D&D 5E Help me create a good Hobgoblin battle mage.

[GreenTengu]

I am really surprised at the really bad job people do at figuring this stuff out.

Okay, first-- for a Wizard? Strength is absolutely worthless. You couldn't wear armor or use a shield if you wanted to! As long as you can carry your gear, you are fine with a 8 Strength and it will never come into play against you.

Also, I believe you do need 1 hand free to cast any spell with anything but verbal components.

This is two strikes telling you NOT to use a 2-handed sword. The few extra points you might squeeze out of a two-handed weapon's base damage die just simply is not worth it.

What you DO need as a Wizard is good Dexterity. You need the initiative, you need the extra points of AC, and you need a good Dexterity save which you are likely going to be making a couple times a session. Stealth and Sleight of Hand (to pull out those magical components without drawing attention) are pretty indispensable to any wizard since if you can avoid being targeted for damage at any time, it saves you precious HPs.

So since, if you have any idea what you are doing, you are already going to be loading up your Dexterity attribute anyway-- then any martial weapon you get should be one that uses that attribute rather than require you to raise an attribute you otherwise would not.

So the first martial weapon you should always choose is the Rapier. Same damage as Longsword, but to-hit and damage are based on Dexterity. It leaves your hand free for casting without having to sheath or drop it.

The second weapon you should choose can either be
1) A long bow-- deals a bit more damage, but it is heavy and two-handed so if you want to switch between shooting and casting, you have a problem.
2) A hand crossbow - far more ideal for switching between casting and shooting, but it is a loaded weapon which means you have to use your bonus action to reload it. Though I don't believe as a Wizard you will lose out on anything there.

Now-- as for school, even though Volo's guide pushes Evocation, that is the absolutely worst choice. Since some part of your character's "points" for a lack of a better term have been used to invest in martial weapons, the last thing you want is for your magic school to effectively give you a better direct damage option than relying on them at all times. But, you have the advantage that you are going to be dealing more damage than any other wizard with your basic weapons-- even better off than the lauded High Elf or Mountain Dwarf.

Since your biggest drawback is that you don't really have a lot of hit points, even with a Constitution boost, Abjuration as others have said is the best option as its basic ability effectively grants you additional hit points. By having focused on Dexterity as I listed above, you are also going to have the higher AC and the Dex save to keep those extra hit points for longer.

But, really, Divination, Necromancy, Illusion and Enchantment are also very strong contenders, you just have to be a bit more creative about how you go about using your abilities than straight-up getting bonus hit points.

Regardless, your top 3 attributes are Dexterity, Intelligence and Constitution (and whether Dex or Int is your #1 is up to you) and the other three can pretty much be ignored. I think I would recommend Wisdom being your next if one is going to be higher than the others and you should put absolutely no investment in Strength as it will almost never come up during the course of the game. Not unless you are going to be required to swim or climb. Even then, if you choose to make Athletics one of your skill choices, you are covered.

 

[Shadowdweller00]

While it delays Intelligence progression a bit one can do worse than the Mobility feat for survival purposes - allows one to make melee attacks, including Shocking Grasp or SCAG cantrip attacks, and dart behind an ally. (That said, Greater Invis at 7th level allows one to do the same against foes that don't see through invis at the cost of concentration, a non-evocation spell, and the casting action)

 

[Willie the Duck]

I am really surprised at the really bad job people do at figuring this stuff out.

He didn't explain well what he wanted, and it is a very wide open question.

The second weapon you should choose can either be
1) A long bow-- deals a bit more damage, but it is heavy and two-handed so if you want to switch between shooting and casting, you have a problem.

This is by no means RAW, but I would ask the DM how they feel about casting with your drawing hand.

2) A hand crossbow - far more ideal for switching between casting and shooting, but it is a loaded weapon which means you have to use your bonus action to reload it. Though I don't believe as a Wizard you will lose out on anything there.

