#d&d build

[metalinjector95]

Okay I'm trying to make a D&D build on Sasha Waybright (Amphibia) so are there any Dungeons and Dragons experts that can give me any pointers?

All I have are : High Strength and Charisma Stats

Fighter- Battle Master and Multi-class Barbarian/Berserker

[nerdythebard]

#53: Kratos [God of War]

(Art Credit: Raf Grassetti) ---

My friends, it's time for the man! The myth! The legend!

Thanks to an anonymous reader, we're gonna traverse the worlds of D&D as Kratos. The Ghost of Sparta. Godslayer. The God of War. Farbauti. We'll do the 2018 version, as God of War: Ragnarök approaches. Also, heads up, this will be just Kratos and, sorry to disappoint you, only wielding the Leviathan Axe. We have to restrain him somehow ;) Enjoy!

Next Time: Have you ever used the yellow pages to hire a wizard from Chicago?

...Read it, boy.

I... Would Like... To... RAGE: There's no denying it, Kratos might just be the strongest character in video games. His ability to channel his rage into pure power is legendary, especially when he manages to control it in the 2018 game.

Let Me Axe You a Question: Kratos's new toy, the Leviathan Axe, is a magical weapon capable of channeling ice magic. It always return to him when called.

I AM MY SCARS: There's no running away from one's past and Kratos really owns up to his. The time spent in Midgard really made him wiser and, although not purely altrustic, he's gained some degree of empathy.

---

Kratos is a son of Zeus, and a god of his own, but we're going to focus on his power and might rather than his birth heritage. We're going with a Goliath from the Mordenkainen's Monsters of the Multiverse version. We get a +2 and a +1 to two abilities of our choice (Strength and Constitution respectively), and thanks to the Little Giant feat we gain proficiency in Athletics and count as one size larger when determining carrying and lifting capacity. As Mountain Born, we have resistance to cold damage and can survive high altitudes with no negative consequences. Stone's Endurance allows us to use our reaction to shrug off damage (1d12 + our Constitution modifier) a number of times equal to our proficiency bonus per long rest.

Kratos's past haunts him to this very day, so making him a Haunted One seems to fit the most. We gain proficiencies in two skills from the list (Investigation and Survival), learn two languages (although we should leave it to the Boy), and get the Heart of Darkness feature. Although others might be intimidated of us (and let's be honest, who wouldn't be?), they may extend courtesy and attempt to aid us to the best of their ability. It doesn't mean they would fight or die for us, but a shelter or a meal (or upgrading our axe) is definitely on the table.

ABILITY SCORES

We'll start with the obvious ones: Constitution will be first (if using Standard Point Array) and Strength will be second; that way, we'll put it both at 16 from the start. Dexterity will be next, Kratos can roll around and dodge quite well.

We'll follow that up with Charisma, as Kratos's intimidation can also act as very effective persuasion. Wisdom will be a little low, especially since Kratos became a rather skilled survivalist, and we're dumping Intelligence; Kratos is from Sparta, not Athens.

CLASS

Level 1 - Barbarian: I mean... was there ever any doubt? Barbarians get d12 as their Hit Dice, [12 + our Constitution modifier] initial Hit Points, proficiencies with light armour, medium armour, shields, simple weapons, and martial weapons. Kratos wears a variety of armours or none at all, so what you choose it doesn't matter here. We are going to grab a shield and a battleaxe (because it can be used in one or both hands, as opposed to a greataxe). Our saving throws are Strength and Constitution, and we get to pick two class skills from the list (Intimidation and Perception).

Barbarians begin their journey by tapping into the vast ocean of Rage. As a bonus action, twice per long rest, we can Rage for up to 1 minute (or until we end it/are knocked unconscious/hadn't attacked a creature or received damage during our last turn) as long as we're not wearing heavy armour. While Raging, we gain the following benefits:

We have an advantage on Strength checks and Strength saving throws.

When we make a melee weapon attack that uses Strength, we get a +2 bonus damage (increases as we level up).

