D&D 5E Help with power gaming

How would HP be the same at the end? If i start with 18 CON i have +4 on every level plus at level 4 i would boost it up to 20 so i would have +5 for the rest of the game (until Barbarian level 20).
I already talked to DM in another game about 2d6 vs 1d12 and he said crit would be 5d6 or 3d12 if you're Half-Orc.
I'm already planning on going Bear totem Barbarian because i really like that damage reduction for other things. Also i was already going to take those 3 top feats you suggested, i will look into the rest because i haven't checked the unearthed arcana ones.
So start with 19 STR, 16 CON Fighter and at level 4 take some feat for +1 STR and at level 6 take GWM then start and finish Barbarian and return to Fighter?
Oh i also forgot to mention, we have a rule that if you have a shield in hand you have +2AC infront and if you have it on your back you have +2AC from the rear, so i'm gonna have a shield on my back for the whole game and never use it probably just for the extra AC and it doesn't interfere with Unarmored defense.
Is it really better to get that additional +2 STR and CON than getting more ASI/Feats, Extra attacks and another Action surge?
By the way i really like this build of yours if you haven't noticed already :D

Somebody correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm pretty sure that when you add to your Con score through ASI or magic means, it retroactively adds to your current levels as well. If you add +2 to Con at level 8, you'll get that extra +1 hit point for each level 1-7.

I would stick with the Greataxe then.

It's tough deciding on the secondary feats. It really just depends on what YOU want to do with this build. After the 3 obvious feats and maxing Str, I would concentrate on pumping Dex and Con depending on if you plan on using armor and for how long. Gonna use heavy armor? You can get away with taking a bunch of feats first before the Dex/Con boosts. Not planning on using armor after taking Barb levels? You'll want to get those Dex/Con scores up pretty fast. I wouldn't be too concerned with hit points. I don't think it'll be too much of a factor considering your damage resistance, your racial ability, and things like second wind, relentless rage feature, etc...

Lets re-evaluate the potential feats. You can choose 3 of these-

Alert - +5 to Initiative is big for any character. Damage resistance only works while raging so getting blasted before you can rage up is not good. The not getting surprised is a bit redundant with a Barb feature, but the not giving up advantage from a hidden character is nice.
Mobile - +10 to speed is nice. Stacks with your 5th level Barbarian speed bonus. Not provoking AoO is also good. Guess it depends on how mobile you like to be on the battlefield. I personally almost never move around much after getting locked down with an enemy so AoO are usually not a big deal for me anyway. Ignoring difficult terrain is nice when you need it.
Tough - adds +2 hp per level. Self explanatory. You probably won't NEED it, but it's nice to have.
Fell Handed - +1 to attack helps negate GWM's -5 so that's good. The 2nd feature relies on you having disadvantage, which you'll never have, and the 3rd feature requires you to use the Help action which you're never going to do so I think I would probably not consider this one.
Orcish Aggression - Do you need and/or will you use this extra mobility? Is this how you want to be spending your bonus action? Don't get me wrong. It's a strong feature, but does it fit the playing style you are after? I think I would only consider if I planned on combining it with Mage Slayer. Even without Mobile, you'd be able to Dash for 100ft, then bonus action for 50ft more towards the enemy Wizard. Then beat him down when he tries to cast a spell. This combo can be a game changer considering at high levels, parties typically have more trouble with blasty mage type characters like Wiz/Sorc npcs and Liches and such. Remember failing Wis saves is your biggest weakness.
Mage Slayer - Is this something you want your guy to be able to do? It's a strong feat, and it helps shore up your lone weakness in combat, but does it fit your concept? Orcish Aggression is not mandatory with this, just makes it a lot better IMO.
Savage Attacker - Honestly this is nothing but a luxury. I don't think I would consider it. Way too many other better choices.


