Fun Martial Builds

[Teapot Salty]

Hey guys. So I'm a big fan of the fluff of martial characters, I like melee combat, and I like the concepts of most of the martial classes in the game. But I also like crunch and options. Like the sheer number of spells that a wizard can possess is very attractive to me, and I dislike how often melee combat devolves into "I hit it with my ax." I'm aware that things like the battlemaster fighter give a few options to a melee character, but I'm wondering if their are any builds or classes that let me have the crunchy goodness of a caster, with all the sword-swingin' goodness of a melee character.

[Pichu]

I would say a Warlock.
Get to 3rd level and take pact of the Blade. Then, when you get to 5th, you get an extra attack. Warlocks aren't the best spellcaster, but who needs spell slots when you have Eldritch Blast with Agonizing Blast? Also, take the evocation that allows you to cast Maga Armor and grab a finesse weapon for optimization.

[N810]

Swashbuckler
most fighter builds
paladin
monk

[Aett_Thorn]

Moon Circle Druid. You can cast spells, and when you want to, you can turn into a wolf/bear/other creature and wreck some faces in melee.

[smcmike]

A sword-swinging caster. Duh.

Or, if you are actually trying to avoid magic, barbarian/rogue lets you do just about anything you can imagine someone physically doing.

[ClintACK]

Grappling and shoving are already part of the rules -- just take a Strength-based martial character and add a Rogue dip for Athletics Expertise.

Battlemaster X/Rogue 2 gets Maneuvers plus bonus disengage and dash, and Athletics Expertise to win grapples and shoves. Commander's Strike is incredible -- let the Paladin smite the demon again, or let the Assassin get a second critical-sneak-attack in the same round. (Sneak Attack is once per *turn*, not per *round*.) Add Sentinel, or halberd+PAM, to get regular use of your Reaction for more "attacks". Take a 3rd level of Rogue, and make it Arcane Trickster.

There's *way* more for a martial character to do than just "Move. Full Attack."

[Naanomi]

You'll never have the 'options' a caster has without being a caster, but you can have fun still. Martialed tend to care a lot more about the battlefield (cover, AoO threats, movement) so playing with a board instead of theater of the mind helps.

Here are a few 'pure martial' characters I have had fun with:
-1/2 Orc barbarian 1/rogue 3/barbarian +16: stealth and maneuverability, searching for massive opening crit rounds

-v human fighter 1/rogue +19: heavy armor strength rogue, with an eye on combat control: uses whip, shoved people over with shield... Middle of the battlefield for optimal use of nets and caltrops

-v human fighter 20: hand crossbow 'gunslinger' battlemaster had plenty of options every round and top notch damage when tricks were not necessary

-wood elf rogue 1/fighter 1/rogue +18: longbow sniper, always on the hunt for extreme range and one-way cover. Massive single shot damage on the surprise round; took Mage slayer to shoot down concentration without peer

[Lombra]

Barbarogue grappler is very cool, shove, grapple, drag everything you see.

Way funnier if a friend casts spike growth :P

[Zman]

HalfOrc Barb2/Champion 4+ with Duel Wielder

Just run around recklessly critting everything you can, occasional Rage makes it better. You'll throw multiple attacks that Crit 19% of the time and Crit for 3d8+Str! You're a blender of death, at Champion 5 you have 3 attacks, at Champion 11 you get 4 attacks each turn! At Champion 15 you Crit 28% of the time with 4 Attacks!

[Grod_The_Giant]

If you want options... I'm going to have to recommend getting Athletics Expertise, which opens up so, so many doors for you in terms of combat actions. Otherwise...