We have resistance to bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing damage.

With Unarmoured Defense, our AC is [10 + our Dexterity modifier + our Constitution modifier] as long as we're not wearing any armour. We can still use shields.

Level 2 - Barbarian: Thanks to our divine Danger Sense, we have an advantage on Dexterity saving throws against dangers that we can see, such as traps and spells, as long as we're not blinded, deafened, or incapacitated. We have Head and Boy to warn us against attacks.

We also have an option to make Reckless Attacks. When making the first attack on our turn, we can choose to make it Reckless. Doing so, gives us advantage on Strength-based attack for the entire turn, but all attack made against us until our next turn also have advantage.

Level 3 - Barbarian: Starting now, we can Rage three times per long rest.

Time to pick our first subclass, to walk our Primal Path. Since Kratos gained divine power and was a servant of Ares, we will make his Rage truly godly and choose the Path of the Zealot. Thanks to Divine Fury, the first creature we hit with a weapon attack takes extra [1d6 + half of our Barbarian level] radiant or necrotic damage (our choice, but we cannot change it).

As a former Warrior of the Gods, we are brought back to life more easily. Spells such as Raise Dead or Revivify, or any other that would bring us back from death, require no material components when used to us. Death can have us when it earns us.

Level 4 - Barbarian: Time for our first Ability Score Improvement. Let's make our punches and attacks deal more damage, and put two points into Strength.

Level 5 - Fighter: Time to get more technical and get into contact with two grumpy dwarfs. Multiclassing into Fighter doesn't give us any new things, but we can adopt a Fighting Style. We have a weapon, but our unarmed attacks need power, too, so we're gonna pick Unarmed Fighting. Our fists now deal [1d6 + our Strength modifier] bludgeoning damage. If we're not holding a weapon or a shield, that d6 can become d8. In combat, at the beginning of our turn, we can also deal 1d4 damage to any creature grappled by us.

With Second Wind we can use our bonus action to heal [1d10 + our Fighter level] Hit Points once per a short or long rest.

Level 6 - Fighter: Thanks to Action Surge, once per a short or long rest we can take one additional Action in combat during our turn.

Level 7 - Fighter: We pick our second subclass here, our Martial Archetype. We can now breathe some magic into that axe of ours by becoming the Eldritch Knight. First and foremost, we unlock Spellcasting with Intelligence as our casting ability. We know two cantrips (Ray of Frost and Thunderclap) and three 1st-level spells (Absorb Elements, Earth Tremor, and Frost Fingers).

Finally, we gain Weapon Bond. By bonding our axe to ourselves, we can never be disarmed (as long as we're not incapacitated) and summon the weapon back to us wherever it is (as long as we're on the same plane of existence) as a bonus action.

Level 8 - Fighter: Another ASI. The only reason, we didn't switch back to the Barbarian here is so we can grab the Strike of the Giants feat from the 2022 Wonders of the Multiverse Unearthed Arcana. As a bonus action, we can imbue our weapon with magic of the giants. For the next minute, the first strike we make with that weapon causes additional effect depending on the magic chosen. We're picking magic of the Frost Giants, which deals extra 1d6 cold damage. If the target is a creature, it has to make a Constitution saving throw or have its speed reduced to 0 until the start of our next turn.

For our final spell, we're gonna get a few more Hit Points with False Life.

Level 9 - Barbarian: Going back to improve the quantity instead of quality of our attacks, we get Extra Attack. We can now attack twice instead of once during a single Attack action. Our ground speed also increases by 10 feet (if we're not wearing heavy armour) thanks to Fast Movement.

Level 10 - Barbarian: Halfway through the build, we can now Rage four times per long rest. We also get a new subclass feature: Fanatical Focus. If while Raging we're fail a saving throw, we can re-roll once per Rage. However, we have to use a new result even if it's worse than the original.

