I'm part of a small gaming group, 4 people so far, starting our second D&D campaign. So this is my second character and I'll try and provide info to better give an idea of what I'm working with and am hoping for some guidance/inspiration for my path leading forward. I try and do a sorta fifty-fifty, probably more like 70/30-ish :), split between effectiveness in combat and RP/story. We started at level 3 and I decided to go for a multiclass dual wielder build (after doing multiple fantasy builds with all kinds of multiclassing, I enjoy trying to synergize classes/subclasses, and wanted to do a dual wielder in spite of the action economy difficulties).
Aluco Strix, is a Wildhunt Shifter (with Owl like features when shifted)
Stats (rolled): Str 14, Dex 18+1, Con 16, Int 12, Wis 15+2, Cha 9
So far I've went for Rogue level 1 (for an extra skill and expertise Stealth/Perception) -> level 2 Ranger (Revised). My plan is to stick with Ranger (Gloom Stalker) to fifth level to get that extra attack, feat and second level spells. Then back to Rogue to atleast level 5 to get Cunning Action, a subclass, a feat, Uncanny Dodge and 3d6 Sneak Attack. (All lovely stuff)
The first thing I'm looking for advice on is Rogue subclass, I've narrowed it down to Inquisitive and Assassin (or perhaps Swashbuckler, the others are better fits story/character-wise but Swash isn't totally of the table, avoiding opportunity attacks would be nice and in a three man party Rakish Audacity aswell).
- What will be most effective/reliable in combat, Insightful Fighting or Assassinate? Inquisitive seems to have alot more going for it when it comes to RP/utility with Ear for Deceit/Eye for Detail?
- Is Swashbuckler too good for a Dual Wielder to ignore? Looks like it would add a good amount of survivability and maneuverability by avoiding opp. attacks?
Next question, I want to buff my Dex and Wis and decided to utilize the "half feats" to do so. Starting with dex, getting me a plus 1 to hit, damage and AC (light armour). I woud love some experienced opinions on the following feat options.
Dex or Wis: Elven Accuracy (I can possibly sweet talk my GM into letting me use Elven Accuracy. My character was saved by an elf as a kid, the elf infused him with a bit of his Druidic power to save his life - making him a shifter)
Dex: Piercer, not that good I'm guessing - unless I can get a good amount of critical hits with Elven Acc.? Otherwise I'm looking at Athlete (seems a bit dull to me? but maneuverability is nice) or Skill Expert
Wis: Fey Touched (Misty Step as a panic button or for surprise, and good options in Divination and Enchantment), Observant or Telepathic.
And then finally Spells, this is my planned choices (a note: I'm going for a kind of pseudo healer with Healer's Kit proficiency, we have no Cleric or Paladin in the party)
Level 1: Goodberry, Hunter's Mark and Zephyr Strike (Absorb Elements would be nice aswell, Ensnaring Strike doesn't strike (sorry) me as "worth it" with the limited slots)
Level 2 (no choices made, just what looked most interesting): Healing Spirit, Spike Growth, Summon Beast (Lesser Resto., Silence)
Oh yeah, besides me there is a Bladesinger and a Arcane Trickster in the party. Thats why I will try to fill a pseudo healer role while (hopefully) dealing a good amount of damage. A further multiclass into Cleric Twilight Domain was something I'm pondering, it would fit quite nice with his story and it looks awesome. Another option is naturally Fighter for that Action Surging Gloom Stalker nova strike. But let's save that for another time, might not make it that far.
I have just spilled my thoughts and options I've considered, so any advice/experiences with anything or everything I've mentioned will be greatly appreciated. The story takes place in a big city that was struck by some kind of calamity that has engulfed the city in constant twilight, so it will be mostly urban skirmishes. The GM is first-timing it aswell, so i don't know if there will be more horde scenarios or more powerful enemies in smaller numbers.
Hopefully i managed to keep it sufficiently cohesive and understandable what I was looking for. Stay safe everyone.
If you take Fey Touched my recommendation is to take Hunter's Mark as your other known spell. The Ranger spell list is amazing so this would give you an extra HM every long rest, and allow you to grab another Ranger spell.
