to wait till the next throwdown to test them out.)
Please check out my homebrew, I would appreciate feedback:
Spells, Monsters, Subclasses, Races, Arcknight Class, Occultist Class, World, Enigmatic Esoterica forms
This is actually quite similar to a second build I was thinking of entering. Not sure if I should now that you demonstrated the basics of it. Nicely done! :)
I'm throwing another hat in the ring, just for the hell of it.
“Bastard”, the Regent’s enforcer
In the Elven Empire of Brighthold status is everything. The purer the blood, the higher the status. Those unfortunate enough to be thre result of careless flings with outside visitors are not treated badly but they are taught their place as second class citizens. They are given menial jobs in the bureaucracy of the empire and most of them are satisfied to live out their comparably short lives like this. Those who don’t often leave to pursue better lives elsewhere. And then there is the eerie figure known only as “the Bastard”. Being a common sight in the palace this obviously human-blooded male is known to do the Regent’s dirty work when all other means have failed. Despite his uncanny demeanour he can still be very persuasive and well-behaved to the point of almost being civilized.
Level 20 level split: Arcane Trickster 11 Gloom Stalker 3 Kensei Monk 6
Race: Half-elf
Stats: Str 10 Dex 17+1+1 Con 12 Int 14 Wis 16+1 Cha 8+2
Background: Noble
Starting feat: Elven accuracy, Dex +1
“the Bastard”
Half-elf Arcane Trickster 11 / Gloom Stalker 3 / Kensei 6
Stats: Str 10 Dex 17+1+1 Con 12 Int 14 Wis 16+1 Cha 8+2
Noble background
Eleven Accuracy Lvl 1.
HP: 9
AC: 16 (w/studded leather)
Proficiency with Persuasion, History, Stealth and Intimidation
Troubled youth: Level 1
Like many in his situation, the Bastard had a rough childhood and he often got himself into trouble. Luckily he had the skills to get himself out of trouble as well. With expertise in Stealth and Persuasion as well as being proficient in Perception, Acrobatics, Sleight of Hand and Investigation he knows how to see others while not being seen himself.
Finding a purpose: Level 5
Rogue 3 (Arcane Trickster) \ Monk 1 \ Ranger 1
HP: 34
AC: 17
Stats: Unchanged
No-one, not even the Bastard, can go unseen forever though. One move gone wrong, one heist to daring and he found himself in the clutches of the government. Having the choice of being sent to a penal colony or serving the State, he chose the latter. After drilling not only both armed and unarmed combat he was also tutored in the art of the arcane, learning how to literally kill people with his mind (picking up Mage Hand, Toll the Dead and Friends). For spells we pick up Shield, Charm Person and Earth Tremor. His unarmed training gives him a nice AC of 17 and his Ranger training using the UA variant give him Athletics and Expertise with Insight.
Stalking the night: Level 11
Rogue 4 (Arcane Trickster) \ Monk (Kensei) 4 \ Ranger (Gloom Stalker) 3
HP: 56
AC: 17
Stats: Unchanged
After years of gruelling hard work, dangerous missions and more notches on his belt than he cares to remember, the Bastard has made a reputation for himself. For spells we have picked up Booming Blade from Arcane Trickster, Disguise Self, Detect Magic and Goodberries from Ranger. As a Gloom Stalker Ranger he also has the Archery Fighting Style and he is more or less invisible in the dark. For Kensei Weapons he picks up Hand Crossbow and Scimitar as his weapons of choice.
The real payoff comes in the form of the Crossbow Expert and Sharpshooter feats. If he attacks from hiding with Hunter’s Mark on the target he will be able to deliver three attacks at triple advantage that each can do 2D6+16 points of piercing damage with an additional 2D6 Sneak Attack for one of them. Not bad, but it will get better.
And of course, Kensei gives us access to the most important skill in the game, calligraphy.
Looking for trouble: Level 17
Rogue 8 (Arcane Trickster) \ Monk (Kensei) 6 \ Ranger (Gloom Stalker) 3
HP: 142
AC: 17
Stats: Unchanged
Not every job is solved by pumping your enemy full of bolts in a dark alleyway. Sometimes you have to take them out at a distance. Luckily at level 6 we can pick up the Longbow as another Kensei weapon. Coupled with Sneak Attack and Hunter’s Mark we can now do 1D8 + 6D6 +14 points of damage and we get three chances of doing it during the first round of combat. Not bad at all. For spells we pick up Hold Person and Shadow Blade.
