#bonus: crossbows are BOTH character's weapon of choice

[triviallytrue]

BG3 Feat Tierlist

Fuck it, here's every feat in the game split into four tiers. Within each tier, feats mentioned earlier are better.

Always Take

Feats that, when applicable to your build, are so good they should always be taken.

Tavern Brawler

The best feat in the game by a wide margin. Strength elixirs are available by the time you hit level 4, so for throwers and monks this is a flat +5/+5 to all attack and damage rolls, scaling to a +8/+8 when you get Cloud Giant elixirs in act 3. The fact that it gives you +1 Con on top of that just makes it even more absurd.

Sharpshooter/Great Weapon Master

Both feats revolve around the -5/+10 attack/damage passive, which is crucial for dealing damage as a non-TB martial. Requires a fair bit of game knowledge to manage (should be toggled off against high AC/low HP enemies) and prepare for (Oils of Accuracy, sources of advantage), but in the hands of a skilled player it's essential. The question of which of the two is better gets into thornier debates about ranged vs melee - GWM has the better extra feature with bonus action attacks, but ranged martials can already utilize their bonus action with hand crossbows and have archery style for extra accuracy, but melee gets strength elixirs- on and on.

Often Take

Feats that are not essential but will be useful in a lot of builds.

Dual Wielder

Funnily enough, this feat is the closest thing pure spellcasters have to an Always Take. Melee martials are better off with two-handed weapons and ranged martials don't care, but pure spellcasters can use this feat to dual wield staffs. As early as mid act 1 with the Spellsparkler and Melf's First Staff, this makes a big difference, and in the lategame this allows for dual wielding the Markoheshkir and Staff of Spell Power. Oh, and you get a free +1 AC on top. Isn't an Always Take because if you're running more than one pure spellcaster, you may want to distribute the staffs instead.

Savage Attacker

On a d12 this averages out to +2 damage, which is fine but not incredible. What really makes this shine is that the effect applies to all additional rider dice as well, which is a hefty chunk of damage by the late game. A very nice option for melee builds to pump up their damage, especially if using strength elixirs.

Ability Score Improvement

The default option. Bland, unsexy, but almost always a pretty good choice.

War Caster

The opportunity attack feature here is negligible, but as it turns out, not losing your concentration when you get hit is really, really important. Most dramatic example is twinned haste, where losing concentration will stun half your party, but there are lots of other scenarios where it's pretty bad. Only reason it isn't higher is that there's other ways to obtain advantage on concentration saves, but if you don't have access to those, this is worth taking.

Alert

Much improved over its tabletop counterpart, due to BG3 using a d4 for initiative rolls. If you commit to this one partywide (or on all non-dex primary characters) you can almost always all go first, especially nice for parties that benefit from interweaving actions when they go together.

Resilient

Useful for patching up your saving throws - you can't gain saving throw proficiencies by multiclassing. Mostly useful with Constitution for casters looking to never blow a concentration save, but could be nice to have to buff up Intelligence saves against stuns.

Rarely Take

These feats have niche uses but aren't generally optimal.

Elemental Adept

A very hard one to rank. There are three good elements in BG3 - Lightning, Cold, and Fire. Lightning and Cold resistance are uncommon and can be mitigated with Wet and Fire resistance can be bypassed with Arsonist's Oil, so that part of the feat is less useful than it would appear at first glance. The damage increase is +0.5 per damage die on average, so a Fireball or Lightning Bolt will deal +4 damage per target, which is quite good. Cantrips deal +0.5/+1/+1.5 more, which is less impressive. The main downsides are that you only get it for a single damage type when you'll want to use spells from all three, and that the main elemental damage specialist (Draconic Bloodline Sorcerer) gets their Charisma added to their specialized damage anyway, so Ability Score Improvement for +1 attack/DC/damage is competitive. I think this narrowly misses the cut in most builds, but it's still pretty good.

Lucky

Loses points because it doesn't synergize with... well, anything, but it's never bad to be able to reroll important rolls 3 times a day. A slightly suboptimal alternative to Ability Score Improvement if you don't have anything you want and are feeling quirky. Be warned that it may slow down the pace of play with random boxes.

Sentinel

Unfortunately doesn't have the juice to be a core building block with its Polearm Master synergy bugged, but it does accommodate a tank-adjacent playstyle that you really can't get any other way. Purely mechanically it isn't terrible either, but generally there are better options.

Actor

Useful if you have a Warlock/Sorcerer Tav who isn't going to multiclass into Bard or Rogue. Still not great in most situations - you can get a lot of other bonuses to ability checks and there's a parasite power that gives you expertise in all the social skills in act 3.

Polearm Master

Kind of a tragic feat, considering its stature in tabletop. The bonus action attack doesn't proc additional non-ability modifiers like the Great Weapon Master passive, which severely limits its usefulness, and the classic synergy with Sentinel is buggy and unreliable. Still probably usable, but only just.

Spell Sniper

All damage cantrips besides Eldritch Blast are pretty bad, so be sure to take that one. In general you'd rather take two levels in Warlock to get the goodies that make Eldritch Blast ridiculously good instead of merely better than Firebolt, but as it turns out there is a clear niche use where this is completely optimal: Eldritch Knights that need a cantrip to use with their bonus action attack but can't spare two levels for Warlock because they want the level 11 fighter multiattack. The expanded crit range is worth more to them than the other Magic Initiate crap or a single level in Warlock. Go figure!

Mobile

Optimal for Hamarhraft builds, if you're the kind of person who likes crazy builds in theory and is willing to push through hours of tedium in practice. Everyone else should steer clear, movement speed is nice but not worth spending a feat on and the other benefits are negligible.

Never Take

There are strictly superior options.

Defensive Duellist

Close to putting this one in Rarely Take, but I cannot in good conscience endorse putting in a feat so you can burn reactions on buffing AC, or one-handed melee builds in general.

Martial Adept

Very hard to justify a feat for a single superiority die (ie, one maneuver per fight).

Charger

Would be usable if it was a passive or just cost your action, but spending your bonus action in exchange for only 5 damage and not being able to combo other abilities with it makes this one a no-go.

Mage Slayer

Want to fuck with casters? That's what Wizardsbane Oil and Arrows of Arcane Interference are for. Don't waste a feat on those squishy nerds.

Shield Master

Makes you tankier without making you more resilient to actually dangerous conditions like stuns. Don't spend feats around avoiding damage - enemies can't damage you when they're dead.

Medium Armour Master

Decent effects in the early game (more the AC than the stealth) but obsoleted by magic items that give you these effects or better for free.

Heavy Armor Master

-3 damage, only from nonmagical sources, in a game where most heavy armor users will have more health than they ever need? Not worth a feat.

Tough

Gives less HP at level 12 than a level 5 Aid cast, which hits the entire party.

Crossbow Expert

Crossbows in BG3 already get the main feature that makes this good in tabletop for free. Instead you get the ability to hit from point blank range (you should not be doing this) and a slight improvement to a mediocre ability. Pass.

Athlete

Don't sacrifice one of your ability points for the ability to stand up faster and jump a little farther. There is a level 1 ritual spell which triples your jump distance.

Lightly/Moderately/Heavily Armored/Weapon Master

You're better off getting your proficiencies through multiclassing instead of feats, even with the ability score bonus.

Ritual Caster

Take a level in Wizard.

Magic Initiate X

Take a level in X.

Durable

This is what healing potions are for, and it's hard to run out.

Performer

Just play a Bard. It's a really good class, I promise.

Skilled

A feat on extra skill proficiencies, in a game where you can build an entire party to cover the handful of actual relevant skills? Come on now.

Dungeon Delver

Worst feat in the game. Not only are its stated benefits complete ass, its main feature is glitched and offers no benefits.

#bg3 #prompted by a youtube video that pissed me off putting dual wielder in b tier #mostly subjective but i think my points are very defensible

[grailfinders]

Fate and Phantasms Viewer's Choice #12: Schneizel El Britannia

today on Fate and Phantasms we’ve got our very first build that is 100% not connected to Fate (yet), Schneizel El Britannia from Code Geass! he’s a Mastermind Rogue to manipulate his underlings and enemies, as well as a War Mage to always be on the same war page even when commanding your troops from way, waaay in the back.

check out his build breakdown below the cut, or his character sheet over here!

Race and Background

it might surprise you to find out, but this guy is a Human Noble, like most named cast members in CG. that means he gets +1 Dexterity and Intelligence, as well as proficiency in Animal Handling (by choice), History, and Persuasion (by background), as well as the Observant feat. that bumps up your Intelligence by another point, and it lets you read lips! in a more mechanically interesting move, it also adds +5 to your passive Perception and Investigation checks. the dude bolts at the first sign of danger, so he’s probably pretty good at noticing it.

Ability Scores

number one is Intelligence. you’re smart enough to give Lelouch a run for his money, and this entire anime is practically his power fantasy. after that is Charisma. knowing how to manipulate people is one thing, actually doing it is another. Third up is Dexterity- you don’t do much fighting on your own, but you know your way around guns well enough. errr, crossbows. your Constitution is just a little above average- you don’t do much fighting, but you do survive being tied to a pole for a couple days so you can’t be that weak. that means your Strength is pretty low, and we’re dumping Wisdom. you’d rather throw the game away than lose. that, and you miss a pretty important save at the end of the series.

Class Levels

1. Rogue 1: we’re starting as a rogue both for the extra skills and for proficiency with crossbows. speaking of proficiencies, you’re now good with dexterity and intelligence saves, as well as deception, insight, investigation, and perception! on top of that, you get expertise in two skills for doubled proficiency, so double down on persuasion and deception!

you can also make a Sneak Attack if you use a ranged or finesse weapon on a creature you either have advantage or have a friend nearby. that gives you an extra 1d6 damage to your attack once per turn.

you also know Thieves’ Cant. it sure is a language! I guess that’s English in the anime?

2. Rogue 2: second level rogues can make Cunning Actions on their bonus action, dodging, disengaging, dashing, or hiding with extra speed! I’m pretty sure we said this already, but boy are you good at getting the fuck away from danger.

3. Rogue 3: at third level you gain your roguish archetype, turning you into a proper Mastermind. that makes you a Master of Intrigue and of Tactics. the former giving you proficiency with disguise and forgery, and you can copy the speech patterns of someone you’ve talked to for 1 minute. it’s not enough to copy their voice entirely, but you can sound like a native of the area. which would probably be more useful if you weren’t the prince of a global empire- your face is spread far and wide by now.

the latter is more helpful though- literally! as a master of tactics you can help as a bonus action, and with an increased range to boot! you’re not really the one doing most of the fighting, after all. though you’re better at fighting when you need to, with 2d6 sneak attack damage.

4. Rogue 4: Fourth level rogues gain their first Ability Score Improvement, and we’ll use it to grab the Keen Mind feat. With this, your Intelligence rounds out again, and your memory is empowered to superhuman levels. Now, you can always know your directions, as well as what time of day it is. Most powerfully, you have photographic memory of the last in-game month. Truly a nightmare for your DM.

5. Rogue 5: At fifth level, you can perform an Uncanny Dodge as a reaction. If you’d take damage from an attack, you can dodge and take half damage instead. You don’t usually get into direct combat often, but it will help if someone tries to stab you in the back. Speaking of, your backstabbing deals an extra 3d6 now!

6. Rogue 6: Sixth level rogues gain another round of Expertise, doubling your proficiency in Insight and Perception to gain a better reading of the battlefield.

7. rogue 7: at level seven, rogues gain evasion. now your failed dexterity saves are as good as most peoples’ successes, and your successes negate damage entirely.

(speaking of damage, your sneak attack deals 4d6 of it now)

8. rogue 8: an eighth level rogue gets another asi, finally boosting your dexterity for better killshots. it also helps keep you alive, which is nice.

9. rogue 9: ninth level rogues get 5d6 sneak attack damage, and you’re now an insightful manipulator. with this, you can learn two of four scores compared to yours- their intelligence, wisdom, charisma, or class levels. you can also learn information about their history or personality, but that is up to your DM’s discretion. if you’re going to manipulate someone, you need to learn how they tick.

10. rogue 10: speaking of manipulating, it will probably be easier to do with higher charisma, so let’s use this asi to bump that up a bit, shall we?

11. rogue 11: an eleventh level rogue is a reliable talent- all skill checks you make with proficiency count as a 10 or higher at all times. there’s nothing more embarrassing than rolling a natural one while trying to show up your brother. trust me on that one.

oh right, 6d6 sneak attack damage, congrats.

12. rogue 12: twelfth level rogues get yet another asi, so maximize your intelligence for the strongest schemes now and the strongest spells later.

13. rogue 13: thirteenth level masterminds can take humanoid shields by using Misdirection. if you’re targeted by an attack that has another creature between you and your attacker, you can react to send the attack at them instead. you’re really not a fighter. I mean, you are, but you’re not one for getting hit.

14. wizard 1: your rogue levels were what you are. now it’s time for some goodies from the empire. at level one you gain a spellbook, a list of spells which you can cast and prepare from using your Intelligence. you get six spells now, another two each level after, and you can also learn more from other wizard’s spellbooks and scrolls. you’ll have to forgive Me for not going into detail about every spell, but feel free to check out the character sheet for that.

you also gain an arcane recovery- normally you regain spell slots on a long rest, but once per day you can do so on a short rest.

for your spells, grab longstrider to be the dirty coward you always dreamed of being, and mage armor so you can fight just as well in ornate finery as you can in leather armor.

15. wizard 2: at level two, you become a war mage, giving you a tactical wit few can match- now you can add your intelligence to your initiative roll. you can also make an arcane deflection as a reaction, adding 2 to your ac or 4 to your save. you can do so as often as you like, though you won’t be able to cast levelled spells the next turn. of course, there’s nothing to say you can’t be clever and hold your action, but I’ll leave the tactical thinking in your capable hands.

speaking of spells, magic missile is a useful tommygun, making several magic attacks that can’t miss their target.

16. wizard 3: third level wizards get second level spells, and just when you thought you couldn’t get any smarter enhance ability shows up to prove you wrong. now you can give yourself advantage on intelligence checks for a minute. or any other kind of skill check, though your smarts are most in-character. you can also use augury to simulate your strategy, learning if an action will deliver you weal or woe.

17. wizard 4: use your last asi to nab the lucky feat, giving you three luck points per day. you can spend one to roll an additional d20 on any check, attack, or save directly affecting you. then you can pick whichever one helps you the most. ladies love a high roller, don’t you know?

you can also use nystul’s magic aura to hide a creature or object from scrying. if you’re going to kidnap nunnally at the end of a campaign, it’s best you know how to hide her away from people who can use ninth level spells.

18. wizard 5: fifth level wizards get third level spells, and if your usual tricks aren’t causing your enemies to defect as quickly as you’d like, enemies abound should do the trick. with this, a target enemy will see all creatures as foes if they fail an intelligence saving throw. it can remake the save every time it takes damage, but those silly heroes tend to have hangups against hitting one of their own. oh yes, you’re obviously the villain here, come on.

19. wizard 6: at sixth level you can use a power surge to deal extra damage against a target with a spell once per short rest. you could also use dispel magic or counterspell to gain more charges, but not with this build.

make sure you grab sending though, it’s a lot easier to take part in an international plot when you can talk to your allies and enemies.

20. wizard 7: our final level of the build grants you the greatest power in the world- nukes! with sickening radiance you can call down a f.l.e.i.j.a. down on a nearby location, creating a glowing crater that deals radiant and exhaustion damage. alternatively, you can summon construct to call for a Knightmare Frame to fight in your stead.

Pros and Cons

Pros:

you’re good at helping party members do what they’re good at, and more importantly you’re good at figuring out what they’re good at. You’ve also got clever little spells to deny an area to an enemy, turn them against each other, and get the hell out of dodge if you need to.

speaking of being good at things, you’re really good at skill checks, with expertise in four skills, proficiency in seven, a spell that gives advantage on skill checks if you know they’re coming, and if all else fails you can roll a third die by spending luck points. also, all of your proficient skills are immune to natural ones.

in particular, your passive perception is ridiculous, so you’re unlikely to ever fall into an ambush you didn’t intend to. add in your boosted initiative, and you can probably jump out of any ambush you see before anyone even gets a chance to attack.

Cons:

and that last pro is really important, because if you do ever end up in a fair fight you won’t last long! you’ve got barely over 100 HP, the magical number to get power word death’d. also, even with mage armor your AC is only 16, so you’ll burn through that HP fast if someone gets in melee range.

having nukes is fun, but I’m not sure it’s seven level dip-tier fun. rogue’s capstone ability is actually super fun and helpful for this sort of build, and you’d also be able to completely negate advantage against you- super useful when you’re fighting another rogue.

your low wisdom means your big ol’ brain can pretty quickly be used against you by anyone versed in charming magics. thank goodness you live in a low-magic setting then!

…the show’s called WHAT

#code geass #D&D 5e #DND #schneizel el britannia #rogue #wizard

[castleblackthrone]

Assigning Attributes - Kiaran Galliiryn, Pathfinder 1st Edition

Kiaran Galliiryn

Pathfinder 1st Edition

Fighter 3rd Level/Rogue 2nd Level

Armor Class 14

Hit Points 53

Attack Bonus +05 Melee / +06/+01 Ranged

Movement 30’

Saves: Frt +05 Rfx +05, Wll +01

Alignment Chaotic Neutral

STR 12 [+01] INT 10 [+00] WIS 10 [+00]

DEX 14 [+02] CON 12 [+01] CHA 12 [+01]

Feats

Alertness

Dodge

Fighter Abilities

Bonus Feat 01 – Weapon Finesse

Bonus Feat 02 – Weapon Focus

Bravery +01

Racial Ability: Add +1 to the fighter’s CMD when resisting a disarm or overrun combat maneuver

Rogue Abilities

Sneak Attack +1d6

Trap Finding

Evasion

Talent: Rope Master

Racial Ability: Add a +1/2 bonus on Bluff checks to feint and Diplomacy checks to gather information

Half-Drow Abilities

Ability Score Modifiers: Half-elf characters gain a +2 bonus to one ability score of their choice at creation to represent their varied nature.

Type: Half-elves are humanoid creatures with both the human and the elf subtypes.

Size: Half-elves are Medium creatures and have no bonuses or penalties due to their size.

Drow Heritage: Half-elves with this trait count as drow for the purposes of any effect related to race, including prerequisites. This racial trait replaces the ability to choose any language as a bonus language, instead limiting the character to the bonus languages offered to drow

Elven Immunities: Half-elves are immune to magic sleep effects and gain a +2 racial saving throw bonus against enchantment spells and effects.

Alert for Betrayal: You gain a +2 racial bonus on saves against illusion spells and effects. Perception and Sense Motive are class skills for you. This racial trait replaces adaptability.

Keen Senses: Half-elves receive a +2 racial bonus on Perception checks.

Drow-Blooded: Some half-elves born of drow parents exhibit more drow traits than others—particularly many of the physical features of the drow—and have darkvision 60 feet and light blindness. This racial trait replaces the low-light vision racial trait.

Elf Blood: Half-elves count as both elves and humans for any effect related to race.

Multi-talented: Half-elves choose two favored classes at first level and gain +1 hit point or +1 skill point whenever they take a level in either one of those classes.

Items - Leather Armor and Cloak, Silk Clothing (Gloves, Pants Shirt, Open Jacket, Silk Gloves), High Long Soft Boots, 2 Hand Axes, 2 Punch Daggers, 4 Throwing Daggers, Medium Crossbow, Quiver w/24 Bolts, Luck Stone +2, 3 Potions of Healing (3d6 hit points each), Wand of Detect Magic Magic (23 Charges), Thieves’ Picks and Tools, 2 Large Bags

Kiaran is the daughter of Kishal Lunara, a human sorceress with an evil reputation for reputed witchcraft and fowl summoning. Her father is Bhelazar Galliiryn, a dark elf sword-wielding mercenary now living a semi-active lifestyle.  Two years after Kiaran was born, her mother Kishal perished in the cavernous lairs of the Oculus Beasts.  Her magics were negated by the arcane gaze of the creature while a second eye beam ravaged her biology to the entropic energy of its death beam.  Kiaran, angry at her father, never forgave him, but having little choice in the matter stayed faithful to her father, and he, Bhelazar would honor and cherish his daughter in an unusual act of duty and memory.  She inherited her father’s dusty dark skin and her mother’s strikingly solid blue eyes and the latter being the only indicator revealing her mixed heritage.

Kiaran, when not adventuring as a mercenary, works as either a tavern wench in her father’s spacious feast hall and tavern or as a bathing wench in the Vergonian Spas.  She’ll work as an escort, masseuse, or prostitute if the money is right and only in large cities.

