Trying to better understand some of these Rogue and Warlock Subclasses (not multiclassing) so I can pick one for a new character, most probably for a Descent into Avernus campaign (no spoilers pls! =P).
So far, Im interested in the following Subclasses:
Rogue Assassin
Rogue Swashbuckler
Rogue Thief
Warlock Hexblade
Warlock Great Old One
Warlock Fiend
I'd like to know what are the main differences between those Subclasses and here are also some of my personal preferences:
Mechanics, background, roleplaying, spells, strengths and weaknesses?
No multiclassing. The other players havent picked their classes yet.
I like to be one of the party Damage Dealers
Looking for a class that I wont be overwhelmed as an intermediate player. "Easy to play" and "feel strong" class.
A Class that is balanced like: combat (50%), social (25%) and exploration (25%).
Cool tricks/moves are also appreciated. Trying not to pick a dull/boring Class. Little bit of flavor on it!
Race-wise: I wont be picking Halflings, Gnomes, Goblins... I'll probably roll with Half-elf, Tiefling or Elf, depending on the build. I'd like to optimize a bit once I choose the Subclass.
Which one of these Subclasses do you recommend and which Race would you pick?
Assassin is extremely powerful in the first round of combat if you can surprise enemies. Failing that, they still get a decent bonus in the form of advantage if you beat an enemy's initiative. The Alert feat is highly recommended.
Thieves are the Batman of rogues; good at climbing and using gadgets. They're also exceptionally good at sneaking around at higher levels.
Swashbucklers excel at weaving in and out of melee with two-weapon fighting and can pick off isolated opponents.
Hexblade is by the strongest warlock patron for a melee-oriented character.
Great Old One's biggest selling point early on is its telepathy and Dissonant Whispers.
Fiend gets access to good damage-dealing fire spells.
Race choice doesn't matter too much as long as it increases your DEX for rogue and CHA for warlock. Wood elf and lightfoot halfing synergize well with rogue since they help you hide in unusual circumstances and both races grant +2 DEX. The Elven Accuracy feat can be very powerful for both classes as well.
Flavor wise, I think most people would have fun with a tiefling fiend warlock. While it isn't quite my style, as I don't typically play tieflings, you can have your character be a descendant of your patron.
The fiend patron however, is one of my favorite subclasses for my favorite class. Need some health, because your playing a full caster? Dark One's Blessing gives some good temporary hit points, and warlocks themselves get at least light armor. Rolled low? Dark One's Own Luck. Just make payments with a small price of your soul, and make bad rolls get extremely good. Playing a campaign with specialized enemies such as celestials or undead? Who cares, you can gain resistance to them with Fiendish Resilience, and even change it after rests.
Lastly, got someone who you don't like, and is just very hittable? Throw them into their absolute worse nightmare, and destroy their psyche, leaving them scarred for life. Also 10d10 damage, neat.
I advise against assassin unless you know your party can be stealthy and will actively help you get surprise.
Swashbuckler makes a good guerilla fighter. It can get in and out of melee range easily and get sneak attack more reliably. Of course a ranged rogue can do pretty much the same dps with less risk.
Thieves have more out of combat features than the other 2 rogue subclasses. Though the bonus action item use is not as useful as it seems since magiv items don't fall under this action.
Hexblade warlocks are pretty easy to break because they only need to max 1 stat. In my opinion the greatest thing about them is medium armor and shields making you harder to hit and less dependant on DEX at whatever range you decide to fight at. They get access to shield but ot isn't really worth using you limited slots for, and its other subclass spells have the same problem.
GOOlock has telepathy and several good control spell options.
Fiendlock has and handful of good features particularly for increasing survivability (temp HP and variable damage resistance). It also gets access to a lot of AOE spells including fireball.
Regardless of subclass, the most consistently powerful warlock build is hex agonizing blast. Melee builds have a slightly higher nova potential with eldritch smite and can use every other pact of blade invocation to stay slightly ahead in consistent damage until level 11 when agonizing blast pulls ahead again.
Arcane tricksters get a lot of utility out of their mage hand ledgerdemain and spellcasting. You can also get Find familiar to use help and give you advantage for sneak attack.
Arcane trickster, usual rogue shenanigans with a bit of magic. Booming/green-flame blade and later on shadow blade as well to boost damage. Find familiar lets you risk your familiar to generate advantage. Invisibility or find familiar for scouting.
Overall, a lot of little things that may or may not be better than the one big thing (because honestly, there's usually only one feature you'll actually use) you get from other subclasses.
If you want a melee build, a Tabaxi Swashbuckler or Hexblade is very effective. Feline Agility grants a lot of movement for 1 round, you can climb things faster than most other races, and you get a few bonus skills. In terrain with a lot of trees or old stonework, that climb ability + move speed can make you almost untouchable to opponents with no ranged attack.
