Need strong early game build sugestions!

[Grayve]

Hey guys, I need to create a new character for my next adventure. Thing is, since I'm relatively new to the game I only know more basic build, and since I play with a very casual group, my characters don't even get the chance to get to higher levels. So i was wondering, do you guys know any builds that are very strong at early levels? It doesn't really matter if the fall off a lot later. Thanks!

[CTurbo]

Variant Human Two Weapon Fighting Fighter with the Dual Wielder feat at level 1. Use two Battleaxes. Take Battle Master at level 3 with Riposte and Parry maneuvers. Start with 16 Str and 16 Con. Add +2 Str at level 4.

[CTurbo]

The War Cleric is very strong at low levels although it drops off at higher levels IMO. The Tempest Cleric is also very strong at low levels, but never really drops off. The Cleric is a powerful class in general if you want to look into it. Being a full caster, the Cleric is not the easiest class to play but is not hard by any means. Just a lot of spell lookups.

The Revised Ranger is very strong at low levels and is relatively easy to play. I recommend Hunter at level 3 with Horde Breaker or Colossus Slayer. Gloom Stalker is also very strong at low levels.

The Swashbuckler Rogue is very strong at low levels. I played a Tabaxi Swashbuckler and was EASILY the more damaging character in my party in levels 3 and 4.

Barbarians are simple but great at low levels. I recommend Bear Totem for simplicity.

A ranged Fighter or Ranger with the Archery Fighting style are super strong at low levels.

What kind of character do you WANT to play? Big Brute that solves problems by hitting them with it's weapon? A sneaky guy? Somebody that is good at everything but great at nothing in particular? Somebody that stays back and shoots thing with a Longbow? Somebody that stays back and relies on spells for everything? Somebody that heals and buffs? A holy warrior?

[DrKerosene]

I would say a Moon Druid has access to enough variety of spells and Beast forms to be pretty handy if they're able to prepare a day ahead.

Just keep a couple recipe cards with the stats for any Animals you plan to use (Giant Hyena (45 hp), Giant Spider (has +7 stealth), etc), and pick a couple spells.

The Guidance cantrip is one of the best in the game, just constantly re-assure your allies and pat them on the shoulder.

Casting Goodberry with all remaining spell slots before going to sleep/long-rest the night before an adventuring day gives you a bunch of "free" out of combat healing that will last for about 16 hours of adventuring. Or, if you have any slots left after an adventuring day, you can still stock-pile some healing.

Second level spells include Darkvision, which you can grant to an ally or yourself. Lesser Restoration is handy if there is no Paladin, and you can cast the spell Find Traps if really needed. You can Ritual Cast some things, including Detect Magic, which is often handy too.

Plenty of other handy spells available.

[nickl_2000]

I would say a Moon Druid has access to enough variety of spells and Beast forms to be pretty handy if they're able to prepare a day ahead.

Just keep a couple recipe cards with the stats for any Animals you plan to use (Giant Hyena (45 hp), Giant Spider (has +7 stealth), etc), and pick a couple spells.

The Guidance cantrip is one of the best in the game, just constantly re-assure your allies and pat them on the shoulder.

Casting Goodberry with all remaining spell slots before going to sleep/long-rest the night before an adventuring day gives you a bunch of "free" out of combat healing that will last for about 16 hours of adventuring. Or, if you have any slots left after an adventuring day, you can still stock-pile some healing.

Second level spells include Darkvision, which you can grant to an ally or yourself. Lesser Restoration is handy if there is no Paladin, and you can cast the spell Find Traps if really needed. You can Ritual Cast some things, including Detect Magic, which is often handy too.

Plenty of other handy spells available.

I'm playing a Moon Druid and love the character, it's versatile and fun to play. However, it is NOT an easy character from an organization standpoint. You need to know all your Druid spells to choose them for the day, you need to know your summons when you get to level 5 and 7, and you need to know your wildshape stats. It's hard on someone new to D&D.


Personally I think the College of Glamour Bard is amazing powerful at low levels. Your bardic inspiration temp HP will make a gigantic difference in your party alone, then you also get other goodies.

If you are wanting someone who has huge AC at early levels, check out the Forge Cleric. They get amazing AC with their bonuses. Then you take Bless and use that in every combat, healing word to keep the allies up and fighting, and Guidance for out of combat skill check help and your team will love you.

[Grayve]

Variant Human Two Weapon Fighting Fighter with the Dual Wielder feat at level 1. Use two Battleaxes. Take Battle Master at level 3 with Riposte and Parry maneuvers. Start with 16 Str and 16 Con. Add +2 Str at level 4.

This sounds like a very straight foward damage build right? I've been working on a Gnoll Fighter pretty similar to this, but they don't get the human perk of one more feat, maybe that's the only diference.


