BendKing's Baffling Builds Bundle

[bendking]

I decided to make a build compendium of my own, inspired by LudicSavant's excellent Eclectic Collection of Fun and Effective Builds. This isn't a competing thread, just one that I can use to collect all of my builds neatly and gather feedback for them.

I will be posting all the builds that I already posted in that thread here, and future ones will be posted in both threads. However, any updates made to the builds will only be reflected here because I can't be bothered to keep both versions matching :)
As you might notice, I have somewhat of a bias towards casters, and Sorcerers in particular as they're my favorite class. I also love gishes, so most of my builds are also viable in melee.
Also, note that most builds probably deserve a bit of an update with Tasha's race rules in mind.
Finally, suggestions and improvements are always welcome!

Alright then, on to the builds.

Build 1: God of Lightning
Build 2: Arcane Blade
Build 3: Holy Avenger
Build 4: Divine Protector
Build 5: Steel Sorcerer
Build 6: Psychic Master
Build 7: Grapple Bros.
Build 8: Shadow Warrior

[bendking]

God of Lightning



This one is based on the Transmutated Spell Metamagic. This new Metamagic makes your whole schtick a whole lot... schtickier?
Maxed Thunder Fireball (Thunderball)? Why, don't mind if I do. You can practically max damage every damaging spell in your list, so have fun.

Post-Tasha's note
You should absolutely pick Clockwork Soul instead of Storm If your DM doesn't give the old subclasses bonus spell lists retro-actively.

Race: Variant Human
Classes: Tempest Cleric 2/Storm Sorcerer 18
Stats (Point Buy): 8 STR / 14 DEX / 14 CON / 9 INT / 13 WIS / 16 CHA
ASIs: Warcaster (V.Human), 20 CHA, X
Progression: Sorcerer 1 --> Cleric 1 -- > Sorcerer 5 --> Cleric 2 --> Sorcerer 18

Metamagics: Transumtated, Twinned, [10th Sorcerer - Quickened]

Spell Selection
I went up to 11 in Sorcerer, because you only get one pick out one of each new spell level from there on out. It's also mostly a matter of personal taste at that point.

Cleric Spells
Cantrips: Guidance, Light, Toll the Dead
1 - Healing Word, Bless [Fog Cloud, Thunderwave]
2 - Healing Word, Bless, Protection from Evil and Good [Fog Cloud, Thunderwave]

Sorcerer Spells
Cantrips: Booming Blade, Lightning Lure, Thunderclap, Ray of Frost, Chill Touch
1 - Shield, Sleep
2 - Shield, Absorb Elements, Sleep
3 - Shield, Absorb Elements | Web, Shatter
4 - Shield, Absorb Elements | Web, Shatter, Warding Wind
5 - Shield, Absorb Elements | Web, Shatter | Fireball, Counterspell
6 - Shield, Absorb Elements | Web, Shatter | Fireball, Counterspell, Haste
7 - Shield, Absorb Elements, Grease | Web | Fireball, Counterspell | Wall of Fire, Greater Invisibility
8 - Shield, Absorb Elements, Grease | Web | Fireball, Lightning Bolt, Counterspell | Wall of Fire, Greater Invisibility
9 - Shield, Absorb Elements, Grease | Web | Fireball, Lightning Bolt, Counterspell | Wall of Fire, Greater Invisibility | Cone of Cold
10 - Shield, Absorb Elements, Grease | Web | Fireball, Lightning Bolt, Counterspell | Wall of Fire, Greater Invisibility | Cone of Cold, Telekinesis
11 - Shield, Absorb Elements, Grease | Web | Fireball, Lightning Bolt, Counterspell | Wall of Fire, Greater Invisibility | Cone of Cold, Telekinesis | Chain Lightning

Of course, you can and should change the list to fit your party composition if needed.
The flex spells here are Grease, Web, and Lightning Bolt.

Here's some of the damage we can do ('/' is for upcast, save chance is not factored in):
3rd level: Maxed Thunderwave - 16/24 damage. Maxed Chromatic Orb - 24/32 damage.
5th level: Maxed Shatter - 24/32 damage.
7th level: Maxed Fireball - 48/56 damage.
9th level: Maxed Wall of Fire - depends on which roll you max.
11th level: Maxed Cone of Cold - 64/72 damage.
13th level: Maxed Chain Lightning - 80x4/80x5 damage.

Spoiler: Wall of Fire HYPE

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Wall of Fire damage depends on whether you max the initial roll for enemies caught in the wall or max the guaranteed damage roll for one enemy that passes through it. Of course, if you can get him to move through the wall again, he would take 40 damage TWICE. This works very well with Repelling Blast Warlocks/Sorlocks and the like. You could also potentially Thunderwave (which is always prepared for you) the poor guy back into the ring/behind the wall. Did someone say "boss killer"? The damage for a single bloke would be 5d8 + 40, which is about 56 damage on average, and 96 from a single spell if you manage to Thunderwave/Repelling Blast him back in.

So, what can you do other than blasting the ever-living crap out of everyone you see you see?
Well, you're also a tank, with a fantastic 19/20 AC, that becomes 24/25 AC with Shield, and Absorb Elements, and you have the ever wonderful Warcaster feat to get you some sweet, sweet Booming Blade OA, making sure your enemies will either regret moving away from you or stay close right where you want them with Heart of the Storm.
If your DM is generous and allows you to upcast cantrips, upcasting Booming Blade means that it triggers Heart of the Storm. That's extra half-your-sorcerer damage in 10ft. AoE to whoever you wish on an OA. This isn't a big deal, though, even if your DM rules against it.
There's also some synergy between Web and Thunderball since your Thunderball wouldn't burn away your Web, allowing it to keep applying disadvantage on your colossal booms.

We can also Twin a bunch of stuff: Booming Blade, Lightning Lure, Ray of Frost, Toll the Dead, Chill Touch | Healing Word, Protection from Evil and Good | Greater Invisibility.
Twinned Booming Blade is especially good for a poor man's Extra Attack as long as you're near two enemies (which you want to be). You deal out 2d8 + 2 (DEX) [+ 2d8 if they move] on two enemies at once. Not too shabby.
Twinned Greater Invisibility is especially appealing for us because usually Sorcerers can find it a bit difficult to get off on account of its Touch range, but for us, it's actually a good call to Twin it on ourselves and someone else, since we are going to tank anyway!

Overall at least two SP a day should go to Elemental Spell to maximize blast spells, or occasionally to proc Heart of the Storm (you'd have to be near at least 3 enemies IMO), while the rest of your SP should go toward Twinning spells.

In regards to magic items, you really want Gauntlets/Belt of Ogre Power. It gets you both better attacks and allows you to utilize heavy armor instead of medium armor. Basically, it makes you better on the front-lines,
And of course, the new Bloodwell Vial from Tasha's is every Sorcerer's dream, but that should go without saying.

There are probably way more combos to specify, but that's the gist of it. Obviously, in higher levels, things get ridiculous, as they often do. Maxed Thunder Meteor Swarm, anybody? Yeah.
Now, go! Channel the power of Thor and collapse mortals under the power of your devastating hammer and lightning.

Variant Sorcererous Origin
Now that Tasha released the Aberrant Mind and Clockwork Soul, the old Sorcerer subclasses are vastly outclassed.
Unless your DM allows you to add a bonus spell list to the old subclasses, I suggest using the Clockwork Soul for this build. You can use it to stick Armor of Agathys unto the build and make you even tankier, and the spell list you can get with him is just bonkers.
Even if you don't want to do that, you don't have to stick with Storm Sorcerer. Even though I do appreciate how the subclass makes you better on the front-lines with Heart of the Storm and Temptous Magic, both of which synergize well with this build, it can't be denied that it's the worst Sorcerer subclass.
Draconic Sorcerer makes you better at blasting, Divine Soul makes you better at supporting (Spirit Guardians is an amazing spell for a front-liner), and Clockwork Soul makes you both tankier and way more versatile with its incredible spell list (read my Steel Sorcerer to see what you can get up to with that).

Variants
1. You could replace the stat array to 15 STR / 8 DEX / 13 CON / 9 INT / 13 WIS / 16 CHA, if you really want to use heavy armor, and are willing to sacrifice +1 CON for it (and the Initiative and DEX save rolls).
2. An alternative progression would be [Sorcerer 5 --> Cleric 2 --> Sorcerer 18] if you don't want to delay 2nd tier abilities (Fireball), but then you won't be able to tank and Bless up until levels 6.
3. If you play with GGtR, the Orhzov Background is amazing due to Spirit Guardians.

Spoiler: Alternate Races (pre-Tasha's)

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Levistus Tiefling/Scourge Aasimar (DEX-build): 8 STR / 14 DEX / 13+1 CON / 9 INT / 14 WIS / 14+2 CHA
Levistus Tiefling would give you some synergistic spells: Hellish Rebuke, Armor of Agathys, and Darkness. Scourge Aasimar gives you a powerful AoE and damage rider every round, but requires you to have some sort of way to boost your CON save to 9+ so you won't break your own concentration each round with the damage over time.

Triton (STR-build): STR 14+1 / DEX 9 / CON 13+1 / INT 8 / WIS 13 / CHA 15+1
The STR build can be done with a Triton (STR+1, CON+1, CHA+1), that is usually a paladin race, but works well here. That way there's no loss to CON, we get amphibious breathing & swimming, resistance to Cold damage, and three free spells: Fog Cloud, Gust of Wind, Wall of Water. We already have Fog Cloud as Domain spell, but it's good to get 1 cast per day for free. For some absolutely ridiculous reason the Tritons don't have Darkvision though…

Yuan-Ti (DEX-build): STR 8 / DEX 14 / CON 14 / INT 9+1 / WIS 13 / CHA 14+2
The Yuan-Ti (CHA+2, INT+1) give us the powerful Magic Resistance buff to all of our saving throws against magic. They also round up INT 10, add absolute Poison immunity, grant us Darkvision (yay!), and add a few spells (Poison Spray, Animal Friendship on snakes, Suggestion) based on CHA - which makes Suggestion a very nice & welcome addition to our out-of-combat skill set!