At this point the Bastard is almost impossible to pin down, he has speed, he has range, he has magic and magical attacks and he can boost his damage with Kensei Shot and Deft Strike. Defensively he has both Evasion and Uncanny Dodge, Patient Defence as well as Agile Parry and the Shield spell. Should anyone actually hit him he has a fair amount of Hit Points thanks to the Tough feat which we took at Rogue level 8. He now has Expertise in Intimidation as well as Acrobatics.
Top of the World: Level 20
Rogue 11(Arcane Trickster) \ Monk (Kensei) 6 \ Ranger (Gloom Stalker) 3
HP: 166
AC: 19
Stats: Str 10 Dex 20 Con 12 Int 14 Wis 18 Cha 10
We finish of with three more levels of Arcane Trickster. As we do we pick up Prestidigitation, Blur and Mirror Image for some more defence, not that we really need it. This level also gives us reliable talent in our 10 proficiencies (5 of which we have expertise). Magical Ambush allows us to cast Hold Person at disadvantage on the target’s saving throw allowing us to slice and dice it at our leisure. If we attack with our Longbow using Kensei Shot and Deft Strike we can cause a total of 1D8+7D6+1D4 +17 points of damage, ignoring magical resistances. (Or 5d8+7D6+5 using a rapier and Booming Blade.) Ghost, werewolves and demons alike all fear the Bastard, and rightly so. We cap of our Dexterity and boost our Wisdom for better AC and upping our stunning strike.
If someone attacks him back they first have to get past a maximum AC of 26 with disadvantage if Blur is up. If we also have Mirror Image up that just makes it even harder. If he is sure that he will be hit no matter what he can use Uncanny Dodge to reduce the damage. Mostly he just stays in the shadows and kills you before you have a chance, though.
This was so hard to decide on. I am just making this post as a place holder, but I'm so excited. I may post a second one, but this one is very fun but is actually very simple. Look out for a wizard with an ice cream cone... Rune stone I mean.
(Mr Ryze was too hard to make, but got another one):
May I present: Sett, The BOSS.
Sett is a remake of a previous edition, one that went a bit bad. But now we have him back, and he's angry.
Level 20 split: Zealot Barbarian 3/Champion Fighter 3/Conquest Paladin 14
Race: Goliath
Starting stats: Str 18, Dex 12, Con 18, Wis 10, Int 8, Cha 14
Background: Outlander
Starting feat: Martial Adept (taking the brace [UA] and parry manoeuvres)
Starting class: Barbarian
He walked along the dusty path, blood dripping from his lip. Half-beast, half-boy, Bastard. Now he was Sett, the Beast-Man Bastard, kicked out from his own fighting pits. But he would have revenge. And it would come sweetly..
Sett starts off as a barbarian, channelling his rage. He has a high HP, and some decent damage. This level isn't the best, but better than others. Take a greataxe and some javelins. HP: 16, AC: 15.
Level 5: Zealot Barbarian 3/Fighter 1/Paladin 1
Sett stood before the obsidian dragon, it's body ablaze with pleasure and power. It held out it's hand, and Sett held it. The power suffused his body... Sett awoke, and realised what had happened. To be a Dragonmancer.. the power it brought, and the responsibility.... As the dust settled around him, Sett grimaced as a pain burned in his eye. People began to let out shrieks of fear, as his eyes turned blue. His once red hair turned white, and his clothes changed. A golden dragon wrapped itself around his waist, and he was made: the Obsidian Dragon.
Sett now starts to get better. He has taken the unarmed fighting style, and now has a host of new features. The ability to have a free heal, and some damage reduction (from race and fighter) makes him tanky. He is doing 1d8+2+4+1d6 damage, and can take some hits. Soon he will be the BOSS though.... HP: 58, AC: 15
Level 11: Zealot Barb 3/ Champion Fighter 3/ Conquest Paladin 5
His opponent screamed and shouted, struggled as he jumped up with them, holding them tight, and slammed them down into the floor. People had begun to hear the name of Sett the Boss, and they had started to fear it. But tonight would be the one where he travelled to Noxus, and began his career again. And then those in Ionia would learn that he was in charge....