Level 11 - Barbarian: With our Feral Instincts, we now have an advantage on Initiative rolls. Additionally, any ambush or surprise that would happen during combat do not work on us.

Level 12 - Barbarian: Another ASI! This time, we're gonna bump our Constitution by two points.

Level 13 - Barbarian: Whenever we get luck, enemies die! With Brutal Critical, whenever we score a melee attack Critical Hit, we can roll additional damage die (e.g. a battleaxe's damage die is 1d8 [or d10 if used two-handed], so on a Natural 20 we roll 2d8 [or 2d10]). It is also here that bonus damage from our Rage becomes a +3.

Level 14 - Barbarian: Time for another subclass feature: Zealous Presence. As a bonus action, we unleash a rage-filled roar that encourages up to ten creatures within 60 feet of us, giving them advantage on attack rolls and saving throws until the start of our next turn. We can do so once per long rest.

Level 15 - Barbarian: We can now tap into Relentless Rage. Now, we can keep fighting even if we're dead... kinda. If we drop to 0 Hit Points while Raging (and not be insta-killed), we can make a DC 10 Constitution saving throw. On a success, we recover 1 Hit Point. The DC increases by 5 each time we use this feature after the first. After we finish a long rest, the DC resets back to 10.

Level 16 - Barbarian: One more ASI for the road, and we're gonna grab every tank's friend – the Tough feat. Our Hit Points Maximum increase by [our level x2] and every level-up henceforth gives us +2 Hit Points. Additionally, we can also Rage 5 times per long rest now.

Level 17 - Barbarian: We improve our Brutal Critical. On a Critical Hit, we now roll two extra damage dice.

Level 18 - Barbarian: For the final subclass feature, we'll be able to Rage Beyond Death. When we drop to 0 Hit Points, we don't go unconscious. We still have to make Death Saving Throws, and suffer the normal consequences, but we only drop unconscious when our Rage ends and we're at 0 Hit Points then.

Level 19 - Barbarian: We can stay angry for an unlimited amount of time with Persistent Rage. Our Rage can only end if we choose to do it or if we drop unconscious. With the previous level's feature in mind, in theory we now can never be unconscious.

Level 20 - Barbarian: Our capstone is Barbarian 16, which gives us... an ASI. Yeah, ending it on a low note, unfortunately, but at least we can capstone our Strength with a 20.

---

And that is our boy... err... Kratos. Ekhm, let's see what we got:

First of all, we've made the most durable build. Kratos is a frontline powerhouse whether he wields a weapon or not. We can soak damage and deal damage, and our Rage lets us turn the battle to our favour. Kratos has the largest Hit Points pool of all the builds we've done so far: beating both Songbird and Edelgard. With several ice-themed attacks, we can also keep enemies stationary for us or our party members.

Our AC is 17 (with a shield), we have a +1 to our Initiative, and a whoppin' 250 Hit Points on average.

Unfortunately, by focusing on Kratos's physical might, we've sacrificed pretty much all remaining abilities. With a negative Intelligence modifier and a low Wisdom and Charisma score, we also might be vulnerable to Charmed and Frightened effects. It's a shame we couldn't grab the next two Barbarian features (Indomitable Might and Primal Champion), as they would make us even better. What I would suggest is hunt in your game for Belt of Dwarvenkind, which would increase your Constitution by 2 (and give you a swanky dad-beard).

---

Another one off the list! This was pretty straightforward and seems situational, but this is the best I could think of. I hope the requestor is satisfied, and I'll see you in the next one, my loves!

-Nerdy out!

