What class fits these requirements?

[jaappleton]

Starting at 8th level.

1. Need to be able to mix it up in melee. Melee first, spells are secondary.

2. Dragonborn wielding Greatsword is a must, that part is locked in, for better or worse.

3. Short rest dependent.

4. Also wants some abilities that can be used outside of combat.



Now, what I came up with was Bladelock. Likely Archfey or GOO to satisfy the #4 requirement, as Fiend is good, but exceptionally combat focused. A slight worry I have is that since Warlock is essentially a full caster, will the I feel more like a Mage as opposed to a melee fighter? (I suffer the same worry regarding Bladesingers, for the record)

There's also the Blood Hunter from Matt Mercer / Critical Role, but looking it over, I think Bladelock is pretty superior to it, unless I'm missing something.

Beyond that, I'm struggling to see other options. EK is both Short and Long rest dependent, but the spell school restrictions don't really satisfy #4, from what I can tell.

Anyone have other ideas?

[Ninja_Prawn]

EK with the Ritual Caster feat for out-of-combat utility?

[Madfellow]

I have some experience with a fey bladelock. Being limited to two spells per rest means you're quite reliant on your weapon, so I wouldn't worry there. Out of combat utility is a combination of spell selection and skill choices, largely personalized to taste.

Good luck.

[rbstr]

Pure class, Greatsword compatible, short rest resource?
Hexblade
Battlemaster
dual class?
Fighter+Warlock (really only need fighter 1)
Paladin+Warlock (paladin 2 min.)
Battlemaster+caster

Any of these cases swinging the sword can be your main thing. Spells for buffs/situationalblasting/heals/utility

At level 8 Fighter2+Swords Bard6 (start fighter) has short rest flourishes, extra attack, action surge and can do a greatsword/heavy armor? Lots of utility spells. Con Save proficiency Could be cool. Dragonborn has the right bonus stats.

[Requilac]

I would not go for a feylock or GOOlock for for your purposes, they are not strong enough in melee to constantly be an upfront rank that you appear to be looking for.

This seems like what the Ranger was built for. The only issue with them is that they are not short rest dependent, but otherwise they fit all your requirements quite well. I know they do not have the great weapon fighting style, but you can just take defense which is just as good. They can primarily use melee fighting but have a collection of useful spells, can make good use of the greatsword, and has a lot of good out of combat features. The only problem with it is that it is not short rest dependent. A lot of people like to berate the ranger for how weak it is, but if you know how to use it properly than it is just as great as all the other classes. This is going to disappoint the optimizer in you, but it fits all your thematic requirements so you may be able to ignore it.

An Eldritch Knight that takes a ton of exploration based feats may work too. Normal EKs have no features that are useful outside of combat, but that should be easy to bypass with feats and multi-classing if necessary.

[Ritorix]

Warlock is a good fit, but all sorts of Fighter or Paladin could work.

Samurai, for example, you might think of as long-rest dependent because they get 3 uses of their Fighting Spirit ability per day. But realistically you'll always try to pair that with an Action Surge, which is short rest dependent.

As for 'abilities outside combat', if you have a decent skillset and the ability scores to back them up they could work just fine.

So here's an example build since I was playing around with it on Beyond. 8th level fighter, samurai, greatsword with GWF. Once per short rest, you'll do a round with four -5/+10 attacks with advantage, rerolling 1/2s, for around 90 damage if they all hit. Also has proficiency in all 3 decent saves (dex/con/wis), a bunch of useful wisdom-based skills, and has persuasion based on wisdom via samurai.

Sheet:
https://i.imgur.com/z3pBZy0.jpg

[jaappleton]

I like Paladins, but unfortunately, there's already one in the group. Also Strength based, though Sword n Board. So there'd be a bit of redundancy, especially in the spell list aspect. Though I have been eyeballing Treachery (She's Vengeance).

