STR Eldritch Knight with DEX Dump

[MrCeeJ]

Hi All,

New Member, first post.

Just wanted some thoughts as far as a D&D 5E character that I will be rolling with next week.

We are using the DM's idea for custom starting stats:

16
14
13
12
10
6

The idea is to have one pretty good stat and one thing that you're character is really bad at, in the hopes that the group will balance each other out.

I'm rolling a level 1 Human (variant) Pirate Fighter that will pick up EK at level 3 and wields a great sword. The starting Feat is Magic Initiate with the Booming Blade, Green Flame Blade, and Feather fall. The rest of the group is ranged, so being able to use Booming Blade seemed like it would be helpful and GFB for crowd control-ish.

My stats are:

STR 16
DEX 7
CON 10
INT 12
WIS 14
CHA 14

This character is clearly more about concept than optimization. The idea is an intimidating, clumsy pirate, though very much aware of his surroundings. He is seeking revenge and the pirate persona allows him to do what it necessary to obtain information, however he sees fit, in order to find the people he is looking for (I'm at work, so I'm being a lot more brief about the character's backstory).

The WIS and CHA scores are for the roleplaying side and STR/INT are for the combat (I will eventually do some range magic like frostbite, so INT kind of matters). I'll explain the 10 CON: as I was building the character, it started to make me think of a Dark Knight from FF11. Great sword, magic user, weak defense. Just sounded fun, since that's what I played on FF.

This seems like it'll be a fun character to run, but having such a low DEX makes me uneasy. I'd like this guy to survive and not die too soon just because he can't jump out of the way of things.

What are some problems that you all see me running into with a low DEX build?

I look forward to the many different answers that I'm sure to receive.

[Specter]

The problem won't be Dexterity, but Constitution; having 10 CON is anathema to any character. Even with Shield and Absorb Elements, you should drop pretty fast on the battlefield. I would recommend swapping CHA and CON, or at the very least INT and CON.

If you're taking Magic Initiate, remember you get 2 cantrips at level 3. I also don't think Feather Fall is a good use of a feat, but that would depend on the campaign. Also check out the two guides in my signature, they might help.

[Tanarii]

Unless you want to be useless in a ranged combat situation, you probably want to swap Cha 14 and Int 12, and put at least one ASI into it. That way you can pick up a ranged cantrip, and use Evocation AoEs or ranged magical attacks.

If you know it's going to be all close combat in the campaign (ie it's a dungeon or urban crawl game), or don't mind finding total cover and hiding in situations where closing for melee isn't realistically feasible and letting the rest of the party do all the work, then that's not an issue.

[Addaran]

Dex won't be much of a problem if you use heavy armors, at least for the AC. Only problem would be swimming (is it a campaign on water or only your character is a pirate?) so i'd probably get a spell that helps with that. I did a fighter with only 12 con. He was kinda squishy but still very fun.

Only problems i see is that you're the only melee in the team. Even if you were tougher/tankier, in my experience, one character won't last long if he's taking all the damage. Especially when you factor in enemies who gets bonus for "flanking" or having advantage.

[JeffreyGator]

I would arrange your stats slightly differently

str 17 dex 6 con 12 int 14 wis 14 cha 10

I would talk to your DM about the intimidation using str rather than charisma - this has been RAW in previous editions

As for your Magic Initiate how are you not picking up a brightly clolored talking Raven (Arghh Parrot Matey) as your spell?

[Corran]

Hi All,

New Member, first post.
Welcome to the playground good sir!


Just wanted some thoughts as far as a D&D 5E character that I will be rolling with next week.
.....
I'm rolling a level 1 Human (variant) Pirate Fighter that will pick up EK at level 3 and wields a great sword. The starting Feat is Magic Initiate with the Booming Blade, Green Flame Blade, and Feather fall. The rest of the group is ranged, so being able to use Booming Blade seemed like it would be helpful and GFB for crowd control-ish.

Couple of things here.

