D&D (2024) "Sword" and Board Build?

[Zardnaar]

By sword I mean 1 handed weapon. Also no shillelagh builds I already know that one.

I'm leaning towards trident, shield, sentinel+piercer feat.

Problem is it feels line you're being punished for not using dual wielder or GWM. I'm the DM and usually put in a better magic item from a previous edition to aquire.

Anyway thoughts?

 

[UngeheuerLich]

By sword I mean 1 handed weapon. Also no shillelagh builds I already know that one.

I'm leaning towards trident, shield, sentinel+piercer feat.

Problem is it feels line you're being punished for not using dual wielder or GWM. I'm the DM and usually put in a better magic item from a previous edition to aquire.

Anyway thoughts?

There are +3 shields available.

Yes, doing less damage might seem bad. But for a battle master or paladin, only having a one handed weapon is not terrible for quite a while.

You do less damage, but you also can take a lot more beating.

I'd say a non berserker barbarian can be a very very annoying enemy with a one handed weapon and a shield. Add the tough feat and a dwarf and have fun going through that much effective hp...

 

[Zardnaar]

There are +3 shields available.

Yes, doing less damage might seem bad. But for a battle master or paladin, only having a one handed weapon is not terrible for quite a while.

You do less damage, but you also can take a lot more beating.

I'd say a non berserker barbarian can be a very very annoying enemy with a one handed weapon and a shield. Add the tough feat and a dwarf and have fun going through that much effective hp...

+1 shields are a lot cheaper than +1 armor. Tier 1 they can turn up.

 

[aco175]

Does weapon mastery help any? I mean, take a longsword and at least deal Strength damage if you miss. You also need to be a fighterish class that gets these. Not sure if a cleric is a better sword and board type either?

 

[Zardnaar]

Does weapon mastery help any? I mean, take a longsword and at least deal Strength damage if you miss. You also need to be a fighterish class that gets these. Not sure if a cleric is a better sword and board type either?

It does. I think topple or cleave is better ymmv.

 

[ECMO3]

By sword I mean 1 handed weapon. Also no shillelagh builds I already know that one.

I'm leaning towards trident, shield, sentinel+piercer feat.

Problem is it feels line you're being punished for not using dual wielder or GWM. I'm the DM and usually put in a better magic item from a previous edition to aquire.

Anyway thoughts?

That will work, but I think it is far from ideal.

I think if you are going Sword and Board over level 1-20 the best Fighter play is Eldritch Knight for the Cantrip Damage bonus. Also Sentinel works, but on a sword and board I think Shield master is better as your first feat for just about any build and Warcaster is better if you go Eldritch Knight. Then take Sentinel as your second feat.

Also Topple is good, but Sap is usually better on a sword and board and it works better with the Sentinel feat as well. If you hit an enemy with the Sentinel reaction you give him disadvantage automatically with Sap. With Topple he gets a save, and even if he fails the save, most of the time he has enough movement to just stand back up. Topple tends to work better on maximum damage builds.

There is no reason you can't do both though, have both a longsword and a Trident and switch out based on situation and at level 9 fighter you can use Sap with any weapon.

 

[ECMO3]

Does weapon mastery help any? I mean, take a longsword and at least deal Strength damage if you miss. You also need to be a fighterish class that gets these. Not sure if a cleric is a better sword and board type either?

You can't do that with a Longsword. You need Graze to do that, which you can only get on a Glaive or Greatsword.

A Longsword does Sap.

 

[Kurotowa]

Problem is it feels line you're being punished for not using dual wielder or GWM. I'm the DM and usually put in a better magic item from a previous edition to aquire.

It's only a punishment if you're trying to optimize for damage output. Having a two or three point higher AC matters a lot with bounded accuracy. You just need it with a way to make yourself "sticky" so that foes don't simply prioritize your friends over you.

I think a lot of people are sleeping on the fact that Protection Fighting Style now lasts until your next turn, instead of only applying to a single attack. That's amazing if you pair a sword and board defender with a more offensively focused melee PC that might verge on a glass cannon otherwise.

 

[Zardnaar]

That will work, but I think it is far from ideal.

I think if you are going Sword and Board over level 1-20 the best Fighter play is Eldritch Knight for the Cantrip Damage bonus. Also Sentinel works, but on a sword and board I think Shield master is better as your first feat for just about any build and Warcaster is better if you go Eldritch Knight. Then take Sentinel as your second feat.

Also Topple is good, but Sap is usually better on a sword and board and it works better with the Sentinel feat as well. If you hit an enemy with the Sentinel reaction you give him disadvantage automatically with Sap. With Topple he gets a save, and even if he fails the save, most of the time he has enough movement to just stand back up. Topple tends to work better on maximum damage builds.

There is no reason you can't do both though, have both a longsword and a Trident and switch out based on situation and at level 9 fighter you can use Sap with any weapon.

Shield master got nerfed.

 

[ECMO3]

Shield master got nerfed.

I am talking about the new Shield Master, not the old one. I don't think it got nerfed, I think it is actually better now because it does not use a Bonus Action (and gives a +1 strength).

If you consider Topple, this lets you do essentially the same thing once a turn on a strength save instead of a Constitution save, while using any mastery with the weapon you hit with (or try again if he saves against Topple). Also you can alternatively push him back 5 feet which is great when combined with topple - now he is toppled and prone 5 feet away from you giving you the option to move without an AOO.

If you are dedicated to being a sword and board fighter, this is the best feat to take IMO.