tips for a new PC who who will take part in a series of adventures in a row

[Jacco]

Hello everyone, would you help me with some tips on how to create a character suitable for a series of consecutive adventures set a lot in dungeons? It won't be just dungeons but these will be a good chunk of the time...
I'm thinking of possible combinations: rogue/warlock, sorcerer/warlock or twilight cleric, but if you have other in mind let me know. I'm looking for someone who can make good use of dark places, who knows how to deceive enemies and often use unconventional methods to solve situations.

All books are permitted. I will start from level 1 till 10-15.

thanks :smallsmile:

[Keravath]

There are so many choices possible that it is very difficult to offer advice.

However, some questions ...

1) for character creation, are you using the rules from Tasha's that let you move the racial stat bonuses around?
2) Are all race options including Volo's, Eberron, Mythic guide to Theros, GuildMasters Guide to Ravnica and others allowed? There are a lot of "official" book sources and not all of them apply to the same universe.
3) Variant humans and Tasha's custom races can start with a feat which can be beneficial.

For dungeon adventures - having darkvision is convenient - otherwise the party will need light sources which makes them easy to spot. Warlock devils sight invocation is even better.

Depending on what your DM is running and how they are running it (straight or with modifications) it can be beneficial if the character has access to their own ability to create the magical weapons you want to use. Most DMs will add some specific weapons useful to the characters but if the DM is running the adventure straight from a book then you can't count on that.

Finally, the most important element, what type of character do you actually want to play?

[heavyfuel]

You need sustainability.

Having a class with almost no expendible resource (like a Champion Fighter) might seem like a good idea, but you'll still have to worry about the most expended resource in D&D. Hit points.

I recomend instead a class that can instead extend the resources given to make as much use of them as possible.

An Iron Wizard (https://forums.giantitp.com/showsinglepost.php?p=23837856&postcount=43) is great. Maybe grab Eldritch Adept (Armor of Shadows) instead of Moderately Armored (but pick a different race if you do).

Warlocks in general are also great and there are tons of builds with them. I don't recommend multiclassing into Rogue or anything else for that matter, though. Warlocks are still spellcasters, and gaining access to a new spell level is probably better than anything other classes are going to give you.

[Jacco]

There are so many choices possible that it is very difficult to offer advice.

However, some questions ...

1) for character creation, are you using the rules from Tasha's that let you move the racial stat bonuses around?
2) Are all race options including Volo's, Eberron, Mythic guide to Theros, GuildMasters Guide to Ravnica and others allowed? There are a lot of "official" book sources and not all of them apply to the same universe.
3) Variant humans and Tasha's custom races can start with a feat which can be beneficial.

For dungeon adventures - having darkvision is convenient - otherwise the party will need light sources which makes them easy to spot. Warlock devils sight invocation is even better.

Depending on what your DM is running and how they are running it (straight or with modifications) it can be beneficial if the character has access to their own ability to create the magical weapons you want to use. Most DMs will add some specific weapons useful to the characters but if the DM is running the adventure straight from a book then you can't count on that.

Finally, the most important element, what type of character do you actually want to play?

1) Yes, Tasha allowed
2) Excluding the monster races, the rest is usable
3) Ok, i was thinking to start with a feat (depend on the PC)

The DM will not allow to create your own magical weapons but rather will have them found by defeating monsters or exploring.
I would like a character who can move in the darkness and use it to fight, investigate and hide. I would also like him to be good at deceiving the enemy as well as knowing how to use some magic.

[Unoriginal]

The DM will not allow to create your own magical weapons but rather will have them found by defeating monsters or exploring.
I would like a character who can move in the darkness and use it to fight, investigate and hide. I would also like him to be good at deceiving the enemy as well as knowing how to use some magic.

Sounds like you want a Gloomstalker Ranger with decent CHA.

Or maybe a Shadow Monk with decent CHA, depending on what you mean by "some magic".

[Jacco]

Sounds like you want a Gloomstalker Ranger with decent CHA.

Or maybe a Shadow Monk with decent CHA, depending on what you mean by "some magic".

We have already a ranger so i'd like to pick another one. By "some magic" I mean knowing how to cast spells but not necessarily being a full caster. Spelltricker rogue/warlock?

