How to get my Halfling Rogue darkvision?

[quark12000]

I'm considering two different ways.

1. Multiclass to Ranger for three levels and take the Gloomstalker archetype.

2. Take the Magic Initiate feat, take Find Familiar spell, look through the familiar's eyes when in darkness.


He's level 4 now, if that helps. What do you guys think?

[HappyDaze]

Find/make/buy goggles of night, an uncommon item that requires no attunement and provides 60' darkvision.

[OverLordOcelot]

1. Multiclass to Ranger for three levels and take the Gloomstalker archetype.

2. Take the Magic Initiate feat, take Find Familiar spell, look through the familiar's eyes when in darkness.

What do you want to do with darkvision? If you're trying to do anything useful, like attack in combat in the dark, the find familiar option is useless as it takes your action to look through your familiar's eyes. Some other ideas: if magic items are purchaseable or 'ask for able', goggles of night are a possibility. Two levels of warlock give you an improved version of darkvision. Magic initiate can also give you dancing lights, which you can use to illuminate an enemy but not yourself.

[RogueJK]

You could sell your soul and take 2 levels of Warlock.

This gets you couple cantrips, three 1st Level spells known and two 1st Level spell slots per short rest (I'd recommend Hex for one of them), one or more boons from your Patron, plus two Invocations. One of the Warlock Invocations available at 2nd level is Devil's Sight, which grants 120 ft. Darkvision. For the second Invocation, take something utilitarian that would complement your Rogue levels, like Mask of Many Faces for at-will Disguise Self, or Eldritch Sight for at will Detect Magic, or Beguiling Influence if you don't already have Proficiency in Deception and Persuasion.

Multiclassing to Warlock does require at least a 13 CHA. But even if you only have a 13 or 14 CHA, there are several useful Warlock spells that don't rely on attack rolls or saving throws, so the cantrips and spell slots would still be useful. Booming Blade is a fantastic cantrip for most melee Rogues, and doesn't rely on a spell save or CHA roll. The Hex spell doesn't rely on a roll or a save, and adds extra damage on all your attacks against one enemy at a time, complementing Sneak Attack. And there are other utilitarian choices like Minor Illusion, Mage Hand, Prestidigitation, Comprehend Languages, Unseen Servant, etc. There are a few other non-CHA-dependent options among the various Patron-specific spells too, like Hexblade's Shield, or Undying's False Life.

[CTurbo]

3 levels of Gloom Stalker is great for any Rogue

1 level of Shadow Sorcerer gets you 120ft darkvision. Shadow Sorcerer is super excellent for Swashbucklers. Gets you Booming Blade too.

[quark12000]

I should have been more specific. This is an Adventurers' League character, so I think I have to unlock those goggles before I can buy them.

Also, the character is the Thief archetype and uses ranged attacks mostly.

[RogueJK]

What are your stats? That will help inform multiclass options. For example, Ranger requires at least a 13 WIS, and Warlock requires at least a 13 CHA as mentioned above, as would Sorcerer.

[quark12000]

what are your stats? That will help inform multiclass options. For example, ranger requires at least a 13 wis, and warlock requires at least a 13 cha as mentioned above, as would sorcerer.

str - 8
dex - 18
con - 14
int - 10
wis - 13
cha - 14

[CTurbo]

I should have been more specific. This is an Adventurers' League character, so I think I have to unlock those goggles before I can buy them.

Also, the character is the Thief archetype and uses ranged attacks mostly.

I'd probably take 5 levels of Gloom Stalker for Archer Style and extra attack.

[Spiritchaser]

I'd probably take 5 levels of Gloom Stalker for Archer Style and extra attack.

And don’t forget pass without trace!

Pass without trace plus expertise in stealth = comedy when tragedy had otherwise been planned.

[RogueJK]

Okay. Since you have 13+ WIS, three levels of Ranger to go Gloom Stalker is likely your best bet.first choice. You'd get an extra skill proficiency, martial weapon proficiency, the Archery fighting style, some limited spellcasting, and Darkvision plus some great ambush/surprise abilities from Gloom Stalker. You could even do as many as 5 levels. Going all the way to 5th level gets you 2nd level spells, an ASI/Feat, plus Extra Attack, at the cost of delaying your Rogue progression that much more. The main downside to Ranger is that your 13 WIS will limit what you can do with your Ranger spellcasting, although there are some good options that aren't WIS-dependant, like Hunter's Mark (which is a must-have), Goodberry, Fog Cloud, Absorb Elements (which pairs nicely with Evasion), Longstrider, Jump, Speak With Animals, and eventually Pass Without Trace and Spike Growth if you take the full 5 levels of Ranger.