You can also pick one of these half feats-

Resilient(Wis) - Again, failing Wis saves is going to be your biggest weakness. It doesn't matter if your Str and AC are both 30, a simple Hold Person spell will TKO you if you can't pass a Wis save. This has happened to my Barbarian more than once. It sucks. I would seriously consider this. You could potentially take +1 to Str and Wis at level 4 and add this later on down the road and end up with a 14 Wis plus save prof.
Athlete - +1 to Str and pure fluff. Would you even use this fluff? I think I'd pass.
Brawny - Doubling your already doubled carrying capacity sounds fun, but would it even come into play? Sounds epic if you plan on grappling. (my barb was a big grappler). You can double Athletic skill checks which is nice, but at upper Barb levels, you'll be able to skip the roll and just take the 20/24. Also +1 to Str.
Durable - Not quite as good as I originally thought. +1 to Con and you can heal a minimum of twice your Con mod with your hit die. That would be a minimum of 14 with a 24 Con which sounds amazing until you realize that the minimum you gain without this feat is still 8 and the max is 19. Sadly, that averages out to 14 anyway. This feat is actually better on the smaller hit die characters. Pass.
Orcish Fury - Choose +1 to Str or Con, Immediately make an attack when you use your Relentless Endurance. Strong, but will compete with your Sentinel Reaction attack. Also a bonus once per rest extra damage die. Ask your DM if you choose to use it on a crit, will it be an extra 2d12? or just the one. This is a pretty strong overall feat IMO. Would probably debate between this or Resilient.

Again, it all depends on what you want your character to be able to do. You can make your strengths stronger or shore up some weaknesses. Either way, it's going to be a ridiculous character.

It's totally up to you which class's capstone you want to hit first. Both are great. Like I said, the Barbarian class is going to be more fun to play. If you want the most attacks as fast as possible, go Fighter 6, Barb 5, Fighter to 11, then Barb to 20, and the Fighter to 20. Are you really starting at level 1? How quickly will you be leveling?
 

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That is correct regarding the con mod. When it increases by 1, you get 1 hp per level you have already and your future levels will include the new modifier.

As it relates to feats, if you're having trouble deciding, you can probably afford to pick up a bunch. While you can have 22AC naked (24 with a shield) as a level 20 barbarian, there is no saying that you have to stroll around naked. Maybe get a sense of how generous your dm is likely to be with magic items. You'll probably have heavy armor proficiency. Could free up some DEX ASIs to put into feats or wisdom or something.
 

I would take 17 levels of monk, 3 of ranger, 7 rogue and the last 13 fighter
Ranger you get hoard breaker, when you attack one creature and have another in range get a free attack, 1 extra attack from monk, 2 extra attack from fighter gives you 4 base attacks and a hoard breaker attack. As a bonus action you can dash, or hide, or interact with a skill from rogue, or make an extra attack as a monk, or spend a ki and make 2 extra attacks as a monk.

Use a shortsword, it’s a monk weapon so deals 1d10 in your hands… yup a finesse d10 weapon for those rogue lovers.
AC would be 10+wis+dex (dex is your prime stat both attack and defense) and you could pick up defensive style for +1 more.

So you always can make 5 short sword attacks dealing d10, in perfect situation with 2 targets and spending a ki point its 7 short sword attacks. When you have advantage or just another allie threatening them you get your 4d6 sneak attack added to one of those attacks… and if you action surge you get 5 more base and another hoard breaker attack…
So you flank 2 monsters with an ally, spend a ki to flurry make 3 attacks against one then 4 against the other…then action surge to 4 into the first target and 1 into the other… grand total is 7d10+4d6 and 5d10 into secondary target…
Now if you want some spell casting fun make the fighter and rogue take eldritch knight and arcane trickster… or if you want to stay martial go battle master and assassin.

Having said that, I wouldn’t go for the power game.
I would have a lot of fun with a 20th level warlock (fey pact of the sword) 8th level wizard (bladesinger) 12th level fighter (eldritch knight)…but I’m a spell caster lover.
Or
I would also love a 15th level Warlock (tomb bound for rituals, and fey still) 15th level druid with 10 levels of Paladin or Ranger

I love casters too, my favorite type of damage dealers, but as i said this won't be a caster and i have to power level in this campaign. Your build sounds good but i think i'll go with Barbarian/Fighter.

Somebody correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm pretty sure that when you add to your Con score through ASI or magic means, it retroactively adds to your current levels as well. If you add +2 to Con at level 8, you'll get that extra +1 hit point for each level 1-7.

I would stick with the Greataxe then.

It's tough deciding on the secondary feats. It really just depends on what YOU want to do with this build. After the 3 obvious feats and maxing Str, I would concentrate on pumping Dex and Con depending on if you plan on using armor and for how long. Gonna use heavy armor? You can get away with taking a bunch of feats first before the Dex/Con boosts. Not planning on using armor after taking Barb levels? You'll want to get those Dex/Con scores up pretty fast. I wouldn't be too concerned with hit points. I don't think it'll be too much of a factor considering your damage resistance, your racial ability, and things like second wind, relentless rage feature, etc...

