Interesting class synergies

[Riley37]

One example is setting up advantage for a rogue's sneak attack. Besides the Help action, possibly from a wizard's (or warlock's) familiar, there's also Guiding Bolt, from the Cleric spell list (also an option for Divine Soul sorcerers from XGE).

Of course, if Guiding Bolt misses, then this plan fails. There are several ways for the team to boost the Cleric's chance to hit. Presumably cleric is running Bless. Bard gives Bardic Inspiration. Divination wizard uses Portent. Wild Magic sorcerer uses Bend Luck.

Dark One's Own Luck (Fiend Warlock) and Tides of Chaos (Wild Magic Sorceror) are, alas for this thread, self-only.

Sharpshooter can do extra damage with penalty to hit. As above, there are ways for teammates to boost the chance to hit, by modifiers to the roll and/or by granting Advantage.

Most of the above methods can also boost a grapple check. Cleric can use Guidance instead of Bless for grapple check (especially if party prepares then initiates combat). Perhaps the grappler is a raging barbarian, for Advantage, or a druid wild-shaped as a bear. A teammate can give the target disadvantage, on the target's roll to resist grapple, if the teammate can impose the Frightened condition. Some examples: Paladin of Conquest uses Conquering Presence. Any paladin hits with Wrathful Strike. Archfey warlock uses Fey Presence. Other methods?

 

[delphonso]

Rezzing because it's a good thread.

Does anyone have ideas for this around 5th level?

Simple synergies from my play experience:
Area of effect spell casters + Totem Bear Barbarian with Evasion
Barbarian takes quarter or eighth damage, enemies not so lucky.

Barbarian 5 and Fighter 5 (well, 2, really.)
Rage, grapple, knock prone (advantage from Rage)
Fighter action surges multiple attacks with advantage.

Spellcaster with Haste + Monk 5
5 stunning strikes in a turn, or The Legendary Resistance killer.

Druid (or anyone with Pass Without Trace) and Rogue
Bonus action hide at +10 (realistically nearly +10 with dex and expertise) should be free advantage every turn.

 

[Sacrosanct]

Similar thread here, for additional ideas

D&D 5E - Obvious synergies you never realized

So it just hit me. I noticed that the polearm mastery feat in Beyond is different than my PHB. I guess it got errata'd that spears now apply with that feat. So immediately my mind went to the following synergy: spear + shield polearm mastery dueling fighting style So you get the AC bonus...

www.enworld.org

Also, one of my first PCs I played in 5e was a shadow monk with magic initiate (hex), and that worked well when I wanted to nova for high damage (hex+flurry)

 

[doctorbadwolf]

I had this thought in another thread (the one about "max sustained dpr") but didn't want to derail it.

D&D is (usually) a game of cooperation between multiple characters, so I always find those discussions about optimum builds of a single character kind of odd. An interesting intellectual exercise for some, but not terribly...useful?...in the greater game.

A more interesting question, at least for me, is what are some interesting/fun/crazy synergies between multiple characters? For the sake of simplicity, I'm limiting it to 4 characters, and only multiclassing when it's necessary that abilities are combined in one character for the trick(s) to work.

For example, recently I've been thinking about Grave Domain cleric and Rogue. We've got this in a campaign I'm running, and even at low level it's a pretty neat trick: the cleric uses his Path to the Grave ability, then the rogue sneak attacks for double damage.

Even better would be a Rogue Assassin. And even better, a Half-orc Rogue Assassin. At high levels, when the stars all align, there's the potential for ridiculous damage.

For my other two characters I'd use a Ranger or Druid, and a Portent Wizard.

Here's the plan:

• Rogue (or Wizard familiar) scouts out the BBEG
• The druid or ranger casts Pass Without Trace and the wizard casts Invisibility on everybody
• The party sneaks up to within 30' of the BBEG...OR the Wizard just teleports them within range. (There are really numerous ways to get the drop on the BBEG.)
• BOOYAH! The party (hopefully) surprises the BBEG.
• If the rogue beats the cleric on initiative, he/she Holds Action until the cleric uses Path to the Grave
• Cleric uses Path to the Grave
• Rogue Sneak Attacks the BBEG.
• Wizard uses Portent to cause the BBEG to fail the Con save vs. Death Strike.

The numbers:

• 1d6 for shortsword (I hate rapiers) + 9d6 sneak attack = 10d6 + 5
• It's an automatic critical, because of Assassination. 20d6 + 5
• Half-orc adds one more die on a crit. 21d6 + 5
• Purple worm poison adds 12d6. 33d6 + 5
• All damage doubled from Path to the Grave 66d6 + 10
• All damage doubled again from Death Strike 132d6 + 20

That's....wait for it...482 damage on average.

And approximately a 0.0000000000000000000000000000000000002% chance of doing 812 damage. (I didn't type that randomly; that's really about the chance of getting all 6's.)

