Swashbuckler Spalashes worth it ?

[N810]

Thinking about Playing a swashbuckler in the next campaign, (5e)
and I was wondering if it would be worth taking a dip into some other classes,
I will be keeping it primarily melee, and UA and expanded classes are probably ok to use.

(TL:DR) Can/would you recommend 1-3 of multiclass for a martial swashbuckler build ?

[Gignere]

Definitely battlemaster dip is a natural fit for a purely martial swashbuckler. Even going to BM 6 is not crazy, you gain extra attack and an ASI earlier. Precise and riposte can up your DPR substantially.

For a more magical dip shadow sorcerer or warlock can provide additional utility and darkness / hide abuse, to get permanent advantage.

War cleric can be a good 2 level dip, gaining you guidance, healing, armor + shield and +10 per short rest to turn a miss sneak attack into a hit.

[N810]

Would it be worth going a bit MAD and taking levels in monk ranger or barbarian ?
Away from book...
Hmm, does class get an extra attack before the rest ?

[Gignere]

Would it be worth going a bit MAD and taking levels in monk ranger or barbarian ?
Away from book...
Hmm, does class get an extra attack before the rest ?

No I don't think so. Unless you rolled fantastic abilities I think it is too much to buy up a tertiary ability.
I guess the monk or ranger dips are fine depending on what you want to get out of it. I just don't see a ton of benefit going monk.

Ranger can be cool but I think the BM is a better dip.

[N810]

Mostly I was just thinking of unarmored defense for monk and barbarian,
and ranger just seems to have a lot of combat abilities. :smallconfused:

[Gignere]

Mostly I was just thinking of unarmored defense for monk and barbarian,
and ranger just seems to have a lot of combat abilities. :smallconfused:

Unless you have fantastic ability scores in both Dex/Con, Dex/Wis light armor can and will outpace the unarmored AC values.

Ranger is decent dip I still feel BM is better simply because of precise and riposte although a ranger dip does offer more versatility, via spells.

[Millface]

Would it be worth going a bit MAD and taking levels in monk ranger or barbarian ?
Away from book...
Hmm, does class get an extra attack before the rest ?

Bear Barb to 5 for extra attack and DR: Everything during a rage is actually pretty good. You'd prioritize Con and Dex, your AC would be great and advantage on dex saves that you can see coming.

I've done it, I loved it.

[Gignere]

Bear Barb to 5 for extra attack and DR: Everything during a rage is actually pretty good. You'd prioritize Con and Dex, your AC would be great and advantage on dex saves that you can see coming.

I've done it, I loved it.

Unless DM waived the 13 Str requirement I think the barb multi is just too costly to dip.

[RickAllison]

If you want to dip with Swashbuckler, I would recommend either Warlock or Sorcerer. Both give options for AC through Mage Armor or the Draconic effect; rely on Charisma which you should have, give the SCAG cantrips if it is available (usually, you would use the cantrips if you have advantage, or TWF if you don't), and give useful spells.

Warlock gives the Devil's Sight+Darkness for near-constant advantage and disadvantage to hit you, while Sorcerer gives Twinned or Quickened for even more reliable Sneak Attack.

[Gignere]

If you want to dip with Swashbuckler, I would recommend either Warlock or Sorcerer. Both give options for AC through Mage Armor or the Draconic effect; rely on Charisma which you should have, give the SCAG cantrips if it is available (usually, you would use the cantrips if you have advantage, or TWF if you don't), and give useful spells.

Warlock gives the Devil's Sight+Darkness for near-constant advantage and disadvantage to hit you, while Sorcerer gives Twinned or Quickened for even more reliable Sneak Attack.

Yeah especially if UA is available shadow sorcerer gets you both darkness abuse and quicken/twin GFBs/BB's. Just sick.

[N810]

While I appreciate the Warlock build,
For RP reasons, it's not really the direction I wanted my character to go.

[Laserlight]

A Swashbuckler with good DEX will have a good AC; you don't need to be a monk or barb.

