Sniper School: Skills and Role for PCs

[blackjack50]

This is something I’ve been thinking about. The question was posed somewhere. And the idea was how to optimize the build. How do I deal as much damage as I can in one shot? I get the mentality. And I see the image you want. And if you are looking to optimize a build for that? You have already failed at the point of being a sniper. You just don’t get it. And worse? When you start optimizing your character for that concept? You have wasted a brilliant idea and are also keeping your character from playing their most crucial role: support.

But why? Well. The game you are playing isn’t about 1 shot 1 kill. It is a team game. And every sniper in the world is trained to observe first and shoot second. THAT is how a sniper can change the landscape of battle with 1 bullet. It isn’t THAT they can kill from a distance with one shot. It is WHO they kill. Or who they direct others to kill. And THAT is how you need to think about your character. You aren’t there to shoot someone dead. You are the eyes of the party.

So. How do you guide them? Through stealth and perception. And then investigation and insight. your ability to do damage is secondary to this.

[Expected]

Arcane Trickster/Scout Rogue and Battle Master Fighter fit thematically as a sniper and spotter. Pure Rogues/Rogue multiclasses are the closest thing to one shot, one kill because of the large amount of damage Sneak Attack can do, especially as an Elf/Half-Elf with Elven Accuracy.

[blackjack50]

Arcane Trickster/Scout Rogue and Battle Master Fighter fit thematically as a sniper and spotter. Pure Rogues/Rogue multiclasses are the closest thing to one shot, one kill because of the large amount of damage Sneak Attack can do, especially as an Elf/Half-Elf with Elven Accuracy.

But ultimately? One shot one kill is the wrong focus. It is all about stealth and perception. :)

[carrdrivesyou]

My thoughts:

Take a Mastermind or Inquisitive rogue with VERY high Wisdom and Charisma scores. Take one level of Twilight cleric. Take the following feats: Sharpshooter and Observant. Put expertise in Perception and Investigation.

You have Double proficiency + WIS + 5 to Perception, bringing your passive to the mid 20s by about 8th level. With a longbow, your shots hit with EXTREME precision, and deal MASSIVE damage. All the while, you are hyper aware of the entire scene in front of and around you, as you have the keenest of hunter's eyes. With skills like these, you will be able to size up everyone you can see (with PERFECT night vision), you can detect just about anyone sneaking around that isn't invisible (without magical aid, looking at you goggles of see invisibility), and once you see them, you can inherently tell about how tough they are, nock an arrow, and deliver the pain from a football field away, all while staying completely undetected.

[TIPOT]

I mean that assumes that oneshoting the enemy in question is a given, which really isn't the case in dnd. Unless you get exceptionally lucky, you're unlikely to take out someone appropriately levelled in a single attack.

Support skills such as perception and stealth are relatively easy to get passively as bonuses. The ability to kill a creature in one shot is something you'd need to build towards.

[Kurt Kurageous]

I've built a sniper spotter combo, but broke a rule with the shooter. It worked very well, but it wasn't the solution to every violent problem.

My spotter was a bard. The point being bardic inspiration to soften the -5 +10 of sharpshooter, good stealth and face skills.

Mastermind might be a better idea, though.

You can definitely one shot appropriate and even inappropriate encounters given auto crit doubling dice, adding DEX and 10 more damage. This is all before the poison takes effect. And you may still have a second arrow on the way.

Battlemaster has one glaring problem in its negative progression. Seriously, you pick your best choices and when you level up, you get your second choices...sad. Wish they'd fixed this by making better maneuvers at 5th and 15th level or something, or made maneuvers scale somehow.

Im assuming 3rd/4th level for the build for the archetype and/or the ASI/feat, not 15th-20th.

[Fable Wright]

Thank you for describing the ancient God-Wizard archetype and the reason Save or Die spells are no longer in the game.

On a related note, the best sniper is the Diviner Wizard due to ease of scrying and forcing saves vs key spells to fail.

[Kurt Kurageous]

I've got love for the diviners because of the portent to fail saves. It's just so useful to know the future, and I get to use the catchphrase, " I foretold you so!"

[carrdrivesyou]

Ah yes, the Diviner wizard. May we all hail his signature move: SCRY AND DIE.

Seriously, that class is OP AF.

[micahaphone]

2 levels of Grave Cleric (or more easily, have an ally grave cleric) gets you a CD to deal double damage on a target


As an action, you choose one creature you can see within 30 feet of you, cursing it until the end of your next turn. The next time you or an ally of yours hits the cursed creature with an attack, the creature has vulnerability to all of that attack's damage, and then the curse ends.

Pair that with some high level Assassin Rogue with Sharpshooter, use some method to get them advantage, super sneak team gets max possible damage on a single shot.

[Talionis]

Don’t forget that Barbarian 6 can see any distance and has some survival skills. I would pair that with Warlock X. Elder itch Blast can have many ways to extend your range. The invocation, feat, possibly metamagic. Pact of the Chain can provide an invisible spotter. Adding insult to injury are the invocations that knock back and reduce movement. Because you don’t have to one shot someone if they can never close the distance.