The War Cleric is very strong at low levels although it drops off at higher levels IMO. The Tempest Cleric is also very strong at low levels, but never really drops off. The Cleric is a powerful class in general if you want to look into it. Being a full caster, the Cleric is not the easiest class to play but is not hard by any means. Just a lot of spell lookups.

The Revised Ranger is very strong at low levels and is relatively easy to play. I recommend Hunter at level 3 with Horde Breaker or Colossus Slayer. Gloom Stalker is also very strong at low levels.

The Swashbuckler Rogue is very strong at low levels. I played a Tabaxi Swashbuckler and was EASILY the more damaging character in my party in levels 3 and 4.

Barbarians are simple but great at low levels. I recommend Bear Totem for simplicity.

A ranged Fighter or Ranger with the Archery Fighting style are super strong at low levels.

What kind of character do you WANT to play? Big Brute that solves problems by hitting them with it's weapon? A sneaky guy? Somebody that is good at everything but great at nothing in particular? Somebody that stays back and shoots thing with a Longbow? Somebody that stays back and relies on spells for everything? Somebody that heals and buffs? A holy warrior?

I'll be looking into all of these classes thankyou so much! And honestly, I'm open for suggestions. I'm really asking to see if anything really cacthes my eye so I can read more about it. Normaly I go for my rougue with a light crossbow and a rapier, because he is one of the characters i can roleplay the best. But I never got past lvl 5 on anything, so I'm just looking for ideas. Anyway thankyou so much!


I would say a Moon Druid has access to enough variety of spells and Beast forms to be pretty handy if they're able to prepare a day ahead.

Just keep a couple recipe cards with the stats for any Animals you plan to use (Giant Hyena (45 hp), Giant Spider (has +7 stealth), etc), and pick a couple spells.

The Guidance cantrip is one of the best in the game, just constantly re-assure your allies and pat them on the shoulder.

Casting Goodberry with all remaining spell slots before going to sleep/long-rest the night before an adventuring day gives you a bunch of "free" out of combat healing that will last for about 16 hours of adventuring. Or, if you have any slots left after an adventuring day, you can still stock-pile some healing.

Second level spells include Darkvision, which you can grant to an ally or yourself. Lesser Restoration is handy if there is no Paladin, and you can cast the spell Find Traps if really needed. You can Ritual Cast some things, including Detect Magic, which is often handy too.

Plenty of other handy spells available.

Oooh thanks bro! this sounds really cool. Sound very hard but I might actually try to learn more about this. Do you have any race recomendation too?


I'm playing a Moon Druid and love the character, it's versatile and fun to play. However, it is NOT an easy character from an organization standpoint. You need to know all your Druid spells to choose them for the day, you need to know your summons when you get to level 5 and 7, and you need to know your wildshape stats. It's hard on someone new to D&D.


Personally I think the College of Glamour Bard is amazing powerful at low levels. Your bardic inspiration temp HP will make a gigantic difference in your party alone, then you also get other goodies.

If you are wanting someone who has huge AC at early levels, check out the Forge Cleric. They get amazing AC with their bonuses. Then you take Bless and use that in every combat, healing word to keep the allies up and fighting, and Guidance for out of combat skill check help and your team will love you.

If my best friend wasn't creating a Glamour Bard for our next game I would probably be looking into it. But now this Forge Cleric kinda reminds me of the Ragnarok Online cleric. I really like that style of support character. Just one question, does Bless lasts for the whole minute since it was used or each affected creature gets only one d4 roll out of the spell?

[nickl_2000]

Just one question, does Bless lasts for the whole minute since it was used or each affected creature gets only one d4 roll out of the spell?

While you keep up your concentration (for up to a minute), all attack rolls and saves add 1d4 to it (for the three people you chose). So, it every single attack roll and save, not just once per person. It's a pretty amazing spell, especially at early levels.

[Armored Walrus]

If all you want is strong early game, Moon Druid hands down. From level 2-4 there's not really any other class that comes close. You'll have 3x as many hp as anyone else in your group, great melee attacks for that level, plus spells. It can bog the game down, though, if either you or your DM don't keep a handful of beast stats handy.

I'll also second War Priest. This domain does a good job as frontline tank with spellcasting in the early game. If you're not going to hit level 5 in your campaign, it might be your strongest non-moon druid choice.

Forge cleric is also pretty awesome at low levels - automatic +1 weapon or armor is a pretty big deal.

Rogue is also fairly front loaded. Everything you need to act like a rogue you have by level 3, more or less.

I also think way of the open hand monk is pretty solid at low levels.