Lets re-evaluate the potential feats. You can choose 3 of these-

Alert - +5 to Initiative is big for any character. Damage resistance only works while raging so getting blasted before you can rage up is not good. The not getting surprised is a bit redundant with a Barb feature, but the not giving up advantage from a hidden character is nice.
Mobile - +10 to speed is nice. Stacks with your 5th level Barbarian speed bonus. Not provoking AoO is also good. Guess it depends on how mobile you like to be on the battlefield. I personally almost never move around much after getting locked down with an enemy so AoO are usually not a big deal for me anyway. Ignoring difficult terrain is nice when you need it.
Tough - adds +2 hp per level. Self explanatory. You probably won't NEED it, but it's nice to have.
Fell Handed - +1 to attack helps negate GWM's -5 so that's good. The 2nd feature relies on you having disadvantage, which you'll never have, and the 3rd feature requires you to use the Help action which you're never going to do so I think I would probably not consider this one.
Orcish Aggression - Do you need and/or will you use this extra mobility? Is this how you want to be spending your bonus action? Don't get me wrong. It's a strong feature, but does it fit the playing style you are after? I think I would only consider if I planned on combining it with Mage Slayer. Even without Mobile, you'd be able to Dash for 100ft, then bonus action for 50ft more towards the enemy Wizard. Then beat him down when he tries to cast a spell. This combo can be a game changer considering at high levels, parties typically have more trouble with blasty mage type characters like Wiz/Sorc npcs and Liches and such. Remember failing Wis saves is your biggest weakness.
Mage Slayer - Is this something you want your guy to be able to do? It's a strong feat, and it helps shore up your lone weakness in combat, but does it fit your concept? Orcish Aggression is not mandatory with this, just makes it a lot better IMO.
Savage Attacker - Honestly this is nothing but a luxury. I don't think I would consider it. Way too many other better choices.


You can also pick one of these half feats-

Resilient(Wis) - Again, failing Wis saves is going to be your biggest weakness. It doesn't matter if your Str and AC are both 30, a simple Hold Person spell will TKO you if you can't pass a Wis save. This has happened to my Barbarian more than once. It sucks. I would seriously consider this. You could potentially take +1 to Str and Wis at level 4 and add this later on down the road and end up with a 14 Wis plus save prof.
Athlete - +1 to Str and pure fluff. Would you even use this fluff? I think I'd pass.
Brawny - Doubling your already doubled carrying capacity sounds fun, but would it even come into play? Sounds epic if you plan on grappling. (my barb was a big grappler). You can double Athletic skill checks which is nice, but at upper Barb levels, you'll be able to skip the roll and just take the 20/24. Also +1 to Str.
Durable - Not quite as good as I originally thought. +1 to Con and you can heal a minimum of twice your Con mod with your hit die. That would be a minimum of 14 with a 24 Con which sounds amazing until you realize that the minimum you gain without this feat is still 8 and the max is 19. Sadly, that averages out to 14 anyway. This feat is actually better on the smaller hit die characters. Pass.
Orcish Fury - Choose +1 to Str or Con, Immediately make an attack when you use your Relentless Endurance. Strong, but will compete with your Sentinel Reaction attack. Also a bonus once per rest extra damage die. Ask your DM if you choose to use it on a crit, will it be an extra 2d12? or just the one. This is a pretty strong overall feat IMO. Would probably debate between this or Resilient.

Again, it all depends on what you want your character to be able to do. You can make your strengths stronger or shore up some weaknesses. Either way, it's going to be a ridiculous character.

It's totally up to you which class's capstone you want to hit first. Both are great. Like I said, the Barbarian class is going to be more fun to play. If you want the most attacks as fast as possible, go Fighter 6, Barb 5, Fighter to 11, then Barb to 20, and the Fighter to 20. Are you really starting at level 1? How quickly will you be leveling?

I must have overlooked the rule that you get HP for the past levels when upgrading CON modifier.

That is correct regarding the con mod. When it increases by 1, you get 1 hp per level you have already and your future levels will include the new modifier.

As it relates to feats, if you're having trouble deciding, you can probably afford to pick up a bunch. While you can have 22AC naked (24 with a shield) as a level 20 barbarian, there is no saying that you have to stroll around naked. Maybe get a sense of how generous your dm is likely to be with magic items. You'll probably have heavy armor proficiency. Could free up some DEX ASIs to put into feats or wisdom or something.

I will look into other feats when i'm actually playing and leveling, depending on how the game goes.
 

Guys what do you think about Sorcerer/Warlock multiclassing. Max total level 20 and made for spellcasting, not bladelock or something like that.
How would you go about it? Main Sorcerer or Warlock and would you only dip in the other or go like half half?
 

