Barbarian/Rogue Build. Anyone try it yet?

[DragonBaneDM]

Hey gang.

So I've got an Eberron game coming up, and I'm using the Scout Warforged from the Eberron 5E handbook since they're my favorite race.

We've got two high Cha folks already, so I think Paladin is out, and I wanted to try out something different and semi complex with multiclassing.

I figured I'd see if a Dex Barbarian with levels in Rogue would work. Whenever I try and find build advice for it online, it's all hypothetical stuff from when 5E came out, no one seemed to have tried it yet. Reckless Attack plus Sneak Attack would be great, but doesn't hold up at all.

Has anyone given it a shot yet? How'd it go down? What split points would you recommend? Right now I'm thinking Barbarian 5/Rogue 5, so that I could nab extra attack and Uncanny Dodge, but I don't really know what that progression should look like...

I've seen Dex Paladins do really well, but does it work with Barbarians? Should I just go Strength Rogue instead? Or do I can the whole thing and go Barbarian/Fighter or Fighter/Rogue?

[Deleted]

Oh yeah, Barbarian Rogue is a lot of fun. Basic build...

Urchin Stout Halfling Wolf Barbarian / Mastermind Rogue

Level 1 is barbarian and level 2 is rogue, then fill out as you wish.

Level 1

Str: 15
Dex: 15
Con: 14
Int: 12
Wis: 12
Cha: 8

HP: 14

Athletics, Sleight of Hand, Stealth, Perception


When you hit rogue 2 grab expertise in athletics. You win when grabbing or whatever.

Did you know that raging doesnt actually need to be loud?

Use a dagger or rapier most of the time and use Str as your attack stat. Climb on a creature (DMG), RAGE, stab, stab, stab, and your allies can attack that creature with advantage.

Your bonus action will be you rage screaming at other enemies to use the help action in order to give other allies advantage while you ride you main target around like the animal it is.


Edited

Barbarian Rogue makes an excellent support character for other martial characters, is very sticky, can be tankier with more barbarian levels, and is probably the most annoying martial build in the game thanks to wolf + BA help + athletics expertise + stabby stabby sneak attack.

Whenever you get an ASI, put it in Str and Dex. You don't need feats or whatever.

[Lombra]

I'd start rogue for the two extra skill proficiencies

[Vorpalchicken]

Remember you need to make strength based attacks to use reckless attack and rage bonus damage. You can always use strength to attack with finesse weapons though. So a barbarian rogue works but a dexterity based barbarian is a little limited.

[LeonBH]

A Barbarian/Rogue can be really fun. If you take the Tavern Brawler feat and convince your DM to let you use sneak attack with your unarmed strikes, you can never be disarmed. You would also have the strongest defense even if you had no armor, due to Cunning Action plus Unarmored Defense plus Rage.

Even without the DM's approval on sneak attack, you can use literally anything in the environment as an improvised weapon and make a case for sneak attack/similarity to a dagger.

I did a Barbarian/Rogue/Fighter combination (which I wouldn't recommend unless you roll some high stats), and not only was I able to grapple effectively (Rage + Expertise), but I was also able to drag my allies around into safety.

We fought a Water Elemental once and my teammates got trapped in its space. My action surge + double strength check with advantage saved both of them from drowning. Then I stepped back and ate the creature's opportunity attack while dragging my teammates to safety so they could attack at range.

Expertise in stealth is also very handy when everyone else is stealthy. It makes stealth missions possible.

On the RP aspect, Thieves' Cant is incredibly flavorful. We were essentially a party of Rogues, and described Thieves' Cant as saying one thing like "I really think we should help this person out" but using nonverbal gestures and voice cues, mean something completely different like "I don't trust this guy. We should kill him."

[smcmike]

I’m playing a Barb/Rogue right now. It’s a common build, and works great. It’s the best way to build an old-fashioned action hero in the game. The one problem with your plan, though, is trying to make it Dex-based. To really take advantage of the combination, you have to stick with strength, for Reckless Sneak Attacks and Expert Raging Grappling and Shoving, which are the core components of the combo.

5 Barbarian/15 Rogue seems pretty good to me. Once you get that extra attack, it makes sense to focus on sneak attack and the other cool abilities rogues get.

For feats, I recommend Shield Master and Sentinel, or Tavern Brawler if you’re really into wrestling.


I'd start rogue for the two extra skill proficiencies

No, start Barbarian.

