Classes I'm starting really like

[djreynolds]

A lot of times, we, myself especially, read stuff, concur with the latest polls and walk away.

But I am glad you guys and gals have not. Every class needs to be played well to allow it to shine. And I have been playing two classes and perhaps we'll say differently, and they are really good.

So please post classes you have played against advice and really like and why.

For instance, I've been having great fun with a strength based arcane trickster. He is quite a nasty fellow. It changed my opinion about the archetype. Now I grabbed, a level of fighter for a shield, but moderately armored in fine. Invisibility, shield master, and a short sword are fun. Yes, I get stuck in combat but I have mirror image. My mage hand, well I use it to taunt.

And I have been using a strength based sword and board beast master. I dipped fighter for protection, but sentinel and polearm master is just fine. And I let my beast attack and either cover him with my shield reaction from protection or swat baddies leaving or attacking him, if you have sentinel. I let him attack, he's like a furry henchmen or maybe I'm his henchmen. I chase people to him.

But these guys are fun to play, odd but feasible builds. So post away classes others told not to take, and the results.

[Elite Hatter]

I very much enjoyed a Half-Orc Frenzy Barbarian I played, he used unarmed strikes and was a tough cookie to take down. He died surrounded by guards and they're captain (who had armor and weapons) and I was just bare handed. I lasted 5 or 6 rounds and due to Bound accuracy it made for quite the fight. My DM thought it'd be a clear and cut 1 round ko, but due to AC, rage, and the half-orc racial I was cracking skulls for quite a while.

[Maxilian]

Well, i went with a Variant Human Eldritch Knight Fighter based on WIS, and it works pretty well, i got Shillelagh and Thorn Whip with Magic Initiate, went with dueling to take advantage of my shield (I use medium armor), with EK i got Booming Blade (use the same WIS so it scale really well with my attacks), we got an extra feat at lvl 3 as a reward and i got Observant (20 passive perception!) and at lvl 4 i think i'm going to take Resilient (WIS) to make my stats even (i have a 17 WIS right now) and get something extra to survive (at lvl 6 i'm going to take Warcaster, being able to use booming blade on fleeing enemies? Yes, please

[Zman]

I've started playing my Sorcerer/Fighter. Basically a melee half caster. He runs into battle wearing nothing but fine clothes and a scimitar. Even starts off non-proficient with it! Shield, Quickened Blurr, Quickened Haste, Booming Blade, quickened Booming Blade etc. and either ends up with three base attacks or a Heightened Discintigrate!


Half Elf with 16 Dex and 16 Cha and 14 Con

Sorcerer 1 - Draconic
Sorcerer/Fighter1 - Dueling
Sorcerer5/Fighter1 - Pick up Spell Sniper Eldritch Blast, Empower/Twinn Spell and Quicken spell
Sorcerer5/Eldritch Knight8 - Additional Attack, better spell slots, Dex to 20, Cha to 18, Warmagic
Choices...
Sorcerer12/Eldritch Knight8 -Cha to 20, Con to 16, Heighten Spell(Disintegrate) with a 7th level slot 170HP
Or...
Sorcerer5/Eldritch Knight12 -Cha to 20 or Con to 16 3rd Attack, Arcane Charge
Sorcerer8/Eldritch Knight12 -Cha to 20 or Con to 18, 4th level Spells. 174/193HP

Plenty of HP, a passable ranged force attack ignoring cover to 240', food defensive spells, some action economy tools with action surge, quicken spell, etc. plus, he runs around with base AC 18/23Shield, or duels at range with Eldritch blast and physical shield for AC20/25Shield, plus Blurr for a Disadvantage or Haste for +2 AC. And with Concentration spells you have to love having Con proficiency!

What would be icing on the cake would be if you can get your DM to agree to a force dragon ancestor for force as your element for +Cha to Damage for Eldritch Blast.

[Addaran]

A melee dex gnome fighter! Usually considered less then optimal (no GWF/sharpshooter) but i'm having lots of fun.

I have great AC, decent damage and fun options in combat (battlemaster).
Thanks to my background, i got stealth and with 20 dex i'm an awesome scout.
Speak with small animals is a fun unique ability. Whenever we're somewhere natural, i can confirm where is the danger with my new friends or general directions.
Minor Illusion lets me have fun with the casters (all the five other members are casters, hell all of them except one have minor illusion).

[Falcon X]

I recently made some atypical characters at level 5 for a one-off game. Some might not level well, but they were very fun as they were:

Dex-Based Paladin: Took the mobile feat and most of a lightfoot halfling's abilities (I homebrewed a grippli frog). This guy flies around the battlefield, diving in for high damage and diving out. Flavorwise gets very fun once he gets two attacks, as he is tumbling and jumping around the battlefield.

Perception-focused Chainlock: Take a warlock and put everything into making life easier for the party. Rogue1/Warlock4 for skills and expertise in perception. Take darkvision and eldritch sight invocations. Have a familiar that can scout out an entire dungeon for you. Have eldritch blast so you can do some damage. Be an Old one Warlock so you can talk into everyone's minds. Take the observant feat to beat surprise and even read lips from forever away. Pick up stealth while you are at it and just be the one who keeps everyone out of trouble.

