Cheesy/powerful/fun/etc 10th level PC

[coredump]

So... Playing in a one shot and need a 10th level concept to play. Only 4 PCs, a grappler, a control based sorcerer, me, and one other.

I am pretty open to concepts.... Probably need to deal damage since the other two are not....but whatever.

Currently thinking of a Spirit Guardian based cleric..... But woul love more ideas.

[DracoKnight]

So... Playing in a one shot and need a 10th level concept to play. Only 4 PCs, a grappler, a control based sorcerer, me, and one other.

I am pretty open to concepts.... Probably need to deal damage since the other two are not....but whatever.

Currently thinking of a Spirit Guardian based cleric..... But woul love more ideas.

Fiend Bladelock/Assassin Rogue Combo. That's one I always find fun :D
(3 Warlock/7 Rogue)

[Gritmonger]

Charlatan background, Actor feat, Linguist feat, Bard College of Lore, Variant Human...

Your Charlatan background trait (alias) is the one you are hiding by pretending to be who you really are (your original identity). If you fail any checks with your Actor feat, your "true" (alias) is discovered as your "real" identity, the double-blind having worked to protect the actual identity which is your fake identity.

[coredump]

Just heard we can have a magic item or two. Think he is being pretty generous.

[pwykersotz]

Charlatan background, Actor feat, Linguist feat, Bard College of Lore, Variant Human...

Your Charlatan background trait (alias) is the one you are hiding by pretending to be who you really are (your original identity). If you fail any checks with your Actor feat, your "true" (alias) is discovered as your "real" identity, the double-blind having worked to protect the actual identity which is your fake identity.

My head hurts. I must have failed an insight check.

[DracoKnight]

Just heard we can have a magic item or two. Think he is being pretty generous.

Definitely go with the Fiend Bladelock 3/Assassin Rogue 7. Get the Sunblade (Finesse Longsword that deals more damage against Undead) and make it your Pact Weapon.

The reason for Assassin Rogue 7: Obviously for Sneak Attack, but also for Assassinate. Plus it'll give some other great features like Cunning Action and Expertise. Evasion is also EXTREMELY hand. Also, start with Rogue and you get proficiency in Dexterity saving throws, the most common save in the game.

Fiend Bladelock 3:
Level 1: Eldritch Blast and Chill Touch for your cantrips. For your spells go with Hellish Rebuke and Hex. Dark One's Blessing is the Fiend's level 1 feature and gives you temporary hp = to your Warlock level + Charisma modifier. This pairs nicely with your Rogue features :)
Level 2: Take the Agonizing Blast, Armor of Shadows, and Devil's Sight Invocations. All of these will couple nicely with the abilities you already have. Add the 1st level spell Burning Hands from your Expanded Spell List.
Level 3: Pact of the Blade. This will allow you to bond the Sunblade as your pact weapon, and summon it to yourself, no matter where you are, as an action. This could be handy if you get captured. Add the Darkness spell, combined with your Devil's Sight everyone will have disadvantage against you, with no penalty to yourself.

Tiefling, Dragonborn, and Lightfoot Halfling are great for this build, with Lightfoot Halfling being the best :D

[Torched Forever]

I'm assuming that the one shot adventure will have a fair amount of combat as the other PCs are combat builds. Depending on what spells your sorcerer is running, you could either need a dpr engine or a tank. Your grappler can only restrain one creature at a time and requires an enlarge to deal with some threats. If the sorcerer can control the enemy to the point of not moving, then you will not need a tank as the grappler can shut down one creature and the sorcerer can deal with the rest. A buff n' heal source for the grappler will be useful and a dps/nova engine. For buffs and heals straight cleric works really well. As for a good nova engine, I built a monk/paladin/fighter multiclass that can near one-shot a combat encounter at level.