[biggest-gaudiest-patronuses]

no but hear me out: vampire hunter movie, but given the ubiquitousness of the black-leather-overcoat-billowing-in-the-wind aesthetic, the audience doesn’t figure out for sure who’s the hunter & who’s the monster until 50 minutes in

#vampires #bonus: crossbows are BOTH character's weapon of choice #bc the vampire can't be 100% certain their victims won't turn out to be undead #and a crossbow works on humans AND vampires so it just makes sense #they both wear capes & metal chains & swords #bc that shit is HELLA RAD and neither of them is required to wear a work uniform so #also i want a 3rd character who the vampire & hunter both stalk bc they're convinced this dude is a vampire and/or fellow hunter #but nah they're just a normal grocery store clerk whose really into the Aesthetic

[tigerkirby215]

5e Hank J. Wimbleton, the Protagonist build (Madness Combat)

(Artwork by AndrewKO on Newgrounds.)

Friday Night Funkin’ Tricky Mod reminded me of the Madness Combat series... man it’s a trip in the best possible way. I honestly miss the old days on Newgrounds where stuff like Madness Combat could get extremely popular just off fan reception alone.

Anyways I think the fantasy of playing a bloodthirsty expert killer is something that most people can identify with in D&D, and Hank is certainly a badass in his own right. So while this was mostly a spur-of-the-moment sort of build here’s Hank J. Wimbleton with as many of his abilities I could reasonably put into a build at once, from Madness Combat 1 all the way to Madness Combat 11: Expurgation.

Also I finally get to use artwork from a website other than DeviantArt which is pretty awesome.

GOALS

Avenger - Hank shoots guns good and Madness is a series of guns first and foremost.

Aggregation - Hank is also more than capable in melee combat, being able to use all sorts of weapons including his fists!

Redeemer - Spoilers for Madness Combat 9 I guess.

RACE

The characters in Madness don’t really look like anything in reality, but it’s fairly safe to say that they are meant to be some sort of human. So we’re going to be going for Variant Human: yup not even an Eberron race since we do need everything that Variant Human provides. Increase your Constitution and Dexterity both by 1 and grab Acrobatics proficiency to dodge incoming knife swings and gunfire. And as per standard take whatever language suits your campaign.

Now you’re probably expecting Crossbow Expert as our level 1 feat, right? Or perhaps even Gunner? That’s where you’re wrong! Hank throws punches far earlier than he starts using guns, and he also uses a lot or improvised weapons throughout the mainline Madness Combat series. So grab Tavern Brawler for a +1 to Strength, a d4 unarmed strike (it’s not earth-shattering but it gets the job done), and proficiency with improvised weapons. And the grappling part which honestly doesn’t impact us much, but it’s nice to grab a human shield.

ON THE GUNNER FEAT: Going to make a quick mention now that this build is made under the assumption that your DM will not allow firearms in their campaign, and as a result we will be reflavoring crossbows as firearms. In short we’re not taking the Gunner feat, but if your DM allows it go ahead and take it.

Honestly if your DM allows firearms it would probably be a good idea to play whatever firearm-based class they added to play as Hank, instead of the build I made here. This build however is meant for the average D&D campaign.

ABILITY SCORES

Hank is MAD, rather fittingly. So MAD in fact that I can’t contain the madness within Standard Array. So rejoice we’re actually going to be using Point Buy!

STRENGTH; 9 - The vast majority of Hank’s weapons are either firearms or weapons that I would constitute as finesse based. With the +1 from Tavern Brawler this is still enough for your punches and improvised Strength weapons to pack a punch at least.

DEXTERITY; 15 - As mentioned above we will primarily be using firearms (crossbows) and finesse weapons.

CONSTITUTION; 11 - Mostly to round out the build, which along with the +1 from our race gives us a bit of bulk which will help with all the killing.

INTELLIGENCE; 14 - There’s many ways I can justify this but the easiest way is to say “it’s a multiclassing requirement.”

WISDOM; 14 - Wisdom is tied to perception as well as survival instinct, and is a multiclassing requirement.

CHARISMA; 8 - Hank is of the quiet sort and doesn’t talk much between all the killing. Yes he can intimidate info out of people but you try keeping your cool with a gun pointed to your head.

BACKGROUND

There was a man who sought the sheriff, and to slay the sheriff you’re automatically made a Criminal. I am however going to suggest swapping your skills out for Intimidation and Slight of Hand (IE Gun Tricks.) Feel free to take whatever Gaming Set you want, but thankfully as a Criminal you can choose Land Vehicles as your tool proficiency, because Hank does run over some guys in part 4!

Criminal Contact will let you get in contact with Sanford and Deimos in case you... you know, die? You can always get your message across when needed: D&D doesn’t have computers but you can still find some shady merchants or corrupt guards to get into contact with your crew.

(Artwork by redemer19 on Newgrounds.)

THE BUILD

LEVEL 1 - ARTIFICER 1

Starting off as an Artificer because CON saving throw proficiency is nice. So is proficiency in Investigation, Perception, and a tool of your choice.

Tinkerer’s Tools technically counts as gunsmith tools if we go with Matt Mercer’s homebrew, but you already get those for free (along with Thieves’ Tools) as an Artificer. I personally opted for Smith’s Tools as the next best option which will also double for taking care of swords and knives.

You can also get a Boombox to dance to thanks to Magical Tinkering. You can infuse magic into a Tiny object to give it a variety of effects: make it glow, have it display a message, or most importantly have it play the Chicken Dance song. You can have a number of these equal to your Intelligence modifier, which is to say not many.

You do also get Spellcasting: You get two cantrips from the Artificer list: Mage Hand will let you grab a weapon for yourself that’s out of reach, and Acid Splash will serve as a starter shotgun for some buckshot against multiple enemies. As for your leveled spells you can prepare a number of spells equal to your Intelligence modifier plus half your Artificer level, which is to say... not many. Feather Fall can be useful when up in high places, and Detect Magic is universally useful for finding any anomalies created by the Improbability Drive.

LEVEL 2 - ARTIFICER 2

The main reason we went for Artificer first is Infusions, gear you can bring at the start of the fight for an upper hand. Of course the main weapon we’ll be grabbing is the Repeating Shot Weapon which will be how you make basically all your guns. Not having to reload is nice and not having to worry about ammo is better!

ON YOUR WEAPONS: For now the only weapon you can reasonably use is a Light Crossbow, however soon you’ll be able to put Repeating Shot on either a Heavy Crossbow (rifle) or Hand Crossbow (pistol) depending on your preference.

Other than that you can borrow from Sanford’s book and make a Returning Weapon to throw a hook and pull it back, create Sending Stones to keep in touch with your crew, and have a Rope of Climbing to sneak into the sheriff’s office. Or you can choose your own tools for the job as I am merely suggesting what makes the most sense for Hank, but the Repeating Shot Weapon is the only one you truly need.

You can also prepare another spell like Identify, to know what weapon you’re picking up.

LEVEL 3 - RANGER 1

This is a bit out of left field isn’t it? Well Ranger gives a number of things, the first of which being Stealth proficiency for your initial entrance. You also get Deft Explorer (instead of Natural Explorer) for Canny, giving you two languages (pick your poison) and Expertise in one skill of your choice (go for Acrobatics to evade attacks and stay alive.)

You also get Favored Foe (instead of Favored Enemy), letting you concentrate on an enemy’s weak points to kill them quickly. When you hit an enemy you can choose to mark them so they take an extra d4 of damage once per turn from your attacks. You do have to concentrate on this effect (like a spell) but aiming for the head is a good way to end someone quickly.

LEVEL 4 - RANGER 2

Second level Rangers get to choose their Fighting Style and you’re probably expecting me to tell you to take Archery, right? Well even if you’re mostly going to be using guns you do have proficiency with melee weapons too, and since our Strength is kinda bad I’d suggest taking Druidic Warrior for some simple boosts to your combat proficiency.

Shillelagh will be a good place to start by letting you swing a blunt object with your Wisdom instead of your Strength. The main weapons Hank uses in the Madness series other than shortswords is clubs, bats, and pipes which I’d all consider as viable targets for Shillelagh if your DM’s cool.

Mending will be useful to keep your outfit in check after taking a bad hit.

Feel free to take Archery if you want as it’s likely more useful for this build. Again I am opting for what’s the most accurate for Hank, not for what’s the most optimal to build.

But if you want to keep yourself in check after taking a bad hit you can grab some Ranger Spellcasting. Cure Wounds will let you bandage yourself (or an ally) up in the thick of a fight, and Zephyr Strike will let you rush in while avoiding danger to deliver a deadly strike on a key foe.

LEVEL 5 - RANGER 3

There’s quite a few reasons we didn’t go for Rogue levels in this build (spoilers btw): Hank does most of his fighting solo, doesn’t really opt for stealth except for at the start of missions, and because the Gloom Stalker is far better for how Hank operates. For a start you get Umbral Sight for 60 feet of Darkvision with your dumb human eyes, but you can also hide in the dark so well that even creatures with darkvision can’t see you! Which is good because Dread Ambusher gives you a bonus to initiative rolls equal to your Wisdom modifier along, but more importantly lets you move 10 feet faster on the first round of combat. And you can also attack one extra time on the first round of combat, and if you hit with that extra attack you’ll deal an extra d8 damage to down a foe quick and give yourself more options.

You can learn a new spell at this level like Hail of Thorns for some buckshot, and you also get Gloom Stalker Magic, adding Disguise Self to your spell list so you can look like a regular dude who isn’t covered with bandages. You also get Primal Awareness, because even if Speak With Animals makes no sense for Hank it’s still better than Primeval Awareness.

(Artwork by LegendaryPanettone on Newgrounds.)

LEVEL 6 - RANGER 4

4th level Rangers get an Ability Score Improvement: Dexterity controls everything we do currently so increase that by 2 for better AC, shooting, sword-swinging, and DEX saves.

LEVEL 7 - RANGER 5

5th level Rangers get an Extra Attack, allowing them to shoot twice and even allowing you specifically to shoot 3 times on your first turn!

You can also learn second level Ranger spells now: Primal Awareness gives you Beast Sense and Gloom Stalker Magic gives you Rope Trick for a place to hide and ambush from. And Enhance Ability (ty Tasha’s) will let you push yourself when violence is needed.

LEVEL 8 - RANGER 6

6th level Rangers see Favored Foe turn into a d6 to be somewhat on-par with Hunter’s Mark. You also get Roving from Deft Explorer for 5 extra feet of movement, as well as a swimming and climbing speed.

But now that you’ve gotten all your killing done it’s time to die. Because you do not kill clown; clown kills you!

(Artwork by Jinxsaw on Newgrounds.)

LEVEL 9 - ARTIFICER 3

You can’t kill the protagonist! We’re at 9th level which translates perfectly to Madness Combat 9, which means you can be revived as an Armorer Artificer! Your consciousness will be placed inside of a suit of Arcane Armor, replacing any missing limbs you may have and genuinely account for all your injuries. The armor also doesn’t have a Strength requirement and can be used as a focus for your Artificer spells.

There’s two different Armor Models to choose from but for now I’d suggest keeping to guns and going for the Infiltrator model (mostly because your Intelligence is bad so it would be better to opt for Dexterity to fire your guns.) The Lightning Launcher is like a handgun except it has very good range (90/300) and does Lightning Damage, and even lets you do an extra d6 damage once per turn! You also get Powered Steps for an extra 5 feet of movement speed (adding up to 40 total thanks to Ranger!) and a Dampening Field will give you Advantage on Stealth due to your black outfit.

You also get some Armorer Spells: Magic Missile for some unavoidable gunfire and Thunderwave to give yourself some space. You can also choose a different set of Artisan’s Tools from Tools of the Trade since you likely already have Smith’s Tools proficiency. You can pick whatever you think will be useful, but it’s worth mentioning that you can make a tool with 1 hour of work thanks to The Right Tool for the Job. And no Hank; weapons are not tools. At least not by this definition.

LEVEL 10 - ARTIFICER 4

4th level Artificers get an Ability Score Improvement. Wouldn’t it make sense to increase your Intelligence as an Artificer now that you can use your Armorer weapons with INT? Yes. Anyways increase your Dexterity by 2.

WOULD IT HAVE MADE MORE SENSE TO MAX OUT INTELLIGENCE FOR THIS BUILD? Yes. Now that you have Armorer levels you’re basically never going to be using crossbows again realistically. Oops. Having good INT instead of good DEX would mean that you could start using the Guardian armor to punch some stuff, and 14 in DEX would still allow you to wear Medium armor. You could’ve easily taken 3 (or more realistically 5) levels in Artificer at the start of this build and then gone for Ranger to not have to deal with bad ranged weapons while having good stats for an Artificer.

There’s still strengths to having high DEX obviously (good initiative, good Stealth and Acrobatics checks, good DEX saves, and you get Mirror Image as an Armorer Artificer) but it’s really not that important for this build. But I’m still maxing it out first as it’s accurate to Hank. In the average D&D campaign you’re not going to be picking up weapons from enemies you kill to use them when you run out of ammo. There’s many things I took in this build that are impractical for anything other than a combat heavily inspired by Madness Combat.

Basically feel free to min-max this build if you so desire; it’s quite viable in its own right when you do so. Again I’m trying for accuracy over viability. Also P.S. After this build comes out I’m going to release a “pre-MC9″ Hank build if you want more of the traditional Hank who isn’t in power armor.

You can also prepare another spell at this level but we’re going to wait for...

LEVEL 11 - ARTIFICER 5

5th level Artificers get an Extra Attack... which you already have. Oops.

Well at least you get access to second level spells! As an Armorer you get Mirror Image to dodge gunfire, and Shatter! For a grenade! But to continue dodging attacks Blur works well as long as the enemy doesn’t have Truesight, which the AAHW may have by total level 11.

LEVEL 12 - ARTIFICER 6

6th level Artificers can prepare more Infusions! A Spell-Refueling Ring will let you restock on spell slot bullets mid-fight, and Boots of the Winding Path will let you jump back after getting into melee combat.

You also get Tool Expertise which is exactly what it says on the tin. You double your proficiency bonus when making checks with tools.

To top it off you can prepare another spell like Catapult. Why are we preparing a first level spell? Because Hank throws big rocks at Tricky in Madness 11. Told you I did research.

(Artwork by ramblinshroom on Newgrounds.)

LEVEL 13 - ARTIFICER 7

7th level Artificers get to feel the pain of my choice to max out Dexterity instead of Intelligence as Flash of Genius scales heavily off Intelligence. When you or an ally within 30 feet makes an ability check or a saving throw you can use your reaction to add your Intelligence modifier to the roll. You can use this feature a number of times equal to your Intelligence modifier and regain all expended uses when you finish a long rest.

LEVEL 14 - ARTIFICER 8

8th level Artificers get another Ability Score Improvement and now that your Dexterity is maxed out... more Wisdom lol? Look we’ll deal with your Intelligence in a bit but Wisdom gives you better initiative among other things.

You can also prepare another spell but next level will get us third level spells, so...

LEVEL 15 - ARTIFICER 9

9th level Artificers can get used to their new revived bodies thanks to Armor Modifications. The chest, boots, helmet, and weapons of your armor all count as individual items for the sake of infusions, and you can have two more infusions active! (As long as they’re on your armor anyways.)

You also get Hypnotic Pattern and Lightning Bolt as an Armorer, for a flashbang and some purgatory powers. And you can prepare a spell like Haste, to move so fast it’s like the world is in slow motion.

LEVEL 16 - ARTIFICER 10

So you know how we just got two more infusions for your armor? Well 10th level Artificers can make Gauntlets of Ogre Power and a Headband of Intellect to finally get your Strength and Intelligence to a reasonable level. Again probably a bit late to do so but it does mean that you can finally use melee weapons well, or your Guardian Armor to do some punching! (I’m not going to cover the Guardian Armor now but know that you can punch people and give them disadvantage to hit your allies, and also give yourself Temporary hitpoints.)

And the best part is that you can still keep attuned to other useful items as  Magic Item Adept gives you one more attunement slot, meaning that you can be attuned to 4 items total!

And to top it off more Intelligence means more spells and holy shit another cantrip! For your cantrip you can finally take Message to keep in contact with your party, and for your leveled spells...

People die a lot in Nevada: Revivify can help if one of those people are a friend.

See Invisibility will help you avoid ambushes.

Lesser Restoration can help you in a pinch if you’re pinned down.

But again I seriously can not stress enough that you are more than welcome to pick spells that you feel are stronger, as I am merely picking spells for a simple guy who really likes killing.

(Artwork by marcipancakes on Newgrounds.)

LEVEL 17 - RANGER 7

Very quickly going back to Ranger to grab the last few abilities we missed: 7th level Gloom Stalkers have an Iron Mind for proficiency with Wisdom saves. Yup that’s it. Well at least you can add () to your Ranger spell list.

LEVEL 18 - RANGER 8

8th level Rangers get Land Stride to not be slowed down by the difficult terrain during Expurgation, and even giving yourself advantage against magical terrain made to harm you in purgatory.

But more importantly you get an Ability Score Improvement to pump your Wisdom up a little more. But really I only waited this long to get Ranger 8 to talk about Martial Versatility from Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything: talk to your DM about it but I’d actually suggest grabbing Archery proper now instead of Druidic Warrior because you’ve got the Strength to use weapons.

Oh yeah you could also totally like... use the Guardian armor and carry a repeating crossbow for ranged combat.

LEVEL 19 - ARTIFICER 11

11th level Artificers can bring out the heavy artillery with a Spell-Storing Item. You can store a first or second level spell from the Artificer spell list in one  simple or martial weapon (or a spellcasting focus) that requires 1 action to cast.

While holding the object, a creature can take an action to produce the spell’s effect from it, using your spellcasting ability modifier. If the spell requires concentration, the creature must concentrate. The spell stays in the object until it’s been used a number of times equal to twice your Intelligence modifier (minimum of twice) or until you use this feature again to store a spell in an object.

There are plenty of good spells you can choose from but I’m going to just say this: put Shatter in the item. There are perhaps more useful choices, but isn’t a grenade belt the embodiment of Madness?

LEVEL 20 - ARTIFICER 12

12th level Artificers get our last Ability Score Improvement which means hey: maxed out Wisdom! Yes there are perhaps feats you could get (some ideas I’d suggest would be either the Dual Wielder feat [carry a Repeating Hand Crossbow in one hand and your magical fist in the other] or the Sharpshooter feat) but I simply opted for maxing out stats.

And you can prepare one more spell like... I don’t know? Blink for more dodging?

FINAL BUILD

PROS

Abrogation - I came into this build with the intent of making you capable with all weapons regardless of type and well... I certainly accomplished that. You have good Dexterity for any finesse and ranged weapons and your Strength is strong enough to swing a bat around.

Antipathy - You are also damn capable in combat with an insane opening turn and very good DPS regardless of if you choose to fight with fists or guns, not to mention a good supply of spells and class abilities to truly slaughter your foes.

Apotheosis - It wasn’t my intent but... 20 in two stats and 19 in two others? Excluding your Charisma and Constitution you’re a superhuman of a man.

CONS

Depredation - You have to be level 16 to finally get a decent Strength and Intelligence score, and while low STR doesn’t matter much low INT really hurts as an Artificer.

Consternation - “High stats except Constitution” is a problem. Honestly going 15 in Artificer and 5 in Ranger would’ve gotten you level 15 infusions for a Hill Giant’s Belt for 21 STR and an Amulet of Health for 19 CON.

Inundation - There’s a lot of little tweaks worth changing in this build, notably the focus on Dexterity versus Intelligence. Realistically having 20 INT and 14 DEX is more useful for you as an Artificer than having 19 INT and 20 DEX. 

But who cares if it’s messy; as long as it’s effective. Killing everyone somewhere in Nevada will give you plenty of experience to reach your maximum Madness level. You are the Protagonist and they are the Victims... but don’t go into any D&D campaigns with that mentality, or else you may be the Clown.

(Artwork by Teknodice on Newgrounds.)

#dnd #dnd 5e #dnd build #dnd guide #Newgrounds #Madness Combat #madness hank #Hank J. Wimbleton #dnd ranger #dnd artificer

[mangaycompany]

What kind of MMORPG playable characters would the Mankai members be?