[chromatophorium]

How to play Ginko from Mushishi in D&D 5e

Right, the easiest way to make Ginko, or a Ginko-esque character, in D&D 5e pretty simple, all things considered. This is the build I would choose to play a character like Ginko. His character can be simplified into these goals for the purposes of character building:               - Sees things invisible to others               - Cures people’s magical diseases and solves their magical problems

Race: Custom lineage Creature type: Humanoid Size: Medium Speed: 30 ft Ability score increase: +2 to Wis (For base stats just do what you want but keep wisdom highest, and intelligence somewhere good) Variable trait: Choose Darkvision with a range of 60 feet (Tokoyami darkvision as seen by Nui in episode 12) Languages: Common (and another language that is appropriate) Feat: Eldritch Adept: Learn one Eldritch Invocation option from the warlock class. Choose Eldritch Sight, which gives the ability to cast detect magic at will, without expending a spell slot or material components (A basically permanent way to see things few others see. This is the first version of Ginko’s ability to see mushi.)

Background: Custom Skill Proficiencies: Arcana, Nature Tool Proficiencies: Herbalism kit, Alchemist's tool Work with your DM to make a custom background, maybe based on the Hermit or the Haunted One background, in terms of features.

Class: Choose Cleric with the Divine domain of Twilight, it gives access to the spell See Invisibility in a few levels, which is essential to this character build. Choose the skill proficiencies in Medicine and Insight. As for spells, Cleric is a prepare-class which means that one has access to all the spells on the cleric spell list, when you choose spells on a long rest. Many of the spells on the cleric spell list fit with things that Ginko can do. Like Cure Wounds, Lesser Restoration, Dispel Magic and Remove Curse for his healing people from Mushi and magical health problems. There are also spells for Mushishi gear and methods, like Sending for the Uro-san, Scrying for tapping into the Mugura network and Magic Circle and Protection from Evil and Good for the Mushi-dispersing smoke. Just look around the spell list for some nice in character spells, which you can take if you want.

Lore: Work with your DM to fit your character into their setting. For example in the Forgotten Realms. Is the things your Ginko-character sees expressions of the weave of magic which he interprets as creatures? Are they some kind of Feywild fauna and flora that he can see through the closeness of the material plane to the Feywild? Are they elementals of magic? Are they pieces of chaotic creation left over from when the material plane was created? Are they aberrations, traveling unnoticed through the Ethereal Plane? Lots of options and that’s just some, for just one setting.

More: I have made another more detailed, actually totally different, character build for Ginko, which I will post later. I will link it here then.

[cephalopodiums]

I’m building CHICK HICKS in D&D  (Why? ‘Cuz it’s fun and I like the bastard car)

GOALS:  - Be fast - Be furious  - Get ahead of others by any means - Be a cocky celebrity

STATS: Use point buy for this array: (or use some other method, just keep multiclassing minimums in mind)

STR 14 DEX 14 CON 14 INT 8 WIS 9 CHA 13

RACE: 

Centaur (has the most car-like features, and also I am using the version from MP:MotM)

Ability score increase: Increase Strength by 2 and Charisma by 1. Creature type: Fey (more accurate than humanoid at least) Speed: 40 ft Charge: If Chick moves at least 30 feet straight toward a target and then hits it with a melee weapon attack on the same turn, he can immediately follow that attack with a bonus action, making one attack against the target with his hooves attack. (This is the first version of crashing into someone)

Equine Build: Chick counts as one size larger when determining his carrying capacity and the weight he can push or drag. When making a climb that requires hands and feet, each foot of movement costs Chick 4 extra feet instead of the normal 1 extra foot. (Cars are big and strong and also can’t climb very well…)

Hooves: Chick can make an unarmed strike which deals 1d6 + his strength mod in bludgeoning damage. (Let's say these are his tires) 

Natural Affinity: Chick gains proficiency in one of the following skills: Animal Handling, Medicine, Nature, or Survival. Choose: Animal Handling (or one of the others, it isn’t really in character)

Languages: Common and Modron (idk, Modrons are mechanical beings with human facial features, like cars in Cars) 

BACKGROUND: 

Athlete (But switch the language proficiency against a tool proficiency)

Skill Proficiencies: Acrobatics, Athletics (Chick is fit!) Tool Proficiencies: Land Vehicles (of course a build of a car from cars has to have proficiency with land vehicles) and Disguise kit (Chick and Bruiser canonically went to drama class together, where one can typically learn to use costumes.)