I do like Ranger, and the spell list did get slightly better with XGtE. Revised Ranger Horizon Walker is really interesting. But it's got nothing going on for Short Rests. But it does have a LOT going on. With Revised especially, I'll be doing quite a bit of damage.

GOO especially is... I admit, not stellar for melee. And the lv6 is a bit 'meh'. But telepathy at will? And the spell list is decent, though a bit of a mixed bag.

Archfey's lv1 is very nice, providing two great effects to choose from, and a nice spell list.

[Mongobear]

Seconding EK or Hexblade, although wanting to be Strength based makes part of Hex Warrior useless. Would maxxing Charisma, and having Strength at like 15-17 for armor and skills be sufficient?

Alternatively, Conquest Paladin. Iirc, XGtE added a fearful presence racial feat for dragonborn, which pairs nicely with Conquest features, and you can just use your spells for Smites if you don't want to cast regularly.

If I was rolling this up, I'd go Conquest Paladin 7/Hexblade 1, taking the Dragon Fear Feat to buff Charisma if odd, Strength otherwise. With your level 7 aura, anyone Frightened of you and within 10 feet has 0 speed, so it's quite nice battlefield control with your Channel Divinity and Feat being AoE fear effects.

[GorogIrongut]

Deep Stalker Ranger... and if you can multiclass, put in two levels of Barbarian.
Rangers bring a whole host of out of combat abilities. You get magic, even if it isn't short rest dependent. And Deep Stalkers belie the belief that Rangers need to be ranged attackers. They can be brutal in melee. Especially with those 2 levels of barbarian.

That would be what I would run.

That said, if we're looking for something that hasn't been suggested yet, you could go for an Arcane Trickster. 1/3 Casters who get the rogue chassis, which is ridiculous. Insane tanking ability. Occasional striking ability. Absurd utility. And if you're worried about it being less offensive than other options, you can sink your expertise in athletics and be a Dragonborn Grappler. And the cherry on top of the sundae is that you get the extra ASI's.

[Captain Bob]

The short rest thing pretty much makes it so you're stuck with fighters, barbarians, or warlocks if you're interested in a great sword melee build. I'd recommend hexblade just because it amplifies the value of that charisma you get racially - and it's the only way to get spell utility, which seems like what you're looking for. I'd probably go fighter 1 / Hexblade 7 to start, cause medium armor alone isn't gonna cut it for you when you don't have a shield to back it up. This does a few things - not only heavy armor prof., but you get the fighting style to further amp yourself up into the 18-19 armor range with non-magical stuff. Secondly, you get proficiency in Con saves so you can actually keep your concentration buffs or hex or whatever up as you melee ****. ALSO this is real good if you wanna use the magical darkness strats - layering high AC with Disadvantage to be hit AND proficiency with the save if you do get hit is juicy sweet.

The 1 / 7 split is more ASI Friendly...but you could even do a 3 / 5 split if you REALLY like short rests for some battlemaster superiority die as well as your spells on 30 minute cool-downs.

**Slight addendum, but what kind of utility do you want? This setup offers you a spell list and invocations that cover social and movement stuff but I'm not quite sure what interests you as a player on this count.

Also if you're doing regular point buy make sure you drop a 14 into strength, so your racial puts you into the required zone for wearing plate

[solidork]

EK with the Ritual Caster feat for out-of-combat utility?

I agree with this. I'm personally a huge fan of Ritual Caster.

[jaappleton]

The more I consider it, the more I think I have to abandon the short rest thing. Its just too restricting.

Fighters don't offer enough utility for me, and Warlocks don't offer enough melee prowess. Though I do love the class.

It's a total PITA because I have D&D Beyond, but I'm loving the idea of a melee focused Revised Ranger - Horizon Walker. The idea of going Ethereal and running through enemies to get to their leader before shifting back to the Material Plane and cleaving through the enemy commander is so... Satisfying.

