melee generalist - rogue/barbarian/fighter etc

[da newt]

I'm building a bugbear PC for a new campaign starting lvl 1 and going who knows how high ... He needs to be AL legal (pretty much anything official except ebberon or strixhaven). My goal is to create a good all around generalist non-magical combatant. I'm aiming for something on theme for a sneaky / dexterous bugbear who can melee or range (probably 66/33), have pretty good DPR and really good survivability while also doing a good job of protecting the squishy folks and being versatile.

The only must haves are cunning action (R-2) and rage (B-1). He's got 14/16/16/8/12/8 for stats.

How would you build out a good solid combatant without magic (he's not smart or smooth), with a bit of pirate flavor, who can do a bunch of things pretty well (sneak, grapple, tank, etc)?

[LudicSavant]

I'm building a bugbear PC for a new campaign starting lvl 1 and going who knows how high ... He needs to be AL legal (pretty much anything official except ebberon or strixhaven). My goal is to create a good all around generalist non-magical combatant. I'm aiming for something on theme for a sneaky / dexterous bugbear who can melee or range (probably 66/33), have pretty good DPR and really good survivability while also doing a good job of protecting the squishy folks and being versatile.

The only must haves are cunning action (R-2) and rage (B-1). He's got 14/16/16/8/12/8 for stats.

How would you build out a good solid combatant without magic (he's not smart or smooth), with a bit of pirate flavor, who can do a bunch of things pretty well (sneak, grapple, tank, etc)?

What's the reason for needing Cunning Action / Rage?

Anyways, what you really want for a Bugbear optimization is:
- The MPMM version of Bugbear (it's much stronger than the Volo's version)
- Good initiative
- The ability to pack lots of attacks into an opening round.

[DMVerdandi]

I'm building a bugbear PC for a new campaign starting lvl 1 and going who knows how high ... He needs to be AL legal (pretty much anything official except ebberon or strixhaven). My goal is to create a good all around generalist non-magical combatant. I'm aiming for something on theme for a sneaky / dexterous bugbear who can melee or range (probably 66/33), have pretty good DPR and really good survivability while also doing a good job of protecting the squishy folks and being versatile.

The only must haves are cunning action (R-2) and rage (B-1). He's got 14/16/16/8/12/8 for stats.

How would you build out a good solid combatant without magic (he's not smart or smooth), with a bit of pirate flavor, who can do a bunch of things pretty well (sneak, grapple, tank, etc)?


Swashbuckler Rogue 3
Bear totem barbarian 3
Gunslinger fighter 14

wallah. Use rapier and gunz. Now you are everything you want.

Grab Gunner, Grappler, tavern brawler, Martial Adept, tough


If you want more utility, swap gunslinger for Artillerist Artificer [Write it off as pirate science]
If you don't want guns, switch gunslinger for 3 samurai, and rogue levels til 20.

Say you got bugbear totem barbarians levels.

[Spo]

Would taking the mobile feat eliminate the need for those 2 lvls in rogue to get cunning action? More barbarian lvls would also get you reckless attack and more movement and you can keep you medium armor from your barbarian and fighter classes. What more can cunning action get you besides hide?

[da newt]

Cunning action/SA and rage are defining characteristics of the theme that I am pursuing - even if they are less than optimal.

The goal is an intermingling of barbarian and rogue - a PC who thinks of themselves as a rogue, who strives to be a rogue-esque sneaky smooth Capt Jack Sparrow but who cannot escape their natural predilection to HULK out and face tank when the jerks try to pick on his squishier friends.

Sort of aspirations of cat burglar / swashbuckler but instinctual berserker ...

[Urbanmech]

With your stats layout you probably only need 1 level of barbarian. Probably start Rogue for the extra skill and then take your barbarian dip to get your rage, unarmored defense, and shield proficiency. Then rogue for the rest of your levels, probably Thief as the best subclass to get that climbing in the rigging and doing crazy acrobatics feel.

Grab 5 levels of Fighter later if you want extra attack and Action Surge for first round nova damage using the Bugbear Surprise Attack.

[meandean]

I'll say Scout Rogue 12/Beast Barbarian 8. You'll be ridiculously mobile (including vertically). That'll be further accentuated by the fact that you have reach, both on your own turn with your weapon, and with your tail. Unlike some other options that come to mind like Swashbuckler or Gloom Stalker, you still only need STR/DEX/CON, so you can build up your Strength as you need to. Grappling will be easy... you can even drop your weapon, grapple two creatures simultaneously, and still have a bite that can do damage + heal, plus more damage on the first turn if you win initiative (on which you will eventually have advantage.)

