Hey there, my group and I are gonna be starting a new campaign (most likely tomb of annihilation) I am regularly a caster or ranged user so I wanted to ask for some help with fitting a nice character into the party. Any info or tips you could give for someone new to melee. The part currently consist of the following...
Spores Druid, Battle Master Artificer (ranged), and Sorcerer.
I think it seems like your party is missing a reliable front-line combatant. Not necessarily a "tank", but someone physically strong. You've got an artificer to fill the skill-monkey role, the Druid and Artificer can both heal/support, and your Sorcerer can take care of general spellcasting, but the only way to really handle physical challenges is for the Druid to Wildshape into something with a high STR score, which they might not be able to do.
I think I would recommend playing a Fighter. I think that a Rune Knight. The Giant's Might feature gives you advantage on STR checks and in general the ability to grow to Large size can solve a surprising number of puzzles. Rune Knight also gets some solid defensive abilities they can use to protect their allies. Being able to re-direct a Critical hit back at the attacker is really cool, especially if it saves your Sorcerer from getting turned into chunky salsa by a demon lord or something.
And was asking myself if the character I already makes is Rule Compliant (I'm new to d&d).My character is a Werwolf WHO is cursed to stay permanently in his Werwolf Form and I wanted him to be a fighter with a big sword.Now the question is, whether it's rule compliant?I hope U guys can help.
And was asking myself if the character I already makes is Rule Compliant (I'm new to d&d).My character is a Werwolf WHO is cursed to stay permanently in his Werwolf Form and I wanted him to be a fighter with a big sword.Now the question is, whether it's rule compliant?I hope U guys can help.
best regards, the guy who needs help :)
The generally-accepted "Werewolf" race is the Shifter from the Eberron book... however, it's not really a race that is permanently in wolf form. I think for that you would be better off reflavoring the Leonin Race from the Theros book... it gives you claws, darkvision, improved senses, and even a unique roar attack which you could present as a wolf howl. After that, you can play as basically any class that gets access to martial weapons and just select a Greatsword as your weapon.
Rune Knight also gets some solid defensive abilities they can use to protect their allies. Being able to re-direct a Critical hit back at the attacker is really cool, especially if it saves your Sorcerer from getting turned into chunky salsa by a demon lord or something.
If you’re talking about the cloud rune, you can’t redirect it back at the attacker. It says creature other than the attacker. Still a great feature, just not useful for solo fights. If you’re not talking about cloud rune, and it’s something else and I misunderstood, sorry.
To the OP, I agree with transmorpher that a melee type might be best for your party, and rune knights are super fun. Though if you really want ranged, you could look at a drake warden ranger. Their drake is more of a speed bump than a true melee combatant, but you can resummon it with a spell slot, and throw up another speed bump.
With respect to general tips for melee, ask your DM if they use flanking as getting flanking and avoiding getting flanked yourself will be your major strategy if they do use it. Otherwise, my major tip for playing is melee is don't be upset if your character gets attacked & hit a lot, even if that means they drop to 0 quite often. That is your job as a melee character! You take the hits so your friends don't. My other major tip is to flavour your attacks with the coolest things you've seen in action movies you can think of. Sure the rules just say you "Attack" but in-game you are standing toe-to-toe with a massive monster dodging it's attacks and stabbing / swiping / smashing it back.
In terms of building the character, I agree you definitely want to be STR-based. Rune Knight fighter, Barbarian (Totem or Zealot), or any Paladin would fit the bill. If you like more of the caster-y feel where you have a lot of choices then I'd go Paladin or Rune Knight. I personally never use a shield with my melee characters because it locks you out of big-damage feats and makes grappling much less viable.
Ask questions like "If everyone else is a range attacker, what should I do to help out?" (A melee character can be a huge damage dealer or someone who attempts to shield the party as they do the damage. Or something in between.) Or "Do I want to use my movement as my main battle tactic?" (Rush in an deal attacks or combine your strategy with range effort.)
Forgetting the rules for minute, what strategy do you see implementing to help the party.
Hey thanks for the help, an to answer those questions.
1. I want to protect
2. Me as front line, druid mid line, Artificer and sorc in the back.
3. I mean the only thing we're lacking is melee and meat in the front line
I will say I am usually the person who thinks of plans and leans more into the "face" with this character I just want to unga bunga so I have it down to either fighter or barbarian.