1) The rest of the group is ranged. This is very important. To fit this group, tactics wise, you need to build either towards defense or towards great mobility (so that you can hit and run).
If you build towards defense, the S&B is what you should go with. This way you will make the most of all of the following: Shield spell, blur, GFB, BB. Which are essentially the right tools for the job (tanking on behalf of the rest of the party).
Buildin towards mobility means that you are trying to use hit and run tactics with the purpose that you will be able to avoid being massively (since you are the only frontliner) attacked, by out-distancing your enemies aafter hitting them. For this to work properly, the rest of the party must have means of great mobility too (or great range), so that they won't just be engaged the moment you run away from the enemies. Access to control options can help too, if they are not mandatory (so this can fly better if you have a spellcaster who specializes in control spells). Ofc this last approach is very difficult to pull off, and it wont always work, and when it wont things will be ugly since no one really prioritized defense.

2) With GFB you have the right idea. Being the only frontliner you will be able to use it very often. Relying on cantrips and thus on warmagic (after EK 7) is best utilised by S&B builds though, since the main benefit of forgoing the +2 AC from a shield to wield a heavy weapon, is when you use this heavy weapons with many attacks and with feats such as GWM.

3) Regarding BB, yeah, you can use it to hit an enemy so that if he runs away to chase your allies he will take damage. But if you aren't a very unattractive target (S&B plus other stuff which I'll mention later), most of the times the enemy will just stay where he is and will attack you anyway. So, most of the times you will be better just taking the attack action. Plus, having GFB and considering you ll be tanking alone, that means that BB will be waaaaay down in the list of your options to use with your main action.
But...... you can use BB with oppoortunity attacks if you only take warcaster as a feat (EK 4). This way you ensure that the enemy will take A LOT of damage (secondary damage of BB activates automatically on OA's). So this specific use of BB makes you a very good tank as far as keeping the adjacent enemies close goes (softer than sentinel, but still good enough).


I'd like this guy to survive and not die too soon just because he can't jump out of the way of things
Dnd 5e is generally easy enough to allow you give a feel of badassness to any character you make (optimised or not). But you are in a difficut situation. Tanking on behalf of the entire party is....well.... it is very difficult to accomplish. I am just trying to highlight a potential danger here. This is that your party set up has tasked you with a very difficult job, and if you dont gear effectively towards handling that job (so I am suggesting a minimum level of optimization might be mandatory here), you might not enjoy this character a lot. I mean, if you envisioned a badass character wielding a greatsword is very cool, but if this character always goes down at the second round of nearly every combat, then you might just lose interest in this character, since he is not turning out to be this awesome guy you had initially thought of.

So my point is, build effectively because the encouters are going to be very hard on your character.

A) Go S&B, prioritize constitution over every other stat other than str perhaps (you need a good con for both hp and keeping concentration), focus your spell selection mainly towards defensive buffs (shield, absorb elements -to make up for your poor dex saves- ,blur, etc), take warcaster to be able to cast with a shield in your off hand and for beig able to use BB with an OA (stickiness, soft), and aim for resilient wis too at some point (as being mind controlled or otherwise incapacitated due to wis targeting effects will leave the rest of the party exposed to what yu were tanking).

B) Or, go with the mobile feat, and try to never be in reach of more than one enemy. This can go two ways. You either go for warcaster, PAM and spell sniper as additional feats and thus you use BB against everything that enters your reach and against everything you attack, so the secondary damage is triggered always, and you end up killng enemies all the while you are running around to avoid being hit too much, or you can go for PAM and sentinel for additional feats instead, and aim for a bit more battlefield control (to complement the battlefield control of an ally caster, as battlefield control is important for this whole thing to work). In either case, expeditious retreat can be a useful spell, so have a look at that should you go with the hit-and-run way.

ps: I am not impressed with magic initiate on EK's, but if it has something to do with character concept I digress.

[Tanarii]

2) With GFB you have the right idea. Being the only frontliner you will be able to use it very often. Relying on cantrips and thus on warmagic (after EK 7) is best utilised by S&B builds though, since the main benefit of forgoing the +2 AC from a shield to wield a heavy weapon, is when you use this heavy weapons with many attacks and with feats such as GWM.Point of order: S&B with the War Magic class feature requires the War Caster Feat. Unless you want to sheath/unsheath your weapon on alternating rounds, or use drop weapon / weapon bond it into hand as bonus action shenanigans.

