Ranged Options for All Classes

[Lord Twig]

A few months back I ran the climactic battle for an official D&D adventure path and found a fatal flaw. The BBEG appeared on the opposite side of the room filled with lava, up on a balcony. This is a great cinematic scene, but on the first turn it immediately became apparent that the only characters that were going to be able to participate in this battle were the spell casters and those martial characters that specialized in a bow. The barbarian, paladin and sword and board fighter were relegated to spectating after throwing their few javelins (at disadvantage because of range). I quickly changed up the BBEG tactics by having him summon a hoard of fodder and teleporting to the other side of the room. This was a stupid thing for the highly intelligent antagonist to do, but it made the game a lot more fun for the players.

Now I am deciding on a character to make for a game and I realized I didn't want to be useless at range. This makes playing a barbarian, paladin and monk almost out of the question. As well as a large number of fighter builds and even quite a few ranger and rogue builds.

So is there a way to make primary melee classes not completely suck at range strait out of the box? Or will it require house rules?

 

[Sorcerers Apprentice]

Having 12-14 dex and a longbow makes you at the least competent at ranged combat. You wont' be going toe to toe with a sharpshooter, but you'll be doing enough damage to feel that you're contributing.

 

[Mistwell]

My sword and board fighter carries a longbow. Why wouldn't anyone proficient with all melee weapons do the same? Sort of chargen 101, isn't it? You WILL fight a flying dragon at some point, after all.

 

[Lord Twig]

Dex of 10 means that at 11th level the paladin would be doing 1d8 damage with a +4 to hit, twice a round. This is opposed to his normal 2d6+1d8+4 damage with +8 to hit (18 Str). The wizard's cantrips were doing 3d10 with +9 to hit (20 Int), and he wasn't throwing cantrips in the boss fight.

Are you saying that Dex 10 characters are just a trap? I thought trap options were supposed to be a thing of the past in this edition.

Edit: Keep in mind that this was an actual character in a AL game. Not just theorycrafting. He started with a 10 Dex and put +2 to Str at 4th level and +2 to Cha at 8th.

 

[Mistwell]

I am saying it's a feature rather than a bug that a sword and board melee combatant is meant to be weaker at ranged combat. Just as the ranged combatant is weaker at melee combat.

 

[Lord Twig]

There is weaker, and there is nearly useless. I think the paladin has the biggest problem. Of course he is probably the biggest melee monster, but that makes it even more painful when you are completely removed from the battle (or very nearly). Is there maybe a paladin spell I am overlooking that could help?

It doesn't necessarily need to be a ranged attack spell. In fact a spell that allowed him to fly or teleport would probably be better. The one that immediately comes to mind is Find Greater Steed from Xanathars to get a flying mount. You can't get it until level 13, and it may not be helpful inside unless the rooms are really large, and it takes 10 minutes to cast, but it is something.

 

[MarkB]

Dex of 10 means that at 11th level the paladin would be doing 1d8 damage with a +4 to hit, twice a round. This is opposed to his normal 2d6+1d8+4 damage with +8 to hit (18 Str). The wizard's cantrips were doing 3d10 with +9 to hit (20 Int), and he wasn't throwing cantrips in the boss fight.

If a character is that super-specialised in melee, it's up to them to figure out how to engage an uncooperative opponent in melee, because it's something that intelligent opponents will otherwise exploit. By 11th level the party should have access to at least some means of flight or short-range teleportation or magical wall-climbing etc., and if they don't, they really shouldn't be surprised when it bites them in the ass.

 

[Lord Twig]

Wow. There is a lot of "you are doing it wrong posts" going on here, but no specifics on what I can do to do it right. Lucky for me I am proactive and found some answers. In case anyone else reading this thread has had the same issue, here are some constructive suggestions:

Spells. The paladin gets a fair amount, and while it is tempting to save them for those sweet divine smites, there are a few that can really help you out against ranged opponents.

Command. It has a range of 60' and the first suggested command is 'Approach'. This will force the creature to close with you if they fail their Wis save.
Compelled Duel. I have never really given this spell much serious consideration, but it can be pretty useful at higher levels. It only has a range of 30', but can be cast as a bonus action and last for a minute. The target does get a Wis save to resist initially, and it gets additional saves to try to move away from you after, but it doesn't end the spell effect.
Banishment. Range of 60' and forces a Cha save or they are gone for up to a minute. This would hopefully give the paladin some time to figure out how to get to where it is going to reappear and get a smite ready for its return. He will have to wait till 13th level before he can get it though.

Auras and mantles. They are all concentration, so you just cast one of them then stand around providing a buff (while shooting off some pretty minor damage with a bow), but it is something.

The first two are 1st level spells, but they are worth casting on even the toughest of foes. Even a dragon of the appropriate level might fail against these 30% to 40% of the time and if they have to spend a Legendary save against a 1st level spell, great! It was still worth it.

 

[Lord Twig]

I am still looking for solutions for barbarians, fighters and monks. Rangers have spells that I am sure would help them and Rogues, with their typical high Dex and sneak attack can probably do pretty well. So if you can think of something for those three classes I would be happy to hear about them.

 

[jgsugden]

There are fights where each option shines, and others where each options struggles. If the battle is a climax, it is best to build it in a way that everybody can contribute, unless the DM intends it to be a spotlight moment for a PC.

For my melee PCs, some tools (uncommon, not attuned) to consider to allow them to contribute to a 'ranged' combat are:

* Wand of magic missiles
* Broom of flying
* Deck of Illusions
* Elemental Gem

Also, some unattuned Rare items can be ueful, such as a bird feather token.

If you want to keep it to a magicless situation, a flying mount is possible. In my campaign world it is not uncommon to be able to buy a winged mount (or hire the services of one).