2 levels of Warlock would be a very solid second choice, and you have 14 CHA so that's an option too. Hex adds damage even on ranged attacks. And the Invocations, spells, cantrips, and Boons will still be beneficial. Go for the Hexblade Patron, for Hexblade's Curse, which can stack even more bonus damage on top of Hex and Sneak Attack, and allows for twice as many criticals (with both Hex damage and Sneak Attack damage being doubled on a crit). Take Minor Illusion and Mage Hand for Cantrips, and Hex, Shield, and Comprehend Languages for spells. Take Devil's Sight and another utilitarian Invocation, as discussed in my earlier post. This route also has the added benefits of getting you Darkvision sooner, and get you back to progressing as a Thief sooner, to get your higher level Rogue ASIs and features like Evasion, Uncanny Dodge, etc. a little more quickly.

1 level of Shadow Sorcerer is a decent third choice, with the main benefit being that it will get your Darkvision the fastest and will have the least impact on your Rogue progression. You'd get Darkvision and the Strength of the Grave ability, along with four cantrips and two 1st Level spells. I'd take Mage Hand, Mending, Minor Illusion, and Message, for utility cantrips useful to a Thief. I'd then take Disguise Self, plus either Absorb Elements or Fog Cloud, for your 1st Level spells. You aren't gaining as much as a Ranger or Warlock dip, but you're also not delaying your Thief progression very much either.

And just for fun, there are a few other ways to get Darkvision, all of which are significantly less optimal for your character. These include taking 3 levels of Druid to access the Darkvision spell, or taking three levels of Monk and going Shadow Monk to get the ability to cast Darkvision 1/day. If your INT was 13+, another option would be to take 3 levels of Wizard, again to access the Darkvision spell. But none of those options would have any other real benefits to your character.

[stoutstien]

Well if you don't want to multi-class, darkvision to spell is only a level 2 spell the last 8 hours. It's on the druid and sorcerer/ wizard spell list.
It's a perfect candidate for a quest to find the recipe for the potion of darkvision.

[RogueJK]

Well if you don't want to multi-class, darkvision to spell is only a level 2 spell the last 8 hours. It's on the druid and sorcerer/ wizard spell list.
It's a perfect candidate for a quest to find the recipe for the potion of darkvision.

That would work just fine in a home campaign. But he said this is for an Adventure League character, so custom quests for homebrew magic items are not an option.

[quark12000]

What do you want to do with darkvision? If you're trying to do anything useful, like attack in combat in the dark, the find familiar option is useless as it takes your action to look through your familiar's eyes.
I hadn't noticed that, thanks.


Okay. Since you have 13+ WIS, three levels of Ranger to go Gloom Stalker is likely your best bet. You'd get an extra skill proficiency, martial weapon proficiency, the Archery fighting style, some limited spellcasting, and Darkvision plus some great ambush/surprise abilities from Gloom Stalker. You could even do as many as 5 levels. Going all the way to 5th level gets you 2nd level spells, an ASI/Feat, plus Extra Attack, at the cost of delaying your Rogue progression that much more. The main downside to Ranger is that your 13 WIS will limit what you can do with your Ranger spellcasting, although there are some good options that aren't WIS-dependant, like Hunter's Mark (which is a must-have), Goodberry, Absorb Elements (which pairs nicely with Evasion), Longstrider, Jump, Speak With Animals, and eventually Pass Without Trace and Spike Growth if you take the full 5 levels of Ranger.

2 levels of Warlock would be a very close second choice, and you have 14 CHA so that's an option too. Hex adds damage even on ranged attacks. And the Invocations, spells, cantrips, and Boons will still be beneficial. Go for the Hexblade Patron, for Hexblade's Curse, which can stack even more bonus damage on top of Hex and Sneak Attack, and allows for twice as many criticals (with both Hex damage and Sneak Attack damage being doubled on a crit). Take Minor Illusion and Mage Hand for Cantrips, and Hex, Shield, and Comprehend Languages for spells. Take Devil's Sight and another utilitarian Invocation, as discussed in my earlier post. This route also has the added benefits of getting you Darkvision a level sooner, and get you back to progressing as a Thief ASAP, to get your higher level Rogue ASIs and features like Evasion, Uncanny Dodge, etc. more quickly.

Of the two, I lean more towards the Warlock path. Minor illusion would be extremely helpful for Sneak Attack hiding. Curious why you don't recommend Eldritch Blast?

[RogueJK]

Curious why you don't recommend Eldritch Blast?

First, you can't Sneak Attack with Eldritch Blast. Sneak Attack requires an attack with a finesse or ranged weapon.

Also, you only have 14 CHA, so your Warlock spell attack rolls and save DCs will be relatively weak. Hence why I recommended picking Warlock spells that aren't dependent on attacks/saves. (Same thing with my recommendations for Ranger and Sorcerer spells, based on your 13 WIS/14 CHA.)

