Melee character

[Symbiot]

I have been invited to a game of 5th ed playing from levels 8 to 15. The party currently has a bard a cleric a sorcerer and a rogue. So i thought a melee build would fit the gap. I can have 1 rare item and one very rare. And using a points build.

So my idea is a bear totem battle master multi-class.
Stats 11,15,15,10,10,10.
Human variant +1 dex and con. Tough feat.

Rare item +2 sheild
Very rare scimitar of speed.
Levels as below
1 barbarian
2 fighter dueling style
3 fighter
4 fighter battle master
5 barbarian
6 fighter asi dex
7 fighter
8 barbarian. Bear totem.

This build is dex based so has 94 hp a ac of 21 and has 3 attacks per round doing 1d6 +8 dmg and +9 to hit. And has resistance to all dmg except psychic when in rage.

Was just wondering which way would people take this build knowing we will cap out at 15

Thanks

[Arkhios]

There's one rather big issue with your build:

With Strength 11, Rules As Written, you can never multi-class away from being a barbarian, as you must meet the ability score requirements both ways (Str 13 for Barbarian, Strength 13 or Dexterity 13 for Fighter). To and from either classes, not just one or the other. That is unless your DM allows it despite what the rules say about multi-classing requirements.

Ignoring that for now, I see that you have little to no interest in rage damage bonus (which you won't get if you don't make your melee attacks using strength), I'd suggest leaving the barbarian at 3rd level and never look back. I would aim for taking 12 levels in fighter. At 15th level, you'd have 4 attacks per turn (1 from Attack action, +2 from Extra Attack (fighter 11), +1 from Scimitar of Speed bonus action; you'd have a total of 4 Ability Score Improvements, meaning you could easily cap your Dexterity to 20 and pick up a few feats as well.

[Grod_The_Giant]

I'd pass on Tough-- between Barbarian and Fighter you'll have all you need. Maybe try Shield Master instead?

[Sir cryosin]

I probably would have gone with gloves of ogre strength for a belt of giant strength

[Symbiot]

I'm new to 5th ed so didn't know you had to meet the requirements both ways. So i would look to drop change down to 8 so my str could be 13 and then this should work?. As the casters would be the main damage aspect of the party I was thinking consistent damage of the 1d6 +8 3 times gives an average 36 damage per round + the maneuver dice. The build was more around balance of a good defence without losing all the offence as some tank builds seem to

Thanks for the pointers I'll look to adjust my stats and see staying fighter all the rest of the way

[bid]

It's not that useful to be that hard to hit. With AC21 and resistance to damage, enemies will simply ignore you. Tough is pure overkill.

If you want to go defensive, grab shield master. Offsensive, get great weapon master. In all cases, you are better served as a Str build, if only for shoves and grapples.

[gfishfunk]

I'm new to 5th ed so didn't know you had to meet the requirements both ways.

I would drop Dex by 2, and pump that into Strength. Instead of going unarmored, go Medium Armor unless you later bump up Dex or Dex for better defense. ASIs are yours to use, but I would bump up Strength twice for 18, giving you some really good attack output. You really do not need high Dex or a high defense value for a barbarian - you can take damage and shrug it off.

Str 13 (+1)
Dex 14
Con 15 (+1r)
Wis 10
Int 10
Cha 10

ASIs: go stats for the best barbarian, go feats if you like versatility.

Reasons to push Strength over Dex: better damage output during rages; if you want the Grappler/Tavern Brawler/Shield Master feat, higher strength helps your grapple or push checks.

Reasons to push Dex over Strength: better end result defense, better skill checks for sneak and other skills you might have.

Reasons to push Con over either: More hit points, better defense value bump but worse overall attack power and damage.