help building a sword-based melee character with skill versatility

[ashanti]

hello! so, at the end of our most recent session, our DM told us to bring a fully developed (backup, i'm assuming) character to our next session, and highly preferably a different class/race/flavour to our current characters, so clerics (and tempest flavoured subclasses) are out for me.

i decided on a changeling who is primarily a swordfighter, likes to show off with flips and fancy footwork, probably insults the opponent a lot. i'd like her to have enough skill versatility to be able to pull off pretending to be a whole range of people, but in combat primarily doing damage with a sword (she's really not the type to sit on the back lines buffing/debuffing others). i'd also like her to be able to pull off being a face if that's possible.

i'm simply not sure what class(es) to choose to achieve this. my first instinct was fighter, but i like a little versatility and pure fighter seems a bit boring to me? EK brings some versatility through spells at the expense of having to improve INT. thought about paladin, but there's none of the skill versatility. bards have all the skill versatility (and personally, i really love the idea of her casting spells through blowing an ear-shattering horn), but - correct me if i'm wrong - they seem to be primary casters and not really a sword wielder? i did also consider hexblade warrior, but no skill versatility + i'm not that familiar with warlocks.

honestly, i'm not sure what to go with, and i'm not familiar enough with multiclassing to mix and match, though that's probably where i'm leaning. i don't mind slowed spell progression (esp since she's mainly a sword user), nor a less optimised build - i'm in this primarily for the roleplay - but i would like some advise in interesting, useful potential builds.

we rolled for stats: 18, 15, 15, 11, 10, 9 (changeling bonus is +2 CHA, +1 DEX or INT) - i'm leaning towards a distribution of STR: 10, DEX: 16, CON: 15, INT: 9, WIS: 11, CHA: 20, but i'm open to changing it around a bit.

we're going all the way up to level 20, a not insignificant amount of time is spent on rp. custom backgrounds with any 2 skill proficiencies, 1 language, 1 tool proficiency, and 1 ribbon.

thanks!

[DevilMcam]

I'd go with

10 19 15 9 11 17 : swaschbuckler rogue

use your first ASI to round out DEX and CHA

you get awesome swordfighting, and good skills that can make use of your high charisma, also expertise in deception is probably handy to pretend be someone else, and acrobatics for fancy footwork.

[Man_Over_Game]

This is actually really funny timing. I was just working on a build for a complex ranged fighter, and it ended up being a complex non-magical fighter for all ranges.
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Level 1 Rogue, the rest into Fighter (going into Battlemaster).

You end up getting a ton of skills from Rogue, Medium Armor from Battlemaster, can get up to 19 AC going Two Weapon Fighting, can pick up Medium Armor Master (so Medium Armor doesn't cause issues to Dexterity checks), balanced between being versatile in melee and range, only requires two stats (Dex/Con), and only needs 16 Dex to make it work well.
This is for super cool moves in combat with a lot of tactical decision making.
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If you want more of a suave Casanova that's occasionally stylish in combat, what DevilMcam said with Swashbuckler would be a great choice. They are primarily Dexterity based, utilizing mobility, and they utilize Charisma for some special effects (like taunting a target in battle or improving initiative).
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Another option is the Bardic College of Swords, which is a hybrid spellcaster and SwordMcSlashy. They're a lot like the Swashbuckler, but they sacrifice sustainability for versatility (they can do cooler stuff but can't do it as often).
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A solid combination is Rogue 1 (for skills), then going down Hexblade. It'll make you a diverse combatant that only needs Charisma for its damage. Warlocks are pretty simple once you get them down. They're focused around powerful sustained spells that recharge constantly, but they lack versatility. That begin said, the powers you can get are things like being able to see through magical darkness (which is nearly impossible), level 1 telepathy, casting Disguise Self as a cantrip, reattaching their own limbs, and other crazy stuff.
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There's also Bladesinger Wizard. It's a Wizard that can occasionally go into a sword stance that gives them massive defensive boosts based on their intelligence. You basically are a caster that occasionally becomes unstoppable in melee combat. They are also great acrobats.
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For the spellswords, the Bladesinger and the Bard of Swords are fairly similar in concept. Excluding the fact that the Bladesinger uses Intelligence and the Bard of Swords uses Charisma, the main difference is the fact that the Bladesinger has more damage spells (and will likely use them more) and is tankier, where the Bard of Swords is more versatile in melee combat and uses more utility spells. The Hexblade is the odd-man out, selling versatility for effectiveness.

For the non-casters, the Battlemaster will be able to handle a major problem by himself, acting as a heroic champion on the front line. The Swashbuckler is more mobile, but also more cowardly, darting into combat and darting out just as fast without really holding the line. The Swashbuckler will provide more out of combat with the rogue levels, but the Battlemaster's ability to command the battlefield can be something a lot of teams can still look forward to.



In simplified terms:

If you want to be tough in melee, Battlemaster or Bladesinger are the best choices.
If you want to be charismatic, Hexblade, Bard of Swords, or Swashbuckler.
If you want more damage, Hexblade or the Swashbuckler are good choices.
For out of combat utility, Swashbuckler, Bard of Swords or Bladesinger.
For more sustainability, Battlemaster, Hexblade or Swashbuckler
For more versatility, Bard of Swords, Battlemaster or Bladesinger