Kalashtar (DEX-build): STR 8 / DEX 14 / CON 14 / INT 8 / WIS 12+2 / CHA 15+1
The Kalashtar (WIS+2, CHA+1) grant us advantage on all of our WIS saves, which is super sweet & not even limited to magic. They also grant resistance to Psychic damage, which strongly mitigates our low INT saves, as INT-save-spells always deal Psychic damage. The immunity to dream is pretty useless, but they have one of the strongest Telepathy abilities next to an Elder Brain: Two-way telepathy established with one creature via a simple action, smashing all language-barriers to pieces, at an incredible 10ft per level range (i.e. longer than Familiar communication past level 10) – and unlimited creature one-way communication at this range! It's limited to sight, but still an extremely powerful addition to our social skill set and making us the perfect party face.

[bendking]

Arcane Blade



I always loved the concept of a Magician Rogue, but I wasn't quite happy with the power level of the Arcane Trickster by itself. Thus, the purpose of this build is to make the ultimate Arcane Trickster.
As always, feedback is highly appreciated.

Race: High Elf/Mark of Shadow Elf (+1 CHA --> +1 INT with TCoE)
Classes: Arcane Trickster 9/Bladesinger 11
Stats (Point Buy): 8 STR / 17 DEX / 14 CON / 16 INT / 10 WIS / 8 CHA
ASIs: Elven Accuracy, Mobile, +2 DEX, +2 INT, +2 INT
Progression: Bladesinger 6 --> Arcane Trickster 9 --> Blade Singer 11

Notes on level progression
The aim of this progression is to get a somewhat on-time ASI progression, which would be compromised if you would zig-zag between the classes, though you could do that.
I didn't take rogue up to the 5th level because your reaction is already plenty busy with Shield and Absorb Elements, so Uncanny Dodge would only saturate your reaction further.
Regarding level 11 and above, you may continue leveling BS instead of AT if you want more spellcasting power. I simply felt like increasing melee power and going for the awesome 9th level feature of AT is more thematic for this build, but there are arguments to be made for either path.

Spell Selection
I went up to the 9th level since at that point you already have most of your core spells.

Cantrips
Level 1 - Booming Blade (High Elf) | Green-flame Blade, Firebolt, Minor Illusion
Level 4 - Blade Ward
Level 9 - Mage Hand, Message, Toll the Dead

Spells
Level 1 - WIZ: Find Familiar, Shield, Absorb Elements, Mage Armor, Grease, Fog Cloud
Level 2 - WIZ: Find Familiar, Shield, Absorb Elements, Mage Armor, Grease, Fog Cloud, Longstrider, Detect Magic
Level 3 - WIZ: Find Familiar, Shield, Absorb Elements, Mage Armor, Grease, Fog Cloud, Longstrider, Detect Magic
| Shadow Blade, Mirror Image
Level 4 - WIZ: Find Familiar, Shield, Absorb Elements, Mage Armor, Grease, Fog Cloud, Longstrider, Detect Magic
| Shadow Blade, Mirror Image, Suggestion, Hold Person
Level 5 - WIZ: Find Familiar, Shield, Absorb Elements, Mage Armor, Grease, Fog Cloud, Longstrider, Detect Magic
| Shadow Blade, Mirror Image, Suggestion, Hold Person | Counterspell, Fireball
Level 6 - WIZ: Find Familiar, Shield, Absorb Elements, Mage Armor, Grease, Fog Cloud, Longstrider, Detect Magic
| Shadow Blade, Mirror Image, Suggestion, Hold Person | Counterspell, Fireball, Blink, Hypnotic Pattern
Level 9 - AT: Tasha's Hideous Laughter, Silent Image, Charm Person
Level 10- AT: Tasha's Hideous Laughter, Silent Image, Charm Person, Disguise Self

Typical combat flow
1st turn: Activate Bladesong with your bonus action, and throw down a non-concentration spell (Grease/Mirror Image/Blink/Fireball).
2nd turn: Cast Shadow Blade and go to town with either Booming Blade or Extra Attack (depending on your level). Using your Owl's Help action you can guarantee a triple advantage BB, which is always great.
3rd turn: Adapt as necessary.

Summary
I'll be comparing this build to a single-classed Arcane Trickster, which is the strongest Rogue, in my opinion, to show the merits of this build.
First off, we have a damn high AC with Mage Armor and Bladesong active. At level 6, we go up to an AC of 20 from the word go, and with Shield we go up to 25. Normal AT AC caps at 17.
Our damage is also great. At level 11, with Shadow Blade upcasted to 3rd level, we surpass a straight AT's DPR by 10.5 (AT 11 DPR vs 17 AC is 28 with Sneak Attack proccing). This also surpasses an EK's DPR at this level by 5. This build surpasses straight-ATs DPR beginning at level 6 thanks to Bladesinger's Extra Attack and the gap only widens from there.
Lastly, we have much better casting than a straight AT, and much more utility outside of combat.

Overall, this build sports a high AC, great melee damage, high mobility, strong spell-casting, and ludicrous utility from both the Rogue's Expertise and the Wizard's ritual casting.

Spoiler: Appendix A: 2nd ASI Feat Choice

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I had considered 3 main choices for this build: Warcaster, Sentinel, and Mobile. I ended up going with Mobile because I think it makes you more versatile. That said, all of these feats are great and you can take whichever you fancy most. Let's look at the benefits of each feat at level 11 with 3rd level Shadow Blade active:
Warcaster: 5d8 + 3d6 + 4 OA on traditional trigger. Reliant on people actually running away from you. Good for tanking, good for keeping concentration on your Shadowblade, good for being able to wield a sword on your off-hand.
Sentinel: 3d8 + 3d6 OA on enemy miss. Reliant on Mirror Image being active since without it you're liable to use your reaction on Shield. Good for tanking, good for off-turn sneak attack damage.
Mobile: Gives you more speed, putting you at 50ft. with Bladesong active, making you more of a skirmisher and allowing you to take out enemies in the backlines. Also makes triggering the extra damage from Booming Blade's rider a lot easier, which thanks to Tasha's we'll be inflicting even when using Extra Attack. It also keeps your Bonus Action free from Disengaging to ensure the rider proccing, thus letting you hold a Shortsword in your off-hand for some extra DPR when you have nothing important to do with your Cunning Action.

Variants:
1. Now that Bladesinger is not Elf exclusive, you can take Custom Lineage to get Mobile/Sentinel/Warcaster at 1st level, and thus delay your ASIs less. However, I still find Elf compelling, because Elven Accuracy is even better for a character that mainly uses Shadowblade, and because...
2. Mark of Shadow Elf is a great fit now that you can switch his +1 CHA to +1 INT with Tasha's. Pass Without Trace is amazing for a sneaky character. This is probably my top pick for this build thematically. Mechanically it's about as good as Custom Lineage.
3. If you plan on abusing Phantom Steed, there isn't much of a point in taking Mobile. I would prefer Sentinel in this case for more DPR.

[bendking]

Holy Avenger


Technically you get wings at level 20...

This is pretty much your cookie-cutter Sorcadin. I just felt like building this one since no one here has yet, and I wanted to share my take on what would be the most optimal Sorcadin build.
As always, feedback is very much welcome, since the purpose of these builds is to optimize a concept as much as possible.

There are two ways to go about this build in regards to race, both are equally good. You can go either Variant Human or Custom Lineage. Variant Human starts with Resilient (CON) while Custom Lineage starts out with either Warcaster or Fey Touched.
You can technically start with Paladin with Custom Lineage, but then taking Resilient (CON) puts your CON at 16, which means you're better off using a +1/+1 to round out STR and CHA, thus making Fey Touched suboptimal.
Both options are equal at 10th level stat-wise, with Custom Lineage having traded 1 AC (due to not having heavy armor proficiency) for Darkvision, Fey Touched, and high DEX, which is a good deal in my book.
However, Custom Lineage did delay his martial prowess a bit, since 16 STR and 16 CON are achieved at either level 4 or 10 depending on your preference, and Extra Attack is delayed by a level. Take this into consideration if you're playing a low-level campaign. But then, if you're playing a low-level campaign, why would you make a Sorcadin?

Both options use Fighting Style: Dueling, and a Sword/Rapier & Shield.

Option 1
Race: Variant Human (Resilient (CON))
Classes: Paladin (Oath of Vengeance) 6/Sorcerer (Divine Soul) 14
Progression: Paladin 6 --> Sorcerer 14
Stats (Point Buy): 16 STR, 8 DEX, 16 CON, 8 INT, 8 WIS, 16 CHA
ASIs: Warcaster, +2 CHA, +2 CHA, X

Option 2
Race: Custom Lineage (+2 CHA, Warcaster)
Classes: Paladin (Oath of Vengeance) 6/Sorcerer (Divine Soul) 14
Progression: Sorcerer 1 --> Paladin 6 --> Sorcerer 14
Stats (Point Buy): 8 STR, 15 DEX, 15 CON, 8 INT, 8 WIS, 17 CHA
ASIs: Fey Touched (+1 CHA, Gift of Alacrity), +1/+1 DEX/CON, +2 CHA, X

Note: the ASI order here is up to personal preference, depending on whether you value high CHA or upgrading your hit bonus, HP and CON save.
You could, for example, take the +1/+1 at 4th level to be equal stat-wise to the first option by level 4.

Level Progression
Contingent on whether you can get your hands on a Strength boosting item, you should progress one of two ways.
Paladin 6 --> Sorcerer 14 (if you have one) or Paladin 6 --> Sorcerer 8 --> Hexblade 1 --> Sorcerer 13 (if you don't)

Metamagic
As any good Sorcerer optimizer knows, our spell selection should be highly affected by our Metamagic choice.
Here, I suggest you take Quicken, which in my eyes is mandatory on a Sorcadin (and is something every gish waters his mouth at), and while the second spot is flexible, I favor Twinned, since this makes you the best buffer in the game, and is a role that only a Sorcerer can excel at. Combined with your great saves and Warcaster, buffing in combat becomes incredibly powerful and reliable.

