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  1. - Top - End - #181
    Firbolg in the Playground
     
    LudicSavant's Avatar

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    Default Re: An Eclectic Collection of Fun and Effective Builds

    Just for fun, we can get even more damage as a Nuclear Wizard:

    Wish->Hallow to create an area of Vulnerability:Force, then proceed with the rest of the combo. This will boost the average damage of your 3 castings of Magic Missile to 899 nova DPR. Have your Overchanneled Concentration option be Bigby's Hand (which also does Force damage) for a total of 128 damage from both you and your Simulacrum, boosting you up to 1027 if they hit. Then potentially add on Freezing Spheres, Crown of Stars, etc as normal.

    So yeah. There's your PHB+1, no-gear, over-1000-damage burst. *Shrug*

    Quote Originally Posted by Lyracian View Post
    I have created this for an actual game. We roleled stats (mine are not great). Decided to go with Half-Elf and take Moderately Armoured at Level 4 since the +2 Chr is the same as an ASI.
    Starting with 9/14/10/11/10/18.

    The order you had the spells listed is somewhat confusing so I split it by level.

    Spells Known
    1st: Cure Wounds, Armor of Agathys, Hex, Hellish Rebuke
    2nd: Misty Step
    3rd: Hypnotic Pattern, Revivify, Counterspell, Thunder Step,
    5th: Synaptic Static, Greater Restoration
    Mystic Arcanum: Mass Suggestion

    Were you just taking Thuder Step over Dimension Door due to the damage?
    I like both Thunder Step and Dimension Door. Dimension Door has better range and infiltration/exploration capabilities. Thunder Step has damage/kiting. I say go for whichever you like.

    Also worth noting, that spell list would be for level 12. You should probably be switching spells known in and out as you're leveling up.
    Last edited by LudicSavant; 2019-07-01 at 10:01 AM.
    Quote Originally Posted by ProsecutorGodot
    If statistics are the concern for game balance I can't think of a more worthwhile person for you to discuss it with, LudicSavant has provided this forum some of the single most useful tools in probability calculations and is a consistent source of sanity checking for this sort of thing.
    An Eclectic Collection of Fun and Effective Builds | Comprehensive DPR Calculator | Monster Resistance Data

    Nerull | Wee Jas | Olidammara | Erythnul | Hextor | Corellon Larethian | Lolth | The Deep Ones

  2. - Top - End - #182
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    RogueGuy

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    Default Re: An Eclectic Collection of Fun and Effective Builds

    Quote Originally Posted by LudicSavant View Post
    Just for fun, we can get even more damage as a Nuclear Wizard:
    This will boost the average damage of your 3 castings of Magic Missile to 899 nova DPR.
    I talked to one of my GM's about Evocation Wizard and his rule was no only one missile gets the bonus not all of them. Having read the build I think my view would be to allow the damage to add to each target which is what happens with spells such as Fireball. Skipping the attack role makes MM a bit of an odd spell. Saying that MM is the same damage roll for each missile seems as crazy as saying Fireball is 1d6*8. I enjoyed reading all your information about Wizard. I am going to try using Unseen Servant with a flask of oil next time I am using Bonfire/Flaming Sphere.

    Quote Originally Posted by LudicSavant View Post
    Also worth noting, that spell list would be for level 12. You should probably be switching spells known in and out as you're leveling up.
    I was not trying to get a list of spells to take in order just working out what the spells were. I know as soon as I get to level 5 I would be swapping out to get two Third Level spells and Revivify will depend on how rich the party is.

  3. - Top - End - #183
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    ClericGuy

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    Default Re: An Eclectic Collection of Fun and Effective Builds

    LudicSavant, would you mind your next writeup being that Soulknife (EK/War Magic Wiz) you mentioned before? The idea of that one really struck my fancy.

    This Nuclear Wizard is an interesting Gish. I’m pretty sure my DMs would shoot me on the spot if I ever brought it to them, but I love the concept behind it for combat and utility casting.

  4. - Top - End - #184
    Bugbear in the Playground
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    Default Re: An Eclectic Collection of Fun and Effective Builds

    I second the soulknife request!!! These are great and I love them!

  5. - Top - End - #185
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    WolfInSheepsClothing

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    Default Re: An Eclectic Collection of Fun and Effective Builds

    @LudicSavant: what does that hexblade level really lend the Nuclear wizard build?

    I get a little extra survivability early, but I can’t help but think you’re better off as a pure wizard.

    Any hexblade spells key off of CHA, which will always be 14. Other than hex, you’re a level behind with your spells, aren’t you?

    I’m not trying to instigate an argument here, I’m genuinely curious. TIA.
    Last edited by Klorox; 2019-07-03 at 10:15 PM.

  6. - Top - End - #186
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    GreenSorcererElf

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    Default Re: An Eclectic Collection of Fun and Effective Builds

    Quote Originally Posted by Klorox View Post
    @LudicSavant: what does that hexblade level really lend the Nuclear wizard build?

    I get a little extra survivability early, but I can’t help but think you’re better off as a pure wizard.

    Any hexblade spells key off of CHA, which will always be 14. Other than hex, you’re a level behind with your spells, aren’t you?

    I’m not trying to instigate an argument here, I’m genuinely curious. TIA.
    The build is almost entirely reliant on the extra damage from Hexblade’s Curse. Because the extra damage is keyed off your proficiency bonus, it continues to scale even though you only ever take the one level.

  7. - Top - End - #187
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    Default Re: An Eclectic Collection of Fun and Effective Builds

    Quote Originally Posted by Klorox View Post
    @LudicSavant: what does that hexblade level really lend the Nuclear wizard build?
    Quite a bit!

