A human warlock with the charlatan (or custom) background on a point buy can go 8 STR, 16 DEX, 16 CON, 8 INT, 8 WIS, and 16 CHA then pick up magic initiate from the bonus feat but we're getting rather specific at this point, and 3 dump stats is not what I would consider typical.
They need to take the three +1 option.
In doing so the 1 hp from slightly better CON and slightly better concentration save isn't going to make much of a difference.
As I noted above if I was building the PC I would dump Charisma, get a 14 in Wisdom and a 12 in Strength. So I would not have 3 dump stats.
No one builds for 1st level, lol. That does demonstrate the two 16's and a 14 I was going with, though. ;-)
The post is about then most durable build at 1st level. The example I am going to use is going to be specifically and ONLY for this level.
Asking what PC is most durable at first level while being good at other levels as well is fundamentally a different discussion, and not one where I would pick a Warlock.
They need a 13 to hit AC 17 and 14 to hit AC 18 so that is 1 out of 3 attacks hitting outside of the 1 free shield spell.
Outside of the free shield spell and the shield spells from Pact slots using any short rests they take.
Fundamental to this discussion; how many times do you think this PC is going to be attacked?
Earlier you were arguing that temp hp were renewable on short rests because of pact magic so I would point out it's impossible to replace thp without taking hits.
I don't think I ever said this. I said it is an option as an alternative to Shield, but I never stated that is what would be desired or typical.
In 2024 Temp hit points don't run out until a long rest, so there is no need to "renew" them unless you get hit.
I think we play a full game session before advancing to level 2, to answer the question though.
I do not believe this is typical. There is actually a thread recently that talks about this and talks PCs advancing to second level for walking down the road in one of the WOTC adventures (SODQ I think). Now if he does not use his pact slot between the 1st and 2nd short rest and has lost some temp hit points, then yes he can and undountedly would do this.
I mentioned the shield spell only lasting one round repeatedly and pointed out that one spell slot can be spent on either shield or armor of agathys but not both.
Sure and 2nd Wind basically repairs 1 hit as well. This is fundamental to this discussion.
You wake up and have a hit point budget for the entire day.
The Dwarf Warlock with a 16 Con who just woke up and cast AOA has a budget of 17 hps+the hps the free shield spell saves
If he rests at all he has another 4-11 hps from his hid die and another shield spell for the first short rest + another sheild spell for every additional short rest.
The Tough Dwarf Fighter with a 16 Con who just woke up has a budget of 16hps+the hit points restored by 2 uses of 2nd Wind
He has another 4-13 on the first short rests and gets another 2nd wind if he both short rests and uses one of the uses between rests.
And you were already arguing thp from armor of agathys so that spell slot goes to armor of agathys.
Only on the very begining of the day. Wake up and cast AOA. Then you have those hit points until you either get hit or take your next
long rest.
I clearly said multiple times the base intent would be to use shield. Obviously, Shield does not deflect every hit, and using a pact slot for the temp hps is an option, but generally a less effective one.
I don't think this character would be the most durable in every situation, but I think it would generally be the most durable.
Poisoned from the quasit is going to provide the same benefit as sap from weapon masteries so that's not an advantage
Scared from the quasit is a single target once per day with a 10 DC so might work 50% of the time on a goblin minion with the chance going down as WIS goes up or proficiency exists.
Sap not quite as good as poisoned affects all attacks, including AOOs, while SAP only affects the 1st attack, but it is pretty close
Scare is still 50% of the time, and EACH Quasit can do this once a day, so at 1st level, considering starting funds, you should generally be able to summon 2 Quasits or enough to do scare 2 times per day. As you pick up some more loot you should be able to easily push this higher.
Also, while scare is only 50% it can flat prevent a melee attack by preventing movment and it makes Ranged attacks happen with disadvantage.
