Ultimate Support Character? - Espresso

[sigurd]

So I want to make a 5e super squire - "Espresso".

I want someone hard to hit, tough to kill, and very helpful in battle. I'd be completely ok if the guy never attacked and only 'aided' the biggest hitter in the party.

I think a raven familiar, I'd love Goodberry (which with DM approval will become espresso).

I am thinking a minor fey character intensely bound to the rules of hospitality. A glorified brownie.


What do people recommend?

Any help appreciated, thank you.

[Addaran]

So I want to make a 5e super squire - "Espresso".

I want someone hard to hit, tough to kill, and very helpful in battle. I'd be completely ok if the guy never attacked and only 'aided' the biggest hitter in the party.

I think a raven familiar, I'd love Goodberry (which with DM approval will become espresso).

I am thinking a minor fey character intensely bound to the rules of hospitality. A glorified brownie.


What do people recommend?

Any help appreciated, thank you.

First thing i though when i read the title was "a Haste giver" possible sorcerer for twin haste,

If you wanna look like a brownie, you could pick dwarf, you'd have the small bearded look, very high con + prof + maybe warcaster to make sure you don't fail your save. (your fighters will lose one turn if you do)

[sigurd]

That sounds promising. I hope I can reskin some of the spells.


Haste at 3rd seems a tougher goal than Bless.

[Falcon X]

Several thoughts:

Hit and Run Barbarian:
This is if you actually do want to attack. Eagle or Elk totem spirits are crazy good hit and run people, especially with a mobile feat. Mix that with a grapple build and you could grab someone, move them 50' and throw them off a cliff. Heck, for many enemies, moving them 50' takes them out of the battle for a round or allows you to one-on-one them. Grab a couple levels of rogue with expertise in athletics to enhance all this.
Here (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?484503-Eagle-Totem-underrated) is a cursory discussion

Bard or Mastermind Rogue:
These are just the givens for support characters, in fight and out.

UA Theurgy Wizard (https://media.wizards.com/2016/dnd/downloads/UA%20Non-Divine%20Faithful%20SFG.pdf) (Knowledge)
The ultimate out-of-combat support.
I'm not going to begin to describe all the support options this class has. Beyond wizard spells and divine spells like augury, identify, suggestion, nondetection, etc., you can be insta-proficient at any skill and read thoughts.

[Elminster298]

Halfling lore bard. Gives you everything you want. Use magical secrets to get goodberry and any other super support spells. It lacks the super tank you were looking for but can still be difficult to kill.

[TheButterSwan]

Halfling lore bard. Gives you everything you want. Use magical secrets to get goodberry and any other super support spells. It lacks the super tank you were looking for but can still be difficult to kill.
I agree with this, if you dont mind being attached to a deity, a cleric can help out a bunch as well... I dont really have any specific suggestions but you might want one that grants heavy armor depending on whether or not you want a strength or a dexterity build.

[Aembrosia]

Hill dwarf life cleric + ranger. Access to bless, check. Help action pet, check. +4 hp cups of Espresso, checkem. Heavily armored, check.

[sigurd]

All good suggestions. I'll have to build a few to see what they look like.

I like the life cleric but I also would consider the arcana domain. If this guy gets up in levels, there are some very useful spells.


What I don't know is if cleric is the choice or if there is another better class or class mix.

[Aembrosia]

If you give us your group composition we can give you the most optimal build. Note: optimum does not necessarily mean fun.

[Drackolus]

If you want to be the best support, I don't think you can beat lore bard. Perfect support spell list (sans bless) and the awe-inspiring cutting words (doesn't get enough credit, and it already gets a lot). Seriously. You can cutting words the damage roll of a dragon's breath and reduce damage for the whole party. You can cutting words bluff checks. You can cutting words initiative rolls. That feature is pretty much a class on it's own.

However, if you want to be an invincible and still very good support, hill dwarf life cleric. Pump your wisdom, spam sacred flame, and have a good time. Dump strength. You're a dwarf, you don't need it to wear that full plate. And you have a billion health. And ac. And a very high number in two major saves.

You can, of course, get the best of all worlds, in a sense. Stick out hill dwarf, take one level of life cleric, and the rest bard. You can magical secrets goodberry and aura of vitality (the real winner, though Counterspell+Jack of all Trades is hard to pass up). Dump your dumb strength still, get 13 wis, the best con you can get (2nd or 3rd based on your stats) and every conceivable point into charisma. Vicious Mockery all day. You can also get ritual caster: wizard for a familiar and spell sniper for Eldritch Blast, or magical secrets one or both. Vicious Mockery will work just dandy for you until around level 11 when you hit 3 dice cantrips. You'll still be a mountain of ac and hp, while basically being able to pick & choose whatever spells you like. Sort of.

