Optimize Max Stats

[NeoSeraphi]

So with the good racial bonuses, high ASI scaling, and tendency to roll stats in this game, it's conceivable that a player in a game without feats could cap all his ability scores.

In another thread about standard humans, the consensus was that no class needed the +1 boost to each score. So I ask the Playground, say you have 5 18s at level 1 after racial mods. Multiclassing is allowed. What would you build?

[Grand Warchief]

I personally love the Paladin in this edition. I would build a Paladin of the ancients, maxing charisma and str. At level 20, you have resistance to all spell damage, +5 to all saves, concentration to keep bless up in combat gives an additional 1d4 to saves and attack rolls, plate armor, and 10 fast healing and Paladin spells as bonus actions with it's Capstone. That's 1d20+1d4+11 to hit, +10+1d4 to all your saves except one, and an AC of 20 with a shield and no magic items. Not to mention the ability to smite things dealing up to an additional 5d8 damage on every swing.

[Easy_Lee]

With the ability to max three stats, I would build a barbarian. That grants the maximum unarmored AC, and eventually reaches 24 in strength and constitution.

If not a barbarian, then I might build a blade pact warlock since they have similar problems.

[Joe the Rat]

Given how MAD that lets you get, a monkbarian. Raging Punch Monkey: Bear Style Throwdown.

[themaque]

Bard. Little bit of everything for the guy good at everything.

[hymer]

Cleric. I'd be able to wade into battle comfortably early on, and when my fighting abilities get weaker relatively speaking, I'd shift to more of a caster role.

[NeoSeraphi]

Bard. Little bit of everything for the guy good at everything.

Nice. With 20 Str you could make a grapple focused bardbarian. Expertise on Athletics, Rage gives advantage, Bardic Inspiration gives extra die rolls to your Expertise advantage skill. Grapple anything your size.

[Mr.Moron]

Something like Paladin[Devotion] 6 /Bard[Lore] 14, is the first thing that comes to mind. At minimum my allies probably won't be failing many saving throws. It fits the kind of character concept I've been feeling now perfectly and doubles as pretty awesome support-boat too.

[Naanomi]

Monk/paladin, never fail a save again?

[Myzz]

MonkLock?

Bardarian with a few levels of Assassin?

Barbranger?

[AvatarVecna]

A little while back, I started building the Avengers as gestalt 5e characters; Captain America was Human Fighter (Battle Master) 20//Paladin 6/Monk 14. Depending on the Fighter for feats, I stuck with the standard human; combined with some good all around rolls, I ended up with stats of 18/18/18/16/18/18 at level 20, making for a solid, all around character that had powerful saves across the board.

Captain America was a character that benefited from getting that +1 to all attributes. But then, that's more because I wasn't building him as just a melee specialist, but as a leader and tactician as well.

[DireSickFish]

I'd go Frenzy Barbarain, now you actually have the charisma to make the fear effect useful and aren't sacrificing anything. I'd make him a leader of savages, and take the temp hp moral boosting feat along with your more typical combat feats.

[Spacehamster]

Veng pal 12 bear barb 4 lore bard 4, go duelist style and use a warhammer and a shield and fight naked. :D + be pretty good skill monkey to boot. :D

[themaque]

I honest to goodness ROLLED 5 18's and a 16 for stats one time. Will never ever happen again and it took me forever to decide what to do with it. Almost every idea I came up with seemed to be... almost WASTING the opportunity.

That's another reason why I went back to the Bard. It not only had a little bit of everything, he wasn't an expert at anything either. I saw him as the kind of guy so GOOD at everything he never really had to try very hard. People just liked him and he picked up anything that he tried without effort. So he never got very good at MAKING an effort. Never developed a focus.

Jack of all Trades, Master of None.

[Slipperychicken]

Race: Lightfoot Halfling

Classes: Barbarian5 (Bear Totem)/Rogue2 (expertise in Perception, Athletics)/fighter2(dueling style)/Paladin6 (vengeance, defense style)/Warlock 5 (fiend, blade pact, agonizing blast, eldritch sight, devil's sight)

Feats: Polearm Master, Lucky, Sentinel

Equipment: Quarterstaff and Shield

Highlights:

AC 21 before buffs and magic (18 base + 2 shield +1 defense style)
Attack routine is 1d6+8 twice, then 1d4+8. Average is 33.5 before miss chance. Also can use spell slots and action surge to burst.
Free magic weapon allows him to bypass most resistances
Action Surge, Cunning Action
Luck Stuff: Lucky trait (Reroll all 1s), Lucky feat (3 rerolls per long rest), Dark One's Own Luck (+1d10 to a roll, 1/ short rest)
Resistance to all damage but psychic while raging
Saves: Advantage on strength saves while raging, pretty much all dex saves, and Charisma (+4) to all saves. Non-proficient saves have a total of +8, proficient ones (Str and Dex) are +14.
Eldritch Blast+ Hex as a good ranged option (1d10+1d6+4, four times) which bypasses pretty much all resistances
Healing: Lay on Hands 30, Second Wind (1d10+1), Dark One's Blessing (10 temp hp whenever reduce enemy to zero hp)
Utility/Detection: Very good perception score, Devil's Sight (not dependent on light up to 120ft), Detect Magic at-will (find invisible foes and reveal magic stuff), not bad at sneaking, can move through medium enemies, can run pretty fast (35 move speed + dash + cunning action dash + action surge dash if we really wanted to=140 max, 105 sustainable run, 70 while taking an action. Now that I think of it, he's pretty good at kiting).