Aside from this, if you are fighting enemies using ranged weapons the Quasit can move next to an enemy and ready another move to follow an enemy and stay next to him. This gives that enemy disadvantage on the attack, the PC does not need to use an action, the Quasit does not need to hit him and the bad guy does not need to fail a save or anything. It does not break invisibility and it is automatic disadvantage as long as the enemy can't outmove him. This makes it more effective in imposing disadvantage (in this situation) than Sap or Scare or Poisoned.
The possibility of not being approached by one target if the quasit is in the way when that target can still attack via ranged weapons doesn't make the warlock more durable.
I think it does in play. Cover makes all creatures who can get it more durable than not having it, the Walrock, just has
A +2 saving throw bonus against a DC 10 check is 35% chance to fail, about 1 in 3 as stated. The 13 or 14 to hit is 32.5% chance to hit, about 1 in 3 as stated. The actual hit rate is slightly more than 1 in 9 and the one free shield spell still leaves it at around 1 in 10 hits dropping blade ward.
Ok, to start with it is a +3 not a +2. It is not 1 in 10 hits that drops blade Ward, it is close to 1 in 3 hits.
Here is how I arrived at the 15-20 I said
Using Bladeward his AC is 17.5, with Shield that is 22.5. And yes, shield does matter because it is an effect that is at will until the first attack that would hit.
So it is going to take 3 attacks to get him to use just use his first shield spell of the entire day. One in nine after that first shield to get him to fail his concentration save. Now we are at 12 attacks ... but 12 attacks is more than he is likely to take before another short rest ... which means has another shield spell, and now we are at 15.
I think 15-20 attacks is how many attacks on average he is likely to suffer at most tables before he fails a concentration save.
Understand?
Side Note: Keep in mind, under the new 2024 definition of
"damage" he does not have to make a concentration save unless he
"loses hit points" and temporary hit points are
"not hit points". So anything that only depletes temp hit points does not cause a concentration save in 2024. This is not considered in what I wrote above.
The XP budget for a 1st level character in an easy encounter is 50 xp.
12 Goblins is enough for a PC to get to 2nd level.
There are plenty of encounters for 1st level characters where many attacks would be expected. Not getting attacked for whatever reason isn't a demonstration of durability.
Playing a PC whos build enables them to not get attacked as often is part of durability
If the question is who can take the most damage at 1st level it is entirely different discussion.
Based on the fact they will typically get attacked more often and have a lower AC vs the first attack that would hit.
Where did false life come into this? Armor of agathys is only 5 hp and false life isn't on the warlock spell list.
I meant to say Armor of Agathys
You were arguing that the number of attacks don't exist so how does this play out? Is your argument that the warlock casts shield, then the fight ends quickly with the warlock never taking damage, then everyone takes a short rest so the shield spell is available?
This would allow shield more often but that removes the 5 thp in the process.
No it doesn't. In the 2024 rules Temp Hit Points last until they are
"depleted or you finish a long rest. "
If you do not play that way, and use the old 2014 rules, then you would be correct, but that is not RAW for 2024 and would entirely change this discussion. I would not advocate for a Warlock as being the most durable if the temp hit points were removed on a before taking a long rest.
Are you implying I cannot make a ranged fighter?
No you can, and I discussed this above.
A ranged fighter either needs to use lighter armor, resulting in a lower AC or they need to me much closer to melee which will result in them getting attacked more.
A ranged Fighter that want's to use SAP needs to attack from within 20 feet of the enemy or suffer disadvantage.
Shield isn't guaranteed to prevent that one hit, and a fighter can pick that up too.
At 1st level a Fighter can only do it once. Even at one single casting though, I think it is competitive with Tough.
You don't think a dwarf fighter with the magic initiate feat with the higher AC, blade ward, the shield spell, and second wind is more durable? The fighter can even keep blade ward up more consistently because they have CON save proficiency.
No, I don't think they are, because they don't get more castings of Shield with each short rest, don't have a familiar and have fewer total effective hit points when considering Armor of Agathys.
I do think they are more durable than the same fighter with Tough though.