For a purpose-built Warlock with a high CHA, Eldritch Blast is a no-brainer. But for a Warlock dip on a character with middling CHA, especially one that has features like Sneak Attack that are dependent on weapon attacks, it's not very useful.

Your character should stick to DEX-based weapon attacks. Your attack bonus will be higher, and you'll be able to Sneak Attack. Plus you're going to continue to boost DEX to 20 at some point anyway.

[Keravath]

What level is your character? If you are below 5th you can completely rebuild your stats if you like to mesh with whichever multiclass you are interested in.

The easiest options are:
- shadow sorcerer 1 level - 120 darkvision, 4 cantrips, some first level spells and spell slots
- warlock - 2 levels - devils sight (this is not darkvision ... it is BETTER than darkvision in darkness since you see as well as in daylight and do not suffer disadvantage on perception checks ... which darkvision does. However, it does not help your vision in dim light). I have an arcane trickster rogue mutliclassed into warlock and it works pretty well (he went 3 levels for pact of the blade and improved pact weapon so I could use a +1 heavy crossbow as my pact weapon .. in your case you could use a light crossbow) ... you could eventually go 5 levels for thirsting blade.
- gloomstalker ranger - 3 levels - archery fighting style, ranger spells, darkvision, extra attack on first round of combat, invisibility in darkness against creatures that use darkvision to see you. Ranger 5 is also appealing for extra attack and second level spells. It is generally considered worth the investment.

P.S. I am assuming you are at least level 4 and took an ASI in dex to get the 18 and that you are a ghost-wise halfling?

[quark12000]

What level is your character? If you are below 5th you can completely rebuild your stats if you like to mesh with whichever multiclass you are interested in.

The easiest options are:
- shadow sorcerer 1 level - 120 darkvision, 4 cantrips, some first level spells and spell slots
- warlock - 2 levels - devils sight (this is not darkvision ... it is BETTER than darkvision in darkness since you see as well as in daylight and do not suffer disadvantage on perception checks ... which darkvision does. However, it does not help your vision in dim light). I have an arcane trickster rogue mutliclassed into warlock and it works pretty well (he went 3 levels for pact of the blade and improved pact weapon so I could use a +1 heavy crossbow as my pact weapon .. in your case you could use a light crossbow) ... you could eventually go 5 levels for thirsting blade.
- gloomstalker ranger - 3 levels - archery fighting style, ranger spells, darkvision, extra attack on first round of combat, invisibility in darkness against creatures that use darkvision to see you. Ranger 5 is also appealing for extra attack and second level spells. It is generally considered worth the investment.

P.S. I am assuming you are at least level 4 and took an ASI in dex to get the 18 and that you are a ghost-wise halfling?

Level 4 Lightfoot halfling. What's ghost-wise?

[CTurbo]

How important is darkvision to you? How do you feel about derailing your Thief levels? We don't know what you're wanting from this character.

I like the Gloom Stalker option but that makes you more of a Rogue/Ranger split class which you may or may not be ok with. If you're wanting to stick mainly to Rogue then I recommend a single level of Shadow Sorcerer. Sorcerer gets you some nice cantrips and a couple 1st level spells along with the darkvision.

[RogueJK]

Level 4 Lightfoot halfling. What's ghost-wise?

Ghostwise Halfling is a Halfling subtype that was introduced in the Sword Coast Adventurer's Guide.

[stoutstien]

That would work just fine in a home campaign. But he said this is for an Adventure League character, so custom quests for homebrew magic items are not an option.
honestly i thought DV potions would be in the DMG but i was mistaking.
on that note how does crafting work in AL for lets say scroll crafting? thief get UMD and scrolls would be a good use of that feature but i never play AL.

[Chronos]

In the very long run, rogues eventually get blindsight, which is usually better than darkvision.

And if you're going to spend a feat to get Find Familiar, I'd go with Ritual Caster, not Magic Initiate. Though that might also depend on who else is in your party, since most rituals, it doesn't matter much if a second person has it, if someone already does.

[quark12000]

How important is darkvision to you? How do you feel about derailing your Thief levels? We don't know what you're wanting from this character.

I like the Gloom Stalker option but that makes you more of a Rogue/Ranger split class which you may or may not be ok with. If you're wanting to stick mainly to Rogue then I recommend a single level of Shadow Sorcerer. Sorcerer gets you some nice cantrips and a couple 1st level spells along with the darkvision.

I mostly want darkvision to enhance my Thief role. Sneaking ahead to scout, hiding, etc.

I see him as a professional thief, with a bit of ladies man thrown in.