If protection is your primary objective then you might want to consider Paladin.
But if you are considering Fighter or Barbarian, then stick on that path. The Rune Knight option for a Fighter will seem to fit what you are looking for. For a Barbarian build, Ancestral Guardian or Storm Herald might be good options. Consider taking Charger or Shield Master feats so you have options to forcefully move opponents so they are no longer in melee range of your comrades. Features that push or knock down opponents might also be useful if you are gonna be on the front line alone and in a position to get surrounded.
One advice, make sure to communicate with your party so they provide support to your line. It sounds like you might be up there alone, so when they take tactical positions pay attention, an make adjustments, so you find yourself cut off from your allies.
Ignore the post above (sorry petepan), Storm Herald is a terrible Barbarian subclass, and Charger is a terrible feat.
If you want to go protector, then Ancestral Guardian barbarian with a Shield Master + a one-handed weapon would maximize your protectiveness but it's really not that necessary to go all out to that extent. A grappling build (stick with Rune Knight for that) can also be a fantastic protector, since you can control the enemy position so they simply can't attack anyone other than you.
But really, any powerful melee can act as a protector since a big-damage Attack of Opportunity can be just as good as discouraging enemies from moving to attack your allies as a grapple or Ancestral Guardian debuff.
I might be a bit defensive just because I really enjoyed playing a Storm Herald in a long campaign with friends, but I think calling it "terrible" is a bit of a stretch. It has some quirks that bring it down, but overall it's a fun subclass with good RP potential and that rewards you with some fun features that take advantage of your full action economy.
Still, it's true that it's not nearly as good at protecting your allies as Ancestral Guardian. If you take the desert aura, you've actually got decent odds of hurting your allies if you're not careful.
Hey there, my group and I are gonna be starting a new campaign (most likely tomb of annihilation) I am regularly a caster or ranged user so I wanted to ask for some help with fitting a nice character into the party. Any info or tips you could give for someone new to melee. The part currently consist of the following...
Spores Druid, Battle Master Artificer (ranged), and Sorcerer.
Thanks for the help.
I think it seems like your party is missing a reliable front-line combatant. Not necessarily a "tank", but someone physically strong. You've got an artificer to fill the skill-monkey role, the Druid and Artificer can both heal/support, and your Sorcerer can take care of general spellcasting, but the only way to really handle physical challenges is for the Druid to Wildshape into something with a high STR score, which they might not be able to do.
I think I would recommend playing a Fighter. I think that a Rune Knight. The Giant's Might feature gives you advantage on STR checks and in general the ability to grow to Large size can solve a surprising number of puzzles. Rune Knight also gets some solid defensive abilities they can use to protect their allies. Being able to re-direct a Critical hit back at the attacker is really cool, especially if it saves your Sorcerer from getting turned into chunky salsa by a demon lord or something.
Watch Crits for Breakfast, an adults-only RP-Heavy Roll20 Livestream at twitch.tv/afterdisbooty
And now you too can play with the amazing art and assets we use in Roll20 for our campaign at Hazel's Emporium
Hey I wanted to play in a Kampagne,
And was asking myself if the character I already makes is Rule Compliant (I'm new to d&d).My character is a Werwolf WHO is cursed to stay permanently in his Werwolf Form and I wanted him to be a fighter with a big sword.Now the question is, whether it's rule compliant?I hope U guys can help.
best regards, the guy who needs help :)
Not really, no. Werewolf is not a playable species.
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The generally-accepted "Werewolf" race is the Shifter from the Eberron book... however, it's not really a race that is permanently in wolf form. I think for that you would be better off reflavoring the Leonin Race from the Theros book... it gives you claws, darkvision, improved senses, and even a unique roar attack which you could present as a wolf howl. After that, you can play as basically any class that gets access to martial weapons and just select a Greatsword as your weapon.
Watch Crits for Breakfast, an adults-only RP-Heavy Roll20 Livestream at twitch.tv/afterdisbooty
And now you too can play with the amazing art and assets we use in Roll20 for our campaign at Hazel's Emporium
If you’re talking about the cloud rune, you can’t redirect it back at the attacker. It says creature other than the attacker. Still a great feature, just not useful for solo fights. If you’re not talking about cloud rune, and it’s something else and I misunderstood, sorry.