Ritual caster: wizard can also net you phantom steed if you can get the scroll. I've been using it on my bard for ages, and it is sweet :smallbiggrin:

[Scathain]

Uhhh, life cleric 1 / enchantment wizard X for fun CC and heals, that'd work perfectly with a fey theme. You have all the buff spells you need, all cleric 1 spells, and all enchantment spells are half off to learn. Might need another source for goodberry though.

[TheButterSwan]

I was coming back to mention that Life and Arcana are probably your best options. I mean theres other domains that are okay and may fit your idea better. If you think theres a chance your DM will let you play it, a Revised Beast Master Ranger from the UA would definitely work more in your favor. The Life domain I can see being pretty fun with the possible "Espresso is life" gimmick you could do. Get people addicted to that stuff xD

[MaverickOrig]

My fun support cleric/ranger

Start with human variant life cleric
High dex, some wis, some con (leave this odd: 11,13,15 etc)
Plate mail, shield, rapier
Add 5 levels of ranger, then resume cleric levels
Required feats: sentinel
Other feats:
* war caster (advantage on concentration check, allows thorn whip and AOO reaction on same turn)
* spell sniper (60ft melee thorn whip)
* resilient con (bring your con save up)
* shield master (add shield ac to dex saves and save blocks full damage in some cases)
* blade master (+1 with rapier and advantage on AOO)
* defensive duelist (use reaction to add to ac)

Typical turn:
Bonus action: healing word if needed
Reaction: Sentinel AOO, sentinel retaliation, Shield Master block full damage, or defensive duelist
Actions:
* start combat with bless
* stand next to baddie and ally and dodge
* assist ally with attack for advantage
* stand next to ally (like a rogue) and thorn whip a monster next to you both, or away from squishy ally

Basically once you have Bless up, monsters have three choices:
* try to attack you (dodge) at disadvantage (if they hit, concentration is improved with bless, war caster, and resilient CON)
* attack an ally and get hit from sentinel retaliation (with colossus slayer this hurts)
* attempt to move away and draw a really strong sentinel AOO

After combat, pass out 40hp worth of goodberries per spell slot (prepared from before last long rest)

Edit: oh and really good perception checks, ignore difficult terrain, and all those other revised Ranger goodies

-Mav

[ruy343]

Transmuter Wizard.

Seriously underplayed, and a focus on transmutation spells can really help the other players get the most out of their abilities. Spells like Enlarge/Reduce, Haste, Spider Climb, Grease, and others all fall within your purview.

Of course, you need not focus exclusively on transmutation spells to help out: Hold Person on an enemy, invisibility on an ally, or fog cloud to provide cover all can be a great help to your more martial friends.

[Citan]

So I want to make a 5e super squire - "Espresso".

I want someone hard to hit, tough to kill, and very helpful in battle. I'd be completely ok if the guy never attacked and only 'aided' the biggest hitter in the party.

I think a raven familiar, I'd love Goodberry (which with DM approval will become espresso).

I am thinking a minor fey character intensely bound to the rules of hospitality. A glorified brownie.


What do people recommend?

Any help appreciated, thank you.
Considering you want very different things, I see two ways to go at this. ;)

A "martial" one and a "caster" one.

For the martial, I'd say a Barbarian / Battlemaster multiclass would work well.
In Barbarian, take either Bear for extra resilience or Wolf to help your melee friends.
In Fighter, take Commander's Strike to get a Pal/Rogue ally an extra attack, and Trip Attack or Menacing Attack to expand a bit your options.

Alternatively, a Long Death Monk (either pure or with a bit of Battlemaster) brings better control to keep aggro, but you are less resilient until you reach Monk 14 (which may never happen and is faaar away).

For the caster one, I'd say Paladin 6 coupled with either Sorcerer (for a couple of nice spells such as Enlarge or Slow and Metamagic) or Bard (extra utility, choice of spells with Magic Secrets) would work great, especially in balance between control (Command, Compelled Duel, Dissonant Whispers, Heat Metal), self-resilience and versatility.

