New Character demon hunter sneaky for a new player

[Jacco]

Hi all guys, i'm going to start a new campaign and I would like some advice on how to create a demon hunter style character. The concept is a skilled character with a one-handed crossbow who uses the darkness to strike enemies with precision and power. He may also have a partner (imp, bat ...). I had thought of a basic warrior and then mix it with warlock or thief but I also accept other proposals both as a build. The person loves to use deception, lies and stealing. As a race I thought of the drow. Seeking advice on builds, talents and progress. The campaign will bring the character to liv 10-11 and the characteristics will be decided with the dice rolls. Thank you !!

[Man_Over_Game]

Hi all guys, i'm going to start a new campaign and I would like some advice on how to create a demon hunter style character. The concept is a skilled character with a one-handed crossbow who uses the darkness to strike enemies with precision and power. He may also have a partner (imp, bat ...). I had thought of a basic warrior and then mix it with warlock or thief but I also accept other proposals both as a build. The person loves to use deception, lies and stealing. As a race I thought of the drow. Seeking advice on builds, talents and progress. The campaign will bring the character to liv 10-11 and the characteristics will be decided with the dice rolls. Thank you !!

Bard of Whispers, 3 levels into Warlock for the familiar. That'd be the way I'd do it if I wanted a real crossbow.

But if you're fine reskinning Eldritch Blast to be a crossbow, I'd instead suggest Sorcerer with Warlock 3, as marking a target with Hex and Hexblade's Curse, while Quickening it to spam a crud-ton of EB shots in a second for massive damage is pretty dang cool. Shadow Sorcerer even gives you Darkness that you can see through, so extra bonus there. If you want more skills, pick up a level of Rogue.

[Man on Fire]

Hi all guys, i'm going to start a new campaign and I would like some advice on how to create a demon hunter style character. The concept is a skilled character with a one-handed crossbow who uses the darkness to strike enemies with precision and power. He may also have a partner (imp, bat ...). I had thought of a basic warrior and then mix it with warlock or thief but I also accept other proposals both as a build. The person loves to use deception, lies and stealing. As a race I thought of the drow. Seeking advice on builds, talents and progress. The campaign will bring the character to liv 10-11 and the characteristics will be decided with the dice rolls. Thank you !!

If Unearthed Arcana is allowed then I propose Assassin Rogue mixed with 5 levels of Gloom Stalker Ranger, using Unearthed Arcana Class Features variants for Ranger to get some better abilities since Player's Handbook's Ranger is so focused on roleplay it underperforms in combat and you cannot mix Gloom Stalker with Revised Ranger. Pick Crossbow Expert as a feat and you can now in first turn shoot 3 times, against surprised enemies you have advantage deal extra damage from sneak attack and Gloom Stalker features and autocrit on a hit. First turn someone dies.

[Jacco]

so no fighter? I thought having extra attacks was necessary for damage as well as having more feat. Also I read that they recommend taking the feat of the elves, better this one here or the one for crossbows as the first choice at level 4?
The bard doesn't inspire me much ... but I'll take a look .. the lock + rouge couple looks nice but I don't want them to fall behind with respect to other choices.
I forgot to mention that the campaign will be the curse of strahd.

[Man_Over_Game]

so no fighter? I thought having extra attacks was necessary for damage as well as having more feat. Also I read that they recommend taking the feat of the elves, better this one here or the one for crossbows as the first choice at level 4?
The bard doesn't inspire me much ... but I'll take a look .. the lock + rouge couple looks nice but I don't want them to fall behind with respect to other choices.
I forgot to mention that the campaign will be the curse of strahd.

Well, here's the thing:

Fighter is bland as potatoes, and doesn't give you much of what you're looking for for a while, as:


Extra Attack isn't available until level 5.
Everyone gets a feat at level 4.
Action Surge is cool, but unusable with crossbows without Crossbow Expert.
You haven't mentioned anything that indicates any kind of Fighter subclass that'd support your playstyle.