Spring Troupe

Sakuya

Magical Knight

high Magical Damage / moderate Magical Defense / low Physical Damage and Physical Defense

speed: medium

range: short / medium

weapon of choice: sword, runes

can apply [heal] to self

can increase mana gain of party

strength: simple easy-to-learn gameplay

weakness: bad at solo gameplay

Masumi

Defensive Assassin

high Physical Damage and Physical Defense / low Magical Damage and Defense

speed: high

range: short

weapon of choice: dagger, traps

can apply [poison] to opponent

can apply [shield] to self

strength: high speed and defense

weakness: traps not that useful in PVE

Tsuzuru

Support Mage

high Magical Damage, moderate Magical Defense, Physical Damage, and Physical Defense

speed: low

range: long

weapon of choice: staff, magical scrolls

can apply various buffs to party

can apply [freeze] to opponent

can apply [damage cut in half] to multiple opponents

can apply [slowness] to self in exchange for [increased mana regeneration]

strength: OP in a party

weakness: bad at solo gameplay

Citron

Magical Ranger

high Magical Damage, moderate Physical Damage, low Physical Defense and Magical Defense

speed: high

range: long

weapon of choice: bow

can apply [heal] to party

can apply [slowness] to opponent

strength: stage clearer

weakness: mana potion chugger

Itaru

Defensive Warrior

high Physical Defense, moderate Magical Defense and Physical Damage, low Magical Damage

speed: medium

range: medium / long

weapon of choice: spear

can apply [rage] to self for [increased damage], followed by penalty of [decreased speed] and [decreased defense]

can apply [confusion] to opponent

strength: good at solo gameplay

weakness: hard to master

Chikage

All Rounder Mage

balanced stats

speed: medium

range: long

weapon of choice: splash potions, magic

can apply [confusion] to opponent

can apply [slowness] to multiple opponents

can steal a portion of opponent’s mana for self

strength: massive damage output

weakness: low HP regeneration

Summer Troupe

Tenma

Tank Knight

high Physical Defense and Physical Damage, Low Magical Damage and Magical Defense

speed: medium

range: short

weapon of choice: zweihander

can apply [shield] to self

can apply [rage] to self for [increased damage], followed by penalty of [confusion]

strength: fast for a tank

weakness: bad against multiple opponents

Yuki

Healer Summoner

high Magical Damage, moderate Physical Damage, low Physical Defense and Magical Defense

speed: low

range: long

weapon of choice: summons, curses

can apply [curse] that deals massive damage ignoring defense if not disposed of in time

can apply [mind control] to opponent’s summons, which stops their attacks for a set amount of time

can apply [heal over time] to party

strength: massive damage output

weakness: glass cannon; very low defense and HP

Muku

Magical Assassin

high Magical Damage, moderate Physical Damage, Magical Defense, and Physical Defense

speed: high

range: medium / long

weapon of choice: traps, magic

can summon [fairy] that gives a massive [increased speed] buff to the party as long as it’s alive

can set up traps that deal [poison] damage

can activate [light] attribute that petrifies the opponent

strength: OP in PVE despite being a trapper, highest speed out of everyone

weakness: mana potion chugger

Misumi

Up-close Ranger

high Physical Damage, moderate Magical Damage and Physical Defense, low Magical Defense

speed: high

range: short / medium / long

weapon of choice: dagger, crossbow

can apply [bleed] with melee attacks

can apply [mana drain] with long-range attacks

can apply [confusion] to multiple opponents

can apply [poison] to opponent

strength: all rounder

weakness: hard to master

Kazunari

Support Mage

balanced stats

speed: low

range: long

weapon of choice: magic, magic circles

can apply [heal] to party

can apply various buffs to party

can apply [mana drain] to multiple opponents

strength: OP in a party

weakness: bad at solo gameplay

Kumon

Tank Warrior

high Physical Defense and Magical Defense, moderate Physical Damage, low Magical Damage

speed: medium

range: short

weapon of choice: club

can apply [heal over time] to self

can apply [reflective shield] that reflects long-range projectiles back at the opponent

strength: strong against long-rangers

weakness: a little lackluster for a tank

Autumn Troupe

Banri

Critical Assassin

high Physical Damage and Magical Damage, moderate Physical Defense, low Magical Defense

speed: medium

range: short / medium

weapon of choice: fists, stiletto

can apply [rage] to self for [increased critical chance] and [increased critical damage] with penalty of [decreased defense]

can sacrifice portion of own HP to ignore opponent’s defense

can apply [threaten] to multiple opponents, which inflicts [decreased speed]

strength: high critical stats, good for speed runs

weakness: bad in long fights

Juza

Balanced Warrior

high Physical Damage and Physical Defense, moderate Magical Defense, low Magical Damage

speed: medium

range: short

weapon of choice: battle axe

can apply [shield] to party

can apply [increased damage] to party

can sacrifice a portion of own HP to apply massive [increased damage] to party

strength: great party buffer

weakness: mana potion chugger

Taichi

Magical Warrior

high Magical Damage, moderate Physical Damage, low Physical Defense and Magical Defense

speed: high

range: short / long

weapon of choice: gauntlets, magic

can apply [burn] to multiple opponents which inflicts [HP drain] and [mana drain]

can apply [confusion] to opponent

can apply [blindness] to opponent

can apply [rage] to self for [increased critical damage] and [increased damage], followed by penalty of [decreased speed]

strength: OP debuffs

weakness: glass cannon; very low defense and HP

Omi

Tank Healer

high Physical Defense and Magical Defense, low Physical Damage and Magical Damage

speed: low

range: medium

weapon of choice: double swords

can apply [impenetrable shield] to party

can apply [increased max HP] to party

can apply [heal over time] to party

can use [howl] which inflicts [fear] to multiple opponents which prevents them from being able to use skills

strength: OP in a party, highest defense stats out of everyone

weakness: mana potion chugger

Sakyo

Summoner Assassin

high Physical Defense, moderate Physical Damage and Magical Defense, low Magical Damage

speed: high

range: long

weapon of choice: summons, double daggers, poison

can apply [bleed] with summons

can apply [poison] with melee attacks

can apply [increased critical chance] and [increased critical damage] to self

can sacrifice a summon to recover a portion of HP

strength: good in long fights

weakness: low damage output if can’t afford summons

Azami

Tracking Ranger

high Physical Damage and Magical Damage, low Physical Defense and Magical Defense

speed: high

range: long

weapon of choice: magical tracking projectiles

can apply [threaten] to multiple opponents, which inflicts [decreased speed]

can apply [rage] to self for [increased damage] with penalty of [decreased defense]

can sacrifice portion of own HP to deal massive damage to multiple opponents

strength: OP at both PVE and PVP

weakness: glass cannon; very low defense and HP

Winter Troupe

Tsumugi

Support Healer

high Magical Defense, moderate Physical Defense and Magical Damage, low Physical Damage

speed: low

range: medium

weapon of choice: magical pendant, plants

can apply [heal] to party

can apply [increased mana regeneration] to party

can summon [man-eating plant] which deals damage over time to opponents in area until killed

can summon [sweet berry bush] which recovers HP of party members in area until killed

can summon [moonflower] which recovers MP of party members in area until killed

only one plant can be summoned at the time

strength: best healer out of everyone, OP in long fights

weakness: bad at PVP

Tasuku

Tank Knight

high Physical Damage and Physical Defense, moderate Magical Defense, low Magical Damage

speed: medium

range: short

weapon of choice: claymore

can apply [slowness] to multiple enemies

can apply [decreased damage] to opponent

can apply [increased defense] to party

strength: simple easy-to-learn gameplay

weakness: bad against mages

Hisoka

Sleep-inducing Assassin

high Physical Damage and Magical Damage, low Physical Defense and Magical Defense

speed: high

range: short / medium

weapon of choice: dagger

can apply [sleep] to opponent

can apply [doziness] to self for [decreased speed] and [increased mana regeneration]

can apply [sugar rush] to self for massive [increased speed], followed by penalty of [decreased speed]

can apply [debuff immunity] to party

strength: great support for both PVE and PVP

weakness: glass cannon; very low defense and HP

Homare

Long-range Mage

high Magical Damage, moderate Magical Defense, low Physical Damage and Physical Defense

speed: low

range: long

weapon of choice: magical scrolls, spells

can apply various buffs to party

can apply [continuous confusion] to opponent that can only be cancelled by using a buff/debuff skill

can steal a portion of opponent’s HP and MP for self

can steal a random buff opponent has active for self

strength: stage clearer

weakness: mana potion chugger

Azuma

Support Mage

balanced stats

speed: medium

range: medium

weapon of choice: staff, magic

can apply [sleep] to opponent

can apply [mana drain] to multiple opponents

can apply [heal] to self

can apply [beauty sleep] to self for [decreased speed], [decreased defense] and [increased mana regeneration]

strength: OP in a party

weakness: bad in solo gameplay

Guy

Tank Mage

high Magical Defense, moderate Physical Defense and Magical Damage, low Physical Damage

speed: medium

range: medium

weapon of choice: bō

can apply [shield] to party

can apply [impenetrable shield] to area

can apply [decrease defense] to multiple opponents

can sacrifice 3/4 of own HP to resurrect a defeated party member with 1/4 of their max HP  

strength: OP in a party

weakness: lacks good damage-dealing skills

Bonus

Izumi

Support Warrior

balanced stats

speed: medium

range: short

weapon of choice: sword

can apply [heal] to party

can apply [increased damage] to party

can apply massive [increased defense] to party with penalty of [decreased defense] to self

strength: all rounder

weakness: bad at solo gameplay

Matsukawa: Bard, chants apply various buffs to party

Tetsuro: Support Tank, applies [increased defense] and [heal] to party

Yuzo: Warrior, uses bokken as weapon, can apply [threaten] to multiple opponents, which inflicts [decreased speed]

Sakoda: Long-range Assassin, applies [increased damage] to party

#a3 #a3! #a3! act! addict! actors! #mine #text #headcanons #mankai company #headcanon #(i'm not tagging everyone)

[candyradium]

Finally got around to typing up my Technoblade D&D build!!! I’ve been working on making these for a lot of the Dream SMP characters, and I thought it would be fun to have him in stat block format, so you too can throw c!Technoblade at your players as a final boss! (Disclaimer: I don’t know how accurate the CR level is, I just set it to 8 since the build is a lv8 build PC build.)

Image description and explanation/rambling below the cut!

[Image ID: A D&D stat block for Technoblade. It reads:

Technoblade

Medium humanoid (firbolg), Lawful Neutral

Armor Class: 18 (Half plate, defense fighting style)

Hit Points: 72 (8d12+24)

Speed: 40 ft.

STR: 18 (+4)

DEX: 14 (+2)

CON: 16 (+3)

INT: 14 (+2)

WIS: 13 (+1)

CHA: 6 (-2)

Saving Throws: Str +7, Con +6

Skills: Athletics +7, Intimidation +1, Perception +4, Survival +4

Damage Resistances: bludgeoning, piercing, slashing

Senses: passive Perception 14

Languages: Common, Elvish, Giant, Goblin

Challenge: 8 (3,900 XP)

Innate spellcasting. Technoblade's innate spellcasting ability is Wisdom (spell save DC 12). He can innately cast the following spells, requiring no material components:

1/short rest each: detect magic, disguise self

Speech of beast and leaf. Technoblade has the ability to communicate in a limited manner with beasts and plants. They can understand the meaning of his words, though he has no special ability to understand them in return. He has advantage on all Charisma checks he makes to influence them.

Powerful build. Technoblade counts as one size larger when determining his carrying capacity and the weight he can push, drag, or lift.

Unarmoured defense. When not wearing any armour, Technoblade's defense equals 15. He can use a shield and still gain this benefit.

Reckless. At the start of his turn, Technoblade can gain advantage on all melee weapon attack rolls he makes during that turn, but attack rolls against him have advantage until the start of his next turn.

Great weapon master. When Technoblade scores a critical hit with a melee weapon or reduces a creature to 0 hit points with one, he can make one melee weapon attack as a bonus action. Additionally, before Technoblade makes a melee weapon attack with a heavy weapon that he is proficient with, he can choose to take a -5 penalty to the attack roll. If the attack hits, he adds +10 to the attack's damage.

Warrior of the Gods. If a spell, such as Raise Dead, has the sole effect of restoring Technoblade to life (but not undeath), the caster doesn't need material components to cast the spell on Technoblade.

Divine fury. While Technoblade is raging, the first creature he hits on each of his turns with a weapon attack takes extra necrotic damage equal to 1d6 + 3.

Action surge (1/rest). Technoblade takes one additional action on his turn.

Combat superiority (4/rest). Technoblade can apply the following maneuvers using his four superiority die (d8s):

Feinting attack: Technoblade expends one superiority die and uses a bonus action on his turn to feint, choosing one creature within 5 feet of his as his target. He has advantage on his next attack roll against that creature before the end of his turn. If that attack hits, add the superiority die to the attack's damage roll.

Menacing attack: When Technoblade hits a creature with a weapon attack, he can expend one superiority die to attempt to frighten the target. He adds the superiority die to the attack's damage roll, and the target must make a Wisdom saving throw. On a failed save, it is frightened of him until the end of his next turn.

Trip attack: When Technoblade hits a creature with a weapon attack, he can expend one superiority die to attempt to knock the target down. He adds the superiority die to the attack's damage roll, and if the target is Large or smaller, it must make a Strength saving throw (DC 15). On a failed save, he knocks the target prone.ActionsHidden step (1/rest).

As a bonus action, Technoblade can magically turn invisible until the start of his next turn or until he attacks, makes a damage roll, or forces someone to make a saving throw.

Greatsword. Melee Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 11 (2d6 + 4) slashing damage.

Heavy Crossbow. Ranged Weapon Attack: +5 to hit, range 100/400 ft., one target. Hit: 7 (1d10 + 2) piercing damage.

Multiattack. Technoblade can make 2 weapon attacks.

Rage (4/day). As a bonus action, Technoblade enters a rage that lasts for 1 minute, ending early if knocked unconscious or if Technoblade's turn ends and he hasn't attacked a hostile creature since his last turn or taken damage since then. He can also end his rage on his turn as a bonus action. While raging, Technoblade deals +2 damage, has advantage on Strength checks and Strength saving throws, and has resistance to bludgeoning, piercing and slashing damage. Technoblade cannot cast spells during a rage.

End ID.]

Okay. Rambling time.

Holy SHIT I loved making this. I tend to play spellcasters or dex based characters, so it was a lot of fun to make a str character for once.

Stats first. As a barbarian/fighter and also as a force of nature, str is his highest stat. I could have made it 20, but I have a weird aversion to writing up characters with maxed out stats for some reason? Anyway, that’s what he has. He can always boost it if he takes another level in fighter. I also decided to give him pretty high intelligence and wisdom, which are rare in barbarian characters, since, y’know, their main point is to hit things very hard. But Techno is so, SO resourceful, and one of the main reasons that he’s so good at fighting is because he does his research and acquires the best items for it and puts himself in the right place at the right time. Hence the high-ish int. I feel a little bad making his charisma so low, but cha represents several things, most notably the ability to talk to people and force of personality. Also known as: how hard it is to be swayed or controlled, magically or otherwise. Remember what happened at the festival? That’s low charisma. Also I had to give him a low stat to balance the fact that he’s insanely good at so many fucking things. Why.

As a side note, when picking his proficiencies, I was using the homebrew rule that you can use your strength modifier when you roll for intimidation. So his Strength (Intimidation) check would actually have a +7, which is MUCH better than the Charisma (Intimidation) check of +1. Big strong characters are absolutely scary, damnit, and I will die on that hill.

Next up: race. I HAD to make him a firbolg. They’re connected with nature and are often portrayed with animalistic features (e.g. Caduceus Clay from Critical Role), and it means we can have both pig Techno and anime Techno, since firbolgs naturally have the disguise self spell. I just think that’s neat. They also get the ability to turn invisible! Which Techno has been doing a LOT recently! Sure, firbolgs can only do it for a turn, but it still fits.

Onto classes. Barbarian was a dead certain for Techno, honestly - his battle prowess, how he acts when he fights, it just fits so well. Even his use of potions - he gets a lot of buffs from them, increased damage and damage resistance being the two most notable and the two that best translate to D&D rage. Even speed potions - barbarians get +10ft movement speed at level 5. And barbarians are made for two-handed weapons, so obviously I HAD to give him a greatsword. The Orphan Obliterator is a deadly weapon. He also still favours swords even when axes are better in the newest version, so a greatsword was a must. Also I just really like greatswords.

I wavered a bit when picking a subclass, to be honest. I’m not really a big fan of any of the official subclasses (they don’t really fir my playstyle, which is why I homebrewed an entire new subclass for my barbarian character, but that’s a post for another day), but looking through, there were a few that could work. Originally, I picked Juggernaut - this was because of how he fought during the Dream battle, moving Dream around the arena into a more advantageous position for Techno, which is the Juggernaut’s 3rd level ability in a nutshell. They also can’t be knocked prone, and both of these things work INCREDIBLY well for skywars/bedwars style combat - staying put on this island and knocking off your opponents.

However, in the end, I decided to go with Zealot. It was inevitable after he REALLY started building his character on the Dream SMP, which is what this is mostly based on. Zealots have two main points: they follow a God, and it’s very, VERY hard to kill them.

Sound familiar?

Techno isn’t just a barbarian - he also has three levels of Battlemaster fighter. The barbarian/fighter combo is one of the best there is for sheer combat power (bested only, in my opinion, by barbarian/moon druid - those characters are actually unkillable) and the choice of Battlemaster specifically opened up so many options in combat. I had debated going with champion, just for the crit probability boost, but ultimately decided that Battlemaster was infinitely more fun. The three maneuvers were picked for a combination of reasons - they’re all incredibly useful in combat, but I also just thought they were thematically accurate and/or funny. I just had to give him Menacing Attack, because one of the few constants in Technoblade’s combat is people running the hell away from him during competitions. Feinting is for pure combat ability, and Trip is just. Really funny to me. It worked better when he was Juggernaut and literally couldn’t be knocked prone, but I just like the idea of someone using their full action to try and knock over this eight foot tall firbolg (they’re so fucking tall! This bitch is massive!) Technoblade just. Looking down at them before knocking them clean off of their feet with one swing of his Greatsword.

And finally, weapons and magical items. The magic ones didn’t actually make it onto the stat block, because I wanted it to be purely basic character building, but I absolutely had some ideas. Some of these were rolled on loot tables, some were completely homebrewed to fit Techno’s canon weapons. Guess which ones lmao.

magical heavy crossbow (use charge to fire 3 bolts simultaneously, using only one arrow, rolling an attack for each. Each target must be within 10ft of each other. 7 charges per day)

explosive bolts (10ft radius, double dice of the weapon it’s fired from, dex save)

mithral half-plate

ring of feather falling

trident of flight (attunement) (30ft swim and flight speed, 120ft flight speed when its raining)

upgraded cape of the mountebank (8 charges, 2 for misty step, 4 for dimension door) (yes it looks like his normal cape)

bag of holding

sword of life-stealing (attunement) (I don’t know why I added this except Techno’s canon sword would be VERY hard to homebrew and also he can do enough damage with a normal one so he could literally just have like a +2 or something. Do what you want)

#candy posts #dream smp #technoblade #dnd #dream smp dnd builds #ive been working on these fucking things for MONTHS i cannot wait to post more #i have dreams stat block made too and i have a lot of other builds finished that i just havent typed up yet lol

[masterweaverx]

Ilia Amitola has captured the mind and heart of certain parts of the internet. She certainly seems well suited for adventure, given her storied backstory and her usage with the White Fang. But if we’re going to set her Dungeoning and Dragoning, we’ve got to come up with a good series of goals for her.

Fortunately for us, while Ilia may be a complicated character emotionally she’s relatively simple from a mechanical perspective. Sneakery and agility is our primary objective with this young lady, accompanied and abetted by her crafty skinshifting. Oh, and there’s the whip--an electric stunning swordywhip thing that needs to be able to zap and stop. Personally I’d also say she needs to dominate the dance floor--not anything strictly canon, but just a headcanon of mine. All that said, let’s get to it.

Point arrays are standard for good reasons, so we’ll take the standard option and put a 15 in Dexterity--very good at the hopping and the hiding. Wisdom will be next with 14 points, Ilia has a very good internal compass even if she supresses it sometimes. Intelligence and Charisma are at 13 and 12 respectively--she’s had an education, and she can be a good speaker when she doesn’t get emotionally tongue-tied. Constitution has ten points, because she looks pretty healthy all things considered, but strength is at eight--Ilia’s kind of small, which is good for sneaking but bad for lobbing boulders at peeps.

