seeking advice for a character

[samduke]

so I am basicly new to 5th ed. I have the phb & elemental evil addon for it, and would like to have a level by level idea of what is a good thing to take ( looking at level 6 )- I am thinking human, I would like to play not true frontline melee and not full caster.. just not sure what would be decent options, feats ect and then what to multi class into and at what point

[Citan]

so I am basicly new to 5th ed. I have the phb & elemental evil addon for it, and would like to have a level by level idea of what is a good thing to take ( looking at level 6 )- I am thinking human, I would like to play not true frontline melee and not full caster.. just not sure what would be decent options, feats ect and then what to multi class into and at what point
Hi!

Well, how to say this... It's a bit like you were asking us to repertoriate the fauna of the Amazonian Jungle... It's just too broad!

Please tell us first how you envision your character, if you have any idea of the kind you would want to roleplay: a savvy good guy? Someone only driven by its own interests? Someone trying to break the universe's secrets?

If you have no idea, then maybe you could tell us the kind of things you would like to do: fly around, control people, blast things, infiltrate places, etc...

Also, I suggest you review the links posted in this thread (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?377491). It should give you ample information to reflect upon.

Until then, the only advice I could give you would be...
- If you're new to 5e, staying single-class could be a good choice, less questions but still plenty of fun.
- In this regard, Paladin or Ranger are your best bets: they are built-in half-casters. Fighter (Eldricht Knight) can do good also, especially if you're new to tabletop roleplaying games in general (easier to build and play). Finally, Cleric can provide a "melee fighter" feeling if built and played properly.

See you later :=)

[gfishfunk]

If you want a hybrid (part time caster, part time front liner), I suggest the following:

Paladin (1/2, 1/2)
Ranger (1/2, 1/2, also a good option for ranged)
Druid (Full caster, but shapechanges into a full frontliner)

To a lesser degree:
Eldrich Knight Fighter (2/3 frontliner, 1/3 caster)
Arcane Trickster (2/3 frontliner, 1/3 caster)
Blade Pact Warlock (1/3 Frontliner, 2/3 caster)
Elements Monk (2/3 fronliner, wacky casting stuff the people dislike without ever trying it)
Cleric (1/3 frontliner, full caster, permanent bandaid for everyone else)

[Specter]

Basically what gfishfunk said.

For a new guy, I'd recommend Arcane T. Or Eldritch K., according to your party. If there are enough frontliners, AT, otherwise EK.

[Elminster298]

If you are looking at level 6 allow me to suggest... Eldritch Knight 4 then take warlock 2. Sugested ability scores before racial adjustments are str.15, dex.8, con.13, int.10, wis.12, cha.14 if using standard array. Eldritch Knight gives you frontline while warlock gives you an easy to use damage spell. EK spells should all be used for defensive spells so you don't need int. As you level up past 6 I would suggest taking 4 more levels in EK and then going warlock pact of the blade for as long as you play the character. I would suggest warcaster for concentration on hex and crossbow expert so you can use Eldritch blast while in melee range. This is an incredibly effective build that is simple to use as a new player but ramps up in power very quickly. Plus it doesn't rely on any of the standard cheese strategies. Well, other than the initial 2 level warlock dip but I don't know if that counts as cheese since you continue the class shortly after...

[bid]

As you level up past 6 I would suggest taking 4 more levels in EK and then going warlock pact of the blade for as long as you play the character.
EK 7 is very good but makes pact of the blade utterly useless.


Paladin and ranger work fine for a first run. You don't need MC to have fun.

You could even go melee cleric or valor bard, those are good enough even if they are full casters.

[Elminster298]

EK 7 is very good but makes pact of the blade utterly useless.


Paladin and ranger work fine for a first run. You don't need MC to have fun.

You could even go melee cleric or valor bard, those are good enough even if they are full casters.

In what way do you see EK 7 making pact of the blade useless? Not necessarily saying you are wrong, just wondering your reasoning...

[bid]

In what way do you see EK 7 making pact of the blade useless? Not necessarily saying you are wrong, just wondering your reasoning...
You need EK 5 to reach EK 7. You want something useful at lock 3.