Thing is, besides making crossbow attacks, there isn't anything you've mentioned that Fighter could do better than any other choice, and even with crossbows, Fighter only starts to become better with them around level 5. Curse of Strahd ends around level 6, I think.

For what you described, if you're not really keen on spellcasting, I'd probably just go Arcane Trickster with Crossbow Expert, picking up Find Familiar with one of your free spells.

[Jacco]

Well, here's the thing:

Fighter is bland as potatoes, and doesn't give you much of what you're looking for for a while, as:


Extra Attack isn't available until level 5.
Everyone gets a feat at level 4.
Action Surge is cool, but unusable with crossbows without Crossbow Expert.
You haven't mentioned anything that indicates any kind of Fighter subclass that'd support your playstyle.


Thing is, besides making crossbow attacks, there isn't anything you've mentioned that Fighter could do better than any other choice, and even with crossbows, Fighter only starts to become better with them around level 5. Curse of Strahd ends around level 6, I think.

For what you described, if you're not really keen on spellcasting, I'd probably just go Arcane Trickster with Crossbow Expert, picking up Find Familiar with one of your free spells.


I thought of the fighter for the style I choose at level 1 (marksman), the saving throws on the constitution that they tell me are the best and action surge. On the subclass I would not know what, in fact I am looking for advice. On the campaign, the master said it will take us up to about level 10.
About feats, do I take crossbow expert or elven accuracy first?

[HappyDaze]

Artificer (Battlesmith) gets you a means to crossbow awesomeness and a partner.

[Man_Over_Game]

I thought of the fighter for the style I choose at level 1 (marksman), the saving throws on the constitution that they tell me are the best and action surge. On the subclass I would not know what, in fact I am looking for advice. On the campaign, the master said it will take us up to about level 10.
About feats, do I take crossbow expert or elven accuracy first?

I wouldn't bother with Elven Accuracy until you know you have a reliable means for Advantage.

Given, being a Samurai as a Fighter is a great way of getting Advantage, but it doesn't work with Crossbow Expert, since you'd have to use your Bonus Action to grant yourself Advantage.

It's this weird problem where Advantage is hard to get, unless:


You're making melee attacks (Battlemaster trip spammer)
You're a Barbarian (Reckless Attack, but doesn't get Elven Accuracy)
You're a Warlock with Devil's Sight (Advantage while attacking in Darkness)
You're a Shadow Sorcerer (Advantage while attacking in Darkness)
You're a Samurai spending your Bonus Action.
Or you're getting buffed by a friend.


And note that Warlocks don't work with 1-handed crossbows, unless you happen to have found a magical one. No invocation/patron combo allows you to conjure a 1-handed crossbow.

So if you want Elven Accuracy, you're limited to:


Playing a Battlemaster Fighter with Crossbow Expert and spamming Trip Attack as a melee character that shoots people in the face (yes, it works)
Getting buffed by a friend

Most other situations will require you to lose out on the 1-handed crossbow or the Advantage. It's hard to leverage both, unless you want to play a Warlock/Sorcerer that's bad at spellcasting or shooting (you'll have to pick one to sacrifice).

[Dork_Forge]

I wouldn't bother with Elven Accuracy until you know you have a reliable means for Advantage.

Given, being a Samurai as a Fighter is a great way of getting Advantage, but it doesn't work with Crossbow Expert, since you'd have to use your Bonus Action to grant yourself Advantage.

It's this weird problem where Advantage is hard to get, unless:


You're making melee attacks (Battlemaster trip spammer)
You're a Barbarian (Reckless Attack, but doesn't get Elven Accuracy)
You're a Warlock with Devil's Sight (Advantage while attacking in Darkness)
You're a Shadow Sorcerer (Advantage while attacking in Darkness)
You're a Samurai spending your Bonus Action.
Or you're getting buffed by a friend.


And note that Warlocks don't work with 1-handed crossbows, unless you happen to have found a magical one. No invocation/patron combo allows you to conjure a 1-handed crossbow.

