What are y'all sling builds

[Throne12]

So I know slings aren't the most damaging weapon but they could be used for a cool build. So what some builds using slings.

[Naanomi]

The only build I’ve played that focuses on a sling is an Inquisive Rogue with Magic Initiate to learn Magic Stone and use wisdom as my attack stat... with the intention of maximizing passive perception

[JellyPooga]

With their low damage die, you're looking at bonus damage to be in any way effective. Rogue, Ranger, maybe Warlock offer decent and repeatable bonus dice from Sneak Attack, Hunters Mark and Hex respectively. Sharpshooter gives its obvious benefits. Fighter is good with any weapon, the sling being no exception. The one outlier from any other ranged build is Magic Stone which offers a little extra, but at only 3 stones per casting, it's pretty (action) resource intensive.

[Draconi Redfir]

sling + alchemist = longer ranged explosives?

[Throne12]

sling + alchemist = longer ranged explosives?

Sling + alchemist = -$.$$

But it would be something to do if I have the coins and time to buy and make Alch fire. I could also acid and poison ones. I just need to buy a Alchemy jug.

[Serafina]

AFAIK the only thing that specifically interacts with the Sling is Magic Stone. Otherwise, it works like literary any other weapon and the only reason to pick it over others are proficiency, or ease of concealing it (it's just a treated leather sling after all) and the availability of it's ammunition - oh, and it's one-handed, which can also be useful.

Which is already a bunch of good reasons!
For Clerics or Druids, it gives them a decent long-range weapon they can use along with a shield. Sure, it'll probably only be used as a backup weapon, but still.
For Rogues, sure you have hand crossbows - but those are conspicuous, while a sling really is not.


Magic Stone is certainly an option, but suffers from only enchanting three projectiles. For classes that don't get extra attack that's three rounds of ranged attacks, but for others it really doesn't suffice and spending a bonus action every round to get to use Wisdom instead of Dexterity to the attack isn't that great. Especially if you pay an entry fee of a feat to get access to it.

[Tanarii]

Can't use a sling with a Sheild. It has the ammunition property, so you need a free hand to load it.

It's a good backup weapon for a Rogue in an Urban campaign, since it's easily concealed and their primary source of damage is Sneak Attack. If I was going to make a sling build it'd probably be a rogue.

It's also relatively easy to construct, and a fairly common weapon for enemies to use and to loot from them, if you've got one of those DMs who likes to run a "captured and take away all your gear" scenario.

I regard the sling the same as the club & great club. It's mostly on the weapons table because NPCs use it regularly and PCs might as an improvised weapon or when they've no choice.

Or you can regard it like the sickle: because Druids.

[ToastyTobasco]

I like to get with the DM and try for things like having Bow/Crossbow feats apply to slings. In tiny playtests that I've done they dont really break anything and with 3.5e you had some really neat items like Thunderstones and Skiprocks.

Slings are really underappreciated in DnD as they are stupidly inconspicuous and ammo is very easy to come by. You could work with the dm to up damage with different ammo types and maybe have alchemy items to versatility. Might need a special sling for lobbing potions. Could fill glass pellets with healing potions to get that 1 point revival :P

I really want to make a good slinger. It just needs a touch of homebrew or DM handwaving

[Blood of Gaea]

I would probably go with a Battlemaster Fighter. The damage die from maneuvers will stay the same, the effects you apply can still be useful. I imagine it also wouldn't be terrible on a Ranger or Rogue.

[jaappleton]

I’ve never made a build centered around a sling, but a sling blade would be interesting. Helps make amazing french fried potaturrs, mhmm.

[Grod_The_Giant]

Hmm. Has there been a Sage Advice or similar ruling on sneak attack with magic stone? The ability specifies a weapon, while the cantrip specifies that it's a ranged spell attack.

[Naanomi]

Sage advice has touched on it... sneak attack doesn’t require a ranged weapon attack, it requires an attack with a ranged weapon; so Magic Stone (with a sling) is ok

[Joe the Rat]

That actually opens the door for spell-based weapon attacks... a catapult-like spell to launch a finesse weapon at someone, and garnering sneak attack.
(catapult itself doesn't work - it doesn't make an attack, it forces a save).

[Dudewithknives]

Sage advice has touched on it... sneak attack doesn’t require a ranged weapon attack, it requires an attack with a ranged weapon; so Magic Stone (with a sling) is ok

What I find odd is that if you throw the stone it has a range of 60ft but with a sling it is still 30ft.

