Conan Build (feedback wanted for a 5e newbie)

[Grod_The_Giant]

I may be joining my first 5e game soon, and with a new system I've been trying to think about my preferences in PLAYING characters, not just building them. I'm kind of tired of playing face characters, and I'm sometimes too hasty to play smart characters. On the other hand, I still like guys with a lot of options, which 5e... doesn't seem the best at. And at low levels, I tend to strongly emphasize at-will stuff over the sort of daily resources that tend to be very limited. So with all that in mind, I was thinking about a Conan sort of character-- a skilled, thief-y facesmasher. This is what I came up with; I was hoping to get some feedback and suggestions from those with more experience. The game starts at level 1.

Half-Orc Outlander Rogue 1/Barbarian 2/?
Str 16, Dex 14, Con 16, Int 8, Wis 12, Cha 8

Proficiencies: Athletics, Survival, Intimidate, Perception, Stealth, Sleight of Hands, Acrobatics, Thief's Tools, Dex and Int saves. After level 2, I add martial weapons and shields.
Expertise Choices: Athletics and... probably Stealth, though it slightly depends on what others play.
Equipment (assuming the average of ~100 gold): A longsword (upgrading to a greatsword at level 2), a bunch of javelins (upgrading to a longbow at level 2, potentially), studded leather, thief's tools, explorer's pack

Rogue 1/Barbarian 2 is a definite-- Rogue for the skills and Sneak Attack, Barbarian for the toughness and Reckless Attack/Danger Sense. That gives me a tough-*** thief who can do great damage and deal with traps pretty effectively. After that, I'm a bit less sure.

Barbarian 3 for Bear Totem looks real nice.
I definitely want Rogue 2 for Cunning Action; the third level for the second Sneak Attack die and... I guess probably Assassinate also appeals.
I feel like I need to hit Barbarian 5 for that extra attack ASAP.

So maybe Rogue 1/Barbarian 5/Rogue +2/Barbarian +12?

[Captbrannigan]

Arnold Schwarzenegger's or Robert E. Howard's Conan? Stats/feats not balanced, I picked what I thought fit them.

Arnie
20 STR / 14 DEX / 20 CON / 12 INT / 12 WIS / 8 CHA.
Var. Human Outlander w/ Gladiator feature.
Barbarian 2 / Rogue 2 / Totem +4 / Thief +3 / Totem +9.
Final: Thief 5 / Totem Barbarian 15 (Bear, Bear, Wolf)
Languages: Common, +2
Skills: Athletics (exp), Survival, Stealth (exp), Religion, Perception, Intimidation.
Feats:GWM, Savage Attacker, Tavern Brawler, Grappler, Mage Slayer.



The books are all over the place. He was a sailor, a king, a thief, exceptional swordsman who's just as capable with his hands, of unparalleled strength and exceptional stamina, a natural leader and tactician, proficient in a half dozen languages, and on a few occasions capable of translating religious and arcane writings. He's most commonly depected as strong against groups but often overrun, and on numerous occasions barely survives single combat against foes of supernatural strength.


The Cimmerian
18 STR / 14 DEX / 16 CON / 14 INT / 12 WIS / 14 CHA.
Var. Human Acolyte.
Champion 20 (Dueling style).
Languages: Common, +3
Skills: Insight, Religion, Athletics, Survival, Stealth
Feats: Skilled (Persuation, Intimidation, Arcana), Martial Adept (Sweeping Attack, Trip Attack), Tavern Brawler, Grappler, Tough, Linguist (+3 languages), Athletic, Mage Slayer.

[Gwendol]

Go for it!

[Gwendol]

I have a Conan build thread on this board. Might want to take a look at FWIW
http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?384648-Conan-The-5e-Build-Challenge!

[Grod_The_Giant]

Definitely book Conan more than the stereotyped movie version, but I'm not going for an exact replica. I mostly just want a character with
Plenty of skills/utility abilities
No reliance on limited-use resources
Good offensive combat ability
No Charisma focus
Playable and entertaining from level 1.