So my suggestions would be...
1. Pal 6 / Bard 14 (best all-around and easy to build)
2. Pal 2 / Sorcerer 18 (emphasis on casting spells because of Metamagic, Pal only for 1st level spells and equipement proficiencies).
3. Long Death Monk pure (THP on kill compensate the lack of resistance, and Fear as an action is great for the party. At higher level you get much more resilient).
4. Barb 14+ (Wolf/Eagle/Bear) / Battlemaster 3+ (focus on self-resilience, great if you have someone in your party that can help aggro by "channeling" enemies into your reach through difficult terrain or imposed movement).

[Sir cryosin]

Arcane cleric is were it's at I jump into any roll we need in the group. My main role tho is face and healer support. We role stats and I got some nice ones so my wis is 18, dex 16, con 16, char 16, str 10, int 12. We are lv 4 and I have filled every role once already I heal, support, out dpr, ect when we needed we have 3 core players at table and others that can't make it every week. So I step up when we need.

[JellyPooga]

It's very suboptimal, but I think an amusing approach here would be to try and go for a grab-bag of low level abilities from a number of Classes.

Diviner Wizard 2 : For Portent
Trickster Cleric 2: For Blessing of the Trickster and Invoke Duplicity
Mastermind Rogue 3: For Master of Tactics
Fighter 1 OR Paladin 2 : For Protection Fighting Style
Lore Bard (the rest) : For all the goodies it gives

Go Halfling both for thematic bonus points and stats, or Gnome if you prefer a more cerebral approach. It might not be a power-build, but it can help in almost every aspect of a game and doesn't really run out of steam over the course on an adventuring day.

[Foxhound438]

So I want to make a 5e super squire - "Espresso".

I want someone hard to hit, tough to kill, and very helpful in battle.

so a paladin?


I think a raven familiar, I'd love Goodberry (which with DM approval will become espresso).

I am thinking a minor fey character intensely bound to the rules of hospitality. A glorified brownie.

so a bard?

pick one, there's not really a way to get the best of both. You can certainly get some of each, but if you go too far in bard, you eventually become far less tanky than the pure paladin, while too far in paladin puts you behind many many spell levels compared to pure bard.

That said, I think bard is more of what you're looking for. You don't get massive AC like pally, but your HP is only slightly behind and you get the entirety of 5e's spell options at your disposal for "buff of choice".

[Goodberry]

So I want to make a 5e super squire - "Espresso".

I want someone hard to hit, tough to kill, and very helpful in battle. I'd be completely ok if the guy never attacked and only 'aided' the biggest hitter in the party.

I think a raven familiar, I'd love Goodberry (which with DM approval will become espresso).

I am thinking a minor fey character intensely bound to the rules of hospitality. A glorified brownie.


What do people recommend?

Any help appreciated, thank you.

Mastermind rogue for Help at range and as a bonus action, then Sorceror for twinned Greater Invis, Haste, Fly, etc. Also take healer feat(works with cunning action).

[8wGremlin]

I was thinking perhaps Circle of the Land Druid (Grassland/Underdark)
Grassland if you have a major melee combatant - as they get HASTE
or Underdark, if they don't

You have Medium Armour, Shield, D8 hp, have Natural Recovery that will get you a few more spells/long rest

Feats: Ritual Magic (Wizard), Inspiring Leader.

Why Ritual Magic (Wizard) as it allows you to pick up Find Familiar for free and opens up the following rituals

Alarm
Comprehend Languages
Detect Magic
Find Familiar
Identify
Illusory Script
Tenser's Floating Disk
Unseen Servant
Gentle Repose
Magic Mouth
Skywrite
Feign Death
Leomund's Tiny Hut
Phantom Steed
Water Breathing
Contact Other Plane
Rary's Telepathic Bond
Drawmij's Instant Summons

Inspiring Leader: this feat is a great boost to your party's survivability, but you do need higher CHA

So how can you help, You have Goodberry, Guidance, can get your Raven* (or re-fluffed Owl) to use the help action for others (the thief will like this) and you can summon help, with your summoning spells.



* note that the familiar is actually a spirit, that can be Celestial, Demonic or Fae, and can look different.

Oh and if you really need to you can wild shape into non-threatening forms.


I've enjoyed playing my Deep Gnome land druid of the Underdark!

[X3r4ph]

I tried to do something like this. I ended up with:
Half-elf Rogue (Mastermind) 5/ Fighter (Battlemaster) 3/ Spellless Ranger 2/ Bard (Lore) 10.

