Melee gloomstalker ranger with shillelagh

[nmerlong]

Hello,

I would like to play a melee gloomstalker ranger that has the spell shillelagh. The campaign goes up to level 10 and I was wondering how to make a decent ranger (with possible multiclass) for this. Because of the shillelagh, wisdom will be the main modifier. Could you guys help me out with ideas?

stats:
16 14 14 14 10 8

[RogueJK]

Totally doable, thanks to the Druidic Warrior fighting style.

You'll want WIS as your highest, along with a 14ish DEX for medium armor (breastplate to avoid the Stealth disadvantage), and a decent CON.

So something like this:
Custom Lineage Gloomstalker
STR 14
DEX 14
CON 14
INT 10
WIS 16+2
CHA 8
Druidic Warrior Fighting Style (Shillelagh and either Guidance or Thorn Whip or Magic Stone)
Ranger and Background Skills: Stealth, Perception, Survival, and Acrobatics/Athletics
Stealth Expertise from Canny
Darkvision from race, +30' from Umbral Sight
ASIs: Warcaster at Level 1, Polearm Master at Level 4, then 20 WIS at Level 8.
Wear a breastplate and wield a shield and a 1H quarterstaff.

Or if you want some additional spellcasting at the cost of a little melee capability, you could do Warcaster at Level 1, then Shadow Touched (19 WIS) at Level 4, and Fey Touched (20 WIS) at Level 8.

[Willie the Duck]

Or if you want some additional spellcasting at the cost of a little melee capability, you could do Warcaster at Level 1, then Shadow Touched (19 WIS) at Level 4, and Fey Touched (20 WIS) at Level 8.

Shillelagh already has some bonus-action interference with Polearm Master. Given the other bonus action options available to rangers, it might be worth forgoing PAM and just using all the other means to make the character shine -- depends of course on how often you will get to use your reaction action with PAM when you otherwise wouldn't have a reaction; the 1d4+3-5 of the bonus action attack (minus the first round of every combat) by itself probably is made up for with whatever else you can leverage (especially with the opportunity cost of what else you can do with the ASI).

If one wanted to go the ST/FT route, Gloomstalker Ranger already gets Disguise Self. Picking up Silent Image as a spell with Shadow Touched would make the character a fairly good trickster type (maybe move one of the 14s to Cha and grab deception). Fey Touched could give Bless, or Gift of Alacrity, or even just Hex/HM so you don't have to use a ranger known-spell-slot.

An alternate implementation would be to pick up Shillelagh with Magic Initiate (Druid) at Level 1 and have your ranger fighting style free. Ranged FS would work with Magic Stone as your other cantrip (making a 'sticks&stones' motif character), or Blind fighting plus Fog Cloud is a favorite of rangers I know. Dealing with hands free is a challenge if you want to use a shield (and not have War Caster), but it can be done (or you can keep a hand free for spells, switching to ranged weapons, and so forth). I believe if the 1st level spell you pick up from the druid list is also on the ranger list, then you can use your other spell slots to cast it. Thus I might suggest Goodberry as an option (you can find a use for 1 casting a day of it almost every day).

Given that Gloomstalkers get Dex and eventually Wis save proficiency, I'm always tempted to also grab Resilient:con. With all-even stat rolls, that becomes something of a challenge (maybe grab that and then eventually skill-expert, as it doesn't look like that needs to benefit the attribute regularly governing the skill boosted).

That of course raises the total number of feats I'd suggest to 8, so obviously pick what suites ones' needs best.

[RogueJK]

Shillelagh already has some bonus-action interference with Polearm Master. .

I've played two characters built around Shillelagh before (an early Ranger/Nature Cleric and a more recent Celestial Tomelock), and in both cases I rarely ever had to spend a Bonus Action to fire up my Shillelagh in Round 1 of combat. Basically only when surprised/ambushed/awakened. Instead, the DMs were okay with either character - being experienced adventurers who relied on their magic sticks - activating it ahead of time whenever heading into a dangerous area or when combat seemed imminent.

Even if you do have to do it at the start of every combat, that's one Bonus Action per combat. That's a negligible conflict with PAM.

