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Great point, Hemlock. I overlooked the light crossbow. It's still a bit sad that a class with such great offensive capabilities in melee is forced to fall back on suboptimal ranged attacks for the early portions of its adventuring career. Rangers, rogues, fighters, warlocks, etc., all do...

All low level characters are squishy, it's true, but the monk strikes me as particularly vulnerable. Their abilities are geared towards melee combat, but they have the AC and HP of a ranged combatant. Twice per short rest, they can dart into melee and dart back out again with relative...

How do monks survive at low levels? They have a max AC of 16, rogue-level hit points, and melee-focused abilities. They can disengage or dodge as a bonus action, but only twice per short rest. This seems like a recipe for a quick dirt nap to me. They're too squishy to stay on the front line...

Thanks, Hemlock. I completely agree with you in terms of stats--I too am generally unwilling to play a character with mental stats below 10, which is why I have generally tended to steer clear of paladins in the past. Half-elf offers the best starting array, but if you want Str 16/Cha 16 and...

Thanks, Hemlock. This post is chock full of great info. Two more quick questions for you: 1) Would you consider Storm Sorcerer from SCAG for this build? Why or why not? 2) Also, this build seems to benefit greatly from above average ability score rolls. If you were forced to use the...

Polearm Master + GWM is OP on any melee build. The ability to add smite damage on a successful hit is definitely a big plus. Thanks for sharing!

Really interesting, Hemlock. How do you plan to progress this build? Will you just keep taking more levels in Sorcerer, or do you have something else in mind? Also, can you explain the comment about shield bashing with Warcaster? Do you mean that you are using your shield as an improvised...

Thanks for sharing, Blue. Have you experienced any particular problems with this character? Are there some things you would change?

I agree that the choice between a half-elf and a variant human is generally a wash by 4th level, with half-elves coming out ahead thanks to darkvision and other racial abilities. As for the other races, I still think you're giving up a lot, but reliable access to spells like Bless can help...

Rolling stats can clearly help mitigate MAD if you manage to roll above average. You made an uncommon decision in choosing to place your highest roll into Constitution. How are your Strength and Charisma scores? Have lower scores in Strength and Charisma affected you in practice?

If getting the dirt on paladin mechanics from people who have actually played a paladin doesn't fall into your narrow definition of "Character Builds and Optimization", then I'm not sure what to say. I am skeptical of white-room theorycrafting, and seek to avoid traps that only manifest...

Sure, I'd be interested, Hemlock. What's your level-to-level progression for this build? Why wild sorcerer as opposed to draconic? Have you found any hidden pain points in actual play? Any observations on feats would be welcome as well. Do you advocate picking up key feats early or maximizing...

I really appreciate you taking the time to share your experiences with me, Logain08! Your insights make me look forward to giving the paladin class a whirl. Cheers! Leugren

This makes me smile. I've never seen a DM do this. Do they draw straws to see which poor schmuck is gonna eat the OA, or is it really just a hive mind mentality at work? In any case, Tunnel Fighter is the perfect antidote, as you stated.

Great, response! Thanks. I especially like the idea of switching from sword-and-board to GWF depending on circumstances. Is there anything you plan to do differently with your new paladin (i.e. lessons learned)? Is there a particular Fighting Style you favor? How have you used your ASI's for...

Thank you very much for the long post. This is exactly the sort of information I was looking for. I have a couple of questions, if you don't mind. I am assuming that, as you are wielding a two-handed weapon of some sort, your armor class can't be very high. Is this true? What is your...

"The Paladin is King!" I've seeing this expression pop up several times on different forums, but I'm not completely sold yet. Though I have read through the various paladin guides, I have not actually seen a paladin in action. I'm therefore curious to hear from people who have. What makes the...

Not pleased at having to wade through so much off-topic pettifoggery in this thread to find the posts that actually talk about the UA article.

The Underdark Scout ability synergizes really well with the Rogue Assassinate ability. Ranger [Deep Stalker] 5 / Rogue [Assassin] 3 nets you 3 attacks with advantage during your first turn, all of which are critical hits if you happen to surprise your opponent. Tack on Sharpshooter + Hunter's...

Deep Stalker and Lightfoot Halflings: Deep Stalker is the perfect class for Lightfoot Halflings that want to realize the full potential of their Naturally Stealthy ability without multiclassing. You pick up the Close-Quarters Shooter Fighting Style at Level 2, which lets you shoot arrows...