Spell Selection
(X = pick according to taste)
[ ] = Oath Spells

Cantrips
Level 7 - Booming Blade, Firebolt, Chill Touch, X

Spells
2 - PAL: Bless, Shield of Faith Protection from Evil and Good, Wrathful Smite, [Bane, Hunter's Mark]
5 - PAL: Bless, Shield of Faith, Protection from Evil and Good | Warding Bond, Aid, [Hold Person, Misty Step]
7 - SOR: Shield, Absorb Elements
8 - SOR: Shield, Absorb Elements, X
9 - SOR: Shield, Absorb Elements | Spiritual Weapon, Mirror Image
10 - SOR: Shield, Absorb Elements | Spiritual Weapon, Mirror Image, X
11 - SOR: Shield, Absorb Elements | Spiritual Weapon, Mirror Image | Spirit Guardians, Fireball
12 - SOR: Shield, Absorb Elements | Spiritual Weapon, Mirror Image | Spirit Guardians, Fireball, Haste
13 - SOR: Shield, Absorb Elements | Spiritual Weapon, Mirror Image | Spirit Guardians, Fireball | Greater Invisibility, X
14 - SOR: Shield, Absorb Elements | Spiritual Weapon, Mirror Image | Spirit Guardians, Fireball | Greater Invisibility, X | Hold Monster
15 - SOR: Shield, Absorb Elements | Spiritual Weapon, Mirror Image | Spirit Guardians, Fireball | Greater Invisibility, X | Hold Monster, Holy Weapon

From here on, pick according to preference.

Note:
If the following spells aren't already covered by your party members, you need to take them: Healing Word, Counterspell, Revivify.
Also note that Mirror Image loses effectiveness later in the campaign, and is one of the more flexible spells on this list. Replace it first for any of the above spells if it's necessary.

Combat Tips
Let's go over Metamagic combos. Since you have a lot of high-level slots with no appropriately leveled spells, that means you have a lot of Sorcery Point fuel.
Quicken is amazing with a lot of spells depending on the situation, but a special mention goes out to Mirror Image which we wouldn't have picked were it not for Quicken making it a highly efficient tanking spell (early on. Hold Person and Hold Monster are also incredibly powerful with Quicken since you can cast them and then immediately smite for insane crits.
Twinned is mainly there for Greater Invisibility. The usual issue with Twinning Greater Invisibility is that you need to be either adjacent to two melee-focused allies or "waste" one of the casts on yourself. Here, casting it on yourself is far from a waste. This is an incredible buff for any melee combatant, but doubly so for tanks and damage dealers. We only use Haste for one level since it's a dangerous prospect on the front-lines, even though you have a great CON save and Warcaster I prefer not to take the risk. Choosing between casting Haste/Greater Invisibility and Spirit Guardians depends on whether you want to use your Sorcery Points on Twinning the buff or not. That said, Twinned also works well with Protection from Good and Evil and Shield of Faith.

Summary
The Sorcadin, in my eyes, is the archetypal gish. It is also one of the strongest gishes, for reasons I probably don't need to explain.
This build works well at all levels, and should probably only be brought to a high-op table.

Variants
1. You can take Subtle spell instead of Twinned if you like that sort of thing. That would of course affect the spell list.

EDIT #1: Added Custom Lineage as a race option.

[bendking]

Divine Protector


You try finding a heavily armored, quarterstaff & shield-wielding Sorcerer...

This build is a Divine Soul with a twist. Due to our Life Cleric dip, we get Heavy Armor proficiency along with Disciple of Life which boosts our healing abilities significantly. Basically, we're a Divine Soul who can also tank and heal effectively.
The aim here is to provide some of the value of a Life Cleric combined with the typical Sorcerer goodies. Notably, at late-game, this multi-class lets us pull off the insane Disciple-of-Life-Twinned-Regenerate, making two of our allies near immortal.

Race: Variant Human (Warcaster)
Classes: Life Cleric 1/Divine Soul Sorcerer 19
Stats (Point Buy): 16 STR, 8 DEX, 12 CON, 8 INT, 13 WIS, 16 CHA
ASIs: +2 CHA, +2 CHA, Inspiring Leader, Resilient (WIS), Lucky
Weapon: Quarterstaff & Shield

Stats
This is a rough one. Since we need to have 13 in both CHA and WIS, and 15 in STR to wear heavy armor, and want a high CON, we are pretty damn MAD.
If you can get an STR boosting item early, this will definitely help the build by letting you dump STR and bump CON to 16. In the variants section, I discuss the option of starting with 14 CON while delaying CHA progression.
As with all MAD builds, this one would benefit greatly from increased Point Buy or well-rolled stats.

Feats
Warcaster ticks a lot of boxes for us. It lets us wield a sword & shield and still be able to cast spells, it unlocks the Booming Blade OA and boosts our concentration saves.
Inspiring Leader is undoubtedly nice, but since we do have some offensive spells in our belt, I prefer raising our CHA first.

Level Progression
Sorcerer 1 --> Cleric 1 --> Sorcerer 19
You could also take Cleric 1 after Sorcerer 5, but I like having the build come online sooner rather than later.

Metamagic
Twinned, Extend, [Subtle (at 11th level)]
Of course, Metamagic shapes our spell list significantly. For this build, we're going to take Twinned for many things and Extended for Aid, Aura of Vitality and Death Ward. We'll take Subtle later because it's just overall great for both social and sticky situations.
Twinned Spell - I love this Metamagic because it single-handedly makes you the best buffer in the game, and with Divine Soul and Life Cleric granting you access to some great spells to use it with, we're squeezing a lot of value out of this one feat.
For starters, you can Twin Sanctuary, Protection from Evil and Good, Cure Wounds, and Healing Word, all to great effect. Twinned Healing Word is basically our poor man's Mass Healing Word. I mean, you probably won't need to up more than two downed enemies per turn anyway.
Next up, Twinned Polymorph is no joke. It's a powerhouse of a spell and a highly flexible one at that, which Sorcerers appreciate. It also works as a huge heal in a pinch. However, we replace it quickly with Holy Weapon because of a few reasons. Firstly, it lasts a whopping hour, getting that much more bang for your buck from your Sorcery Points since it lets you potentially squeeze in an entire dungeon with the buff applied. Secondly, unlike Greater Invisibility, it's a rare type of buff, while advantage sources are plentiful. This means that it stacks easily with any debuffs your enemies might have applied to them, and class abilities which grant advantage (Vow of Enmity, Fighting Spirit). Thirdly, you won't be using a Twinned high-level buff many times in a day because it is expensive. Thus, it's a waste to have more than one on your list at any time.
Finally, the crème de la crème, Twinned Regenerate is almost broken with this build. For 1 hour, with no concentration, you get to give two allies, a staggering 10 HP per turn.
Extended Spell - I initially counted this metamagic out, but now that Aura of Vitality is on the Cleric's, and thus our, list, we can get some crazy value out of this. Alright, first off are the usual suspects: Extended Aid and Extended Death Ward are both a great way to hedge power from one day to the next. Basically, at the end of a day, any left over Sorcery Points and spell slots (aka SP fuel) you have can be used to extend both of these buffs to 16 hours. Just make sure to get up early.
Now, Aura of Vitality is already a good spell for us thanks to Disciple of Life. Healing an average of 12 HP as a bonus action is pretty great. Extended gives us double the value, coming up to a [12 * 20 =] 240 HP of healing for the cost of a 3rd level and 1 SP. Goodberry would be jealous.
Subtle Spell - Subtle will come in handy both in social situations and when you're somehow limited in your movement or speech, letting you cast spells in any situation. Subtle Suggestion is highly effective, and you can also cast a Subtle Counterspell, which makes it impossible for enemy casters to Counterspell it in turn. Subtle Telekinesis is also useful when trying to get away with murder. It's overall a super solid and reliable Metamagic that works with almost any build, so we're taking it.

Spell Selection
(X = pick according to taste)
[ ] = Domain Spells

Cantrips
Level 1 - Booming Blade, Minor Illusion, Mold Earth, Firebolt
Level 2 - Guidance, Toll the Dead, Light

Spells
I highly advise adjusting this tight list according to which spells your party has covered. For example, this list assumes that there is already a Cleric in the party that covers things like Revivify, which you would (unfortunately) have to take if this weren't the case. I listed the spells in order of importance so you would know which ones to switch out first, so in the case of Revivify, you would replace Fireball with it.

Cleric Spells
2 - Sanctuary / Protection from Evil and Good, Healing Word, [Bless, Cure Wounds]
Prepare PfEaG if you know you're going to be fighting planar beings, otherwise take Sanctuary.

Sorcerer Spells

1 - Shield, Sleep
2 - Shield, Absorb Elements, Sleep
3 - Shield, Absorb Elements | Spiritual Weapon, Web
4 - Shield, Absorb Elements | Spiritual Weapon, Web, Aid
5 - Shield, Absorb Elements | Spiritual Weapon, Aid | Aura of Vitality, Spirit Guardians
6 - Shield, Absorb Elements | Spiritual Weapon, Aid | Aura of Vitality, Spirit Guardians, Fireball
7 - Shield, Absorb Elements | Spiritual Weapon, Aid | Aura of Vitality, Spirit Guardians, Fireball | Polymorph
8 - Shield, Absorb Elements | Spiritual Weapon, Aid | Aura of Vitality, Spirit Guardians, Fireball | Polymorph, Death Ward
9 - Shield, Absorb Elements | Spiritual Weapon, Aid | Aura of Vitality, Spirit Guardians, Fireball, Counterspell | Death Ward | Holy Weapon
10- Shield, Absorb Elements | Spiritual Weapon, Aid | Aura of Vitality, Spirit Guardians, Fireball, Counterspell | Death Ward | Holy Weapon, Telekinesis
11- Shield, Absorb Elements | Spiritual Weapon, Aid | Aura of Vitality, Spirit Guardians, Fireball, Counterspell | Death Ward | Holy Weapon, Telekinesis | Heal
12- Shield, Absorb Elements | Spiritual Weapon, Aid | Aura of Vitality, Spirit Guardians, Fireball, Counterspell | Death Ward | Holy Weapon, Telekinesis | Heal
13- Shield, Absorb Elements | Spiritual Weapon, Aid | Aura of Vitality, Spirit Guardians, Fireball, Counterspell | Death Ward | Holy Weapon, Telekinesis | Heal | Regenerate

From here on pick according to preference.