Between my Breath Weapon and one or two Ranger spells, I'll have all the AoE I need, with tons of melee prowess to handle solo foes.

My only two issues now are...

1. How do I shore up the AC?

With a Cloak of Protection and 14 Dex, and Half Plate and the Defense style, I'm at 15+2+1+1, so 19AC.

.....That enough? I know its not the most possible, but is that enough? I think its OK. Not great.



2. What're some strategies to use with Ranger spells? Never been one before. Not too well versed in them. I assume to take advantage of spells with riders, like inflicting Restrained and such.

[sky red hunter]

just go battle master fighter, use one of the three asi's to take magic initiate if you really want magic too. keeps its short rest dependant, puts melee first and keeps the sword use intact. if you really want some out of combat skills use one of the asi's to take a feat that allows for this.

[Requilac]

1. How do I shore up the AC?

With a Cloak of Protection and 14 Dex, and Half Plate and the Defense style, I'm at 15+2+1+1, so 19AC.

.....That enough? I know its not the most possible, but is that enough? I think its OK. Not great.

2. What're some strategies to use with Ranger spells? Never been one before. Not too well versed in them. I assume to take advantage of spells with riders, like inflicting Restrained and such.

How high of AC are you asking for? The highest they go without the use of magic is 21, so 18 or 19 is not that bad. What AC do your characters usually have? To me a 19 seems really good

The most common strategies with ranger spells is to use ones which buff your attacks all the time, and have a decent sized collection of exlploration spells at your disposal to add on. If you would like more information, perhaps Evil Anagram’s ranger guide (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?374666-Not-All-Who-Wander-are-Lost-A-Ranger-s-Guide) may be of use to you. There is a specific section for ranger spells there for you on post #6. Perhaps that may inspire your inner optimizer?

[Captain Bob]

Just to play devils advocate here real quick - I don't think I'd class melee rangers as capable of offering more damage than a hexblade warlock. If anything it's a tie - each has two attacks, and one or more ways to buff damage with a concentration spell (hunter's mark, hex) or class feature (hexblade curse, eldritch smite for lock, and the 1 / turn or hit features on the hunter and horizon walker (?) ranger). They each get static bonuses as well, with whatever the invocation for warlock is that lets you add your charisma modifier to your melee hits twice (Life drinker I think), and favored enemy for ranger.

The main difference in my opinion is that ranger spells come back on long rest versus short (and the at will invocation stuff), and the nature of what you gain. Flavor, or fluff is a bigger deal here - survival and nature things, versus arcane magic and the whole gamut of invocations (I'd seriously look at the list in Xanathar's, Sword Coast, and PBE before choosing to discount this).

As far as AC, if you're melee and want a 2 hand weapon, heavy armor and the defense fighting style is as good as it gets for a non-barbarian, which means either paladin or fighter dips. That said, 19 is respectable with your magic item, so that's gonna be a personal call for you. This is also where the warlock gets a leg up, between blink, mirror image, and darkness spells with Devil's Sight invocation.

[Gardakan]

Fighter 3/Paladin 5

Go on with Action Surge, a Fighting Style, some lay on hands. Pick an Archetype that suits you at 3 and a an oath that fullfills your playstyle.

Be a Warrior that pursued his Divine career throught Bahamut or Tiamat.

Action Surge is short rest dependent. You got spells, some healing, the ability to smite for additional damage and the uncanny Action Surge - smite option.

[jaappleton]

Crunching numbers, a big issue I’m coming across with Warlock (non Hexblade) is the AC. Armor of Shadows needs Dex, I’d need to spend a Feat to get Medium Armor on any of the Patron that I actually want, and I already need Str, Con and Charisma.

Though I suppose I could attempt to go the ‘spells that require no Charisma’ route, but that’s quite limiting.

[Dudewithknives]

If you can use UA, Stone Sorcerer.

All str and con and enough cha to get by.

If you can multiclass paladin 2 sorcerer x, if not, pure sorcerer.