[x3n0n]

We have already a ranger so i'd like to pick another one. By "some magic" I mean knowing how to cast spells but not necessarily being a full caster. Spelltricker rogue/warlock?

Both of the suggested Arcane Trickster and Shadow Monk seem like good picks, then. Maybe Artificer (Armorer + Infiltrator) if you're looking for something different plus someone who can cast Guidance.

[Keravath]

An arcane trickster rogue with a few levels of warlock multiclass can work very well for this type of character. Warlock is optional but provides some useful extra abilities.

Arcane trickster rogue - some spell casting - skills and expertise. If using point buy you could start with stats like

8/16/14/12/10/14 - The 14 in charisma helps with the social skills and also allows multiclassing into warlock.

Two levels of warlock get you 2 short rest spell slots, some additional spells (especially hex), but more important some invocations. Devils sight is amazing for a rogue since you can see perfectly in darkness and magical darkness making it much easier to notice traps. If you want to be an even better trap finder, you can start as a variant human with the observant feat which will give you a very high passive perception (especially if you take expertise in it).

Take skills like stealth, perception, investigation and persuasion with expertise in stealth and perception at level 1 (or persuasion if you want to focus on the social aspects).

If you take 3 levels in warlock you can also pick up the darkness spell and use darkness+devils sight to enable advantage and thus sneak attack on most attacks (this works best with a ranged rogue since the spell is less likely to interfere with the rest of the party). In addition, if you choose blade pact you can get improved pact weapon which lets you summon a +1 bow or crossbow for making your attacks - this avoids the problem of having to find one in game since you will always have one available - and if one turns up in game you can just choose a different invocation). This is very useful if the DM is running published content and is not modifying the magic items found to fit the party - the specific magical weapons a particular character wants can be very uncommon in modules so being able to summon your own is a real advantage.

I played a character like this through Tomb of Annihilation - there were NO magical ranged weapons and very few magical weapons of any kind. My AT rogue was very happy to have 3 levels of warlock and be able to summon my own bow. The character is now level 17 and still doesn't have a magical bow any better than the one I can summon using improved pact weapon.

[Jacco]

An arcane trickster rogue with a few levels of warlock multiclass can work very well for this type of character. Warlock is optional but provides some useful extra abilities.

Arcane trickster rogue - some spell casting - skills and expertise. If using point buy you could start with stats like

8/16/14/12/10/14 - The 14 in charisma helps with the social skills and also allows multiclassing into warlock.

Two levels of warlock get you 2 short rest spell slots, some additional spells (especially hex), but more important some invocations. Devils sight is amazing for a rogue since you can see perfectly in darkness and magical darkness making it much easier to notice traps. If you want to be an even better trap finder, you can start as a variant human with the observant feat which will give you a very high passive perception (especially if you take expertise in it).

Take skills like stealth, perception, investigation and persuasion with expertise in stealth and perception at level 1 (or persuasion if you want to focus on the social aspects).

If you take 3 levels in warlock you can also pick up the darkness spell and use darkness+devils sight to enable advantage and thus sneak attack on most attacks (this works best with a ranged rogue since the spell is less likely to interfere with the rest of the party). In addition, if you choose blade pact you can get improved pact weapon which lets you summon a +1 bow or crossbow for making your attacks - this avoids the problem of having to find one in game since you will always have one available - and if one turns up in game you can just choose a different invocation). This is very useful if the DM is running published content and is not modifying the magic items found to fit the party - the specific magical weapons a particular character wants can be very uncommon in modules so being able to summon your own is a real advantage.

I played a character like this through Tomb of Annihilation - there were NO magical ranged weapons and very few magical weapons of any kind. My AT rogue was very happy to have 3 levels of warlock and be able to summon my own bow. The character is now level 17 and still doesn't have a magical bow any better than the one I can summon using improved pact weapon.