[quark12000]

In the very long run, rogues eventually get blindsight, which is usually better than darkvision.


Actually, rogues get Blindsense, which is not the same thing as blindsight.

[CTurbo]

I mostly want darkvision to enhance my Thief role. Sneaking ahead to scout, hiding, etc.

I see him as a professional thief, with a bit of ladies man thrown in.


1 level Shadow Sorcerer wouldn't throw you off too much then. 4 cantrips would be extremely useful for you.

Minor Illusion, Mage Hand, Booming Blade, and Control Flames(to put out fires to make it dark) are all awesome for sneaky Rogues

You get a couple 1st level spells to choose from. Not sure what I would take. Shield probably and maybe something like Magic Missile just to have some kind of damage alternative. Silent Image would be good, and Fog Cloud would be great when you do get blindsense.

[RogueJK]

1 level Shadow Sorcerer wouldn't throw you off too much then. 4 cantrips would be extremely useful for you.

Minor Illusion, Mage Hand, Booming Blade, and Control Flames(to put out fires to make it dark) are all awesome for sneaky Rogues

You get a couple 1st level spells to choose from. Not sure what I would take. Shield probably and maybe something like Magic Missile just to have some kind of damage alternative. Silent Image would be good, and Fog Cloud would be great when you do get blindsense.

Fog Cloud is always useful. It's one of the few 1st level spells that can be just as useful at high levels as it is at 1st level. It's especially handy for a ranged Rogue, both as a way to create concealment, as well as to block line of sight from other ranged character trying to attack you.

Shield might be a decent choice, although I think he'd get more use out of Absorb Elements in the long run. He could use his Reaction against weapon attacks for Uncanny Dodge, and his Reaction against AoE and other elemental attacks for Absorb Elements. Even once he gets Evasion, he can still burn a spell slot if he fails the save to only take quarter damage from it.

Silent Image would be useful, especially when combined with Minor Illusion for moving illusions combined with sound.

Disguise Self is another good choice for a Thief, for times when he needs a quick change of appearance.

I don't think 1d4+1 of Magic Missile damage once or twice a day is useful at all, especially as he continues on into higher character levels. Nor would it be a very efficient use of his extremely limited spell slots.

[quark12000]

Just looked it up. Goggles of Night unlock in the White Plume Mountain module. That's for lvl 8 characters, a long while to wait.

[CTurbo]

Fog Cloud is always useful. It's one of the few 1st level spells that can be just as useful at high levels as it is at 1st level. It's especially handy for a ranged Rogue, both as a way to create concealment, as well as to block line of sight from other ranged character trying to attack you.

Shield might be a decent choice, although I think he'd get more use out of Absorb Elements in the long run. He could use his Reaction against weapon attacks for Uncanny Dodge, and his Reaction against AoE and other elemental attacks for Absorb Elements. Even once he gets Evasion, he can still burn a spell slot if he fails the save to only take quarter damage from it.

Silent Image would be useful, especially when combined with Minor Illusion for moving illusions combined with sound.

Disguise Self is another good choice for a Thief, for times when he needs a quick change of appearance.

I don't think 1d4+1 of Magic Missile damage once or twice a day is useful at all, especially as he continues on into higher character levels. Nor would it be a very efficient use of his extremely limited spell slots.


Fog Cloud blocks your own vision too though, but yes, always useful.

I agree about Shield. The Rogue already has solid reaction uses in Uncanny Dodge, but causing a hit to miss is better than taking half damage. I do agree though that Absorb Elements is a good too even if it's a bit redundant with Uncanny Dodge and Evasion.

I went with Magic Missile as a pure emergency backup option for times when you just HAVE to hit or just really need an alternate damage type. I was figuring Shield would eat 99% of the spell slots anyway.

Good call on Disguise Self. Sounds great on a Thief.

[RogueJK]

Fog Cloud blocks your own vision too though, but yes, always useful.


Fog Cloud is one of my favorite 5e spells. It allows no save, although there are a few abilities like Blindsight or Tremorsense that can negate its effects at higher levels. (But not Truesight!)

You just have to know when/where/how to use it, so you're not hurting yourself as much as the bad guys. But as long as you're smart, it's fantastic at breaking up the battlefield and separating groups of enemies into more manageable chunks to be dealt with piecemeal, forcing ranged enemies to close with you, and the like.

It's even useful outside of combat, and it's exactly the type of spell a Thief would take. Imagine a Thief who just stole something and is being pursued by the owner's guards, who drops a Fog Cloud behind himself to buy himself a greater lead and/or throw them completely off his trail. Or a Thief who's trying to sneak past a group of creatures in an open area, who drops a Fog Cloud over top of them just before he sneaks past. It offers instant concealment, wherever needed.