Given, with the 'only party tank' strategy you were suggesting, you're going to want the Feat anyway at some point so you can Greenflame Blade or Booming Blade on OAs. Especially BB. But it's important to point it out, especially as 2H / Sentinel is a valid alternative tactical strategy for an EK wanting to achieve the same goal of stopping enemies in their tracking with OAs. Superior to BB in some ways. Edit: It's also important to point out, because it means you need to take it as the level 4 ASI, or at 1st if a Variant Human, if you want to use War Magic as soon as you get it as a S&B EK. And that's important build info.

[Sir cryosin]

Switch wisdom and con. It looks like your doing everything to kill this character. From having a 10 in con and taking a less ac opinion choice in weapon load out. If you want a greatsword intimidating badass go paladin. And yes a paladin can be a pirate you just have your oaths to up hold.

[Saggo]

Point of order: S&B with the War Magic class feature requires the War Caster Feat. Unless you want to sheath/unsheath your weapon on alternating rounds, or use drop weapon / weapon bond it into hand as bonus action shenanigans.

Nitpicking, but it only requires War Caster for spells that require somatic and/or materials that aren't weapon or shield. Booming Blade and Greenflame Blade or both V, M (weapon), and so function without War Caster or item interaction shenanigans.

A fun combo for way too many feats is Polearm Master, Spell Sniper, and War Caster. Booming Blade at 10' as they enter your reach, forcing a decision between stopping or taking extra damage. A Fighter could technically do this by level 8. Add a dash of Sentinel for more control.

[Tanarii]

Nitpicking, but it only requires War Caster for spells that require somatic and/or materials that aren't weapon or shield. Booming Blade and Greenflame Blade or both V, M (weapon), and so function without War Caster or item interaction shenanigans.How are they using their weapon as a material component? Or is that specific to those two cantrips and I'm forgetting?

If the latter, that's a valid point I totally overlooked. :smallwink:

[MrCeeJ]

The comments have been great and I appreciate all of them.

I agree, for a front line, he's a bit too squishy. I think in an effort to make him this weird cross between a DRK from FF and Dread Pirate Roberts (WIS, CHA), he became too MAD and I strayed from some of the more important things, like making sure he lives past the first round of a fight lol.

Ill explain the thought behind Magic Initiate and the cantrips and spell choice. I figured GFB and BB gave me some more utility. GFB for multiple melee enemies and BB in case I need to ditch one enemy to go after another that is going for the rest of the group. It'd provoke an AoO, but the hope was to pick up Mobility at some point. This would be a last resort thing. I would throw hand axes for my ranged attack until I picked up ranged cantrips at level 3. Feather fall was strictly because I read somewhere that it's useful as a 1 use per day spell, and there's a quarry in the campaign that I'm sure we will end up leading an assault on and dropping down slowly for a sneak attack seemed like it would make good use of the spell...I clearly didn't think much of its use beyond that point.

The party itself is made up of players that really haven't played much. The DM is very experienced, but beyond that, I'm the only player that reads forums and researches helpful ideas for characters. The group is composed of an EK (me), a Druid, sorcerer, a very squishy monk, and a ranged fighter (think Daryl from Walkinh Dead). So really there's only a couple of us that can take a hit.

I will definitely swap some stats to make CON better and probably do what was recommended as far as seeing if I can use STR for intimidation. I thought about S&B, but the great sword is part of the concept behind the character so I can't drop that.

Should I skip magic initiate and pick up a different Feat to start with?

[Specter]

War Caster is vital for swordandboard to cast Shield and Absorb Elements. Otherwise, you need to drop your weapon at the end of your turn to have a hand free to use them, and then you don't threaten any enemies. For greatsword builds it's not mandatory.

[Specter]

Should I skip magic initiate and pick up a different Feat to start with?

If you can wait until level 3 to pick the EK cantrips, Resilient (Wisdom) and Great Weapon Master are both great choices. If you do go Magic initiate, take something less situational like Exp. Retreat or Find Familiar (pirate parrot!).

[Saggo]

How are they using their weapon as a material component? Or is that specific to those two cantrips and I'm forgetting?

If the latter, that's a valid point I totally overlooked. :smallwink:

Booming and Greenflame Blade components are "V, M (a weapon)". You only need a free hand for S, or to grab M if you don't already have it out. Since we can assume an S&B EK is already holding a weapon, you can use War Magic just fine.