    1) Hexblade's Curse synergizes exceptionally well with the Evoker's kit. It scales with proficiency, so it's the gift that just keeps on giving. It's a significant part of what allows you to do such massive single target damage when you need to.

    2) It's not a little survivability early, it's a lot of survivability forever. 25 AC is already enough that even an Ancient White Dragon needs an 11 to hit you, and that's really the low end of your defenses by that level (just base AC + Shield). Not only does this protect your hit points, it also helps protect your Concentration (ya don't make a check if the enemy misses you).

    3) It also makes your mental saving throws more even, which goes well with Magic Resistance and the like. To get an idea of the math involved, a -1 Cha save with Advantage (from Yuan-Ti Magic Resistance) still has a whopping 90.25% chance of getting Banished by a DC19 save, while a +8 Cha with Advantage has only a 25% chance and a +13 (from standing next to your local Paladin) has only a 6.25% chance. Incidentally, your good defenses make it safer to stand within 10 feet of the Paladin in the first place. Anywho, point is that I'd rather have three good saving throws than 1 really good, one good, and one terrible. A defense is only as strong as its weakest link, after all.

    4) Extra spell slots / adventuring day and 2 extra cantrips known. Makes an especially noticeable difference in the early game, but never becomes irrelevant.

    5) It's basically a non-issue that Hexblade spells key off of Cha. We only rarely use our actual Hexblade spells (because we can use Warlock slots for Wizard spells), and when we do, well, Armor of Agathys doesn't scale off Charisma anyways. Incidentally, this gives you some nasty retribution damage potential, because unlike a Sorcerer you have access to Fire Shield to stack on it (which in turn combos with things like Overchannel, Hexblade's Curse, Empowered Evocation, etc). You basically can't be killed by melee attacks before all of the melee attackers die when using this. Just one more tool for the ever-expanding Batman toolbelt.

    Quote Originally Posted by Lyracian View Post
    I am going to try using Unseen Servant with a flask of oil next time I am using Bonfire/Flaming Sphere.
    Nice. It's really great as long as you have some consistent way of pushing people around and/or restricting their movement in the team. In the case of a current campaign I'm in, the main culprit of this is a character with Tavern Brawler.
    Last edited by LudicSavant; 2019-07-04 at 06:01 AM.
    Quote Originally Posted by ProsecutorGodot
    If statistics are the concern for game balance I can't think of a more worthwhile person for you to discuss it with, LudicSavant has provided this forum some of the single most useful tools in probability calculations and is a consistent source of sanity checking for this sort of thing.
    An Eclectic Collection of Fun and Effective Builds | Comprehensive DPR Calculator | Monster Resistance Data

    Nerull | Wee Jas | Olidammara | Erythnul | Hextor | Corellon Larethian | Lolth | The Deep Ones

  8. - Top - End - #188
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    Amechra's Avatar

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    Default Re: An Eclectic Collection of Fun and Effective Builds

    These builds are pretty sweet - it reminds me a bit of the good old days of 3e charop. Brings a tear to this old fogie's eye.

    Something I want to bring up (which some kind soul might use to make something hilarious): Armor of Agathys and Arcane Ward have some crazy synergy with each-other. From how I read it, Arcane Ward takes damage before your temporary HP from Armor of Agathys, but Armor of Agathys still triggers (if you were hit by a melee attack, of course). I'm pretty sure there's a gimmicky front-line fighter that could use that.
    Quote Originally Posted by segtrfyhtfgj View Post
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    If you see me try to discuss the nitty-gritty of D&D 5e, kindly point me to my signature and remind me that I shouldn't. Please and thank you!

  9. - Top - End - #189
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    GreenSorcererElf

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    Default Re: An Eclectic Collection of Fun and Effective Builds

    I'm intending to play something like the Celestial Warlock build in DotMM. I put my own variants on it that likely de-optimize it somewhat but make the flavor a little more compelling to me - primarily, I went Tiefling (Glasya) and started with odd scores in both Con and Cha with the intent to even them out by taking the Tiefling racial traits.

    I'm sure the Variant Human version is more optimized, but the rest of the group is pretty new to 5e so I don't want to constantly have the spotlight. Primarily what I'm looking to do is be able to function effectively in whatever role we need at the time, since everyone else is still pretty timid and uncertain about what they should be doing during fights. I'm looking forward to it and will report back how it goes.

  10. - Top - End - #190
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    BardGuy

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    Default Re: An Eclectic Collection of Fun and Effective Builds

    Looks like it’s been a while since anyone has added a build here, so I’ll give it a go.

    This build focuses on a specific weapon I find extremely fun and eclectic, though difficult to optimize, and I’ve named the character based on the weapon.

    The Shadow Whip

    vHuman Hexblade 1, Shadow Sorcerer X
    Abilities: 8, 14, 16, 8, 10, 16
    ASIs: Spell Sniper (Booming Blade), Cha+4, War Caster, Con+4
    Grab the Orzhov background from GGtR if you can. Adding Spirit Guardians to this makes things even more fun. I’m going to pretend you don’t have it though.

    The whip is a tough weapon to master. It’s the only 1 handed weapon in the game with reach, but in exchange it only does 1d4 damage, which makes it 2 damage worse per hit than other martial 1 handed weapons. What does that mean? To be effective, we need to use fewer attacks, and hit harder with each one. That leaves us 4 options, each with some flaws.