It's similar to a Darkness spell, except without the secondary effects of counteracting light-producing spells or being able to be carried and moved, and with the slight drawback that it can be dispersed with a strong enough wind. (Hence why it's a 1st level spell, not a 2nd level spell like Darkness.)

And because it works so well across all levels without becoming obsolete or needing to be upcast, it's an outstanding spell choice on many characters who dip into Sorcerer/Wizard/Ranger/Druid for just a few levels, and who will never have higher level spells.

[Jophiel]

Just looked it up. Goggles of Night unlock in the White Plume Mountain module. That's for lvl 8 characters, a long while to wait.
They unlock in DDAL08-02 which he can do if he doesn't level out of Tier 1 before playing it.

[CTurbo]

Fog Cloud is one of my favorite 5e spells. It allows no save, although there are a few abilities like Blindsight or Tremorsense that can negate its effects at higher levels. (But not Truesight!)

You just have to know when/where/how to use it, so you're not hurting yourself as much as the bad guys. But as long as you're smart, it's fantastic at breaking up the battlefield and separating groups of enemies into more manageable chunks to be dealt with piecemeal, forcing ranged enemies to close with you, and the like.

It's even useful outside of combat, and it's exactly the type of spell a Thief would take. Imagine a Thief who just stole something and is being pursued by the owner's guards, who drops a Fog Cloud behind himself to buy himself a greater lead and/or throw them completely off his trail. Or a Thief who's trying to sneak past a group of creatures in an open area, who drops a Fog Cloud over top of them just before he sneaks past. It offers instant concealment, wherever needed.

It's similar to a Darkness spell, except without the secondary effects of counteracting light-producing spells or being able to be carried and moved, and with the slight drawback that it can be dispersed with a strong enough wind. (Hence why it's a 1st level spell, not a 2nd level spell like Darkness.)

And because it works so well across all levels without becoming obsolete or needing to be upcast, it's an outstanding spell choice on many characters who dip into Sorcerer/Wizard/Ranger/Druid for just a few levels, and who will never have higher level spells.


I agree it would be great on a Thief. I've made great use of it from my 4 Tempest Clerics.

[OverLordOcelot]

They unlock in DDAL08-02 which he can do if he doesn't level out of Tier 1 before playing it.

Also in DDEX1-4. If you run either of those as a DM with one new player in the group you get the unlock for yourself.

[Son of A Lich!]

For Algernon's (Orc Wizard with 6 Intelligence) first 5 levels, I'm only using Fog Cloud.

Escape, crowd control, debuff, and buff all rolled into one.

Had a game where we had archer's up top on a second level and guards at the bottom floor of a tower, so I just fog clouded the archers and the disadvantage on attack rolls was enough to keep me from getting hit.

I still folded like a bad hand in texas hold 'em when the guards hit me, but between Fog Cloud and Charlie (My white rat familiar), getting into havoc and out again unscathed is all the wizarding I need.

[Chronos]

Fog Cloud is also great against very tall opponents. They've got their head in the clouds, but you can still hit their feet of clay.

And I love the idea there of Algernon and Charlie.

[Keravath]

Level 4 Lightfoot halfling. What's ghost-wise?

If you are a light foot halfling then you are missing one stat point from your build. Your strength should be 9 or int 11. Ghost-wise is a halfling type from SCAG that gains +1 wisdom rather than +1 charisma.

A single level in shadow sorcerer is the cheapest multiclass route to darkvision but the ranger levels do synergize very well in the long run.

[OverLordOcelot]

I had a really fun Tier 1 fight where our group was dealing with a bunch of hobgoblins guarding a fort that blocked a chasm we needed to go down. Fighting them while they were in cover raining arrows on us would be brutal, especially since our party was melee heavy. One member of our group threw a fog cloud (I don't remember if he upcast it) and another had a flaming sphere up on the wall, and all of a sudden the fight changed. We knew their positions so the ranged people could attack their spots at disadvantage, and the melee people stumbled up the walls or through the gate without suffering a rain of arrows.


Fog Cloud is also great against very tall opponents. They've got their head in the clouds, but you can still hit their feet of clay.

Or opponents that can keep going invisible. Instead of faerie firing and hoping for failed saves, just make EVERYONE attack at disadvantage.

[Keravath]

Fog Cloud is always useful. It's one of the few 1st level spells that can be just as useful at high levels as it is at 1st level. It's especially handy for a ranged Rogue, both as a way to create concealment, as well as to block line of sight from other ranged character trying to attack you.

...

Just to point out ... your comments about the effect of Fog Cloud are entirely DM dependent because by RAW it doesn't actually do much to combat just like Darkness.