I mean, War Caster is still very useful to an S&B EK, you just don't absolutely need it.

[Corran]

Point of order: S&B with the War Magic class feature requires the War Caster Feat. Unless you want to sheath/unsheath your weapon on alternating rounds, or use drop weapon / weapon bond it into hand as bonus action shenanigans.
Oh yeah, definitely. I had warcaster in mind as the definite 4th level feat in mind when I was writing this, but I forgot to include it until later in the post. That of courses leaves level 3 in an uncomfortable position, but it is just one level of awkwardness.


Given, with the 'only party tank' strategy you were suggesting, you're going to want the Feat anyway at some point so you can Greenflame Blade or Booming Blade on OAs. Especially BB. But it's important to point it out, especially as 2H / Sentinel is a valid alternative tactical strategy for an EK wanting to achieve the same goal of stopping enemies in their tracking with OAs. Superior to BB in some ways. Edit: It's also important to point out, because it means you need to take it as the level 4 ASI, or at 1st if a Variant Human, if you want to use War Magic as soon as you get it as a S&B EK. And that's important build info.
I have my doubts about how useful sentinel would be under the ''everyone else at range'' condition. Playing against one powerful enemy is the best case scenario, but against multiple opponents I think it would be too unreliable. Imo the best case for sentinel would be to use it with PAM and mobile and go for hit and run tactics, regarding this specific case I mean. Otherwise yeah, I think sentinel is an awesome feat for a tank.

Edit: To be more clear about this, I find that the main problem will be how to withstand such a heavy pressure. First we need to solve this and then we should look at how to keep the enemies' attention on us. Warcater helps a bit with both, while setinel does not help with our survivability (unless perhaps we try to find a way to rely on its aspect regarding stopping enemies before they attack us, so that we can avoid attacks -thinking of mobile, sentinel, PAM).

[Tanarii]

Booming and Greenflame Blade components are "V, M (a weapon)". You only need a free hand for S, or to grab M if you don't already have it out. Since we can assume an S&B EK is already holding a weapon, you can use War Magic just fine.

I mean, War Caster is still very useful to an S&B EK, you just don't absolutely need it.
Good to know. Of course, that assumes SCAG cantrips are in play (which they clearly are in this case), as opposed to using a Shocking Grasp / Poison Spray / Acid Splash for your War Magic Rotation. But that's not an unreasonable assumption to make in a forum discussion. Edit: as well as those cantrips making War Magic a less effective option for 2H builds compared to just using Extra Attack anyway.


I have my doubts about how useful sentinel would be under the ''everyone else at range'' condition. Playing against one powerful enemy is the best case scenario, but against multiple opponents I think it would be too unreliable. Imo the best case for sentinel would be to use it with PAM and mobile and go for hit and run tactics, regarding this specific case I mean. Otherwise yeah, I think sentinel is an awesome feat for a tank.

Edit: To be more clear about this, I find that the main problem will be how to withstand such a heavy pressure. First we need to solve this and then we should look at how to keep the enemies' attention on us. Warcater helps a bit with both, while setinel does not help with our survivability (unless perhaps we try to find a way to rely on its aspect regarding stopping enemies before they attack us, so that we can avoid attacks -thinking of mobile, sentinel, PAM).I was thinking in terms of Sentinel stopping movement on an OA. Not the extra hit. But yeah, getting OAs in the first place would be a problem, since you're probably not fighting in confined enough spaces that enemies will be forced to go past you. But it'd still work if you get adjacent to them on your turn. Plus, it works in conjunction with BB ... target one person with BB to give them the devils choice, move adjacent to a different target to force them to stop completely if they try to move away without Disengaging.

[Citan]

Hi All,

New Member, first post.

Just wanted some thoughts as far as a D&D 5E character that I will be rolling with next week.

We are using the DM's idea for custom starting stats:

My stats are:

STR 16
DEX 7
CON 10
INT 12
WIS 14
CHA 14

The WIS and CHA scores are for the roleplaying side and STR/INT are for the combat (I will eventually do some range magic like frostbite, so INT kind of matters). I'll explain the 10 CON: as I was building the character, it started to make me think of a Dark Knight from FF11. Great sword, magic user, weak defense. Just sounded fun, since that's what I played on FF.