    Option 1: The Kensei Monk. This is a great option for those who want to use a whip. The Kensei get to replace the whip’s d4 with their martial arts die, which means at high levels you’ll be doing as much or more damage as a longsword. The only problem is that the kensei is still better off using that longsword until the MA die becomes a D8, which means your build isn’t exactly focused around the whip, or it’s taking a hit to do so.

    Option 2: The Rogue. This is another fine option, as the difference between a rapier and a whip is less noticeable when you’re rolling 10d6 along with it. The problem here is that rogues aren’t proficient with whips, and most rogues are a bit squishy to be in combat. You can fix this with a level of fighter, but your DPR and versatility are a bit lower than the Shadow sorcerer. Still a great pick.

    Option 3: The war or tempest cleric runs a whip build well, but they’re going to be MAD in doing so, and if you’re going to be MAD and have martial proficiency, you might as well use a Polearm.

    Option 4: The Shadow Whip.

    The goal here is to control the battlefield by twinning Booming Blade at reach. Shadow sorcerer allows us to effectively debuff our enemies while we do so. It also gets us around the most obvious downside of the vHuman: Lack of darkvision. You get it to 120 feet, as good as a Drow, and without the sunlight sensitivity.

    Here is the beginning of the build progression with suggested combat tactics. Admittedly, you stop gaining features later on that really add to your DPR, but your ability to give permanent disadvantage on saves (like quickened hold monster) makes your DPR stupidly high without you needing to deal the damage yourself.

    1. Shadow sorcerer 1: take GFB to go along with BB from Spell Sniper and whatever 3 non-combat cantrips you like. I like Friends to pair with disguise self (more on that later). Take Shield and Absorb Elements as your spells. You’ll need them.

    2. Hexblade 1: Now you can use your whip! I also take EB here for a ranged option, and I think AoA and Hex (for social encounters) are my two favorite warlock spells. Hellish Rebuke is also a great option.

    3. Sorcerer 2: Take Disguise Self. Nothing really exciting happens this level, but Disguise Self and Friends combine for one hell of a social play, and unless you have a bard or rogue in the party, you’ll double as the FoP.

    4. Sorcerer 3: Twinned Spell is mandatory. It doubles your damage output pretty frequently, and at this level, will have you dealing almost as much damage on opponents turns as your own, because low level mooks tend not to have great range or reach, so they’ll be forced to move off of booming blade.

    Your other metamagic is up to you. Quicken is the best, but spending 2 sorcery points is pretty brutal at this level. I would pick up subtle, as it will let you use your shield and still cast Shield, and also lets you subtlecast Friends in social situations.

    You also get Darkness that you can see through at this level, which means your DM is about to start digging through the Monster manual for mooks with tremorsense or you’ll be making your 2 attacks with advantage. This saves you from needing to pick up greater invisibility in the long run. I take misty step as my other spell.

    5. Sorcerer 4: ASI should be Charisma+2, and feel free to take whatever sorcerer spell you like. At this point I’m probably concentrating on Darkness, but Enlarge/reduce or Blur aren’t terrible options. I would take Mirror Image.

    6. Sorcerer 5: Twinned Haste is a hallmark of any sorcerer build. It works for you too, though maybe better if you twin it on two allies than yourself. You don’t have to pick Haste though, something like Fear can be great for you, with all the OAs it might cause from your reach. Counterspell and Hypnotic Pattern are also great choices. You can make this build what you want at this point.

    7. Sorcerer 6: This is the reason you’re a shadow sorcerer. You just got a better version of heightened spell for the same cost. This ability meshes particularly well with effects that immobilize a target, like confusion and hold monster/person. If you think you’ll be fighting any humanoids soon, take hold person here. Otherwise, Slow is a debilitating debuff that’s also a save-or-suck. Your four-legged friend will make sure at least one of them won’t make that save.

    From this point on, you can get more creative with your choices. I generally think that Cha 20 is better than War Caster at 8, but you’ll have to decide if you’re getting enough OAs to change up the order. Additionally, I take wrote in Con as my last 2 ASIs because you’re a d6 hit die frontliner, but you can choose if you’d rather go another (perhaps more offensive) route.

    Metamagic: I would take quicken at 10 and heightened at 17. You can then summon a hound, and upcast hold monster to give 2 enemies disadvantage on their saving throw for 6 sorcery points and a 6th level spell. That’s an encounter ender there.

    Spells I like from here are generally save spells. Things like hold monster and disintegrate are spells that your wizard stays away from, but you turn them into your DM’s bane.

    If this gets any traction maybe I’ll post a whole spell progression, but this post is long enough as is.
    Last edited by ThatDuckGrant; 2019-07-10 at 09:43 PM. Reason: Clarity

  11. - Top - End - #191
    Pixie in the Playground
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    Default Re: An Eclectic Collection of Fun and Effective Builds

    Quote Originally Posted by ThatDuckGrant View Post
    Option 4: The Shadow Whip.

    The goal here is to control the battlefield by twinning Booming Blade at reach.
    Both Booming Blade and Green Flame Blade require the target to be within the spells reach, which unfortunately is 5’.

    I think exploring the whip is a great idea, i would probably go more the Paladin/Kensai route myself. Or Kensai/Battle Master.

  12. - Top - End - #192
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    Default Re: An Eclectic Collection of Fun and Effective Builds

    Quote Originally Posted by Zeikin View Post
    Both Booming Blade and Green Flame Blade require the target to be within the spells reach, which unfortunately is 5’.

    I think exploring the whip is a great idea, i would probably go more the Paladin/Kensai route myself. Or Kensai/Battle Master.
    That's what Spell Sniper is for. Spell sniper doubles the range of your spells and works as described with BB / GFB. It's an interesting build for sure.