Battlemaster Fighter 3 / Swashbuckler X. Take expertise in Athletics and use your Push maneuver to knock your enemies off cliffs, into lava, etc.
Be wary of Riposte; it's nice for increasing your damage but remember than moving out of reach is also a viable choice.

[MinotaurWarrior]

Barbarian - Anti-synergy with swashbuckler. Other archetypes get more out of it. Only reason to dip barb is if you were going STR anyway, and wanted the +2 dmg, hp, and resistance from a level 1 dip.

Bard - Spells are good. Jack of All Trades / Expertise are less useful for you than they are for others. Same goes for cutting words / combat inspiration, because you have uncanny dodge. Still, "less good" is still good. Glamour is anti-synergy for your archetype, because any Assassin can run up alone to an enemy, use their bonus action "summon ally" and get a SA that way.

Cleric - Spells are good. Armor and shields are good. The domain features run the gamut, but I'll note that War's bonus action attack is somewhat better than usual on a rogue, because you can save it for when you missed and would otherwise be forgoing SA - still not amazing though.

Druid - Spells are good. Natural weapons aren't finesse, which makes wild shape drastically less useful. The only SA option for a level 2 dip is the Ape, with it's rock... which sucks.

Fighter - FS, Action surge, and Manuevers add decently to your DPR.

Monk - Martial arts and unarmored defense are unlikely to help you. Unarmored movement makes kiting a bit easier. If you're doing it, it's probably for shadow arts. Pass Without Trace 1/short rest is amazing. A level 14 Shadowbuckler is pretty much guaranteed a 35 on stealth checks.

Paladin - armor and shields are good. Half-spellcaster is half-good. Smites are nice, but you'll be using them less than you'll be missing the SA progression.

Ranger - This is a great level two dip. Hunter's mark makes up for SA, then you profit Favored Enemy (most common in your campaign), and a fighting style. The third level is also good, basically giving you a ~1/3 extra attack.

Sorcerer - Spells are good. WM is DM-dependent. Dragonskin is better than light armor.

Warlock - Hex is great. Temp HP are great. Imp Familiars are great. Armor of shadows is better than light armor.

Wizard - spells are good. Portent is powerful, but anti-synergy with reliable talent.

[RickAllison]

While I appreciate the Warlock build,
For RP reasons, it's not really the direction I wanted my character to go.

Is it specifically the pact aspect, or the magic? In either case. Sorcerer is still an option as you can fluff the "magic" as a result of his daring, swashbuckling skill.

Booming Blade can be striking at a vital point so moving without properly adjusting causes even more damage. Sword Burst can be a rapid swinging of the blade. True Strike can be antagonizing someone to open their guard, Acid Splash is just throwing acid, and so on. Rather than being the magic swordsperson, you are the crafty dashing dueler who always has a trick up his sleeve.

[N810]

Is it specifically the pact aspect, or the magic? In either case. Sorcerer is still an option as you can fluff the "magic" as a result of his daring, swashbuckling skill.

Booming Blade can be striking at a vital point so moving without properly adjusting causes even more damage. Sword Burst can be a rapid swinging of the blade. True Strike can be antagonizing someone to open their guard, Acid Splash is just throwing acid, and so on. Rather than being the magic swordsperson, you are the crafty dashing dueler who always has a trick up his sleeve.

Well We have a warlock in our current campaign and our DM is really pushing the pact as a big part of the plot,
and I really didn't want to rehash that, also I wanted a primarily martial character.

[Gignere]

Well We have a warlock in our current campaign and our DM is really pushing the pact as a big part of the plot,
and I really didn't want to rehash that, also I wanted a primarily martial character.

Stay full rogue or multi fighter(my recommendation would be battle master).

[RickAllison]

Well We have a warlock in our current campaign and our DM is really pushing the pact as a big part of the plot,
and I really didn't want to rehash that, also I wanted a primarily martial character.