Summary:
He's very tanky, deals good melee damage (good burst damage via action surge, divine smite), has a strong ranged option, isn't dependent on gear at all (unless you count the 10gp shield), can heal a little, has a lot of ways to give himself advantage on attacks (oath of enmity, reckless attack, hiding behind allies, and climbing atop an enemy). High ability scores, luck-related features, and save buffs mean you'll have a hard time getting him to fail at anything important.


[EDIT: only took 5 warlock levels, not 6]

[Easy_Lee]

In retrospect, I think it depends on just how many high stats you have. If they're all high, then a bard is probably the only way you're going to make pretty close to full use of them all. If only two or three are high, MAD classes and builds such as monks and blade pact warlocks become quite appealing.

[asorel]

A little while back, I started building the Avengers as gestalt 5e characters; Captain America was Human Fighter (Battle Master) 20//Paladin 6/Monk 14. Depending on the Fighter for feats, I stuck with the standard human; combined with some good all around rolls, I ended up with stats of 18/18/18/16/18/18 at level 20, making for a solid, all around character that had powerful saves across the board.

Captain America was a character that benefited from getting that +1 to all attributes. But then, that's more because I wasn't building him as just a melee specialist, but as a leader and tactician as well.

I would be interested in seeing the rest of those builds, if you have completed them. I've speculated on the idea myself, but never considered gestalt. It's certainly a good way to account for the high power level, and the diverse skillset. Stark, for instance, is likely Artificer(or possibly Conjurer) 20/Sorcerer 20 (Assuming MCU, there's no way Charisma is a dump stat for him).

[DireSickFish]

Race: Lightfoot Halfling


Highlights:
[LIST]
AC 21 before buffs and magic (18 base + 2 shield +1 defense style)


Defense style doesn't work while unarmored. It specially calls out adding +1 AC when wearing armor. Probably to prevent it from stacking with unarmored defense.

[Giant2005]

Defense style doesn't work while unarmored. It specially calls out adding +1 AC when wearing armor. Probably to prevent it from stacking with unarmored defense.

Shields count as armor.

[AvatarVecna]

I would be interested in seeing the rest of those builds, if you have completed them. I've speculated on the idea myself, but never considered gestalt. It's certainly a good way to account for the high power level, and the diverse skillset. Stark, for instance, is likely Artificer(or possibly Conjurer) 20/Sorcerer 20 (Assuming MCU, there's no way Charisma is a dump stat for him).

Here's a link (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?396599-Avengers-in-5e-Gestalt) to the original thread I started for getting advice. I originally made Iron Man a Sorcerer (Red Dragon Bloodline)//Wizard (Evoker), but I'm sure other schools of magic could fit well, especially the Artificer. I was, at the time, only working with the PH, so you'll have to excuse my ignorance of such an obvious choice.

I'm currently arguing with myself about what to do with Thor, since my original idea got a lot of complaints. Any thoughts you have on making Thor while remaining true to the character and the abilities would be appreciated (as well as thoughts on making Black Widow in a way that remains true to her character/abilities as well).

[Naanomi]

Shouldn't Iron Man wear heavy armor almost by definition?

[AvatarVecna]

Shouldn't Iron Man wear heavy armor almost by definition?

Hence, why I made him a mountain dwarf with the Heavy Armor Proficiency/Mastery feats; you can cast unhindered in armor if you're proficient in it. I figured it also fit with the "alcoholic craftsman" part of the character.

[Gritmonger]

Hence, why I made him a mountain dwarf with the Heavy Armor Proficiency/Mastery feats; you can cast unhindered in armor if you're proficient in it. I figured it also fit with the "alcoholic craftsman" part of the character.

...also fits with the stature of Robert Downey Jr...

[Slipperychicken]

Defense style doesn't work while unarmored. It specially calls out adding +1 AC when wearing armor. Probably to prevent it from stacking with unarmored defense.

Shields count as armor.

Adding the bonus was an oversight on my part since I didn't think shields counted as armor, but now that you mention it, that interpretation (that shields are armor) seems more valid to me. They are listed on the "Armor" table, are listed under armor proficiencies, and some sections (notably barbarian's unarmored defense) of text seem to imply that shields are a subset of armor by calling out shields as an exception when referring to armor.

I'm leaning toward counting shields as armor, but I'm not quite sure about it. A quote from a designer or a good argument could sway me either way.