Obvious stuff like Battlemaster Fighter and Rogue with Commander's Strike aside (especially in my group where Commander's Strike does not eat your bonus action, just an attack and your ally's reaction), there is a lot of fun stuff.

Monk makes more attacks than anyone else at lower levels, so of course any buff that boosts every attack are really nice for them. I've had the paladin running crusader's mantle, the artificer cast elemental weapon on my fists (magic item lets them count as a weapon for buffs and such), the cleric cast fortune's favor and bless on me, the paladin, and the rogue, and I have Hunter's Mark and Slayer's Prey from MC monster slayer ranger, so with Flurry I was doing 1d8+dex+1d4+1d4+1d6 4 times, with an extra 1d6 once per turn, and I'm adding 1d4 to attack and can gain effective advantage once during the fight. 71ish damage per good turn (all hits), more like 35 if only 2 attacks hit.

Could be even more killer with MC Hexblade Warlock and basically trade Slayer's Prey for Hexblade's Curse. (+proficiency to damage on every attack against a single target)

Of course, I also stunned the low Con targets which put the rogue's damage output through the roof, especially combined with the wizard casting haste on the rogue, which the rogue used to ready an attack for after the paladin's turn (DM required a trigger other than "after my own turn"), and pretty well guarantee two SA attacks per round.

If the Cleric had landed Contagion, it woulda been even better.

 

[TaranTheWanderer]

So, one I've stumbled on recently is Artificer with the Temporary Hit point Artillery and Barbarian Rage. Topping off the Barbarian Constantly where temporary hit points count as double with a Bear Totem Barbarian.

Also, Portent Wizard (I think Portent wizard comes into play in most of these scenarios) with a Hold Person and Paladin Smite(auto-critting)
Portent Wizard and Blindness/Deafness along with a rogue sneak attack and any abilities that key off advantage.

 

[Levistus's_Leviathan]

I personally like doing paladins with hexblades, so you can Hex, Divine Smite, Improved Divine Smite, and Eldritch Smite all on the same attack.

 

[Krachek]

I had this thought in another thread (the one about "max sustained dpr") but didn't want to derail it.

D&D is (usually) a game of cooperation between multiple characters, so I always find those discussions about optimum builds of a single character kind of odd. An interesting intellectual exercise for some, but not terribly...useful?...in the greater game.

A more interesting question, at least for me, is what are some interesting/fun/crazy synergies between multiple characters? For the sake of simplicity, I'm limiting it to 4 characters, and only multiclassing when it's necessary that abilities are combined in one character for the trick(s) to work.

For example, recently I've been thinking about Grave Domain cleric and Rogue. We've got this in a campaign I'm running, and even at low level it's a pretty neat trick: the cleric uses his Path to the Grave ability, then the rogue sneak attacks for double damage.

Even better would be a Rogue Assassin. And even better, a Half-orc Rogue Assassin. At high levels, when the stars all align, there's the potential for ridiculous damage.

For my other two characters I'd use a Ranger or Druid, and a Portent Wizard.

Here's the plan:

• Rogue (or Wizard familiar) scouts out the BBEG
• The druid or ranger casts Pass Without Trace and the wizard casts Invisibility on everybody
• The party sneaks up to within 30' of the BBEG...OR the Wizard just teleports them within range. (There are really numerous ways to get the drop on the BBEG.)
• BOOYAH! The party (hopefully) surprises the BBEG.
• If the rogue beats the cleric on initiative, he/she Holds Action until the cleric uses Path to the Grave
• Cleric uses Path to the Grave
• Rogue Sneak Attacks the BBEG.
• Wizard uses Portent to cause the BBEG to fail the Con save vs. Death Strike.

The numbers:

• 1d6 for shortsword (I hate rapiers) + 9d6 sneak attack = 10d6 + 5
• It's an automatic critical, because of Assassination. 20d6 + 5
• Half-orc adds one more die on a crit. 21d6 + 5
• Purple worm poison adds 12d6. 33d6 + 5
• All damage doubled from Path to the Grave 66d6 + 10
• All damage doubled again from Death Strike 132d6 + 20

That's....wait for it...482 damage on average.

And approximately a 0.0000000000000000000000000000000000002% chance of doing 812 damage. (I didn't type that randomly; that's really about the chance of getting all 6's.)

And then the party realize that they been lure in a trap by the BBEG. They attack an illusion, they are now in a kind of anti magic field, surround by a horde of minion....

 

[delphonso]

Similar thread here, for additional ideas

D&D 5E - Obvious synergies you never realized

So it just hit me. I noticed that the polearm mastery feat in Beyond is different than my PHB. I guess it got errata'd that spears now apply with that feat. So immediately my mind went to the following synergy: spear + shield polearm mastery dueling fighting style So you get the AC bonus...

www.enworld.org

Also, one of my first PCs I played in 5e was a shadow monk with magic initiate (hex), and that worked well when I wanted to nova for high damage (hex+flurry)

Looking for party synergies, not one character, but this thread is valuable in its insights as well.