Feature: Echoes of Victory: Chick has attracted admiration among spectators, fellow athletes, and trainers in the region that hosted his past athletic victories. When visiting any settlement within 100 miles of where he grew up, there is a 50 percent chance he can find someone there who admires him and is willing to provide information and temporary shelter. Between adventures, he might compete in athletic events sufficient enough to maintain a comfortable lifestyle, as per the "Practicing a Profession" downtime activity in chapter 8 of the Players Handbook. (

LEVEL 1 Rouge 1

Proficiencies: Combat stuff: Light armor, simple weapons, hand crossbows, longswords, rapiers, shortswords Tools: Thieves' tools Saving Throws: Dexterity, Intelligence Skills: Performance (Again, Chick went to drama class), Persuasion (Persuading people not to kick him out for hurting other racers) Deception (to cover up his crimes), Intimidation (Intimidate people not to speak out against him),

Features:

Expertise: Chick gains expertise in two skills, which means the proficiency bonus for skill checks made with those skills have a doubled proficiency bonus. Choose Athletics (for shove checks and other athletic feats) and Performance (Chick has a show, he has to be good at performance)

Sneak Attack: Once per turn, Chick can deal an extra 1d6 damage to one creature he hits with an attack if he has advantage on the attack roll. The attack must use a finesse or a ranged weapon. He doesn't need advantage on the attack roll if another enemy of the target is within 5 feet of it, that enemy isn't incapacitated, and he doesn't have disadvantage on the attack roll. (shortsword is the best, flavor it to be like his pointy edged chassis, he is a rectangle after all)

Thieves' Cant: Chick knows thieves' cant is a secret mix of dialect, jargon, and code that allows one to hide messages in seemingly normal conversation. Only another creature that knows thieves' cant understands such messages. It takes four times longer to convey such a message than it does to speak the same idea plainly. In addition, he understands a set of secret signs and symbols used to convey short, simple messages, such as whether an area is dangerous or the territory of a thieves' guild, whether loot is nearby, or whether the people in an area are easy marks or will provide a safe house for thieves on the run. (Not in character, but he does hang out with the Delinquent Road Hazards in the games, so maybe he learned some crime stuff from them?)

LEVEL 2 Rouge 2

Features: Cunning Action: Chick can use the Dash, Disengage, or Hide action as a bonus action. (Using Chicks movement and Dash as an action and bonus action, he can move up to 120 ft in a round.)

LEVEL 3 Rouge 3

Features: Roguish Archetype: Choose Scout

Skirmisher: Chick can move up to half his speed as a reaction when an enemy ends its turn within 5 feet of him. This movement doesn’t provoke opportunity attacks. (Using reactions for movement as well is great, at this level Chick could ideally move 140 ft per turn)

Survivalist: Chick gains proficiency in Nature and Survival and has doubled proficiency using these skills. (Not super in character, but maybe Chick takes up camping and nature watching in his free time? Idk)

LEVEL 4 Fighter 1

Proficiencies: Combat stuff: All armor, martial weapons, shields

Features: Fighting Style: Choose Superior Technique: Chick learns one maneuver from the Battle Master archetype and gains one superiority die, which is a d6. The die is regained after a short or long rest and the saving throw DC for maneuvers is 8 + proficiency bonus + strength or dexterity modifier (use strength, of course). Choose: 

Trip Attack: When Chick hits a creature with a weapon attack, he can expend one superiority die to attempt to knock the target down. He can add the superiority die to the attack's damage roll, and if the target is Large or smaller, it must make a Strength saving throw. On a failed save, he knocks the target prone. (This is Chick crashing into someone, Prone causes half movement or uses up half movement to get away from prone, the best way to knock someone down with an attack currently. And gets better with a feat later)

Second Wind: On Chicks turn, you can use a bonus action to regain hit points equal to 1d10 + his fighter level. (This is Chick just strengthening his resolve)