For any 5E aficionado, you’re probably thinking we’re going to make Ilia a Changeling. And... you’d be right! This gives her +2 to her Charisma (upping it to 14) and +1 to her Dexterity (upping it to 16). She also gets two skill proficiencies out of a list of four; I picked Insight and Persuasion, since she’s not really that good at Intimidating people and she’ll be getting Deception from somewhere else. Changelings are good at language, automatically knowing Common and two other languages of their choice; I’m guess that stint in Atlas taught Ilia the esoteric languages of Legalese and Technobabble. And then there’s the big reason we picked Changeling...

Okay, quick side note here: When I construct these things, I look for ‘closest fit,’ not ‘one-hundred percent exact.’ Ilia Amitola can change her skin color, hair color, and eye color. Changelings are full-on shapeshifters--sex, size, apparent species, if they see you they can mimic you to a hundred percent. Doesn’t affect clothes, mind, but the point is D&D Ilia is going to be a touch more potent than RWBY Ilia, if you decide to use her that way. This is a role-playing game, not a rule-playing game. Mmkay? Mmkay.

For Background, I dug around a bit and found the Secret Identity background from the Adventurer’s League. And frankly it’s practically built for Ilia: pretending to be an Ordinary Human in the land of Racist Humans Who Hate Nonhumans. She gets proficiency with Deception, Stealth, Forgery Kits, and Disguise Kits, as well as the feature ‘Secret Identity.’ Meet Aili Alotima, a definitely totally normal human who does not, we assure you, have any skill at forging legal documents she has seen before, and has a totally real history you can absolutely check if you’re curious. (And if you believed that sentence, Ilia is going to be wondering exactly why she needed to go to the effort to trick the laws in the first place.)

And now we get to classes. I’m sure you were all expecting twelve levels in Thief Rogue, but I’m pretty certain you’ll all be surprised by the eight levels in Kensei Monk. Well, most of you, anyway. Some of you? Look, Monks are a pretty agile class, and Kensei monks specifically come with a few things that will be crucial to Ilia’s build.

But before we get to that, we have to get to Ilia’s Ability Score Improvements. Twelve Rogue levels and eight Monk levels give her a total of six. Every ASI can be used to either get two ability points or burned to get a feat; we’ll be using half of them to add two points to Wisdom and three to Intelligence (upping them both to sixteen) and one to Dexterity (making it 17--don’t worry, that’ll get patched soon). The remaining three points will be burned for feats--Acrobat, Skulker, and Magic Initiate.

Acrobats gain proficiency in the Acrobatic skill, and +1 to their Dexterity--so now Ilia has a full Dexterity of 18. And, as a bonus action, she can make a DC 15 acrobatics check to ignore difficult terrain till the end of the turn. Skulkers are extra good at sneaking, being able to hide when lightly obscured, suffer no sight penalties in dim light, and their location isn’t revealed even when they miss with a ranged weapon. Not that Ilia uses a gun, mind, but she’s pretty good at the whole shadow-hopping thing, so that’s nifty.

Magic initiates, though, choose a caster class and pick two cantrips and a first level spell from their list. They can only cast the spell once per long rest, but we’re really only here for the cantrips (which can be cast at any time and scale based on total character level). Lightning Lure drags a target from fifteen feet away up to ten feet closer and does some shocking damage if they wind up within five feet--perfect for some zappery dragging. And Sword Burst is great if you want to knock back enemies right up next to you--they have to roll a Dexterity save or take a hit from Ilia twirling a sharp metal rope around herself. As to the first-level spell... well, Longstrider increases a target’s speed by ten feet for an hour, and it can be cast on self. Ilia is really, really mobile, so...

Rogues get proficiencies with Dexterity and Intelligence saving throws, Thieves’ Tools, Light Armor, Simple Weapons, Hand Crossbows, Rapiers, Short Swords, and Long Swords. They also get four skill proficiencies--Athletics, Perception, Performance, and Sleight of Hand fit Ilia the most. And with twelve levels of Rogue, she’s really benefiting from a life of skullduggery--Expertise in four skills (Acrobatics, Deception, Persuasion, and Stealth), Reliable Talent in every other skill she’s trained in, and Thieves’ Cant for reading and writing secret messages to those who don’t want to be seen. And of course Sneak Attack, which means she deals an extra 6d6 damage on ranged or finesse attacks, as long as she either has advantage or her target is being flanked.

And then there’s all the mobility options being a Rogue, and a Thief Rogue specifically, gives Ilia. Uncanny Dodge to half damage on an incoming attack as a reaction, Evasion to possibly neutralize damage from any Dexterity-Save based attack, Second-Story work that makes her climb speed equal to her land speed (as well as adding her Dex bonus to her jump distance), and Supreme Sneak gives advantage on Stealth checks if she moves only half her speed (which, with her Monk levels, is going to be pretty fast).

And of course, there’s Cunning Action. As a bonus action, Ilia can Dash (take an extra movement action), Disengage (avoid attacks of opportunity for the round), Hide (make a stealth check to, well, hide), and Aim (give herself advantage on her next attack if she hasn’t moved this turn). Being a Thief Rogue gives her Fast Hands, which means she can also use her cunning action to Use An Object, use her Thieves’ tools, or make a Sleight of Hand check. Mobile and able to exploit that mobility? It’s no surprise the Belladonna’s need better security.

But all that is defensive mobility and sneakery. If we want to talk about Ilia’s attack capability, we need to talk about her eight levels in Kensei Monk. Sure, being a Monk in general does give her some bonus mobility--her Unarmored Defense means her AC is ten plus her Dexterity and Wisdom modifiers while not wearing armor (so 17), her Unarmored movement gives her a bonus to her base speed while not wearing armor (+15 at level 8), her Slow Fall allows her to reduce falling damage by a total of five times her monk level as a reaction (that’d be 40 points), and her Evasion... is actually exactly the same as her evasion she’d get as a rogue, so that doesn’t stack.

Martial Arts gives Ilia a few benefits: she can choose to use Dexterity instead of Strength for unarmed attacks or attacks with monk weapons, the attacks do 1d6 base damage instead of their standard form, and if she takes an attack action she can make one unarmed attack as a bonus action. Speaking of which, Extra Attack lets her make two attacks per attack action, Ki-Empowered Strikes mean her unarmed attacks count as magical for the purposes of overcoming resistance and immunity to nonmagic damage, and Stillness of mind allows her to use an action to shake off being Charmed or Frightened.  And that’s all before we talk about Ki features or anything regarding Kensei Monks specifically.

Monks get Ki points equal to their monk level, which regenerate on a short or long rest, and can be spent for various actions. Options are added as the Monk levels up, both from standard sources and from their path; Flurry of Blows allows a Monk to make two unarmed attacks as a bonus action immediately after an attack, Patient Defense lets them take the Dodge action as a bonus action, and Step of the Wind doubles Jump distance and allows the monk to take the Dash or Disengage action as a bonus action. Then there’s Deflect Missiles--technically a free reaction to any incoming ranged attack that reduces the damage by 1d10+Dexterity Modifier+Monk Level (so 1d10+12 for Ilia), but if that reduces the damage to zero, a monk can spend a ki point to throw the projectile back as a ranged attack immediately. Stunning Strike can be used to try to Stun a character with a melee weapon attack, which lasts to the end of the next turn, and Deft Strike (the only Kensei-related Ki skill we’re getting) allows a monk to add an additional 1d6 damage to an attack with a weapon.

Which leads us to the whole reason I picked Kensei monk. See, Monk Weapons are specifically shortswords and any simple melee weapons that don't have the two-handed or heavy property. Which doesn’t include whips. But Kensei Monks have, as the foundation of the whole class, the choice to pick other weapons as Monk Weapons--as long as they lack the Heavy or Special properties. At eight levels, Kensei Monks have a total of three Kensei weapons--one melee, one ranged, and one that can be either. So going for Whip and Scimitar for Ilia’s weapon, and Hand Crossbow to satisfy requirements, is a pretty good option.

Of course that’s not the only benefit. Agile Parry gives Ilia +2 AC if she makes an unarmed strike as part of her Attack action, Kensei’s Shot means she can take a bonus action to make her Hand Crossbow deal an additional 1d4 worth of damage, and Magic Kensei Weapons mean her weapons count as magical for purposes of overcoming resistances and immunities to nonmagical damage. And of course there’s Way Of The Brush, which gives Ilia proficiency in Calligrapher’s supplies--perfect for planting secret messages, forging documents, or writing hidden notes in her diary about how hot various ladies around her are... although that last one isn’t strictly canon, but you know, shippers gonna ship.

If we tally all this up, we have a woman with a base 45 running and climbing speed that can jump 12 feet forward and 7 feet up without effort, with Acrobatics and Slow Fall meaning she’s able to handle unusual terrain, and she can up that to 55 speed for an hour once a day with longstrider, as well as double the jump distance up to eight times before needing a rest. That makes Ilia fast, and she’s also hard to hit--unarmored defense gives her an AC of 17, plus 2 with Agile Parry, she can Dash or Disengage or Dodge at will, and even if you get past all that she’s got Uncanny Dodge, Evasion, and Deflecting Missles to reduce damage. Of course that’s assuming you spot her at all--Supreme Sneak lets her remain hidden at 22 feet speed--27 if she’s got Long Strider up--Skulker means she can hide when lightly obscured, such as by shadow, and combining her expertise in stealth with her shapeshifting ability means Ilia can slip in and out of scenes unnoticed.

And for those of you that want some damage, allow me to direct your attention to this combinatorial explosion: Martial Arts Whip, Extra Attack, Deft Strike, Flurry of Blows. That’s 1d6+7d6+1d4+4, then 1d6+4 , then 1d6+4 , then 1d6+4 , for a cost of two ki points. Even without Deft Strike and Flurry of Blows Ilia can hypothetically pull 1d6+7d6+4, then 1d6+4 , then 1d6+4, per round--or sacrifice that last 1d6+4 for a different bonus action. And Ilia can give herself advantage either with Aim or Stunning Strike; Aim only lasts for the current turn, but Stunning Strike lasts till her next turn and renders a target stunned for her allies to deal with. Throw in Lightning Lure for 4d8 damage to any target she draws to herself, Sword Burst for 4d6 damage to ALL targets surrounding her, and the fact the whip has the Reach property, and we wind up with a fighter built to manuver and manipulate her opponents around the battlefield.

So yeah, that’s Ilia.

#RWBY #Dungeons & Dragons #D&D 5E #Ilia Amitola #Character Build

[hellyeahheroes]

Building Rikki Barnes in D&D 5e

I will confess something. lately D&D has been a kind of comfort hobby for me, in wake of all this fucking madness around us that is this year. This includes these builds but also my campaign that I just wrapped up and before I kick off with a sequel I felt like doing some celebration with blog-related content. So I decided - let’s build a character I planned to build on Pride Month but didn’t manage to. One funky, gun-toting, shield-wielding, dimension-hopping immortal lesbian.

As always, credit to Tulok the Barbarian from whom I lifted the teamplate for those builds and like him we will start with Goals for the build. First of all, we need to fight like someone who studied under not one, not two but dozens of Captain Americas across the worlds. Second, we need to have knowledge and skills like someone who lived all kinds of lives, picking up all she learned along the way. Finally, we need to be able to use both shield and a gun in accord.

For Ability Scores we will stick to Standard Points Array - 15, 14, 13, 12, 10, and 8 - but if you want to roll, use points buy or other form of generating abilitty scores, go ahead and treat these as guidelines. Keep your Charisma and either Strength or Desterity at at least 13 for multiclassing purposes.

Strength: 15, say it after me RIKKI. IS. BUFF!

Dexterity: 14, your armor varied from short-shorts to what would pass for a leather armor and you have no problem jumping from one rooftop to another to catch-up with your Spider-Girlfriend.

Constitution: 12, you’re not as tough as Toro, but you can still take a hit.

Intelligence: 10, wish it was higher but we cannot have everything

Wisdom: 8,remember that time you didn’t recognize main universe counterpart of your brother is into you and didn’t recognize guy replacing Steve as Cap is your own grandfather?

Charisma: 13, say what you want but Rikki knows how to pick up girls.

Race: Rikki is a human, we will stick with Varian Human because we need a feat but Revenant Human could work as well if you want to go into technicalities about her ressurections. Variant Humans get +1 to two Abilitty Scores, boost up Strength and Dexterity, a bonus Skill, pick History and a feat. Pick a Soldier for a background since this is closest we get to “trained by most American American to ever American and reborn across the multiverse to do it again”. It gives you proficiency in Athletics and Intimidation, land vehicles if you want to borrow grandpa’s bike and a gaming set. Military Rank feature let’s you be recognzied as a fellow veteran by other soldiers who may be more letient to your requests. You lead two superhero teams so that adds up.

Shield Master will be our feat of chocie and we need to talk about it because it gives you not one but three fun features: 

It let’s you add a bonus from your Shield to your Armor Class to any saving throws against spells and other harmful effects as long as they target only you. The way it is written means you could technically cover your eyes with shield when someone tries to hypnotize you, which is very much how I imagine members of Captain America Family (Cap Family?) dealing with mind-control.

If you take an attack action on your turn, you can use your bonus action to try to shove a creature within 5 feet from you with your shield. Shoving is normally an action that forces the target, say Bob Agent of Hydra, to make Athletics or Acrobatics check against your Athletics. If Bob fails (and he will because it’s Bob), he is either pushed 5 feet away from you or knocked prone. Maybe that will make him realize he needs a better job than fucking nazis.

It also let’s you use your reaction to cover with your shield if you are subjected to an effect that demands you make a saving throw to take half damage or full damage if you don’t, like for example FUCKING FIREBALL. With your shield up if you do make that saving throw you’ll take no damage. This is a bit weaker version of Evasion, a feature Rogues and Monks get at 7th level. Meaning that you will spend that many levels making them horribly jealous.

Speaking of Rogues, guess what we’re NOT picking for out Class. Instead we go with...

1st Level: Fighter! You gain proficiency with all Armors, shields, simple and martial weapons, Strength and Constitution saving throws, and two skills, I’d go with Acrobathics and Perception. You gain Second Wind, letting you recover as a bonus action 1d10+your fighter level of HP. Rikki is determined enough to chase the Maker across worlds and hit points can reflect will to fight. 

You also get fighting style - unarmed Fighting lets you deal 1d6+your Strength modifier on your Unarmed Attacks, 1d8 if you use both hands (or do a dropkick I pressume) and if you grapple a creature, you can deal 1d4 damage when you innitiate it succesfull and then on future hits while grappling.

2nd Level: Fighter gets Action Surge, letting you once per short or long rest take an extra action during your turn.

3rd Level: Fighter gets to chosoe a Martial Archetype: Battle Master gainst a proficiency with Artisan’s tool of your choice but moe importantly, gains Combat Superiority. You Gain 3 Maneuvers that are fueled by your Superiority Dice - which at this level are 4 d8s. When you use a Maneuver you spend Superiority Dice, you get them back after a short or long rest. If those effects ask for a saving throw, it must beat 8 Your Proficiency Bonus + either your Strength or Dexterity modifier.

Bait and Switch let’s you switch places with an ally within 5 feets of you without provoking Opportunitty Attacks and until the start of your next turn that ally adds result of your Superiority Dice roll to their Armor Class. Julie power can overextend herself easily, this will keep her safe.

Sweeping Attack let’s spend one Superiorirty die when you hit an opponnent in meele to try to also hit another one within 5 feet of it - if the original attack roll was high enough to beat its AC you deal it damage equal your roll on Superiority Dice. So when ypu kick Red Skull you can also carry your kick toreach Crossbones as well, breaking two jaws with your heel in one strike.

Brace let’s you spend your reaction to attack a target that moves within 5 feet of you and  add result to the damage if you hit. So if Sif tries to rush to help her father, you will deck her in the face without even having to look.

4th Level: Firghter gets an Abilitty Score Improvement or a Feat. We will pick Gunner from newest Unearthed Arcana for Feats. it let’s you add +1 to your Dexterity, gives you profficiency with firearms and let’s you ignore their loading quality, letting you shoot a gun for each of your attacks for a single turn and you don’t have disadvantage on an attack if you shoot a target within 5 feet of you..

Alternatives: Not every DM allows firearms in their setting. If that is the case the Crossbow Expert will do roughly the same for you. If you don’t like idea of Rikki with guns at all, then Crusher from the same Unearthed Arcana will let you push any target you hit with your fist and make attacks against them have an advantage for a turn whenever you crit on an attack. Martial Adept meanwhile can let you learn two more maneuvers and gain an extra Superiority Dice.

5th Level: Fighter can now attack twice on each turn attack action. Meaning You can in one turn roundhouse kicks Red Skull, use sweeping attack to carry that kick over to Crossbones, shoot Anirm Zola, knock Bob to the ground and use another Superiority Dice to deck Sin in the face if she comes to help her daddy on her turn. And that’s without using Action Surge and last Superiority Dice.

6th Level: Fighter gains another Abilitty Score Improvement. And you know what? Boost up your Strength.

7th Level: We have combat skills but what about other Skills? We can grab an extra one, like Stealth, by picking up a level of Bard. 1st Level Bards gain Bardic Inspiration, a set of 3 d6 dices you can give to your allies as a bonus action, letting them add it to an attack roll or a saving throw.

You also learn Bardic spells. You know a small number of those and spend spell slots to cast them. If your spell makes an attack roll, it does so with a bonus equal your Profficiency Bonus + Your Charisma modifier. Add to that bonus 8 and you get a number that has to be beaten if your spell reqires a saving throw.

You start knowing 2 Cantrips that you can always cast and 4 1st level Spells and have 2 1st level Spell Slots

Light is a flashlight you can use to make an object shine bright light in 30 feet and dim light in next 30 feet. Useful since you cannot see in the dark 

Message is a communicator, letting you send a short message to another creature and be able to receive equally short reply

Comprehend Languages let’s you understand any language you hear for 1 hour. Rikki lived many lives, she likely picked a few.

Heroism you can cast on yourself to show how brave you are or on an ally, cherring them up. until the spell ends the target has an advantage on saving throwsagainst being frightened and gains an extra temporary hit point at the start of each of your turns.

Identify let’s you use your vast knowledge of other worlds to recognize legendary or jsut enchanted effects or what spells are affecting a creature or an object. After all, you have seen it all.

Cure Wounds is a first aid kit, healing 1d8+1 hit points on you or another target

8th Level: 2nd Level Bards gain Jack of All Trades, letting you add half of your Proficiency modifier to all skills you are not profficient with. You also get Song of Rest, letting you let your commrades roll an extra 1d6 whenever tehy roll to regain hit points - as a soldier of many Battlefields makes sense you will be tending the wounds of your allies and rising their spirits between battles. You also get another spell known but we will exchange it for something else on next level.

9th Level: Bards of 3rd Level can pick bardic College. College of lore lets you gain 3 more Skills. Survival, Investigation and Insight feel msot in character. You also get Expertise, doubling your Proficiency Bonus, in two skills of your choice that you are profficient with, I’d go with Athletics to make sure you knock down all opponnents, and Stealth. Finally you learn cutting words - you can use your reaction and spend one of your Bardic Inspiration dices to say some bit of multiversal knowledge that distracts an enemy - you roll that dice and subtract the result from one attack roll or saving throw an enemy makes.

You also learn more spells, letting us to pick two 2nd level spells:

See Invisibility let’s you see invisible creatures and those on Etherial Plane like Ghosts or Phase Spiders. Play it as you being so experienced you learned to see such creatures coming.

Enchance Abilitty let’s you gain or grant someone else an advantage on all rolls related to choosen Abilitty. When you need an extra show of skill.

10th Level: 4th Level bards gain an Abilitty Score Improvement. Boost your Dexterity for more accurate guns and better AC. You also learn one more Spell and a new Cantrip:

Vicious Mockery forces a target to make a Wisdom saving throw or be dealt 2d4 psychic damage from your quip and have disadvantage on its next attack roll Knock let’s you open a single lock, be it on doors or containers.

11th Level: back to Fighter. 7th Level Battlemaster gains an addition Superiority Dice, Two more Maneuvers and can Know Your Enemy - if you study a creature for at least a minute you will learn if it is your superior, inferior or equal in any of the two:  Strength, Dexterity or Constitution score, Armor Class, Current hit points,Total class levels, if any or Fighter class levels, if any. Use it if you run into a black-clad silent Bat0themed girl from another dimension and btw Marvel, Dc I would pay gold for this fight to happen.

Our new Maneuvers will be:

Disarming Attack let’s you add a superiority dice roll to damage roll of your attack and force target to make a Strength saving throw or drop whatever they’re holding at the moment. Works with ranged attacks meaning you can shoot Cosmic Cube out of Red Skull’s hands.