Nova Build Info.
Preferably S10, D15, C14, I8, W15, C8 point buy or S12, D15, C13, I10, W14, C8 standard array
Variant human w/ +1s in Dex & Wis for PB or in Dex & Con for SA, Feat for martial adept (maneuvering & feinting)
You go up to 3rd level in vengeance paladin to start (good base hp, okay proficiencies, makes multiclassing easier)
Then, 5th level in elements monk using the ASI for +2 Dex (get Flames of the Fire Snake)
Finally, 2nd level fighter for action surge and dueling
Unarmored and single short sword
Probably want a magic short sword for dealing with resistance,
The Combo.
Pre/Early Combat: Cast Hunter's Mark and use Vow of Enmity.
Action: Extra Attack with short sword twice for 2x(1d6+1d6+4+2) and using maneuvers/smiting on these and further attacks that hit. Trigger Flames of the Fire Snake
Bonus Action: Flurry of Blows spending Ki on FotFS for 2x(1d6+1d6+4+1d10).
Surge Action: Extra Attack with unarmed twice spending Ki on FotFS for 2x(1d6+1d6+4+1d10). Alternately with short swords for 7 less damage but saves Ki.
Maneuvers: Move an ally (preferably a rouge) into position and give 'em advantage.
This deals 117 damage if all attacks hit (58 min & 136 max) which is fairly likely with +7 to hit and advantage from VoE. This leaves with another use of VoE left (+2 Ki w/ Alt).
Continued Fighting.
Action: Extra Attack with short sword twice for 2x(1d6+4+2).
Bonus Action: Martial Arts with unarmed for 1x(1d6+4).
This deals 26.5 damage id all attacks hit (19 min & 34 max).

[Giant2005]

Get a Flame Tongue as one magic item and take 5 levels of Mystic and 5 levels of whatever martial class you prefer. Make prolific use of your Mystic's Psionic Weapon feature to turn that Flame Tongue into a +3, +2D6 fire damage weapon and have some fun with Extra Attack.

[Rhaegar14]

Definitely go with the Fiend Bladelock 3/Assassin Rogue 7. Get the Sunblade (Finesse Longsword that deals more damage against Undead) and make it your Pact Weapon.

The reason for Assassin Rogue 7: Obviously for Sneak Attack, but also for Assassinate. Plus it'll give some other great features like Cunning Action and Expertise. Evasion is also EXTREMELY hand. Also, start with Rogue and you get proficiency in Dexterity saving throws, the most common save in the game.

Fiend Bladelock 3:
Level 1: Eldritch Blast and Chill Touch for your cantrips. For your spells go with Hellish Rebuke and Hex. Dark One's Blessing is the Fiend's level 1 feature and gives you temporary hp = to your Warlock level + Charisma modifier. This pairs nicely with your Rogue features :)
Level 2: Take the Agonizing Blast, Armor of Shadows, and Devil's Sight Invocations. All of these will couple nicely with the abilities you already have. Add the 1st level spell Burning Hands from your Expanded Spell List.
Level 3: Pact of the Blade. This will allow you to bond the Sunblade as your pact weapon, and summon it to yourself, no matter where you are, as an action. This could be handy if you get captured. Add the Darkness spell, combined with your Devil's Sight everyone will have disadvantage against you, with no penalty to yourself.

Tiefling, Dragonborn, and Lightfoot Halfling are great for this build, with Lightfoot Halfling being the best :D

I'm all in favor of Bladelock/Assassin (it's frankly a build I'm looking for an excuse to play), but you get very little for going Bladelock 3/Assassin 7 over Bladelock 5/Assassin 5. You lose your second Expertise, Evasion, and 1d6 Sneak Attack in exchange for Extra Attack (which will do more damage than your lost 1d6 Sneak Attack), more spells, higher-level spell slots, more THP from your Dark One's Blessing feature, and an additional ASI if you go with the even split.