[Gastronomie]

so I am basicly new to 5th ed. I have the phb & elemental evil addon for it, and would like to have a level by level idea of what is a good thing to take ( looking at level 6 )- I am thinking human, I would like to play not true frontline melee and not full caster.. just not sure what would be decent options, feats ect and then what to multi class into and at what pointBy "full caster" do you mean "I don't want to play Bard, Cleric, Druid, Sorcerer, Warlock, and Wizard" or do you mean "I don't want a character who can only stay in the back rows"?

At least here, I assume it's the latter meaning, and give my thoughts on the Bladelock, which can be both a wonderful frontline fighter and a competent caster at the same time.

Dip your first level in Figher, and for the rest of your career, go Warlock (Fiend Patron, Blade Pact). You get high AC (heavy armor) and CON save proficiency from Fighter, and while you're one level behind in casting due to the multiclass, you can still cast high-level spells while still being a good warrior character. This guy can be bat*** insane. And it's not difficult to use, even for beginners, since if you feel you've used up too many slots, you can just take a short rest.


Taking Great Weapon Master using V-Human and spamming Darkness + Devil's Sight for advantage is a pretty fun combo. War Caster improves your concentration for Darkness even more.

My advice is to take the Eldritch Invocation "Fiendish Vigor". This is more important than either Agonizing or Repelling Blast. This gives you unlimited False Life, meaning you always gain 8 temporal HP in-between every single combat (you can re-use False Life unlimited times, so repeat its use until you get 1d4=4). This is absolutely insane, as well as extremely under-rated. What? But Dark One's Blessing gives me temporal HP already! Yes, but you already have low HP from being a Warlock, and besides, you're not always the one who gives the final blow (even if you dealt 99% of the damage to a particular enemy, unless you're the one who killed it with the last attack, you can't gain the HP from that ability).
The main thing about Bladelocks is their amazing versatility. At high levels they also get insane stuff like Hold Person on 4 targets, Command on 5 targets, Banishment on 2 targets, and 25 THP and 25 damage to attackers without a save. To be fair, other Warlocks also get these, but still, the fact that a Melee character has these is important. And I think I already mentioned Darkness + Devil's Sight (something only Warlocks can do).

Bladelocks can also regenerate like crazy using THP. And attacks against him have disadvantage, if you've cast Darkness on your pact weapon (and who doesn't like the idea of a guy whose greatsword is shrouded in darkness?) Not exactly a Barbarian, but he's quite a good meat shield too.

Bladelocks always have a nasty trick or two up their sleeve. They're extremely efficient at what they do....Like this.

My advice for the build:

Race: Variant Human
Stats: If point buy, 15-8-14-8-10-15, which becomes 16-8-14-8-10-16 after racial bonuses
Progression: First level Fighter, rest Warlock (but once you go Warlock 17, you can go back to Fighter, since Warlock doesn't give much at levels 18 and 19). Fiend Patron, Blade Pact.
Feats: Since Great Weapon Master is actually a bit difficult to pull off at levels 1~4, I say the first feat you take via Variant Human should be War Caster. Then, at level 5 (Warlock 4), take Great Weapon Master. After that, simply go on to buff your STR till you hit score 20 (level 9 and level 13 buffs), and after that's finished, your CHA (level 17 buff). You should end with 20-8-14-8-10-18.
Invocations: Start Fiendish Vigor and Devil's Sight, and at warlock 5, (obviously) take Lifedrinker. From then on, it's your choice - you can make your Eldritch Blast stronger via Agonizing and Repelling, or you can increase your RP potential via Mask of Many Faces and Misty Visions. I also highly suggest you take Sculptor of Flesh, given how strong Polymorph is.

[bid]

Feats: Since Great Weapon Master is actually a bit difficult to pull off at levels 1~4, I say the first feat you take via Variant Human should be War Caster.
Can't. You must be a caster.

Also, warcaster is of limited use since you're using a 2-hander and have Con prof. It's even worse since BB is in SCAG, making AO spells pointless.

GWM still works if you crit or kill, that's likely enough early on.


The rest is spot on: vuman fighter 1 is the only true path to bladelockhood.

[Gastronomie]

Can't. You must be a caster.

Also, warcaster is of limited use since you're using a 2-hander and have Con prof. It's even worse since BB is in SCAG, making AO spells pointless.

GWM still works if you crit or kill, that's likely enough early on.


The rest is spot on: vuman fighter 1 is the only true path to bladelockhood.Oh... Oops, it seems I've completely forgotten that with my last character... and so has the DM. (It's because my character started at a higher level, but.) You're right. Please forgive me, I actually haven't played at level 1 to 4.