This seems like it'll be a fun character to run, but having such a low DEX makes me uneasy. I'd like this guy to survive and not die too soon just because he can't jump out of the way of things.

What are some problems that you all see me running into with a low DEX build?

I look forward to the many different answers that I'm sure to receive.
Hi, welcome ;=)

Some of my advice will probably be redundant with others, but one more opinion may be interesting... ^^

Having a Dex penalty can be viable if you have a good Constitution score (= NOT 10 xd). Your main problem will be Initiative (not much to do here apart from Alert feat, but you have other priorities) and saving throws. On that aspect, starting with DEX 7 can be a good idea if you take Resilient DEX asap. It will grant you an actually decent save.

Having both DEX and Constitution low though, especially for a melee character, means you are not brave, but suicidal. ;)
While I commend you for wanting to reflect your character concept in your stats, if you want him to live you'll have to change a few things.

I would rather recommend these stats (pre-racial bonus):
STR 16 / DEX 10 / CON 14 / INT 14 / WIS 12 / CHA 6
Why so?
Mechanically speaking, there is a fair chance you will have at least one ally which uses a CHA-based class. You can still stick with your original idea and then swap CHA with DEX.
I'd keep everything else as is, as you need STR for melee, INT for ranged, and CON to survive.

As for where to put your Human +1?
- If you start DEX 6, put it there then take Resilient:DEX.
- If you start otherwise, I'd suggest putting the point in INT, then taking the Observant feat later. Your INT will be a reasonable 16, and I feel that the other bonus fit perfectly with your concept.

Also, take Mobile somewhere in your career, and Warcaster. The first to help you strike multiple enemies in a round, Warcaster so you can go S&B for more survivability and use Booming Blade (or Magic Missiles ^^) on a reaction.

Since you favor concept over optimisation (hat down to you for that), you could afford to bump only once STR to 18 and spend everything else on feats. o/

Good luck, have fun!

[Corran]

...
Plus, it works in conjunction with BB ... target one person with BB to give them the devils choice, move adjacent to a different target to force them to stop completely if they try to move away without Disengaging.
Yeah, this can work. One minor correction, sentel OA works even of the target disengages, which makes sentinel even more useful as a tank feat.


@OP: Since you have decided going with a greatsword, I woud suggest having a look at HAM (heavy armor master feat), maybe even to consider taking it as your first level feat. Using one of your human bumps with strenght, and taking the HAM feat, would allow you to start with a strength as high as 18. And ofc it will help with your survivability, which is the main worry here.

Also, see if your DM is willing to let you use intimidation with a negative charisma modifier counting as a bonus to your roll. So if you start with a 6 in charisma (-2 modifier), you would have +2 to your intimidation checks (plus your proficiency bonus if you are proficient in that skill). This way you could dump charisma while getting most of what you were aiming from it.

[MrCeeJ]

So I was thinking about Heavy Armor Master to start, with the stats of:

STR 18
DEX 6
CON 14
INT 14
WIS 12
CHA 10

I feel like it brings more validity to used a great sword instead of S&B since it adds to my damage and my ability to take a hit. However, does it become a wasted feat in later levels since HAM only gives -3 to non magical, physical damage?

[Specter]

So I was thinking about Heavy Armor Master to start, with the stats of:

STR 18
DEX 6
CON 14
INT 14
WIS 12
CHA 10

I feel like it brings more validity to used a great sword instead of S&B since it adds to my damage and my ability to take a hit. However, does it become a wasted feat in later levels since HAM only gives -3 to non magical, physical damage?

I personally say don't take it.

Why? Because EK's gimmick is not being hit at all. Considering a high AC + Shield, you will be surprised at how many times weapon users fail to hit you. So the damage resistance is not as vital as it would be for other Fighters.

[Tanarii]

Why? Because EK's gimmick is not being hit at all. Considering a high AC + Shield, you will be surprised at how many times weapon users fail to hit you. So the damage resistance is not as vital as it would be for other Fighters.
IMX using 4 Shields per day, starting at level 7, isn't sufficient in a 6 encounter day to make failing to get hit very likely. And that's for someone that's not planning on being the only guy in melee between the bad guys and the ranged attackers. Plus means reserving all your slots for Shield.

