Best Level 3 Builds

[virtualslayer22]

I am looking to pick some brains about level 3 builds. I have a one shot coming up tonight, and naturally I have been stuck trying to throw something together. Our group already has a monk, rogue, and druid. I would love to put something together that won't die to quickly, but also will be able to function.

I am not opposed to multiclassing for this. Would love to hear your thoughts on what would be an efficient build for a lower level one shot. I am aware that a moon druid or moon druid/barb would be super tanky - but I already have a moon druid in another campaign so I wouldn't mind trying something new.

Hope to hear from some people soon! Hit me with your best, coolest, wackiest, or oddly synergistic ideas!

Oh and Happy Turkey Day!

[TheMango55]

Moon Druid 3, cast flaming sphere and turn into a bear

Edit oh sorry I just now read through your whole post lol.

Twilight and Peace clerics also seem pretty good.

[Droppeddead]

I am looking to pick some brains about level 3 builds. I have a one shot coming up tonight, and naturally I have been stuck trying to throw something together. Our group already has a monk, rogue, and druid. I would love to put something together that won't die to quickly, but also will be able to function.

I am not opposed to multiclassing for this. Would love to hear your thoughts on what would be an efficient build for a lower level one shot. I am aware that a moon druid or moon druid/barb would be super tanky - but I already have a moon druid in another campaign so I wouldn't mind trying something new.

Hope to hear from some people soon! Hit me with your best, coolest, wackiest, or oddly synergistic ideas!

Oh and Happy Turkey Day!

Do you roll for stats, point buy or standard point array? Any paladin would be a useful addition to that party. For race I would choose variant human for a feat, Pole Arm Master or Resilient Con most likely. You could also do a pretty wicked variant human artificer with crossbow master.

[Bobthewizard]

I would probably vote hexblade. They are great at level 3. But there are a lot of good options depending on what you want to play. Here are my favorite subclasses at low levels. I haven't read through all of Tasha's yet, so there might be more subclasses there I would take.

Artificer - Armorer? Artillerist (Diplomancer has a good point below)
Barbarian - Zealot or Totem
Bard - Valor
Cleric - Light, Peace, Twilight (really any)
Druid - Moon (as mentioned)
Fighter - Echo knight
Paladin - Vengeance or Conquest
Ranger - Gloom Stalker
Rogue - Arcane Trickster
Sorcerer - either Tasha's subclass
Warlock - Hexblade
Wizard - Abjuration, Divination, Evocation

[Darzil]

I’d probably go for wild magic barbarian, as for a one shot the magic would be amusing and probably at its most powerful compared to character level.

[Civis Mundi]

Another thing to consider -- Druid/Monk/Rogue seems like a pretty Wisdom-heavy party. You could fill a niche with a high Charisma or Intelligence.

My vote goes to an Armorer (Artificer) or whatever Paladin you like.

[TheMango55]

Here’s a neat build with some fun synergy

Custom lineage, +2 str, darkvision, crusher feat (+1 str)
Stats: Stats: 15 (18) str, 10 dex, 14 con, 8 int, 10 wis, 14 cha
For Standard Array: 12 wis, 13 cha and in this case you might want to ignore eldritch blast completely and just throw darts or handaxes if you happen to need to make a ranged attack.

Fighter 1, dueling fighting style

Warlock 2, dao genie patron, booming blade and a utility cantrip, hex and any other spells, fiendish vigor any any other invocation.

https://ddb.ac/characters/39888595/yfY0aZ

Any time you have less than 8 temp hit points outside of combat cast false life with fiendish vigor on yourself until you do.

In combat, cast hex on the enemy, then hit him with booming blade.

This will do 1d8 + 4 + 2 + 2 + 1d6 damage and will push him 5 feet away. If he tries to get back in melee with you it does another 1d8 damage.

I picked a Warhammer because it is thematic but you don’t have to use a Warhammer to proc crusher because dao adds your proficiency in bludgeoning to one attack you make per turn.

[Corran]

I am looking to pick some brains about level 3 builds. I have a one shot coming up tonight, and naturally I have been stuck trying to throw something together. Our group already has a monk, rogue, and druid. I would love to put something together that won't die to quickly, but also will be able to function.

I am not opposed to multiclassing for this. Would love to hear your thoughts on what would be an efficient build for a lower level one shot. I am aware that a moon druid or moon druid/barb would be super tanky - but I already have a moon druid in another campaign so I wouldn't mind trying something new.