[Malifice]

I recently made some atypical characters at level 5 for a one-off game. Some might not level well, but they were very fun as they were:

Dex-Based Paladin: Took the mobile feat and most of a lightfoot halfling's abilities (I homebrewed a grippli frog). This guy flies around the battlefield, diving in for high damage and diving out. Flavorwise gets very fun once he gets two attacks, as he is tumbling and jumping around the battlefield.

Once played in a PF game with a Grippli Zen archer.

Dude used this as his character pic:

http://churchm.ag/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/Kermit-the-Frog.png

[mephnick]

My group has a Dex halfling paladin and a GOO warlock with no combat invocations or anything like that. They've easily been the most useful members of the party despite the rest of the group being traditionally "stronger" builds.

You really really have to screw something up to be completely outclassed in 5e.

[Quintaton16]

Right now I'm running an Arcane Trickster 3 / Trickery Domain Cleric 4. It's by far the most fun build I've ever done. I've gone through about six different multi-round encounters and I'm pretty sure I haven't yet cast the same spell twice other than Healing Word and Cure Wounds. And, when I get tired of casting spells, I can just wade in and start Sneak Attacking.

[AvatarVecna]

Currently running a Battlemaster 4/Rogue 1 for an IRL game with a homebrew Warforged Scout race; he specializes in dual-wielding hand crossbows for DPR, and scouting ahead. Last combat we were in, the bad guys finally managed to knock out the Moon Druid, they came for me and the casters in the back...only for me to holster my crossbows and begin beating the crap out of them with some daggers. Due to a little quirk of the homebrew warforged race, they can only get healed half as well as others, but they can't die from failed death saving throws (because they don't make death saving throws). Only massive damage can kill him.

The imagined look on their faces when four bugbears (very glass cannon-y creatures) critted my fallen form, only for me to rise up when the cleric used Healing Word...my character is now the Midget Terminator.

[Malifice]

Currently running a Battlemaster 4/Rogue 1 for an IRL game with a homebrew Warforged Scout race; he specializes in dual-wielding hand crossbows for DPR, and scouting ahead.

You only need one hand crossbow for the bonus action attack from crossbow mastery feat.

You cant weild two at once (the loading property requires a free hand) unless your DM has given you warforged repeaters or something.

[EvilAnagram]

I played a Halfling Beastmaster who rode a pteradon named Falcor.

It was majestic.

Acid spitting ant monsters ain't got nothin' on a flying archer with a shortbow.

[SharkForce]

You only need one hand crossbow for the bonus action attack from crossbow mastery feat.

You cant weild two at once (the loading property requires a free hand) unless your DM has given you warforged repeaters or something.

or, alternately, if your DM just doesn't care about your decision to use two hand crossbows, because seriously what's the point in worrying about it if that's what you want.

the only thing i would limit with hand crossbows personally is hand crossbow + shield.

[AvatarVecna]

You only need one hand crossbow for the bonus action attack from crossbow mastery feat.

You cant weild two at once (the loading property requires a free hand) unless your DM has given you warforged repeaters or something.

My DM usually thinks the idea of dual-wielding hand-crossbows is a little weird because of the logistics involved, but being a magic robot gave me an excuse for pulling it off; he was totally fine with those guns being built in and self-loading.

[Malifice]

My DM usually thinks the idea of dual-wielding hand-crossbows is a little weird because of the logistics involved, but being a magic robot gave me an excuse for pulling it off; he was totally fine with those guns being built in and self-loading.

Thematically cool, just reminding you its not needed.

I missed it too on first reading of the Crossbow master feat.

For extra points have your resident Mage case minor iullusion (doves flying) as you action surge and leap (in slow mo naturally) across the room rapid firing your hand crossbows.

[SharkForce]

Thematically cool, just reminding you its not needed.

I missed it too on first reading of the Crossbow master feat.

For extra points have your resident Mage case minor iullusion (doves flying) as you action surge and leap (in slow mo naturally) across the room rapid firing your hand crossbows.

no creatures allowed. objects only with minor illusion.

[brainface]

My DM usually thinks the idea of dual-wielding hand-crossbows is a little weird because of the logistics involved, but being a magic robot gave me an excuse for pulling it off; he was totally fine with those guns being built in and self-loading.

Ohmergawd you've built nordom

[Malifice]

no creatures allowed. objects only with minor illusion.

Theyre dead doves. Corpses are objects.

Prestidigitation might also work.

[AbyssStalker]

I have a pretty fun (if more than a little sub-optimal) Drow Tempest Cleric1/ Shadow Monk 5 That primarily uses a lance (gonna have disadvantage alot of the time anyways) and wears heavy armor. Can't wait till next level of Shadow Monk, at least just once I want to ninja-port above an enemy and dive bomb them with my lance like a dragoon.

[djreynolds]

I like that, I tried an elemental monk and tempest cleric, it didn't work out like I planned but at least the stats synergized well and I really tried to use the wind and thunder stuff. But cleric spells rock anyhow.

Is anyone gonna try the Purple Dragon Knight? I might use that if paladins break their oath, the get this instead. I'm not sure how much work went into that archetype.

I really like my champion/rogue though, shield master rocks.