Treantmonk's Guide to character building
Treantmonklvl20
Explorer
No, I'm selfish and am more motivated to do one's based on my own characters
That said, I do currently play a Hexblade 3/College of Swords Bard 7 in a campaign, and it is awesome. Has a flame tongue he assigns CHa to, a Bow as a pact weapon (improved pact weapon invocation), and has blade flourishes. Ends up being a top-tier melee, top tier archery, top tier caster. A real jack of all trades.
This is a terrific resource for new players, Treantmonk. Thank you for putting forth the effort. I was a bit surprised that you held off until level 16 before picking up any sort of Invisibility, and that Greater Invisibility did not make the cut for you at all. I'd love to hear your reasoning for this.
You also mentioned your Hexblade / College of Swords build. I would love to see this build get the same treatment as the God Wizard build. In particular, I would love to see how you deal with the following sets of problems, assuming that you want to use a shield:
Quick Summary of Sword and Board Headaches for Hexblade / College of Swords Build:
You also mention using a bow as your pact weapon. Switching to the bow if you are using a shield can be tough since it requires a full action to doff/don the shield. You really need to know before the combat starts whether you'll be fighting with your bow, or whether you'll be fighting sword and board, unless you plan to waste actions mid-combat.
These are the nuances of the Hexblade / College of Swords build that I would love to see you address.
You also mentioned your Hexblade / College of Swords build. I would love to see this build get the same treatment as the God Wizard build. In particular, I would love to see how you deal with the following sets of problems, assuming that you want to use a shield:
Quick Summary of Sword and Board Headaches for Hexblade / College of Swords Build:
- Without Improved Pact Weapon at Warlock 3, you cannot cast warlock spells that require a material component without first sheathing/dropping your main hand weapon and drawing an arcane focus (e.g. Hex).
- Even with Improved Pact Weapon at Warlock 3, you still cannot cast warlock spells that require a somatic component but which do NOT require a material component without first sheathing/dropping your main hand weapon and drawing an arcane focus (e.g. Eldritch Blast). To get around this problem, you will also need the War Caster feat.
- The same sets of problems apply to your bard spells, until you reach level 3 as a bard and pick up the College of Swords, as well as the War Caster feat.
- The earliest level you can obviate all of these problems is level 6, and only if you go Hexblade 3 / College of Swords 3 and pick up the War Caster feat. Since you will likely want to race towards Extra Attack as early as possible, you probably won't be able to mitigate until level 8 or 9, except through judicious spell selections at each level.
You also mention using a bow as your pact weapon. Switching to the bow if you are using a shield can be tough since it requires a full action to doff/don the shield. You really need to know before the combat starts whether you'll be fighting with your bow, or whether you'll be fighting sword and board, unless you plan to waste actions mid-combat.
These are the nuances of the Hexblade / College of Swords build that I would love to see you address.
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jgsugden
Legend
Another character building guide idea: Secondary Role discussions. The Scout. The Face(of the party). The Healer. The Trapfinder. Making guides that discuss these roles and the various ways they can be filled, and some considerations you want to think about when you take on that secondary role.
For example, a guide on building a Scout PC might state you want a scout to be stealthy, perceptive, mobile, capable of tracking, and able to survive on their own. Then it would give options for how different types of PCs can meet those objectives: Stealth could be the stealth skill, or illusions, or wildshape, or pass without trace, or invisibility... Perceptive could be perception skill, or detection magics, or even fodder as mine detectors (like summoned creatures). Mobile could be high speed, teleportation, flight, etc... Tracking could be survival and certain class skills, or it could be detection magics.
For example, a guide on building a Scout PC might state you want a scout to be stealthy, perceptive, mobile, capable of tracking, and able to survive on their own. Then it would give options for how different types of PCs can meet those objectives: Stealth could be the stealth skill, or illusions, or wildshape, or pass without trace, or invisibility... Perceptive could be perception skill, or detection magics, or even fodder as mine detectors (like summoned creatures). Mobile could be high speed, teleportation, flight, etc... Tracking could be survival and certain class skills, or it could be detection magics.
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