Focus on the meter from stone sorcerer, twin booming blade or quicken it depending on 1 target or 2.

If multi use stones endurance until you can get good plate, spells are just for buffs, utility and smite.

Later teleport behind people and smite them.

[Nifft]

What kind of stats do you have to work with?

[jaappleton]

What kind of stats do you have to work with?

Point Buy, but I can put my +2 and +1 that normally goes Str / Cha into whatever.

And I can fudge just a little bit. Like if I’m one point short on getting a 13 to a 14, whatever, go for it. But I can’t go from 13 to 16.

[bid]

2. Dragonborn wielding Greatsword is a must, that part is locked in, for better or worse.
Dragonborn can 10 14 14 10 10 16, enough for a hexblade bladelock in medium armor. That way you can greatsword with Cha. Since you are SAD, you can waste a feat early for "utility".

The colorful alternative is valor bard with 16 10 14 10 12 14, but you'd need some fighter/paladin dip to get heavy armor and make full use of Str.


If you want main martial, you need extra attack asap. You wouldn't get the caster part up before level 8ish.

[MxKit]

Starting at 8th level.

1. Need to be able to mix it up in melee. Melee first, spells are secondary.

2. Dragonborn wielding Greatsword is a must, that part is locked in, for better or worse.

3. Short rest dependent.

4. Also wants some abilities that can be used outside of combat.

The first thing I thought of was actually Bard! Unfortunately, with that one, you'd need to take a dip of Fighter to get the weapon and armor proficiencies you'd want to avoid MADness; fortunately, even just a level or two gives you everything you'd ever need (including Con saves if you take it at first level). Fighter 2/Bard 6 would be great for you, since you'd have Extra Attack and Action Surge, and could just go Bard the entire rest of the way without losing out on anything except Superior Inspiration. Both College of Valor and College of Swords would be great for you. You're both short and long rest dependent; by the time you start play, your Bardic Inspiration would be recharging on a short rest, as would your Action Surge, while your spells would be recharging on a long rest. You'd have a bunch of in- and out-of-combat utility, and since your spells are a secondary concern for you it doesn't matter if you're a bit behind in your spell progression.

Hell, given that being a caster isn't your priority at all, you could possibly go all the way up to Fighter 3 or 4 to snag an archetype feature and regain your fifth ASI, though I'd take those two levels after you start play so you can start with Extra Attack. Champion or Battle Master would both work well for you as Fighter subclasses, since Champion's Improved Critical is just always on, and Battle Master's superiority dice recharge on a short rest. Samurai is also possible; its Fighting Spirit recharges on a long rest, but you get three uses of it per long rest, and Ritorix is right that you'll probably be trying to pair it with your Action Surges anyway, plus it will get you yet another skill or language proficiency.

Combine with a background that has a fun out-of-combat feature; I'd recommend Criminal, Guild Artisan/Merchant, or Noble, personally, though Sage, Sailor/Pirate, and Soldier are also neat. (Some of the SCAG backgrounds are also great; I'd recommend looking at Cloistered Scholar, Courtier, Far Traveler, Mercenary Veteran, and Urban Bounty Hunter especially.) But just focusing on one of the melee-focused Bards while taking a few levels of Fighter to improve/laser-focus on your combat prowess will give you pretty much everything you're asking for, imo.

[Nidgit]

Tossing a second recommendation for Fighter 2/Swords Bard 6. Pretty much the only thing here that doesn't gel with your desired is the Swords Bard fighting style restrictions, but worst case scenario that just gives you a bit of versatility. You can progress straight Bard or add a level for Eldritch Knight, Battlemaster, or Samurai for different utilities.

16, 10, 14*, 8, 12, 18 at Level 8, though you could easily swap Str and Cha if you preferred.
*rounded up from 13

[Callin]

Hexblade 3/ Stone Sorc 5 pick up 6 at next level. Use Haste for 2 actions, Booming Blade for attacks, and a Quickened Booming Blade for 3 of em Nova. Toss in 2 Paladin if wanted and I have done some SICK damage with this guy.