[DragonBaneDM]

Hi! I'm playing a Bearbarian 5/Scout Rogue 5+/Fighter Y!

The Scout's in there for flavor, so I understand why you're after Rage as a core concept of your character. I'm the optimizer of my table, so my DM made me promise to take my fighter levels last. As a result, I think about the break points between these classes a lot, and here's some of the thoughts I've had in the past:

I cannot BEGIN to tell you how much fun it is to intermingle Rage, Sneak Attack, and Reckless Attack. It truly feels like you're playing a sped up version of DnD where you have double the hit points of everyone else. If you'd like to start enjoying the kit right away, Barbarian 2 and Rogue 1 gets you there.

However, I started off with Barbarian 5 because being a Totem Warrior was a big perk for me, and getting to 5 for mulitattack quickly feels so dang good on a martial.

Rogue scales better than Barbarian. Sneak Attack rising feels fantastic, having Uncanny Dodge to go along with Sentinel makes me feel like I have things to do between turns, and I'm still feeling like a constant threat my DM has to acknowledge even heading into double digit levels with three full casters as in my party. I'm honestly tempted by Slippery Mind, as Wis saves are the main way my DM deals with my antics.

I would recommend Swashbuckler and Bear Totem. One of my favorite things about playing this build was my ability to stand alone. I was often able to pick out the most dangerous opponent, pop Rage, get next to them with a Dash or Skirmish, and start going toe to toe with a caster or melee specialist while my party dealt with mooks.

The other way I always wish I could have built this character is the "Ghost Build". Ancestral Guardian, Phantom Rogue, and Echo Knight. Your bugbear doesn't seem to fit this theme, and that is okay!

Speaking of, grappling is fun. I've had fights where I end up isolated with an opponent stronger than me, and it was incredibly nice to roleplay the moment of "Oh hey, you're the first thing I can't kill by myself, so I'm just going to hold your face on the floor while my Bard and Cleric finish with your minions in the other room." It gives me this element of battlefield control that feels like something I can either bust out in combats where we have someone who's better at attacking than I am, or honestly, in fights where I want to take a backseat, conserve a rage, and let others shine.

Action Surge is a fantastic ability, and I truly wish that I had it. That Fighter 2 dip is so tempting that sometimes I'm tempted to go "This is enough sneak attack" and just pull that ripcord, becoming a fighter for the rest of time.

The reality is that you're probably not going to see a third attack on this PC. That comes online at 11th level, and if you're planning on going for a Barbarian / Rogue base, that means Fighter 5 is a dead level, and you probably want to avoid those.

I'm planning to ultimately go Bearbarian 5/Scout 11/Champion or Echo Knight 4. I think that Battle Master is plain out better but I Reckless Attack a lot, and enjoy critting on Sneak Attack. Echo Knight is just a fun flavor thing. The Fighter 4 is what I'm going with because it's more HP with the same number of ASIs.

I hope this rambling helps! Barb / Rogue is a FUN build, and I hope you enjoy your bugbear!

[Quietus]

This being AL, do you have strength boosting items available to trade/grant to this character? How do you feel about that practice in general?

Assuming you do have that access, and are comfortable using it, you get some interesting doors opening to you. You can leave your strength at 13, and prioritize dex/con. Going this route, I'd probably take go rogue3->barb1->rogue+2, using rage primarily defensively, probably doing TWF at least on that first turn to maximize your ambush damage. When you have your strength item, take that second level of barbarian, to have always-available advantage.

Long term, there's several things you could aim for. You could go for enough barbarian to get extra attack, and enough rogue to get reliable talent, and just be all around good at most things. If you want to maximize damage, you could instead be a multiclass monstrosity, do 3 rogue, 3 barbarian, 3 ranger (gloomstalker), 11 fighter. At max level this gets you 4-5 attacks on your first turn, with action surge bringing that to 8-9, all of which apply your ambush. If you go that route you'll only get 3 ASI, I would pick up Alert, and max your dex, for the best odds of going first. For subclasses, I'd see if you can swing 12's in charisma and wisdom, and take swashbuckler rogue, for the +1 initiative bump (from both rogue and ranger) and the free disengage, reducing your reliance on bonus action disengage.