[Daelnoron]

There is a pretty strong Fighter Build utilizing Crossbow Expert, Sharpshooter, Archery Fighting Style and a single Handcrossbow. If you are expecting to not even get to lvl 11, you could play it as a Ranger and add Hunters Mark. Be a Variant Human, make sure you pick a Subclasse that doesn't expect you to use your Bonus Action (Hunter or Gloom Stalker are recommended), Put 16 in Dex, start with Crossbow Expert, take Sharpshooter at 4 and go to town.

[sophontteks]

Moon druid. They can be complicated at mid, but early its as simple as
1. Turn into bear.
2. Win.

After level 3 it gets more complicated.
1. Cast barkskin
2. Turn into bear.
3. Win.

[CTurbo]

Variant Human Tempest Cleric. Start with 16 Str, 14 Con, 16 Wis.
For your free feat you can take-
1. Heavy Armor Master - reduced melee damage you take by -3 per hit. Also adds +1 to Str. This feat is extremely powerful at low levels. I've used it two different times on Tempest Clerics.
2. Resilient (Con) - Makes you proficient in Con saves and adds +1 to Con. Very good for maintaining concentration on your Bless, Shield of Faith, or Spirit Guardians. Very good pickup for a Cleric.
3. Warcaster - Gives you advantage on Concentration checks, lets you cast a spell instead of weapon attack when you get an Attack of Opportunity.
4. Magic Initiate - Lets you pick any two cantrips + a first level spell. I'd recommend Booming Blade, Shocking Grasp, and Find Familiar. Very good for a Tempest.

So if you're not familiar with what a Tempest Cleric can do, For starters, you get all weapon and armor proficiency so you can use any weapon and also wear Plate armor + Shield for 20 AC.

At first level, you get Wrath of the Storm which deals 2d8 Lightning damage to any enemy that attacks you and you can do this a number of times equal to your Wis mod per short rest. This is very strong at low levels. You'll straight up kill enemies with this early on.

At second level, you get the amazing Destructive Wrath ability which lets you maximize the damage from any Thunder or Lightning spell. This feature really is amazing. You'll have the Thunderwave spell that deals 2d8 Thunder damage to each creature in a 3x3 square and can be cast in higher slots for an extra 1d8 damage per slot. That's up to 9 enemies you can deal 16-24 damage to easily. You'll get Shatter which deals 3d8 thunder damage to each creature in a 10ft radius you can see. That's 12-16 enemies at once depending on how your DM rules it. You can also cast it with higher slots for an extra 1d8 damage per slot. I killed 12 Gnolls at once with Shatter dealing the max 24 damage to each of them. You'll get Call Lightning which deals 3d10 Lightning damage to up to 4 creatures at once, AND you can keep using it as a bonus action each turn after you cast it. You can cast it using higher spell slots too for an extra 1d10 damage per slot. You also get an extra 1d10 damage if it's raining outside when you use it. The only "problem" is you don't get any Thunder or Lightning cantrips which Magic Initiate can fix.

You get some awesome control spells too like Gust of Wind, Fog Cloud, and Sleet Storm.

And of course you still get all the regular Cleric goodies like all the Healing spells, Bless, Shield of Faith, Spiritual Weapon(basically a bonus action attack each round), Hold Person, and Revivify.

Just boost Wis to 18 at level 4 and you'll repeatedly steal the show.

[MagneticKitty]

Kobold revised beastmaster ranger.
Ride your will into combat. Both of you have pack tactics (advantage). Take mounted combatant at lv 4. You'll be swinging with 3 attacks as a dual weilder at lv 3 and 4 attacks by level 5. Pass without a trace, good berry, Hunter's mark, and the infamous healing spirit are your staples.

[Grayve]

While you keep up your concentration (for up to a minute), all attack rolls and saves add 1d4 to it (for the three people you chose). So, it every single attack roll and save, not just once per person. It's a pretty amazing spell, especially at early levels.
Ooh! Thanks, that soundds very usefull.


If all you want is strong early game, Moon Druid hands down. From level 2-4 there's not really any other class that comes close. You'll have 3x as many hp as anyone else in your group, great melee attacks for that level, plus spells. It can bog the game down, though, if either you or your DM don't keep a handful of beast stats handy.

I'll also second War Priest. This domain does a good job as frontline tank with spellcasting in the early game. If you're not going to hit level 5 in your campaign, it might be your strongest non-moon druid choice.

Forge cleric is also pretty awesome at low levels - automatic +1 weapon or armor is a pretty big deal.

Rogue is also fairly front loaded. Everything you need to act like a rogue you have by level 3, more or less.

I also think way of the open hand monk is pretty solid at low levels.
So if I want to play the Moon Priest I should probably keep all my beastly transforms stats at hand? All good, i can do. I like the other ones, I just won't really try to get into rougue because it is kinda of my go to class. I wanna try something different.