[Captbrannigan]

The Arnie build I posted would be very strong and playable the whole way. Thief 5 has a lot to offer a sneaky bruiser that likes to jump and climb. The stats and feats will vary based on rolls/point buy, but it gives you an idea what to shoot for. In any version, Conan is an epic hero and he will (eventually) have the stats to reflect it.

Starting as a barbarian gets you medium armor, shields, martial weapons, full d12 HP, and CON save proficiency. Starting rogue gets you 1 more skill and dex save proficiency, which danger sense already helps mitigate. Conan started as a barbarian, and took up thieving.

Rage is a limited resource, but every class has a pool of somethings that recharge on short or long rests. There are no energizer batteries in 5e*.

*Actually, I guess Rogues don't have any limited resources. They're also the weakest core class, so maybe those are related.

[djreynolds]

You know what, I wrote this whole thing about rogues and barbarians. I dumped it.

Barbarian, honestly needs nothing else but GWM and ASI. You have resistance to damage if you take the bear totem, and you have reckless attack so you can get advantage. You have advantage on dex checks, initiative bonus, and advantage on strength checks. Cunning action is cool, but who are you running from, you're Conan. Dump the shield, advantage and GWM is where it is at. And any multiclassing means you lose feats/ASI which you need unless you want to always where medium armor. The only two feats I can recommend is GWM and maybe resilient wisdom. But really just go GWM and put the rest in str, con, dex.

And remember you can switch totems, so you could take bear at 3rd, wolf 6th, and wolf at 14th. Just go 20 levels. Rogue gives good stuff, yes, but you will not need expertise in athletics as you get advantage on strength when raging, at 6th wolf can track and stealth at normal speed. Uncanny dodge is cool, but that's 5 levels, big tax. One level of rogue is good for fighters, IMO, who are taking shield master. You will be two-handing weapons, trust me, GWM and advantage from reckless attack coupled with your inherent damage resistance will end fights quickly, 1 minute is 10 rounds, you will end fights fast.

Trust me, pure barbarian, pure Conan.

[Grod_The_Giant]

Cunning action is cool, but who are you running from, you're Conan.
A cunning and skilled warrior, yes. I like the idea of being able to move easily across the battlefield, and Barbarians don't seem to have much in the way of native Bonus Action uses.


Dump the shield, advantage and GWM is where it is at. And any multiclassing means you lose feats/ASI which you need unless you want to always where medium armor. The only two feats I can recommend is GWM and maybe resilient wisdom. But really just go GWM and put the rest in str, con, dex.
I'd rather have a meaningful option than +1 to a couple rolls.


Rogue gives good stuff, yes, but you will not need expertise in athletics as you get advantage on strength when raging
Yes I will-- I'll only be raging during fights, and not even during all fights, most likely.

[djreynolds]

A cunning and skilled warrior, yes. I like the idea of being able to move easily across the battlefield, and Barbarians don't seem to have much in the way of native Bonus Action uses.


I'd rather have a meaningful option than +1 to a couple rolls.


Yes I will-- I'll only be raging during fights, and not even during all fights, most likely.

It depends on what you see as battlefield movement, I have a rogue and I fight two weapon, if I land that first shot, I use my bonus action to disengage. But if I miss, I must decide to use that bonus action to swing again or disengage. So is my sneak attack worth staying in melee and getting possibly crushed Now the mobile feat and the swashbuclker 3rd level class feature allow you to freely disengage from your current opponent, both are done freely without the use of a bonus action but other enemy still get a shot, unlike disengage from cunning action,

Resilient wisdom will add +1 to wisdom and your proficiency score to your wisdom saves, I always take it, as it scales and you have an 8 in wisdom, but at 16th level have a +5 save in wisdom, pretty good

Now polearm master gives you a bonus action to hit and GWM will give you a "cleave" when you crit or kill.

