finesse fighter

[TerakasTaranath]

So my halberd wielding fighter met an unfortunate fate last session. Now that he's dead, I'm making a new character.

I want to make a finesse weapon wielding fighter battle master and I can start at 3rd level (where my old character died.)

Our group is playing Hoard of the Dragon Queen right now. I'm open to the option of multi-classing rogue as well. I don't really wanna dual wield I'd rather use a shield and take shield master at some point. I'm also open to elves, half elves and humans mostly, though I'll take all suggestions seriously. Anyway I'd love suggestions!

Thanks!

[Blood of Gaea]

Would Variant Human be okay? You're going to want expertise to use shield master well if you're using dexterity over strength.

So start with a good Dex and Con, grab the Prodigy for athletics expertise, and try to put at least a 12 in Str.

Then just use a rapier, shield, light/medium armor, and pick a subclass.

[Man_Over_Game]

If planning on using Finesse AND use a shield, I'd recommend steering away from Fighter and moving towards Ranger. As a Fighter, you won't have many uses for your Bonus Action in melee outside of TWF, but with a Whip on a Horizon Walker, you can deal really great damage with reach while using a shield, and the same build can utilize darts for ranged combat.

[Drakkoniss]

Depending on the level one is intending to bring the character to (or rather, the length of the campaign), I would suggest that the greater Extra Attack potential (especially with action surge) could in fact eventually outclass the ranger option.

It is also perhaps true that heavy armor could be a matter under consideration. While the light or medium armor might be about the same, early on, the use of the shield could indicate that maximum AC is in fact a priority.

I do agree that the whip is an excellent weapon for finesse-focused melee character. The fact that the combat maneuvers have greater versatility when you have access to greater range does indeed favor it, just as the features of the ranger do~ (Mind you, I'd suggest a rapier as a side-arm, as well. At times, quarters might be close enough that the extra damage for lack of versatility tradeoff might be worth it. Or the whip could be destroyed/disarmed. This is why everyone should keep at least a dagger, in addition to their main battle armament.)

[TerakasTaranath]

Would Variant Human be okay? You're going to want expertise to use shield master well if you're using dexterity over strength.

So start with a good Dex and Con, grab the Prodigy for athletics expertise, and try to put at least a 12 in Str.

Then just use a rapier, shield, light/medium armor, and pick a subclass.

I really like this. When would you say I should make the switch from fighter to rogue?

[Foxhound438]

I really like this. When would you say I should make the switch from fighter to rogue?

if you're planning to have rogue levels, you can skip the prodigy feat and take SM at level 1, and then max out dex by level 6. As such, if you don't intend on needing other feats, rogue levels after level 6 would keep your damage output going up, and you get some good defensive features on the way too.

[Blood of Gaea]

I really like this. When would you say I should make the switch from fighter to rogue?
If you want a level of rogue, take the shield master feat at 1st level instead of prodigy. After that first level, just go straight fighter. Make sure one of your expertise skills is athletics.

My build was just a straight fighter though.

Other people pointed out a whip as a weapon choice, I agree, it's a good option if you see yourself using reach.

[MadBear]

So my halberd wielding fighter met an unfortunate fate last session. Now that he's dead, I'm making a new character.

I want to make a finesse weapon wielding fighter battle master and I can start at 3rd level (where my old character died.)

Our group is playing Hoard of the Dragon Queen right now. I'm open to the option of multi-classing rogue as well. I don't really wanna dual wield I'd rather use a shield and take shield master at some point. I'm also open to elves, half elves and humans mostly, though I'll take all suggestions seriously. Anyway I'd love suggestions!

Thanks!

Honestly taking Battlemaster fighter 5/ Swashbuckler Rogue X is a fine build.

Battlemaster will get you riposte & Parry which can allow you to turn a miss into a free attack, and a hit into a miss. When combined with uncanny dodge, you'll basically always use reaction each turn to deal damage, reduce damage, or avoid damage.

This build will want a good strength score if you use shieldmaster though, so you'll be a bit mad.

Swashbuckler will allow you to pretty much always get your sneak attack, and with advantage you'll likely get it every round (with riposte sometimes multiple times per round).

[djreynolds]

I just saw an 7 eldritch knight/ 3 college of swords bard.

Sword and scimitar, half elf. They took war caster.

Pretty cool