***

NOT Cheesing it you can still pull off the 3 attacks in a Nova with Haste, Quickened, Booming Blade Greatsword for 2d6+x+1d8 (thunder).

I got options in Combat other than this but I wanted a Melee Magic so thats what I focus on. Haveing up Armor of Agathys and the Stone Sorcs +1HP helps shore up the low HD and Med Armor or if you get a Con Item you can have an OK AC. Or nab Mobility and just move in and out specially since you can teleport back into the fray at lvl 6 as a reaction (depending)


***Coffeelock cheese below

Now I am only using a Longsword because he is a Tome Lock not a Blade Lock. Coffeelock as well so I can spam Smites like nobodies business. But for Nova you could pull off (with me being lvl 11) after casting Haste doing 1d8+9+2d8 (Thunder)+5d8 (Smite) x3, and then a Teleport Strike Reaction for another 1d8+9+5d8. So some nova if ya cheese it.

[danpit2991]

dragonborn paladin

[DKing9114]

The more I consider it, the more I think I have to abandon the short rest thing. Its just too restricting.

Fighters don't offer enough utility for me, and Warlocks don't offer enough melee prowess. Though I do love the class.

It's a total PITA because I have D&D Beyond, but I'm loving the idea of a melee focused Revised Ranger - Horizon Walker. The idea of going Ethereal and running through enemies to get to their leader before shifting back to the Material Plane and cleaving through the enemy commander is so... Satisfying.

Between my Breath Weapon and one or two Ranger spells, I'll have all the AoE I need, with tons of melee prowess to handle solo foes.

My only two issues now are...

1. How do I shore up the AC?

With a Cloak of Protection and 14 Dex, and Half Plate and the Defense style, I'm at 15+2+1+1, so 19AC.

.....That enough? I know its not the most possible, but is that enough? I think its OK. Not great.



2. What're some strategies to use with Ranger spells? Never been one before. Not too well versed in them. I assume to take advantage of spells with riders, like inflicting Restrained and such.

Not sure you can use etherealness quite like that-the class ability ends at the end of your turn, and the spell itself takes an action to end early. The feature seems most useful as a way to jump out of trouble.

19AC is pretty solid; as for ranger spells, hunter's mark is your friend. Bonus action cast on your first turn for 1d6 damage every time you hit.

That being said, I'd be wary of playing a ranger while relying on Strength for your primary attacks, given that multiple ranger features and spells entail stealth checks.

Personally, I'd say either going Fighter/Bard or taking either Paladin or Barbarian 5/Fighter (Battlemaster)3. Rely primarily on skills for out of combat utility. If splitting Fighter/Bard, either go Fighter 2/ Sword Bard 6, or take Fighter 5/ Lore Bard 3.

[GorogIrongut]

Dragonborn Gloom Stalker 6/Barbarian 2

Stats
Str 13 +1 racial = 14 Proficiency
Dex 13 +1 fudge = 14 Danger Sense for a lot of saves
Con 14 +2 racial = 16 Proficiency
Int 10
Wis 14 You get proficiency in this with one more level of Ranger
Cha 8

AC 17 w/o any armour or shield or magic items.
HP 12 + d12 (7) + 6d10 (36) + 24 = 79 hp
Initiative +2 and advantage