To the OP, I agree with transmorpher that a melee type might be best for your party, and rune knights are super fun. Though if you really want ranged, you could look at a drake warden ranger. Their drake is more of a speed bump than a true melee combatant, but you can resummon it with a spell slot, and throw up another speed bump.
With respect to general tips for melee, ask your DM if they use flanking as getting flanking and avoiding getting flanked yourself will be your major strategy if they do use it. Otherwise, my major tip for playing is melee is don't be upset if your character gets attacked & hit a lot, even if that means they drop to 0 quite often. That is your job as a melee character! You take the hits so your friends don't. My other major tip is to flavour your attacks with the coolest things you've seen in action movies you can think of. Sure the rules just say you "Attack" but in-game you are standing toe-to-toe with a massive monster dodging it's attacks and stabbing / swiping / smashing it back.
In terms of building the character, I agree you definitely want to be STR-based. Rune Knight fighter, Barbarian (Totem or Zealot), or any Paladin would fit the bill. If you like more of the caster-y feel where you have a lot of choices then I'd go Paladin or Rune Knight. I personally never use a shield with my melee characters because it locks you out of big-damage feats and makes grappling much less viable.
Thx for the answer.
:'(
@RiffexRaf34.
What is the motivation for wanting to play a werewolf? I ask to see if there is some middle grown that can meet your desired game play.
Here are the questions I have:
1) What is you primary role in combat?
2) How does the party plan to engage in combat?
3) What skills are needed for they party?
Ask questions like "If everyone else is a range attacker, what should I do to help out?" (A melee character can be a huge damage dealer or someone who attempts to shield the party as they do the damage. Or something in between.) Or "Do I want to use my movement as my main battle tactic?" (Rush in an deal attacks or combine your strategy with range effort.)
Forgetting the rules for minute, what strategy do you see implementing to help the party.
Hey thanks for the help, an to answer those questions.
1. I want to protect
2. Me as front line, druid mid line, Artificer and sorc in the back.
3. I mean the only thing we're lacking is melee and meat in the front line
I will say I am usually the person who thinks of plans and leans more into the "face" with this character I just want to unga bunga so I have it down to either fighter or barbarian.
If protection is your primary objective then you might want to consider Paladin.
But if you are considering Fighter or Barbarian, then stick on that path. The Rune Knight option for a Fighter will seem to fit what you are looking for. For a Barbarian build, Ancestral Guardian or Storm Herald might be good options. Consider taking Charger or Shield Master feats so you have options to forcefully move opponents so they are no longer in melee range of your comrades. Features that push or knock down opponents might also be useful if you are gonna be on the front line alone and in a position to get surrounded.
One advice, make sure to communicate with your party so they provide support to your line. It sounds like you might be up there alone, so when they take tactical positions pay attention, an make adjustments, so you find yourself cut off from your allies.
Ignore the post above (sorry petepan), Storm Herald is a terrible Barbarian subclass, and Charger is a terrible feat.
If you want to go protector, then Ancestral Guardian barbarian with a Shield Master + a one-handed weapon would maximize your protectiveness but it's really not that necessary to go all out to that extent. A grappling build (stick with Rune Knight for that) can also be a fantastic protector, since you can control the enemy position so they simply can't attack anyone other than you.
But really, any powerful melee can act as a protector since a big-damage Attack of Opportunity can be just as good as discouraging enemies from moving to attack your allies as a grapple or Ancestral Guardian debuff.
I might be a bit defensive just because I really enjoyed playing a Storm Herald in a long campaign with friends, but I think calling it "terrible" is a bit of a stretch. It has some quirks that bring it down, but overall it's a fun subclass with good RP potential and that rewards you with some fun features that take advantage of your full action economy.
Still, it's true that it's not nearly as good at protecting your allies as Ancestral Guardian. If you take the desert aura, you've actually got decent odds of hurting your allies if you're not careful.
Watch Crits for Breakfast, an adults-only RP-Heavy Roll20 Livestream at twitch.tv/afterdisbooty
And now you too can play with the amazing art and assets we use in Roll20 for our campaign at Hazel's Emporium