    I'm hesitant to suggest this but, if your DM allows, you can mix this build with the coffeelock to make a coffeelock shadow whip. You sacrifice spell progression to gain near-infinite castings of your lower level spells and all of the twinned and quickened BBs and GFBs you could want.

    Coffeelock, for those who don't know, uses aspect of the moon, warlock short rest spell slots, and sorcerer's font of magic to turn warlock spell slots into sorcery points into sorcerer spell slots which last until you take a long rest. Aspect of the moon allows you to skip ever taking a long rest as long as your DM allows it and doesn't use the optional rule from Xanathar's that would give you exhaustion for skipping long rests whether you have aspect of the moon or not. You thus end up with an arbitrarily high number of stockpiled spell slots and perhaps the most contentious build in 5e history.
    Last edited by Trickery; 2019-07-12 at 08:37 PM.

  13. - Top - End - #193
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    Amechra's Avatar

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    Default Re: An Eclectic Collection of Fun and Effective Builds

    I could see this working in a lower-optimization game:

    Whippy the Wonder Goblin
    Goblin Bard (Sword) 1/Monk (Kensei) 5/Bard (Sword) 4/Monk (Kensei) 10
    Str 8, Dex 16, Con 14, Int 9, Wis 13, Cha 15

    ASIs:
    5th: +1 Wis, +1 Cha
    10th: +2 Dex
    13th: +2 Dex
    17th: +2 Cha

    Fighting Style
    Pick up Dueling at 8th level. It's a bit late, but every little bit helps (plus, it's not like two-weapon fighting will help you at all...)

    You only graduate to whips at 4th level, sadly (Seriously, why don't Bards get proficiency in whips? My memories of 3e tripped me up there.)

    But anyway, Blade Flourishes actually work pretty well with the Monk's whole combat schtick of being ultra mobile. If you need some space, whipping someone and sending them flying up to 13ft away works wonders. Plus, you can't waste your uses (or Deft Strikes), since you use them after you hit. Plus you've got a bit of utility spellcasting and can dump those good ol' Bardic Inspiration uses on an ally if they need the help.

    ---

    And, for a better (i.e. less clunky) Kensei build, why don't we go savage?


    Lizardfolk Barbarian 1/Monk (Kensei) 5/Barbarian 1/Monk (Kensei) 13
    Str 15, Dex 14, Con 16, Int 8, Wis 13, Cha 8

    ASIs:
    5th: Athlete (+1 Str, stand from prone with 5ft of movement, climbing uses full speed, can do standing jumps all the time)
    10th: +2 Str
    14th: +2 Str
    18th: +2 Con

    OK, here's the plan:
    You make a shield with Cunning Artisan. And you use that shield.

    Unarmored Defense? You got a better version from Barbarian, and even if you didn't? You start off with AC 13+Dex anyway thanks to Lizardfolk.
    Martial Arts? Bite gives you a 1d6+str unarmed attack, so you don't need Martial Arts to keep up your damage for when you use Agile Parry to bump up your (pretty decent) AC.
    Unarmored Movement? OK, this one hurts a little. But if you gotta go fast, you can just... drop the shield? It was free, after all. Plus, being able to hold your breath for 15 minutes and being able to swim eases the pain of not being able to walk on water.

    You can still do all of your other favorite Monk things (you can't catch-and-return with Deflect Missiles, but that's about it). Plus, you've got some interesting extra synergy, like Reckless Attack + Patient Defense (or Flurry of Blows, if you really want to savage someone). And, if the going gets tough... there's always your 2/long Rage.
    Last edited by Amechra; 2019-07-13 at 10:09 AM.
    Quote Originally Posted by segtrfyhtfgj View Post
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  14. - Top - End - #194
    Pixie in the Playground
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    Default Re: An Eclectic Collection of Fun and Effective Builds

    Any Wood Elf Ranger 1-20, i am so lost in the sauce
    Last edited by Godrocks911; 2019-07-13 at 08:15 PM.

  15. - Top - End - #195
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    Griffon

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    Default Re: An Eclectic Collection of Fun and Effective Builds

    Quote Originally Posted by Amechra View Post
    snip
    I really like these. Also, in the barbarian/monk it says Barb1/Monk5/Barb1? Do you take another barb level or what? I would say the worst thing you lose from having a shield with that build is losing the ability to make an unarmed strike as a bonus action, which is a part of martial arts and lost when holding a shield.

  16. - Top - End - #196
    Pixie in the Playground
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    Default Re: An Eclectic Collection of Fun and Effective Builds

    Quote Originally Posted by Trickery View Post
    That's what Spell Sniper is for. Spell sniper doubles the range of your spells and works as described with BB / GFB. It's an interesting build for sure.

    I'm hesitant to suggest this but, if your DM allows, you can mix this build with the coffeelock to make a coffeelock shadow whip. You sacrifice spell progression to gain near-infinite castings of your lower level spells and all of the twinned and quickened BBs and GFBs you could want.

    Coffeelock, for those who don't know, uses aspect of the moon, warlock short rest spell slots, and sorcerer's font of magic to turn warlock spell slots into sorcery points into sorcerer spell slots which last until you take a long rest. Aspect of the moon allows you to skip ever taking a long rest as long as your DM allows it and doesn't use the optional rule from Xanathar's that would give you exhaustion for skipping long rests whether you have aspect of the moon or not. You thus end up with an arbitrarily high number of stockpiled spell slots and perhaps the most contentious build in 5e history.
    Spell Sniper requires the spell to make a ranged attack roll. BB and GFB make melee attacks. To be fair- a discussion with the DM can handle all of these issues. It wouldn’t be game breaking.
    Answered and stand corrected.
    Last edited by Zeikin; 2019-07-15 at 03:14 AM.