Things that we want but don't fit:
Tidal Wave, Revivify, Polymorph, Dimension Door, Synaptic Static


Combat Tips
This build has a lot of options in combat, and I've gone through a few of them in the Metamagic section. Your roles in combat, ordered by priority, are: Buff, Heal, Tank, Blast.
Your buffing capability is top-tier due to Twinned Spell.
Your healing is also top-tier due to Disciple of Life and Empowered Healing, which make in-combat healing an effective action. Aura of Vitality + Extended Spell + Disciple of Life make you unmatched in out-of-combat healing.
You're a decent tank due to your high AC. You're sitting at 20 with full-plate armor and shield, and you get to 25 with Shield. We're also sporting the iconic Booming Blade OA thanks to Warcaster. Be wary, however, because your HP isn't as high as we'd like it to be.
Finally, I believe any class with access to Fireball should take it. This, makes you a part-time blaster when in need.

Spell Breakdown
PfEaG is a high-value defensive spell when it works.
Healing Word is for playing yo-yo with your buds (aka healing them when they're down).
Bless is a staple for a reason. 1d4 for attacks and saving throws doesn't get old. Use in easier battles.
Cure Wounds is... OK. A bit better with Twinned early on, but I wouldn't ever use it once we get Aura of Vitality.
Shield and Absorb Elements are used whenever needed.
Spiritual Weapon is a great spell to have, especially since we don't have any other good bonus actions. This makes our Action Economy more optimal, and you'll notice we don't take Quickened Spell, and it's partly because of that. Telekinesis channel each turn + Spiritual Weapon BA is plenty good.
Aid and Death Ward are mainly used for Extended Spell usage at the end of an adventuring day.
Aura of Vitality is phenomenal at out-of-combat healing as explained above, but should probably not be used in combat.
Spirit Guardians is the iconic Cleric option and it's a great one. You should be using your concentration on this when you're not concentrating on Polymorph/Holy Weapon.
Fireball is great for those times where you really need a blast, ideally on as many low-HP enemies as possible.
Counterspell is Counterspell. It's just great. Taking out an enemy spellcaster's action with a reaction is fantastic action economy.
Holy Weapon is your go-to nova buff, mostly to be used with Twinned Spell. A full hour of +2d8 damage on a couple of your frontliners (especially Fighters and Monks) is an amazing use of your Sorcery Points in comparison to things like Twinned Polymorph/G. Invisibility which only last a single battle. Save at least one 5th level slot for this in a day.
Telekinesis is a great boss-killer. Whenever you have a big bad who needs to die, you either Twinned Holy Weapon if you can afford the SP, or do this.
Heal is a great 'oh ****' button. You can Twin it, but it's super expensive. Are you willing to pay 6 SP for an additional 78 HP burst? The answer depends on how badly you need it. In some cases, the answer will be "HELL YES".
Regenerate is downright broken with this build. With Twinned it just gives two allies 10 HP per turn for an hour with no concentration. 'Nuff said.

Spoiler: Pre-Tasha's build (Twinned, Subtle, Quickened)

Show

Metamagic
Twinned, Subtle, [Quicken (at 11th level)]
Of course, Metamagic shapes our spell list significantly. For this build, we're going to take Twinned for many things and Extend for Aid and Aura of Vitality. We'll take Subtle later because it's just great for both social and sticky situations.
Twinned Spell - I love this Metamagic because it single-handedly makes you the best buffer in the game, and with Divine Soul and Life Cleric granting you access to some great spells to use it with, we're squeezing a lot of value out of this one feat.
For starters, you can Twin Sanctuary, Protection from Evil and Good, Cure Wounds, and Healing Word, all to great effect. Twinned Healing Word is basically our poor man's Mass Healing Word. I mean, you probably won't need to up more than two downed enemies per turn anyway.
Next up, Twinned Polymorph is no joke. It's a powerhouse of a spell and a highly flexible one at that, which Sorcerers appreciate. It also works as a huge heal in a pinch. If your party absolutely isn't down to playing T-Rexes ever, you should switch this with Great Invisibility. Twinned Death Ward is another great option for keeping your party alive. Finally, the crème de la crème, Twinned Regenerate is almost broken with this build. For 1 hour, with no concentration, you get to give two allies, a staggering 10 HP per turn.
Quicken Spell is great later on for spells like Telekinesis and Sunbeam, and will occasionally be useful when you really need to dash/disengage while also casting.
Subtle Spell - Subtle will come in handy both in social situations and when you're somehow limited in your movement or speech, letting you cast spells in any situation. Subtle Suggestion is highly effective, and you can also cast a Subtle Counterspell, which makes it impossible for enemy casters to Counterspell it in turn. Subtle Telekinesis is also useful when trying to get away with murder. It's overall a super solid and reliable Metamagic that works with almost any build, so we're taking it.

Spell Selection
(X = pick according to taste)
[ ] = Domain Spells

Cantrips
Level 1 - Booming Blade, Chill Touch, X, X
Level 2 - Guidance, Toll the Dead, Light

Spells
I highly advise adjusting this tight list according to which spells your party has covered. For example, this list assumes that there is already a Cleric in the party that covers things like Revivify, which you would (unfortunately) have to take if this weren't the case. I listed the spells in order of importance so you would know which ones to switch out first, so in the case of Revivify, you would replace Fireball with it.

Cleric Spells
2 - Sanctuary / Protection from Evil and Good, Healing Word, [Bless, Cure Wounds]
Prepare PfEaG if you know you're going to be fighting planar beings, otherwise take Sanctuary.

Sorcerer Spells
1 - Shield, Sleep
3 - Shield, Absorb Elements, Sleep
4 - Shield, Absorb Elements | Spiritual Weapon, Web
5 - Shield, Absorb Elements | Spiritual Weapon, Web, Suggestion
6 - Shield, Absorb Elements | Spiritual Weapon, Suggestion | Spirit Guardians, Counterspell
7 - Shield, Absorb Elements | Spiritual Weapon, Suggestion | Spirit Guardians, Counterspell, Fireball
8 - Shield, Absorb Elements | Spiritual Weapon, Suggestion | Spirit Guardians, Counterspell, Fireball | Polymorph
9 - Shield, Absorb Elements | Spiritual Weapon, Suggestion | Spirit Guardians, Counterspell, Fireball | Polymorph, Death Ward
10- Shield, Absorb Elements | Spiritual Weapon, Suggestion | Spirit Guardians, Counterspell, Fireball | Polymorph, Death Ward | Mass Cure Wounds
11- Shield, Absorb Elements | Spiritual Weapon, Suggestion | Spirit Guardians, Counterspell, Fireball | Polymorph, Death Ward | Mass Cure Wounds, Telekinesis
12- Shield, Absorb Elements | Spiritual Weapon, Suggestion | Spirit Guardians, Counterspell, Fireball | Polymorph, Death Ward | Mass Cure Wounds, Telekinesis | Sunbeam
13- Shield, Absorb Elements | Spiritual Weapon, Suggestion | Spirit Guardians, Counterspell, Fireball | Polymorph, Death Ward | Mass Cure Wounds, Telekinesis | Sunbeam
14- Shield, Absorb Elements | Spiritual Weapon, Suggestion | Spirit Guardians, Counterspell, Fireball | Polymorph, Death Ward | Mass Cure Wounds, Telekinesis | Sunbeam | Regenerate

From here on pick according to preference.

Combat Tips
This build has a lot of options in combat, and I've gone through a few of them in the Metamagic section. Your roles in combat, ordered by priority, are: Buff, Heal, Tank, Blast.
Your buffing capability is top-tier due to Twinned Spell. Your healing is also top-tier due to Disciple of Life and Empowered Healing, which make in-combat healing an effective action.
You're a decent tank due to your high AC. You're sitting at 20 with full-plate armor and shield, and you get to 25 with Shield. We're also sporting the iconic Booming Blade OA thanks to Warcaster. Be wary, however, because your HP isn't as high as we'd like it to be.
Finally, I believe any class with access to Fireball should take it. This, along with Sunbeam makes you a part-time blaster when in need.

Variants
1. You could take Protector Aasimar instead of V.Human, which would mean starting with 15 STR and 14 CON, but having to take Warcaster at 4th, thus delaying your CHA progression. Frankly, that isn't as bad as it sounds. You aren't as reliant on your CHA modifier as other, more offensive Sorcerers, and you don't actually attack a lot besides your Booming Blade OA. Protector Aasimar is also quite thematic.
2. You may choose to take Extended Spell instead of Subtle Spell, which I personally think is the less optimal choice, but has some application in extending left-over 8-hour buffs (Aid, Death Ward) at the end of the day over to the next day.
That said, don't expect to get much value out of it on spells with less than an 8-hour duration. It's mostly this application that is attractive about this option.

[bendking]

Steel Sorcerer



TCE's ASI rules make Hobgoblin a good pick for Sorcerers now, and the Clockwork Soul gets access to both Armor of Agathys and Bastion of Law which lets him get more use out of his AoA.
On top of that, he gets access to an insane spell list and the ever-powerful (busted) Wall of Force. This is meaningful because (opinion alert), access to Wall of Force usually puts Wizards above Sorcerers in power level, but this Sorcerer lets us remain on par for a few more levels against a Wizard in our party (until they get access to shenanigans like Contingency, Simulacrum, and so on). Overall, this is one hell of a tanky caster, with some great Metamagic shenanigans thrown in to support the tank playstyle like Careful Hypnotic Pattern, Quickened Vampiric Touch, and more.