Classes

Rouge 3-- Rogue gives us Expertise, pushing our shoves/grapples to full power. Two more levels can give a lovely range of bonus actions-- dash is mediocre, but disengage is useful, and your subclass can give you even more. Thief is a nice choice; Fast Hands is an unusual combat action and Second-Story Work makes that great Athletics even more useful. Mastermind is also tempting, giving us a bonus action Help for when support is needed.
Battlemaster Fighter 3+-- An obvious choice, for all the reasons we know. Three levels are enough to give us a nice set of situational maneuvers, but Fighter is never a bad choice for a main class.
Totem Barbarian 2-6-- Two levels gets you Reckless Attack for a power attack substitute, and a choice to make from round to round. Three levels is obvious (Bear to tank, Wolf to support), but the 6th level utiltiy abilities are overlooked. Eagle makes you an unparalleled scout, while Bear... there are always uses for being crazy strong.


Feats

Shield Master-- Shove is a great use of a bonus action, especially if you picked up Athletics Expertise.
Grappler-- Grab a dude and keep him in place for your friends to wail on.
War Caster + Booming Blade-- For the most boss AoOs. Add Polearm Master for added brutality.

[Nicrosil]

The DM's guide had a few optional combat actions that could make martial characters more interesting; see if your DM will allow them. There's disarming, tumbling, overrunning, marking, shoving aside, and climbing onto a larger creature. They're all basically Acrobatics or Athletics contests, so definitely take at least one level of rouge for that sweet, sweet expertise.

[N810]

Don't forget that equipment and mundane items can give you some interesting options,
things like:

Grappling hooks (movement, ensnaring, grabbing)
grease (knock enemy's prone, difficult terrain, misc.)
caltrops (difficult terrain, causes damage)
ball bearings (knock enemy's prone, difficult terrain, misc.)
lamp oil + touch (flammable shenanigans)
flour (blind enemy, find invisible enemy)
Ground pepper (hot) (blind enemy + damage)
10' pole (pole vaulting, detect traps, misc.)
50' rope (climbing, tying up prisoners, traps)
nets (traps, throw at enemies, carry stuff)

and most of these things will just cost a few coppers.

[MaxWilson]

Don't forget that equipment and mundane items can give you some interesting options,
things like:

Grappling hooks (movement, ensnaring, grabbing)
grease (knock enemy's prone, difficult terrain, misc.)
caltrops (difficult terrain, causes damage)
ball bearings (knock enemy's prone, difficult terrain, misc.)
lamp oil + touch (flammable shenanigans)
flour (blind enemy, find invisible enemy)
Ground pepper (hot) (blind enemy + damage)
10' pole (pole vaulting, detect traps, misc.)
50' rope (climbing, tying up prisoners, traps)
nets (traps, throw at enemies, carry stuff)

and most of these things will just cost a few coppers.

Also manacles, door spikes, ladders, and a towel.

[R.Shackleford]

Hey guys. So I'm a big fan of the fluff of martial characters, I like melee combat, and I like the concepts of most of the martial classes in the game. But I also like crunch and options. Like the sheer number of spells that a wizard can possess is very attractive to me, and I dislike how often melee combat devolves into "I hit it with my ax." I'm aware that things like the battlemaster fighter give a few options to a melee character, but I'm wondering if their are any builds or classes that let me have the crunchy goodness of a caster, with all the sword-swingin' goodness of a melee character.


Strength Based medium armored rogue 5 or 10 works wonders with any rogue subclass. Up to 10th level they keep growing and gaining new features.

Beyond that you would need to take magic classes and then fluff them because no martial class really grows past 10th level (barbarian kinda but no where near enough to count).

What's cool about the Strouge is that you don't even need to ever boost your ability scores.

Vhuman Sage (Str) Rogue
Feat: moderately armored.

Str: 16
Dex: 14
Con: 14
Int: 10
Wis: 12
Cha: 10

Skills
Athletics (Expertise +7 @ level 1), Sleight of Hand, Arcana, History, Insight, Perception (Expertise), Persuasion.

AC: 14 (breastplate eventually) + 2 (dex) + 2 shield = 18

Wield a rapier and shield. At level 4 grab shield master. You don't need to boost your strength as you should always be knocking a creature prone and then stabbing them.

If you go swashbuckling then dump the int stuff and boost Cha a bit. I would even drop Wis to 10.

If you don't have an Int caster then take Expertise Arcana and even with no mod you will come out great (+4 to +12).