Moon druid. They can be complicated at mid, but early its as simple as
1. Turn into bear.
2. Win.

After level 3 it gets more complicated.
1. Cast barkskin
2. Turn into bear.
3. Win.
Idk man, seems too complicated idk if i can handle it :(


Variant Human Tempest Cleric. Start with 16 Str, 14 Con, 16 Wis.
For your free feat you can take-
1. Heavy Armor Master - reduced melee damage you take by -3 per hit. Also adds +1 to Str. This feat is extremely powerful at low levels. I've used it two different times on Tempest Clerics.
2. Resilient (Con) - Makes you proficient in Con saves and adds +1 to Con. Very good for maintaining concentration on your Bless, Shield of Faith, or Spirit Guardians. Very good pickup for a Cleric.
3. Warcaster - Gives you advantage on Concentration checks, lets you cast a spell instead of weapon attack when you get an Attack of Opportunity.
4. Magic Initiate - Lets you pick any two cantrips + a first level spell. I'd recommend Booming Blade, Shocking Grasp, and Find Familiar. Very good for a Tempest.

So if you're not familiar with what a Tempest Cleric can do, For starters, you get all weapon and armor proficiency so you can use any weapon and also wear Plate armor + Shield for 20 AC.

At first level, you get Wrath of the Storm which deals 2d8 Lightning damage to any enemy that attacks you and you can do this a number of times equal to your Wis mod per short rest. This is very strong at low levels. You'll straight up kill enemies with this early on.

At second level, you get the amazing Destructive Wrath ability which lets you maximize the damage from any Thunder or Lightning spell. This feature really is amazing. You'll have the Thunderwave spell that deals 2d8 Thunder damage to each creature in a 3x3 square and can be cast in higher slots for an extra 1d8 damage per slot. That's up to 9 enemies you can deal 16-24 damage to easily. You'll get Shatter which deals 3d8 thunder damage to each creature in a 10ft radius you can see. That's 12-16 enemies at once depending on how your DM rules it. You can also cast it with higher slots for an extra 1d8 damage per slot. I killed 12 Gnolls at once with Shatter dealing the max 24 damage to each of them. You'll get Call Lightning which deals 3d10 Lightning damage to up to 4 creatures at once, AND you can keep using it as a bonus action each turn after you cast it. You can cast it using higher spell slots too for an extra 1d10 damage per slot. You also get an extra 1d10 damage if it's raining outside when you use it. The only "problem" is you don't get any Thunder or Lightning cantrips which Magic Initiate can fix.

You get some awesome control spells too like Gust of Wind, Fog Cloud, and Sleet Storm.

And of course you still get all the regular Cleric goodies like all the Healing spells, Bless, Shield of Faith, Spiritual Weapon(basically a bonus action attack each round), Hold Person, and Revivify.

Just boost Wis to 18 at level 4 and you'll repeatedly steal the show.
Idk if it is because of the extensive description, but you really got me into this one hahahah. I'm gonna read more about it, but idk, this might be the one, thanks!


Kobold revised beastmaster ranger.
Ride your will into combat. Both of you have pack tactics (advantage). Take mounted combatant at lv 4. You'll be swinging with 3 attacks as a dual weilder at lv 3 and 4 attacks by level 5. Pass without a trace, good berry, Hunter's mark, and the infamous healing spirit are your staples.
Do Kobolds have to be necesseraly evil? If not this sounds so freaking fun to play as

[DrowPiratRobrts]

Kobold Dex Barbarian! Check out the link below!

https://docs.google.com/document/d/15wOj-ca3T7q36rYkqiF9NLHn7rp-TCiqk0ewIzzFL84/edit?usp=sharing

[MagneticKitty]

Any race /could/ be non evil. You just need a really good reason.
Being an egg bearing species helps. Maybe your clan was killed by a dragon and you were the lone surviving egg rescued by adventurers from a dragons hoard when they kill it.
Maybe you were an egg bought off the black market by a couple who could not bear children. The possibilities are endless!

You may not always be welcome in towns.. but due to your small size you might be able to hide in an empty backpack...

[Foxolicious]

My John wick build is fun

Str 10 dex 16 con 15 wis 10 int 14 cha 8

Fighter

Level 1 take crossbow expert for the 5-125 foot range and attack twice at level 1 also take archery for the plus 2 to attacks
Level 2 action surge
Level 3 battle master so u can knee cap ppl with trip lol
Level 4 take sharp shooter for the +10 dmg
Level 5 allows you to make 2 attacks for your main action and 1 for a bonus action
Level 6 add a +2 dex

So each turn you can make 3 attacks which are 1d6+10+4 damage per hit. action surge and you can do this 6 times so if u hit every hit u do a minimum without action surge 45 and with action surge 90 damage