DREAD AMBUSHER Attacker extraordinaire. Very mobile.
At 3rd level, you master the art of the ambush. You can give yourself a bonus to your initiative rolls equal to your Wisdom modifier.
At the start of your first turn Of each combat, your walking speed increases by 10 feet, which lasts until the end of that turn. If you take the Attack action on that turn, you can make one additional weapon attack as part of that action. If that attack hits, the target takes an
extra 1d8 damage of the weapons damage type.
UMBRAL SIGHT This is huge for a dragonborn who gets no darkvision.
At 3rd level, you gain darkvision out to a range of 60 ' feet. If you already have darkvision from your race, its range increases by 30 feet.
You are also adept at evading creatures that rely on darkvision. While in darkness, you are invisible to any creature that relies on darkvision to see you in that darkness.
Ranger:
Favoured Enemy = win
Natural Explorer = Double Win
Fighting Style: Mariner (UA Waterborne): As long as you not wearing heavy armor or wearing a shield, you have a swimming speed and a climbing speed equal to your normal speed, and you gain a +1 bonus to AC.
Half caster
Primeval Awareness = okay
ASI (I'd go for +2 Con because it boosts hp and AC or Great Weapon Master because it meshes so well with Reckless)
2nd Attack
Greater Favoured Enemy = win
Wisdom Proficiency at level 7 and Bonus Action Dash at level 8.

Barbarian:
Rage x2 = To be used when you need to hit hard.
Unarmoured Defense = Using your ASI's on Con will boost your hp and AC.
Reckless Attack = Awesome. You will hit hard. Use a great sword but refashion it as a giant meat cleaver.
Danger Sense (this helps give you situational dexterity proficiency. Considering you've got Str/Con and will soon have wisdom, you've got a wide spread).

I'd take proficiency in: cooking utensils, athletics, stealth, insight and perception. See if you can get your GM to give you the Gourmand Feat from UA and then you have a Mad Chef who kills what he eats to make himself stronger. I'd also go for the variant background feature: Bad Reputation as you're slightly unsavoury... unlike your cooking.

Spells:
-You don't get cantrips... but I'd arm wrestle the GM to see if he would allow you to get Druidcraft only for reflavouring food.
Level 1 spells - Disguise Self/Hunter's Mark/Goodberry
Level 2 spells - Rope Trick/Pass without a Trace/Spike Growth

I know you want to go for a Horizon Walker, but I love this build. The idea of some outlander savage who hunts down and kills creatures of all types so that he can consume their strengths and become stronger, really appeals to me. The fact that he's a gourmand and does it really well is just gravy. If it were up to me, I'd've gone for Mountain Dwarf... but Dragonborn is good if you can mix and match bonuses.

If you're set on Horizon Walker, which is good too, I'd still take two levels of barbarian. It boosts your unarmoured AC and gives you damage resistance when you really need it. Reckless just turns you into a beast.

[Mortis_Elrod]

1. How do I shore up the AC?

With a Cloak of Protection and 14 Dex, and Half Plate and the Defense style, I'm at 15+2+1+1, so 19AC.



are you starting with a magic item? does it have to be a cloak or what rarity can it be?

[jaappleton]

are you starting with a magic item? does it have to be a cloak or what rarity can it be?

2 Rare
1 Uncommon

Was thinking Flametongue Greatsword for one Rare.

Amulet of Health for Con 19 for the other Rare?

[Captain Bob]

Running Xanathar's Hexblade patron gets you the same armor class - you get medium armor, shields and all martial weapons just like rangers. Ah nevermind just read the full post - yeah if you just don't want hexblade then look elsewhere, it's not gonna work unless you sacrifice save-based spells and make race / feat compromises.

[Citan]

Starting at 8th level.

1. Need to be able to mix it up in melee. Melee first, spells are secondary.

2. Dragonborn wielding Greatsword is a must, that part is locked in, for better or worse.

3. Short rest dependent.

4. Also wants some abilities that can be used outside of combat.



Now, what I came up with was Bladelock. Likely Archfey or GOO to satisfy the #4 requirement, as Fiend is good, but exceptionally combat focused. A slight worry I have is that since Warlock is essentially a full caster, will the I feel more like a Mage as opposed to a melee fighter? (I suffer the same worry regarding Bladesingers, for the record)

There's also the Blood Hunter from Matt Mercer / Critical Role, but looking it over, I think Bladelock is pretty superior to it, unless I'm missing something.

