Both Fighter and Barbarian (and paladin) can easily start with 16 AC, 18 with a shield.
Heavy armor can upgrade to 17 with money, maybe by level 3, but doesn't start with it.
No. You need 2 light weapons.
Light Weapon property (formerly two weapon fighting) requires a bonus action, no mod to damage. Anyone can do it.
Nick removes the bonus action. It's now part of your Attack Action (important for some feature, including drawing a weapon). Still no mod.
Dual...
Sure. But my point was that there are already official monsters with multiple reactions.
Also, D&D is a game of make believe. So your allowed to make up whatever you want (as long as it doesn't ruin the fun for others).
Humblewood is a campaign setting for rodents. You play as pidgins, hedgehog and mice, battling snakes and cats and such.
Here's some free adventure for them. Not sure what level, but your could shrink down and join them.
Humblewood Resources
You can.
It's 9 points to have a 15.
*3 = 27 points.
and +1/+1/+1 as your background.
= 16/16/16/8/8/8
I'd would generally wouldn't recommend going with 8 wis, bit it's a perfectly legal array.
(Works for a monk though, 16 Dex, 16 Con, 16 Wis)
You missed that half damage is more than double, because you round down.
If you got hit 5 times for 5 damage, you only took 20 total damage.
Also a healing word on a Barbarian is likely to be 2 hits instead of 1.
Personally I would focus on using the bonus action to command the beast, since that scales at level 7.
Attack and Dodge is better than just attacking.
Or Disengage and Attack to get the Lands charge bonus.
Here is a update of an old module where you find laser guns.
Also this random cartoon features swords vs lazer guns. The dragon has laser beam eyes too.
Use 1 of your attacks (including Nick weapon mastery).
OR use your bonus action.
But NOT a bonus action attack (dual weapon fighter, flurry of blows, polearm master, ect..).
*if you do both it might attacks twice. But not sure that's intentional.
**maybe 3 times if you have haste?
HP only doubled for creatures that used to have resistance.
But also, a lot less double rolling.
I.e. roll to hit, and then roll a save vs poison/grapple/ect..
Now it's just hit and take the effect.
You want to look at Nick property.
When you make the extra attack of the Light property, you can make it as part of the Attack action instead of as a Bonus Action. You can make this extra attack only once per turn.
So as your Attack action (
attack with a Light weapon in your main hand...
You can make an archer paladin.
Archery style and Divine Favor, magic weapon, crusaders mantle all work just fine with bows.
You only lose out on a single level 1 smite per day. But you might end up in melee once a day anyways.
AEDU itself didn't create any issues. You could easily fit an AEDU class into 5e. The warlock nearly is one. Cantrips / pact magic / Mystic Arcanum / invocations.
The issue was that every class having the exact same AEDU.
Everything ability being in colored boxes instead of more natural text...
That looks right.
It's a "ranged attack" with a "melee weapon".
Which means smite works.
But Archery style and Sharpshooter do not.
So I don't really see a way to build around it, especially as you probably want to be the tank. But it does add some versatility to thunderous smite a flying...