  17. - Top - End - #197
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    BardGuy

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    Default Re: An Eclectic Collection of Fun and Effective Builds

    Quote Originally Posted by Zeikin View Post
    Spell Sniper requires the spell to make a ranged attack roll. BB and GFB make melee attacks. To be fair- a discussion with the DM can handle all of these issues. It wouldn’t be game breaking.
    “When you cast a spell that requires you to make an attack roll, the spell’s range is doubled”

    Did you not bother to actually read it?

  18. - Top - End - #198
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    BardGuy

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    Default Re: An Eclectic Collection of Fun and Effective Builds

    Quote Originally Posted by Trickery View Post
    Coffeelock, for those who don't know, uses aspect of the moon, warlock short rest spell slots, and sorcerer's font of magic to turn warlock spell slots into sorcery points into sorcerer spell slots which last until you take a long rest. Aspect of the moon allows you to skip ever taking a long rest as long as your DM allows it and doesn't use the optional rule from Xanathar's that would give you exhaustion for skipping long rests whether you have aspect of the moon or not. You thus end up with an arbitrarily high number of stockpiled spell slots and perhaps the most contentious build in 5e history.
    This is certainly an interesting theory, and the build definitely could use some more resources. I don’t however think there are many cases in which a DM would reward a player for actively not taking long rests.

    I did also consider going for higher levels of warlock, both for the short rest regeneration of slots (and thus sorcery points) and for some evocations, but it seemed that having access to the sorcerer’s level 6 through 9 spells was more important. In many cases, you’ll only be casting concentration spells in combat, and hopefully shouldn’t burn through your slots too fast, therefore you should have a couple slots per day to replenish your 19 sorcery points by level 20.

    Though to be fair, I haven’t played this character above level 4 (at which point I’m having tons of fun with him) so I can’t claim to be a total expert on how the resources break out later on.

  19. - Top - End - #199
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    Amechra's Avatar

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    Default Re: An Eclectic Collection of Fun and Effective Builds

    Quote Originally Posted by Daghoulish View Post
    I really like these. Also, in the barbarian/monk it says Barb1/Monk5/Barb1? Do you take another barb level or what? I would say the worst thing you lose from having a shield with that build is losing the ability to make an unarmed strike as a bonus action, which is a part of martial arts and lost when holding a shield.
    To clarify, that's Barb1/Monk5/Barb+1/Monk+X.

    Lizardfolk actually has you partially covered as far as bonus-action attacks go - you can bite someone as a bonus action 1/rest, which also nets you some temporary HP.
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  20. - Top - End - #200
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    RedKnightGirl

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    Default Re: An Eclectic Collection of Fun and Effective Builds

    Is it a build if I said being an Aasimar Monk gets you flight for when you need to punch something that's otherwise out of reach as well as some extra damage for that rare guy that's immune to being stunned?

  21. - Top - End - #201
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    Quote Originally Posted by Makorel View Post
    Is it a build if I said being an Aasimar Monk gets you flight for when you need to punch something that's otherwise out of reach as well as some extra damage for that rare guy that's immune to being stunned?
    It's a small build, but it's a build. I've seen the same thing done with Aarakocra.

    Proper Monk "builds" are difficult since the class is MAD and really needs its dexterity and wisdom maxed out ASAP. It doesn't help that the class features and most subclass features don't actually give the player any choices to make.
    Simple Sorcerer - A simple, flexible, friendly take on the Sorcerer class with unique features and small, impactful changes. Thread & Discussion.

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    Default Re: An Eclectic Collection of Fun and Effective Builds

    Werewolf Detective
    Wildhunt Shifter + Inquisitive Rogue

    I just would like to point out how much synergy there is here, because it's kinda bizarre. You want to throw out bonus action Perception checks to find someone with expertise and advantage? You can get that by 3rd level, without spending an Expertise pick on Perception. Oh, and you get free proficiency in Perception and Survival, you skill monkey you.
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    Default Re: An Eclectic Collection of Fun and Effective Builds

    Quote Originally Posted by ThatDuckGrant View Post
    “When you cast a spell that requires you to make an attack roll, the spell’s range is doubled”

    Did you not bother to actually read it?
    Apologies, I used an online source that has not transcribed the feat correctly. Build works then.

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    Griffon

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    Default Re: An Eclectic Collection of Fun and Effective Builds

    Quote Originally Posted by ThatDuckGrant View Post
    Looks like it’s been a while since anyone has added a build here, so I’ll give it a go.

    This build focuses on a specific weapon I find extremely fun and eclectic, though difficult to optimize, and I’ve named the character based on the weapon.

    The Shadow Whip

    vHuman Hexblade 1, Shadow Sorcerer X
    Abilities: 8, 14, 16, 8, 10, 16
    ASIs: Spell Sniper (Booming Blade), Cha+4, War Caster, Con+4
    Grab the Orzhov background from GGtR if you can. Adding Spirit Guardians to this makes things even more fun. I’m going to pretend you don’t have it though.

    Option 4: The Shadow Whip.

    The goal here is to control the battlefield by twinning Booming Blade at reach. Shadow sorcerer allows us to effectively debuff our enemies while we do so. It also gets us around the most obvious downside of the vHuman: Lack of darkvision. You get it to 120 feet, as good as a Drow, and without the sunlight sensitivity.