Sorcerer 1 has none of that flavor (it is about having the power within you) and gives a lot of nice bonuses for very little investment. It gives more damage, soft control, utility, and I believe a class feature. Can't go wrong with straight Swashbuckler, especially for that sweet level 9 ability. The problem I have with the Battlemaster dip is that it requires heavy investment compared to Sorc (3 levels vs 1) and that it gives few benefits beyond your superiority dice while Sorc gives you actual utility.

[djreynolds]

I'm running a half orc 6 battlemaster/5 swashbuckler. I use shield master, strength, snagged a sun sword but a rapier or short sword work just fine.

Rakish Audacity and fancy footwork are awesome, expertise in athletics at 11th is for me +13 to my rolls. And even if for some reason I lose my athletics contest, I can still sneak attack lone opponents.

3 Swashbuckler is awesome for any class. Expertise in athletics and perception and stealth are huge in game... so is acrobatics to avoid being shoved prone.

There is a thread here for a build called the Iron Scoundrel, awesome, check it out.

Swashbuckler/barbarian is a sweet build, very tanky.

[Citan]

Thinking about Playing a swashbuckler in the next campaign, (5e)
and I was wondering if it would be worth taking a dip into some other classes,
I will be keeping it primarily melee, and UA and expanded classes are probably ok to use.

(TL:DR) Can/would you recommend 1-3 of multiclass for a martial swashbuckler build ?

For a pure Martial, I second Battlemaster. Going up to 5 for Extra Attack may be worth it.
Anyways, Swashbuckler with Battlemaster (Evasive Manoeuver, Precision, Riposte) and Shield Master makes it for a very efficient build.

Otherwise, the usual good ones are...
Cleric (Bless, heavy armor in case you want a STR Rogue)
Bard (for Jack of all Trades mainly)
Draconic Sorcerer (better armor earlier, Shield, weapon cantrips, Constitution saving throw, Haste if you want).
Paladin: better armor, healing spells, extra smite damage, etc...
Warlock: short-rest Mirror Image or Darkness, free Mage Armor, THP.

[Ankylo]

If UA is ok, what about a Fighter 3 dip for Samurai from the new Fighter UA?

That gives you a 3/short rest bonus action for advantage on all of your attacks AND resistance to B/P/S damage for 2 turns. I'm a fan of lots of advantage. You could also do Fighter 6 for Extra Attack and an ASI.

I've been looking for a place to make a Samurai dip work and I think Swashbuckler is one of the top options for it.

[N810]

Now that's an idea... :belkar:

[Arial Black]

I second the Battlemaster dip, but what about booming blade and ways to get it?

You can dip any class which has access to that cantrip, OR just take the Magic Initiate feat, choose BB and one other cantrip (prestidigitation for looking good, any ranged attack cantrip) and choose mage armour as your 1/day 1st level spell; better than any light armour, and lasts for 8 hours!

[Zene]

I second the Battlemaster dip, but what about booming blade and ways to get it?

You can dip any class which has access to that cantrip, OR just take the Magic Initiate feat, choose BB and one other cantrip (prestidigitation for looking good, any ranged attack cantrip) and choose mage armour as your 1/day 1st level spell; better than any light armour, and lasts for 8 hours!

Another option is variant half elf, with the cantrip selected as your race feature, +2 to cha, +1s in dex and con, and darkvision.

[Foxhound438]

maybe a 1 or 3 level dip into something for a spell you want, but otherwise I personally would recommend sticking to pure rogue to ensure fast sneak attack progression. Not sure there's any specific class features I'd want, save for maybe archery fighting style or action surge (latter not so necessary with cunning action and 2wf).

[ES Curse]

Keep in mind, if you are talking about a "pure martial" (i.e. no spells), you're limited to subclasses of Barbarian, Fighter, Monk, and Rogue; possibly including the UA martial ranger. Fighter is the only one that doesn't try to pull you out of the Swashbuckler's DEX/CHA focus, and in fact can work nicely together via the Rally maneuver.