Soooooo, I dunno if it's a well-known build, but I love it since getting +20 to attack is hard to get XD
So the build is a gimmick build (Of course it is, lvl 20 and decked out with magic items is a dream XD) so this is something that I found fun and wanted to share.
The build works like this, take Loxodon and get to lvl 20, this will give ya 24 Str and End. So that's a +7 plus a +6 from proficiency, for a total of +13. Now we get to the troublesome domain, magic items. Since this is a min-max build the DM might not be so generous to give ya all of the required items. But let's assume they do, what do we need then. It's simple:
1) Gauntlets of Ogre Power
2) Belt of Giant Strength (Any works)
3) Hammer of Thunderbolts
4) Manuel of Bodily Health (Optional but wth)
5) Manuel of Gainful Excercise
6) Longsword +3 (Can do a greataxe but I'll explain my reason)
7) Shield +3 (Patience)
8) Ioun stone of Mastery
Now if you manage to get all of this then you are set as lemme explain what happens.
I chose a sword-n-board combo since it allows us to gain a boost to AC and I personally don't like Heavy weapons. For the 1 feat you can get (with the others in ASI) take dueling via fighting initiate feat. I'll explain in a bit.
So wear the gauntlets and the belt (Don't attune to them) then attune to the Hammer of Thunderbolts. This will give you a 28 str which we will bump to 30 with the Manuel of Gainful Excercise. The caveat is that you need to hold the weapon, which is where Loxodon is the most superior. They can hold things with their TRUNKS, yes you can hold weapons with the trunk though you cannot attack with them. We don't care about that since the hammer is only a +1. So, now we are working with a +10 to hit, after attuning with the Ioun stone of Mastery, this becomes a +17. Now we equip a +3 longsword (or Greataxe) to get a +20 to hit. With the dueling feat the damage per hit would be d8 +10(Str) + 3(Weapon) + 2(FI feat) for a d8 + 15. With the Loxodon's Natural Armor we basically get a +2 bonus to AC (which would be similar to a 14 Dex with Unarmored Defence). This will let you have a 12 + 8 for a 20 AC, with the +3 shield you end up with a 25.
As I previously said I personally like sword-n-board playstyle so I chose a long sword, but if we gonna min-max damage then the winner is the great axe. If you choose to use a greataxe, then take GWF instead of FI. In this case you end up with a respectable 20 AC with a +20 (+15 with GWF) to hit and a d12 +13(+23 with GWF).
So that's all folks hope you enjoyed this, and if you have any better please tell in the comments (or any funky build for the matter)
"Without becoming attuned to an item that requires attunement, a creature gains only its nonmagical benefits, unless its description states otherwise."
I would say being able to wield a hammer of thunderbolts counts as a magical benefit. You need to attune to both gauntlets and belt to wield the hammer, otherwise you just have on some nice gloves and a fancy belt. Which would take all of your slots, and leave none for the ioun stone. Still pretty strong.
Also, the hammer is two-handed. I know you're not trying to wield it, just hold it, so maybe some DM's would allow it, but I'd say no to that cheese.
Giant's Bane (Requires Attunement). You must be wearing a belt of giant strength (any variety) and gauntlets of ogre power to attune to this weapon. The attunement ends if you take off either of those items. While you are attuned to this weapon and holding it, your Strength score increases by 4 and can exceed 20, but not 30. When you roll a 20 on an attack roll made with this weapon against a giant, the giant must succeed on a DC 17 Constitution saving throw or die.
The hammer is one such weapon that allows you to get the +4 just by wearing the belt and gauntlet, so Ioun stone can still be attuned with a slot to spare XD Also, I know this is a cheese build, I called it a gimmick build for a reason. I was just amused by the possibility and wanted to put it up XD
So, how did you start with a 24 Str? The highest you can raise it to with ASI's is 20. But if you are going to use a manual of gainful exercise, you might as well just use however many you need to reach 30 str, right? That way, you don't need the hammer of thunderbolts or the gauntlets of ogre strength or whatnot.
LVL 20 barb capstone increases the str and end score to 24, I see the manual of gainful exercise reuse to reach 30 str, but this was just a fun build that I thought up while idling.
Giant's Bane (Requires Attunement). You must be wearing a belt of giant strength (any variety) and gauntlets of ogre power to attune to this weapon. The attunement ends if you take off either of those items. While you are attuned to this weapon and holding it, your Strength score increases by 4 and can exceed 20, but not 30. When you roll a 20 on an attack roll made with this weapon against a giant, the giant must succeed on a DC 17 Constitution saving throw or die.
The hammer is one such weapon that allows you to get the +4 just by wearing the belt and gauntlet, so Ioun stone can still be attuned with a slot to spare XD Also, I know this is a cheese build, I called it a gimmick build for a reason. I was just amused by the possibility and wanted to put it up XD
Dubious logic that you don't need to be attuned to those two items. If you read the description of each item, it says that they grant their abilities while wearing the item (no explicit mention of attunement in their descriptions either).
Giant's Bane (Requires Attunement). You must be wearing a belt of giant strength (any variety) and gauntlets of ogre power to attune to this weapon. The attunement ends if you take off either of those items. While you are attuned to this weapon and holding it, your Strength score increases by 4 and can exceed 20, but not 30. When you roll a 20 on an attack roll made with this weapon against a giant, the giant must succeed on a DC 17 Constitution saving throw or die.