Stats
Race: Hobgoblin (+1 CON, +2 CHA)
Classes: Clockwork Soul Sorcerer 20
Stats (Point Buy): 8 STR / 15 DEX / 16 CON / 8 INT / 8 WIS / 17 CHA
ASIs: Moderately Armored (+1 DEX), Fey Touched (+1 CHA | Misty Step, Bless), +2 CHA, Warcaster, Resilient (WIS)
Progression: Sorcerer 20

Metamagics: Careful, Quickened, [10th Sorcerer - Transumted Spell)

Spell Progression

Cantrips
Booming Blade, Blade Ward, Mind Sliver, Firebolt [Minor Illusion, Chill Touch]

Spells
1 - Sleep, Shield [Armor of Agathys, Protection from Evil and Good]
2 - Sleep, Shield, Grease [Armor of Agathys, Absorb Elements]
3 - Sleep, Shield, Grease | Web [Armor of Agathys, Absorb Elements | Aid, Earthen Grasp]
4 - Sleep, Shield, Grease | Web, Blur [Armor of Agathys, Absorb Elements | Aid, Earthen Grasp]
5 - Shield, Grease | Web, Blur | Hypnotic Pattern, Fireball [Armor of Agathys, Absorb Elements | Aid, Earthen Grasp | Counterspell, Dispel Magic]
6 - Shield | Web, Blur | Hypnotic Pattern, Fireball, Vampiric Touch, X [Armor of Agathys, Absorb Elements | Aid, Earthen Grasp | Counterspell, Dispel Magic]
7 - Shield | Web, Blur | Hypnotic Pattern, Fireball, Vampiric Touch | Sickening Radiance, Dimension Door [Armor of Agathys, Absorb Elements | Aid, Earthen Grasp, Counterspell, Dispel Magic | Polymorph, Stone Shape]
8 - Shield (FT: Bane) | Web, Blur, (FT: Misty Step) | Hypnotic Pattern, Fireball, Counterspell, Blink | Sickening Radiance, Dimension Door [Armor of Agathys, Absorb Elements | Aid, Earthen Grasp | Counterspell, Dispel Magic | Polymorph, Stone Shape]
9 - Shield (FT: Bane) | Web, Blur (FT: Misty Step) | Hypnotic Pattern, Fireball, Counterspell | Sickening Radiance, Dimension Door | Telekinesis, [Armor of Agathys, Absorb Elements | Aid, Earthen Grasp | Counterspell, Dispel Magic | Polymorph, Stone Shape | Wall of Force, Animate Objects]
10- Shield (FT: Bane) | Web, Blur (FT: Misty Step) | Hypnotic Pattern, Tidal Wave, Counterspell | Sickening Radiance, Dimension Door | Telekinesis, Synaptic Static [Armor of Agathys, Absorb Elements | Aid, Earthen Grasp | Counterspell, Dispel Magic | Polymorph, Stone Shape | Wall of Force, Animate Objects]

Highlights
1. Armor of Agathys + Bastion of Law lets us deal a lot of damage to whoever dares attack us. Combined with Quickened Blade Ward we can squeeze a lot of value from AoA.
2. Quickened Spell is the bomb on this build. Let me explain. Vampiric Touch is rad - it lets us stay on the battlefield that much longer by stealing the life of our enemies. Quickened takes this spell to a whole other level. If you Quicken it you get two channels in a turn, and on subsequent turns, you can keep channeling it while Quickening other spells (Blade Ward, Armor of Agathys, and Blink are great non-concentration spells for this spot). Other amazing Quickened candidates are Earthen Grasp and Telekinesis.
3. We wouldn't be much of a tank if we didn't have battlefield control. Careful Spell takes care of that. Careful Hypnotic Pattern is fantastic, and if your DM isn't a JC fan (and hey, that ruling isn't in the SAC), Careful Sickening Radiance and Careful Web all provide unparalleled battlefield control.
4. Synaptic Static + Bane is awesome. Bane helps us keep Synaptic Static on our enemies, causing enemies to potentially reduce 1d6 + 1d4 from their attack rolls. Also, we got Mind Sliver up in this party as well.
5. Fantastic AC. Moderately Armored puts us at a cool 19 AC while wielding a shield. And of course, Shield to put us at 24 AC when needed.

Notes:
1. I would have liked Extended on this list to abuse Aid, but we just don't have enough metamagic known.
2. Blink is a flex spell. It isn't terribly synergistic with AoA, and is a bit counter to the whole point of drawing attention from your allies, but it can still come in handy. Still, feel free to change it to whatever you like.
3. Vampire Touch was added to the Sorcerer's list in Tasha's. Putting this here because it came up a few times.
4. You can switch Careful with Twinned if you're not a fan of Careful. It isn't a big deal, both work well with their respective synergistic spells.

Variants:
1. You can take a dip of Life Cleric for ultimate hilarity with Vampiric Touch. This would also mean you don't need Hobgoblin or Moderately Armored, and could possibly take V.Human/Custom Lineage for Metamagic Adept, but then the spell list would probably change drastically.
2. You can (and probably should) take Bless instead of Bane, I just found the idea of reducing -1d6-1d4 from attacks and other checks to be funny.

[bendking]

Psychic Master



I've seen numerous people asking for an Aberrant Mind build/guide, so I decided to step up to the plate. However, I usually try to make my builds capitalize on the strengths of a certain mechanic and theme, instead of being just generally strong.
In this case, I'll be making the Aberrant Mind the ultimate social manipulator, capable of destroying nations in a heartbeat without batting an eye, while not forgoing combat effectiveness.

Stats
Race: Custom Lineage (+2 CHA, Actor)
Classes: Aberrant Mind Sorcerer 20
Stats (Point Buy): 8 STR / 14 DEX / 14 CON / 8 INT / 12 WIS / 18 CHA
ASIs: Fey Touched (+1 CHA, Gift of Alacrity), Skill Expert (+1 CHA, Deception), Resilient (WIS), Eldritch Adept: Mask of Many Faces, X
Metamagics: Careful, Subtle, [10th Sorcerer - Quickened Spell)

Starting with 18 CHA is always great. The downside is starting with 14 DEX / 14 CON, but it's worth it. This will allow our CHA progression to be on-time as we take Skill Expert and Fey Touched to make ourselves even better at cajoling our way through life.
Fey Touched gives us Misty Step for when we're in a bind, and Gift of Alacrity is an incredibly potent spell.

Spell Progression
As opposed to the Clockwork Soul we can't get two of the three 1st level spell taxes (Mage Armor, Shield, Absorb Elements) as a part of our bonus spell list, but that's just how it is.

Cantrips
Fire Bolt, Mind Sliver, Minor Illusion, Mold Earth [Prestidigitation, Chill Touch]

Spells
1 - Mage Armor, Shield, [Sleep, Dissonant Whispers]
2 - Mage Armor, Shield, Disguise Self [Sleep, Dissonant Whispers]
3 - Mage Armor, Shield, Disguise Self | Phantasmal Force [Sleep, Dissonant Whispers, Detect Thoughts, Suggestion]
4 - Mage Armor, Shield, Absorb Elements, Disguise Self | Phantasmal Force [Hex, Dissonant Whispers, Detect Thoughts, Suggestion]
5 - Mage Armor, Shield, Absorb Elements, Disguise Self | - | Hypnotic Pattern, Fireball [Hex, Dissonant Whispers, Detect Thoughts, Suggestion, Hunger of Hadar, Clairvoyance]
6 - Mage Armor, Shield, Absorb Elements, Disguise Self | - | Hypnotic Pattern, Fireball, Counterspell [Hex, Dissonant Whispers, Detect Thoughts, Suggestion, Hunger of Hadar, Clairvoyance]
7 - Mage Armor, Shield, Absorb Elements, Disguise Self | - | Hypnotic Pattern, Fireball, Counterspell | Sickening Radiance, [Hex, Dissonant Whispers, Detect Thoughts, Suggestion, Hunger of Hadar, Clairvoyance, Black Tentacles, Charm Monster]
8 - Mage Armor, Shield, Absorb Elements, Disguise Self | - | Hypnotic Pattern, Fireball, Counterspell | Sickening Radiance, Dimension Door [Hex, Dissonant Whispers, Detect Thoughts, Suggestion, Hunger of Hadar, Clairvoyance, Black Tentacles, Charm Monster]
9 - Mage Armor, Shield, Absorb Elements, Disguise Self | - | Hypnotic Pattern, Tidal Wave, Counterspell | Sickening Radiance, Dimension Door | Synaptic Static [Hex, Dissonant Whispers, Detect Thoughts, Suggestion, Hunger of Hadar, Clairvoyance, Black Tentacles, Charm Monster, Modify Memory, Telekinesis]
10- Mage Armor, Shield, Absorb Elements, Disguise Self | - | Hypnotic Pattern, Tidal Wave, Counterspell | Sickening Radiance, Dimension Door | Synaptic Static, Animate Objects [Hex, Dissonant Whispers, Detect Thoughts, Suggestion, Hunger of Hadar, Clairvoyance, Black Tentacles, Charm Monster, Modify Memory, Telekinesis]

Highlights
1. Disguise Self in concert with Actor is going to be extremely useful in deception and manipulation. Just imagine the possibilities.
You can even use it while hiding behind cover in combat: appear a few inches shorter, and use that to peek above the cover you're using to be able to Counterspell even while in full-cover. You can also create your own cover for ambushes with Mold Earth (thanks to TheUser for this trick).
2. Careful Spell pulls its weight. Careful Hypnotic Pattern is your bread and butter in combat. Hypnotic Pattern is a bit of an overtuned spell, and being able to cast it on your allies without repercussions is great. For Charmed immune enemies, you have Careful Sickening Radiance or Hunger of Hadar and Black Tentacles.
3. You can cast Suggestion without any verbal, somatic, or even material components using Psionic Sorcery. This is an upgrade over Subtle Spell, which still requires material components and thus can still give you away. Casting Suggestion completely unnoticed is one hell of a trick.
4. Completely subtle Modify Memory. Mother of God. This is the big one. In conjunction with Telepathic Speech (which will allow you to speak to the target without talking out loud), you can literally walk up to anyone, and plant/erase any memory you like. This is how nations are unmade. Play out your wildest Inception dreams.
5. A plethora of ways to screw with people. Hex, Dissonant Whispers, Detect Thoughts, Telekinesis... What more could you ask for?