Now, take all the feats you like. I would suggest the following...

Mage Slayer + Sentinel (hahahaha)

Tavern Brawler (bonus action grapple for when you can't damage a creature)

Skulker (if you go expertise stealth)

[Callin]

Battlemaster 5/Variant Spell Less Ranger 2/ Rogue 2 Variant Human with either Shield Master or Mage Slayer. You want to get Rogue 1 quickly for Expertise.

[Belac93]

Variant Human/halfling thief with the mobile feat. Maybe a couple levels of wizard to become a bladesinger, or a couple levels of monk for +10 speed and extra AC.

Also probably the DM's least favorite character (near impossible to hit, great battlefield control, solid damage.)

[Socratov]

I would love to present you: the ranged rogue.

We all know archery is boring. "I shoot at it with my bow" is all you do and if you want to go full Legolas, you are better off being a fighter anyways. However, there is another way to become a ranged character, and it involves melee.

Step 1: get a fast race, preferably something with speed 40, but 30 or 35 will do.
Step 2: pick rogue. I can recommend the thief for flavourful stuff including the fast hands and second story work (now you can be ranged in 3 dimensions if you have a wall near), or assassin.
Step 3: pick the mobility feat
Step 4: move in, attack, dash out on a bonus action again. You should now be able to move 40' in, attack and dash 40' out, or if you are closer, you can move in, attack, use the rest of your movement and hide. The fact that you attack makes it so that you don't need to disengage to avoid attacks of opportunities.
Step 5: get more speed

[Specter]

If going without spells, I'd go Swashbuckler/Battlemaster. You can choose between singling out a single target and Sneaking him, or getting in the fray more consistently evading yourself after attacking. That, and all the rest of the Fighter/Rogue kit.

If you like spells, go Fighter/Sorcerer. With Quickened Spell, you can cast them as a bonus action while still attacking and getting solid uses for your reaction.

[Easy_Lee]

Without spells: Iron Soundrel. BM fighter 6+ / Thief Rogue, choose levels of each as desired. Take shield master and athletics expertise. You can shove foes prone to give your allies advantage, your AC is exceptional (particularly when combined with uncanny dodge and evasion), and you can Use an Object, Dash, Disengage, or Hide as a bonus action. Between all of the different items you could be carrying, that's a metric ton of options.

With spells: Bladesinger, blade-pact warlock, favored soul sorcerer, or war cleric, whichever you prefer. Blade-pact warlock is arguably the closest thing to a Gish in 5e, having good at-will damage and a decent spell selection. They can't match the spell-casting capability of the others, though. if you just like lots of options, bladesinger is hard to beat.

[djreynolds]

Without spells: Iron Soundrel. BM fighter 6+ / Thief Rogue, choose levels of each as desired. Take shield master and athletics expertise. You can shove foes prone to give your allies advantage, your AC is exceptional (particularly when combined with uncanny dodge and evasion), and you can Use an Object, Dash, Disengage, or Hide as a bonus action. Between all of the different items you could be carrying, that's a metric ton of options.

With spells: Bladesinger, blade-pact warlock, favored soul sorcerer, or war cleric, whichever you prefer. Blade-pact warlock is arguably the closest thing to a Gish in 5e, having good at-will damage and a decent spell selection. They can't match the spell-casting capability of the others, though. if you just like lots of options, bladesinger is hard to beat.

Yes, I have based many builds off the IRON SCOUNDREL, even strength based its just too easy to grab 13 dex and take some rogue. I like shield master and short sword, I pretend I'm a Roman soldier in Gladiator stabbing that big barbarian to death. And I like defensive duelist also, it may seem redundant, but its almost as good as the shield spell.
Shield master, defensive duelist, mage slayer, lucky, and resilient wisdom are all great feats. And athlete is good, why, because I do not like the taste of my own medicine.

Question do the jumps of champion's remarkable athlete stack with the thief's second story work? Do you get both strength and dex mod feet added to your jump?