    Here is the beginning of the build progression with suggested combat tactics. Admittedly, you stop gaining features later on that really add to your DPR, but your ability to give permanent disadvantage on saves (like quickened hold monster) makes your DPR stupidly high without you needing to deal the damage yourself.

    1. Shadow sorcerer 1: take GFB to go along with BB from Spell Sniper and whatever 3 non-combat cantrips you like. I like Friends to pair with disguise self (more on that later). Take Shield and Absorb Elements as your spells. You’ll need them.

    2. Hexblade 1: Now you can use your whip! I also take EB here for a ranged option, and I think AoA and Hex (for social encounters) are my two favorite warlock spells. Hellish Rebuke is also a great option.

    3. Sorcerer 2: Take Disguise Self. Nothing really exciting happens this level, but Disguise Self and Friends combine for one hell of a social play, and unless you have a bard or rogue in the party, you’ll double as the FoP.

    4. Sorcerer 3: Twinned Spell is mandatory. It doubles your damage output pretty frequently, and at this level, will have you dealing almost as much damage on opponents turns as your own, because low level mooks tend not to have great range or reach, so they’ll be forced to move off of booming blade.

    Your other metamagic is up to you. Quicken is the best, but spending 2 sorcery points is pretty brutal at this level. I would pick up subtle, as it will let you use your shield and still cast Shield, and also lets you subtlecast Friends in social situations.

    You also get Darkness that you can see through at this level, which means your DM is about to start digging through the Monster manual for mooks with tremorsense or you’ll be making your 2 attacks with advantage. This saves you from needing to pick up greater invisibility in the long run. I take misty step as my other spell.

    5. Sorcerer 4: ASI should be Charisma+2, and feel free to take whatever sorcerer spell you like. At this point I’m probably concentrating on Darkness, but Enlarge/reduce or Blur aren’t terrible options. I would take Mirror Image.

    6. Sorcerer 5: Twinned Haste is a hallmark of any sorcerer build. It works for you too, though maybe better if you twin it on two allies than yourself. You don’t have to pick Haste though, something like Fear can be great for you, with all the OAs it might cause from your reach. Counterspell and Hypnotic Pattern are also great choices. You can make this build what you want at this point.

    7. Sorcerer 6: This is the reason you’re a shadow sorcerer. You just got a better version of heightened spell for the same cost. This ability meshes particularly well with effects that immobilize a target, like confusion and hold monster/person. If you think you’ll be fighting any humanoids soon, take hold person here. Otherwise, Slow is a debilitating debuff that’s also a save-or-suck. Your four-legged friend will make sure at least one of them won’t make that save.

    From this point on, you can get more creative with your choices. I generally think that Cha 20 is better than War Caster at 8, but you’ll have to decide if you’re getting enough OAs to change up the order. Additionally, I take wrote in Con as my last 2 ASIs because you’re a d6 hit die frontliner, but you can choose if you’d rather go another (perhaps more offensive) route.

    Metamagic: I would take quicken at 10 and heightened at 17. You can then summon a hound, and upcast hold monster to give 2 enemies disadvantage on their saving throw for 6 sorcery points and a 6th level spell. That’s an encounter ender there.

    Spells I like from here are generally save spells. Things like hold monster and disintegrate are spells that your wizard stays away from, but you turn them into your DM’s bane.

    If this gets any traction maybe I’ll post a whole spell progression, but this post is long enough as is.
    I love this build - I used to play a whip-inquisitor in Pathfinder, and had given up on the build for 5e. Well done!

    If I may make a suggestion, I think you can get more mileage out of this build in reverse - Sorc 2 / Hexblade X. The big advantage is that you eventually can apply Eldritch Smite to your booming blades to add an additional 6d8 force damage to your attacks (and knock your Huge or smaller opponents prone). It also enables the decaf coffeelock that another poster mentioned - even with Aspect of the Moon nerfed, a few short rests at the beginning of the day give you an expanded pool of sorcery points to booming blade with; after a short rest, you still have warlock slots you can use for Eldritch smite. Possible build would be Drow, or variant human and spend 8-12 hrs on a long rest, instead of 4-8. It also opens up all of your other pact weapon goodness - magic weapon via an invocation, darkness/devi'ls sight shenanigans, etc.

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    Default Re: An Eclectic Collection of Fun and Effective Builds

    A surprisingly decent combo (and definitely not just a result of me trying desperately to find a combo for Ranger and Monk):

    Mr. Disintegration Pistol

    Swiftstride Shifter Ranger 1/Monk (Kensei) 5/Ranger (Hunter) +2/Monk +12
    Str 8/Dex 16/Con 13/Int 10/Wis 15/Cha 13

    ASIs
    5th: Crossbow Expert
    11th: Sharpshooter
    15th: +2 Dex
    19th: +2 Dex

    Ranger Options
    Fighting Style: Archery
    Hunter's Prey: Horde Breaker

    Spells Known
    At least one of Ensnaring Strike, Hail of Thorns, or Hunter's Mark, otherwise I dunno.

    ---

    So, your strategy here is to pick Hand Crossbows as your first ranged Kensei weapon. They basically let you fight like a normal Monk, except your range is up to 120ft. You'll use Kensei's shot for one level (4th level, to be exact), and never again, unless you're running out of ammo for some reason.

    Now, the peak of this thing is at 14th level - that's when you pick up Sharpen The Blade. If you dump 3 ki into Sharpen The Blade, you end up with a +3 hand crossbow... which gives you an extra +5 to hit that you can trade away to Sharpshooter. Making 3-4 attacks per round that deal 1d8+16 damage each sounds pretty OK to me...

