Zaruthustran
The tingling means it’s working!
One of the interesting benefits of the Barbarian's Rage is that it grants advantage on Strength checks. I was looking for ways to take advantage (pun intended) of this feature, and ran across it while exploring 5E's take on shields. I'm also a big fan of anything that grants or takes advantage of bonus actions, and this delivers that.
Build concept: a high-damage shield fighter that limits the enemy's movement and aids his and his friends' attacks.
Sean MacShove
Human
Str 15 (16 with +1 from Human)
Dex 14
Con 15 (16 with +1 from Human)
Int 8
Wis 10
Cha 8
1st level Human Feat: Shield Master
Ability bumps into Str 'til Str 20, then Con, then Dex.
Skills: Athletics. Others to taste.
Class progression
Barbarian 1
Fighter 1-11 (Duelist style)
Further levels to taste. Perhaps Rogue for Sneak Attack (in this case, fight with a rapier using Str unless opponent is prone, then switch to Dex to get sneak attack damage).
Path: Battle Master.
Shield Master gives you a bonus action which you can use to Shove a creature. Shove is a Strength (athletics) check vs the target's Athletics or Acrobatics check. If you're raging, you get advantage on this check--making it much more likely to succeed. If you do succeed, you can drop the target prone or push it away. Do the bonus action FIRST, and choose the "drop prone" result so your attack (and your buddies') have advantage.
Pick Duelist style at CL 2 (Fighter 1) so you're swinging for +5 damage with that 16 Str. A more generous player will choose Protection so you can give enemies disadvantage if they attack your adjacent pals--this is a good option if your adjacent pal is also a shield fighter, and also has Protection style. Don't bother with armor--fighting barechested in your kilt, with shield, you're not only stylish--you're rockin' a 17 AC.
If you can make friends with a Warlock, ask him to hit your target with a Hex, choosing Str as the ability rider. The target will have disadvantage on Str checks--no save.
At 3rd Fighter level, go Battle Master and pickup Menacing Attack. When you hit a target it makes a Wis save and, on fail, it becomes Frightened. One of the penalties for being Frightened is disadvantage on ability checks, which makes your shoves easier to land. One of the other penalties is that it can't approach the source of its fear: this is when you'll want to choose the "Push" option for your Shove.
Build concept: a high-damage shield fighter that limits the enemy's movement and aids his and his friends' attacks.
Sean MacShove
Human
Str 15 (16 with +1 from Human)
Dex 14
Con 15 (16 with +1 from Human)
Int 8
Wis 10
Cha 8
1st level Human Feat: Shield Master
Ability bumps into Str 'til Str 20, then Con, then Dex.
Skills: Athletics. Others to taste.
Class progression
Barbarian 1
Fighter 1-11 (Duelist style)
Further levels to taste. Perhaps Rogue for Sneak Attack (in this case, fight with a rapier using Str unless opponent is prone, then switch to Dex to get sneak attack damage).
Path: Battle Master.
Shield Master gives you a bonus action which you can use to Shove a creature. Shove is a Strength (athletics) check vs the target's Athletics or Acrobatics check. If you're raging, you get advantage on this check--making it much more likely to succeed. If you do succeed, you can drop the target prone or push it away. Do the bonus action FIRST, and choose the "drop prone" result so your attack (and your buddies') have advantage.
Pick Duelist style at CL 2 (Fighter 1) so you're swinging for +5 damage with that 16 Str. A more generous player will choose Protection so you can give enemies disadvantage if they attack your adjacent pals--this is a good option if your adjacent pal is also a shield fighter, and also has Protection style. Don't bother with armor--fighting barechested in your kilt, with shield, you're not only stylish--you're rockin' a 17 AC.
If you can make friends with a Warlock, ask him to hit your target with a Hex, choosing Str as the ability rider. The target will have disadvantage on Str checks--no save.
At 3rd Fighter level, go Battle Master and pickup Menacing Attack. When you hit a target it makes a Wis save and, on fail, it becomes Frightened. One of the penalties for being Frightened is disadvantage on ability checks, which makes your shoves easier to land. One of the other penalties is that it can't approach the source of its fear: this is when you'll want to choose the "Push" option for your Shove.
