Making use of the less discussed feats in the PHB

[xyianth]

I wanted to find a way to make use of some of the less often discussed feats. I decided on making an infiltration expert for scouting and reconnaissance missions. Here is what I have so far:

race: half-elf
27pt: 8 str, 13(14) dex, 13(14) con, 13 int, 11 wis, 15(17) cha
background: charlatan
skills: deception, sleight of hand, stealth, perception, persuasion, investigation, acrobatics, insight
tools: disguise kit, forgery kit, thieves’ tools
languages: common, elven, any, any



ECL
Class
Details


1
Rogue 1
1d6 sneak attack, expertise(deception, persuasion), thieves’ cant


2
Warlock 1
great old one patron, awakened mind, spells(hex, dissonant whispers), cantrips(eldritch blast, minor illusion)


3
Warlock 2
mask of many faces, eyes of the rune keeper, spells(tasha’s hideous laughter)


4
Warlock 3
pact of the chain, spells(suggestion)


5
Warlock 4
actor, spells(detect thoughts), cantrips(friends)


6
Warlock 5
voice of the chain master, spells(hypnotic pattern)


7
Rogue 2
cunning action


8
Rogue 3
2d6 sneak attack, assassin archetype, assassinate, bonus proficiencies(poisoner’s kit, herbalism kit)


9
Rogue 4
+2 cha


10
Rogue 5
3d6 sneak attack, uncanny dodge


11
Rogue 6
expertise(stealth, perception)


12
Rogue 7
4d6 sneak attack, evasion


13
Rogue 8
keen mind


14
Wizard 1
arcane recovery, cantrips(mage hand, mending, prestidigitation), spells(illusory script, shield, magic missile, mage armor, feather fall, sleep)


15
Wizard 2
school of conjuration, conjuration savant, minor conjuration, spells(protection from evil and good, detect magic)


16
Rogue 9
5d6 sneak attack, infiltration expertise


17
Rogue 10
observant


18
Rogue 11
6d6 sneak attack, reliable talent


19
Rogue 12
linguist(any 3 languages)


20
Rogue 13
7d6 sneak attack, impostor



neat tricks:

keen mind + minor conjuration = perfect ability to recreate maps/messages/etc…
chain pact + voice of the chain master = ability to report to superiors remotely
mask of many faces + friends = at-will charm person without consequences
false identity + infiltration expertise + impostor + actor + forgery kit + mask of many faces = supreme infiltrator/spy
eyes of the rune keeper + linguist = supreme code maker/breaker
can auto-succeed on DC 27 deception, persuasion checks
has passive perception of 28, passive investigation of 23
can auto-succeed on DC 24 stealth checks

issues:

melee is dex based and limited to a 14 dex (effective hits and OAs, but misses often)
no room for agonizing blast and/or repelling blast, so eldritch blast is lackluster
couldn’t find a way to add 6 levels of barbarian for the eagle-vision without sacrificing reliable talent
any suggestions on ways to improve this? Or maybe comments about how to go about combat when it happens? All I have for ideas is hypnotic pattern to try and shut down enemies, then eldritch blast over and over, with maybe a lucky OA every now and again.

[Myzz]

I noticed your stats are per character creation... you could auto save some points by lowering Int by 2 points and use that to boost dex, also I'd probably lower Con too... Your not likely going to want to be in melee, as such I would get something to help get you out of there (besides cunning action).

I'd suggest choosing wood elf (increased movement, to stay out of harms way and ability to hide when lightly obscured by natural phenomena) +2 Dex, and +1 Wis: 27 point buy

stat Cost # +Race +Feat
Str -2 --- 10 --- 10 --- 10
Dex - 7 -- 14 --- 16 --- 16
Con - 3 -- 11 --- 11 --- 11
Int - 3 --- 11 --- 11 --- 13 Keen Mind + Linguist
Wis - 3 --- 11 --- 12 --- 12
Cha - 9 --- 15 --- 15 --- 16 Actor

You would have to take Keen mind at Warlock 4 and then Linguist at Rogue 4, before Actor. Alternatively you could take a point out of Con and put it in Int, then you only need to get 1 of those 2 feats before taking any Wizard levels.

[Felvion]

1) You don't meet he prerequisites for entering wizard as your int is not 13. Why would you do it anyway?
2)How crucial is the chain pact to your character? With tome pact (and 1 invocation) you get the find familiar and one ritual of your choice for free (i suggest comprehend languages). This way you get 3 more cantrips from any list too while you can also copy any ritual you find.
3)In case you get the comprehend languages ritual via the pact of the tome you free up an invocation slot which could be filled with either misty visions (for such a character i think it's good to turn down) and obviously agonizing blast.
4)In case you are not that set for the 2 level wizard dip i'd suggest you stick with warlock a bit more. You'd get 2 more spells known, your spell slots would now be of higher level, one extra invocation and finally entropic ward. The last one is not that great but i guess it suits the theme of your character.
Personally i'd chose those two more levels of warlock than going wizard (no matter the entry cost) but it's always your call.

[Myzz]

1) You don't meet he prerequisites for entering wizard as your int is not 13. Why would you do it anyway?

His Int is 13 (and in my example it would be time he took Wiz)



2)How crucial is the chain pact to your character? With tome pact (and 1 invocation) you get the find familiar and one ritual of your choice for free (i suggest comprehend languages). This way you get 3 more cantrips from any list too while you can also copy any ritual you find.

Chain allows him to report at will across the plane he is on, find familiar does not.



3)In case you get the comprehend languages ritual via the pact of the tome you free up an invocation slot which could be filled with either misty visions (for such a character i think it's good to turn down) and obviously agonizing blast.

Or just rely on Linguistics anyways to get you the languages you need until you can get a magic item.


4)In case you are not that set for the 2 level wizard dip i'd suggest you stick with warlock a bit more. You'd get 2 more spells known, your spell slots would now be of higher level, one extra invocation and finally entropic ward. The last one is not that great but i guess it suits the theme of your character.
Personally i'd chose those two more levels of warlock than going wizard (no matter the entry cost) but it's always your call.

I think the idea of conjuring perfect maps is kind of neat, they could even be 3d models.

[xyianth]

I had honestly forgot that there were races other than humans and half-elves this edition. :smallredface:

I think the proposed adjustments to stats were pretty good, though I tweaked it to: 10 str, 14(16) dex, 12 con, 12 int, 10(11) wis, 15 cha.

This lets me keep the ASI progression at: actor(warlock 4), +2 dex(rogue 4), keen mind(rogue 8), observant(rogue 10), linguist(rogue 12)

Which results in a final stat array of: 10 str, 16(18) dex, 12 con, 14 int, 11(12) wis, 16 cha.

The increased dex allows better combat ability using finesse/ranged weapons and only slightly drops spell DCs and social skills.

I do want to keep chain pact for the voice of the chain master ability, as I think it is unique in its ability to allow unlimited range, at-will communication. Plus, this character is all about making use of the less often used options.

If I was to remove any of the less used options from this build, it would probably be eyes of the rune keeper and linguist. Those are definitely the most difficult to put to good use. I think if I were to trade these out, I might replace them with the alert feat and the misty visions invocation as suggested.

Thanks for the suggestions!