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Message: <blockquote data-quote="faria" data-source="post: 6752336" data-attributes="member: 6780042">At first glance, nets are crap. 5ft range + Thrown = 100% disadvantage when using them. Making enemies lose their action to free themselves is a really strong mechanic though... So I thought about it and it struck me: what if I use a Net Launcher instead of just throwing them?Then I thought, "Who can craft a Net Launcher?". The answer is Rock Gnome, because of their Tinker ability. Turning a crossbow into a Net Launcher is perfectly reasonable and believable for a Tinkering gnome. The Crossbow Expert feat would be great too. 2 Net Launchers with free reloads and no disadvantage in melee range? Sign me up.So what's the best class for this? My first thought was Ranger because they get access to Swift Quiver and can pick the Archery school. But then I realized that Bard can also steal this spell...7 levels earlier... And guess what else Lore Bards get: Cutting Words. Cutting Words can be used to make an enemy fail their STR check when trying to free themselves. Dude.The only downside so far is that you only get 1 bonus action per turn, so you have to choose between Swift Quiver's 2 free attacks or Crossbow Expert's 1 free attack. Sounds obvious, but keep in mind Swift Quiver is a spell and requires a high level slot, while Crossbow Expert just kicks in for free. So is there another spell that grants an extra net attack (pun intended)? Yep! Hello, Haste. Haste is only a level 3 spell too, instead of Swift Quiver's level 5 slot. Casting Haste also grants other rewards, like higher speed and AC. As a side note, you can get away with 1 Net Launcher instead of 2. Crawford confirms this: <a href="http://www.sageadvice.eu/2015/01/12/crossbow-expert-bonus-action/" target="_blank">http://www.sageadvice.eu/2015/01/12/crossbow-expert-bonus-action/</a> So you can wear a shield in your offhand for more AC, or maybe a light melee weapon? So what do you guys think of this? A Rock Gnome Lore Bard with a Net Launcher gets:Level 3: d6 Cutting Words reactions to lower enemy STR checks when breaking freeLevel 4: Crossbow Expert featLevel 5: d8 Cutting Words, plus Font of Inspiration to regain the dice after every short restLevel 6: Additional Magical Secrets for the Haste spell By level 6 you get 3 net attacks per turn, and a virtually unlimited number of Cutting Words to force fails from breaking free. You can take 2 levels of Fighter for Action Surge, giving 4 net attacks per round by level 8 and the Archery fighting school bonus. I'm sure there are nice multiclass combinations beyond that as well, but most campaigns don't go too high. For a standard low-mid level campaign, this build seems fantastic! If you can convince your DM to give you a Net Launcher without going Rock Gnome, even better. Take variant human and get Crossbow Expert right at level 1, plus better stats!Thoughts?</blockquote>

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