LEVEL 5 Fighter 2

Features: Action Surge: Chick can push yourself beyond his normal limits for a moment. On his turn, he can take one additional action. (So this is a great feature, and now the maximum movement that Chick can move is 180 ft in a turn, or do other things with this extra action)

LEVEL 6 Fighter 3

Features:  Martial Archetype: Choose Battle Master

Combat Superiority: Chick learns three maneuvers and gains four superiority dice, which are d8s. The die is regained after a short or long rest and the saving throw DC for maneuvers is 8 + proficiency bonus + strength or dexterity modifier (use strength, of course). Choose: 

Ambush: When Chick makes a Dexterity (Stealth) check or an initiative roll, he can expend one superiority die and add the die to the roll, provided he isn't incapacitated. (The initiative roll is good, at the start of races, also works well with other Rogue abilities)

Commanding Presence: When he makes a Charisma (Intimidation), a Charisma (Performance), or a Charisma (Persuasion) check, he can expend one superiority die and add the superiority die to the ability check. (This is Chick using his celebrity status to get stuff he wants)

Evasive Footwork: When Chick moves, he can expend one superiority die, rolling the die and adding the number rolled to his AC until he stops moving. (This is good for getting away after crashing someone, we’ll get a feat for this later)

Precision Attack: When Chick makes a weapon attack roll against a creature, he can expend one superiority die to add it to the roll. He can use this maneuver before or after making the attack roll, but before any effects of the attack are applied. (For making sure Chick hits)

Student of War: Chick gains proficiency with one type of artisan's tools. Choose tinker’s tools. (Or something else, but I just thought Chick could tinker a bit with cars)

LEVEL 7 Barbarian 1

Features:  Rage: On his turn, he can enter a rage as a bonus action. While raging, he gains the following benefits if he isn’t wearing heavy armor: - He has advantage on Strength checks and Strength saving throws. - When he makes a melee weapon attack using Strength, he gains a bonus to the damage roll, currently +2. - He has resistance to bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing damage. - He can't cast spells or concentrate on them while raging. - His rage lasts for 1 minute. It ends early if he is knocked unconscious or if his turn ends and he hasn't attacked a hostile creature since your last turn or taken damage since then. He can also end his rage on his turn as a bonus action. He can regain his rages at a short or long rest. (We’ll get some improvements to this, for now this is just Chick getting angry)

Unarmored Defense: While Chick is not wearing any armor, his armor class equals 10 + Dexterity modifier + Constitution modifier. He can use a shield and still gain this benefit. (Depends on how one sees the car chassis, as just a part of him or as platemail or a chest plate or something)

LEVEL 8 Barbarian 2

Features: Danger Sense: Chick has advantage on Dexterity saving throws against effects that he can see, such as traps and spells. To gain this benefit, he can't be blinded, deafened, or incapacitated. (One has to be aware of their surroundings while racing)

Reckless Attack: When he makes his first attack on his turn, he can decide to attack recklessly. Doing so gives him advantage on melee weapon attack rolls using Strength during this turn, but attack rolls against him have advantage until your next turn. (This is Chick crashing into someone wrecklessly- excuse me, recklessly. A crash is not often wreckless.)

LEVEL 9 Barbarian 3

Features:  Primal Path: Choose the path of the Totem Warrior

Spirit Seeker: Chick gains the ability to cast the Beast Sense and Speak with Animals spells, but only as rituals. (Not in character, but comes with the class, so...)

Totem Spirit: When adopting this path, one can choose a totem spirit and gain its feature. Choose: Elk. While Chick is raging and isn't wearing heavy armor, his walking speed increases by 15 feet. (More speed! YAY!)

