D&D 5E [5e DM Help] Keeping the lid on....what builds should I NOT allow?

[Motorskills]

So I have been very open with my players, that I was preventing non-standard builds until everyone was comfortable with the system.

I allowed Feats (with a couple of minor provisos), but banned Multi-Classing completely.

Options from SCAG were allowed, options from Elemental Companion were not.

The party is now 6th level, and everyone (including me) is comfortable enough with the system that I am prepared to open up pretty fully.


However I know some builds are bent, others are flat-out broken, so what lockouts do you suggest I impose?

 

[WarpedAcorn]

Personally, I would say none. But the fine print would also read that it has to make sense for the character and not be something that is just done for purely stat-boosting means. By that I mean something along the lines of a Fighter deciding he wants to take a couple levels of Paladin to get Divine Strike, but nothing in his character suggests that he would be Paladin material.

 

[manduck]

If you're comfortable with the rules, don't put any restrictions in place. As long as whatever they choose makes sense for their character, let the PCs do their thing. Some builds are better than others, that's true. Though ultimately, the PCs are supposed to win. So who cares if they are powerful? As you get more DM practice, you'll find plenty of ways to challenge them regardless of their build. Fighting a group of goblins may be no big deal. Though fighting a group of goblins on an icy slope at the top of a mountain that slides to a cliff ledge may pose a much greater challenge (and be pretty fun). There is more to crafting a good adventure and challenging a group than just the numbers or class features.

 

[RulesJD]

In order of Most Powerful (and thus should be banned if you want it that way)

1. Sharpshooter and Great Weapon Master feats.

2. Paladin/Sorcerer build is probably the most commonly used "power build", but even that is so reliant on Long Rests that it's not that bad.

3. Totem Barbarian 3/BM Fighter+. Honestly this build is only terrifyingly OP if you allow GWM. Without GWM, it's still the most potent general melee build but not that OP.

Really that's about it. Honestly just remove SS and GWM and call it a day. Nothing else is really that much more gamebreakingly effective. Even the builds are only moderately more powerful than others.

 

[Vulf]

Any warlock multiclass combinations can break the game.

Don't ban crossbow expert builds, just never ever give them a magic hand crossbow and you should be fine.
And always remember, just rolling high on stealth doesn't mean the character is hidden. You decide if hiding is even possible in a situation. Hiding behind a potted plant, when all the enemies know you are there does not make you hidden. Hiding behind another character while the light of the sun makes the pair cast 2 very visible shadows mean the Halfling is not hidden.

Also do not forget about perception checks in dim light. Darkvision does not negate the penalty.

DO NOT use the flanking rules.

 

[WarpedAcorn]

DO NOT use the flanking rules.

This is something to seriously consider. We use flanking in our current games (although admittedly in one game I am the only melee so we are the only ones being flanked), and it IS the one optional rule that I flip flop on. It does have the potential to be ridiculously OP. If you like having fewer big bad guys, then it really helps the players DESTROY the encounter. Conversely, if you like having swarms of little bad guys, the players can similarly get destroyed. Basically the Flanking rule has the option to swing fights either way.

 

[Yunru]

Also do not forget about perception checks in dim light. Darkvision does not negate the penalty.

Actually it does. You treat dim light as if it were brightly lit and total darkness as dim light. At least, for racial darkvision you do.

Also Warlock Multiclasses don't break the game, they just make it easier for Cha based characters to establish a baseline.

 

[mellored]

Don't allow Infinite simulacrums. That's really the only thing to actually break the game, other things are just variou levels of strong.

Great weapon people are fine. Just have more then big melee enemies rushing the party. Include spell casters, hordes, slingers behind difficult terrain, bridge over waterfalls, some flying creatures, social encounter, etc... all things that make the game more interesting anyways. Of course you still want the occasional big melee guy so they have a chance to shine.

Sharpshooter is a little trickier to work with since it's high damage at range lacks the same weaknessed as melee. But fighting in narrow twisting tunnels, small rooms, or in think woods will allow you're monsters to get in melee, which is bad for them. But of course you also want to give them a big battle on an open fiend now and then.

Also, you can always add more monsters. Bend the XP budget, or any other rule to make things more fun.

Multiclass is probably good to ban because your more like to serious weaken a character than anything else. A monk/sorcerer is going to fall way behind the rest of the party.

 

[tglassy]

Multiclass is probably good to ban because your more like to serious weaken a character than anything else. A monk/sorcerer is going to fall way behind the rest of the party.

I've always disagreed with this. Perhaps for pure combat, multiclassing weakens you, but none of my multiclassed characters ever felt weak to me. They felt fleshed out. People change, they grow, they become something else than they decided to when they were 18. Deals are made. Alliances forged. Weaknesses revealed that the character wants to improve upon. The Sorcerer who decides they are tired of always being weak and frail, so they start training to be a Fighter. The Bard who wants to play music better than anyone, then finds himself face to face with a Devil that can make it happen. The Barbarian who realizes he was called to be the servant of his god, thus becoming a Cleric. Or paladin. Or whatever.

These characters are fun. Doing it on a metagaming basis, sure they're a pain. You have to focus pretty hard on making it work from a numbers standpoint. "Do I want the extra attack, or should I just take the levels in Monk now?" My brother had that option. He was an Eldridge Knight, and after the first four levels, they had some downtime before they actually grew to level 5. He said his character went North, found a monastery and started training to control his inner magic (we had the Eldritdg Knight powers be Sorcerer based instead of Wizard). I told him about the Monk's Way of the Four Elements, and he said it was perfect, so now his Fighter 4 is a Monk 1, and is training to get those powers. That's how he interoperates "Control his inner magic". So he loves his character even more, even if he doesn't have the second attack that the party's Paladin and Battle Master have, and even the Party's Bladesinger will have at level 6. It's not power gaming. It's just gaming. Making whatever decision is important to the player. And he hasn't shown any indication that he feels left out as far as damage is concerned, because he loves his character.

I had a Rogue Warlock that I loved. He was a master at manipulating people. He was great out of combat. Basically the party face, using Silent Image to wreak all kinds of havoc. But he sucked at fighting. And I didn't really care. He was good enough, and used his intellect more than his fighting skills.

It can work. It does work. You don't have to 'keep up with the Joneses' to have a good time. Let them play their character, and during the course of the game, if it makes sense for them to multiclass, let them multiclass. If their Barbarian decides he is connected to nature, and wants to become his totem spirit in body, then let him multiclass a few levels in Druid as he becomes attune to nature. That's awesome.

Now, if they're just taking multiclasses to fulfill a build, and to metagame, that's different. As it was said before, if there's no reason to become a paladin, then don't allow that. It's not in the game. I would only allow mutliclassing (if starting at level 1) if it made sense in game. If starting at higher levels, you have to justify why your character has these different classes. But I never completely disallow it.

 

[Zardnaar]

Sharpshooter, Greatweapon master and Sorlock (Sorcerer 1/Warlock 2, keep going as Sorcerer) are the big ones.

Infinite simulacrums are the other ones.