    Honestly, though, you'd probably be better off trading those three levels in Ranger for a 1-level dip in Fighter. Horde Breaker is nice (as long as your enemies cluster a bit, you can match the number of attacks a normal Monk gets in melee), and the spells are pretty decent, but they delay your ASIs and cool Kensei stuff a little too much...
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    Default Re: An Eclectic Collection of Fun and Effective Builds

    Love the generalist celestial warlock. One of those would be a real asset to pretty much any party I think!

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    Default Re: An Eclectic Collection of Fun and Effective Builds

    Quote Originally Posted by Jaryn View Post
    Love the generalist celestial warlock. One of those would be a real asset to pretty much any party I think!
    I think the smartest thing the OP did in this thread whether intentional or not was having that be so present at the start because it seems to dray a lot of attention.
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    Default Re: An Eclectic Collection of Fun and Effective Builds

    Quote Originally Posted by MeeposFire View Post
    I think the smartest thing the OP did in this thread whether intentional or not was having that be so present at the start because it seems to dray a lot of attention.
    Note he also has been updating the links in the first few posts to all the builds in here, with short descriptions. This thread is a real asset and bookmarked for me.

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    Default The Land Shark

    Everyone says that the Giant Badger is the least of the new Revised Ranger options. Let's try and prove them wrong, shall we?

    The Land Shark:



    In Amity, you say “yahd”.

    Ghostwise Halfling Beastmaster Ranger 6, Scout Rogue 14
    16 Dex, 16 Wis, whatever else.
    Crossbow Expert (4)
    Magic Initiate - find familiar (10)
    18 Dex (14)
    20 Dex (16)
    Sharpshooter (18)

    Fighting Style - Two Weapon Fighting

    At level 20, as long as you can hear, you can lurk about beneath the surface of the earth, then burst upward through the surface to rain 4 attacks (three from you, one from your badger mount) on an opponent, potentially all with advantage (with beast bond, if your first advantage-from-attacking-unseen attack hits, and/or with Help from your owl familiar), for single target damage of (3d6+15 crossbows)+(30 sharpshooter)+(1d6+5 badger)+(7d6 sneak)+(3d6 Hunter's Mark), for 99.3 dpr. Not too shabby for the lowly badger-rider!

    You also have a familiar to be your eyes while you and your mount are underground in addition to your own blindsense, a few ranger spells, telepathic communication with your team mates, and a pretty solid action economy. If you roll high enough, you can take sharpshooter earlier, or if you have a friend who is willing to loan you their familiar, you can simply skip taking magic initiate. It's not bad, if relatively unremarkable, until you can get a second set of eyes. Even before that though - you are using ranged weapons. You have your familiar ready their movement for your turn, burst through the surface near someone, and then unload.

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    ElfRangerGuy

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    Default Re: An Eclectic Collection of Fun and Effective Builds

    I was speaking with LudicSavant, and he gave me a challenge:

    Make Thief work. In combat. Also, be a back-alley surgeon (Healer's Kit + Healer Feat).

    I've gotten to 3 solutions. Sorry for not doing full DPR calculations and the like for them yet; they're all fairly high level. The two DPR builds are comfortably above 150 in most cases; against most common AC a big chunk higher:

    First Solution: The ZombieNaught
    Half-orc, Long Death Monk 12 / Thief 5 / Zealot Barbarian 3
    Role: Non-magic healer, Grappler, Immortal Tank
    So this is your good old half-orc, strength monk, barbarian, rogue multi-class. If you play Adventurer's League, change zealot to Bearbarian and you lose some damage and flavour in return for more tankiness.

    Biggest drawback? When you roll up to your session with this beauty, the table will sigh and go "not again...".

    Starting Stats:
    14/14/16/8/14/8
    Ending Stats (With Gauntlets of Ogre Strength):
    19/14/16/8/20/8
    Feats: Healer
    Skills: Athletics (Expertise), Stealth (Expertise), Perception, Survival, Knowledge: Religion, Intimidation - the last two are pure flavour, feel free to change.

    Background: you were never a quite competent thief and managed to get yourself executed. Several times. Marked by the Kiss of Death, an order of monks took you in. You drank the corporate juice and now you flirt more with Death than Thanos and Deadpool combined. In a matter of seconds, you can fix an artery (and prefer to do so when blood is gushing fountain wide splashes all over). Your combination of Rage and Uncanny Dodge make you neigh unkillable and if you do get to dance with your cold mistress, it takes nothing but a ki-point to stay on your feet. Of course, being a half-orc you have always had a bit of that tendency in you.

    In combat you're fast (50 movement speed, Bonus Action Dash) and you grapple with the best of them (Expertise Athletics, Advantage). Your DPR is not fantastic (4 x (1d8+6) + 4d6+2), but you have pretty good CC (Stunning Strike and Hour of Reaping). You have a lot of competition for you bonus action usage, so that's probably the most fun decision making you have: it can be defence, movement speed, healing, attacks, etc etc. Most of the time, you probably want to start off by grabbing backline squishies and pummel them/drag them back to your crew who then proceeds to pummel them.

    You jump, no check, 21 feet. With step of the wind, 42 feet. You like to work together with Spiked Growth, Create Bonfire, Firewall, etc etc. Most attacks are reduced 25% efficiency against you.

    Leveling this little beauty might be a little hard. I'd suggest Rogue 1, Monk 6, Thief up to 5, Zealot 3, Monk rest.