Sett has come into his own now. He has learned to control the draconic power within him, and form it into searing smites, killing his opponents in an instance. The abilities from Paladin include a fighting style (interception from UA to reduce damage even more), smites (yesssss) and the ability to hit when we should miss and make people fear the name 'Sett the Boss'. His damage is very decent as well, and increases by putting an ASI into str up to 20. We also have extra attack, essentially doubling damage. Sett has started to show his true colours (seems to be mostly gold with some blue and white. The colours of champions), and can seriously pack a punch. HP: 118, AC: 15
Level 17: Zealot Barb 3/Champion Fighter 3/Conquest Paladin 11
Sett walked out, the sand blowing viciously in the arena. The pits' master, Draven, stood looking down at him in the stands, and clapping slowly. His opponent lay face down in the sand, apparently dead. Sett had dreamed of nothing more than this, since his father had left him... And yet it pained hm to think of his mother, and to know what she must think. Yet he stood strong, and roared in both triumph and agony. 'Let him come, and let him lose'.
Sett has very much earned the title of 'Boss', and is now an absolute machine in combat. The second ASI goes into Con, making it 20. He can't be frightened by anyone, and has a bonus to his cha mod when making saving throws. He can push out smites and deal even more damage, while his HP and AC go up, and he can fight anything. But he isn't done yet.... HP: 195, AC: 16
Level 20: Zealot Barb 3/Champion Fighter 3/Conquest Paladin 14
A man walked out. His face and arms were covered in scars, while he carried nought but a knuckle duster. He dropped it, and clumsily kicked it over to Sett. He looked down and picked it up, studying it. It looked so familiar, yet so distant. It was exactly the same as his old one. The man smiled and opened his arms, and shouted so the whole arena could hear. His voice was cold and malicious, and caught the attention of Draven, his Brother Darius and even Swain. 'My dear son. Where have you been? Come and make up for the lost years. Come and be kind. Or fight me, and wish you hadn't!' He chuckled, and Sett walked to his father, and slid the knuckled duster onto his right hand. 'So it is' Was all his father said....
Sett is now the BOSS. He has conquered the spirit of the Obsidian Dragon, and learnt to channel it's power into his fists. He has the ability to cause people to be frightened of him just by seeing him, and they will pay dearly for underestimating him. He can end any spell on him, and has bonuses on saving throws. He gets +10 to attack rolls if he wants, and can not be frightened himself. His AC is ok, but his huge health pool and damage reductions (race, class, rage etc) let him tank and sustained damage is no problem. Sett has come back from Ionia, accepted his loss to a Piltovan Robot and come back to fight. HP: 228, AC: 16.
Sett was lying face up. Blood lay across his face, and his father was lame next to him. Sett had won, though barely. Draven had given him the Fighting pit, yet he said no. He made the long trip back home, and found his mother, nestled in the village where he had grown up. Saw the people that used to bully him. Make fun of him. And yet when he saw his mother, he cried. He cried, and confessed. And she told him 'True strength is the ability to forgive, and to be kind. Thank you, son'. Sett, the Beast-Boy. Sett, the Beast-Man. Sett the Bastard. Sett the Boss. They were all names, for one man of the greatest strength...
Damage: Let's go through this! 2d8+2d6+4+10+12d8=84 (average) and he crits on a 19 0r 20, and can just take damage till the day ends. He is fun to play, and can bring some real power to the table. May the dice roll well, and Sett 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!
Thanks! Seems we definitely had some similar ideas on that one
Here is the weirdest power build you ever did see. It is similar to Third sundering's, but....different. (disclaimer! no story :( I just don't have time unfortunately)
'The Arsonist'
Level 20 level split: Sorcerer (Draconic)8/ Warlock (Celestial) 6/ Paladin 3 (devotion)/ fighter 3 (champion)
Race: Winged Zariel tiefling. Flight is the best. Period
Feat: Tough....we need it and
Stats: Str 12 (+1) Dex 14 Con 16 Int 8 Wis 10 Cha 17 (+2)
Background: Hmmm.....criminal.
Starting level: Warlock! You get Eldritch blast (Your go-to damage for low levels), and GFB. Grab hex, and all the other warlock goodies.
Any guidance or commentary you want: Level 2! Invos: pick up AGonizing blast and Mask of many faces for the luls
Level 3! Finally come into your gish glory! Grab pact of the tome for guidance, mage hand and..... shillelagh! Now you have Charisma to attack/damage with a variety of sticks (Note, because it becomes a warlock spell, it now affects charisma not wisdom). Grab Hold person and pretty much anything else
Level 4! Feat, for actor. Now you can literally be anyone, sneak in anywhere, and burn down ANYTHING! Oh and max charisma.
At 5th level: third level warlock spells.....how quaint. Anyway Grab counterspell, and fly cause they are pretty useful.