Of course, that doesn't mean HAM is necessary or anything. Just saying that counting on 4 uses of Shield to mitigate being hit in a bog-standard recommended guidelines adventuring day isn't very realistic.

[Specter]

IMX using 4 Shields per day, starting at level 7, isn't sufficient in a 6 encounter day to make failing to get hit very likely. And that's for someone that's not planning on being the only guy in melee between the bad guys and the ranged attackers. Plus means reserving all your slots for Shield.

Of course, that doesn't mean HAM is necessary or anything. Just saying that counting on 4 uses of Shield to mitigate being hit in a bog-standard recommended guidelines adventuring day isn't very realistic.

That's obviously campaign-dependant; I've never been in a campaign with more than 4 encounters a day, over the course of years. And that's counting an entire round of +5AC, activated whenever you like. It's not forever, but should cover him through most dangers.

[Tanarii]

That's obviously campaign-dependant; I've never been in a campaign with more than 4 encounters a day, over the course of years. And that's counting an entire round of +5AC, activated whenever you like. It's not forever, but should cover him through most dangers.Fair enough, but the reason I was pointing it out and was careful to qualify my response is that it didn't appear to be based on the default 5e guidelines for encounters / day. Or rather, less than 5-6 encounters is within the guidelines, if you (for example) go up to Deadly encounters for them all. Another thing that will be campaign and even encounter dependent is how long any given combat is likely to last, in terms of rounds. Because that can vary wildly based not only on encounter difficulty, but also on tactical terrain of the encounter area, numbers involved on each side, and a myriad of other factors.

Shield is a great defense for a character that's likely to need it as a get out of jail free emergency button. But it's not as good for a character that's going to spend 5-6 rounds mixing it up every combat. Clearly it's better than not using it. I'm just pointing it out because it sounds like we're talking about a character that's going to be the only tank for a large party. HAM & Shield together may be necessary.

[MrCeeJ]

OK, so I think I'm going to try this:

STR 18
DEX 6
CON 14
INT 12
WIS 10
CHA 14

Start off with Heavy Armor Master to help mitigate damage since I'm the only tank-ish type on the front line. The +1 to STR from the feat will give me a good boost for wielding a great sword (kind plays into the DRK feel I wanted anyways). At level 4 for the Stat Point boost, I'll add +2 to INT to help me with ranged spells (Frostbite, GFB, and Shield for what I pick up at level 3). Good so far?

Additionally, since there's a monk and druid, I don't need to do too much in the way of WIS. However, for the Dread Pirate Roberts personality, would you guys agree that the INT and CHA are good to cover that, or would you consider him more wise?

[Specter]

OK, so I think I'm going to try this:

STR 18
DEX 6
CON 14
INT 12
WIS 10
CHA 14

Start off with Heavy Armor Master to help mitigate damage since I'm the only tank-ish type on the front line. The +1 to STR from the feat will give me a good boost for wielding a great sword (kind plays into the DRK feel I wanted anyways). At level 4 for the Stat Point boost, I'll add +2 to INT to help me with ranged spells (Frostbite, GFB, and Shield for what I pick up at level 3). Good so far?

Additionally, since there's a monk and druid, I don't need to do too much in the way of WIS. However, for the Dread Pirate Roberts personality, would you guys agree that the INT and CHA are good to cover that, or would you consider him more wise?

It's fine. If you find the DM enjoys mind control too much, go for Resilient (WIS) later on.
I would still trade INT with CHA, with 12 CHA you get the favor you like and you could use your level 4 ASI elsewhere.

[MrCeeJ]

It's fine. If you find the DM enjoys mind control too much, go for Resilient (WIS) later on.
I would still trade INT with CHA, with 12 CHA you get the favor you like and you could use your level 4 ASI elsewhere.

Fair point. So I'll switch INT and CHA. For the 4th level ASI, would Sentinel be a wise choice to pick up, making me more sticky, or is War Caster really worth it just for the GFB/BB AoO?