But since TC seems to start at level 6 I think this is not a big problem.

War Caster isn't of limited use, though. You wanna maintain concentration all the time, be it Hex at low levels, or Darkness at higher levels, or Hold Person, or Command, or Banishment, or whatever.

A level 5 character with CON 14 and con prof. (+5) has a concentration maintaining percentage of 75%. It might seem good on first glance but if you're in the front row, this will not be enough.
If you have War Caster, this becomes about 94%.

[samduke]

thanks for the tips and advice


If you are looking at level 6 allow me to suggest... Eldritch Knight 4 then take warlock 2. Sugested ability scores before racial adjustments are str.15, dex.8, con.13, int.10, wis.12, cha.14 if using standard array. Eldritch Knight gives you frontline while warlock gives you an easy to use damage spell. EK spells should all be used for defensive spells so you don't need int. As you level up past 6 I would suggest taking 4 more levels in EK and then going warlock pact of the blade for as long as you play the character. I would suggest warcaster for concentration on hex and crossbow expert so you can use Eldritch blast while in melee range. This is an incredibly effective build that is simple to use as a new player but ramps up in power very quickly. Plus it doesn't rely on any of the standard cheese strategies. Well, other than the initial 2 level warlock dip but I don't know if that counts as cheese since you continue the class shortly after...

this sounds close to my thoughts and I will look into it - thanks

[Elminster298]

thanks for the tips and advice



this sounds close to my thoughts and I will look into it - thanks

Glad I can help! By the time you get back to warlock you should have a good feel for the character to be able to decide what you want for spells and invocations. Just remember that the blade pact invocation for an extra attack doesn't stack with the extra attack you already have from EK but cha to damage one will be very good. And with the EK feature you'll be able to attack with your weapon and fire off an Eldritch blast on the same turn. You also might want to pick up another attack cantrip with crowd control in case you want to attack of opportunity with it using warcaster.

[MBControl]

I'm not a fan of multi class optimization, maybe because I'm not good at it, and I prefer to base a character of a more basic plan, and build throughout the game with role-play. So without out saying the multi classers are wrong (they are not) here are my opinions.

Druid (Circle of the Moon)
This nature based caster is focused on the Wild Shape ability, but allows you the freedom of a fairly wide variety of spells for healing (cure wounds & healing word), nature and survival (Find Traps & Conjure Animals), Targeted Damage (Flame Arrows & Flame Blade), Lots of AoE (Thunderwave, Call Lightning & Tidal Wave), not to mention a lot of evasion and movement spells (Misty Step, Pass Without Trace, & Spider climb). You won't be without useful spells. Maybe not as powerful as a pure caster, but very useful.

The Wild Shape is the key to this though. It is so very flexible. Spy as a raven, sneak like a mouse, brawl as a bear, grapple and drown someone as an octopus, Poison as a scorpion. The variety is great. I've seen this class have a lot of fun with the ability to do almost everything.


Secondly, for a lot of the same reasons, I like the Ranger. It's more of a straight fighter, with a more simple spell list. You may have access to one of the most useful fighter based spells, in Hunter's Mark in your first level spells, as well as pass without trace, healing, and a bunch of good archer based spells.

There is no right answer to this question, this is just my opinion.

[MrFahrenheit]

Arcane trickster with a whip...stay in the second line (literally). Yeah it's a d4 damage die, but sneak attack dice will make up for it. If multiclassing is allowed, then keeping in line with wanting "a bit of this and a bit of that," you'll want five levels of ranger (hunter) for an extra skill at 1, hunter's mark at 2, colossus slayer at 3 and extra attack at 5. I'd say go rogue 1-3, then ranger through 5, then rogue rest of the way. Don't forget to pick up find familiar as your non-illusion or enchantment spell. Little guys can pack a serious punch when Helping you or your buddies.

[Plaguescarred]

- I am thinking human, I would like to play not true frontline melee and not full caster.An archer hunter ranger or an arcane trickster rogue seems like it'd be a good fit for what you want, they're not full caster nor frontline melee combattant yet they hold their own in combat and have minor spellcasting.

Feat such as Sharpshooter and Crossbow Expert could be good choice and multiclassing a few level in fighter too if that's what you want to do.