If you are going more than 2 levels of rogue, I like swashbuckler as you can add charisma to your initiative and sneak attack single opponents, say with your long bow or a dagger. And you get that "free" mobile feat

I like expertise in athletics, but IMO, it is best for a shield master who gets a bonus shove and is a contest of strength unlike the battle masters shove that is a strength save vs your DC.

My only fear is your lack of ASI/feats and your need to pump up 3 stats, its why for barbarian, IMHO, you should stay pure.

I had a thread about defeating a 20th level barbarian in like a martial arena, and it was all about attrition versus the barbarian.

But I love the build, and if you are not going 20 levels, I recommend perhaps throwing that 14 in charisma and grab swashbuckler, and get resilient wisdom and put that 8 in your wisdom score and resilient wisdom should cover that. 6 levels in rogue will grant you 4 skills expertise and 3d6 SA and uncanny dodge.

Post the build, seems very cool

But please take what I say with a grain of salt, as I play in the AL with standard array, if you roll well, you may need less ASI and can grab more feats

Extra, also note you can fight with a greatsword, and give up an attack if you have two, 5th level, and shove. Advantage is a great way to make of for the -5 of the GWM and get that sweet +10 damage.

[JellyPooga]

Is there a particular reason you don't want any Charisma focus? I, personally, love the idea of the Charismatic Barbarian and Conan is the pimp-daddy archetypal Charismatic Barbarian! Especially if you're looking at Book-Conan (seriously...clothes just fall off of women when he turns up. For no apparent reason). Also, Intimidate. What good is a Barbarian if his battle-cry is a puny mewling instead of a manly ROAR!?!

Barbarian/Rogue is one of my favourite builds; so much synergy it hurts. The only downside is the limitation on weapons; if you're not using a Finesse weapon, you're losing Sneak Attack. This means you're either stuck with using a poncy Rapier or asking your DM to houserule a badass slashing version (call it a falchion, maybe). It's that or using a smaller sword.

Adding a little bit of Ranger or Fighter to the mix, for a Fighting Style can help, not to mention the other benefits; Fighter gets you Second Wind and Action Surge for a 2-level-dip, whilst Ranger gets you Natural Explorer and Spellcasting. Something to consider, though not necessarily something I'd recommend.

You definitely want to start off as Barbarian; you only lose out on 1 Skill Proficiency compared to the Rogue and get the far more preferable Saves of Str/Con as opposed to Dex/Int and a couple of extra HP.


=Grod]Half-Orc Outlander Rogue 1/Barbarian 2/?
Str 16, Dex 14, Con 16, Int 8, Wis 12, Cha 8

Proficiencies: Athletics, Survival, Intimidate, Perception, Stealth, Sleight of Hands, Acrobatics, Thief's Tools, Dex and Int saves. After level 2, I add martial weapons and shields.
Expertise Choices: Athletics and... probably Stealth, though it slightly depends on what others play.
Equipment (assuming the average of ~100 gold): A longsword (upgrading to a greatsword at level 2), a bunch of javelins (upgrading to a longbow at level 2, potentially), studded leather, thief's tools, explorer's pack

My preferred initial stat-line drops a couple out Str and Con to bump up the weaker stats a little;

Str: 12+2=14, Dex: 14, Con: 13+1=14, Int: 8, Wis:14, Cha:12

Proficiencies: Athletics, Perception, Intimidate, Stealth, Survival, Insight
Expertise: Athletics and Intimidation
Equipment: Rapier (I prefer Shortsword, though; less damage, but more manly and looks better with a Shield), Whip (seriously, it's badass), Shield, Studded Leather, Thieves Tools and a couple of Handaxes for chucking.