Ambush let’s you spend a Superiority Dice to add the roll of it to a Stealth or Initiative roll

12th Level: 8th Level Fighter gains an Abilitty Score Improvement, get your Strength to 20 for better hits and better showing down the enemies.

13th Level: 9th Level Fighter gains Indomintable, letting you once per long rest reroll a failed saving throw. Including Death Saving Throws.

14th Level: 10th Levle Battlemaster improves their superiority dice to 1d10 and gains two more Maneuvers.

Riposte let’s you make an attack when a creature misses you with a meele attack you can use your reaction to make one attack against them and add roll of Superiority Dice to the damage.

Meanicing Attack let’s you spend a superiority dice to add it’s roll to damage dealt to a target and force them to make a Wisdom saving throw or be Frightened of you until end of your next turn.

15th Level; 11th Level Fighter can now make two extra attacks on each of attack actions. Meaning you can with Action Surge and your maneuvers shoot cosmic cube out of Red Skull’s hands, shoot Anirm Zola and Baron Zemo so hard the latter will not approach you out of fear, deliver roundhouse kick to Skull so hard you hit Crossbones too, knock down Bob and deck Sin in the jaw when she rushes to help her father.

16th Level: 12th Level Fighter gains an Ability Score Improvement, round up your Dexterity to 20 for better AC and more acurrate guns.

17th Level: 13th Level Fighter can use Indomintable twice per long rest. Meaning you are that much harder to kill and that more likely to survive fireballs from Onslaught.

18th Level: 14th Level Fighter gets another Abilitty Score Improvement. Boost up your Constitution for Better Concentration and mroe hit points (remember they add retroactively, giving you extra 18 HP at this level)

19th Level: 15th Level Battlemaster means two mroe maneuvers, one mroe Superiority Dice and now if you roll initiative on combat without any you regain one.

Rally lets you roll a Superiority Dice whenever you hit on an attack to give it’s result + your Charisma modifier as temporary hit points to another creature until end of your next turn.

Goading Attack also adds roll from Superiority Dice to damage dealt on attack and if Target fails a Wisdom saving throw, it has disadvantage on attacks against any other creature than you until end of your next turn. You know, i ncase Maker plans to blow you all up, make him punch you instead.

20th Level; We will finish with 16th Level of Fighter for one last Ability Score Improvement, investing either in Constitution for better hit points, or Charisma for better healing. Or picking a Tough feat to gain extra 40 hit points, which would be my preferred option.

Overview: My take on Rikki barnes is Battlemaster Fighter 16, College of Lore Bard 4. Let’s see how good this build is:

Pros: You can make a lot of attacks, making you excellent agaisnt crowds of mooks like Goblins or Hydra Agents. You have an answer for a lot of things an opponnent may do and several ways to control the battlefield to your advantage. You can also double as a skill-monkey, being skilled in enough things to make Rogue jealous. In fact, you basically are a discount Rogue, able to fill in for a lot of things Rogue would normally do. And you can heal too.If you have focused on your Constintution at the end you will also have pretty strong HP, maybe even up to 160-180 and with Shield Master or Indomintable it will be hard to hurt you as well.

Cons: Sadly, a lot of your abilitties compete for Bonus Action or Reaction, meaning you need to carefully consider what you will use each turn. You do nbot deal magic damage so a lot of late game enemeis will be resistant or immune to your hits un;ess DM gives you a magic gun. Finally, there is a big possibility you will burn out of your Superiority Dice early on, leaving you without many options later.

But you are still a valuable part of any team. Protect your allies, give them opennings to strike. Knock Bob down. Break Red Skull’s jaw. Just remember you need to rely on your teammates to survive - unless you want to be reborn in a different campaign.

-Admin

#Nomad #bucky #Rikki barnes #Dungeons & Dragons #Marvel

[grailfinders]

Fate and Phantasms #250

Today on Fate and Phantasms we're making the scourge of gods and men, Demon King Nobunaga! Buy one Nobu, get two free, what a great deal!

One Nobu is a Battle Master Fighter to master unconventional tactics, another is a Swords Bard to light up the battlefield both with gunfire and literal fire, and the last is an Ascendant Dragon Monk to rock that tight leather look while still spitting flames.

Check out their build breakdown here, or their character sheet over here!

Next up: You know what they say: a head a day keeps literally everyone away. Except for Nobu.

Race and Background

So, starting off with the awkward stuff again. Yes, each individual Nobu is a human, but we're a weird amalgamation of a bunch of them, so if you want to be able to go from 5'5" to 5'11" and back again we've got to go with Changeling. (Wait, Big Nobu is only 5'11"?? The doesn't sound right. at all. There's like a foot difference between the two!) Like with Asclepius, we're trying out the new Mordenkainen version, though there aren't that many differences between this one and the old one.

Like all lineages, Changelings can now get their stat boosts in any stat they choose, so +1 Dexterity and +2 Wisdom are valid choices, with or without Tasha helping. You're also Fey instead of humanoid, so some spells like Hold Person just don't work on you. Your Changeling Instincts have also been expanded somewhat, so you can get proficiency in Insight and Performance for some "sick" atsumori. You're still a Shapechanger though, with the added bonus that you can change between Medium and Small sizes at will, though it doesn't change your clothing.

Although it is a gross simplification of Japanese history to call Oda Nobunaga a general, we're doing that here because it means we can use the Soldier background, which is useful. It gives you proficiency in Intimidation and Investigation. People aren't usually called a "Demon King" if no one is afraid of them.

Ability Scores

On that note, put your highest score into Charisma. You certainly have a gravitas that can't be matched. After that is your Wisdom. People call you the fool of Owari, but that's simply because you operate on a level they can't even notice. Third is your Dexterity. Shortswords, flintlock rifles, and crossbows all need that. Your Constitution is slightly above average. I wish we could have gotten it higher, but multiclassing comes first. This also means your Strength is pretty low, but we're dumping Intelligence. Like a lot of anime characters, Maou Nobu should be good at everything. But we need intelligence the least, and we'll get options to fix what little we do need it for later.

Class Levels

Monk 1: Ok give me a second here I promise this'll make sense. Starting off as a monk gives you proficiency with shortswords, so your first ascension can fight well enough. You also get proficiency with Strength and Dexterity saves, as well as History and Athletics. We can't focus on strength that much, but you can kick people's heads in, so this might help. You also get Unarmored Defense, adding your wisdom modifier to your AC while you're not wearing any armor. The first and second Nobus definitely aren't wearing armor. You could argue either way for the third ascension, though personally I'd say it's not up to code for D&D. Way too many gaps in the leg parts, y'know? Anyway, enough nitpicking about clothes, back to the good stuff. Your Martial Arts training lets you use your bonus action to make an unarmed attack if you attack with a monk weapon on your main action, use your dexterity in place of strength for all attacks, and your monk weapons, including your hands, always deal a minimum of 1d4 damage. Not super useful for crossbow wielders, but I think Big Nobu will get a... "kick" out of it. 🥁

Monk 2: Second level monks can use their Ki to dash, dodge, disengage, or attack twice as a bonus action. You also get Unarmored Movement, so your speed gets better if you're not in platemail. Finally, you can choose a Dedicated Weapon over a short rest, so your longsword or crossbow can count as a monk weapon now! Once you're proficient in them. One sec!

Fighter 1: Okay, now you're proficient in all weapons. You also get a Fighting Style, and Archery will make your crossbow shots a little more accurate. You also get a Second Wind to heal yourself as a bonus action. You don't really "chill out", but I'm sure you'll figure out how to make it work.

Fighter 2: Second level fighters can use an Action Surge once per short rest to take two actions in a turn. If you want a gatling flintlock, this is a must. We still can't attack twice with a crossbow though, another thing for the todo list.

Fighter 3: At third level you become a Battle Master, meaning you're smarter than the average fighter. As a Student of War you gain proficiency in one set of artisan's tools, and you learn some Combat Superiority tricks. Four times per short rest you can use superiority dice to add extra effects to your attacks or skill checks, and usually a d8 of damage too. Your Commanding Presence lets you add the die roll to an Intimidation, Performance, or Persuasion check. Yes you read that right, a single skill improves your terrifying reputation on the battlefield and your Atsumori skills at the same time. You can also make a Distracting Strike to give another creature advantage to hit your target, or a Goading Attack to give your target disadvantage to hit anyone but you. Both of these also add the d8 to your attack damage. Run them ragged chasing you around, then give your army an opening to destroy them.

Fighter 4: As a fourth level fighter you finally get your first Ability Score Improvement. As a Crossbow Expert you can ignore the loading property on crossbows, and attack with them in melee range without issue. You can also dual-wield with a hand crossbow now, effectively giving you that fancy monk bonus attack with range. Nice.

Fighter 5: Fifth level fighters get an Extra Attack each action, so it's a good thing we picked up that feat last level.

Fighter 6: We're already back for another ASI though- use this one to bump up your Dexterity for stronger and more accurate attacks, a higher AC, and tougher saves for your maneuvers. Turns out you like dexterity more than normal monks. Oh right, speaking of:

Monk 3: Bouncing back to monk finally nets you your subclass. As an Ascendant Dragon, you start off as a Draconic Disciple, which in true monk subclass fashion is secretly a ton of features in a trenchcoat. Your Draconic Presence lets you re-roll a failed intimidation or persuasion check. You can use this as often as you like until it actually works, then you have to wait until tomorrow. Meanwhile, your Draconic Strikes give you your first taste of fire damage, since you can swap your unarmed attacks to acid, cold, fire, lightning, or poison instead of bludgeoning. You also learn Draconic. It's a language. But wait, there's more! With the Breath of the Dragon, you can swap out any attack you make in your action with a breath weapon, dealing elemental damage in a cone or line, forcing a dexterity save on creatures in the area. You deal 2 martial arts dice in damage, and can use this attack once per action, up to Proficiency times per long rest. Alternatively, you can spend 2 ki points per use. And we're not done yet! All monks can Deflect Missiles, using your reaction to weaken incoming ranged attacks, possibly launching them back if you reduce the damage to 0.

Monk 4: That was a lot last level! And this one's pretty packed too. You can your usual ASI, so your Dexterity is as good as it's going to get here. You can also Slow Fall as a reaction, so you take less fall damage. And if that second wind isn't enough, you can spend ki points on Quickened Healing, healing yourself as an action.

Fighter 7: Seventh level battle masters can Know Your Enemy, spending a minute to learn how you compare to your foe in two of the following categories: Strength, Dexterity, Constitution, AC, current HP, class levels, or fighter levels. Know yourself and your enemy, and you need not fear a thousand battles. Some guy said that, idk. You also get two more Maneuvers, and one more superiority die. Your Tactical Assessment lets you add the die to an Investigation, History, or Insight check, while a Menacing Attack deals extra damage and forces a wisdom save on the target, frightening them if they fail. Again, they don't call you a demon king because you befriended your enemies.

Bard 1: It's a little late for another multiclass, but here we are. You can use a Bardic Inspiration to give an ally a d6 to improve a check, save, or attack roll they make in the near future, or you can cast Spells using your Charisma. You get a number of inspiration dice per day equal to your Charisma modifier. Your cantrips are pretty typical. Vicious Mockery denigrates your foes so hard they actually get hurt by it, and Friends improves your odds with all charisma checks. Given how quite a few people have reacted to your valentines events, I don't think you had many issues with Persuasion or Intimidation. For first level spells, Bane befuddles your enemies further, while Command exerts your intimidating presence over them. Heroism will empower your army with temporary HP and protection from being frightened, and Faerie Fire will add the [burning] status to the battlefield, giving creatures advantage on their attacks against creatures who were in the area when you cast the spell. You also get proficiency in Perception. It's hard to shoot someone when you can't find them.

Bard 2: Second level bards are a Jack of All Trades, adding half their proficiency bonus to ability checks they aren't proficient in. That means all your intelligence skills go from a -1 to a +1! See? Told ya we'd fix that. You can also perform a Song of Rest, and while an extra d6 of healing at 13th level might not seem like a lot... it isn't. But hey, any excuse to break out the atsumori's a good one. (Also your inspiration is Magical Inspiration now, so your allies can add it to magical damage or healing.) And I know we went changeling specifically to avoid using magic to change ascensions, but... Sometimes you don't have time to change outfits, so Disguise Self will help with quick changes.

Bard 3: At third level you get Expertise in two skills, doubling your proficiency bonus in Intimidation and Insight. You also graduate from the college of Swords, giving you a second Fighting Style. Dueling will help out whenever you've got a shortsword out, adding 2 to its damage rolls. For even more damage, you can add a Blade Flourish to your attacks by spending an inspiration die. A Defensive Flourish adds the roll to your damage and AC, a Slashing Flourish deals the extra damage to another creature within 5' of you, and a Mobile Flourish pushes the creature around and lets you spend a reaction to follow it. You can use these once per attack action, and each attack action also increases your speed by 10'. For your first second level spell, grab Pyrotechnics to use the burning battlefield to your advantage, blinding everyone in an area around the flames that fails a constitution save. I hear it's also pretty good at putting out fires too...

Monk 5: Okay, we've been putting it off for a while since your Extra Attack from this level doesn't stack, but it's about time we go back to monk, if only for the martial arts die increase. You can also turn any melee attack into a Stunning Strike, stunning the target until the end of your next turn if they fail a constitution save. You can also now spend ki points on Fou-cused Aim, spending 1-3 points for a +2 bonus to your attack roll per point spent. Kinda pricey, but sometimes you can't afford to miss.

Monk 6: Sixth level monks have Ki-Empowered Strikes, so your kicks are now magical against resistances. In case you weren't just using fire for everything already. I know we're kind of being down on the monk right now, but there is a benefit to coming back here. You also get Wings Unfurled this level, so when you dash as a bonus action you can gain a flying speed equal to your walking speed proficiency times per day. Speaking of your walking speed, right now that's 45' a turn, or 55' with an attack action, at most 65' if you action surge for two in a turn. That is a lot of mobility. tl;dr it's a cool anime jump for when you need to get 130' in the air right now.

Monk 7: The good times keep rolling for monk, because at seventh level you get Evasion, boosting your dexterity saves to new extremes. If you fail a save it's like you passed it, and if you pass it it's like there was never any danger to begin with. You also gain a Stillness of Mind that lets you end effects charming or frightening you as an action. Your dreamlike existence has some downsides, but getting to ignore a lot of magic isn't one of them.

Bard 4: Bouncing back to bard gives you another ASI, bumping up your Charisma for stronger spells and more inspiration dice per long rest. Speaking of spells, Prestidigitation will give you any minor magical effects you want. If you want your sword to have cool particle effects while you're fighting, this can probably help. Also, pick up Aid for a bit more bulk, since monks and bards aren't known for their stellar hit dice.

Bard 5: Fifth level bards are Fonts of Inspiration, so you regain inspiration dice on short rests instead of long ones. Those dice also grow to d8s now. For your final spell, pick up Bestow Curse to do any number of terrible things to your enemies if they fail a Wisdom save. You can do just about anything your DM signs off on, but one of the out-the-box options is dealing an extra d8 of damage each attack. The type they give you is necrotic, but changing that to fire doesn't seem like too far a stretch.

Monk 8: We head back to monk for our final level, another ASI. The Resilient feat is simple, but effective. It rounds out our Charisma for another boost in strength and inspiration while also giving you proficiency in Charisma saves. The Counter Force is constantly trying to banish you after all, it's best to be resistant to that sort of thing.

Pros and Cons

Pros:

As expected from three people sharing one build, Maou Nobunaga is very versatile in combat, with spells like Prestidigitation, Command, and Bestow Curse basically only being limited by your imagination, plus the effects added to your attacks by Flourishes and Maneuvers, and being able to change up the elements of your attacks as an Ascendant Dragon. You come packing a metric ton of abilities, letting you change up your fighting style for every battle and leave your DM guessing.

You're also really good against magic, with proficiency in two of the big three saves, immunity to several troublesome spells thanks to not being humanoid, and the ability to shake off charms and frightening effects thanks to Stillness of Mind. Hitting you in a way that hurts is hard.

That variety also bleeds into what you can do out of combat as well, with a high Charisma and Wisdom scores plus plenty of ways to strengthen a ton of your intelligence skills, you can fit just about any part of the party's social dynamic. Be a loveable goofball, be a terrifying tactician, switch wildly between the two at a moments notice! Heck, become someone else entirely! You're a changeling after all.

Cons:

While the variety is great, this build also shows exactly why multiclassing can be difficult. Since you hop into bard so late a lot of the features won't be that useful at high level play, and it also makes your ASIs show up super irregularly. On top of that, it makes you super multi-ability dependent, using your dexterity, wisdom, and charisma in tandem.

Multiclassing also makes you super complicated with three different resources you have to manage on top of all your "X times per short rest" abilities. You also don't have that many of any one resource, so if you don't hold anything back you'll tire out quickly.

Being so many things also means this build lacks focus. If you dropped bard you'd deal a lot more damage by spending those charisma ASIs on Sharpshooter instead and getting a third attack. If you dropped monk you'd have more inspiration, stronger spells, and could wear some armor for better defense. If you dropped fighter your Martial Arts die would be bigger and you'd have a ton of more creative options with spells and ki abilities.

But hey, being Nobunaga is cool, and you're every Nobunaga at once, so get out there and show the world why that's a terrifying concept. Be whoever you want, do whatever you want, and make the world know your name however you want.

#FGO #Fate Grand Order #D&D #DND 5e #Oda Nobunaga #Maou nobunaga #Fighter #Monk #Bard

[inktog]

Merfolk Character Options

Merfolk Trickster by Jesper Ejsing

Undersea Dwellers

Merfolk are amphibious humanoids with human torsos and aquatic tails. Scales cover a merfolk’s entire body, ranging in color from light turquoise to dark bluish-purple, and fins protrude from their limbs and tail, allowing for heightened underwater mobility. Merfolk are amphibious, possessing both lungs and gills, and they can magically transform their tails into legs. Although merfolk can and do walk the earth, they are often most comfortable while underwater.

Merfolk tend to live in small, close-knit hunter-gatherer communities. They migrate seasonally, following the same currents every year that their forebearers once did. Merfolk are omnivorous, and most sustain themselves by hunting fish and harvesting underwater plants.

Merfolk Traits

Your merfolk character shares the following traits with others of its kind.

Ability Score Increase. Your Wisdom score increases by 2.

Age. Merfolk reach maturity within 10 years of hatching and live an average of 65 years.

Size. Merfolk tend toward roughly the same heights and builds as humans, though with less variation. Your size is Medium.

Speed. Your base walking speed is 25 feet.

Amphibious. You can breathe air and water, and being underwater imposes no penalty on your sight or hearing.

Swim. You have a swimming speed of 40 feet. The lower half of your body magically transforms into a tail or a pair of legs, with clothes and armor worn below your waist disappearing and reappearing, as appropriate to your environment.

Ocean’s Lore. Whenever you make an Intelligence (Nature) check related to bodies of water, aquatic creatures, or aquatic plants, you are considered proficient in the Nature skill and add double your proficiency bonus to the check, instead of your normal proficiency bonus.

Languages. You can speak, read, and write Common and Aquan. The Aquan dialect of Primordial tends to smooth over the language’s harsher, more guttural sounds.

Subrace. Merfolk have adapted to many different environments, resulting in four subraces: coastal, tropical, triton, and merrow. Choose one of these subraces.

Merfolk Subraces

COASTAL MERFOLK live in shallow ocean waters. Of all the subraces, coastal merfolk most frequently come into contact with land dwellers. Their migratory routes often cross paths with fishing villages and port cities, where they trade and exchange news with other races. Some coastal merfolk even abandon their migratory aquatic life altogether, opting to settle on land—though few stray far from the shore.

Ability Score Increase. Your Charisma score increases by 1.

Coastal Weapon Training. You have proficiency with spears, tridents, light crossbows, and nets.

Tool Proficiency. You gain proficiency with the artisan’s tools of your choice: glassblower’s tools, jeweler’s tools, or woodcarver’s tools.

Extra Language. You can speak, read, and write one extra language of your choice.

TROPICAL MERFOLK inhabit equatorial jungles and rain forests. They spend almost as much time on land, navigating treetops and dense foliage, as they do in the water, and their familiarity with the natural world grants them a small measure of magic. Unlike most other merfolk, tropical merfolk don’t migrate; they construct permanent settlements within rivers, lakes, and other large freshwater bodies. Tropical merfolk’s scales and fins are vibrantly colored, featuring purples and yellows alongside the standard blues and greens, which lets them blend in easily with natural environments.

Ability Score Increase. Your Dexterity score increases by 1.