Notes:
1. Make sure to take Disguise Kit as one of your proficiencies.
2. You can replace Detect Thoughts with Calm Emotions. One is better for social manipulation, the other for combat.

Variants:
1. If you don't care about social manipulation, Goblin is a fantastic choice for almost any caster. Bonus Action Hide every turn to keep yourself hidden while manipulating the battlefield is highly effective. The reasons I didn't go with Goblin are that being small and a Goblin are going to be obstacles to social engineering.
2. By the same token, Skill Expert (Deception) isn't absolutely mandatory either. You could simply take +2 CHA instead of Skill Expert and Fey Touched.
3. Finally, you can instead start with Half-Elf if you're concerned about starting with 16 DEX and 16 CON, but you would be forgoing Fey Touched and Skill Expert in return, and dumping WIS.

This build was posted on the 4th of January, 2021

[bendking]

Grapple Bros.



Tasha's introduced us to a lot of great grappling options, and I don't mean the Unarmed Fighting Style. This is going to be a 3-in-1 because none of these builds is that complex, which means there isn't that much to write up.
I want to highlight some of what I think are the best grappling builds possible right now, without necessarily trying for the highest possible grapple check, but making an optimal build that uses grappling effectively.

Ruin Knight
Ruin your enemies' day with great control, large size, and high grappling checks.
Loxodon lets us grapple an enemy while keeping both hands free, and Giant's Might lets you both grapple with advantage and grapple Huge creatures, and later on Gargantuan.
Skill Expert lets you grapple better, and GWM lets you leverage Grapple + Shove to get -5/+10 attacks at advantage.
The runes I picked are simply what I consider to be the RK's best runes, and they all work well at helping you control the battlefield.

Stats
Race: Loxodon (+2 STR, +1 CON)
Classes: Rune Knight 20
Stats (Point Buy): 17 STR / 12 DEX / 16 CON / 8 INT / 13 WIS / 8 CHA
ASIs: Skill Expert (Athletics, +1 STR), GWM, +2 STR, Resilient (WIS), X
Fighting Style: Defensive

Rune Progression
3 - Cloud, Stone
7 - Cloud, Storm, Hill
10- Cloud, Stone, Storm Hill

Notes:
1. Credit goes to Bilbron Bafflestone for inspiring the GWM pick. You can watch his Bilbron Rune Knight video for tips on how to use this build since it's very similar to his.
2. Thanks to Sol0botmate for discovering the superior Loxodon pick over Simic Hybrid. The reason it's better for Rune Knight, in particular, is because Rune Knight already has a lot of clog on his bonus actions (Giant's Might, Storm Rune, Hill Rune), which means he won't be able to use the bonus action grapple a lot.
The trunk also lets us grapple in place of one of our attacks, in comparison to Simic Hybrid which requires either to use an entire Action (bad idea) or as a bonus action after hitting with one of the arms (not advisable due to BA clog). Overall, this race is a great fit for this build.

The Beast
This one uses mostly uses the Beast Claws to make up the DPR loss for not taking PAM + GWM as a normal Barbarian would. The Claws also work well here since it's common that you will Shove or Grapple with your first attack, and using Claws means you can still attack twice.
We take the 3rd Bestial Soul perk to both add on a bit of extra damage to enemies (by jumping up with them and smashing them on the ground) and to become an anti-air projectile that grapples flying enemies mid-air and takes them out of the sky.
Battlemaster is notoriously front-loaded, which we love because he gives us a few great maneuvers in just a few levels. Of course, Fighting Style and Action Surge are great for us too. We took Blind Fighting because none of the fighting styles appeal that much, and covering invisible enemies is always great, especially when you're the lock-down specialist.

Stats
Race: Simic Hybrid (+2 STR, +1 CON)
Classes: Beast 6/Battlemaster 4
Stats (Point Buy): 17 STR / 12 DEX / 16 CON / 8 INT / 13 WIS / 8 CHA
ASIs: Skill Expert (Athletics, +1 STR), +2 STR, Resilient (WIS), X
Fighting Style: Blind Fighting
Progression: Beast 6 --> Battlemaster 4

Maneuvers
Grappling Strike, Trip Attack, and Disarming Attack.
Grappling Strike allows us to grapple as a bonus action for when we don't want to use our Simic Hybrid arms for attacking for whatever reason that may be. It could be because we're facing mundane resistant enemies which would take half damage from them, or for when we simply want to replace one of our attacks with Shove/Grapple, and want to make the most out of the Claws.
Trip Attack allows us to apply Prone without expending one of our attacks, which is marvelous.
Disarming Attack is usually not that great, but with 4 arms, we can afford to use one of them to pick up the dropped weapon with our free Object Interaction for the turn.

Notes:
1. I didn't take this build beyond level 10 because frankly, I'm not sure yet what would be the best course of action. I'm currently considering Paladin/Artificer/Rogue. Feel free to provide suggestions.
2. Simic Hybrid works well here because unlike Rune Knight we don't have bonus action clog and are able to make full use of the BA grapple.

Astral Wrestler
Way of the Astral Self by itself isn't all that if I'm being honest. However, we can leverage Arms of the Astral Self for a pretty unique grapple build.
Astral Self isn't SAD per se, because we still need DEX for AC, but it can at least bump its WIS first for great Stunning Strike DC and grappling. Thus, starting with 18 WIS is pretty great for us. This spread also lets us put get both DEX and CON to 16 at 8th level.
In addition, Astral Self lets us grapple/shove with our Wisdom, and even if both of our arms are taken grappling fools, we can still punch away with our astral fists. And guess what, Stunned enemies fail Grapple and Shove checks automatically, and they're going to have a hell of a time trying to escape your grapple.
This subclass is pretty much the only (good) way to make a grappler Monk, which is notable and not halfway bad. Still, this isn't the best way to make a grappler, but it's the way to make a grappling monk.

Stats
Race: Custom Lineage (+2 WIS, Skill Expert (Athletics, +1 WIS))
Classes: Astral Self 20
Stats (Point Buy): 8 STR / 15 DEX / 15 CON / 8 INT / 18 WIS / 8 CHA
ASIs: +2 WIS, +1/+1 DEX/CON, +2 DEX, +2 DEX

[bendking]

Shadow Warrior


Just imagine the sword is much, much larger...

The new Blind Fighting style opens up a whole new way to play Eldritch Knight, and it's honestly brutal. Using Fog Cloud and Darkness, we can get the DPR of a Barbarian, the OAs of an Arcana Cleric, and better mage slaying than anyone who ever took the Mage Slayer feat.
And yes, we're going to dump INT, because we are not taking any levels in Wizard, and the vast majority of our slots will be used on Shield, Fog Cloud, and Darkness.

Stats
Race: Custom Lineage (+2 STR, PAM)
Classes: Eldritch Knight 20
Stats (Point Buy): 17 STR / 14 DEX / 14 CON / 8 INT / 12 WIS / 8 CHA
ASIs: PAM @1, GWM @4, Warcaster @6, Slasher @8, +2 STR @12, Lucky @14, Alert @16, Resilient (Wisdom) @19
Fighting Style: Blind Fighting

PAM is an obvious choice for almost any melee build, and GWM will capitalize on our attacks with advantage, which should be almost all of our attacks. Warcaster is fantastic for making us sticky and bumping up our concentration save rolls at the same time.
Custom Lineage opens up the Slasher half-feat, which makes us even stickier. Enemies are going to have a hell of a time trying to shake us.

Spell Progression
We are taking Fog Cloud and Darkness as soon as possible. Sadly, that means skipping Find Familiar. Other than that, the standard EK picks.

Cantrips
Booming Blade, Mold Earth, Minor Illusion, Green-Flame Blade, Chill Touch, Control Flames

Spells
3 - Shield, Absorb Elements [Fog Cloud]
4 - Shield, Absorb Elements, Protection from Evil and Good [Fog Cloud]
7 - Shield, Absorb Elements, Protection from Evil and Good | Darkness [Fog Cloud]
8 - Shield, Absorb Elements, Protection from Evil and Good | Darkness [Fog Cloud, Find Familiar]
10- Shield, Absorb Elements, Protection from Evil and Good | Darkness, Warding Wind [Fog Cloud, Find Familiar]
11- Shield, Absorb Elements, Protection from Evil and Good | Darkness, Warding Wind [Fog Cloud, Find Familiar]
13- Shield, Absorb Elements, Protection from Evil and Good | Darkness, Warding Wind | Counterspell [Fog Cloud, Find Familiar]
14- Shield, Absorb Elements, Protection from Evil and Good | Darkness, Warding Wind | Counterspell [Fog Cloud, Find Familiar | Misty Step]
16- Shield, Absorb Elements, Protection from Evil and Good | Darkness, Warding Wind | Counterspell, Wall of Sand [Fog Cloud, Find Familiar | Misty Step]
19- Shield, Absorb Elements, Protection from Evil and Good | Darkness, Warding Wind | Counterspell, Wall of Sand | Fire Shield [Fog Cloud, Find Familiar | Misty Step]
20- Shield, Absorb Elements, Protection from Evil and Good | Darkness, Warding Wind | Counterspell, Wall of Sand | Fire Shield [Fog Cloud, Find Familiar | Misty Step | | Dimension Door ]

| = spell level partition
[] = any-school picks

Typical Combat Flow
1.1. If Darkness is already on, go to town.
1.2. If it is not, Action Surge, cast it or Fog Cloud and go to town.