[MrFahrenheit]

Without spells: thief 15 or 9/battlemaster 5 or 11. Swipe secondary weapon, sneak attack disarm primary weapon, interact with object to kick it away, rinse, repeat. Yeah you've already used your bonus action when you move out and therefore can't disengage...but they'll only be hitting you for 1+str if they're successful.

With spells: thief 4/battlemaster 4/paladin 4 (oath doesn't matter too much)/valor bard 8. As above, but with smiting damage too!

[Easy_Lee]

Question do the jumps of champion's remarkable athlete stack with the thief's second story work? Do you get both strength and dex mod feet added to your jump?

DM question, but I don't think anything in the rules stops you.

[MaxWilson]

I would love to present you: the ranged rogue.

We all know archery is boring. "I shoot at it with my bow" is all you do and if you want to go full Legolas, you are better off being a fighter anyways. However, there is another way to become a ranged character, and it involves melee.

Step 1: get a fast race, preferably something with speed 40, but 30 or 35 will do.
Step 2: pick rogue. I can recommend the thief for flavourful stuff including the fast hands and second story work (now you can be ranged in 3 dimensions if you have a wall near), or assassin.
Step 3: pick the mobility feat
Step 4: move in, attack, dash out on a bonus action again. You should now be able to move 40' in, attack and dash 40' out, or if you are closer, you can move in, attack, use the rest of your movement and hide. The fact that you attack makes it so that you don't need to disengage to avoid attacks of opportunities.
Step 5: get more speed

Addendum:

Anyone can do this melee kiting maneuver actually, if they are mounted on a horse. And they'll be 50% faster than the Rogue (60' range instead of 40'). 5E's mounted combat rules are extraordinarily generous with the movement.

(For example, a bog-standard wizard 5 with the Booming Blade spell can ritually summon a Phantom Steed and then do this exact same trick from 100' away instead of 40'. Oh, and he doesn't burn his bonus action in the process, nor of course a feat.)

Yes, Socratov, I know you're aware of this possibility already, but I just wanted to put it on the record.

[Socratov]

Addendum:

Anyone can do this melee kiting maneuver actually, if they are mounted on a horse. And they'll be 50% faster than the Rogue (60' range instead of 40'). 5E's mounted combat rules are extraordinarily generous with the movement.

(For example, a bog-standard wizard 5 with the Booming Blade spell can ritually summon a Phantom Steed and then do this exact same trick from 100' away instead of 40'. Oh, and he doesn't burn his bonus action in the process, nor of course a feat.)

Yes, Socratov, I know you're aware of this possibility already, but I just wanted to put it on the record.

Also, where is the fun in that :smalltongue:

Can't always take your mount anywhere. Plus, if we are really going to abuse movespeed and turn it into damage I'd like to point to a build I can't exactly reporduce right now, but I thought it involved 2 lvls of rogue (cunning action), 1 barbarian (rage) and the rest in moon druid, with the Mobile Feat to first cast movespeed buffs, then haste, path of thorns, then wildshape and rage+grapple. After that it's just dragging around the edge of Path of thorns to move about 150' per turn, dealing 150d4 dmg per turn to the grappled enemy (which stays grappled because of rage and advantage on str. checks), while staying to of the circle himself.

[Vogonjeltz]

Hey guys. So I'm a big fan of the fluff of martial characters, I like melee combat, and I like the concepts of most of the martial classes in the game. But I also like crunch and options. Like the sheer number of spells that a wizard can possess is very attractive to me, and I dislike how often melee combat devolves into "I hit it with my ax." I'm aware that things like the battlemaster fighter give a few options to a melee character, but I'm wondering if their are any builds or classes that let me have the crunchy goodness of a caster, with all the sword-swingin' goodness of a melee character.

Try to keep in mind that a character with Extra Attack can substitute one of their attacks for basically any combat related contest. This provides a number of options bounded only by your creativity.

If you're stuck and need a reminder, classic options are to grapple, shove, disarm, smother, drown, defenestrate, climb aboard, tackle, throw, topple an object onto, etc...

The rules are extremely friendly to improvisation.