Also, since I won't be taking Magic Initiate, that limits me on cantrips that I'll get. I would like to take both GFP and BB at level 3, but I feel like I should take 1 ranged cantrip instead. Is it best to go with GF/range cantrip or BB/range?

I'm assuming I'd probably want to use an ASI at some point to help with my DEX, or are Feats more valuable?

[Addaran]

I'm assuming I'd probably want to use an ASI at some point to help with my DEX, or are Feats more valuable?

Resilient dex could be worth it if you didn't pick another Resilient feat. That would at least negate the penalty to dex check and eventually give you a bonus. Or maybe alert if it's the initiative part that worries you. Aside from that, you're so far down in dex that it's probably not worth it to get ASI in there. You'll only get to -1 then 0. Feats offer bigger numbers and ASI in your main stats (str or int, maybe even con) are more useful.

[MrCeeJ]

Resilient dex could be worth it if you didn't pick another Resilient feat. That would at least negate the penalty to dex check and eventually give you a bonus. Or maybe alert if it's the initiative part that worries you. Aside from that, you're so far down in dex that it's probably not worth it to get ASI in there. You'll only get to -1 then 0. Feats offer bigger numbers and ASI in your main stats (str or int, maybe even con) are more useful.

Yeah, I had the same thought that I'm so far down in DEX that it probably isn't worth it to try and recover. I'll probably use the Resilient Feat for WIS (I don't like having my mind controlled), but I may still take other Feats to counter some down side to low DEX, like Alert. I'm sure I'll take Mobile at some point since it'd work so well with BB.

[Specter]

Fair point. So I'll switch INT and CHA. For the 4th level ASI, would Sentinel be a wise choice to pick up, making me more sticky, or is War Caster really worth it just for the GFB/BB AoO?

Also, since I won't be taking Magic Initiate, that limits me on cantrips that I'll get. I would like to take both GFP and BB at level 3, but I feel like I should take 1 ranged cantrip instead. Is it best to go with GF/range cantrip or BB/range?

I'm assuming I'd probably want to use an ASI at some point to help with my DEX, or are Feats more valuable?

GFB is for crowd damage, BB is for tanking. If you feel you can stand your ground to protect frailer members, then BB, otherwise GFB. BB is also very nice with Sentinel

[unwise]

A pirate with 6 dex should definitely have a peg leg. Thank you, that is all.

[MeeposFire]

I would arrange your stats slightly differently

str 17 dex 6 con 12 int 14 wis 14 cha 10

I would talk to your DM about the intimidation using str rather than charisma - this has been RAW in previous editions

As for your Magic Initiate how are you not picking up a brightly clolored talking Raven (Arghh Parrot Matey) as your spell?

Actually in 5e they specifically call out str being a possible ability score to use with intimidate in certain situations (when it makes sense). Note while skills have ability scores they are typically associated with skills can be used with other ability scores when the situation warrants it.

[Tanarii]

Actually in 5e they specifically call out str being a possible ability score to use with intimidate in certain situations (when it makes sense). Note while skills have ability scores they are typically associated with skills can be used with other ability scores when the situation warrants it.

They call it out, but it's part of a variant rule.

[djreynolds]

Well you can dump dex and use firebolt as your ranged attack, no problem there.

But I would grab feather fall if possible, there are a lot of dex checks out there, like falling off a rope bridge to your death when you fail your dex save.

And hope there is a ranger to cast pass without a trace.

[MrCeeJ]

A pirate with 6 dex should definitely have a peg leg. Thank you, that is all.

Haha, nicely done. He will actually be walking with a limp, but no peg leg.

[MrCeeJ]

So because our session isn't until Sunday, and I'm the type that over thinks my characters, I thought of the following:

The Vengeance Paladin really fits the feel of the build and having the pirate background seems like it'd be fun. So an EK / VP build would be interesting, going 17 EK / 3 VP. I'd start 2 Fighter, then 2 PLD, then another 3 Fighter, 1 more to PLD, and then the rest into Fighter.

The focus is getting 2 fighting styles, (great weapon style and defensive style), action surge, and smite fairly quickly. Taking fighter to level 5 then gets me Great Weapon Master and an extra attack, then the 3rd level of Paladin for the Advantage vow.

