So browsing through the various constructs here on D&D Beyond, I stumbled across a curious monster: the Nimblewright.
So I hopped on the Forgotten Realms wiki for further information...and quite frankly, I'm LOVING this concept.
Agile, light-weight constructs who serve as assassins & bodyguards, created by mages? Rapiers that pop out of their wrists? Skills with swordsmanship & acrobatics?
So naturally...I want to build a character around this concept: a Warforged, specifically...but one who was originally designed as a Nimblewright.
The idea is that he was but one of many: a collection of Nimblewrights who all specialized in a different form of combat, with different weapons.
It's a work in progress...but the idea is that they were created by an evil wizard or lich, and sold to a criminal organization as assassins.
Then one day...boom: One of the Nimblewrights gained sentience. Questioning why he was routinely poking holes in the fleshy creatures, he decided to defect from the organization...now that group is trying to reclaim their stolen property.
In my excitement over the prospect of creating this character...I find myself at a loss as to which class to choose for it.
At first glance, a Nimblewright seems like it was tailor-made for a Swashbuckler Rogue...the acrobatics, the Uncanny Dodge, the Evasion.
But Fighter seems like a good choice, as well...as TCoE demonstrates, the Battlemaster Fighter can be flavored as a Duelist, taking superiority maneuvers...similarly, a Samurai could emulate the unnatural precision or flurry of strikes I picture a Nimblewright performing.
Even the the "marking" mechanic of the Cavalier Fighter has me thinking of ways to play a Nimblewright...that seems like something a former assassin-bot would have.
Perhaps a Hunter Ranger? A Hexblade Warlock? Maybe even a Paladin...?
And so I ask you all: how would you build a Warforged Nimblewright?
I don't know. Shadows monk/Open Hand monk both seem to fit.
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All stars fade. Some stars forever fall. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Homebrew (Mostly Outdated):Magic Items,Monsters,Spells,Subclasses ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- If there was no light, people wouldn't fear the dark.
Since a warforged can't be a Bladesinger, I'd say the obvious choices are:
Artificer (Battlesmith), particularly thanks to that one nimblewright who learned how to make other nimblewrights. Even better would be Artificer (Armorer) if you could convince your GM to let you fluff the thunder gauntlets as thunder rapiers, as this would completely nail the trope of having rapiers built into your forearms.
Fighter (Eldritch Knight) - plus, this'll generate extra feats, so dual wielding rapiers will be feasible earlier.
Rogue (Arcane Trickster) eventually also gets extra feats, and feeds into the assassin trope nicely (ATs can functionally sneak attack in melee at will by wearing their familiar on their shoulder).
For charisma casters, I don't know of a good way to make a Hexblade Warlock that dual wields, and bards and paladins are kind of more awesome at support than the vibe I get here. Ranger could 100% be made to work, but arcane trickster feels like it fits the nimblewright better for the same idea.
To answer your question more directly, I would go Artificer if I were playing a Nimblewright, and plead with my GM to let my Armorer gauntlets visually look like rapiers.
If they are playing with Tasha’s content available, then the Bladesinger is no longer elf exclusive.
That said, I agree that as Nimblewrigjts are known to perform magic, a form of magic class that can melee or vice versa could work.
Maybe the Wizard who created you was a Powerful Bladesinger Wizard and you discreetly learn some of his magic before revealing your free will.
Arcane Trickster and Eldritch Knight can work for that purpose as well if you want the magic to be less pronounced.
For a Hexblade, maybe you came across a powerful artifact that bound itself to you seeing your skills and usefulness, and that connection is what awakened your sentience.
Bard could also be a fun option, you have to constantly disguise yourself to be a harmless minstrel in order to get close to your targets and being surrounded by just everyday people with all their emotions and seeing them live their lives could have sparked that sentience as well.
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"Meddle not in the affairs of dragons, for thou art crunchy and taste good with ketchup."
Since a warforged can't be a Bladesinger, I'd say the obvious choices are:
Artificer (Battlesmith), particularly thanks to that one nimblewright who learned how to make other nimblewrights. Even better would be Artificer (Armorer) if you could convince your GM to let you fluff the thunder gauntlets as thunder rapiers, as this would completely nail the trope of having rapiers built into your forearms.
Fighter (Eldritch Knight) - plus, this'll generate extra feats, so dual wielding rapiers will be feasible earlier.
Rogue (Arcane Trickster) eventually also gets extra feats, and feeds into the assassin trope nicely (ATs can functionally sneak attack in melee at will by wearing their familiar on their shoulder).
For charisma casters, I don't know of a good way to make a Hexblade Warlock that dual wields, and bards and paladins are kind of more awesome at support than the vibe I get here. Ranger could 100% be made to work, but arcane trickster feels like it fits the nimblewright better for the same idea.
To answer your question more directly, I would go Artificer if I were playing a Nimblewright, and plead with my GM to let my Armorer gauntlets visually look like rapiers.
Whether or not they’re spellcasters seems to vary...stat block wise, they don’t have any spells here on D&D Beyond...just some magical defenses.
Historically, though, they’ve been known to have used spells to supplement their martial fighting...Artificer and Bladesinger actually seem like fine choices in that regard!
For a Hexblade, maybe you came across a powerful artifact that bound itself to you seeing your skills and usefulness, and that connection is what awakened your sentience.
Bard could also be a fun option, you have to constantly disguise yourself to be a harmless minstrel in order to get close to your targets and being surrounded by just everyday people with all their emotions and seeing them live their lives could have sparked that sentience as well.