Starting Rogue only gives you one extra skill proficiency - 4 v 3, since you pick up one when you multi into Rogue.

Starting Barbarian has other benefits that outweigh one skill - 12 HP at level 1, medium armor proficiency, and Con saves. Dex saves are fine, of course, but you’ll be rolling them with advantage most of the time anyways, so I think Con is better.

[Deleted]

I’m playing a Barb/Rogue right now. It’s a common build, and works great. It’s the best way to build an old-fashioned action hero in the game. The one problem with your plan, though, is trying to make it Dex-based. To really take advantage of the combination, you have to stick with strength, for Reckless Sneak Attacks and Expert Raging Grappling and Shoving, which are the core components of the combo.

5 Barbarian/15 Rogue seems pretty good to me. Once you get that extra attack, it makes sense to focus on sneak attack and the other cool abilities rogues get.

For feats, I recommend Shield Master and Sentinel, or Tavern Brawler if you’re really into wrestling.



No, start Barbarian.

Starting Rogue only gives you one extra skill proficiency - 4 v 3, since you pick up one when you multi into Rogue.

Starting Barbarian has other benefits that outweigh one skill - 12 HP at level 1, medium armor proficiency, and Con saves. Dex saves are fine, of course, but you’ll be rolling them with advantage most of the time anyways, so I think Con is better.

Definitely start barbarian.

But I wouldn't even touch feats for the most part on this MC build, you don't really need them. I would focus on ability scores unless there is something you really really really want to build around.

Bonus Action Help (mastermind Rogue) > Shield Master. Shield master requires a shield and the attack action while the Bonus Action help is ranged of 30' and has no such limitations on action used... Plus for the most part they give you the same bonus (I've found that players like to split up their targets and don't focus fire until there's a boss).

[smcmike]

Definitely start barbarian.

But I wouldn't even touch feats for the most part on this MC build, you don't really need them. I would focus on ability scores unless there is something you really really really want to build around.

Bonus Action Help (mastermind Rogue) > Shield Master. Shield master requires a shield and the attack action while the Bonus Action help is ranged of 30' and has no such limitations on action used... Plus for the most part they give you the same bonus (I've found that players like to split up their targets and don't focus fire until there's a boss).

A shield and the attack action are both things that my Barbarian/Rogue makes heavy use of, so that’s not much of a drawback. He’s a frontliner, so the 30’ range isn’t much of a benefit. Knocking people over before attacking them is a good way to get advantage for yourself, if you want to avoid Reckless Attack. Also, shove can be used to rearrange the battlefield. All in all, I think Shield Master is worth considering. Sentinel, too, since stickiness and more Sneak Attacks per round are valuable. Of course, I rolled stats, and started with 16 in all physicals after racial adjustment, so I’m less pressed for ASIs.

[Scathain]

Played a triton barb2/swashbuckler6 in White Plum Mountain. Reckless Attack plus Swashbuckler means sneak attack is more or less on 100% of the time. Rage + uncanny dodge makes boss blows much more manageable. AND, you have martial weapon proficiency: I picked up Wave immediately. Barb/rogue in ANY combination is a versatile AF build. 5/5 gets all the goodies, 2-3/X if you want to focus on sneak attack.

[Citan]

Starting Rogue only gives you one extra skill proficiency - 4 v 3, since you pick up one when you multi into Rogue.

Starting Barbarian has other benefits that outweigh one skill - 12 HP at level 1, medium armor proficiency, and Con saves. Dex saves are fine, of course, but you’ll be rolling them with advantage most of the time anyways, so I think Con is better.
I'd tend to agree with Smcmike here. Starting Rogue makes you extra-specialized in DEX saves, but I'd argue that your ability to avoid it would become "overkill" past some point. Unless when, of course, you fight 18+CR creatures that have such a high DC that "just great saves" is not enough. But those fights are usually not your bread and better for day-to-day adventures so I think it's a perfectly acceptable drawback... ^^
As for the other proficiency, namely INT, well, unless your DM is evil enough to throw Phantasmal Forces regularly, I'd say it's really not a big loss. :)

Whereas having a much better Constitution save and AC right off the bat will make a huge difference overall in survivability: many creatures have annoying -or even dangerous- effects targeting CON, and a difference of +2 or +4 (shield) AC makes a definitive difference until you get enough levels to not worry about getting hit somewhat often.
Plus the fact that if you want to use Reckless Attack, you diminish your effective AC too (even if the damage resistance compensates). ^^
And having a good STR save will help you avoid a few nasty spells/effects that would restrain you, making your usual roguish speed useless.