If you look at the vision rules ... if you can't see your target you get disadvantage and if they can't see you, you have advantage. As a result, if you drop a fog cloud it prevents the casting of spells that require "a target you can see" but in terms of combat ... it remains a straight roll for either side since no one can see anyone else and advantage and disadvantage cancel.

So depending on your DM and whether they play by RAW or not ... the ranged rogue's attacks and attacks against the ranged rogue aren't affected by the Fog Cloud at all ... they are all straight rolls. In addition, if the rogue hides they will NOT be able to sneak attack since they won't have advantage. On the other hand, those firing into the fog cloud at a hidden rogue will have to designate a hex to attack first and will miss if the rogue is not there.

[Son of A Lich!]

And I love the idea there of Algernon and Charlie.

"Algernon's a weird name for an Orc"
"Eh, it's really fitting for the character though"
"Charlie is a weird name for a Familiar"
"It's the name I choose for thematic reasons"
"Hey, you need some armor really badly... you should prepare Mage Armor and Shield"
"Can't. Already prepared Fog Cloud"
"What else do you have prepared...?"
"I have an intelligence of 6, I can only prepare one spell until level 5"
"You have an intelligence of 6!? Why would you make... Oh... Algernon... Charlie... I get it now."
"Thematic reasons..."

[RogueJK]

Just to point out ... your comments about the effect of Fog Cloud are entirely DM dependent because by RAW it doesn't actually do much to combat just like Darkness.

If you look at the vision rules ... if you can't see your target you get disadvantage and if they can't see you, you have advantage. As a result, if you drop a fog cloud it prevents the casting of spells that require "a target you can see" but in terms of combat ... it remains a straight roll for either side since no one can see anyone else and advantage and disadvantage cancel.

So depending on your DM and whether they play by RAW or not ... the ranged rogue's attacks and attacks against the ranged rogue aren't affected by the Fog Cloud at all ... they are all straight rolls. In addition, if the rogue hides they will NOT be able to sneak attack since they won't have advantage. On the other hand, those firing into the fog cloud at a hidden rogue will have to designate a hex to attack first and will miss if the rogue is not there.


I primarily use Fog Cloud to break up groups of enemies into more manageable chunks. You can cause the 20 foot radius Fog Cloud to appear at any point within 120 feet. Say your party is fighting a group of 3 melee enemies who are supported by 3 more ranged enemies 60 feet away. You could drop a Fog Cloud on top of the ranged enemies, or even between the ranged enemies and your party, and then the party focuses on mopping up the 3 uncovered melee enemies without having to deal with a bunch of accurate ranged attacks too. The ranged enemies can't see you, so they have to guess your location and fire blind. Then, once all three melee enemies are dead, you just end Concentration on the Fog Cloud, and the party then mops up the 3 ranged enemies that are now uncovered. It beats sucking up full power attacks from all 6 at once.

This gets even more handy if you're doing something like fighting a mass of enemies in a 10 foot wide hallway. Rather than having to deal with the two melee enemies up front, and a horde of other enemies behind them chucking ranged attacks at you, you drop a Fog Cloud just behind the first row of melee enemies. The party focuses on mopping up the two front row enemies who are clearly seen. Then once those two are down, two more enemies stumble forward out of the Fog Cloud, and you rinse and repeat.

And like some of the previous posters have shared, it's nice when you're having to close on ranged attackers in something like a tower or on a castle wall. Rather than sucking up ranged attacks for several rounds while you close the 120 feet under a hail or arrows, drop a Fog Cloud until you get close, then drop Concentration and start smacking them around in melee range.

And that's just scratching the surface, and not even getting into the other uses for Fog Cloud, like creating concealment for Stealthing through an open area, obscuring a trap or an ambush, blocking enemy spellcasters' line of sight, and the like.

This is why I said you have to be smart about how/where/when you use it. Simply enveloping everyone, enemy and ally alike, in a Fog Cloud or Darkness smack-dab in the middle of the battle is not an optimal play in nearly all situations (barring something like leveling the playing field with Invisible enemies).

[quark12000]

If you are a light foot halfling then you are missing one stat point from your build. Your strength should be 9 or int 11. Ghost-wise is a halfling type from SCAG that gains +1 wisdom rather than +1 charisma.

A single level in shadow sorcerer is the cheapest multiclass route to darkvision but the ranger levels do synergize very well in the long run.

No, started with standard array:

STR - 8
DEX - 15
CON - 14
INT - 10
WIS - 13
CHA -12

Lightfoot halfling took DEX to 17 and CHA to 13. First ASI took DEX to 18 and CHA to 14.

[quark12000]

They unlock in DDAL08-02 which he can do if he doesn't level out of Tier 1 before playing it.


Also in DDEX1-4. If you run either of those as a DM with one new player in the group you get the unlock for yourself.