Sword Bard occurred to me as a possible pick...music providing the “spark” of sentience is, if nothing else, poetically beautiful.
...that, and their focus on dual-wielding fits the Nimblewright perfectly; and even stacks with a Nimblewright Warforged’s innate +1 to AC.
Hexblade possesses useful features...and “Mask of Many Faces” would give the Nimblewright unlimited access to a means to disguise themselves.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
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So browsing through the various constructs here on D&D Beyond, I stumbled across a curious monster: the Nimblewright.
So I hopped on the Forgotten Realms wiki for further information...and quite frankly, I'm LOVING this concept.
Agile, light-weight constructs who serve as assassins & bodyguards, created by mages? Rapiers that pop out of their wrists? Skills with swordsmanship & acrobatics?
So naturally...I want to build a character around this concept: a Warforged, specifically...but one who was originally designed as a Nimblewright.
The idea is that he was but one of many: a collection of Nimblewrights who all specialized in a different form of combat, with different weapons.
It's a work in progress...but the idea is that they were created by an evil wizard or lich, and sold to a criminal organization as assassins.
Then one day...boom: One of the Nimblewrights gained sentience. Questioning why he was routinely poking holes in the fleshy creatures, he decided to defect from the organization...now that group is trying to reclaim their stolen property.
In my excitement over the prospect of creating this character...I find myself at a loss as to which class to choose for it.
At first glance, a Nimblewright seems like it was tailor-made for a Swashbuckler Rogue...the acrobatics, the Uncanny Dodge, the Evasion.
But Fighter seems like a good choice, as well...as TCoE demonstrates, the Battlemaster Fighter can be flavored as a Duelist, taking superiority maneuvers...similarly, a Samurai could emulate the unnatural precision or flurry of strikes I picture a Nimblewright performing.
Even the the "marking" mechanic of the Cavalier Fighter has me thinking of ways to play a Nimblewright...that seems like something a former assassin-bot would have.
Perhaps a Hunter Ranger? A Hexblade Warlock? Maybe even a Paladin...?
And so I ask you all: how would you build a Warforged Nimblewright?
I am not really sure, but that sounds like an amazing backstory!
Anything is edible if you try hard enough!
I am a swimmer. If you see me running, you should run too, because it means something horrible is chasing me.
I don't know. Shadows monk/Open Hand monk both seem to fit.
All stars fade. Some stars forever fall.
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Homebrew (Mostly Outdated): Magic Items, Monsters, Spells, Subclasses
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If there was no light, people wouldn't fear the dark.
I'd go with hunter ranger, IMO
I am an average mathematics enjoyer.
>Extended Signature<
If it was built as a bodyguard, Battlemaster fighter makes more sense than Duelist.
Find your own truth, choose your enemies carefully, and never deal with a dragon.
"Canon" is what's factual to D&D lore. "Cannon" is what you're going to be shot with if you keep getting the word wrong.
Aren't nimblewrights spellcasters?
Since a warforged can't be a Bladesinger, I'd say the obvious choices are:
Artificer (Battlesmith), particularly thanks to that one nimblewright who learned how to make other nimblewrights. Even better would be Artificer (Armorer) if you could convince your GM to let you fluff the thunder gauntlets as thunder rapiers, as this would completely nail the trope of having rapiers built into your forearms.
Fighter (Eldritch Knight) - plus, this'll generate extra feats, so dual wielding rapiers will be feasible earlier.
Rogue (Arcane Trickster) eventually also gets extra feats, and feeds into the assassin trope nicely (ATs can functionally sneak attack in melee at will by wearing their familiar on their shoulder).
For charisma casters, I don't know of a good way to make a Hexblade Warlock that dual wields, and bards and paladins are kind of more awesome at support than the vibe I get here. Ranger could 100% be made to work, but arcane trickster feels like it fits the nimblewright better for the same idea.
To answer your question more directly, I would go Artificer if I were playing a Nimblewright, and plead with my GM to let my Armorer gauntlets visually look like rapiers.
If they are playing with Tasha’s content available, then the Bladesinger is no longer elf exclusive.
That said, I agree that as Nimblewrigjts are known to perform magic, a form of magic class that can melee or vice versa could work.
Maybe the Wizard who created you was a Powerful Bladesinger Wizard and you discreetly learn some of his magic before revealing your free will.
Arcane Trickster and Eldritch Knight can work for that purpose as well if you want the magic to be less pronounced.
For a Hexblade, maybe you came across a powerful artifact that bound itself to you seeing your skills and usefulness, and that connection is what awakened your sentience.
Bard could also be a fun option, you have to constantly disguise yourself to be a harmless minstrel in order to get close to your targets and being surrounded by just everyday people with all their emotions and seeing them live their lives could have sparked that sentience as well.
"Meddle not in the affairs of dragons, for thou art crunchy and taste good with ketchup."
Characters for Tenebris Sine Fine
RoughCoronet's Greater Wills
Whether or not they’re spellcasters seems to vary...stat block wise, they don’t have any spells here on D&D Beyond...just some magical defenses.
Historically, though, they’ve been known to have used spells to supplement their martial fighting...Artificer and Bladesinger actually seem like fine choices in that regard!
Sword Bard occurred to me as a possible pick...music providing the “spark” of sentience is, if nothing else, poetically beautiful.
...that, and their focus on dual-wielding fits the Nimblewright perfectly; and even stacks with a Nimblewright Warforged’s innate +1 to AC.
Hexblade possesses useful features...and “Mask of Many Faces” would give the Nimblewright unlimited access to a means to disguise themselves.