As I said above, I'd recommend Barbarian at 1st. Then I'd definitely spring for Rogue 2; Cunning Action is awesome. At that point you have a choice; Either take Rogue to 4 for your first ASI/Feat as soon as possible (which, depending on your view on static bonuses may or may not be important to you given the ability scores I recommend), or Barbarian to 6th for Extra Attack and your 2nd Totem ability.

After that, it depends on how long the game will run and what abilities you think will benefit you. I tend to veer toward more Rogue;
- Rogue 12/Barbarian 8 is pretty tasty, but misses out on Relentless Rage.
- Barbarian 11/Rogue 9 gets you the most Class/Archetype Features, but misses out on ASI's/Feats. Also a worthy build though.

As an aside, I'm going to speak out against Bear Totem. It's awesome, don't get me wrong, but you need to consider one thing; how often are you going to be taking non-weapon damage? Consider that you're already resistant to most damage you'll be taking anyway. Now compare it to how often you might use the other options available. Wolf Totem will make you your parties best friend. Eagle is somewhat redundant due to Cunning Action, but definitely worth considering if you drop Rogue altogether. Elk and Tiger (SCAG) are both fairly uninspiring, IMO, but opinions vary.

I'm also going to recommend steering clear of Assassin...it's a bit of a trap and doesn't suit Barbarians. Thief or Swashbuckler is your friend here.

[Grod_The_Giant]

Fair enough-- good point on the proficiencies thing. An Outlander Barbarian, if I'm understanding this right, can swap both skills because he can get them from Barbarian, yes? In which case I'll trade for Perception and Stealth. Athletics and Survival from Barbarian, Intimidation from Half Orc (or Variant Human, if the option presents itself); Sleight of Hand and Thief's Tools from Rogue, eventually. So like Barbarian 1/Rogue 1... how important is it to rush to that second attack? I'd be up one or two d6 on normal Barbarian damage thanks to dipping into Rogue (Swashbuckler does look better; I hadn't checked out the SCAG before), but getting another full attack seems like it'd be worth more...

I didn't want Charisma because I'm kind of tired of playing face characters, mostly. That and 5e's low point-buy. If I rolled well I'd like to put a 10-12 in, but it's honestly my second lowest priority, I think. Lowering Con a point or two wouldn't be terrible, I suppose, especially adding in the Rogue's bounciness.

For the Sneak Attack bit, I was planning on asking if I could trade the ability to sneak attack with ranged weapons for the ability to sneak attack with any melee weapon (or at least any non-heavy weapon).

[JellyPooga]

A lot of people will tell you that Extra Attack is the be all and end all of melee combat. It's a lie for a Barbarian/Rogue.

Let Sneak Attack make up for your 2nd attack. More important to you is your Class Features;
- Uncanny Dodge combined with Rage means you're all but immune to damage; someone hits you for 20? You actually take 5.
- Reckless Attack means every attack is a Sneak Attack.
- Danger Sense plus Evasion means you never take damage from AoE effects.

Simply put, once you hit Barbarian 2/Rogue 7, you not only deal respectable damage each turn (1d6+Str+2+4d6 on a single hit), but are almost impossible to kill or put down. Especially if you spring for Resilient (Wis) as your first Feat (or play a Gnome...seriously, that Advantage vs. magic on mental Saves is huge.

[Gwendol]

If you want to go all-in on at-will perhaps rogue (swashbuckler) / champion fighter will do better. Plenty of ASI's, extra attacks, and action surge. But it makes for a somewhat bland Conan.

[Jon D]

I personally would start as a Barbarian with the Criminal background. Take it up to the first Totem, I like Wolf, and then follow it with 17 levels of Battle Master.

That gives you some Rage, extra dmg from maneuvers and battlefield control.

That's the Conan that Howard wrote.

[djreynolds]

Don't be afraid to duel wield daggers and short swords occasionally, if you do put levels in rogue.

And people forget archery, and you will have a really good dexterity and that swashbuckler will let you attack lone people and get sneak attacks

[JellyPooga]

That's the Conan that Howard wrote.