EDIT: To nitpick a bit more, you only get two invocations as a third level Warlock (and the +1 AC from Armor of Shadows is absolutely not worth one of them), and there is no reason to take Chill Touch as a cantrip when you already have Eldritch Blast. Go wtih some utility.

[Citan]

I'm all in favor of Bladelock/Assassin (it's frankly a build I'm looking for an excuse to play), but you get very little for going Bladelock 3/Assassin 7 over Bladelock 5/Assassin 5. You lose your second Expertise, Evasion, and 1d6 Sneak Attack in exchange for Extra Attack (which will do more damage than your lost 1d6 Sneak Attack), more spells, higher-level spell slots, more THP from your Dark One's Blessing feature, and an additional ASI if you go with the even split.
Hi all!
I second that remarK :) Must be a fun one to play.

Now, to answer OP post...
Nova damage
The Paladin 3 / Monk 5 / Fighter 2 already suggested by someone else ^^) is one of the best because ki points and superiority dice regen with short rest. Don't count on spell slots for smites though, they're best used casting Hunter's Mark. Note that you can even do better damage with GWM feat + Quartermaster +GWF style.

Tank
Another classic is Paladin Oathbreaker 7 / Barbarian 3 Bear with GWM base: pretty tanky (+CHA to saving throws, resistance to all damage, heavy armor), you can cast a buff before raging (Divine Favor for damage, Magic Weapon for +1 to hit or Shield of Faith to be extra hard to hit) before raging, then attack with your greatsword.
You have advantage on all attacks thanks to Reckless Attack, 2 attacks, with a bonus to damage of +2 (rage) +CHA and +10 if you use GWM.
So you don't get nova spike, instead you get constant output for the whole fight while providing a good meat shield for allies, and you can keep rage benefits for the harder fights. Last good thing of this build is no MAD (STR and CHA only as a classic Paladin).

[Rhaegar14]

Tank
Another classic is Paladin Oathbreaker 7 / Barbarian 3 Bear with GWM base: pretty tanky (+CHA to saving throws, resistance to all damage, heavy armor), you can cast a buff before raging (Divine Favor for damage, Magic Weapon for +1 to hit or Shield of Faith to be extra hard to hit) before raging, then attack with your greatsword.
You have advantage on all attacks thanks to Reckless Attack, 2 attacks, with a bonus to damage of +2 (rage) +CHA and +10 if you use GWM.
So you don't get nova spike, instead you get constant output for the whole fight while providing a good meat shield for allies, and you can keep rage benefits for the harder fights. Last good thing of this build is no MAD (STR and CHA only as a classic Paladin).

You've got the benefit of Paladin/Barb a little backward. You CAN maintain a buff, yes, but only if it does not require Concentration; you can't maintain Concentration while raging. Divine Favor, Magic Weapon, and Shield of Faith all require Concentration. What you definitely CAN do by rules as written, however, is use your Paladin spell slots for Divine Smite while raging.

Also, you're still pretty MAD; you need Strength, Charisma, Dexterity, and Constitution. Even if you get heavy armor proficiency by starting as a Paladin and then multiclassing to Barbarian, you don't get any benefits from raging while wearing heavy armor, so you will be stuck in medium armor and thus can't dump Dexterity. Additionally, it basically goes without saying that no character can dump Constitution.

[Citan]

You've got the benefit of Paladin/Barb a little backward. You CAN maintain a buff, yes, but only if it does not require Concentration; you can't maintain Concentration while raging. Divine Favor, Magic Weapon, and Shield of Faith all require Concentration. What you definitely CAN do by rules as written, however, is use your Paladin spell slots for Divine Smite while raging.

Also, you're still pretty MAD; you need Strength, Charisma, Dexterity, and Constitution. Even if you get heavy armor proficiency by starting as a Paladin and then multiclassing to Barbarian, you don't get any benefits from raging while wearing heavy armor, so you will be stuck in medium armor and thus can't dump Dexterity. Additionally, it basically goes without saying that no character can dump Constitution.
Duh, you're right, I mixed rage and WS... :/
Indeed you can't concentrate on spells, just smite (which is not so bad though).