Arcane Tricksters really shine if you have a DM that doesn't mind you using illusion spells as well as in campaigns with a lot of humanoid opponents. Having an invisible Mage Hand remove or put something into someone else's pocket (Sleight of Hand skill profic, of course) has a lot of potential. Illusions require creativity and are great for delaying, distracting, scaring, or providing cover from enemies.
Yo guys!
Trying to better understand some of these Rogue and Warlock Subclasses (not multiclassing) so I can pick one for a new character, most probably for a Descent into Avernus campaign (no spoilers pls! =P).
So far, Im interested in the following Subclasses:
I'd like to know what are the main differences between those Subclasses and here are also some of my personal preferences:
Which one of these Subclasses do you recommend and which Race would you pick?
*edit: Formatting
Assassin is extremely powerful in the first round of combat if you can surprise enemies. Failing that, they still get a decent bonus in the form of advantage if you beat an enemy's initiative. The Alert feat is highly recommended.
Thieves are the Batman of rogues; good at climbing and using gadgets. They're also exceptionally good at sneaking around at higher levels.
Swashbucklers excel at weaving in and out of melee with two-weapon fighting and can pick off isolated opponents.
Hexblade is by the strongest warlock patron for a melee-oriented character.
Great Old One's biggest selling point early on is its telepathy and Dissonant Whispers.
Fiend gets access to good damage-dealing fire spells.
Race choice doesn't matter too much as long as it increases your DEX for rogue and CHA for warlock. Wood elf and lightfoot halfing synergize well with rogue since they help you hide in unusual circumstances and both races grant +2 DEX. The Elven Accuracy feat can be very powerful for both classes as well.
The Forum Infestation (TM)
Flavor wise, I think most people would have fun with a tiefling fiend warlock. While it isn't quite my style, as I don't typically play tieflings, you can have your character be a descendant of your patron.
The fiend patron however, is one of my favorite subclasses for my favorite class. Need some health, because your playing a full caster? Dark One's Blessing gives some good temporary hit points, and warlocks themselves get at least light armor. Rolled low? Dark One's Own Luck. Just make payments with a small price of your soul, and make bad rolls get extremely good. Playing a campaign with specialized enemies such as celestials or undead? Who cares, you can gain resistance to them with Fiendish Resilience, and even change it after rests.
Lastly, got someone who you don't like, and is just very hittable? Throw them into their absolute worse nightmare, and destroy their psyche, leaving them scarred for life. Also 10d10 damage, neat.
Also known as CrafterB and DankMemer.
Here, have some homebrew classes! Subclasses to? Why not races. Feats, feats as well. I have a lot of magic items. Lastly I got monsters, fun, fun times.
I advise against assassin unless you know your party can be stealthy and will actively help you get surprise.
Swashbuckler makes a good guerilla fighter. It can get in and out of melee range easily and get sneak attack more reliably. Of course a ranged rogue can do pretty much the same dps with less risk.
Thieves have more out of combat features than the other 2 rogue subclasses. Though the bonus action item use is not as useful as it seems since magiv items don't fall under this action.
Hexblade warlocks are pretty easy to break because they only need to max 1 stat. In my opinion the greatest thing about them is medium armor and shields making you harder to hit and less dependant on DEX at whatever range you decide to fight at. They get access to shield but ot isn't really worth using you limited slots for, and its other subclass spells have the same problem.
GOOlock has telepathy and several good control spell options.
Fiendlock has and handful of good features particularly for increasing survivability (temp HP and variable damage resistance). It also gets access to a lot of AOE spells including fireball.
Regardless of subclass, the most consistently powerful warlock build is hex agonizing blast. Melee builds have a slightly higher nova potential with eldritch smite and can use every other pact of blade invocation to stay slightly ahead in consistent damage until level 11 when agonizing blast pulls ahead again.
No love for the arcane trickster?
Sell me Arcane Trickster! XD
Arcane tricksters get a lot of utility out of their mage hand ledgerdemain and spellcasting. You can also get Find familiar to use help and give you advantage for sneak attack.
Arcane trickster, usual rogue shenanigans with a bit of magic. Booming/green-flame blade and later on shadow blade as well to boost damage. Find familiar lets you risk your familiar to generate advantage. Invisibility or find familiar for scouting.
Overall, a lot of little things that may or may not be better than the one big thing (because honestly, there's usually only one feature you'll actually use) you get from other subclasses.
interesting.. Im gonna keep my head open to Arcane Trickster too
If you want a melee build, a Tabaxi Swashbuckler or Hexblade is very effective. Feline Agility grants a lot of movement for 1 round, you can climb things faster than most other races, and you get a few bonus skills. In terrain with a lot of trees or old stonework, that climb ability + move speed can make you almost untouchable to opponents with no ranged attack.
Arcane Tricksters really shine if you have a DM that doesn't mind you using illusion spells as well as in campaigns with a lot of humanoid opponents. Having an invisible Mage Hand remove or put something into someone else's pocket (Sleight of Hand skill profic, of course) has a lot of potential. Illusions require creativity and are great for delaying, distracting, scaring, or providing cover from enemies.