Mask of the Wild. You can attempt to hide even when you are only lightly obscured by foliage, heavy rain, falling snow, mist, or other natural phenomena.

Cantrip. You know one cantrip of your choice from the druid spell. Wisdom is your spellcasting ability for it.

TRITONS make their homes in vast, intricately designed underwater cities. Unlike most other merfolk, tritons don’t migrate; they stay rooted in their cities, which are built within trenches, giant seaweed beds, and other hidden locales. Any outsider who discovers a triton city will find a wealth of arcane knowledge, but tritons guard their secrets fiercely.

Ability Score Increase. Your Intelligence score increases by 1.

Deepwater Darkvision. Accustomed to ocean depths, you have superior vision in dim, dark, and murky conditions. You can see in dim light within 60 feet of you as if it were bright light, in darkness as if it were dim light, and in murky water as if it were clear water. You can’t discern colors in darkness, only shades of gray.

Natural Armor. While you aren’t wearing armor, you can calculate your AC as 11 + your Dexterity modifier.

MERROW are merfolk transformed by demonic magic. The touch of the Demogorgon has granted them heightened physical prowess and a natural ferocity. They live far from the coast, deep within the world’s oceans, and they rarely, if ever, encounter land dwellers. When a ship happens to sail over merrow territory, the encounter can turn hostile quickly. A merrow living on land is a rare sight indeed—though not an impossible one.

Ability Score Increase. Your Strength score increases by 1.

Deepwater Darkvision. Accustomed to ocean depths, you have superior vision in dim, dark, and murky conditions. You can see in dim light within 60 feet of you as if it were bright light, in darkness as if it were dim light, and in murky water as if it were clear water. You can’t discern colors in darkness, only shades of gray.

Claws. Your unarmed strikes deal 1d4 slashing damage on a hit.

Extra Language. You can speak, read, and write Abyssal.

Half-Merfolk

Half-merfolk are born of one human parent and one merfolk parent. Unlike full merfolk, half-merfolk possess only a limited aquatic ability; they lack fins and tails, and they can’t stay underwater for more than a few hours at a time. Because of this, most half-merfolk choose to live on land among humans, where they put their keen intellects to use in all manner of professions.

Your half-merfolk character possesses the following traits:

Ability Score Increase. Your Intelligence score increases by 2, and two other ability scores of your choice increase by 1.

Age. Half-merfolk mature at the same rate as humans and live an average of 70 years.

Size. Half-merfolk are about the same size as humans. Your size is Medium.

Speed. Your base walking speed is 30 feet.

Limited Amphibiousness. You can breathe air and water, but you need to resurface at least once every 2 hours to avoid suffocating.

Swim. You have a swimming speed of 30 feet.

Inherited Instincts. Whenever you make a Wisdom (Survival) check in an underwater environment, you are considered proficient in the Survival skill and add double your proficiency bonus to the check, instead of your normal proficiency bonus.

Tool Versatility. You gain proficiency with two tools of your choice. You can attempt to use a tool even if you’re not proficient with it, and you can add half your proficiency bonus, rounded down, to any ability check you make that uses a tool and doesn’t already include your proficiency bonus.

Languages. You can read, write, and speak Common, Aquan, and one other language of your choice.

Merfolk Feats

If your campaign uses the optional feats rule from chapter 6 of the Player’s Handbook, your merfolk character has access to the Call of the Sea feat and one additional feat based on its subrace. Half-merfolk characters have access to the Call of the Sea feat, plus the Prodigy feat from chapter 1 of Xanthar’s Guide to Everything.

Abyssal Ferocity Prerequisite: Merfolk (merrow)

Your connection to the Abyss grows more powerful, granting you the following benefits:

Increase your Strength or Wisdom score by 1, to a total of 20.

Before you attack with an unarmed strike or a simple melee weapon that you’re proficient with, you can choose to take a -5 penalty to the attack roll. If the attack hits, it deals an extra 10 damage.

Call of the Sea Prerequisite: Half-merfolk or merfolk

The depths of the sea call to you, granting you the following benefits:

Increase your Wisdom score by 1, to a maximum of 20.

Increase your swimming speed by 20 feet.

You learn the water breathing spell and can cast it once without using a spell slot. You regain the ability to cast it in this way when you finish a long rest. Wisdom is your spellcasting ability for this spell.

Defender of the Depths Prerequisite: Merfolk (triton)

Your learn some of the defensive magic practiced by your people. You learn one abjuration or illusion cantrip, one 1st-level abjuration spell, and one 1st-level illusion spell. You can choose these spells from any spell lists. (They don’t need to be from the same list.) You can cast each of the 1st-level spells once at its lowest level without expending a spell slot, and you regain the ability to cast both spells in this way when you finish a long rest. Your spellcasting ability for all three spells is your choice of Intelligence or Wisdom.

Jungle High Magic Prerequisite: Merfolk (tropical)

You learn more of the magic typical of tropical merfolk. You learn the detect poison and disease spell and can cast it at will, without expending a spell slot. You also learn the fog cloud and enhance ability spells, each of which you can cast once without expending a spell slot. You regain the ability to cast these two spells in this way when you finish a long rest. Wisdom is your spellcasting ability for all three spells.

Worldly Prerequisite: Merfolk (coastal)

Your exposure to diverse peoples has made you a natural diplomat, granting you the following benefits:

You gain proficiency in the Persuasion skill.

You learn three languages of your choice.

Whenever you make a Charisma check to interact with one or more humanoids, your proficiency bonus is doubled if it applies to that check.

#dnd #5e #homebrew #races #merfolk

[toxicdogars]

DND!!

Tumblr Meets D&D - Your Muse as a D&D Character

Blue

The last of my builds for this round, we finally get to a Pokemon Adventures character, which means we actually have a heckin’ lot to base this build off of, both from the canon source and from @maskedthief‘s interpretation of her. Blue is the third trainer to rise from Pallet Town, having set out on her journey around Kanto to take part in the league tournament after stealing a Squirtle from Professor Oak’s lab. She’s run into the likes of Red and Green plenty of times, though major moments include stealing Red’s Boulder and Cascade Badges as well as selling him a bunch of fake items. There’s also the raid on Silph Co, where she helped Red and Green knock Team Rocket outa there, even pulling a few fast ones on the mistress of Psychic Types and Rocket Admin, Sabrina. We should also be reminded of her backstory, kidnapped at a young age by a giant bird and raised as one of the Masked Man’s minions. It was there she learned all about Evolution- when something will evolve, how it evolves, how fast it can evolve, etc. These are skills we should be able to translate into some forms of knowledge, which is our first goal. In addition we need to make sure her hands are fast and just as sticky and that she can move fast to wing it outta there. Lastly, let’s try to get some of her Pokemon team represented, with the bulk of them being of the Fairy Type, we should ensure that Blue has plenty of fey influence. Once again, we’ll be using Dungeons and Dragons 5th edition and all books and articles related to it.

Ability Scores

These ventures will use standard array, a set of numbers given as a sort of average stat pool. Feel free to roll for stats if you wanted to use this character, just treat this arrangement as a general order for what stats are most important. We won’t need to bother with multiclassing, so just make sure you use the stat spread as a guideline and you’ll be passing with flying colors. ...Too soon? 

Strength: 8 (Won’t really help us.) Dexterity: 15 (Main attacking stat and useful for thievery) Constitution: 10 (I don’t wanna dump it.) Intelligence: 13 (Need this to be pretty solid.) Wisdom: 12 (Definitely has decent Insight rolls.) Charisma: 14 (Definitely knows how to please people.)

Race

Let’s look at some options here. We could make Blue a Human, since she is one (as far as we’re aware) and get her a free Feat. But I think we can do that juuuuust a little bit better. Know how I mentioned the fey earlier? Let’s actually make Blue a Half-Elf. Half-Elves get the best of Humans and Elves, starting with the typical 30 feet of movement, +2 to their Charisma score (raising it to 16), +1 to two different stats of their choice (bump Dexterity to 16 and Intelligence to 14), and Darkvision out to 60 feet. It doesn’t look very easy to see outta that mask, so she definitely had to see better in low light. Not to mention it’s very handy for a thief. Her Fey Ancestry would also give her advantage on charm saves and she wouldn’t be able to be put to sleep by magic, great for staying away from insomnia and nightmares, eh? She would also get Skill Versatility, gaining two skills of her choice. I’d recommend Arcana for her knowledge of magical metamorphosis and History to cover any research on Evolution already done. As for Languages, she gets Common, Elvish, and a language of her choice. Perhaps Auran, the language of beings close to the Elemental Plane of Air? 

Class and Background

Now, for our thief-y little girl here, I’m thinking that the best way to go is Bard, her About page does mention she’s a good singer, right? Okay that’s a big fat lie and we know it. It’s obvious, she’s a Rogue. Do I even need to explain why? No, she probably stole the reason and flew on outta here. 

Rogues start with a d8 hit die (decent, not the best), proficiency in Dexterity and Intelligence saving throws, simple weapons, hand crossbows, longswords, rapiers, shortswords, thieves’ tools, and four skills from a pretty big list. Of the options listed, Acrobatics, Deception, Investigation, and Persuasion cover her agility and people skills effectively. We’ll get some more skills to aid her thieving from her background. Toss on some light armor, I’d recommend studded leather. As for what weapons to focus on, I’d suggest any Finesse weapon to pair well with her Dexterity. While there’s no real in-character option, but a rapier is pretty stylish and could evoke a sweet masked thief vibe. It deals a d8 + her Dexterity modifier in damage too, making it the strongest option for her. 

As for her background, let’s focus on her time with the Masked Man and call her an Urchin. But since we’re altering it a bit, feel free to rename it Kidnapped Youth or something like that. Take proficiency in Sleight of Hand and Perception to round off her thief-y skills. As I’ve said before, backgrounds also give you access to tools. Her Ditto could be represented early with proficiency in a Disguise Kit while proficiency in the Forgery Kit could make her just as deceptive in writing as she is with spoken word.

This build’s gonna be pretty easy, Rogue from start to finish. We’ll take a look at what Blue gets at each level and discuss ways to make use of them and cover any choices that need to be made. At Rogue 1, Blue gets one of the best things about being a Rogue, a way to make her anime as fuck with incredible skill checks in the skills she uses most:

Expertise: Choose two of your skill proficiencies, or one of your skill proficiencies and your proficiency with thieves' tools. Your proficiency bonus is doubled for any ability check you make that uses either of the chosen proficiencies..

I’d suggest Arcana to make her an expert in Evolution and Sleight of Hand to make her hands as fast as possible. For the record, proficiency bonuses start at +2 and reach +6 by level twenty, so that’s a free +12 in those stats by the end of the build. Pretty dang good if you ask me. Rogues also get their other key feature at this level, which helps them deal more damage in their turn:

Sneak Attack: Once per turn, you can deal extra 1d6 damage to one creature you hit with an attack if you have advantage on the attack roll. The attack must use a finesse or a ranged weapon.You don't need advantage on the attack roll if another enemy of the target is within 5 feet of it, that enemy isn't incapacitated, and you don't have disadvantage on the attack roll.

And lastly our girl Blue gets Thieves’ Cant, a secret language of ciphers and symbols that can carry secret messages. Pretty handy way to exchange secret communications.

Thieves’ Cant: You know thieves' cant, a secret mix of dialect, jargon, and code that allows you to hide messages in seemingly normal conversation. Only another creature that knows thieves' cant understands such messages. It takes four times longer to convey such a message than it does to speak the same idea plainly. In addition, you understand a set of secret signs and symbols used to convey short, simple messages, such as whether an area is dangerous or the territory of a thieves' guild, whether loot is nearby, or whether the people in an area are easy marks or will provide a safe house for thieves on the run.

At Rogue 2, we can satisfy that speedy goal of mine and get a way for her to soar like a Pidgeot compared to the average adventurer:

Cunning Action: You can use your Bonus Action to take the Dash, Disengage, or Hide action. Thanks to the Class Feature Variant Unearthed Arcana article, she can additionally use this bonus action to Aim. When using your bonus action in this way, you give yourself advantage on your next attack roll on the current turn. You can use this bonus action only if you haven’t moved during this turn, and after you use the bonus action, your speed is 0 until the end of the current turn

At Rogue 3, Blue can pick a roguish archetype. Arcane Tricksters gain the ability to cast wizard spells, relying on their Intelligence modifier to enchant and illuse. This means her Intelligence modifier is added to the attack rolls of spells and the difficulty check of saving throws her spells require. She gains two cantrips from the wizard list alongside Mage Hand, and three first spells, two of which must be enchantment or illusion schools with the third being free of that restriction. In case someone doesn’t know the difference, cantrips are simple magical tricks you can pull off at will, while leveled spells require expending one of your spell slots of a level equal to or higher than the spell’s level. Here’s some options:

Mage Hand: A conjuration cantrip that manifests a spectral hand that can be used to do a ton of really small things like lifting small objects, pulling levers from a distance, that sort of thing. It’s like a tiny ghost thing, which would be perfect if Blue ever picked up, say, a Shuppet or something. Especially with the benefits that Arcane Trickster gives her, as you’ll see down below. Dancing Lights: An evocation cantrip that creates lines of multicolored orbs of light, like fairy lights. It does require concentration to maintain them, but it’s still a nice little spell for its effects. Message: An transmutation cantrip that that allows the user to send a telepathic message to someone they point at, and that individual can respond telepathically. It’s like a walkie talkie, or a cell phone. A shitty cell phone. With a range of only a hundred and twenty feet. Disguise Self: A first level illusion spell that will let Blue take on different appearances. This is essentially her Ditto, able to shift her into the likeness of Sabrina, for instance.  Charm Person: A first level enchantment spell forces a Wisdom saving throw on the target, and if they fail they become charmed by her and basically become her bestest friend while they’re affected. A great way to get what she wants if her own natural charisma isn’t enough.  Find Familiar: A first level conjuration spell that has a buncha random rules, that you’re gonna wanna look up, but it basically amounts to the ability to summon a pet that will stick around and help her out. I’d recommend a pooch of some sort, and since this spell can allow the beast summoned to be considered a different creature type, it could be a fey dog. You know. Like Snubbull. 

Also at this level, Blue gains some swanky upgrades to her Mage Hand spell, letting her use it for more rogue-y things. Additionally, her Sneak Attack dice go up to 2d6:

Mage Hand Legerdemain: When you cast Mage Hand, you can make the spectral hand invisible, and you can perform the following additional tasks with it: -You can stow one object the hand is holding in a container worn or carried by another creature. -You can retrieve an object in a container worn or carried by another creature. -You can use thieves' tools to pick locks and disarm traps at range. -You can perform one of these tasks without being noticed by a creature if you succeed on a Dexterity (Sleight of Hand) check contested by the creatures Wisdom (Perception) check. -In addition, you can use the bonus action granted by your Cunning Action to control the hand.

At Rouge 4, Blue gets the first of her Ability Score Improvements (ASIs). Let’s take the +2 and put it in Dexterity, bumping that up to 18 for better hit and damage rolls with her rapier and better armor. She also gets another spell, which can be from the enchantment or illusion schools:

Color Spray: A first level illusion spell that releases brilliant light in a cone that blinds a certain amount of hit points’ worth of individuals for one round. It’s not the best way to stall a foe, but it’s certainly in character. It’s a solid use of Flash, which would have been an HM back in the day that I suspect one of her team would have had. 

At Rouge 5, Blue gets another incredibly helpful core feature that makes it a lot easier for Rogues to survive in the midst of combat. And it certainly fits her character, as the Pokemon Adventures trainers aren’t hesitant to get right up there with their foes in battles. In addition, her Sneak Attack dice go up to 3d6:

Uncanny Dodge: When an attacker that you can see hits you with an attack, you can use your reaction to halve the attack's damage against you.

At Rogue 6, Blue gains Expertise in two more skills (or her thieves’ tools) of her choice. Let’s make her social skills even more busted and take expertise in Deception and Persuasion. 

At Rogue 7, Blue gets a spell, which can now be of second level, and another key feature which makes her even harder to hit than she was before, even by some of the strongest spells in the game. In addition, her Sneak Attack dice go up to 4d6:

Mirror Image: A second level illusion spell that functions like Double Team, creating illusory clones that can draw fire, making it harder to hit the real Blue. A handy little technique that I could see Blue making a lot of use of.  Evasion: When you are subjected to an effect that allows you to make a Dexterity saving throw to take only half damage, you instead take no damage if you succeed on the saving throw, and only half damage if you fail.

At Rogue 8, Blue gets her second ASI and let’s use that to max her Dexterity score at 20 for the best hit, damage, and armor modifiers for her level. She also gets a spell from any school:

Thunderwave: A first level evocation spell that blasts a fifteen foot radius around her with damaging sound, a bit like Hyper Voice, which I have no doubt her Jiggly knows. It’s handy to have magical damage, and with such a focus on utility spells this might be the best option for damage if her rapier won’t cut it.

At Rogue 9, Blue gets another Arcane Trickster feature that makes her oh-so deliciously more capable of messing with her enemies. In addition, her Sneak Attack dice go up to 5d6:

Magical Ambush: If you are hidden from a creature when you cast a spell on it, the creature has disadvantage on any saving throw it makes against the spell this turn.

At Rogue 10, Blue gets her third ASI and lets use that to bump her Intelligence by +2 (raising it to 16) for better saves and and hit rolls. She also gets her fourth cantrip and another spell, which again must be from the enchantment or illusion schools:

Ray of Frost: An evocation cantrip that looses a blast of cold energy like some sort of beam or ray of ice. The book says it’s fired from the caster, but I see no trouble flavoring it as tossing out a pokeball to summon a mighty Blastoise to douse a foe with cold water. Some nice damage at range, since cantrips scale up with level, gaining additional damage dice.   Hold Person: A second level enchantment spell that forces a Wisdom saving throw on a foe, restraining them in place if they fail. This is your Whirlpool on Blasty or some sorta weird fairy magic from Jiggly or Clefy. Combine it with Magical Ambush to make it really hard for the enemy to pass the save.

At Rogue 11, Blue gains another spell from the enchantment or illusion schools and another touchstone feature for improving her skills, and let’s just say it’s going to make her a complete monster with the skills she has expertise in. In addition, her Sneak Attack dice go up to 6d6:

Sleep: A first level enchantment spell that uses Sing to put a certain number of hit points’ worth of foes in the area to sleep. This is a little more effective than Color Spray and hits over a wider area, but there are times when blinding a foe may be more useful than simply knocking them out. Regardless, a useful spell to have in her kit.  Reliable Talent: Whenever you make an ability check that lets you add your proficiency bonus, you can treat a d20 roll of 9 or lower as a 10.  

Seriously, consider this for a second. A Sleight of Hand check from her at this level has a bonus of +13 (5 from Dexterity, 8 from doubled proficiency). That means the lowest she can roll on a Sleight of hand check is 23. Lowest. That’s crazy. And super amazing for stealing her friends’ wallets before casually handing them back to them.

At Rogue 12, Blue gets her fourth ASI and lets use that to bump her Charisma by +2 (raising it to 16) to make her all the more sociable and manipulative.

At Rogue 13, she gets another spell, which can now be of third level. Blue apparently decided that it wasn’t good enough to be stabbing people and casting spells at the same time and decided to make it so she can really fuck up a single person that was getting on her nerves. In addition, her Sneak Attack dice go up to 7d6:

Fear: A third level illusion spell that forces foes to make a Wisdom saving throw or be frightened by some terrifying visage. Why not show her enemies a massive shadowy bird of doom? Oh, they aren’t afraid of birds? Ouch. I suppose ya could spook ‘em with something else though.  Versatile Trickster: As a bonus action on your turn, you can designate a creature within 5 feet of your Mage Hand. Doing so gives you advantage on attack rolls against that creature until the end of the turn.

At Rogue 14, Blue gains another spell from any school and a feature that may not be perfectly in character, but it does extrapolate on how low to the ground her ears can be. And I see nothing wrong with giving characters features that build on their canon:

Tidal Wave: A third level conjuration spell that releases a massive wave of crushing water, dealing bludgeoning damage over a wide area should the targets fail a Dexterity saving throw. This is the best approximation of Blasty’s Hydro Cannon I could find. Blindsense: If you are able to hear, you are aware of the location of any hidden or invisible creature within 10 feet of you.  

At Rogue 15, Blue gets a really handy way to mitigate that lower Wisdom score, something I’d wanted to deal with since the beginning. In addition, her Sneak Attack dice go up to 8d6:

Slippery Mind: You gain proficiency in Wisdom saving throws.