[JellyPooga]

I played a Half-Orc Barb/Rogue in an online PbP game. Started Barbarian at 1st (seriously, it's waaay better than the alternative) and MC'd to Thief Rogue 3 before even considering where to take it from there. Rage + Athletics Expertise + Fast Hands is all the fun :smallbiggrin:

I went for a Whip and Shield build, Str-focused (for the Rage damage). The extra reach was invaluable (it came in much more handy than I thought it would) and makes you a god of area control, especially if/when you get the Sentinel feat (which you really do want at some point; it's awesome on this style of character). Sneak Attack and Rage more than make up for the low damage die of the whip (which is really only losing you an average of 2 points of damage per attack compared to a rapier).

Stack Uncanny Dodge and Resistance to P/B/S from Rage and you can and will shrug off hits from big bruisers. Hit for 40 damage? Nah, call it 10. Hit for 100? Nope; 25. Each feature, alone, is a huge multiplier to your effective HP. Together it's almost cheating.

The best thing about it? Because of the large amount of modifiers to things you get with this build, your stats don't even have to be that good. I found 14's in Str/Dex/Con to be sufficient, allowing me to spend points in my mental stats so as not to have the glaring weakness to Int/Cha Saves such characters often exhibit and play a character that can actually function in a conversation!

The game I played didn't go beyond 6th (I was Barb 1/Rogue 5), but it was an absolute blast. I was throwing furniture around to create cover and difficult terrain (Fast Hands), controlling whole swathes of even open battlefields with my additional reach and high threat from Sneak Attack and tanking hits like a champ. Had the game continued, I would have levelled Barbarian to 5th next, going Totem Path (probably Wolf, for the team bonus) and to grab Extra Attack (everyone likes rolling more dice, right?).

Can't recommend playing a Barb/Rogue more; one of the best characters I've ever played, both from a mechanical and a roleplaying perspective.

[MeeposFire]

Personally I would go barb5/rogue15 or similar (for instance you could replace 1 or more rogue levels with fighter). I would start with barb as advantage, decent dex score, and evasion is more than enough to deal with most of dex saves you will take (most dex saves deal with damage so evasion does most of the big lifting) eventually.

I like it with the halfling especially in Eberron. If you go totem convince your DM to replace the animals in the totems with dinosaurs like raptor instead of wolf.

[prototype00]

I echo the support for Barb 5/ Rogue 15.

However unlike others, I’ve chosen to go a bit feat heavy (Variant Human) to start. It’s a grapple build so I’ve focused on Shield Master (currently used to knock folks down to provide advantage at low levels) and Tavern Brawler to maximise grapple action economy.

The ideal scenario goes:

Round 1: Sheldmaster Knock Prone (Bonus) Stab, sneak attack (Attack action), Drop Rapier (free action), Grapple (Attack action)

Round 2: Jump and drop foe from 10ft (movement), pick up Rapier (free), stab for sneak attack (Attack action), drop Rapier (free), Attack with unarmed strike (attack action), grapple (Bonus action due to Tavern Brawler)

Round 3: Repeat Round 2.

Before Tavern Brawler, that second attack was reserved for grappling so this is less wasteful. With Rogue extra ASIs, this build gets maxed Str and Con anyhow.

[Dalebert]

Bugbear barbarian 2 / rogue x ...
I assigned a belt of hill giant str at 5th but if you can't, just max out str and put dex at 14 then wear a breastplate. Attack with reach, maybe whips, and ac doesn't matter as much.

I think extra attack is kinda redundant with sneak attack. You give up 2d6 for it. Just do two levels barbarian.Take two weapon fighting feat for extra attack. What matters is just landing that sneak and you already have reckless for that. An off-hand attack is plenty. I hardly ever fail to hit at least once.

[JellyPooga]

Bugbear barbarian 2 / rogue x ...
I assigned a belt of hill giant str at 5th but if you can't, just max out str and put dex at 14 then wear a breastplate. Attack with reach, maybe whips, and ac doesn't matter as much.

I think extra attack is kinda redundant with sneak attack. You give up 2d6 for it. Just do two levels barbarian.Take two weapon fighting feat for extra attack. What matters is just landing that sneak and you already have reckless for that. An off-hand attack is plenty. I hardly ever fail to hit at least once.