Unfortunately, he's in the middle of a trilogy which will take him at least to level 5.

And I don't DM. If I unlock them with a different character, does that unlock them for all my characters?

[Keravath]

No, started with standard array:

STR - 8
DEX - 15
CON - 14
INT - 10
WIS - 13
CHA -12

Lightfoot halfling took DEX to 17 and CHA to 13. First ASI took DEX to 18 and CHA to 14.

Ah .. no worries. I didn't realize there were cases when point buy would get you more than using the standard array. Since you can use either for AL and you are under level 5, it is up to you whether you want an extra point or not.

With point buy you can start
STR 9 (1 pt)
Dex 14 (7 pts) -> 16 -> 18
Con 14 (7 pts)
Int 10 (2 pts)
Wis 13 (5 pts)
Cha 13 (5 pts) -> 14

27 pts before racials ... then take +2 dex for level 4 ASI to get the same stats except the extra +1 in str or int. Doesn't really make much difference unless you want slightly more carrying capacity for example.

[Keravath]

I primarily use Fog Cloud to break up groups of enemies into more manageable chunks. You can cause the 20 foot radius Fog Cloud to appear at any point within 120 feet. Say your party is fighting a group of 3 melee enemies who are supported by 3 more ranged enemies 60 feet away. You could drop a Fog Cloud on top of the ranged enemies, or even between the ranged enemies and your party, and then the party focuses on mopping up the 3 uncovered melee enemies without having to deal with a bunch of accurate ranged attacks too. The ranged enemies can't see you, so they have to guess your location and fire blind. Then, once all three melee enemies are dead, you just end Concentration on the Fog Cloud, and the party then mops up the 3 ranged enemies that are now uncovered. It beats sucking up full power attacks from all 6 at once.

This gets even more handy if you're doing something like fighting a mass of enemies in a 10 foot wide hallway. Rather than having to deal with the two melee enemies up front, and a horde of other enemies behind them chucking ranged attacks at you, you drop a Fog Cloud just behind the first row of melee enemies. The party focuses on mopping up the two front row enemies who are clearly seen. Then once those two are down, two more enemies stumble forward out of the Fog Cloud, and you rinse and repeat.

And like some of the previous posters have shared, it's nice when you're having to close on ranged attackers in something like a tower or on a castle wall. Rather than sucking up ranged attacks for several rounds while you close the 120 feet under a hail or arrows, drop a Fog Cloud until you get close, then drop Concentration and start smacking them around in melee range.

And that's just scratching the surface, and not even getting into the other uses for Fog Cloud, like creating concealment for Stealthing through an open area, obscuring a trap or an ambush, blocking enemy spellcasters' line of sight, and the like.

This is why I said you have to be smart about how/where/when you use it. Simply enveloping everyone, enemy and ally alike, in a Fog Cloud or Darkness smack-dab in the middle of the battle is not an optimal play in nearly all situations (barring something like leveling the playing field with Invisible enemies).

Your examples are exactly why I say this is DM dependent.

Based on RAW ... you only need to guess the square a target is in when they are hidden ... which means taking the hide action. Otherwise, they are a target that you can not see so you have disadvantage. However, a fog cloud also makes it so that the target can not see you thus granting advantage. As a result, even though you can't see them, and you are attacking at range ... as long as the target is not hidden AND they can not see you also then it is a straight roll to hit ... no guessing location and no disadvantage.

So in all your examples of "strategically" placed fog clouds ... they would essentially do nothing to split the groups or prevent ranged attacks or allow you to deal with the front lines safe from the back lines.

This is what the rules say ... DMs are free to run their games however they wish so this is why I say all the applications of fog cloud you outline above are entirely table and DM dependent since RAW they do not work that way. They do prevent targeting of spells that require you to see the target.

[Jophiel]

Unfortunately, he's in the middle of a trilogy which will take him at least to level 5.

And I don't DM. If I unlock them with a different character, does that unlock them for all my characters?
No, it has to be on that character. There's a Slow Progression rule where you can take half AP/TP rewards but that doesn't help you if you're 2 AP out from leveling or if no one is going to run one of the adventures any time soon.

[Keravath]

No, it has to be on that character. There's a Slow Progression rule where you can take half AP/TP rewards but that doesn't help you if you're 2 AP out from leveling or if no one is going to run one of the adventures any time soon.

Trading is also an option. If someone already has the goggles you can trade them a magic item from the same table in the DMG. This also works if you have unlocked something another person with the goggles unlocked wants. Both of you can buy the magic items the other wants and then trade. Trading costs some downtime if you are not sitting at the same table playing the same module.