Hope to hear from some people soon! Hit me with your best, coolest, wackiest, or oddly synergistic ideas!

Oh and Happy Turkey Day!

Assuming the one shot is more like a quick adventure (eg invade a small dungeon) as opposed to some kind of arena fights, then since all your allies can be (and they probably will be) stealthy, I'd advocate for a build with decent stealth. So that means stealth proficiency and rules out heavy armor at the very least.

Moon druids tank well at this level IME, so leaving the druid to tank alone might not be too bad. And since your other two allies can be mobile, I'd suggest playing something mobile and/or with good ranged attacks too. Ideally something that can act as a second tank if the druid needs the help at the same time.

Entangle is not a bad spell (I think of it as the worst of the good BC spells, though this is probably an exaggeration), but it probably wont be enough if battlefield control is needed (especially since the druid is supposed to do most of the tanking, so concentration wont be easy to break). So I am thinking that I'd like some BC options on the character too.

So, to sum up, I'd go for stealthy, mobile and/or good ranged attacks, some tanking capability, and a touch of battlefield control. First thing that comes to mind is a bladesinger (though I wouldn't think it's the only option that satisfies my prerequisites). Bladesong will offer mobility and tanking (with spells adding more on top of that), no need for heavy armor so you can be stealthy enough to work as an all stealth party when that will be needed, can use cantrips and longbow from range if needed. Spells can add mobility (expeditious retreat, longstrider), tanking (shield, maybe absorb elements), battlefield control (most likely fog cloud and web; a rogue and a monk could fight well inside a fog cloud if needed, not sure about the moon druid at this level, but this might be just something you do when something ignores the moon druid and successfully engages with the squishies) and some buffing (eg mage armor on the moon druid) or even debuffing (eg tasha's hideous laughter), and of course a bit of utility (find familiar and other rituals).

[Yakmala]

I'd go for builds where their key contribution to the party comes online by Level 3. Some personal favorites include:

1: Level 3 Rogue Thief, Variant Human with the Healer feat. Use Fast Hands to get party members back on their feet as a bonus action. You can heal and sneak attack on the same turn. And as long as you have 1-2 healers kits on you, you'll be healing long after the caster-healers have run out of spell slots.

2: Barbarian. Lots of ways to go here. Bear for resistances, Zealot for damage, Ancestral Guardian for tanking and party protection. If you are going Variant Human, I'd prioritize Pole Arm Mastery over Great Weapon Mastery. If you have Tasha's, consider a Beast Barbarian, Variant Human with Dual Wielder feat and get off three claw attacks per round, even at level 3.

3: Celestial Tomelock. You've got your agonizing blast ready to go, with the option to pick up repelling blast as well, or take some other invocation that's appropriate to the adventure (ask the DM). You also have healing light to get party members back on their feet, extra cantrips (grab guidance) and some rituals.

[RogueJK]

Solid 3rd Level One Shot Builds

Custom Lineage Hexblade 1/Paladin 2 with the Eldritch Adept feat for Agonizing Blast (so SAD, and has good melee and ranged options unlike a traditional Paladin)

Ancients Paladin 3 (all the usual Paladin goodness, plus numerous opportunities to inflict Restrained at 3rd level)

Custom Lineage Battlemaster Fighter 3 with the Polearm Master feat and Dueling Fighting Style (a Spartan using a spear and shield, and getting a bonus attack each round which can also Battlemaster Maneuvers and the Dueling Fighting Style bonus damage)

Custom Lineage Nature Cleric 1/Ranger 2 with Polearm Master and Dueling Fighting Style (similar to the above just using a quarterstaff + shield; more SAD and slight higher damage thanks to Shillelagh, but has 1st level Cleric/Ranger spells instead of Maneuvers)

Monk 1/Moon Druid 2 (tossing it out there for others, even though you don't want to play that one specifically)

Custom Lineage Open Hand or Astral Self Monk 3 with the Fighting Initiate: Unarmed feat (2x higher unarmed damage dice than usual for a Monk at that level, and Astral Self lets you use WIS for grapples and 10 foot reach unarmed attacks so it's more SAD)

Custom Lineage Beast Barbarian 3 with the Dual Wielder feat (with Claws gets 2x attacks per round without using Bonus Action, and if DM allows you to "dual wield" the Claws you could potentially have 3x attacks per round at 3rd level using BA TWF, all of which get to add your Rage damage bonus)

Bear Totem Barbarian (likely the tankiest 3rd level option)

Goblin Rogue 1/Bladesinger 2 (basically an Arcane Trickster who traded 1d6 in Sneak Attack damage and Mage Hand shenanigans for a higher AC, better Concentration, and other Bladesinging boosts, plus some extra spells and access to 1st level ritual spells)

[virtualslayer22]

These are great! Now, I just gotta tinker around with one before tonight.