Beyond that, I'm struggling to see other options. EK is both Short and Long rest dependent, but the spell school restrictions don't really satisfy #4, from what I can tell.

Anyone have other ideas?
Hi!

So...
Single class
Battlemaster with Ritual caster Feat.
Eldricht Knight with Ritual caster feat (although most of it is actually long-rest dependent, you still get Action Surge and Second Wind).
Hunter Ranger.
Valor Bard if you don't mind using spells to buff your martial prowesses...
Vengeance Paladin.

Dual-class
Eldricht Knight with Abjurer/Evoker/War Magic Wizard.
Pump Fighter up to 6, pick 5 levels of Wizard, resume EK.
Pick GWM at 6, Warcaster at Wizard 4.
You get a third attack through Haste instead of 3rd attack from Fighter, BUT...
- You get it at exactly the same level...
- It comes with great benefits as a GWM user (much more mobility, choice between additional attack or free Disengage or free Dash every turn).
- At "caster level 7", it's sustainable as your go-to spell for each fight (4-5 times with Arcane Recovery).
- Because you want to go GWM, you don't really care about War Magic.
- Because you don't want to use offensive spellcasting, you don't really care about Eldricht Strike.
- Because you go Wizard, you get a bootload of rituals and utility magic which you can use to help your party.
- Because you go Wizard, you can learn Rope Trick and Leomund's Tiny Hut to facilitate short and long rests.

I'd obviously suggest Eldricht Knight because it makes the transition much smoother.
But if you don't mind starting your game as a pure martial and expect your campaign to go high enough, then Battlemaster is probably your best pick, since it provides great tactical options that recharge on short rests.

This would be my first choice.

Second choice would be an equal between...
Knowledge Cleric 2-3 / Hunter Ranger 5: you want to be useful to your party? Enter the "whatever you throw at me I'm proficient" Channel Divinity. Plus always useful 1st level spells (maybe 2nd). Plus adventuring / utility spells you can learn as Ranger (Pass Without Trace and Goodberry are mandatory ^^).

Land Druid 5-6 / Fighter or Barbarian 5+
Choice of martial depends on tactic you want to use from Druid.
Easiest way is obviously Fighter, and the Land Druid that gets Haste (it's basically the same as earlier, except you use interchangeable spells from Druid instead of "prepared among learned" from Wizard).
Long-term way is Land Druid 6 with Barbarian: rush into enemies, cast Plant Growth as an action, Rage as a bonus action, and start rampaging next turn. :)

[Nifft]

Point Buy, but I can put my +2 and +1 that normally goes Str / Cha into whatever.

And I can fudge just a little bit. Like if I’m one point short on getting a 13 to a 14, whatever, go for it. But I can’t go from 13 to 16.

Neat, so you could go single-class Warlock Hexblade and have good short-rest resource refresh, with Charisma being your only attack stat.

Is the Greatsword a requirement, could it be a different type of sword? If so, you might consider a Path of the Kensei Monk focused on a one-handed sword (either a Scimitar for Dex focus, or a Longsword for Str) -- and of course a Longbow.

[Oms]

Single class Hexblade using a longsword with both hands would look and feel pretty close to using a greatsword, but without the need to have a high strength.

[Mortis_Elrod]

I don’t think you’re gonna get any better than Revised Ranger.
Maybe spore Druid ? Go hard on that poison damage,
Spore Druid 2/Revised Ranger Horizon Walker 6 is pretty good.

And Green Dragonborn.

Pick up a Periap of Proof Against Poison or a Ring of Spell storing as your last rare item. Extra spells should help out. Or a necklace of fireballs for when you want to nuke everything.
Or an Oil of Etherealness until you can grab that level 7 in ranger.

[jaappleton]

LOVE the idea of a Ring of Spell Storing! I hadn't considered it before, but on a half caster, its a damn fine idea!