Highlights
1. Damage. Lots of it. We're almost always attacking with advantage, with -5/+10, as a Barbarian would. And we actually get more extra attacks, as opposed to the Barbarian.
Here's a taste of the DPR we can dish out. At level 12, versus an AC of 15, we dish out a whopping DPR of 61.1. A Zealot Barbarian deals 64.7, for the sake of comparison (admittedly, this is skewed in the EKs favor, as the Zealot is far ahead before level 11).
2. Deadly OAs. Warcaster lets us Booming Blade OA, which we'll be making at advantage, and perhaps even with -5/+10 (depending on the foe's AC, since we have a lot of riders on this attack which makes hitting more important DPR-wise). Whoever is put against us, and especially casters, is in a lose-lose situation. You either stay in the Darkness or try to run away and get boomed on by Booming Blade. And don't forget Slasher means they lose almost half of their movement. Better use it wisely. Casters also have the unfortunate condition of being limited in the spells they can cast now that they have no vision. This is what I meant when I said we're basically mage slayers.
3. Tankiness. With an AC of 18 and almost always being attacked at disadvantage, we're pretty hard to hit. We're also hard to nail with any spell that requires seeing the target. Spells like Dominate Person, which are usually highly deadly on Fighters, areissue for us.
4. A walking disruption. Walking around the field with Darkness lets you get up to all kinds of shenanigans, but it can also disrupt your casters. Luckily, you can just cast Darkness on a stone that is in your fanny pack and use your free object interaction to close the bag at the end of your turn. While this won't give you a lot of the defensive benefits of Darkness, your casters will appreciate you being able to turn it off for crucial moments. Thanks to Eldariel for putting me on to this trick.
5. Slot efficient. As opposed to Shadow Blade, Darkness can last up to 10 minutes. This means you can potentially get a few battles in per cast of Darkness. The downside is that it's an action to cast.

Notes
1. Make sure you and your party know how to play around and with Darkness. Don't make your party hate you. It's a great spell even without Blind Fighting, you just have to know how to use it. Here's a quote by my friend LudicSavant to elucidate the spell's proper usage, only it doesn't take Blind Fighting into consideration (because it was written pre-Tasha on his wonderful Soulknife build):

Spoiler: Darkness Note

Show

Darkness is a good spell that sometimes gets a bad rap because some people *misuse it* in a way that is actively detrimental to their party.

So let me lay out how it works. First thing: if someone can't see you, you get Advantage against them. If you can't see them, you get Disadvantage against them. So if both sides can't see each other, it cancels out.

So you might be wondering "what's the point?" Well, let me give you a few ideas.

Some uses for Darkness are...
- Many spells and abilities require being able to see the target in order to target them at all. Beholder eye rays, for example.
- You can use it to cancel Advantage and Disadvantage. For example, a Barbarian ally in Darkness won't give anyone Advantage when they use Reckless Attack.
- When allies have things like Alert, Devil's Sight, True Sight, or the like, Darkness doesn't cancel out, it gives them an edge.
- When you have allies who can Hide as a bonus action on your side.
- Enemies can't make Opportunity Attacks against things they can't see.

Some bad times to use Darkness are...
- When your ally needs to see something in order to target it with a key spell or ability.
- When your team has the Advantage or the enemy has the Disadvantage, and you cancel it out.
- When your enemy has a positioning disadvantage and is locked down by the threat of OAs.

Don't be that guy who uses Darkness to wreck their own party. Think before you cast it.

Variants
1. You can take V.Human instead of Custom Lineage if you prefer having 16 CON and no Darkvision to 14 CON, Darkvision, and Slasher.

[bendking]

Reservation for future builds #4.

[bendking]

Reservation for future builds #5.

[LudicSavant]

Always great to see people making more fun builds to share with the community!

I agree that Clockwork Soul is basically the Sorcerer's version of the Abjurer, and it even goes so far as to get Armor of Agathys on its spell list without any multiclassing... especially noteworthy since, like the Abjurer, it has a shield that you have to break before you can break the Armor (and, therefore, you can get more retributive hits out of it).

I note it says in the ASIs section that you recommend Bless for Fey-Touched, but in the written out guide it's talking about Bane. I'm assuming you changed your mind at some point.

If you're on the fence, personally I'd pick Bless, since it puts more factors under your own control. Even if watching people roll -1d6-1d4 may be amusing.

With Bane, you won't always have 3+ enemies, and they might be able to switch to non-Attack roll tactics, and of course it offers a saving throw. And if you're using it after Synaptic Static, that means you're probably already about halfway through the fight and cutting into the number of actions nerfed by Bane (and therefore the spell's value in terms of expected number of attacks turned into misses and expected number of saves turned into failed saves). There are just a lot of factors that can make it situationally fall behind in value.

By contrast with Bless, you know who your allies are and that they want to use Attacks with the spell (and may even specifically try to combo with it by choosing that point to Action Surge or the like), and they're not going to make a save against it, and you're always going to have enough targets. You also can potentially pre-cast it, gaining not only extra uptime but also more action economy, too. It's reliable in a way that Bane isn't.

Alternatively, you could decide that you'll rarely be wanting to use your Concentration on a low-level slot by that point and go for something like Gift of Alacrity.

Edit
Another reason I disfavor Bane is because your spell list already has a ton of answers to people using Attack Rolls against you. Synaptic Static, Armor of Agathys, PFG&E, Blur, Bane, Blink, Web, Vampiric Touch, Clockwork class features, Quickened Blade Ward, etc, all are routes to screwing enemy attack rolls against your person. So I think it's good to diversify a bit with Bless (and possibly some other spells, too). It also combos nicely with your Save Face.

My favorite ones on that list are the ones that protect allies other than just you, like Synaptic Static (both because it nerfs the enemies against everyone, and because it helps to actually remove enemies from the board).

[AttilatheYeon]

For your God of Lightning build, you mention booming blade being able to activate Heart of the Storm. Booming Blade is a cantrip so it cant activate HotS nor can it be upcast.

[bendking]

Always great to see people making more fun builds to share with the community!

I agree that Clockwork Soul is basically the Sorcerer's version of the Abjurer, and it even goes so far as to get Armor of Agathys on its spell list without any multiclassing... especially noteworthy since, like the Abjurer, it has a shield that you have to break before you can break the Armor (and, therefore, you can get more retributive hits out of it).

I note it says in the ASIs section that you recommend Bless for Fey-Touched, but in the written out guide it's talking about Bane. I'm assuming you changed your mind at some point.

If you're on the fence, personally I'd pick Bless, since it puts more factors under your own control. Even if watching people roll -1d6-1d4 may be amusing.

With Bane, you won't always have 3+ enemies, and they might be able to switch to non-Attack roll tactics, and of course it offers a saving throw. And if you're using it after Synaptic Static, that means you're probably already about halfway through the fight and cutting into the number of actions nerfed by Bane (and therefore the spell's value in terms of expected number of attacks turned into misses and expected number of saves turned into failed saves). There are just a lot of factors that can make it situationally fall behind in value.

By contrast with Bless, you know who your allies are and that they want to use Attacks with the spell (and may even specifically try to combo with it by choosing that point to Action Surge or the like), and they're not going to make a save against it, and you're always going to have enough targets. You also can potentially pre-cast it, gaining not only extra uptime but also more action economy, too. It's reliable in a way that Bane isn't.

Alternatively, you could decide that you'll rarely be wanting to use your Concentration on a low-level slot by that point and go for something like Gift of Alacrity.

Edit
Another reason I disfavor Bane is because your spell list already has a ton of answers to people using Attack Rolls against you. Synaptic Static, Armor of Agathys, PFG&E, Blur, Bane, Blink, Web, Vampiric Touch, Clockwork class features, Quickened Blade Ward, etc, all are routes to screwing enemy attack rolls against your person. So I think it's good to diversify a bit with Bless (and possibly some other spells, too). It also combos nicely with your Save Face.

My favorite ones on that list are the ones that protect allies other than just you, like Synaptic Static (both because it nerfs the enemies against everyone, and because it helps to actually remove enemies from the board).

Thanks, man!
I might indeed replace Bane with Bless or Gift of Alacrity. The combo with Synaptic Static is mostly amusing, not especially powerful.

I also agree there might be too many defensive spells here. I'll try thinking of what to put in place of Blur and Blink because they are both flex spells on the list.

For your God of Lightning build, you mention booming blade being able to activate Heart of the Storm. Booming Blade is a cantrip so it cant activate HotS nor can it be upcast.

It's most likely not RAW, but I do think some DMs would allow upcasting cantrips, especially since it doesn't actually change the balance of the game and is arguably not even a good idea anyway. Either way, it's not a crucial part of the build by any means.
However, I'll add a note clarifying that it's not strictly RAW and up to DM fiat.

[Rfkannen]

Love the builds! the god of lightning in particular looks like a TON of fun to play!

[MagneticKitty]

curious to see what kind of druid build you would make. Thanks for the builds

[bendking]

Added Psychic Master and Grapple Bros.

Love the builds! the god of lightning in particular looks like a TON of fun to play!

Thank you!
I have a player playing God of Lightning in a current campaign, can confirm it's a ton of fun.

curious to see what kind of druid build you would make. Thanks for the builds

You're welcome :)

Honestly, I never played nor built a Druid. For some reason, they don't really appeal to me.
I also feel like there isn't that much optimizing to do with them, similarly to Clerics (though probably to a lesser degree), which is partly why I don't optimize them.

[Rfkannen]

Thank you!
I have a player playing God of Lightning in a current campaign, can confirm it's a ton of fun.

Cool! Whats the characters background? I have been trying to think of what sort of backstory would fit a character like this (My answer is thor from the marvel movies lol, but I am interested in others!)

[TheUser]

Grapple Bros.

-snip-

I think that opting for a longsword as your primary weapon and using your offhand to grapple is a better solution.

You can use the target you grapple as 1/2 or 3/4 cover, and still two hand the longsword as a 1d10 if the need arises. This also frees you up to take a powerful build character that can grapple and drag heavier targets by a factor of 2.

If you sub out your 6 levels of beast barbarian for a totem barbarian you can double your lift/carry a second time. Now you have a character with quadruple lift/carry able to grow to a large enough size/weight.

This also offers the potential to lift/carry objects that are ~1000 lbs and as such lets you lift aforementioned heavy objects and smush baddies.