The other Dex feat you are missing is Skill Expert. You could give yourself a +1 to Dex grab a skill and grab expertise in a different skill. Perception in particular is fun to have cranked up with expertise.
Good point with Fey Touched, that would open up a 2nd level slot when i get there. Do you have personal favourites for 2nd level Ranger spells?
I did list Skill Expert and I have already chosen Perception for my expertise. You probably just missed it in my wall of text, could probably have set it up a tad more organized. But there's definately other places i would like Expertise aswell.
Thanks for your input!
EDIT: Or actually i would have moved on to Rogue by that time, I wanna bump Dex first, might be a problem for shifting spells around.
Sorry about that. Not your bad. Long day at work and reading isn't working. If you already have perception stealth expertised then going with either the other two passive stats (insight or investigation) or survival/ nature is always good for a Ranger.
2nd level spells: Pass without Trace is very good in group settings since it allows group sneaking. Darkvision if you have a member of the party without it, there is nothing worse than someone turning on the light when you are attacking people while invisible in the dark. With no priest Lesser Restoration might be necessary.
Also and this is critical with the Ranger, do not take a lot of spells that your other party members can take. You don't need Silence if one of the other players has it. Your limit of spells known means duplication is really painful. I like Healing Spirit. Spike growth a little less.
No worries! Yeah Insight and Survival is at the top of my list. Not so much Nature because of the urban setting and backstory things.
Solid spell advice, I'll probably stay away from Pass without Trace (eventhough it's powerful) since my party is a Arcane Trickster who also is Expertised in stealth and a Bladesinger with a good Dex score aswell.
I like the battlefield control possibilities with Spike Growth, but maybe it isn't as good as it looks to me? And trying to fill a pseudo healer role will probably require Healing Spirit, which also looks great. But battlefield control might be better left to the Wizard. And Darkvision will absolutely be a very good choice yes, not having your advantage in combat foiled by a fool walking in with a torch or other light source.
Hey guys and gals.
I'm part of a small gaming group, 4 people so far, starting our second D&D campaign. So this is my second character and I'll try and provide info to better give an idea of what I'm working with and am hoping for some guidance/inspiration for my path leading forward. I try and do a sorta fifty-fifty, probably more like 70/30-ish :), split between effectiveness in combat and RP/story. We started at level 3 and I decided to go for a multiclass dual wielder build (after doing multiple fantasy builds with all kinds of multiclassing, I enjoy trying to synergize classes/subclasses, and wanted to do a dual wielder in spite of the action economy difficulties).
Aluco Strix, is a Wildhunt Shifter (with Owl like features when shifted)
Stats (rolled): Str 14, Dex 18+1, Con 16, Int 12, Wis 15+2, Cha 9
So far I've went for Rogue level 1 (for an extra skill and expertise Stealth/Perception) -> level 2 Ranger (Revised). My plan is to stick with Ranger (Gloom Stalker) to fifth level to get that extra attack, feat and second level spells. Then back to Rogue to atleast level 5 to get Cunning Action, a subclass, a feat, Uncanny Dodge and 3d6 Sneak Attack. (All lovely stuff)
The first thing I'm looking for advice on is Rogue subclass, I've narrowed it down to Inquisitive and Assassin (or perhaps Swashbuckler, the others are better fits story/character-wise but Swash isn't totally of the table, avoiding opportunity attacks would be nice and in a three man party Rakish Audacity aswell).
- What will be most effective/reliable in combat, Insightful Fighting or Assassinate? Inquisitive seems to have alot more going for it when it comes to RP/utility with Ear for Deceit/Eye for Detail?
- Is Swashbuckler too good for a Dual Wielder to ignore? Looks like it would add a good amount of survivability and maneuverability by avoiding opp. attacks?
Next question, I want to buff my Dex and Wis and decided to utilize the "half feats" to do so. Starting with dex, getting me a plus 1 to hit, damage and AC (light armour). I woud love some experienced opinions on the following feat options.