[TheTeaMustFlow]

Sling works fairly well with a Kensei. I don't see many reasons beyond fluff you'd go for one instead of a Longbow, but at higher levels it'll work out identical in damage anyway.


That actually opens the door for spell-based weapon attacks... a catapult-like spell to launch a finesse weapon at someone, and garnering sneak attack.
(catapult itself doesn't work - it doesn't make an attack, it forces a save).

Maybe Steel Wind Strike? The spell attack is done with the weapon used, so by that standard it should work (though you'd have to be a fairly odd multiclass).

[Dudewithknives]

Sling works fairly well with a Kensei. I don't see many reasons beyond fluff you'd go for one instead of a Longbow, but at higher levels it'll work out identical in damage anyway.



Maybe Steel Wind Strike? The spell attack is done with the weapon used, so by that standard it should work (though you'd have to be a fairly odd multiclass).

Speaking of open door trickery.

Had a champion fighter 11 barbarian 2, who was all dex and Str and used archery and Defense.


He noticed he could attack with his longbow as an improvised melee weapon, still use str to hit as a heavy weapon using GWM, but also use Sharp Shooter because he was attacking with a ranged weapon, all with advantage from reckless attack. He took raven brawler too for proficiency.
He could even keep the +2 to hit from archery.

[Vorpalchicken]

Can't use a sling with a Sheild. It has the ammunition property, so you need a free hand to load it.


Or you can regard it like the sickle: because Druids.

My understanding is that it is the loading property that limits one handed use (for example, a hand crossbow.) Even if I am wrong and it's not RAW, most reasonable DMs would not restrict the use of a sling with a shield (other than a staff sling, which is not represented here) since it is a common real-world historical fighting technique.

If you want slings to never be used by anyone in your games, then feel free to enforce the no shield rule.

[Dudewithknives]

My understanding is that it is the loading property that limits one handed use (for example, a hand crossbow.) Even if I am wrong and it's not RAW, most reasonable DMs would not restrict the use of a sling with a shield (other than a staff sling, which is not represented here) since it is a common real-world historical fighting technique.

If you want slings to never be used by anyone in your games, then feel free to enforce the no shield rule.

You still need 2 hands to reload, same reason people can't crossbow with a shield/offhand even with crossbow expert.

The cbe feat was made for casters and single crossbow users, it is not possible to melee in one hand and crossbow in the other.

The dual wield rules have been a total failure in 5e.

[MeeposFire]

You still need 2 hands to reload, same reason people can't crossbow with a shield/offhand even with crossbow expert.

The cbe feat was made for casters and single crossbow users, it is not possible to melee in one hand and crossbow in the other.

The dual wield rules have been a total failure in 5e.

That is not entirely true. You can use a melee attack and a hand crossbow shot you just will not be able to reload by the rules. It is certainly of limited use.

[MeeposFire]

My understanding is that it is the loading property that limits one handed use (for example, a hand crossbow.) Even if I am wrong and it's not RAW, most reasonable DMs would not restrict the use of a sling with a shield (other than a staff sling, which is not represented here) since it is a common real-world historical fighting technique.

If you want slings to never be used by anyone in your games, then feel free to enforce the no shield rule.

Sadly while it has been done in every edition I can think of before (though sometimes with only certain kinds of shields) by RAW you cannot load the weapon with a shield in your other hand. I play with allowing it due to how it was previously but if we are to talk about RAW it sadly does not work.

[Vorpalchicken]

I am absolutely certain that RAI, a sling and shield is acceptable.

Actually before errata appeared in 5e, a shield and hand crossbow was legal. But since that was a little silly, the one hand free for loading rule was made.

That unfortunately seems to have made the classic shield and sling combo illegal in 5e.

So unless it's AL (at least until we get this officially corrected) I encourage DMs to use common sense.

If we only followed silly RAW, we'd have mounted halfling using dual lances or twerps twirling quarterstaffs in one hand expecting to hurt armored opponents with both ends of their stick.

Oh wait..

[Dudewithknives]

I am absolutely certain that RAI, a sling and shield is acceptable.

Actually before errata appeared in 5e, a shield and hand crossbow was legal. But since that was a little silly, the one hand free for loading rule was made.

That unfortunately seems to have made the classic shield and sling combo illegal in 5e.