I'm not convinced that Howard-Conan actually has any levels of Barbarian. Or Rogue, for that matter. I won't rule out the possibility, but mainly Conan is portrayed as a consummate fighter with a stealthy/larcenous streak and mighty mighty thews. As I recall, there's not a lot of talk about him going berserk or flying into a rage...battle frenzy is mentioned, but not a great deal and just being in a fight could be described as "battle frenzy".

Fighter (Champion) with the Sailor Background (using the Pirate/Bad Reputation alternate feature) would represent my vision of Howard-Conan. No Rogue Multiclass because he is never shown to have any proficiency with Thieves Tools or Cant, though I'd miss Expertise in Athletics (a lot).

[Grod_The_Giant]

It's a moot point, sadly. I got to "character creation" today to find that someone had already rolled up a Barbarian. Wound up making a soon-to-be Bladesinger Wizard instead. (Which should still be fun, especially since the DM let me be a Variant Human. Toughness should make up for the d6 HD nicely)

[Gwendol]

I'm not convinced that Howard-Conan actually has any levels of Barbarian. Or Rogue, for that matter. I won't rule out the possibility, but mainly Conan is portrayed as a consummate fighter with a stealthy/larcenous streak and mighty mighty thews. As I recall, there's not a lot of talk about him going berserk or flying into a rage...battle frenzy is mentioned, but not a great deal and just being in a fight could be described as "battle frenzy".

Fighter (Champion) with the Sailor Background (using the Pirate/Bad Reputation alternate feature) would represent my vision of Howard-Conan. No Rogue Multiclass because he is never shown to have any proficiency with Thieves Tools or Cant, though I'd miss Expertise in Athletics (a lot).

Eh, that's because he doesn't need the tools of puny men: Conan bends the bars, unhinges the doors, lifts the portcullises!

Conan flies into a rage in every other fight: (thread found here: http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?230780-Conan-revisited)

Here is a passage showing Conan fighting while raging (taken from "Queen of the Black Coast"):

The fight on the Argus was short and bloody. The stocky sailors, no match for the tall barbarians, were cut down to a man. Elsewhere the battle had taken a peculiar turn. Conan, on the high-pitched poop, was on a level with the pirate's deck. As the steel prow slashed into the Argus, he braced himself and kept his feet under the shock, casting away his bow. A tall corsair, bounding over the rail, was met in midair by the Cimmerian's great sword, which sheared him cleanly through the torso, so that his body fell one way and his legs another. Then, with a burst of fury that left a heap of mangled corpses along the gunwales, Conan was over the rail and on the deck of the Tigress.

In an instant he was the center of a hurricane of stabbing spears and lashing clubs. But he moved in a blinding blur of steel. Spears bent on his armor or swished empty air, and his sword sang its death-song. The fighting-madness of his race was upon him, and with a red mist of unreasoning fury wavering before his blazing eyes, he cleft skulls, smashed breasts, severed limbs, ripped out entrails, and littered the deck like a shambles with a ghastly harvest of brains and blood.


Fighting-madness of his race is the passage of interest here, clearly showing that this is a "rage-effect", and common to his race (the Cimmerians). It is further characterized in a passage below from the end of the same story:

Twenty: then the spears of the pirates had taken toll of the pack, after all. Even as he thought this, Conan drew nock to ear, and at the twang of the string a flame-eyed shadow bounded high and fell writhing. The rest did not falter; on they came, and like a rain of death among them fell the arrows of the Cimmerian, driven with all the force and accuracy of steely thews backed by a hate hot as the slag-heaps of hell.

In his berserk fury he did not miss; the air was filled with feathered destruction. The havoc wrought among the onrushing pack was breathtaking. Less than half of them reached the foot of the pyramid. Others dropped upon the broad steps. Glaring down into the blazing eyes, Conan knew these creatures were not beasts; it was not merely in their unnatural size that he sensed a blasphemous difference. They exuded an aura tangible as the black mist rising from a corpse-littered swamp. By what godless alchemy these beings had been brought into existence, he could not guess; but he knew he faced diabolism blacker than the Well of Skelos.