I didn't notice the limitation on heavy armor either (I never played Barbarian and not so interested in it, so don't know it well). It certainly gimps my original idea... :smallannoyed:
Although I don't agree 100% on it being MAD: it certainly is for my concept of min-max build (using GWM with substantial +CHA bonus to damage).

It doesn't have to be so MAD though. If you don't have great stats you could either favor the weapon (then put CHA to minimum, just for spells and smiting) or the spellcasting (then use a Finesse Weapon to drop STR to minimum required, the lack of +2 from rage in compensated by permanent +CHA).

It's certainly not the most efficient build for maxing damage but is still pretty much playable either way imo. :)

[PotatoGolem]

Nova Build Info.
Preferably S10, D15, C14, I8, W15, C8 point buy or S12, D15, C13, I10, W14, C8 standard array
Variant human w/ +1s in Dex & Wis for PB or in Dex & Con for SA, Feat for martial adept (maneuvering & feinting)
You go up to 3rd level in vengeance paladin to start (good base hp, okay proficiencies, makes multiclassing easier)
Then, 5th level in elements monk using the ASI for +2 Dex (get Flames of the Fire Snake)
Finally, 2nd level fighter for action surge and dueling
Unarmored and single short sword


This isn't a legal build. You need to meet the requirements for your original class as well to multiclass- a paladin with Str 10 can't MC at all

[Dralnu]

Wood Elf Assassin 4 / Battle Master 6

You have 3 ASIs. Pick up Crossbow Expert and Sharpshooter; boost DEX.

You obliterate your opponents in the first around of combat. Surprise round is even better. With action surge, you get 5 attacks. All your attacks against foes that haven't gone yet have advantage so make liberal use of Sharpshooter's +10 damage. If the target is surprised, that's an automatic crit -- that's up to 6d6+2d8+15 damage if you expend a superiority dice, on 1/5 of your attacks! And it all recharges on a short rest.

Alternatively:

Half Orc Assassin 3 / Battle Master 5 / Barbarian 2

Dual Wielder. Focus on STR. Same thing as the Crossbow version, except instead of range, you get to do even more damage vs. surprised foes because half orcs get to add another damage dice to each crit.

The Barbarian dip turns you into a tank while raging, add +2 damage to every swing, and Reckless Assault lets you have advantage on-demand, so you don't even need a flanking buddy to get your sneak attack.

[Finieous]

Currently thinking of a Spirit Guardian based cleric.....

^ will probably do more damage in an actual game than most of the creative builds in this thread. Plate, shield, Warcaster, Resilient (Con), and put your creativity into all the stuff you want to do besides your passive death aura. Nothing is more fun than gently reminding the DM that his monsters have to take their damage first before he can take their actions.

Do you know anything about the one-shot? In a dungeon-crawl one-shot, you probably only need 4th and 5th-level spirit guardians to get you through (five slots, 60 rounds per slot). That'll get you around 20 damage per round to every enemy within 15 ft. for your death aura. I'd probably go Life and bash with divine strike, saving the other spell slots for heals and dispels, spiritual weapon for tough fights. My regular PC is a level 9 tempest cleric, and that's fun too -- more punishment when they hit you with Wrath of the Storm, pretty good blasting but you can gobble up spell slots fast.

[Yagyujubei]

Just heard we can have a magic item or two. Think he is being pretty generous.

play an TWF oathbreaker pally and grab a ring of spell storing/cloak of displacement as your magic item(s). charge it with haste, and shield x 2, and have permanent blur.

you will never get hit

[DracoKnight]

play an TWF oathbreaker pally and grab a ring of spell storing/cloak of displacement as your magic item(s). charge it with haste, and shield x 2, and have permanent blur.

you will never get hit

Sounds like a fun combination :D