So unless it's AL (at least until we get this officially corrected) I encourage DMs to use common sense.

If we only followed silly RAW, we'd have mounted halfling using dual lances or twerps twirling quarterstaffs in one hand expecting to hurt armored opponents with both ends of their stick.

Oh wait..

I find the idea that you can't use a rapier and dagger or rapier and shortsword for dual wielding without taking a mostly crap feat, to be the biggest over site but the idea you need 2 hands to use a sling is up there.

[MeeposFire]

I find the idea that you can't use a rapier and dagger or rapier and shortsword for dual wielding without taking a mostly crap feat, to be the biggest over site but the idea you need 2 hands to use a sling is up there.

The problem really isn't with the sling but with the shield. They have gone with only one shield in this edition and so it is representative of all shields. The problem is that the game treats all shields as taking up your hand so much that it cannot be used for anything except holding the shield even for an instant which prevents all sorts of things that someone with a shield could normally do (or at least can do with many kinds of shields though not with all shields). In previous editions there were multiple types of shields so you could choose the one that fit you best so even if one would not work well with a slinger a different one would.

Personally I am treating shields in 5e like the Rulescycopedia treated shields back in the day which was that all shields gave you the same AC bonus but some used up more of your hand than the other due to size so someone using a sling would not use a shield that required your shield hand to do nothing but hold the shield. It is a houserule but one my group can live with.

[Yamatohekatsue]

I'm actually working on a focused sling user, some things you need
Feats: Tavern Brawler, Sharp Shooter, Skulker, Martial Adept, Ritual Caster
Classes: Artificer (Alchemist) 6, Rouge (Arcane Trickster, or Swashbuckler) 9, Fighter (Battle Master) 5
The artificer will learn formula for alchemist fire, acid, thunderstone, and tanglefoot bag and seeing as how you could use these with your alchemist satchel to make them back to back you could use them as improvised ammo for a sling, the tavern Brawler gives you Proficiency with improvised attacks.

The Rouge classes give 5D6 sneak attacks within 30 ft as well as other ability bonuses.
The Battle Master gives a 2nd attack and Superiority Dice
The ritual caster gives access to find familiar spell, and you pick a familiar with fly by attack to give you air or assist in flanking to help maximize sneak attacks, the last artificer level gives a construct for the same thing.

This means your doing a 1d4 Tavern Brawler + alchemical item property for the first attack with your alchemical attack like a tanglefoot bag for your first attack
Sharpshooter removes disadvantage for firing at max range and a -5 hit +10 damage with the sling, Skulker letting you fire while Hidden without revealing yourself. Have your pets help with giving advantage so your 2nd attack is a sneak with Superiority Dice backing it and you can use another alchemist formula to use something like a thunderstone to knock the opponet prone. The first attack or the 2nd can deal
1D4 (either sling normal damage, or with Tavern Brawler if improvising) with 5D6 sneak attack,1D8 Superiority Dice, with Dex mod for 7-42 damage + Dex+ Alchemical Item
And holy water can ruin an undead if combined with dust of dryness though this is expensive
The dust can dry a 15 foot cube of water into a pellet holy water is 25 gp an ounce, 128 oz in a gallon or 3200gp a gallon it takes about 7.5 gallons fills a cubic foot so a cube of holy water cost 24000 go, times 15 cubic foot for 36000 gp one dose of dust of dryness turns that 15 foot cube of holy water into a pellet that can be shot at an undead or demon for 28800D6 of radiant damage making in my opinion the sling the deadliest weapon in the game

[Slayn82]

A Loxodon should be able to use the shield and the sling together, using his Trunk, even with the most RAW purist of the DMs.

[Maxilian]

I once played one, as a Variant Human with the Magic Initiate feat, i took the Magic Stone cantrip as a Fighter Battlemaster, letting me attack with CHA (concentrate on DEX for defense and CHA for attack), the fact that i based myself on CHA means that my battlemaster abilities are not that strong (excluind the CHA based one that give temp HP and some others that do not get affected by any stat), it was quite fun (though i did went for a Sling and a shield, and right now it may not be RAW anymore)

[Man_Over_Game]

Lol.

I'm leveling as a Rogue, with my highest stat being Int. Just hit level 2, was scratching my head as to what ranged spell I should take for my first level as an Arcane Trickster.

I am utterly surprised I found my answer in the most random, unorthodox build threads I've ever read.