Loading: Because of the time required to load this weapon, you can fire only one piece of ammunition from it when you use an action, bonus action, or reaction to fire it, regardless of the number of attacks you can normally make.

nothing about using a bonus action to reload.

 

[Lucas Blackstone]

Hey Corpsetaker, does the DM want you not to play a Hobgoblin Bladesinger? I saw earlier you mention that your group uses RAW, and RAW distinctly says the DM can allow non elf Bladesingers. So at an Adventurer's League game for instance where standard Forgotten Realms setting applies to characters it wouldn't make any sense, but if your DM is okay with it in their own world, it would be okay by RAW.

I'm not referring to the golden rule of DM is always right and such. I'm referring to the second portion of the racial restrictions of Bladesinger as presented in the SCAG. All you need ( besides DM permission for non bladesingers ) is a backstory that would make sense.

 

[GreenTengu]

He didn't explain well what he wanted, and it is a very wide open question.

I wasn't speaking so much of the OP as the general notion I seem to be seeing that one should use the bonus feat to buy a two-handed heavy weapon, but since getting the most mileage out of that requires a bit investment in Strength

This is by no means RAW, but I would ask the DM how they feel about casting with your drawing hand.

Page 203 - Somatic components says you must have at least one free hand to use somatic components.

Material components say that you must have one free hand to use material components, but it may be the same free hand as the somatic components.

That is RAW-- you are good to go with a single one-handed weapons, you've got an issue with two weapons or a two-handed weapon. So Dexterity-based one-handed weapons are your best choice as a wizard.

I guess if your point is that you might be able to hold a two-handed weapon in one hand for a turn if you are using a spell, though if there is a way to get both an action and a bonus action in the same turn, it is best to be able to have your weapon ready to use and cast at the same time.

nothing about using a bonus action to reload.

In this case you are right, I have always thought of the crossbows wrong it seems. I always thought "loading" weapons meant you had to.. you know... load it like in previous editions. I never considered having a character use one due to this. Turns out it is an even better option than I thought.

I notice how that it says that it can only fire a single shot regardless of how many attacks you normally get on an action. In that case, it seems you are good to go as a Wizard is never going to develop the ability to do multiple attacks per an action. However, you can use a haste spell to grant yourself an additional action!

 

[Willie the Duck]

I wasn't speaking so much of the OP as the general notion I seem to be seeing that one should use the bonus feat to buy a two-handed heavy weapon, but since getting the most mileage out of that requires a bit investment in Strength

I just checked the thread. No one has said anything like that.

Page 203 - Somatic components says you must have at least one free hand to use somatic components.

Material components say that you must have one free hand to use material components, but it may be the same free hand as the somatic components.

That is RAW-- you are good to go with a single one-handed weapons, you've got an issue with two weapons or a two-handed weapon. So Dexterity-based one-handed weapons are your best choice as a wizard.

I guess if your point is that you might be able to hold a two-handed weapon in one hand for a turn if you are using a spell, though if there is a way to get both an action and a bonus action in the same turn, it is best to be able to have your weapon ready to use and cast at the same time.

No, my point had nothing to do with bonus actions. I was specifically talking about Bows. Although BTB they are just 2-handed weapons and behave just like a greatsword or pike, IRL a bow is different in that you only are using one hand when you are drawing another arrow. OP might be able to convince their DM that that 'free' hand should be usable to cast spells in a turn where they don't attack with their bow.

In this case you are right, I have always thought of the crossbows wrong it seems. I always thought "loading" weapons meant you had to.. you know... load it like in previous editions. I never considered having a character use one due to this. Turns out it is an even better option than I thought.

I notice how that it says that it can only fire a single shot regardless of how many attacks you normally get on an action. In that case, it seems you are good to go as a Wizard is never going to develop the ability to do multiple attacks per an action. However, you can use a haste spell to grant yourself an additional action!

Yep. Separate actions means your good to go.