I agree that Extra Attack isn't necessary, but it is nice and by the time you get it (if you follow the Barb 1/Rogue 5/Barb +4 progression), you probably have a magical weapon that makes it worth the while. Barbarian 5 isn't only for the Extra Attack, though; the Path feature and additional Rage per day at 3rd are tasty tasty and there's an ASI along the way to 5th too.

That said, although Barbarian at 1st is far preferable, Rogue really takes the spotlight in this build and whatever final build you aim at, think about grabbing the Rogue highlights sooner than the Barbarian ones. All Barbarian is doing is providing favourable Save Proficiencies, weapon/armour proficiencies and (basically) Rage. Rogue brings the real fun to the table with SA, CA, UD and expertise.

[DragonBaneDM]

Hey everyone!

Thanks so much for the great responses, sorry I've been kinda neglectful of the thread as it's been developing. It's helped me to decide that the build is viable as long as I go Str focused for my attacks, start off as a level one barbarian, and that I have a ton of options depending on my split! I could either be Sneak attack focused, pick up Mastermind, go for the extra attack, or try to "have the best of both worlds" as was said before. I really like action-hero type characters, and I even think using a whip while I'm not raging could be really fun! Relic the Warforged is going to be a winner, I can already tell.

Here's some arrays I've gotten typed out, let me know what you think would be the best option/if I'm missing anything. I'm not scared of dumping Int or even Cha if I have to, and my racial bonuses as a Warforged Scout are +2 Con and +1 Dex:


Str 15
Dex 13 up to 14
Con 14 up to 16
Int 8
Wis 12
Cha 9



Str 14
Dex 12 up to 13
Con 14 up to 16
Int 10
Wis 12
Cha 11



Str 14
Dex 15 to 16
Con 14 to 16
Int 8
Wis 12
Cha 8

[Dalebert]

What I'm surprised not to see is maxxing out str (15) and con (17). That way you can add 1 to each at first ASI.

Consider starting with an odd dex and taking resilient dex at some point. Mine is taking that as his first feat. Once you have reach attacks and damage resistance, one of the most common remaining threats is AOEs. Having Danger Sense, Evasion, AND dex save profs is schweeeet.

[bid]

Here's some arrays I've gotten typed out, let me know what you think would be the best option/if I'm missing anything. I'm not scared of dumping Int or even Cha if I have to, and my racial bonuses as a Warforged Scout are +2 Con and +1 Dex:
None of these.
Start 14 14 16 10 12 10, then just ASI to Str20.
Dalebert's 15 14 17 8 12 8 is ok, but you cannot waste your resilient on Dex, it must be on Wis.

Unarmored defense is a trap (half-plate is AC17, same as Dex18 + Con16, disregarding any magic armor).


If you really want to go the halfling path, then start 13 16 16 10 12 8. Rage will only improve your defense.


In all cases, start with twin shortswords until you get extra attack. A second chance at SA is a must and the offhand rage damage is nice. I think I'd rather barb 1, then stop at rogue 3 until extra attack from barb 5, then rogue all the way.

[djreynolds]

Hey gang.

So I've got an Eberron game coming up, and I'm using the Scout Warforged from the Eberron 5E handbook since they're my favorite race.

We've got two high Cha folks already, so I think Paladin is out, and I wanted to try out something different and semi complex with multiclassing.

I figured I'd see if a Dex Barbarian with levels in Rogue would work. Whenever I try and find build advice for it online, it's all hypothetical stuff from when 5E came out, no one seemed to have tried it yet. Reckless Attack plus Sneak Attack would be great, but doesn't hold up at all.

Has anyone given it a shot yet? How'd it go down? What split points would you recommend? Right now I'm thinking Barbarian 5/Rogue 5, so that I could nab extra attack and Uncanny Dodge, but I don't really know what that progression should look like...

I've seen Dex Paladins do really well, but does it work with Barbarians? Should I just go Strength Rogue instead? Or do I can the whole thing and go Barbarian/Fighter or Fighter/Rogue?

See rage like this, upgrade stoneskin, that is non-concentration and works even versus magic weapons and you get this as early as level 2

So as long as you have a 13 in strength and have on medium armor or less, you can grab 2 levels of barbarian and rage 2x's a day

Now the big issue is at early levels is wisdom saves.