    You NEED Gauntlets of Ogre Strength or Belt of Giant Strength. You love magic short swords. Besides that you are very loin cloth friendly

    Second Solution: Simic Hybrid 4 Arms of Grappling Death
    Battlemaster 12 / Hexblade 1 / Gloom Stalker 4 / Thief 3
    Role: DPR, Skill monkey. DPR. Grappler. Cheese. Healer.
    So this is a DPR and grappling machine, that mixes Battle Master, Gloomstalker and Baleful Curse for first round damage in the range of 200+ using only short rest resources (Hexblade's Curse, and supp dice).

    Starting Stats:
    16/13/13/8/13/13
    Ending Stats:
    20/13/14/8/13/13
    Feats: Healer, GWM, 2 x Strength ASI, Res: CON (or WIS, depending on starting class)
    Spells: Hex, Shield (not super key any of them)
    Skills: Athletics (Expertise), Thieves' Tools (Expertise), Perception, Acrobatics, X, Y

    Pretty simple concept. In the first round of combat you make 8 attacks (Gloom stalker triggers on both your attack and your action surge). You use Trip and Precision Strike. If/when you trip an enemy, you can grapple them (with one of your extra limbs) and continue to pummel them until they stop resisting. They're probably not getting out against your +17 checks. You can impose disadvantage with Hex if you'd like later (and increase your DPR a bit).
    DPR is 191 without advantage and 240 with advantage against AC 19 on level 20. Numbers aren't exact. I'm not sure of how to use Ludic's sheet to calculate the combination of precision (the range is looking to be around 190-278 DPR; latter being with BC up already):
    https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets...it?usp=sharing

    Note: you do not use the SAD part of the Hexblade. You just want the curse for the extra damage and crit-range.

    Out of combat you can heal with Healer. I'd consider dropping Healer for one more level in Gloomstalker and picking up Spike Growth. Especially if your DM rules that Spike Growth triggers Baleful Curse.

    Third Solution: Simic Hybrid or Half-Elf Swift Blade & Bottle
    Eldritch Knight 11 / Hexblade 1 / Sorcerer 5 / Thief 3
    Role: DPR. Control. Cheese.
    This take uses SAD from Hexblade and combines it with more spell-casting to take advantage of the EK level 10 ability. You can also use Alchemist's Fire + Hexblade Curse + Flask of Oil for a steady 1d4+prof+5+dex DoT (damage over time)

    Starting Stats as Half-Elf:
    9/14/16/8/11/17 OR 10/14/15/8/12/17
    Ending Stats:
    9/14/16/8/12/20 OR 10/14/16/8/12/20
    Feats: Elven Accuracy (CHA), Cha Bump, RES:CON OR RES:WIS, Last Feat: Tavern Brawler (for Alchemist's Fire), Healer or War Caster (I prefer one of the last two)
    Spells: Go for control, defence and AoE.
    Skills: Athletics (Expertise), Thieves' Tools (Expertise), Perception, Acrobatics, X, Y

    Variant: Drop Sorcerer and go Hexblade 5 + EK 12; more interesting with a Short Rest heavy campaign. It gives you better short rest slots and 1 more ASI.

    A 3rd variant is to bet less on your spell-casting, use slots mostly for defence and shadow blade. With that in mind you can even go Battlemaster and if you wish, a Simic-Hybrid build for grappling. Shadow Blade focus is better in low magic campaigns, since the spell (especially upcasted) compares more favourably to non-magic items. Also remember, you are not SAD with Shadow Blade.

    EDIT: DPR without advantage, with Shadow Blade, Action Surge, Baleful Curse, Alch Fire and Bless, is 130 and with advantage 181.

    Fourth Solution: Spider-Man
    Wood-Elf or Simic Hybrid Battle Master 3 / Thief 3-6 / Open Hand Monk 9-14
    Role: Disabler. Skill monkey.

    If wood-elf, starting stats: 12 / 16 / 14 / 8 / 16 / 8 or basically anything that ensure 16 DEX and WIS while keeping a decent CON score (you can have 16 and two 13 if you want Resilient or more multiclass options).

    We want Monk 9 to be able to run on walls. Bonus Action: Use an Item should work with a grappling hook, but as far as I know NOTHING is written about it in the PHB, so ask your DM. If you want to keep the character very close to Spidey, stop Monk before 10 so you don't become immune to Poison. Otherwise, you have interesting break points all the up to 14 (Diamond Soul). If you do 12/4/4 you get five feats, which is enough for maxing Dex and Wis and grabbing a feat (Mobile and Tavern Brawler are both pretty thematic).

    Level combinations, I've looked at: Open hand 9-11 / Thief 5-6 / Battle Master 3-4 / Gloomstalker 1-3. If good stats: Open Hand 9, Thief 5, Battlemaster 3, Gloomstalker 3 can be fun.

    This class should mirror a good Spider-Man feel; you can be anywhere on the battlefield, control fairly well with manoeuvres+stunning strike+open hand manoeuvres. The ranger dip is mostly interesting with high stats and if you want some good burst and a Spider-Sense mirror and Entangle for Webbing equivalents. All in all, I like that build (9/5/3/3) best, but it's ASI starved.

    As per usual, a Hexblade dip can also work to boost damage (again depending on stats), but it clogs your bonus action. I personally liked a version with Lore Bard to have cutting words and web, but it's far far from a great idea (and maybe swap the Battlemaster for Warlock to have Grasp of Hadar).

    To be completed. - DPR calculations, more tactical descriptions, etc
    Last edited by Skylivedk; 2019-09-27 at 04:46 PM.
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    My favourite D&D session had 3 dice rolls. I'm currently curious to any system that has a higher amount of choices in and out of combat than 5e from the beginning of the game; especially for non-spellcasters. Please PM any recommendations.

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