And aside from the occasional BA spell like Shillelagh/Zephyr Strike/Misty Step, the Gloomstalker doesn't have much else to do with all its BAs on a regular basis anyway, so PAM is a good way to gain some benefit from it on all those other turns, rather than leaving that portion of your action economy unused in most rounds.

Same with Reactions. Aside from the occasional Absorb Elements or OA, their Reaction would otherwise go unused in most rounds. PAM lets you regularly make use of that otherwise unused portion of your action economy as well.

Therefore, PAM is well worth the feat investment for a melee-focused Shillelagh Ranger, even if you have to skip an occasional BA attack at the top of some combats.

[Willie the Duck]

I've played two characters built around Shillelagh before (an early Ranger/Nature Cleric and a more recent Celestial Tomelock), and in both cases I rarely ever had to spend a Bonus Action to fire up my Shillelagh in Round 1 of combat. Basically only when surprised/ambushed/awakened. Instead, the DMs were okay with either character - being experienced adventurers who relied on their magic sticks - activating it ahead of time whenever heading into a dangerous area or when combat seemed imminent.

Every group has their own position on whether a character can keep-up continuously a spell they need to recast every 10 rounds. I've seen plenty of incredibly long threads full of people earnestly articulating their own positions (in both directions) and being genuinely baffled that everyone (or at least a faraway majority) does not come to the same conclusion. In the end we're left with ask your DM.


Even if you do have to do it at the start of every combat, that's one Bonus Action per combat. That's a negligible conflict with PAM.

And aside from the occasional BA spell like Shillelagh/Zephyr Strike/Misty Step, the Gloomstalker doesn't have much else to do with all its BAs on a regular basis anyway, so PAM is a good way to gain some benefit from it on all those other turns, rather than leaving that portion of your action economy unused in most rounds.
If one loses out on the first round of combat, it is a significant amount depending entirely upon the average length of combats in your group. I keep hearing that 5e combat is incredibly short (round-wise, not real-time-wise). As for other bonus action options, there is Hunter's Mark. Likewise with the extra long threads and incredulity at others' positions, it seems to me that plenty of people really like Hunter's Mark with Rangers.


Same with Reactions. Aside from the occasional Absorb Elements or OA, their Reaction would otherwise go unused in most rounds. PAM lets you regularly make use of that otherwise unused portion of your action economy as well.
Depends on how many OAs you normally proc in a regular combat.


Therefore, PAM is well worth the feat investment for a melee-focused Shillelagh Ranger, even if you have to skip an occasional BA attack at the top of some combats.
I am not saying that PAM is not a perfectly good choice for a Shillelagh Ranger (or honestly anyone who regularly uses a staff, spear, glaive, halberd, or possibly even pike). However, given the potential first round requirement, plus the other options the ranger has with their bonus actions (compared to, say, most fighters), I consider it less automatic of a choice and well worth considering the opportunity cost -- especially if it is something really useful, such as another save proficiency or expanding one's spell list (and one of the primary values of a shillelagh build is to make the ranger less MAD, helping things such as their spell save DC).

[solidork]

I don't think you can start with Warcaster - you don't get spells until level 2.

[RogueJK]

I don't think you can start with Warcaster - you don't get spells until level 2.

Good catch. In that case, flip 1 and 4, and just do the stupid "drop/cast/pick back up" juggle when you want to cast a spell at levels 2-3.

(I'm thankful that aspect is hand-waved in my group.)

[animorte]

Good catch. In that case, flip 1 and 4, and just do the stupid "drop/cast/pick back up" juggle when you want to cast a spell at levels 2-3.

(I'm thankful that aspect is hand-waved in my group.)

For my similar situation it was also hand-waved. It’s not unreasonable to assume that I would be preparing my combat for when I have gained enough experience in my specialization to utilize it.

[Unoriginal]

I don't think you can start with Warcaster - you don't get spells until level 2.

Don't you get spells at lvl 1 with Druidic Warrior?

[stoutstien]

Don't you get spells at lvl 1 with Druidic Warrior?

Ranger and pally get fighting style at lv 2 not 1.