Please do not wait on slippery mind at rogue 15. IMO, there is no reason to even dream of rogue 15/ barbarian 5.... you'll never see it.

Instead you will take resilient wisdom.

I really like 5 barbarian/ 5 rogue... it will work.

And with this build, I would switch back and forth from maybe a rapier/shield and dual short sword layout

And I might stress to take 6 levels of totem barbarian, you can RAW grab bear at 3, and tiger at 6 for 2 more skills or wolf

And then grab feral instinct at 7th

And of course select resilient wisdom

[DragonBaneDM]

Unarmored defense is a trap (half-plate is AC17, same as Dex18 + Con16, disregarding any magic armor).



So I found this comment interesting, cause I'm never gonna see Half Plate on this character outside some feat investment. Barbarian doesn't net me any armor profs, and then my Rogue MC gets me to Light armor.

I feel like lots of other people are alright with Con/Dex focused AC, does anyone else feel like I should be hunting down medium armor prof ASAP?

[smcmike]

So I found this comment interesting, cause I'm never gonna see Half Plate on this character outside some feat investment. Barbarian doesn't net me any armor profs, and then my Rogue MC gets me to Light armor.

I feel like lots of other people are alright with Con/Dex focused AC, does anyone else feel like I should be hunting down medium armor prof ASAP?

You are mistaken.

If you start as a barbarian, it gives you light armor, medium armor, and shields. This is one reason to start barbarian - if you start as rogue you don’t get medium armor.

With a standard array, it’s probably best to plan on medium armor. I like the image of an unarmored barbarian, and that’s what I use, but I rolled slightly higher top-three stats than the standard array (16, 15, 14).

[prototype00]

So I found this comment interesting, cause I'm never gonna see Half Plate on this character outside some feat investment. Barbarian doesn't net me any armor profs, and then my Rogue MC gets me to Light armor.

I feel like lots of other people are alright with Con/Dex focused AC, does anyone else feel like I should be hunting down medium armor prof ASAP?

Con/Dex gets you reasonably far, actually, especially when you start off broke. Most barbarians with a Shield should have around 17 AC naked. If/when you boost your con to the max, you eventually end up at 19 AC, which is the same as the non-magical half plate would have been (I tend not to plan for magic items).

[DragonBaneDM]

You are mistaken.

If you start as a barbarian, it gives you light armor, medium armor, and shields. This is one reason to start barbarian - if you start as rogue you don’t get medium armor.

With a standard array, it’s probably best to plan on medium armor. I like the image of an unarmored barbarian, and that’s what I use, but I rolled slightly higher top-three stats than the standard array (16, 15, 14).

Oh!

Thank you! I was actually super confused but away from book.

[FaceofBo]

Heya Y'all, I've been reading through this build with a ton of interest, it seems to be a ton of fun, but I had a question, is there merit in dipping 3 into rogue for expertise then picking up Mastermind to get the Help bonus action? I'm currently a level 6 Ancestor barb with 16's in all my physical stats, and I was going for a more control-y build (Ancestral Guardians to give Dis against others, Grapple and hold em down for the rogue, and so on), but staying mostly barb.

[MeeposFire]

Heya Y'all, I've been reading through this build with a ton of interest, it seems to be a ton of fun, but I had a question, is there merit in dipping 3 into rogue for expertise then picking up Mastermind to get the Help bonus action? I'm currently a level 6 Ancestor barb with 16's in all my physical stats, and I was going for a more control-y build (Ancestral Guardians to give Dis against others, Grapple and hold em down for the rogue, and so on), but staying mostly barb.

Well it has merit but it does not help you control so it does not directly influence what you are going for. It does give you a nice benefit that boosts others such as being able to give advantage to your rogue friend using your bonus action.

If you do not have have bonus action you want to use all the time it can be a good choice if you have a party member that gets a nice boost from getting advantage on their next attack (rogues are the most common in that regard). The more quality uses of a bonus action you have the less valuable it becomes.

[bid]

Con/Dex gets you reasonably far, actually, especially when you start off broke. Most barbarians with a Shield should have around 17 AC naked. If/when you boost your con to the max, you eventually end up at 19 AC, which is the same as the non-magical half plate would have been (I tend not to plan for magic items).
Well, most barbarian will boost to Str20 with maybe GWM in there. So you are at level 12 and still AC15.

