AL hobgoblin build help/advice

[Rallek25]

Hello everyone,
Recently I've been wanting to build a Hobgoblin character for AL, but needed some help on how to about the build.
I have some of the basics down . The character's name would be Korven The Chosen. He was just Korven until The Gods shined down upon him and bestowed upon him magic powers. Now all the hobgoblins and goblins essentially worship him, because he was "chosen" for a greater purpose. To outsiders he's merely a wizard that happens to be "lucky" at times. Basically, this character would be a Divination wizard with the Lucky feat. He thinks he can't be touched and can see the future seeing as he has portent, luck, & saving face. So he's intelligent, but not wise in his decisions.

Anyways, the help I need is on if I should Multiclass him into EK. I just see hobgoblins as fighters more so, and I think it would fit more. Korven just thinks he can handle things and he just goes straight into combat. Basically, he thinks "guys I got this, I've got buffs". I was thinking somewhere along the lines of 6-8 EK and the rest wizard? I know sorcerer would play better for action economy, but then I lose out on portent. I was thinking that if I do go at least 7 EK that I could just Shocking Grasp everything (PHB+1 rule means I can't take SCAG cantrips) and then BA attack.

I'm not entirely sure on how to go about this multiclass, but any help would he appreciated. I would like to be more spellcaster oriented with the ability to attack twice.

I have thought about pure Wizard, but I wanted to get thoughts on multiclassing.

Thank you

[Bjarkmundur]

Level 1 Fighter 1 - Armor, weapons, Con saves
Level 2 Wizard 1 - Level 1 rituals, Shield, cantrips
Level 3 Wizard 2 - Portent
Level 4 Fighter 2 - Action Surge
Level 5 Fighter 3 - More Cantrips and EK subclass
Level 6 Wizard 3 - Level 2 spells and rituals
Level 7+ Fighter EK

This is my go-to EK/wizard progression. I feel like this is a good mix between the beefyness of a Hobgoblin Boss and a spellcaster. Being any more fragile than this makes the whole hobgoblin part less believable. It also delivers on the whole "magic came later" idea, since the class still works well just beating things up.
Love the concept BTW :)

[Griswold]

The only two features you get from hobgoblin are saving face (which you should be able to hit that +5 from constantly if you've got a familiar) and martial training. Martial training makes building a hobgoblin hard because if you pick up Fighter or another combat class, then you're losing that feature entirely. It's harder in AL, because if you're playing a Wizard who's got good martial abilities, you want to take booming blade, which you can't get because of the PHB +1 restriction (unless you're playing WDH into DMM and you've got an extremely lenient DM).

I would try as hard as possible to make that martial training pay off. Play full wizard and a decent Dex so you can either wade into melee with a rapier or shoot with a heavy crossbow. This will work great at tier 1, when the martial classes don't have a second attack, and you can save spell slots for either out of combat utility or buffing in combat, and you don't need to waste a slot on mage armor.

After tier 1 though, you're not going to be great in combat with weapon attacks. So from there you can switch to whatever standard wizard playstyle you want. You can even pick up shadow blade from a scroll and keep being a (semi-)boss in ranged combat.

[CTurbo]

" The Gods shined down upon him and bestowed upon him magic powers."




^^^^This is NOT the way Wizards work. That screams Cleric or Warlock and arguably Sorcerer or Paladin to a lesser degree. Maybe instead of Wizard/Fighter you go Warlock/Paladin or Sorcerer/Paladin???


If you want Portent so bad, maybe he gets magic from "the gods" via Cleric or Warlock pact and then studies to "learn" more magic via the Divination school(2 level dip)

[JackPhoenix]

" The Gods shined down upon him and bestowed upon him magic powers."




^^^^This is NOT the way Wizards work. That screams Cleric or Warlock and arguably Sorcerer or Paladin to a lesser degree. Maybe instead of Wizard/Fighter you go Warlock/Paladin or Sorcerer/Paladin???