We are using Standard Array!

Thanks all for your input. These are good not just for tonight, but other sessions as well.

[Eldariel]

Naturally any caster with 2nd level spells is great. Wizard stands out due to having AOE CC in the form of Web, as well as some of the most important rituals in the game (Find Familiar, Detect Magic, Unseen Servant, Magic Mouth, now Augury from TCoE). Especially Find Familiar and Magic Mouth (It can do a a lot) really alter how a character spots stuff on this level and they're fully prep so you don't need to spend time with them in session. Unseen Servant can give you a convenient set of extra actions to drop oil to squares for Conjure Bonfire or drop some Ball Bearings. Familiar can also help of course, while also providing you with scouting data and Help actions.

On this level, your best at-will offense is still Light Crossbow. Doesn't matter, it's pretty good. Just make sure to start with 16 Dex and Int and you're good. 1d8+3 damage and 320' max range is a nice combo. If you can douse an area in oil, Conjure Bonfire becomes pretty efficient especially since it essentially doubletaps: they take damage immediately upon casting and any turn you knock them back in (oil adds +5 making it 1d8+5 which is pretty decent especially since there's no save vs. the +5). You personally have Thunderwave to knock 'em back in and any number of movement disabling spells to go with it.


In addition to that, you can go either Chronurgist for two rerolls and +3 Initiative or Diviner for the autofails on enemy saves. I prefer Diviner on this level due to the reliability it brings to the table. Combine Diviner with spells like Web, Suggestion, Levitate and company and tough enemies even far above your paygrade can just be FUBAR'd with no save if you have a low roll. It even negates Magic Resistance.

You probably want to go Vuman/Custom Lineage and you probably want Alert. Alert is really useful for avoiding getting randomly killed due to surprise or whatever and it ensures whenever your familiar spots something you'll get to act on it. It also means you get to drop your big nasty disables before the enemy gets to do much.


Overall, I'd recommend about the following:
Vuman Diviner 3
Feat: Alert
Background: Whatever - you probably want all the Int-skills since the party will kinda suck there and maybe some cute tools

16 Dex
14-15 Con
16 Int

Familiar: Owl
Magic Mouth ear pieces and all that

Spells:

Cantrips
Conjure Bonfire
Mold Earth
Minor Illusion

Rituals
Find Familiar
Unseen Servant
Detect Magic
Magic Mouth

1st level
Mage Armor
Shield
Absorb Elements
Sleep
Thunderwave

2nd level
Levitate
Misty Step
Web


You'll have to cut one 2nd level spell; probably Misty Step since it's so expensive to cast on this level (even though having a teleport is pretty sweet). This also means you'll have to scribe a spell or two before the adventure; 150gp of scribing overall. You're level 3 so that's probably not an issue. Don't forget to load up on non-magical stuff for your Unseen Servant and Familiar.

This is a pretty defensive spell loadout but it's nice to be able to negate or shrug off most of the stuff coming at you. You wanted to not die easily: being Alert and having good Reaction spells is one way of going about it (also don't forget to drop Prone if you're faced with ranged enemies interested in breaking your Concentration). You're at 16 AC and have access to Shield for 21 on command, which is competitive with the best, and you don't suffer at all of operating prone so you can avoid ranged fire provided your meatwall takes care of the melee enemies (if they don't, consider swapping e.g. Sleep for Expeditious Retreat to kite to your heart's content - but that should be a more extreme choice). Of course, you do have Thunderwave to deal with peskies and again, your AC and resistances are pretty good even if your HP is fairly low.

This spell loadout it for dungeoncrawling so you'll have to switch it up a bit if the game is more in the open. Also be sure to abuse Mold Earth and Minor Illusion liberally out-of-combat and in combat to create cover, concealment and to provide distractions and whatever. On this level cantrips are still a huge part of your overall power.