Once you reach level 19, you will be Dex14 / Con20 for AC17... no better than a non-magical half-plate. Right where the other guy was 10 level ago, and still behind his +2 magic armor he got since then.

So, for 15 levels you were 2 AC point behind for... style I guess.


If you start stout halfling and forego any rage extra damage, you could be AC17 at level 4. Now you could reach Dex20 / Con20 at level 16 for a naked AC20. So yeah, it can get you reasonably far that way.


tl;dr
Barbarian unarmored defense is a trap for Str build.

[Arkhios]

I haven't tried it yet, but I'm pretty set for giving it a shot with my Battlerager (expertise with Athletics because of Grapple, obviously).

More specifically, a Mountain Dwarf Battlerager 6+/Thief 6+ (currently Str 18, Dex 14, Con 18, Int 8, Wis 10, Cha 8)


tl;dr
Barbarian unarmored defense is a trap for Str build.

Although it doesn't apply to a Battlerager because of Spiked Armor, I respectfully disagree on that. AC 16 (any variation of Dex 14 & Con 18, Dex 16 & Con 16, or Dex 18 & Con 14) is as good as chainmail, and either one you choose to increase later isn't going to be bad call. Besides, there's no such thing as "dex build = effective as barbarian" because of how Rage and Reckless Attack work; you must attack in melee using strength or you don't benefit from either.

[prototype00]

Well, most barbarian will boost to Str20 with maybe GWM in there. So you are at level 12 and still AC15.

Once you reach level 19, you will be Dex14 / Con20 for AC17... no better than a non-magical half-plate. Right where the other guy was 10 level ago, and still behind his +2 magic armor he got since then.

So, for 15 levels you were 2 AC point behind for... style I guess.


If you start stout halfling and forego any rage extra damage, you could be AC17 at level 4. Now you could reach Dex20 / Con20 at level 16 for a naked AC20. So yeah, it can get you reasonably far that way.


tl;dr
Barbarian unarmored defense is a trap for Str build.

At low levels, where I’m playing, it’s probably superior to most Armor I can afford. At higher levels, sure, you make your choice then.

[DragonBaneDM]

So it seems like starting with a decent Dex and Con for okay AC while I'm still saving for breastplate is a good option, but I really don't need to start with anything higher than 14 Dex, since that'll be capped by my armor?

[bid]

AC 16 (any variation of Dex 14 & Con 18, Dex 16 & Con 16, or Dex 18 & Con 14) is as good as chainmail, and either one you choose to increase later isn't going to be bad call.
Right, so Str14 at start... and Dex16 / Con16 with racials.

And then you'll reach Str20 at level 12, still stuck with AC16.

While your pal had Str20 since level 8, and AC17 earlier.
I mean, you prolly looted a scale mail or 50g by level 5.

[bid]

So it seems like starting with a decent Dex and Con for okay AC while I'm still saving for breastplate is a good option, but I really don't need to start with anything higher than 14 Dex, since that'll be capped by my armor?
Yes. I'm under the impression Eberron is more political and Warforged feels better with Int10 and Wis12 than an extra modifier in Dex.

[Arkhios]

Right, so Str14 at start... and Dex16 / Con16 with racials.

And then you'll reach Str20 at level 12, still stuck with AC16.

While your pal had Str20 since level 8, and AC17 earlier.
I mean, you prolly looted a scale mail or 50g by level 5.

Who said you absolutely must have STR 20 by level 8 or 12? No one. It's your choice. Deal with it.

[bid]

Who said you absolutely must have STR 20 by level 8 or 12? No one. It's your choice. Deal with it.
Of course not. Cookie cutter barbarians will start with Str16, get GWM, then Str18 at level 8. At which point they'll be Str18 Dex14 Con16 and AC17 or maybe AC18 with a +1 armor.
Stil open for resilient(Wis) at 12 and more ASI at 16-19.

Compare to a mountain dwarf pushed to the far end of 17 14 17 8 10 8, with 3 ASI to get 18 16 20 and match AC18.

Cookie cutter is level 8 with some magic armor and GWM. Lets add Con18 to match level 12.
Dwarf is level 12, with +1 initiative, +1 hp per level. Same AC, no feat.


We'll have to disagree on that, but IMO boosting Dex comes second to GWM / shield master and resilient(Wis) except for the rare stout halfling build. I'm not even sure boosting above Con18 is worth it compared to some feats. All this make me certain unarmored defense is a trap.