If you want Portent so bad, maybe he gets magic from "the gods" via Cleric or Warlock pact and then studies to "learn" more magic via the Divination school(2 level dip)

Indeed. It could fool a goblin, maybe, but hobgoblins aren't stupid and know what wizards are. And while they value their spellcasters, they wouldn't "worship" anyone who can't kick ass the traditional hobgoblin way. Or who's not Maglubiyet, especially in FR where gods are a bunch of meddling pricks. And magic and luck are covered by other gods.

[Nhorianscum]

" The Gods shined down upon him and bestowed upon him magic powers."




^^^^This is NOT the way Wizards work. That screams Cleric or Warlock and arguably Sorcerer or Paladin to a lesser degree. Maybe instead of Wizard/Fighter you go Warlock/Paladin or Sorcerer/Paladin???


If you want Portent so bad, maybe he gets magic from "the gods" via Cleric or Warlock pact and then studies to "learn" more magic via the Divination school(2 level dip)

Eh, the gods could smile down as Vecna rolls a nat 1.... and son-of-a-dog that hobgoblin got a spellbook!

Much laughter.

(It's fluff and fluff is flexible. With no luck domain his concept is pretty solid in terms of mechanics matching fluff)

--------------

In response to the OP. Fighter is sorta wasted on a hobgoblin but a dash of rouge could work very well here.

[Rallek25]

Indeed. It could fool a goblin, maybe, but hobgoblins aren't stupid and know what wizards are. And while they value their spellcasters, they wouldn't "worship" anyone who can't kick ass the traditional hobgoblin way. Or who's not Maglubiyet, especially in FR where gods are a bunch of meddling pricks. And magic and luck are covered by other gods.

I am aware of that, but this is the story I painted for this character. His clan is mainly made up of barbarians and fighters. This is just all fluff and thematics as someone else posted on here. Also, since this character has to be AL legal i can't grab the SCAG cantrips or else I would use those and not take fighter. Was just looking for a way to be able to do magic and fight with lucky, portent, & saving face.

[Rallek25]

Eh, the gods could smile down as Vecna rolls a nat 1.... and son-of-a-dog that hobgoblin got a spellbook!

Much laughter.

(It's fluff and fluff is flexible. With no luck domain his concept is pretty solid in terms of mechanics matching fluff)

--------------

In response to the OP. Fighter is sorta wasted on a hobgoblin but a dash of rouge could work very well here.

Yeah, I know fighter wastes the martial training of a hobgoblin, but it was the best thing I could think of to give me 2 attacks, plus this character would have Guantlets of Ogre Strength which would mean I wouldn't have to use ASI's on DeX or Strength.
Although, your rogue suggestion does make me think. I'm thinking I'd go either thief or AT. But my question would be how many levels? I'd think it'd have to be enough levels to where I get a decent sneak attack since I can only attack once. So, maybe 5-7?

[Vorpalchicken]

You would need a least a 13 in Dex or Str before the gauntlets to multiclass. If it were me I would just go straight wizard and pick up moderately armored along the way.

Maybe do S10 D13 C14(+2) I15(+1) W10 Ch10 Moderately Armored(and +1 Dex) at 4, Lucky at 8, Then Int from then on.

Whoops- no SCAG cantrips huh? Well if you don't dilute your class you'll have more slots to do more impressive things than Extra Attack. There's always Haste, Polymorph and Tenser's Transformation down the road..

EK/Wizard is ok too but it's sad to be 7 levels behind as a caster

[Great Dragon]

Although, your rogue suggestion does make me think. I'm thinking I'd go either thief or AT. But my question would be how many levels? I'd think it'd have to be enough levels to where I get a decent sneak attack since I can only attack once. So, maybe 5-7?
5th gives Uncanny Dodge and 7th gives Evasion.

The Sentinel feat can allow you to get SA as a Reaction in the same round.

Other Rogue types to think about are:

Swashbuckler (+Cha to Initiative)

Inquisitive can study a foe (Investigate vs Deception) to SA for a minute.

