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<blockquote data-quote="Noctem" data-source="post: 6781753" data-attributes="member: 6801315">I would just stick with fighter tbh.&nbsp; Not having STR, you lose the main draws of low level barbarism: rage damage bonus + reckless attack.&nbsp; By going pure fighter you can grab medium armor, a shield and a good dex mod to make your AC a solid number.&nbsp; 10 base + 2-3 armor + 3 dex + 2 shield = 17-18 AC at level 1.&nbsp; Maneuvers from Battle Master will more than make up for any problem you could have.&nbsp; Knocking targets prone and a bonus to accuracy are the big ones.&nbsp; Duelist style for a +2 damage bonus.&nbsp; Solid initiative is also a nice thing to have.Imo, the only reason to ever go STR as your attack stat is if you're using 2 handed weapons or you're a barbarian and want to benefit from the rage damage bonus and/or reckless attack.&nbsp; Outside of that, STR is not worth investing in from a mechanical standpoint.As for ranged options, if you're using a shield you're basically screwed.&nbsp; The recent clarification for hand crossbows requiring a free hand to reload means that currently there is no 1 handed ranged weapon that you can use at the same time as a shield.&nbsp; So you would have to spend an action to get rid of the shield before being able to reload.&nbsp; However, I like some other DM's I know hand waive that free hand requirement for 1 handed ranged weapons.&nbsp; Ask your DM, maybe you can work out something with him/her to make it work?&nbsp; If you do manage to get an agreement in place, then the hand crossbow would become a very useful ranged weapon with the Crossbow Expert feat.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Noctem, post: 6781753, member: 6801315"] I would just stick with fighter tbh. Not having STR, you lose the main draws of low level barbarism: rage damage bonus + reckless attack. By going pure fighter you can grab medium armor, a shield and a good dex mod to make your AC a solid number. 10 base + 2-3 armor + 3 dex + 2 shield = 17-18 AC at level 1. Maneuvers from Battle Master will more than make up for any problem you could have. Knocking targets prone and a bonus to accuracy are the big ones. Duelist style for a +2 damage bonus. Solid initiative is also a nice thing to have. Imo, the only reason to ever go STR as your attack stat is if you're using 2 handed weapons or you're a barbarian and want to benefit from the rage damage bonus and/or reckless attack. Outside of that, STR is not worth investing in from a mechanical standpoint. As for ranged options, if you're using a shield you're basically screwed. The recent clarification for hand crossbows requiring a free hand to reload means that currently there is no 1 handed ranged weapon that you can use at the same time as a shield. So you would have to spend an action to get rid of the shield before being able to reload. However, I like some other DM's I know hand waive that free hand requirement for 1 handed ranged weapons. Ask your DM, maybe you can work out something with him/her to make it work? If you do manage to get an agreement in place, then the hand crossbow would become a very useful ranged weapon with the Crossbow Expert feat. [/QUOTE]

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