At Rogue 16, Blue gets her fifth ASI and honestly her stats look pretty fine, so let’s exchange that ASI for a Feat, and I’d recommend a way to give her more skill proficiencies- as in the Skilled Feat. She also gets another spell from either of her restricted schools:

Skilled:  You gain proficiency in any combination of 3 skills or tools of your choice. Round off her survival skills by taking Survival, Nature, and Animal Handling.  Invisibility: A second level illusion spell that does what it says on the tin, turning Blue invisible for the duration, as long as she maintains her concentration. Really dang handy, and something I suspect could be possible with Ditty, reflecting the light around them to turn invisible or something.

At Rogue 17, Blue gets another Arcane Trickster feature that makes her the bane of enemy casters. Considering her smarts and her knowledge of Pokemon, it does make sense that she’d be able to put her magical know-how to fuck up other people’s days. In addition, her Sneak Attack dice go up to 9d6:

Spell Thief: Immediately after a creature casts a spell that targets you or includes you in its area of effect, you can use your reaction to force the creature to make a saving throw with its spellcasting ability modifier. The DC equals your spell save DC. On a failed save, you negate the spell's effect against you, and you steal the knowledge of the spell if it is at least 1st-level and of a level you can cast (it doesn't need to be a wizard spell). For the next 8 hours, you know the spell, can cast it using your spell slots, and the creature can't cast that spell until the 8 hours have passed. Once you use this feature, you can't use it again until you finish a long rest.

At Rogue 18, Blue gets yet another feature that makes her really damn hard to hit. Kinda terrifying if ya ask me, she’s lookin’ more like a DBZ character with how many options she has to dodge:

Elusive: No attack roll has advantage against you while you aren't incapacitated.

At Rogue 19 Blue gets her sixth ASI and lets also trade that one in for a Feat. I’d recommend Alert, so she’s always making use of her skills to keep an eye on things. She also gets another spell from one of her restricted schools, which can now be of fourth level. In addition, her Sneak Attack dice go up to 10d6:

Alert: Always on the lookout for danger, you gain the following benefits: -You can't be surprised while you are conscious. -You gain a +5 bonus to initiative. -Other creatures don't gain advantage on attack rolls against you as a result of being unseen by you. Charm Monster: A fourth level enchantment spell that does what Charm Person does to people but to monsters. it forces a Wisdom saving throw, and if the monster fails they become Blue’s best friendy-wend. Very handy to stop marauding monstrous beastly Pokemon if ya ask me.  

At Rogue 20, Blue gets her another spell from any school, and her capstone feature, and a pretty solid one at that:

Mordenkainen’s Faithful Hound: A fourth level conjuration spell that yes, may seem a bit odd of a pick, but it’s actually kinda nifty. It summons an invisible dog that guards you for eight hours, chompin’ on anything that gets in Blue’s way for 4d8 piercing damage. Now I said that her Familiar could be Snubbull, and I stand by that, so I suggest you use this spell to emulate her Nido instead. The loyal Nidoqueen already behaves like a guard dog, so it seemed pretty dang fitting to me.  Stroke of Luck: If your attack misses a target within range, you can turn the miss into a hit. Alternatively, if you fail an ability check, you can treat the d20 roll as a 20. Once you use this feature, you can't use it again until you finish a short or long rest. 

See what I mean? A once per short rest instant win button. Call it her Dex Holder plot armor if ya want. 

Final Thoughts

Know how I said Clair was terrifying? Blue is just as much, if not moreso. I’ve already talked about just how busted Expertise is and how good it is on someone like Blue, but let’s look at just how many of her skill checks are going to be amazing. There are eighteen skills in the game, and Blue has proficiency in eleven of them. Hell, she practically has proficiency in the hidden nineteenth skill, Initiative! Alert gives her a bonus that’s only one off of her proficiency, so yeah. Not to mention that four of the skills she’s proficiency in will never roll lower than a 20 on the die, seeing as her +12 proficiency bonus stacks on top of Reliable Talent’s ability to turn anything under 10 to 10. That’s just. Really damn good. The few skills she’s not proficient in are just ones she probably wouldn’t need to take anyway. With only seven skills left, her allies could easily handle them. I mean. Yellow definitely has the Medicine and Religion skills covered, both Green and Red have Athletics no doubt. What’s left? Performance? She’s not good at singing. Stealth? Why be sneaky when you can waltz right in and take what you want? Intimidation? That’s more Green’s thing. Insight? That’s more Yellow’s thing. And ah. That’s all the skills left. Yeah. Blue’s a freakin’ skill monkey. And she’s got great damage with her Sneak Attack and plenty of ways to get advantage so she can always get the big damage off. Not to mention her spells make her a threat even at range, mixing in magical damage to boot.

There’s not many cons. I mean… spell slots are a limited resource, sure, but that’s why you gotta be picky about you use them. We also never boosted her Constitution, leaving her with pretty low hit points throughout the build, even with maximum rolls on the hit dice. But that’s why I always say you roll for stats- You’re more than likely going to get a roll you like better to at least get a small bonus. My advice? If you can get a Constitution score of 14 as a Rogue or some sort of caster, then you are perfectly fine as is. And if ya don’t have the Con, Blue still has a ton of ways to avoid damage with all those features from Rogue. Seriously, twenty levels of Rogue makes for a stupidly infuriating game of cat and mouse, and I’m sure Blue would love that.

I hope you enjoyed this. Feel free to tell me how wrong I am with my choices.

#[Memes] #maskedthief

[nealflitherland]

For some reason the whole first paragraph shows up in the preview... but anyway, you get the idea! If you like my take on Nightwing, go check him out!

#gaming #RPG #Pathfinder #character conversion #Vocal #Neal Litherland #Nightwing #Batman #Gotham #DC Comics

[nutmegpirate]

Gideon Fawkes

Titles: none Sex: male Age: 33 Birthday: December 3rd Height/Weight: 5'8; 131lbs Card type: Bronze Race: Osyrian/Angeline Occupation: Woodsman/poacher Family: Father - Vico Rosarte, Angeline priest of Gabriel Mother - Ishtara Sekir, Osyrian weaver (deceased) Twin Brother - Álvaro Fawkes, fisherman (deceased) Adoptive Father - Simon Fawkes, Bismarkian fisherman Adoptive Mother - Estelle Fawkes, Angeline food seller Personality: + Carefree | Reliable | Amiable - Secluded | Mistrusting | Dishonest Despite the tragedies he's suffered, Gideon remains a happy-go-lucky kind of person always willing to lend a hand, though he keeps all acquaintances at arm's length and quickly shuts down attempts to become too friendly. He may have held on to his happiness through it all, but he did not survive without some scars, mainly a vast distrust of people and low expectations for the integrity of men. His respect for ownership is somewhat skewed as well; he believes it doesn't hurt to take what someone won't miss, like deer from a lord's forest or food from a full storehouse. That goes both ways -  he's happy to share what he doesn't need with someone less fortunate, though as a landless woodsman, his excess is very little. Likes: -- music and song -- mangoes, a rare treat -- being alone in the woods -- whittling Dislikes: -- layabouts -- liars -- most tea -- clams Other: -- Not especially pious; he doesn't mind those who are and prays when he feels like it, but rarely thinks about religion in his daily life. -- He considers Simon and Estelle his parents, though he'd like to visit his mother's grave in Strosa someday. -- “Fawkes” is quick and easy to say and he will respond to it. -- He’s totally cool with jokes using his surname in place of the f-bomb, since the two can sound similar if said too quickly. -- What he is not okay with is people addressing him with the f-bomb instead of his actual name. -- He sings when he's alone, and if he doesn’t know the words he whistles or hums. -- Though he likes whittling he is not great at it. -- He and his brother were fraternal twins; they looked quite similar, but were easily distinguished from one another. History: Gideon and his twin brother Álvaro were sins. Their mother, Ishtara, told them of the Angeline priest they were looking for as they made the month-long journey to the HAE by ship, the man whose heritage she’d named their sons for and whose faith she’d tried to emulate with them. How he'd charmed her with his sweet and gentle words and courted her for weeks culminating in a single night of passion before he disappeared back home without a word. Though bitter, they had no choice but to seek him out. Without any family left in Osyria, they desperately needed his help. Ishtara was sick, dying, though she tried to hide it. Gideon knew. Both boys knew. They practically had to carry her off the wagon when their caravan arrived in Strosa from Bastimona. The weeks had not treated her well; she could not speak, nor walk on her own, so her boys supported her all the way to the church and helped her to sit down on the steps outside. Mistaking them for beggars, someone sent the priest to investigate. Vico stepped out of the doors to his church and laid eyes on the woman he’d left eight years ago as she took her last breaths between her frightened sons. All the scorn and anger she’d wanted to say was lost as she died at his feet. One look at the boys confirmed his worst fears. These were his sons. And if he could see it so easily, so could anyone else. Desperate to keep his secret undiscovered, he hid them away at once. Ishtara received a proper burial attended by none in the churchyard, and over the next week Vico made arrangements for Álvaro and Gideon with a couple he knew in Equis. So the seven-year-old twins were shipped off and began a new life as fisherman’s sons. They grew up patching nets and twisting rope with their adoptive father and gathering kindling for the smokehouse with their adoptive mother. They fell into the life easily and took the name of their new family, but never forgot the sharp-eyed priest in Strosa. Gideon tried to stay busy and helpful even into his teens, never letting hardships worry him, while Álvaro grew unruly and boisterous, often shirking his duties to visit the alehouse with his friends. Though their social paths diverged, the brothers remained as close as ever. As a young man, Gideon knew the waterways and local geography like the back of his hand. He spent days or weeks at a time in the woods along the river’s bank looking for new fishing holes and just enjoying the wilderness. Álvaro, on the other hand, gained the reputation of the town drunk and troublemaker. He got into fights too often to count, occasionally broke a window or made off with a bottle of good wine. One night, Álvaro was arrested after a man he’d argued with in front of the alehouse was found dead just outside of town. Though he swore up and down he had nothing to do with it, he was arrested and thrown into the town lockup to await sentencing. Gideon, afraid for his brother’s life and ever loyal to his family, broke him free the night after. The guard caught them in the act and chased them into the north woodland. Álvaro was hit with a crossbow bolt and killed, and though Gideon tried to go back for him, the guards still aimed to kill and drove him further into the woods until they lost his trail. Afraid, alone, and brokenhearted, Gideon never returned home. He foraged and poached off the land for survival until he found himself far enough from Equis that he no longer had to hide. In time he found a scribe to compose a letter to Father Vico Rosarte to notify him of Álvaro’s death, then put the priest and bones of his family behind him. Stats: Base HP: 50 (normal) Physique: 15 Social Intelligence: 12 Academic Intelligence: 6 [+2] Practical Intelligence: 19 Actions/Spells: none Weapons: shortbow and small quiver -- 1d8, 5 arrows per event Outfit: Peasant clothes Traits: + Passion of Gabriel: Your loyalty to Gabriel fills you with confidence in yourself, bestowing upon you with +2 Academic Intelligence. + Whores and Thieves: First civilization, first criminals, +2 on rolls contributing to criminal activities. Skills: Bowman - allows a character to use bows and arrows Knives - Allows the character to throw knives as a bonus action. 1d4 damage, 5 per Event. Alchemy Vol. 1 - Character gains “Medicine” skill, whose effectiveness is determined by an INT modifier. Roll d20 to determine how much HP your character can recover on themselves or another between encounters. Cannot cure conditions.

#riot #art

[tigerkirby215]

5e Akshan, the Rogue Sentinel build (League of Legends)

(Artwork made for League of Legends by Riot Games.)

HE’S HERE HE’S HERE HESHEREHESHEREHESHEREHESHEREHESHEREHESHERE...

It’s no secret I’ve been excited for Akshan since he was first announced; the prospect of a grappling hook champ was simply too interesting for me. Seeing him now... I’m having slight reservations? I really dislike his Scoundrel mechanic (who had “bring back Garen Villain mechanic” and “revival mechanic” on their 200 years Bingo card?) and I kinda wish the grappling hook was incorporated more into his kit but... he still seems fun? It looks like he plays like a Twitch with more of an assassin focus, and Twitch has always been a fun character. I’m probably not buying him immediately on release but I’ll grab him when he drops down to a standardized price.

But anyways I’m here to build funny grappling hook man! ...Without his grappling hook. Look I’m going to tell you right now that while there is a grappling hook in 5e there’s little way to get a grappling hook gun like Akshan has, and while I’ll do my best to provide options in this build don’t get your hopes up. If that’s enough to make you lose interest in the build I’m sorry, but I do hope you stick around to read it anyways.

GOALS

Reclaimed by the light, yade yade yada... - Reviving people in real life is hard. Reviving people in League of Legends is a little easier. Reviving people in D&D though? Pretty easy.

Stealth time! I mean, stealth time...! - You will never guess what class the character with “Rogue” in their title is.

Only one way out of this mess; skyward! - Like I said I unfortunately can’t give you a grappling hook... gun. I can still give you the grappling hook item, and ways to climb out of dangerous situations!

RACE

Akshan is human according to the lore, so feel free to leave your complaints about Variant Human at the door. You can put +1 into your Strength and Dexterity for super Akshan action! You can also grab proficiency with the Persuasion skill (because how can you say no to that smile?) and whatever language would fit as Shuriman.

Of course Variant Humans get to grab a feat at level 1, and hello Crossbow Expert my old friend! Get that double-shot passive in while also fighting up-close and dirty. Oh and not needing to reload is obviously nice.

ABILITY SCORES

15; DEXTERITY - You’re still a marksman, which of course means Dexterity for shooting.

14; CHARISMA - You fight with a roguish charm. Rules are more like guidelines really, and why follow rules if they ruin your style?

13; STRENGTH - You need strength to throw grappling hooks if your DM doesn’t give you a proper grappling hook gun. Also carrying reobtained loot from warlords is nice.

12; CONSTITUTION - Even if you’re a squishy marksman / assassin having health is still a good thing.

10; WISDOM - You picked a few too many fights with bad people, but you’ve still got a good heart.

8; INTELLIGENCE - Grappling hooks are cool and all but attaching a grappling hook to an ancient relic used to vanquish a prophesized evil isn’t the brightest plan, and ignoring that prophesized evil for your own personal vengeance quest isn’t a good idea either.

Feel free to swap Strength and Constitution if you want better health but worse grappling hook tosses.

BACKGROUND

Akshan was an Urchin before being saved by Shadya. You get proficiency with Stealth and Slight of Hand as well as some tools, but I’d honestly suggest replacing them with Jeweler's Tools and Leatherworker’s Tools to keep your outfit in check. (Mostly because you get Thieves’ Tools from your class and won’t need a Disguise Kit.)

As a Shuriman kid you know all of the City Secrets. When you are not in combat, you can lead your allies through the city twice as fast as your speed would normally allow. Being a street kid does give you some valuable knowledge!

(Artwork made for Legends of Runeterra by Riot Games.)

THE BUILD

LEVEL 1 - ROGUE 1

Wow who would’ve guessed the character with “Rogue” in their title is a Rogue?! As a Rogue you get proficiency in Acrobatics, Athletics, Insight, and Deception. But feel free to swap it up to make your own Akshan! You can also get Expertise in Acrobatics for rope-swinging tricks, and Stealth to hunt down scoundrels!

When you find the scoundrels deliver swift Comeuppance with a Sneak Attack! If you have advantage or fight dirty with an ally near the enemy you can do an extra d6 of damage with your shot! And to top it off you’ve spent enough times in the streets of Shurima to know how scoundrels talk and can use Thieves’ Cant to trick them that you’re one of them, or can listen to scoundrels talking to know when to stop them.

LEVEL 2 - ROGUE 2

Second level Rogues can opt not to attack and instead use a Cunning Action to Dash, Disengage, or Hide as a Bonus Action. “To the shadows; where the scoundrels hide!”

LEVEL 3 - ROGUE 3

Third level Rogues get to choose their Roguish Archetype, and to get the ability to swing around on ropes the Thief is about as good as you’re going to get. That’s because Second-Story Work makes it so climbing ropes doesn’t cost extra movement, and also lets you jump further if you have a running start. In addition you have Fast Hands, allowing you to use your Cunning Action to make a Sleight of Hand check, use your thieves’ tools to disarm a trap or open a lock, or take the “Use an Object” action.

Now here’s the thing about using your grappling hook: most DMs would consider throwing a Grappling Hook to be a “Use an Object” action. So as a Bonus Action you can throw your grappling hook and then use your climbing speed to climb up the rope, as if you were grappling upwards! Of course talk to your DM if that’s okay, but if they let it happen you’ve practically got a flying speed at level 3! As long as there’s walls to grapple on, at least. “Akshan, away!”

And to top it off your Sneak Attack also increase to 2d6.

LEVEL 4 - ROGUE 4

Feel free to skip your first ASI if you want some Sentinel abilities first, but I consider Dexterity more important for a Rogue. More shooting, more AC, and better stealth!

(Artwork made for Riot Games.)

LEVEL 5 - WARLOCK 1

The Light Sentinels are a powerful, ancient entity who gave you powers in exchange for a set of rules. Just because the one who signed you up is dead and you don’t really follow the rules doesn’t mean you can’t still use their powers! But truthfully I just wanted a Charisma caster and you all know how much I love Warlock. Naturally powers against darkness and undead would be Celestial in nature! While you normally use The Absolver’s Healing Light to revive people healing is also useful. You have a pool of d6s equal to your Warlock level plus one. As a bonus action you can heal a creature you can see within 60 feet of you, spending dice from the pool. The maximum number of dice you can spend at once equals your Charisma modifier. Roll the dice you spend, add them together, and restore a number of hit points equal to the total. You regain all expended dice when you finish a long rest.

In addition as a Celestial Warlock you get Bonus Cantrips like the Light cantrip to see with your dumb human eyes as well as Sacred Flame cantrip to deliver Comeuppance! And of course to get cantrips you also get Pact Magic! You learn two cantrips from the Warlock list like Prestidigitation to be cool and flashy, and Mage Hand which can help you with your... legitimate business.

You can also learn two first level spells like Guiding Bolt and Cure Wounds, straight from the Celestial List! Mark a foe as a scoundrel and keep your friends alive and well! “Go; and die no more.”

LEVEL 6 - WARLOCK 2

Second level Warlocks get Eldritch Invocations: normally you get two but we’re only going to take one for now. But which one? Mage Armor is the best AC you’re going to get until you get magic armor which means that Armor of Shadows could be good, but Mask of Many Faces will let you choose your outfits however you please, and keep them from getting dirty! Basically I’m leaving you with a choice: if you want better AC but worse infiltration go for Armor of Shadows. Alternatively if you want the ability to sneak around in plain sight then Mask of Many Faces is a good choice for you!

You could also learn another Warlock spell but we’re going to wait for...

LEVEL 7 - WARLOCK 3

Third level Warlocks get their Pact Boon, and while the Absolver isn’t quite a “blade” Pact of the Blade is still the boon related to using cool ancient relic weapons! If you want to upgrade Pact of the Blade into “Pact of the Blade and also Sentinel Weapons” take Improved Pact Weapon.

Now here’s where I’m going to have to tell you to homebrew with your DM a little: for whatever reason Improved Pact Weapon lets you summon a shortbow, longbow, light crossbow, or heavy crossbow. Notice that there’s no Hand Crossbow on that list. This (technically) means that you can’t summon a Hand Crossbow, even if you take the Invocation tax for Improved Pact Weapon. Pact of the Blade does let you bind to any weapon... as long as its magical, and the lowest level magical Hand Crossbow you can get is either a +1 Hand Crossbow or a Crossbow of Warning. (Both good items to have but not necessarily something you’ll find in your adventures.) In short the official rules don’t let you have a Hand Crossbow.

Honestly I see no reason why you can’t have a Pact Hand Crossbow, but if your DM’s a stickler about it you can survive with either a Heavy Crossbow or a Longbow. (Depending on your preference.) If your DM doesn’t allow you to use a Hand Crossbow take Sharpshooter as your level 1 feat instead of Crossbow Expert, as you’ll get more use out of it.

tl;dr talk to your DM about letting Improved Pact Weapon let you summon a Hand Crossbow. If they say no edit the build with that in mind.

Anyways you can also learn more spells like Invisibility to sneak around, and Misty Step for good ol’ Flash.

LEVEL 8 - WARLOCK 4

4th level Warlocks can get an Ability Score Improvement... or a Feat! It would be easier just to grab Eldritch Adept now and talk about which Invocation you’ll use it for next level.