The hammer is one such weapon that allows you to get the +4 just by wearing the belt and gauntlet, so Ioun stone can still be attuned with a slot to spare XD Also, I know this is a cheese build, I called it a gimmick build for a reason. I was just amused by the possibility and wanted to put it up XD
Dubious logic that you don't need to be attuned to those two items. If you read the description of each item, it says that they grant their abilities while wearing the item (no explicit mention of attunement in their descriptions either).
I feel like WotC dropped the ball here. They should have made the attunement explicit that you cannot wear them without attunement (at the cost of not having the effects), assuming that is the case. The OP's logic is also sound (as is yours), so you shouldn't need to infer things like this or check in multiple locations to deduce the rule.
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Soooooo, I dunno if it's a well-known build, but I love it since getting +20 to attack is hard to get XD
So the build is a gimmick build (Of course it is, lvl 20 and decked out with magic items is a dream XD) so this is something that I found fun and wanted to share.
The build works like this, take Loxodon and get to lvl 20, this will give ya 24 Str and End. So that's a +7 plus a +6 from proficiency, for a total of +13. Now we get to the troublesome domain, magic items. Since this is a min-max build the DM might not be so generous to give ya all of the required items. But let's assume they do, what do we need then. It's simple:
1) Gauntlets of Ogre Power
2) Belt of Giant Strength (Any works)
3) Hammer of Thunderbolts
4) Manuel of Bodily Health (Optional but wth)
5) Manuel of Gainful Excercise
6) Longsword +3 (Can do a greataxe but I'll explain my reason)
7) Shield +3 (Patience)
8) Ioun stone of Mastery
Now if you manage to get all of this then you are set as lemme explain what happens.
I chose a sword-n-board combo since it allows us to gain a boost to AC and I personally don't like Heavy weapons. For the 1 feat you can get (with the others in ASI) take dueling via fighting initiate feat. I'll explain in a bit.
So wear the gauntlets and the belt (Don't attune to them) then attune to the Hammer of Thunderbolts. This will give you a 28 str which we will bump to 30 with the Manuel of Gainful Excercise. The caveat is that you need to hold the weapon, which is where Loxodon is the most superior. They can hold things with their TRUNKS, yes you can hold weapons with the trunk though you cannot attack with them. We don't care about that since the hammer is only a +1. So, now we are working with a +10 to hit, after attuning with the Ioun stone of Mastery, this becomes a +17. Now we equip a +3 longsword (or Greataxe) to get a +20 to hit. With the dueling feat the damage per hit would be d8 +10(Str) + 3(Weapon) + 2(FI feat) for a d8 + 15. With the Loxodon's Natural Armor we basically get a +2 bonus to AC (which would be similar to a 14 Dex with Unarmored Defence). This will let you have a 12 + 8 for a 20 AC, with the +3 shield you end up with a 25.
As I previously said I personally like sword-n-board playstyle so I chose a long sword, but if we gonna min-max damage then the winner is the great axe. If you choose to use a greataxe, then take GWF instead of FI. In this case you end up with a respectable 20 AC with a +20 (+15 with GWF) to hit and a d12 +13(+23 with GWF).
So that's all folks hope you enjoyed this, and if you have any better please tell in the comments (or any funky build for the matter)
Also here is a link to the build:
ddb.ac/characters/62038924/Mk0fUU
From the DMG:
"Without becoming attuned to an item that requires attunement, a creature gains only its nonmagical benefits, unless its description states otherwise."
I would say being able to wield a hammer of thunderbolts counts as a magical benefit. You need to attune to both gauntlets and belt to wield the hammer, otherwise you just have on some nice gloves and a fancy belt. Which would take all of your slots, and leave none for the ioun stone. Still pretty strong.
Also, the hammer is two-handed. I know you're not trying to wield it, just hold it, so maybe some DM's would allow it, but I'd say no to that cheese.
The hammer is one such weapon that allows you to get the +4 just by wearing the belt and gauntlet, so Ioun stone can still be attuned with a slot to spare XD Also, I know this is a cheese build, I called it a gimmick build for a reason. I was just amused by the possibility and wanted to put it up XD
So, how did you start with a 24 Str? The highest you can raise it to with ASI's is 20. But if you are going to use a manual of gainful exercise, you might as well just use however many you need to reach 30 str, right? That way, you don't need the hammer of thunderbolts or the gauntlets of ogre strength or whatnot.
LVL 20 barb capstone increases the str and end score to 24, I see the manual of gainful exercise reuse to reach 30 str, but this was just a fun build that I thought up while idling.
Dubious logic that you don't need to be attuned to those two items. If you read the description of each item, it says that they grant their abilities while wearing the item (no explicit mention of attunement in their descriptions either).
I feel like WotC dropped the ball here. They should have made the attunement explicit that you cannot wear them without attunement (at the cost of not having the effects), assuming that is the case. The OP's logic is also sound (as is yours), so you shouldn't need to infer things like this or check in multiple locations to deduce the rule.
If you're not willing or able to to discuss in good faith, then don't be surprised if I don't respond, there are better things in life for me to do than humour you. This signature is that response.