Here we see it is indeed characterized as berserk fury. Needless to say, this is the case in practically every story written (Conan raging, that is), and he describes himself as a "barbarian" quite often as well.

[Rhaegar14]

It's a moot point, sadly. I got to "character creation" today to find that someone had already rolled up a Barbarian. Wound up making a soon-to-be Bladesinger Wizard instead. (Which should still be fun, especially since the DM let me be a Variant Human. Toughness should make up for the d6 HD nicely)

I am in no way going to suggest that this is the most optimized thing in the world, but since you said you like characters that have at-will abilities, I'll go ahead and throw it out there: 3 levels of Battlemaster Fighter go a long way toward making a Bladesinger feel like more of a skilled warrior with magic as well, rather than a Wizard who is slightly less helpless in melee. Just be sure you take Booming Blade from SCAG if you go that route, as there will be a couple levels (before Wizard 6) where your at-will melee damage lags behind without it (it's about a point less with Dueling fighting style and Booming Blade). Plus, just call Booming Blade "Singing Blade" and it matches the Bladesinger fluff very nicely, and at higher levels with Warcaster Booming Blade makes for a killer opportunity attack.

Three levels of Battlemaster Fighter will get you Dueling fighting style -- which gives higher at-will damage across most of the game, though you'll lag behind a straight Bladesinger a little from 6-8 (Bladesinger Extra Attack) and 14-16 (Bladesinger Song of Victory) -- Action Surge for better nukes, Second Wind to make you a bit tougher to put down early in the game, and a couple fancy Maneuvers, all of which will either be passive abilities or recharge on a short rest.

[Gwendol]

Don't forget the martial adept feat, either to skip the third level of fighter, or to further bolster the fighter side of the character.

[Captbrannigan]

Here we see it is indeed characterized as berserk fury. Needless to say, this is the case in practically every story written (Conan raging, that is), and he describes himself as a "barbarian" quite often as well.
Several cults have described their members as druids, that doesn't mean they were turning into bears and producing berries that close wounds. Just because you're a fighter, doesn't mean you have levels in the Fighter class as printed in the 5th Edition Player's Handbook for Dungeons & Dragons.

A champion crit fishing for extra attacks fits those passages just as readily as the Barbarian's Rage class ability. Hell, you could make the argument that's the Ranger's Whirlwind Attack in action (as tho Conan were a puny Ranger).

While Conan wasn't described as using Thieves' Cant, he was described as being a great linguist and often dealt with the lower rungs of society. Longswords are a better fit for him (he fights versatile), which does make SA pretty worthless. I think proficiency in Stealth, expertise in Athletics, and Thief jumping/climbing help to build up Conan's agile side.


To the OP, going from a Barbarian build to a caster is a pretty huge swing in concept. Why not have another strong melee in the group? Especially if you multiclass barb/rogue and he sticks pure barb, you'll each bring different abilities to the party. That goes doubly true if you multiclass fighter instead of a barb.

[Grod_The_Giant]

I am in no way going to suggest that this is the most optimized thing in the world, but since you said you like characters that have at-will abilities, I'll go ahead and throw it out there: 3 levels of Battlemaster Fighter go a long way toward making a Bladesinger feel like more of a skilled warrior with magic as well, rather than a Wizard who is slightly less helpless in melee. Just be sure you take Booming Blade from SCAG if you go that route, as there will be a couple levels (before Wizard 6) where your at-will melee damage lags behind without it (it's about a point less with Dueling fighting style and Booming Blade). Plus, just call Booming Blade "Singing Blade" and it matches the Bladesinger fluff very nicely, and at higher levels with Warcaster Booming Blade makes for a killer opportunity attack.