Guys what do you think about Sorcerer/Warlock multiclassing. Max total level 20 and made for spellcasting, not bladelock or something like that.
How would you go about it? Main Sorcerer or Warlock and would you only dip in the other or go like half half?

The popular is Warlock 2/Sorcerer 18 to spam Quickened Eldritch Blast + Agonizing Blast which is very strong if not boring. It's 4d10+Char mod x4 at level 5.
You could go Warlock 3/Sorcerer 17 and get a Pact Boon while still getting your 9th level spell. You'll lose an ASI though.

Either way I'd probably take Sorcerer to 5 for the 3rd level spells before jumping over the Warlock for 2 or 3 levels. Then jumping back to Sorcerer the rest of the way.
Starting Warlock gets you light armor, but starting Sorcerer gets you Con save prof.

The Fire Draconic Sorc/Fiendlock combo pairs nicely for sure. Pact of the Tome is strong too. You can get the Book of Ancient Shadows and 3 extra cantrips from any class.
 
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The popular is Warlock 2/Sorcerer 18 to spam Quickened Eldritch Blast + Agonizing Blast which is very strong if not boring. It's 4d10+Char mod x4 at level 5.
You could go Warlock 3/Sorcerer 17 and get a Pact Boon while still getting your 9th level spell. You'll lose an ASI though.

Either way I'd probably take Sorcerer to 5 for the 3rd level spells before jumping over the Warlock for 2 or 3 levels. Then jumping back to Sorcerer the rest of the way.
Starting Warlock gets you light armor, but starting Sorcerer gets you Con save prof.

The Fire Draconic Sorc/Fiendlock combo pairs nicely for sure. Pact of the Tome is strong too. You can get the Book of Ancient Shadows and 3 extra cantrips from any class.

I was thinking of making Draconic Fire Sorcerer and take few levels of Warlock Pack of the Tome and have Aasimar Scourge race for some interesting roleplaying, because i would have an "Celestial" guide and a Fiend patron. Kind of like having an angel and devil on your shoulders. My father could be some dragon god and mother a human, which would explain me being an Aasimar.
16, 14, 13 are my best 3 stats but i can't decide if it should be CHA+DEX based or CHA+CON. Aasimar Scourge gets me +2CHA and +1 CON, i could make 18CHA, 14DEX, 14CON from the start.
I was thinking of getting some healing and Spare the Dying from those extra 3 cantrips and i could use boosted range from Metamagic to stabilize friends while dealing tons of damage with Eldritch Blast.
 

I like your Aasimar idea and I would probably go 18 Char, 14 Dex, and 14 Con, but 16 Char, 16 Dex, and 14 Con would be good too. I'd be tempted to start Warlock with a 14 Dex for light armor. This may not be the popular choice, but I really like the Moderately Armored Feat for Warlocks. It lets you use medium armor and a shield so you could just leave Dex at 14 forever plus not ever have to worry about casting Mage Armor again. If not, you're going to want to pump Dex up to at least 18.

For the extra cantrips, I wouldn't worry about healing and Spare the Dying doesn't do anything a healing kit can do. I would take Vicious Mockery and Guidance for sure and possibly Shillelagh if you want to go 18, 14, 14 and still want a reasonable melee option. I wouldn't want Shillelagh if you use a shield though.
 

I like your Aasimar idea and I would probably go 18 Char, 14 Dex, and 14 Con, but 16 Char, 16 Dex, and 14 Con would be good too. I'd be tempted to start Warlock with a 14 Dex for light armor. This may not be the popular choice, but I really like the Moderately Armored Feat for Warlocks. It lets you use medium armor and a shield so you could just leave Dex at 14 forever plus not ever have to worry about casting Mage Armor again. If not, you're going to want to pump Dex up to at least 18.

For the extra cantrips, I wouldn't worry about healing and Spare the Dying doesn't do anything a healing kit can do. I would take Vicious Mockery and Guidance for sure and possibly Shillelagh if you want to go 18, 14, 14 and still want a reasonable melee option. I wouldn't want Shillelagh if you use a shield though.

Draconic Sorcerer gets Draconic resilience which makes your AC 13+DEX so i wouldn't need armor, i don't want to take many feats with this character, maybe only Spell sniper. So i could have 3 ASI and if i start 18CHA, 14DEX, 14CON i can then get 20CHA, 18DEX, 14CON and have 17 AC.
I didn't think of healing kit, good idea.
 

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