LEVEL 10 Barbarian 4

Features: Ability Score Improvement: Choose a feat instead. Choose:

Mobile: Chick gains the following benefits: - His speed increases by 10 feet. - When he uses the Dash action, difficult terrain doesn't cost him extra movement on that turn. - When he makes a melee attack against a creature, he doesn't provoke opportunity attacks from that creature for the rest of the turn, whether he hits or not. (More speed! And makes evasive footwork less useful. Guess it’s useful when not attacking I guess)

 LEVEL 11 Barbarian 5

Features:  Extra Attack: Chick can attack twice, instead of once, whenever he takes the Attack action on his turn. (More attacks, means more damage in crashes or more chances to use trip attack)

Fast Movement: His speed increases by 10 feet while he isn't wearing heavy armor. (MORE SPEED!)

LEVEL 12 Rouge 4

Features:  Ability Score Improvement: Choose a feat instead. Choose:

Magic Initiate: Gain two cantrips and one 1st level spell from the spell list of either bard, cleric, druid, sorcerer, warlock, or wizard. You can only cast the 1st level spell once per long rest. Choose: Bard and the below spells

Cantrip: Vicious Mockery (Insults that hit hard) Friends (Chick using his celebrity status to schmooze, until people find out he’s an asshole)

1st level: Longstrider (MORE SPEED!)

LEVEL 13 Sorcerer 1

Features:  Sorcerous Origin: Choose Storm Sorcery

Wind Speaker: Chick gains proficiency in Primordial (Not in character but, whatever he gets it)

Tempestuous Magic: Chick can use a bonus action on his turn immediately before or after he casts a spell of 1st level or higher. Doing so allows him to fly up to 10 feet without provoking opportunity attacks. (For stunts :D  Basically a better jumpy)

Spells: 

Cantrips: Message (For communicating with his crew chief) Blade Ward (Preparing for an attack and making it hit a less vulnerable part of him) True Strike (For advantage, situationally useful for getting sneak attack) Thunderclap (He is called thunder, we gotta give him some thunder damage)

1st level: Silvery Barbs (Distracting a fellow racer, then giving himself the advantage) Color Spray (Flashing his ka-chicka sticker to blind people)

LEVEL 14 Sorcerer 2

Features:  Font of Magic: Chick gains sorcery points, which currently can be used to create spell slots. Spell slots can be turned into sorcery points too. There is a table and all on the link to the class. (Useful later to get more higher level spellslots for the best spell)

Spells: 

1st level: False Life (Temporary hit points are often flavored to be resolve and Chick has a lot of resolve)

LEVEL 15 Sorcerer 3

Features: Metamagic: Chick gains the ability to twist his spells to suit his needs. He gains two of the following Metamagic options. Choose: 

Extended Spell: When casting a spell that has a duration of 1 minute or longer, Chick can spend 1 sorcery point to double its duration, to a maximum duration of 24 hours. (Useful! So useful! Get more use out of speed spells!)

Empowered Spell: When rolling damage for a spell, he can spend 1 sorcery point to reroll a number of the damage dice up to his Charisma modifier (minimum of one). He must use the new rolls. Can be used even if one has already used a different Metamagic option during the casting of the spell. (More damage!!! HAHA!)

Spells:

2nd level: Kinetic Jaunt (Another speed spell, and useful for getting through a lot of other racers)

LEVEL 16 Sorcerer 4

Features: Ability score improvement: Increase Strength by 2 (Make crash attacks stonger and DC’s harder to beat)

Spells: 

Cantrips: Booming Blade (A great crashing spell, encouraging creatures not to move and has thunder damage! The only reason we didn’t get it sooner is because it isn’t on the core spell list of the sorcerer, and added in Tashas.)

2nd level: Shadow Blade (A spell that pairs great with Sneak Attack to get more damage in crashes)

LEVEL 17 Sorcerer 5

Features:  Magical Guidance (Optional): When making an ability check that fails, Chick can spend 1 sorcery point to reroll the d20, and must use the new roll, potentially turning the failure into a success. (Saving face)

Spells: 

2nd level: Haste (The best spell. Best speed spell. Just great. Don’t need to say anything else.) Ashardalon’s Stride (Replace False Life with this, it's cool. Just like kinda being so fast and using like flame boosts like in the game or something. Not super in character for the movies or something but is a cool speed spell, okay?)