Str 8, Dex 14 , Con 14 , Int 11 ,Wis 14 , Cha 20

AC 21 (Half-plate 15, Dex +2, Fighting Styles +2, Shield +2)

ROGUE
Expertise: So many skills!
Cunning Action: (Bonus Action) Dash, (Bonus Action) Disengage, (Bonus Action) Help, (Bonus Action) Hide
Sneak Attack: +3d6
Uncanny Dodge: (Reaction) Take half damage
ASI: Inspiring Leader (Great free daily buff)

FIGHTER
Superiority Dice: 4d8
Fighting Style: Mariner
Maneuvers: (Action) Precision Attack (so you can insure that you hit with Sneak Attack if you must), (Action) Commander's Strike (Use this most of the time), (Bonus Action) Rally (Great for rebuffing the group when Inspiring Leader is depleted)

RANGER
Superiority Dice: 4d8
Maneuvers: (Free) Evasive Footwork (When you really need to leave) and Maneuvering Attack (Use this in combination with Precision Attack).
Fighting Style: Defense

BARD
Lore Bard: Even more skills
Expertise x 2: Which you are the best at!
Jack of All Trades: You are even awesome at the ones you haven't taken.
Song of Rest: 1d8 (Not only do you add extra temporary hit points when you rest, you also heal your friends a little extra)
(Bonus Action) Inspirational Dice or (Reaction) Cutting Words: 5d10
ASI: Charisma +2, Charisma +2
Spells: Everything that buffs, enables and has out of combat utility.
Magical Secrets: Take whatever you like... consider some Paladin things.

[Elminster298]

It's very suboptimal, but I think an amusing approach here would be to try and go for a grab-bag of low level abilities from a number of Classes.

Diviner Wizard 2 : For Portent
Trickster Cleric 2: For Blessing of the Trickster and Invoke Duplicity
Mastermind Rogue 3: For Master of Tactics
Fighter 1 OR Paladin 2 : For Protection Fighting Style
Lore Bard (the rest) : For all the goodies it gives

Go Halfling both for thematic bonus points and stats, or Gnome if you prefer a more cerebral approach. It might not be a power-build, but it can help in almost every aspect of a game and doesn't really run out of steam over the course on an adventuring day.

I really like this idea. As you said, it is far from optimal but looks not only like a super fun character but also what I would expect a "Month Python-esque" squire to look like on paper in a D&D world.

[Princess]

Halfling lore bard. Gives you everything you want. Use magical secrets to get goodberry and any other super support spells. It lacks the super tank you were looking for but can still be difficult to kill.

Personally I think there are better buffs to grab with magical secrets (Haste, Aura of Vitality), and Magic Initiate for goodberry 1/day and guidance + resistance at will. But halfling lore bard is the premium adorable support pc. Accept no substitutes.

[JellyPooga]

I really like this idea. As you said, it is far from optimal but looks not only like a super fun character but also what I would expect a "Month Python-esque" squire to look like on paper in a D&D world.

I'd probably start off the build with Bard 6 before doing any multiclassing; that gives you a solid base to build upon. I'd probably hit Wizard 2, then Rogue 3, before dabbling in the Divine with Cleric 2 and Paladin 2.

At this point you're Level 15, with an effective Caster Level of 11 (lvl.6 slots, but only lvl.3 Spells Known), 1 Feat/ASI and all the goodies I mentioned before. MAD is an understatement; Str:13, Dex:13, Int:13, Wis:13 and Cha:13 are required.

Standard Human or Half-Elf would be tempting choices, if only to mitigate those requirements somewhat. Otherwise, I think Lightfoot Halfling or Forest Gnome are probably your best best;

L.Halfling 27pt-buy
Str:13, Dex:13+2, Con:10, Int: 13, Wis:13, Cha:13+1
Half-Elf 27pt-buy
Str:13, Dex:13+1, Con:11+1, Int: 13, Wis:13, Cha:12+2
S.Human 27pt-buy
Str:13+1, Dex:13+1, Con:10+1, Int: 13+1, Wis:13+1, Cha:13+1

Feat choice is tricky due to only having one before level 17 and only two by level 20. I would definitely go for a Feat rather than an ASI; buffs and support are your thing, not control or damage, so high mods aren't required. Healer is an obvious choice, but somewhat superfluous given the amount of magical healing you'll have access to. Ritual Caster (Wizard) could be a tempting option, to get hold of the higher level ritual spells. Mobile to be where you need to be. Dungeon Delver for finding secret doors and not dying when you're used as the parties hapless trap-finder. Lucky or Resilient are also options.

Personally, I'd go with Dungeon Delver at level 4 (because the "squire" gladly walking ahead of the party to find traps by setting them off is hilarious!) and then pick up Lucky at level 17 (because if you've made it that far, you'll definitely need it!)