Both have ways to engage the enemy without an ally nearby and still Sneak Attack.

Mastermind is good for group support, with their Help as a Bonus Action.

[Rallek25]

You would need a least a 13 in Dex or Str before the gauntlets to multiclass. If it were me I would just go straight wizard and pick up moderately armored along the way.

Maybe do S10 D13 C14(+2) I15(+1) W10 Ch10 Moderately Armored(and +1 Dex) at 4, Lucky at 8, Then Int from then on.

Whoops- no SCAG cantrips huh? Well if you don't dilute your class you'll have more slots to do more impressive things than Extra Attack. There's always Haste, Polymorph and Tenser's Transformation down the road..

EK/Wizard is ok too but it's sad to be 7 levels behind as a caster

I am aware of the stat prerequisites, which is why my stat distribution would be S-12, D14, C-16, I-16, W-8, Ch- 8. I know wisdom saves are extremely common, but the purpose of the 8 Wisdom is because he's arrogant and overconfident. Because he can "see the furture", is "lucky", and can save face it leads him to not make the smartest of decisions. While he is intelligent he isn't wise. Not too worried about being behind in spells, I'd mainly buff my abilities and throw in a fireball or something.

[Rallek25]

5th gives Uncanny Dodge and 7th gives Evasion.

The Sentinel feat can allow you to get SA as a Reaction in the same round.

Other Rogue types to think about are:

Swashbuckler (+Cha to Initiative)

Inquisitive can study a foe (Investigate vs Deception) to SA for a minute.

Both have ways to engage the enemy without an ally nearby and still Sneak Attack.

Mastermind is good for group support, with their Help as a Bonus Action.

While I would like to take into consideration those subclasses I can't as Hobgoblin is my +1 meaning I'd have to stick with PHB

It does seem though that 7 rogue as you pointed out would be nice as to get evasion and dodge.

[Nhorianscum]

While I would like to take into consideration those subclasses I can't as Hobgoblin is my +1 meaning I'd have to stick with PHB

It does seem though that 7 rogue as you pointed out would be nice as to get evasion and dodge.

With a dip that heavy AT 9or 11 looks pretty juicy though without scagtrips damage is shakey.

AT3 is a good cut-off point for heavy wizard stuff.

[Vorpalchicken]

I am aware of the stat prerequisites, which is why my stat distribution would be S-12, D14, C-16, I-16, W-8, Ch- 8. I know wisdom saves are extremely common, but the purpose of the 8 Wisdom is because he's arrogant and overconfident. Because he can "see the furture", is "lucky", and can save face it leads him to not make the smartest of decisions. While he is intelligent he isn't wise. Not too worried about being behind in spells, I'd mainly buff my abilities and throw in a fireball or something.
Suit yourself of course but fireball is a lot less impressive at level 12 than it is at level 5 :)

[Rallek25]

Suit yourself of course but fireball is a lot less impressive at level 12 than it is at level 5 :)

That is correct, but a full EK gets fireball at lvl 13, so not much difference other than having higher spell slots.

[LudicSavant]

A core thing that the Hobgoblin does for Wizards is let you get some of the main benefits of multiclassing without actually slowing down your spell progression. If you're going EK, their proficiencies aren't really doing you any good, and you're not getting a bonus to your accuracy stat (and therefore slowing your ASI progression overall). You won't suck, because +2 Con / + Int and Save Face are still useful for you, but you won't be making the most of the race choice either.

As much as the Hobgoblin lore favors Fighters and (in Eberron) Bards, they unfortunately aren't really kitted optimally for it. They really are purpose-built as a Wizard race.

[OverLordOcelot]

Singe you're a hobgoblin, you can get medium armor (and shield) proficiency with one feat, which seems a better way to get your 'melee wizard' feel than multiclassing. I expect that the heavy mulitclass options will seem neat early on, then become ineffective as you get to level 10+, so my advice is to just burn a feat for armor and avoid diluting your casting.