Any guidance or commentary you want: Level six! The first big shabang! Extra Charisma mod damage to GFB? Yes please!
Level 7! Sorcerer level! Gives you nothing, deal with it. Well, well actually it gives you more HP and free defence, but apart from that? What has 1 level of sorcerer ever done for us?
Level 8! Font of magic! Useless!
Level 9! Quickened spell! Font of magic is no longer useless!
Level 10! FEAT! Flames of Phlegethos! Your fire damage has just been put to new heights.
At 11th level: Fireball. Fireball. Nothing but fireball. JUST FIREBALL.
Any guidance or commentary you want: 12th level! Your big shabang! another +charisma to fire damage! meaning you get triple charisma to damage. In the words of phil swift 'now thats a lotta damage!'.
13th level! Pally for med armour proficiency and more useless!
14th level! Pally for yet more spell slots and smites. No more fireball, now we be smiting. And duelling fighting style for extra damage
15th level! More sorc, for 4th level spells! There are too many good ones on both the sorc/cleric spell list to list, but Greater invis is amazing!
16th level! More sorc for a Feat! Elemental adept, guess what damage type!
At 17th level: Your final four levels! Fighter here for some much needed defence.... Defence fighting style obviously.
18th level! Fighter for action surge! Yes, I will be describing the Nova at the end...
19th level! Champion for crits! Critfishing will greatly increase your nova potential
At 20th level and final thoughts: Pally for sacred weapon! more attack bonus is always nice, and will allow you to hit way more consistently. As you can tell this is a damage focused Nova build..... Here is a little taste
(Assuming hits, and....2 rounds to set up [you can still attack on these rounds] for hex/shillelagh/):
Action- 1d8 (quarterstaff) + 3d8 (GFB) + 1d6 (hex) + 5d8 (smite) + 17 (charisma x3, duelling)
Bonus action (quickened GFB)- 1d8 (quarterstaff) + 3d8 (GFB) + 1d6 (hex) + 5d8 (smite) +17 (charisma x3, duelling)
Action SURGE action- 1d8 (quarterstaff) + 3d8 (GFB) + 1d6 (hex) + 5d8 (smite) +17 (charisma x3, duelling)
Total.... 36d8 + 4d6 + 66 damage ≈ 168 damage and a 10% chance to crit and deal 246 damage. Note, this is WITHOUT THE RIDER DAMAGE which would add another 53 damage.
the main weakness is squishyness at low levels, but the nova makes up for it by FAR. Being a pad-sor-lock, you have short rest slots and can smite all the time, you have too many resources to count, a ton of healing, your AC and HP are not that bad (19 or 24 AC with shield, and 209 hp at lvl 20). The damage above is not counting feats, cause I am mad at math. If you roll a 1 on a dice, you can re-roll, and if you roll another 1, its a 2, so the average will be increased. You have 14 cantrips, Quite a number of spells, 5th level spell slots,
Handy sheet! https://www.dndbeyond.com/profile/GoodBovine/characters/34515088 the best min-maxer win
“I will take responsibility for what I have done. [...] If must fall, I will rise each time a better man.” ― Brandon Sanderson, Oathbringer.
Hey, DorkForge. I'm not sure if this has been asked before, but how long are we able to edit our builds? I'm assuming that you're able to until the deadline for the builds, but just wanted to make sure.
(My build is mostly done, but I like making slight changes and clarifications to iron it out a bit, so I may edit it occasionally while I'm allowed.)
Please check out my homebrew, I would appreciate feedback:
Spells, Monsters, Subclasses, Races, Arcknight Class, Occultist Class, World, Enigmatic Esoterica forms
Wow, lots of Shillelagh and Greenflame Blade in this thread so far. Seems like when Hexblade's aren't allowed, people go for these to focus the most on one ability score. Also, there aren't any Strength or Intelligence focusing builds yet, mostly Dex, Cha, and Wis, with a healthy amount of Con.
Please check out my homebrew, I would appreciate feedback:
Spells, Monsters, Subclasses, Races, Arcknight Class, Occultist Class, World, Enigmatic Esoterica forms
You're right, you can edit your build up until the deadline, then all submissions are finalised.
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Doubtful if you can make the attack needed for the BA GFB. And rider damage isn't doubled on crits. Also you seem to be counting four attacks when using an action surge, depending on if three cantrips/ turn is allowed in this powergaming round, two would be max.
And btw, you forgot to use the boosted stat array. :)