Dex or Wis: Elven Accuracy (I can possibly sweet talk my GM into letting me use Elven Accuracy. My character was saved by an elf as a kid, the elf infused him with a bit of his Druidic power to save his life - making him a shifter)
Dex: Piercer, not that good I'm guessing - unless I can get a good amount of critical hits with Elven Acc.? Otherwise I'm looking at Athlete (seems a bit dull to me? but maneuverability is nice) or Skill Expert
Wis: Fey Touched (Misty Step as a panic button or for surprise, and good options in Divination and Enchantment), Observant or Telepathic.
And then finally Spells, this is my planned choices (a note: I'm going for a kind of pseudo healer with Healer's Kit proficiency, we have no Cleric or Paladin in the party)
Level 1: Goodberry, Hunter's Mark and Zephyr Strike (Absorb Elements would be nice aswell, Ensnaring Strike doesn't strike (sorry) me as "worth it" with the limited slots)
Level 2 (no choices made, just what looked most interesting): Healing Spirit, Spike Growth, Summon Beast (Lesser Resto., Silence)
Oh yeah, besides me there is a Bladesinger and a Arcane Trickster in the party. Thats why I will try to fill a pseudo healer role while (hopefully) dealing a good amount of damage. A further multiclass into Cleric Twilight Domain was something I'm pondering, it would fit quite nice with his story and it looks awesome. Another option is naturally Fighter for that Action Surging Gloom Stalker nova strike. But let's save that for another time, might not make it that far.
I have just spilled my thoughts and options I've considered, so any advice/experiences with anything or everything I've mentioned will be greatly appreciated. The story takes place in a big city that was struck by some kind of calamity that has engulfed the city in constant twilight, so it will be mostly urban skirmishes. The GM is first-timing it aswell, so i don't know if there will be more horde scenarios or more powerful enemies in smaller numbers.
Hopefully i managed to keep it sufficiently cohesive and understandable what I was looking for. Stay safe everyone.
If you take Fey Touched my recommendation is to take Hunter's Mark as your other known spell. The Ranger spell list is amazing so this would give you an extra HM every long rest, and allow you to grab another Ranger spell.
The other Dex feat you are missing is Skill Expert. You could give yourself a +1 to Dex grab a skill and grab expertise in a different skill. Perception in particular is fun to have cranked up with expertise.
Good point with Fey Touched, that would open up a 2nd level slot when i get there. Do you have personal favourites for 2nd level Ranger spells?
I did list Skill Expert and I have already chosen Perception for my expertise. You probably just missed it in my wall of text, could probably have set it up a tad more organized. But there's definately other places i would like Expertise aswell.
Thanks for your input!
EDIT: Or actually i would have moved on to Rogue by that time, I wanna bump Dex first, might be a problem for shifting spells around.
Sorry about that. Not your bad. Long day at work and reading isn't working. If you already have perception stealth expertised then going with either the other two passive stats (insight or investigation) or survival/ nature is always good for a Ranger.
2nd level spells: Pass without Trace is very good in group settings since it allows group sneaking. Darkvision if you have a member of the party without it, there is nothing worse than someone turning on the light when you are attacking people while invisible in the dark. With no priest Lesser Restoration might be necessary.
Also and this is critical with the Ranger, do not take a lot of spells that your other party members can take. You don't need Silence if one of the other players has it. Your limit of spells known means duplication is really painful. I like Healing Spirit. Spike growth a little less.
No worries! Yeah Insight and Survival is at the top of my list. Not so much Nature because of the urban setting and backstory things.
Solid spell advice, I'll probably stay away from Pass without Trace (eventhough it's powerful) since my party is a Arcane Trickster who also is Expertised in stealth and a Bladesinger with a good Dex score aswell.
I like the battlefield control possibilities with Spike Growth, but maybe it isn't as good as it looks to me? And trying to fill a pseudo healer role will probably require Healing Spirit, which also looks great. But battlefield control might be better left to the Wizard. And Darkvision will absolutely be a very good choice yes, not having your advantage in combat foiled by a fool walking in with a torch or other light source.