In addition, there is a traveling AL "trader" called Fai Chen that shows up at conventions and some game shops that also might allow you to trade something to obtain the goggles. Fai Chen stocks a variety of goods and most of the things traded in by players will also end up available for trade.

Finally, I think there is a facebook group set up for trading AL items and probably other groups as well. So you might want to check out the options for trading and see what might be out there.

Other than the goggles though, you are pretty much stuck with one of the multiclassing options ... some of which are actually very good combinations.

[OverLordOcelot]

Unfortunately, he's in the middle of a trilogy which will take him at least to level 5.

Being in a trilogy doesn't generally stop you from playing other games - one of the virtues of AL is that you can drop into different tables without any hassle. If the trilogy isn't doing a 'you get a long rest' at the beginning of each session then you need to track how much your resources were down between sessions. There are some exceptions, for example adventures in Bavoria (Curse of Strahd) lock you into Bavoria unless you spend downtime days to exit the region or beat Strahd.

Also you can use slow advancement to avoid leveling too fast, but it sounds like you're playing with a group that you want to keep up with so that probably doesn't help.


And I don't DM. If I unlock them with a different character, does that unlock them for all my characters?

The DM quests attach to the person, then get spent on a character. Regular unlocks are per-character, but you can unlock on one character, buy it there, then trade it with another of your characters using the regular magic item trading rules.

[Theodoxus]

Best use of Fog Cloud is on a level 2 Moon Druid. Drop FC on a group of baddies, bonus action turn into a giant spider, wade into the cloud and profit (blindsense for the win!)

I roll up new druids all the time for AL, just for that trick... it never gets old.

[Sigreid]

Gouge out the eyes of an elf and get a semic-biomancer to install them.

[quark12000]

Thanks everyone for all the great advice. I think I'm going to go Shadow Sorcerer. That will only take one level, and those cantrips and a couple of spells will be nice. I also thought about changing my archetype to Arcane Trickster to, eventually, access the Darkvision spell, but that would take a while, plus I'm not really interested in learning a lot of spells with this character.


I can come up with a good reason for him acquiring these powers: He got tipsy in a pub, followed a pretty girl, she tricked him into going through a portal to the Shadowfell where … something happened and he woke up having these powers.

[CTurbo]

Thanks everyone for all the great advice. I think I'm going to go Shadow Sorcerer. That will only take one level, and those cantrips and a couple of spells will be nice. I also thought about changing my archetype to Arcane Trickster to, eventually, access the Darkvision spell, but that would take a while, plus I'm not really interested in learning a lot of spells with this character.


I can come up with a good reason for him acquiring these powers: He got tipsy in a pub, followed a pretty girl, she tricked him into going through a portal to the Shadowfell where … something happened and he woke up having these powers.

Shadow Blade!

[Whit]

First thing you need to do is find out what level you are playing up to. This will determine if you should do it and if so how many levels to go in any class.
Second you then need to determine what your ok with in losing thief abilities levels.
Then you can decide.
I would say gloom as a ranger is close to rogue. So lvl 1 is useless, lvl 2 gives archer fight style, lvl 3 gives you disguise self , dread ambush add wisdom bonus to intiative move extra 10 feet an additional attack and extra damage and then umbral sight gives 60 dark vision and hide in darkness vrs darkvision. So that’s 3 rogue 3 ranger then everything else to your choice.
If you want only 1 level dip then go with sorcerer if you can

[quark12000]

First thing you need to do is find out what level you are playing up to. This will determine if you should do it and if so how many levels to go in any class.
Second you then need to determine what your ok with in losing thief abilities levels.
Then you can decide.
I would say gloom as a ranger is close to rogue. So lvl 1 is useless, lvl 2 gives archer fight style, lvl 3 gives you disguise self , dread ambush add wisdom bonus to intiative move extra 10 feet an additional attack and extra damage and then umbral sight gives 60 dark vision and hide in darkness vrs darkvision. So that’s 3 rogue 3 ranger then everything else to your choice.
If you want only 1 level dip then go with sorcerer if you can

Hopefully I'll be going to level 20. I don't really understand what you're saying here.

3 levels are a bit too much for me. Plus, he's more of an urban character, so ranger doesn't really fit.

[Sigreid]

I would consider 2 levels of warlock for devil's sight and a handy at will power like disguise, and the stalker feat to eliminate dim light penalties and give a few other benefits.

[Whit]

I’m staying exactly what you just responded to. You don’t want 3 lvls dip so your looking at 1 or 2 lvls to get DV. So, I would go with no dip based on your stats. You don’t want to dip to sorcerer or warlock 1 lvl to just get DV.
I would say in your case to deal with it until you can somehow Adventure league the item. Since you can now exchange items it’s your best option to get a magic item and exchange it for a potion or item of equal rarity