[Citadel97501]

In regards to the God of Lightning, doesn't the new Wizard Subclass: Order of Scribes, provide a more efficient method of switching everything to lightning or thunder damage?

1) Arcane Recovery, & the free scrolls seems to be much better than Empower Spell due to being able to have more spells per day, and frankly with how hard you hit is it necessary to use Quicken Spell which only works effectively with Booming Blade?

2) 1 quick ritual per day :)

3) Spell Mastery is incredible but will be harder to get to...

4) Better Stat assignment, frankly I prefer intelligence to charisma for blasters.

[Dualswinger]

While you're free to disagree, I think the Grapple build benefits SO MUCH from a 3 level dip into Sorcerer or Wizard. Picking up the Jump and Englarge spells means that not only can you grapple all creatures from level 6, but you can also jump and drop your creatures from 50+ feet in the air, or to do it how I narratively enjoy it, spin horizontally in the air like a buzzsaw and throw them down to earth, one after the other, then land on them.

[Rfkannen]

In regards to the God of Lightning, doesn't the new Wizard Subclass: Order of Scribes, provide a more efficient method of switching everything to lightning or thunder damage?

1) Arcane Recovery, & the free scrolls seems to be much better than Empower Spell due to being able to have more spells per day, and frankly with how hard you hit is it necessary to use Quicken Spell which only works effectively with Booming Blade?

2) 1 quick ritual per day :)

3) Spell Mastery is incredible but will be harder to get to...

4) Better Stat assignment, frankly I prefer intelligence to charisma for blasters.

True, but the storm sorcerer also gets benefits for casting lightning and thunder spells. They can do an aoe centered around them when they cast those spells, which combos really well with heavy armor!

I would be interesting in a scribe wizard version though! good for al.

[Asura2468]

Psychic Master

This build sounds sooo good... though i think 3 Levels of Bard for the College of Eloquence would be amazing, i dont think the lvl 18 feature is that great for the aberrant mind, and you can loose the asi and the capstone, cause you will get the ability to reduce someones saving throw and and never roll below 10 for persuasion and deception which is just amazing (not even counting Jack of all trades and expertise for deception and persuasion/performance) and you wont loose any spells know or spell slots (you will even be able to pick some more 1/2st lvl spells for bard)

and one question for the spells, are the spells in the brackets the bonus spells you get from the aberant mind?

[bendking]

Cool! Whats the characters background? I have been trying to think of what sort of backstory would fit a character like this (My answer is thor from the marvel movies lol, but I am interested in others!)

He went for an Iron Born flavor (ala Song of Ice and Fire), as a leader of a cult worshipping the Devourer (from Eberron).

I think that opting for a longsword as your primary weapon and using your offhand to grapple is a better solution.

You can use the target you grapple as 1/2 or 3/4 cover, and still two hand the longsword as a 1d10 if the need arises. This also frees you up to take a powerful build character that can grapple and drag heavier targets by a factor of 2.

If you sub out your 6 levels of beast barbarian for a totem barbarian you can double your lift/carry a second time. Now you have a character with quadruple lift/carry able to grow to a large enough size/weight.

This also offers the potential to lift/carry objects that are ~1000 lbs and as such lets you lift aforementioned heavy objects and smush baddies.

RAW doesn't care about lift/drag capacity in regards to moving a grappled target, they simply happen to use similar words because there are only so many words describing dragging in English. It also adds the unneeded complexity of having to guesstimate monster weights which is finicky at best.
This is clarified by JC (which I'm not usually a fan of): https://www.sageadvice.eu/2017/11/18...apacity-rules/

In regards to the God of Lightning, doesn't the new Wizard Subclass: Order of Scribes, provide a more efficient method of switching everything to lightning or thunder damage?

1) Arcane Recovery, & the free scrolls seems to be much better than Empower Spell due to being able to have more spells per day, and frankly with how hard you hit is it necessary to use Quicken Spell which only works effectively with Booming Blade?

2) 1 quick ritual per day :)

3) Spell Mastery is incredible but will be harder to get to...

4) Better Stat assignment, frankly I prefer intelligence to charisma for blasters.

While the method of switching is more efficient, I don't think it necessarily makes the Scribe Wizard a better option.
Something to keep in mind is that the Order of Scribes itself isn't all that great of a Wizard subclass, while the new Tasha's Sorcerer subclasses, and especially the Clockwork Soul, are extremely strong relative to the other Sorcerous Origins.

Here are some of the advantages of Sorcerer:
Quickened is fantastic with Telekinesis, and is overall useful to a gish to be able to attack and cast at the same turn.
Twinned gives you a highly potent concentration option and makes you the best buffer in the game (doubling the effect of Greater Invis. or Polymorph cannot be understated), while also letting you Twin things like Healing Word, PfEaG, etc.
If you pick Clockwork Soul (which you absolutely should if the DM doesn't provide a bonus spell list to the other subclasses), you can get access to Armor of Agathys, an incredible spell list, Bastion of Law for better tanking, and more.

Overall, there are pros and cons to each choice. The Scribe Wizard is definitely a good option because it's still a Wizard after all, but I wouldn't say it's objectively better.

While you're free to disagree, I think the Grapple build benefits SO MUCH from a 3 level dip into Sorcerer or Wizard. Picking up the Jump and Englarge spells means that not only can you grapple all creatures from level 6, but you can also jump and drop your creatures from 50+ feet in the air, or to do it how I narratively enjoy it, spin horizontally in the air like a buzzsaw and throw them down to earth, one after the other, then land on them.

I'm assuming you're referring to the 2nd build here.
If so, we can't really Enlarge ourselves because Rage interrupts concentration.
Regardless of which build you were referring to, casting both Enlarge and Jump in combat wastes 2 Actions, which means we basically don't do anything for about half the battle.
Also, delaying Extra Attack (and the extra appendages of Simic Hybrid) is a big deal. I would only consider dipping Sorcerer (preferable to Wizard due to Quickened) after level 5 or 6.

This build sounds sooo good... though i think 3 Levels of Bard for the College of Eloquence would be amazing, i dont think the lvl 18 feature is that great for the aberrant mind, and you can loose the asi and the capstone, cause you will get the ability to reduce someones saving throw and and never roll below 10 for persuasion and deception which is just amazing (not even counting Jack of all trades and expertise for deception and persuasion/performance) and you wont loose any spells know or spell slots (you will even be able to pick some more 1/2st lvl spells for bard)

and one question for the spells, are the spells in the brackets the bonus spells you get from the aberant mind?

Thank you!

Eloquence Bard certainly has great tricks for us, but I wouldn't take those levels until after level 17, because delaying spells known progression sucks big-time.
This means we would only get the advantages of the dip at level 20, which most players probably won't ever reach, but it might be worth mentioning anyway, so thanks for the suggestion!

[Arkhios]

You do realize that Thunderwave learned from Cleric/Domain Spell List depends on your WIS for spellcasting, right? Just worth consideration, since your build aims to max CHA, yet lists Thunderwave as one of it's staple spells, while clearly suggests leaving WIS at 13 and not learning the spell from Sorcerer Spell List

RAW, since you don't know Thunderwave from Sorcerer Spell List, you can't cast it as a Sorcerer Spell, and thus it doesn't benefit from maxed CHA.
The difference is (only?) 4 points, but if you're OK with that, game on! Just saying this because the saving throw against Thunderwave is CON, which is one of the, if not the most, common saves monsters and NPC's alike are proficient with or have a very high score in, or both.

Not saving against Thunderwave is one of the best cases where "Offense is the best defense" is true.

[Asura2468]

Thank you!

Eloquence Bard certainly has great tricks for us, but I wouldn't take those levels until after level 17, because delaying spells known progression sucks big-time.
This means we would only get the advantages of the dip at level 20, which most players probably won't ever reach, but it might be worth mentioning anyway, so thanks for the suggestion!

Yeah that is true^^ but i thought to mention it for players that want to use it for a super long campain

just once more the Question: Are the spells in the Brackets the ones you get from the additional spells feature? also is there a reason you used | - | between some spells?^^

[bendking]

You do realize that Thunderwave learned from Cleric relies on Wisdom for saves, right? Just worth consideration, since your build aims to max CHA, yet still aims to use Thunderwave as one of it's staple spells, while still leaving WIS at 13 and not learning the spell from Sorcerer.

RAW, since you don't know Thunderwave from Sorcerer Spell List, you can't cast it as a Sorcerer Spell, and thus it doesn't benefit from maxed CHA.
Granted, the difference is only 4 points, so if you're OK with that, game on! Although, Thunderwave is saved with Constitution, which is quite often very high for many creatures.

Oof, that's my bad, actually. The spell still works but the DC is pretty bad. Not a big deal, though, since it's only a 1st level spell that you probably wouldn't use that much in the first place.
Thanks for pointing it out!

Yeah that is true^^ but i thought to mention it for players that want to use it for a super long campain

just once more the Question: Are the spells in the Brackets the ones you get from the additional spells feature? also is there a reason you used | - | between some spells?^^

Oh sorry, indeed they are.
The '|' separate spell levels.

[Syjyl4488]

I’d love to see your take on an eldritch knight!!

[bendking]

I’d love to see your take on an eldritch knight!!

Challenge accepted. Shadow Warrior has been added.
While there is already the great Soulknife build by LudicSavant, I think this new build is good competition for those who prefer big lumbering swords and battlefield disruption.

[Gignere]

Challenge accepted. Shadow Warrior has been added.
While there is already the great Soulknife build by LudicSavant, I think this new build is good competition for those who prefer big lumbering swords and battlefield disruption.

Great minds think alike haha, I was developing a similar EK relying on blindfighting. One trick you didn’t mention is you can use your familiar to be the holder of the darkness. Cast it on a stone tied to familiar’s neck and it can fly in and out providing darkness for you when and where you need it and removing it when it isn’t necessary.

Make your familiar a bat and it can see perfectly fine through the darkness.

Also if your DM ever lets you get access to scrolls for purchase just buy a whole stack of fog spells. This can preserve your slots for shield and/or other spells.