D&D 5E I need Rogue/Paladin/Bard MC advice please.

[Daniel Peterson]

I do have a backstory in mind for my character whether I go with a brd/rog/pal all brd all rog all pal or any combination. I know it sounds cliche but it would be kind of a Batman origins story. Not Batman in any aspect, but a similar backstory where instead of choosing to rise above and help others I’ve decided to enact vengeance on all. My flaw would be that I tend to have complete disregard for the innocent people around me and as a result there are a lot of innocent casualties. I most certainly am the type to throw a fireball into a circle of bandits threatening to kill hostages.

 

[Daniel Peterson]

The stats that you've rolled are better than average, I'd say keep them.

As for the Thieves Tools - they are not a catch-all or only tool for disarming traps. Some Traps cannot be disarmed at all, some can be broken/avoided once encountered, third are activated by enemies etc. Do not worry, your group won't die because you'll roll half a dozen checks during a campaign with a bonus two or three points lower than usual. At the end of the day, ask Tome Warlock to take Guidance as one of his cantrips to be extra safe.

You’re right they aren’t the only way to disarm traps and some can’t be disarmed, but for the ones that can be disarmed it’s better to disarm them using skill checks since they don’t require a spell a lot be used up. Also the difference between expertise and not expertise is small even at level 20 but reliable talent makes a world of difference. That’s in regards to any checks

 

[Dan Chernozub]

Reliable is like what? Level 11 rogue ability? We are talking about a completely different character in this case...

 

[UngeheuerLich]

the stats I rolled are 12, 16, 16, 14, 8, 10. I can assign them however I want to fit my chosen class. I was also given the option to instead choose point buy or standard array after rolling the dice. Any thoughts on which I should choose? I'm having a hard time letting go of expertise in Thieves' tools. has anyone ever ran a trapper as a full bard, and if so how did it measure up to a rogue with expertise? Turns out I read prodigy incorrectly and I get just a proficiency in any tool, and expertise in any skill. So that option is out. Thanks.

I'd say drop the rogue. And go full blade bard. At level 3 latest you can cast enhance ability to be more than able in disarming traps. By all means, keep those stats. You can have 18 charisma and 15 con and 17 dex as half elf. You can then raise both to great values in one go. Or you can instead chose human and a nice feat. Dual wielder or defensive duellist come to mind. Also skulker or maybe the best is actor, saving an uneven score for resilient con or wisdom later.

 

[Daniel Peterson]

Reliable is like what? Level 11 rogue ability? We are talking about a completely different character in this case...

You’re right. I was just kind of thinking out loud about the difference between rogues and bards in regards to thieves’ tools. Really the bread and butter for the rogue is reliable talent which significantly increases the chance of success compared to a bard who even if you use an inspiration die, which I’m not sure is worth it since you don’t get many, has a way higher chance of failure, but it does have a higher range of rolls. I never thought about enhance ability to get advantage.

 

[Daniel Peterson]

I think bards might actually have a chance at being better at any given skill than rogues, but at a cost of inspiration dice and that a low roll on the inspiration dice can cause a failure. If the rogue and bard have the same stats and both have expertise then the rogues possible rolls are 27 to 37 where as the bards are 19 to 49. There’s an 8% chance that any chosen number on the d12 is actually rolled. If a 1 is rolled on the d12 the bard needs to roll a 12 or higher on the d20 to make a dc 30.Thats a 55% chance of failure if the d12 rolls a 1. If the d12 rolls a 12 the bard needs to roll a 1 or higher which is a 100% success rate for a dc 30. With reliable talent the rogue has a 50% chance to total a 27 with that being the lowest it can roll that makes it a 100% chance to succeed on all dc 25 or lower and an over all 60% chance to fail at a dc 30 since reliable talent doesn’t re roll it only upgrades the roll to a 10. The rogue would always have to roll at least a 13 to succeed on a dc 30 which is a 40% chance of success. So the rogue has to only worry about dc 30s, but the bard has a potential to do just as well and better even. Though that chance is small.i just don’t know if inspiration dice should be used on a skill roll or ability check. Anything above 30 only increases your success rate for a dc 30 since I’m pretty sure WotC purchased campaigns don’t go higher than 30 since they labeled those as nearly impossible. I suppose a DM could modify that though I don’t see why they would.

 

[Daniel Peterson]

There is definitely a higher chance at failure without reliable talent, but it’s not as high as I originally thought. What it boils down to is 50% of the time you will yield a result at least 1 higher than reliable talent, and 50% of the time you will need that inspiration dice to meet or beat reliable talent in which you will have a 33% chance of doing so.

 

[jgsugden]

I think what some people are suggesting is that D&D is a role playing game. Your character plays a role in a story. You should consider the story before the mechanics.

In other words, don't come up with a way for the backstory to fit the mechanics that sound fun - come up with a fun story for the character and then see how to implement it with the existing mechanics. There is nothing wrong with edging those mechanics to make them a bit more efficient, but make sure they serve the story.

For example, you indicate Batman is a muse for this character. Let's build a Batman (not necessarily your ideas, but a version of the concept to show you what I mean) following these suggestions. Start with a background. Batman would have been a nobleman in my eyes, so I'd pick that as the background. Then consider race - Batman comes from wealth - what races would have a wealthy upperclass that might give us that nobleman background. Humans. Dwarves. Elves. Probably not gnomes, Halfling, half-orcs, dragonborn or tieflings in my campaign world. Then I need to ask what class he'd start out being... well, prior to the tragedy that makes him Batman, he is a bit of a fool. And then upon his tragedy he wants to be able to hide his secret mission... I'd start Bard. Then he gets his moral code - a few levels of paladin accomplish that. Then continue on with rogue to learn how to be in the shadows and return to bard to get the theatrical flair to pull off his tricks.... Bard 1, Then paladin 5, then rogue 3, then bard from there on....

 

[Daniel Peterson]

That’s a pretty good example of building your character from the backstory and not the reverse thanks. I think I’m more concerned with making my character mechanically good rather than fun, and I’m trying to get past that. Batman is definitely a muse. My original thought was that my character was a half drow (my dm said I could use the standard half elf and just say it’s a half drow) that lived as the only child of a noble house. His house was killed off by a rival house. He was taught at a very young age to play the fiddle by his father, and always wanted to leave his noble upbringing behind, leading to the bard class since they are musical wanderers. My character cares little for prestige and fame because even though he loves his family he hated the way nobility works. After his family was murdered he grew to hate evil to the point where it blinds his sense of justice. He has become a person that will do whatever it takes to destroy the evil that he sees even if it means lives are lost as collateral damage. I would think a character with the abilities of Batman but the “no matter what the costs” and “judge, jury, and executioner” mind set of frank castle.
That being said what are your guys ideas of how to make this work in a fun way?

 

[Dan Chernozub]

I disagree. You don't need class features to tell a story. They can help, but are not necessary.