You can prepare another spell at this level at least, and also learn another cantrip! For your cantrip Minor Illusion can be used to make distractions while sneaking, and Mirror Image is a good spell to keep alive.

There are other spells you can take instead if you so desire. Lesser Restoration from the Celestial list is never bad to have, and Darkness can be used as a Smoke Bomb which you can’t see through with your dumb human eyes. And of course there’s the obviously good spells like Hold Person or Shatter. I’m trying to build what’s most accurate to Akshan, as well as what I believe would be the most useful. Feel free to change the build as you wish.

LEVEL 9 - WARLOCK 5

5th level Warlocks get more invocations like Thirsting Blade for a bit more attack speed with your Absolver. You can also cash in that Eldritch Adept Invocation to take One With Shadows, to hide in the shade of a wall until it’s time to surprise your foes! “That’s right; it is I!”

And finally we’ve got our revive! Take Revivify to bring someone back from the dead, as long as it was fairly recent. And the best part is you don’t even need to kill the person who killed them! But you will need a lot of diamonds, which can get expensive. “Dear friends: please stop dying. Love, Akshan.”

There’s several other third level spells you could potentially take (notably Thunder Step which might be a good replacement for Misty Step if you don’t mind throwing stealth out the window) but it’s up to you to take them.

(Artwork by @Tsvetyaa on Twitter.)

LEVEL 10 - ROGUE 5

Now that you’ve got the Sentinel part down it’s time to hone your Roguish skills! 5th level Rogues can use their reaction for an Uncanny Dodge, halving the damage from an attack they saw coming. In addition your Sneak Attack increases to 3d6.

LEVEL 11 - ROGUE 6

6th level Rogues get Expertise in two more skills: Deception and Persuasion would be useful to charm your way out of danger.

LEVEL 12 - ROGUE 7

7th level Rogues can swing out of danger with Evasion: if you make a Dexterity saving throw and succeed, you take no damage! And even if you fail you only take half damage! Oh and your Sneak Attack is now 4d6. “Consider yourself, absolved.”

LEVEL 13 - ROGUE 8

8th level Rogues get an Ability Score Improvement: let’s cap off that Dexterity to be the best shot you can be!

(Artwork made for League of Legends by Riot Games.)

LEVEL 14 - ROGUE 9

9th level Thief Rogues can never be found as long as they’re careful. Supreme Sneak gives you advantage on Stealth checks if you move no more than half your speed on your turn. This has insane synergy with One With Shadows as you can turn invisible and then get advantage on stealth (because for some reason being invisible doesn’t do that.) And of course if you go slow and steady you can sneak around just about anything, which is great for when you pop out to do 5d6 Sneak Attack damage! “Ha! I have you now!”

LEVEL 15 - ROGUE 10

Rogues get a few extra Ability Score Improvements... one extra, to be precise. But that means you can bump up your Charisma to be better at socialization and all that Warlock stuff.

LEVEL 16 - ROGUE 11

11th level Rogues get Reliable Talent, meaning the lowest you can roll on a skill you’re proficient in is 10. I always like to go through your skills when you get this ability to show what the bare minimum you can roll is, so...

27 on Acrobatics or Stealth

25 on Deception or Persuasion

21 on Slight of Hand

18 on Athletics

16 on Insight

And your Sneak Attack is now 6d6. What fun!

LEVEL 17 - ROGUE 12

12th level Rogues get yet another Ability Score Improvement, which of course means more Charisma!

(Artwork made for Legends of Runeterra by Riot Games.)

LEVEL 18 - ROGUE 13

13th level Thief Rogues can use any Sentinel weapon they reacquisition thanks to Use Magic Device. You ignore all class, race, and level requirements on the use of magic items, letting you have fun with whatever toys you find. And when all else fails your Absolver now packs a 7d6 Sneak Attack!

LEVEL 19 - ROGUE 14

14th level Rogues are so good at sneaking they can catch the sneakers! You have a 10 foot Blindsense to know if anyone’s hiding near you.

LEVEL 20 - ROGUE 15

Our final level is the 15th level of Rogue for Slippery Mind... You get proficiency in Wisdom saving throws. That’s it. Well how’s about 8d6 Sneak Attack as a final sendoff?

FINAL BUILD

PROS

I’ve got something for you! It’s... comeuppance - Three shots with a Hand Crossbow means three chances to apply your 8d6 Sneak Attack! Akshan is all about burst and burst people down you can certainly do!

Sometimes I even sneak up on myself - Supreme Sneak, One With Shadows, and the Invisibility spell will help you move around in the shadows without being spotted. And even without that you have a minimum 27 Stealth roll thanks to Reliable Talent!

You are reclaimed. Go! Live! - It obviously goes without saying but a little bit of healing helps a lot in the long run. Everyone can appreciate a pick me up.

CONS

You try to rest and some lowlife kills one of your palls! - You have a lot more limited resources than the average Warlock as your Healing Light only comes back after a Long Rest. What’s more is that most of your spells are utility based so it might be hard to get use out of the renewable nature of Warlock spell slots. And to top it off Revivify is expensive! So you’d best be ready to spend a lot of diamonds.

I live by my own code: don’t be an ass - Your Charisma unfortunately isn’t maxed out, which means your Warlock abilities aren’t maxed out. But you don’t really need maxed out Charisma as most of your spells are utility based... I’m just saying Sharpshooter is an option.

Shadya would approve of this... I think - You missed out on level 17 of Thief Rogue which means you don’t get arguably one of the strongest Rogue abilities in the game: Thief’s Reflexes. If you’re not going to get to level 20 anytime soon I think that this build is quite good but if you’re going to get to a high level maybe ditch the revives? (It’s more than likely that Cleric can do it better.)

But you’re enough of a hero without the super-awesome relic weapon that can bring people back from the dead; that’s just an added bonus... as is the grappling hook! Use your natural awesomeness to sneak up your foes and then use your legitimately-obtained weapons-of-mass-absolution to vanquish any scoundrel in your way! And if a depressed ghost king comes knocking tell him that the maximum time limit on your revives expired. “Silly Viego, we can’t bring back those we’ve lost. I mean, I can. But not you.”

(Artwork made for Legends of Runeterra by Riot Games.)

#dnd 5e #dnd #dnd build #dnd guide #League of Legends #League of Legends Akshan #Akshan #grappling hook #dnd rogue #dnd warlock #Sentinels of Light

[burkesguidetodnd]

Rogue

Rogues rely on skill, stealth, and their foes’ vulnerabilities to get the upper hand in any situation. They have a knack for finding the solution to just about any problem, demonstrating a resourcefulness and versatility that is the cornerstone of any successful adventuring party.

Rogues devote as much effort to mastering the use of a variety of skills as they do to perfecting their combat abilities, giving them a broad expertise that few other characters can match. Many rogues focus on stealth and deception, while others refine the skills that help them in a dungeon environment, such as climbing, finding and disarming traps, and opening locks. When it comes to combat, rogues prioritize cunning over brute strength. A rogue would rather make one precise strike, placing it exactly where the attack will hurt the target most, than wear an opponent down with a barrage of attacks. Rogues have an almost supernatural knack for avoiding danger, and a few learn magical tricks to supplement their other abilities.

Every town and city has its share of rogues. Most of them live up to the worst stereotypes of the class, making a living as burglars, assassins, cutpurses, and con artists. Often, these scoundrels are organized into thieves’ guilds or crime families. Plenty of rogues operate independently, but even they sometimes recruit apprentices to help them in their scams and heists. A few rogues make an honest living as locksmiths, investigators, or exterminators, which can be a dangerous job in a world where dire rats—and wererats—haunt the sewers. As adventurers, rogues fall on both sides of the law. Some are hardened criminals who decide to seek their fortune in treasure hoards, while others take up a life of adventure to escape from the law. Some have learned and perfected their skills with the explicit purpose of infiltrating ancient ruins and hidden crypts in search of treasure.

As you create your rogue character, consider the character’s relationship to the law. Do you have a criminal past—or present? Are you on the run from the law or from an angry thieves’ guild master? Or did you leave your guild in search of bigger risks and bigger rewards? Is it greed that drives you in your adventures, or some other desire or ideal? What was the trigger that led you away from your previous life? Did a great con or heist gone terribly wrong cause you to re-evaluate your career? Maybe you were lucky and a successful robbery gave you the coin you needed to escape the squalor of your life. Did wanderlust finally call you away from your home? Perhaps you suddenly found yourself cut off from your family or your mentor, and you had to find a new means of support. Or maybe you made a new friend—another member of your adventuring party—who showed you new possibilities for earning a living and employing your particular talents.

HIT POINTS: 1d8 Per Rogue Level

HIT POINTS AT 1st LEVEL: 1d8 + CON

PROFICIENCIES

ARMOUR: Light armour.

WEAPONS: Simple weapons, Hand crossbows, Longswords, Rapiers, Shortswords

TOOLS: Thieve’s tools

SAVING THROWS: Dexterity, Intelligence

SKILLS: Acrobatics, Athletics, Deception, Insight, Intimidation, Investigation, Perception, Performance, Persuasion, Sleight of Hand, and Stealth (Choose 4)

STARTING EQUIPMENT

1. A rapier OR A shortsword

2. A shortbow and quiver of 20 arrows OR A shortsword

3. A burglar’s pack OR A dungeoneer’s pack OR An explorer’s pack

4. Leather armour AND Two daggers AND Thieve’s tools

EXPERTISE

At 1st level, choose two of your skill proficiencies, or one of your skill proficiencies and your proficiency with thieves’ tools. Your proficiency bonus is doubled for any ability check you make that uses either of the chosen proficiencies. At 6th level, you can choose two more of your proficiencies (in skills or with thieves’ tools) to gain this benefit.

SNEAK ATTACK

Beginning at 1st level, you know how to strike subtly and exploit a foe’s distraction. Once per turn, you can deal an extra 1d6 damage to one creature you hit with an attack if you have advantage on the attack roll. The attack must use a finesse or a ranged weapon. You don’t need advantage on the attack roll if another enemy of the target is within 5 feet of it, that enemy isn’t incapacitated, and you don’t have disadvantage on the attack roll. The amount of the extra damage increases as you gain levels in this class, as shown in the Sneak Attack column of the Rogue table.

THIEVES’ CANT

During your rogue training you learned thieves’ cant, a secret mix of dialect, jargon, and code that allows you to hide messages in seemingly normal conversation. Only another creature that knows thieves’ cant understands such messages. It takes four times longer to convey such a message than it does to speak the same idea plainly. In addition, you understand a set of secret signs and symbols used to convey short, simple messages, such as whether an area is dangerous or the territory of a thieves’ guild, whether loot is nearby, or whether the people in an area are easy marks or will provide a safe house for thieves on the run.

CUNNING ACTION

Starting at 2nd level, your quick thinking and agility allow you to move and act quickly. You can take a bonus action on each of your turns in combat. This action can be used only to take the Dash, Disengage, or Hide action.

ROGUISH ARCHETYPE

At 3rd level, you choose an archetype that you emulate in the exercise of your rogue abilities: Thief, detailed at the end of the class description, or one from another source. Your archetype choice grants you features at 3rd level and then again at 9th, 13th, and 17th level.

ABILITY SCORE IMPROVEMENT

When you reach 4th level, and again at 8th, 10th, 12th, 16th, and 19th level, you can increase one ability score of your choice by 2, or you can increase two ability scores of your choice by 1. As normal, you can’t increase an ability score above 20 using this feature.

UNCANNY DODGE

Starting at 5th level, when an attacker that you can see hits you with an attack, you can use your reaction to halve the attack’s damage against you.

EXPERTISE

At 6th level, choose two more of your skill proficiencies, or one more of your skill proficiencies and your proficiency with thieves’ tools. Your proficiency bonus is doubled for any ability check you make that uses either of the chosen proficiencies.

EVASION

Beginning at 7th level, you can nimbly dodge out of the way of certain area effects, such as an ancient red dragon’s fiery breath or an ice storm spell. When you are subjected to an effect that allows you to make a Dexterity saving throw to take only half damage, you instead take no damage if you succeed on the saving throw, and only half damage if you fail.

RELIABLE TALENT

By 11th level, you have refined your chosen skills until they approach perfection. Whenever you make an ability check that lets you add your proficiency bonus, you can treat a d20 roll of 9 or lower as a 10.

BLINDSENSE

Starting at 14th level, if you are able to hear, you are aware of the location of any hidden or invisible creature within 10 feet of you.

SLIPPERY MIND

By 15th level, you have acquired greater mental strength. You gain proficiency in Wisdom saving throws.

ELUSIVE

Beginning at 18th level, you are so evasive that attackers rarely gain the upper hand against you. No attack roll has advantage against you while you aren’t incapacitated.

STROKE OF LUCK

At 20th level, you have an uncanny knack for succeeding when you need to. If your attack misses a target within range, you can turn the miss into a hit. Alternatively, if you fail an ability check, you can treat the d20 roll as a 20. Once you use this feature, you can’t use it again until you finish a short or long rest.

ROGUISH ARCHETYPES

Rogues have many features in common, including their emphasis on perfecting their skills, their precise and deadly approach to combat, and their increasingly quick reflexes. But different rogues steer those talents in varying directions, embodied by the rogue archetypes. Your choice of archetype is a reflection of your focus—not necessarily an indication of your chosen profession, but a description of your preferred techniques.

SOULKNIFE

A Soulknife possesses powerful psionic potential. They channel this reservoir of inner magic into tangible blades of psychic energy, striking at their victims’ minds. They find easy employment as members of thieves’ guilds, being particularly sought after as assassins, since their signature psychic blades leave behind no visible wounds. As a Soulknife, your psionic abilities might have haunted you since you were a child, only revealing their potential when your psychic knives first appeared. Or you might have sought out a reclusive order of psionic assassins and spent years learning how to manifest your deadly blades.

3rd LEVEL – PSYCHIC BLADE

As a bonus action, you can create a magical blade of shimmering psychic power from one or both of your hands. While one of your hands is manifesting a blade, you can’t hold anything in that hand. You can dismiss one or both blades at any time (no action required), and they disappear if you’re incapacitated. The blade is a simple melee weapon with the finesse, light, and thrown properties. It has a normal range of 30 feet and a long range of 60 feet, and it deals 1d6 psychic damage on a hit. If you throw the blade as part of an attack, it vanishes immediately after it hits or misses its target. The blade otherwise disappears the instant it leaves your hand.

3rd LEVEL – PSIONIC ENHANCEMENT

You can focus your psionic power to give yourself an extraordinary ability. When you finish a long rest, you gain one of the following benefits of your choice, which lasts until you finish a long rest:

Telepathy

You can communicate telepathically with any creature you can see within 30 feet of you. If a creature can speak at least one language, it can respond to you telepathically.

Toughness

Your hit point maximum and your current hit points increase by an amount equal to your Intelligence modifier plus your rogue level.

Walking Speed

Increase your walking speed by 5 feet.

9th LEVEL – TERRIFYING BLADE

Your psychic blades can now stoke terror within a target: When you damage a creature with your Psychic Blade, you can force the target to make a Wisdom saving throw (DC equal to 8 + your proficiency bonus + your Intelligence modifier). On a failed save, the creature is frightened of you until the start of your next turn. On a successful save, the creature isn’t frightened and is immune to your Terrifying Blade for 24 hours.

13th LEVEL – PSYCHIC VEIL

You can weave a veil of psionic static to mask your physical presence. As an action, you can magically become invisible, along with anything you are wearing or carrying, for 10 minutes. This invisibility ends if you make an attack or if you force a creature to make a saving throw. You can use this feature a number of times equal to your Intelligence modifier (minimum of once), and you regain all expended uses when you finish a long rest.

17th LEVEL – REND MIND

You can sweep your Psychic Blade directly through a creature’s mind. As an action while you have at least one Psychic Blade manifested, you can force a creature you can see within 30 feet of you to make an Intelligence saving throw (DC equal to 10 + your proficiency bonus + your Intelligence modifier). If you are hidden from the target, it has disadvantage on the save. On a failed save, the target takes 12d6 psychic damage, and it is stunned until the start of your next turn. On a successful save, the target takes half as much damage and isn’t stunned. One of your Psychic Blades vanishes after using this feature. You can use this feature a number of times equal to your Intelligence modifier (minimum of once), and you regain all expended uses when you finish a long rest.

THE REVIVED

You’ve had a soul-shaking realization: you’ve been dead before, yet somehow you are alive again. This life isn’t your first; it might not even be your second. Your past life, or lives, are unclear to you, but you know that you passed through the gates of death. And the powers of death, or some other influence, wasn’t done with you. You might have convinced a deity to let you return to the Material Plane, perhaps you signed a deal with a fiend, or maybe you used an artefact that revived you. Whatever force brought you back, you now know the truth about yourself: that you are one of death’s representatives among the living.

3rd LEVEL – TOKENS OF PAST LIVES

You remember talents you had in your previous life. When you finish a long rest, you gain one skill or tool proficiency of your choice. You can replace this proficiency with another when you finish a long rest.

3rd LEVEL – REVIVED NATURE

Your newfound connection to death gives you the following benefits:

You have advantage on saving throws against disease and being poisoned, and you have resistance to poison damage.

You don’t need to eat, drink, or breathe.

You don’t need to sleep. When you take a long rest, you must spend at least four hours in an inactive, motionless state, rather than sleeping. In this state, you remain semi-conscious, and you can hear as normal.

3rd LEVEL – BOLTS FROM THE GRAVE

You have learned to unleash bolts of necrotic energy from within your revived body. Immediately after you use your Cunning Action, you can make a ranged spell attack against a creature within 30 feet of you, provided you haven’t used your Sneak Attack this turn. You are proficient with it, and you add your Dexterity modifier to its attack and damage rolls. A creature hit by this attack takes necrotic damage equal to your Sneak Attack. This uses your Sneak Attack for the turn.

9th LEVEL – CONNECT WITH THE DEAD

You can create a link with a spirit through their corpse. When you do so, you cast the speak with dead spell, without using a spell slot or material components. Intelligence is your spellcasting ability for this spell. Speaking with the dead in this way temporarily gives you a capability from a past life—you’re unsure whether it’s from your past or the spirit’s. When the spell ends, you gain one random benefit from the Revived Capabilities table. The benefit lasts until you finish a short or long rest.

13th LEVEL – AUDIENCE WITH DEATH

When at death’s door, you can converse with the powers of death. You have advantage on death saving throws, and whenever you make a death saving throw, your spirit can ask an entity of death a question that can be answered with “yes,” “no,” or “unknown.” The entity answers truthfully, using the knowledge of all those who have died. In addition, whenever you have 0 hit points and are healed or stabilized, you can change any of your personal characteristics: personality trait, ideal, bond, or flaw.

17th LEVEL – ETHEREAL JAUNT

Like a ghost, you have the ability to slip in and out of the Ethereal Plane. You can now use your Cunning Action to teleport to an unoccupied space within 30 feet of you. You don’t need to see that space to teleport to it, but your teleportation fails, wasting your bonus action, if you attempt to teleport through magical force that is Medium or larger, such as a wall of force. If you appear in a space occupied by another creature or filled by an object, you are immediately shunted to the nearest unoccupied space that you can occupy and take force damage equal to twice the number of feet you are shunted.

THIEF

You hone your skills in the larcenous arts. Burglars, bandits, cutpurses, and other criminals typically follow this archetype, but so do rogues who prefer to think of themselves as professional treasure seekers, explorers, delvers, and investigators. In addition to improving your agility and stealth, you learn skills useful for delving into ancient ruins, reading unfamiliar languages, and using magic items you normally couldn’t employ.

3rd LEVEL – FAST HANDS

You can use the bonus action granted by your Cunning Action to make a Dexterity (Sleight of Hand) check, use your thieves’ tools to disarm a trap or open a lock, or take the Use an Object action.

3rd LEVEL – SECOND-STORY WORK

When you choose this archetype, you gain the ability to climb faster than normal; climbing no longer costs you extra movement. In addition, when you make a running jump, the distance you cover increases by a number of feet equal to your Dexterity modifier.

9th LEVEL – SUPREME SNEAK

You have advantage on a Dexterity (Stealth) check if you move no more than half your speed on the same turn.

13th LEVEL – USE MAGIC DEVICE

You have learned enough about the workings of magic that you can improvise the use of items even when they are not intended for you. You ignore all class, race, and level requirements on the use of magic items.

17th LEVEL – THIEF’S REFLEXES

You have become adept at laying ambushes and quickly escaping danger. You can take two turns during the first round of any combat. You take your first turn at your normal initiative and your second turn at your initiative minus 10. You can’t use this feature when you are surprised.

#dnd #D&D #classes #rogue