I was thinking the same thing. I have a few questions :
- Wich subclas should i take? Hexblade? The Genie? Better another one?
- As for the pact i'm thinking to go with chain pact for the companion. Nice invocations for the companion (imp) with the possibility to use his help action to give me advantage for my sneak attack.
- How many levels as Warlock? 5 liv would give me 3th spell slot

[Keravath]

I was thinking the same thing. I have a few questions :
- Wich subclas should i take? Hexblade? The Genie? Better another one?
- As for the pact i'm thinking to go with chain pact for the companion. Nice invocations for the companion (imp) with the possibility to use his help action to give me advantage for my sneak attack.
- How many levels as Warlock? 5 liv would give me 3th spell slot

In my case, I went with fey warlock for backstory reasons and for the faerie fire spell. I picked up find familiar as my any-magic-school choice as a level 3 AT. An owl can serve as well or better for the help action and advantage in combat since they have the flyby feature so they don't take opportunity attacks. The invisible imp can do the same as long as the target can't see invisible. The imp has a bit more survivability but it still only has 9 hit points (though immunity to fire damage does mean it can survive a fireball).

Anyway, I went blade pact instead of chain pact for access to a magic weapon. If that isn't an issue in your game then picking chain or tome can also be good options.

Mechanically, hexblade is likely the best choice since you pick up hexblade's curse and proficiency with medium armor, shields and martial weapons so you will be able to use any weapon you find. Shield and a rapier can be a good option if you end up in melee though less useful if you plan to play a ranged rogue standing in the back shooting most of the time.

In my case, I went to AT rogue 10 for reliable talent/3 warlock before adding more warlock levels. However, as a blade pact warlock, I then went to warlock 5 for thirsting blade, improved pact weapon and devils sight which gives me extra attack for two shots at making sure I land sneak attack and some 3rd level spell slots. In particular, although my DC isn't that high due to int 14 - I can use the level 9 AT feature to cast things like hypnotic pattern and force disadvantage on target saves if I am hidden when I cast it (Magical Ambush applies to any spell an AT casts). The 9th level feature is amazing if you can also obtain high level staves - in my case I also have a Staff of the Magi which a warlock can attune - if the character is hidden when casting a spell from the staff, all target saves are at disadvantage which can really improve the effectiveness and help overcome magic resistant targets.

[Jacco]

we rolled the dice, here's what i got : 17-15-14-14-13-11 I still have to choose the race.
Bard/rogue? Sounds good? In this case, how many levels of bard or rogue? I like the idea of ​​attacking with shadow blade as well as the idea of ​​being able to throw a fireball if needed.
We're a 3 party with a ranger and a barbarian/druid and then me.

rogue/bard
bard/warlock
rogue/warlock
warlock/sorcer

any of these combination souds good and funny...don't know which i should pick

[KorvinStarmast]

we rolled the dice, here's what i got : 17-15-14-14-13-11 I still have to choose the race.
Bard/rogue? Sounds good? In this case, how many levels of bard or rogue? I like the idea of ​​attacking with shadow blade as well as the idea of ​​being able to throw a fireball if needed.
We're a 3 party with a ranger and a barbarian/druid and then me.

rogue/bard
bard/warlock
rogue/warlock
warlock/sorcer
With those rolls, I will suggest going for a Half Elf.
S 11 D 18 (17+1) Con 16 (15+1) Int 14 Wis 13 Cha 16 (14+2)
The int is 14 since you'll be using various INT based skills. You can drop that to 13 and use 14 for Wis; perception is never bad.

Rogue to level 5; AT is good. Your ASI at 4 works as well for Dex as it does for Cha. Or you can go Resilient Wisdom to boost Wisdom saves, which are common.
Warlock (Genie) at level 6 and at 7 pick your two favorite Invocations.
Finish Rogue 10 at level 12. (Reliable Talent really is nice).
From there, if the campaign is still going, getting a pact boon like Chain/Familiar isn't a bad idea.

But honestly? I'd suggest MCing into Bard, not Warlock, and go Lore Bard 3 (First 5 levels Rogue, next 3 Bard) for the full Skill Monkey approach. Might render Reliable Talent moot.

You get extra skills from Half Elf (racial two bonus) and you'll get even more bonus skills and expertise from Bard/Lore.

Up to you. Eldritch blast is rather good, if you need a ranged attack that does magic damage, but your light crossbow or short bow ranged attack with sneak attack is no slouch.