[MrCharlie]

Variant human Bear Totem Warrior Barbarian with the polearm master feat, or Tough if you just want to troll your DM. It's the default for if you want to dominate tier 1. That or Bearbarian.

The insane decision to use standard array (people do that? Ew...) means you're hampered compared to a build that has a proper stat array, but you can still be decent. And in tier 1, hit points are king. Nothing much will roll around that can truly ruin your day with a saving throw-maybe a spellcaster or two, but you can just hit them until their concentration drops. Combined with a decent AC (such as from scale armor) and you can just sortuve live through everything.

Bearbarian is the same except better, at the expense of potentially being caught with your pants down if you run out of wildshapes. Even then you can always thunderwave people or hit them with an axe.

Alternatively, Swashbuckler with the Charger feat from VHuman. The Charger feat is actually good in the early tiers-+5 damage as a bonus action if you dash is good when you only hit once anyway. Swashbucklers are best because you can dance in and out of combat easily. The one problem is that you don't have a second sneak attack chance.

Thief Rogue with Healer is the best healer in tier 1, so that's an option if you want to go that route. Someone else already clarified the build-I can confirm it works. You can also pack some thrown weapons and mess peeps up if needed.

[Teaguethebean]

I would reccomend a duel wielding battlemaster fighter. Utilize trip and menacing attack in order to provide effective control along with your high damage.

[diplomancer]

I like the Celestial warlock idea, but for level 3 the best is certainly Pact of the Chain. An invisible scout that can attack and do relevant damage is quite powerful at that level. Since it's Standard Array, V. Human (Inspiring Leader, 6 THP for all the party per short rest, including your Imp. At level 3, that's a BIG difference) or Half Elf are the best choices. Half Elf if you believe Darkvision will be relevant (though you can always get Devil's sight, but not sure of that's optimal at level 3), better Dex (or Con) as well.

[CTurbo]

Stuck at level 3 forever? Dual Wielding, Crossbow Expert, and Polearm Master would all be really strong making Vhuman the go to choice. Fighter or Ranger both grant Archery or TWF.

Gloom Stalker would shine at 3rd level. Hunter is a good choice too. Colossus Slayer and Horde Breaker are great low level abilities.

Cleric is a good choice. Tempest is great always, but really shines at lower levels. Maximizing Thunderwave, Shatter, or even your Wrath of the Storm ability is really strong at lower levels. You could even grab Polearm Master and be a melee beast. (for a 3rd level character lol)

I think Swashbucklers are really strong at level 3, but you said there is already a rogue...

A TWF Swords Bard would be fun if you want a charismatic character in a group of mostly Wis focused characters.

A GWM Barbarian would hit really hard.

[sambojin]

Even though you've got a moon druid, a circle of stars druid plays pretty differently. Between going for archer constellation shooting/guiding bolt magic, to being a mini-summoner, to messing around with very killable familiars and little wildshape, you can have a fair bit of fun. Especially with the Tasha's add-ons.

Firbolg with +2Wis/+1Con is my go-to race for any druid. With a stars, you'll feel like you've got plenty of magic/Wildshape to spooge at any situation.

(the beautiful thing about Tasha's is that once your DM say's "yeah, sure, why not?" to all that, you tend to find you have a heap more leverage on wildshape as well. If you do get to 4th lvl, see how much you can break a frilled deathspitter from Ixalan form + archer constellation + summon beast spell. 5 attacks per round at 4th lvl ain't bad, even if it blows both WS charges and a lvl2 spell slot. Have fun!)

[diplomancer]

Another one that's good for 3rd level is Artillerist. 15' cone 2d8 fire damage every round as a bonus action is BONKERS for 3rd level

[5eNeedsDarksun]

That group looks a bit weak against a horde, so I'd say anything that can cast Web. There are a couple of Sorcerer subclasses that could help your ability to survive, or Wizard. And a Charisma based class could be good in that group (or Intelligence).

[Citadel97501]

Personally, I think anything you enjoy playing but a Paladin 2, Hexblade 1 is definitely a solid choice, although with that group mixture I would be really tempted to go for the Artificer: Armorer or a Artillerist up to 3 as being able to do Support, Tanking, or Blaster is going to be a really really solid playstyle. Also being able to give out a magic staff to the druid, and a bag of holding for party work will definitely set you up as the guy that lets them get things done.

[Verble]

What did you end up using for your one shot?