So if you want Elven Accuracy, you're limited to:


Playing a Battlemaster Fighter with Crossbow Expert and spamming Trip Attack as a melee character that shoots people in the face (yes, it works)
Getting buffed by a friend

Most other situations will require you to lose out on the 1-handed crossbow or the Advantage. It's hard to leverage both, unless you want to play a Warlock/Sorcerer that's bad at spellcasting or shooting (you'll have to pick one to sacrifice).

You don't need to conjure a hand crossbow to be able to use one as a Warlock, you can just grab the proficiency from anywhere (including Drow, seeing as Darkness is a core concpet here) but Hexblade will give both proficiency and the ability to use it with Cha. If a magical one is wanted/required then Artificer and Forge Cleric both offer ways of making a magical hand crossbow that can then be bound as a pact weapon.

OP: I'd be worthwhile asking your DM if you could use the Blood Hunter (on D&D Beyond, free to access but not strictly official WotC published material) as it'd be pretty ideal for what you want. Otherwise I'd suggest mixing Gloom Stalker Ranger with Battle Master Fighter (ending up 4Ranger, 6 Fighter ideally, but going straight Ranger 5 might be easier if going from 1st level). You can grab a familiar (Bat) from Magic Initiate: Wizard, if you want to use a hand crossbow then going Variant Human (Crossbow Expert) is very advisable to be able to make more than one attack a turn. You'll still get Darkvision from being a Gloom Stalker.

[GeoffWatson]

Sounds like an Arcane Trickster Rogue with Crossbow Expert.
Rogue gives lots of skills.
Hiding in the dark with Sneak Attack gives your crossbow lots of damage.
Take Find Familiar as a spell.
Drow gives Darkness as a spell, and gives other suitable bonuses.

[Warlush]

So what specifically makes this a demon hunter?

[stoutstien]

Artificer (Battlesmith) gets you a means to crossbow awesomeness and a partner.

Second this. If available the mark of Shadow race combined with some Infusions can make you super sneaky.

[w15p]

...
It's this weird problem where Advantage is hard to get, unless:


You're making melee attacks (Battlemaster trip spammer)
You're a Barbarian (Reckless Attack, but doesn't get Elven Accuracy)
You're a Warlock with Devil's Sight (Advantage while attacking in Darkness)
You're a Shadow Sorcerer (Advantage while attacking in Darkness)
You're a Samurai spending your Bonus Action.
Or you're getting buffed by a friend.

...
Thank you for explaining this in such detail!

[CornfedCommando]

I second going with a Ranger (Gloomstalker) and using the Unearthed Arcana Class Variants. Take Deft Explorer (Canny) and gain Expertise in Stealth as well as the Abyssal and Infernal languages. I might even suggest keeping Favored Enemy from the PHB and choosing Fiends as your pick. Advantage to Survival for tracking fiends and on making Intelligence checks to know stuff about them. At level 10, take Fade Away to turn invisible.

Take the Acolyte background to represent your association with your secret demon hunting order. The Religion skill is a must have since it governs knowledge of fiends and cults. Maybe get an Alchemist’s Kit to make some bombs and what not.

Go with the Archery Fighting Style and aim to pick up the Crossbow Expert and Sharpshooter feats.

Your spells can really give you that shadowy hunter vibe (as do the Gloomstalker features) while also complementing your ranged weapon attacks. Ensnaring Strike, Fog Cloud, Hail of Thorns, Hunter’s Mark, Cordon of Arrows, Pass without Trace, Spike Growth, Conjure Barrage, Flame Arrows, Lightning Arrow, Greater Invisibility, and Conjure Volley all fit the bill perfectly.

All in all, this is a good class for your theme.

Edit: If you’re looking for a Diablo-style Demon Hunter, the spells above substitute to the Demon Hunter’s Skills pretty nicely:
Ensnaring Strike - Entangling Strike
Fog Cloud - Smoke Screen
Cordon of Arrows - Spike Trap
Spike Growth - Caltrops
Hail of Thorns - Multishot
Conjure Barrage - Fan of Knives
Conjure Volley - Rain of Vengeance
Flame Arrows - Elemental Arrows
An Alchemist’s Kit lets you make the Grenades Skill.