With wielding a great sword, this seems like a really fun, boss fighting type build. I'd pick up useful cantrips with EK and try to conserve spell slot for smites. For VP, I imagine CHA isn't needed too much since I'd be stopping at 3, so the most I would need is 13 yes?

So with this campaign's starting stats, I'd be:

18 (16 +1 from Human Variant, +1 from Heavy Armor Master)
6
14
12
10
14 (13 +1 from Human Variant since I don't like odd numbers)

Staring with HAM just because I'm the only front line tank-ish type, it'll help me live a bit more until I get my second fighting stance to buff up even more.

This is a custom campaign, so there's no way of knowing how high of a level we will get, but I figured having the layout for a character level of 8 seemed good for now, since it highlights the main point of the build anyways.

What do you guys think?

[Citan]

So because our session isn't until Sunday, and I'm the type that over thinks my characters, I thought of the following:

The Vengeance Paladin really fits the feel of the build and having the pirate background seems like it'd be fun. So an EK / VP build would be interesting, going 17 EK / 3 VP. I'd start 2 Fighter, then 2 PLD, then another 3 Fighter, 1 more to PLD, and then the rest into Fighter.

The focus is getting 2 fighting styles, (great weapon style and defensive style), action surge, and smite fairly quickly. Taking fighter to level 5 then gets me Great Weapon Master and an extra attack, then the 3rd level of Paladin for the Advantage vow.

With wielding a great sword, this seems like a really fun, boss fighting type build. I'd pick up useful cantrips with EK and try to conserve spell slot for smites. For VP, I imagine CHA isn't needed too much since I'd be stopping at 3, so the most I would need is 13 yes?

So with this campaign's starting stats, I'd be:

18 (16 +1 from Human Variant, +1 from Heavy Armor Master)
6
14
12
10
14 (13 +1 from Human Variant since I don't like odd numbers)

Staring with HAM just because I'm the only front line tank-ish type, it'll help me live a bit more until I get my second fighting stance to buff up even more.

This is a custom campaign, so there's no way of knowing how high of a level we will get, but I figured having the layout for a character level of 8 seemed good for now, since it highlights the main point of the build anyways.

What do you guys think?
Should be fun too. :) Just one counter-suggestion to make about how to build.

If SCAG cantrips are allowed, go straigth Eldricht Knight 3. Since you will be delaying Extra Attack by at least 2 levels, maybe 3 and you want to use heavy weapon, getting Booming Blade / Green Flame Blade is your best bet to keep competitive with the damage.

If SCAG cantrips are not allowed, start Fighter 2 then immediately go Paladin 3. You will get Oath of Vengeance + Hunter's Mark, which will compensate the delay in Extra Attack.

[Specter]

So because our session isn't until Sunday, and I'm the type that over thinks my characters, I thought of the following:

The Vengeance Paladin really fits the feel of the build and having the pirate background seems like it'd be fun. So an EK / VP build would be interesting, going 17 EK / 3 VP. I'd start 2 Fighter, then 2 PLD, then another 3 Fighter, 1 more to PLD, and then the rest into Fighter.

The focus is getting 2 fighting styles, (great weapon style and defensive style), action surge, and smite fairly quickly. Taking fighter to level 5 then gets me Great Weapon Master and an extra attack, then the 3rd level of Paladin for the Advantage vow.

With wielding a great sword, this seems like a really fun, boss fighting type build. I'd pick up useful cantrips with EK and try to conserve spell slot for smites. For VP, I imagine CHA isn't needed too much since I'd be stopping at 3, so the most I would need is 13 yes?

So with this campaign's starting stats, I'd be:

18 (16 +1 from Human Variant, +1 from Heavy Armor Master)
6
14
12
10
14 (13 +1 from Human Variant since I don't like odd numbers)

Staring with HAM just because I'm the only front line tank-ish type, it'll help me live a bit more until I get my second fighting stance to buff up even more.

This is a custom campaign, so there's no way of knowing how high of a level we will get, but I figured having the layout for a character level of 8 seemed good for now, since it highlights the main point of the build anyways.

What do you guys think?

Well, EK and Pirate seems ok. EK and Pirate andvPaladin seems like a stretch, too much roleplay gymnastics to get a good build. Talk to your DM.

Asfor the rest, what Citan said.