Three levels of Battlemaster Fighter will get you Dueling fighting style -- which gives higher at-will damage across most of the game, though you'll lag behind a straight Bladesinger a little from 6-8 (Bladesinger Extra Attack) and 14-16 (Bladesinger Song of Victory) -- Action Surge for better nukes, Second Wind to make you a bit tougher to put down early in the game, and a couple fancy Maneuvers, all of which will either be passive abilities or recharge on a short rest.
Not a bad idea, though I already picked Green Flame Blade as a melee cantrip. (Bad idea-- I should have taken Booming and a whip. I forgot that whips are good in this edition). Wizards can't learn more cantrips until level 4, can they?


Don't forget the martial adept feat, either to skip the third level of fighter, or to further bolster the fighter side of the character.
Eh, I'd rather not spend a feat on what's essentially a 1/day ability, not unless I'd already gotten Fighter 3 out of the way. War Caster is my next pick. (Probably would have been my first, honestly, but Tough seemed less noticeably powerful and more overall necessary for a melee wizard. It means I effectively have a d10 HD)


To the OP, going from a Barbarian build to a caster is a pretty huge swing in concept. Why not have another strong melee in the group? Especially if you multiclass barb/rogue and he sticks pure barb, you'll each bring different abilities to the party. That goes doubly true if you multiclass fighter instead of a barb.
There was also a Fighter. No Rogue, but <shrug>. I decided I'd rather do something very different than play a watered-down version of what I originally wanted.

[Captbrannigan]

You could always trade-in a cantrip when you level up.

[Grod_The_Giant]

You could always trade-in a cantrip when you level up.
Perfect, thanks.

[djreynolds]

This is where, two levels of rogue will rock, giving you cunning action for your blade singer. Wizards are the best, though I still like the old crusty dwarven fighter

[Captbrannigan]

This is where, two levels of rogue will rock, giving you cunning action for your blade singer. Wizards are the best, though I still like the old crusty dwarven fighter

Rule #1 of optimization: Thou shalt not lose caster levels.

Taking two levels of multiclassing out of Wizard will put you an entire spell level behind. Have fun casting level 2 spells while the melees are picking up extra attack. If there aren't any other full casters in the party, it won't be quite as noticeable, but it's still a significant delay in power just so you can bonus action disengage/dash/hide. I can't think of a spell level I'd be happy to delay to get that.

If you're talking taking two levels of rogue as your last levels, I highly doubt Cunning Action is going to seem very good for the first time at level 20. If you wanted to do that, at least Fighter 2 gives you Action Surge to nova 1/short rest, which at least sounds more like a level 20 ability.

[Rhaegar14]

You could always trade-in a cantrip when you level up.

I'm pretty sure that's not actually a thing anymore in this edition. Spells can be retrained, but cantrips are set in stone. However, it sounds like you guys haven't played yet; you could ask your GM if they'll let you change.

Still, your DPR will still be just fine with Greenflame Blade. Booming Blade just gets a slight advantage for being a less commonly resisted damage type and usable on an OA with Warcaster.

[Grod_The_Giant]

I'm pretty sure that's not actually a thing anymore in this edition. Spells can be retrained, but cantrips are set in stone. However, it sounds like you guys haven't played yet; you could ask your GM if they'll let you change.

Still, your DPR will still be just fine with Greenflame Blade. Booming Blade just gets a slight advantage for being a less commonly resisted damage type and usable on an OA with Warcaster.
We had our first session, unfortunately. I didn't actually cast anything, but I also left the sheet with the GM. So eh.

[Captbrannigan]

I'm pretty sure that's not actually a thing anymore in this edition. Spells can be retrained, but cantrips are set in stone.

Hmm, you appear to be right about that as the section heading is Spells Known of 1st Level and Higher and it references spells for which you have slots. Cantrips don't use spell slots, so they don't qualify to be retrained. Good show.