LEVEL 18 Fighter 4

Features: Ability score improvement: Increase Constitution by 2 (For more HP and better concentration checks!)

LEVEL 19 Barbarian 6

Features:  Aspect of the Beast: Chick gains a magical benefit based on a totem animal. Choose:

Elk: Whether mounted or on foot, his travel pace is doubled, as is the travel pace of up to ten companions while they're within 60 feet of him and he isn’t incapacitated. (Now he is good at long distance stuff too! And now he and his team won’t ever be late to a race that takes place across the country ever again.)

 LEVEL 20 Barbarian 7

Features:  Feral Instinct: Chick’s instincts are so honed that he has advantage on initiative rolls. Additionally, if he isn’t surprised at the beginning of combat and isn't incapacitated, he can act normally on his first turn, but only if he enters his rage before doing anything else on that turn. (Advantage on initiative rolls are great for races.)

POST COMMENTARY:

I like this build. I honestly wouldn’t try making any other racers with this... D&D is so combat focused while cars other than Chick do not do much combat. (I guess the spies do. So if I’m ever doing another car then it would probably be Finn or Holly) But yeah. The way I got the speed here, with Rouge and Barbarian, is like the only-ish ways to get movement speed bonuses from classes. Revised Ranger, Monk and Wizard Bladesinger and Transmutation also do get movement boosts. Another way would maybe be Druid or Polymorph if you flavor the transformations to just be a stance or something. 

(Man I’m editing this and now I know a way to make him faster with more/better crashing, Monk levels. 5 monk levels for speed and stunning strike, 5 sorcerer levels for haste 5 barbarian levels elk totem for speed 2 rouge levels for cunning action 2 fighter levels for action surge and the trip attack maneuvers then either rouge scout for skirmisher or fighter battle master for more trip attack depending on if one wants more sometimes movement or more crashing BUT that would make this build even more MAD (multi ability dependent) than it already is and the stats needed would make us have to drop Con, making Chick frail.)

Speed: Not the fastest, but definitely fast. Faster than usually needed in D&D games. With Extended Spell and Rages he can consistently be faster than his normal speed, which is and impressive 60 ft (like the fly speed of Fly). And with Cunning Action and Skirmisher he can use basically his whole turn to move. 

With Haste and Longstrider: 40 base + 10 mobility feat + 10 fast movement + 10 longstrider then doubled with haste = 140 ft  Then using Dash during the normal action, Action Surge, bonus action, Haste action and Skirmisher reaction is 630 ft in one round. More than anyone needs. 

With Rage and Longstrider: 40 base + 10 mobility feat + 10 fast movement + 10 longstrider + 15 elk = 85 ft Then using Dash during the normal action, Action Surge, bonus action, Haste action and Skirmisher reaction is 382.5 ft in one round. Also more than anyone needs.

This is how far he can go in 10 min, with prepared Flexible Casting spell slots (five 3rd lvl and 7 sorcery points) and Longstrider, and no enemies: 55300 ft meaning 62.8 mph or 101.1 kph. 

Damage: 

Right, with Shadow Blade, Sneak attack, Trip attack on both attacks and Hooves, Chick could do 6d8 + 3d6 + 9 damage in a round without using action surge. Pretty good. Could maybe take out a fellow racer to near death status like Strip with a crit? Idk, I’m not good at damage calculation. 

Cons and problems:

This build is MAD (multi ability dependent) and that means one can’t super optimize things like DCs for the different abilities.  I didn’t really know what to do with the last three levels. Making crashes like in the movie doesn’t really work in D&D. The shove rules are like super specific with pushing creatures away from the attacker, so one can’t really send people flying like in the movie. There is Shoving Aside rules in the DMG, but then the attacker has disadvantage. (Could be solved by taking Clockwork Soul as a sorcerous origin, I guess) Also, Rage, Haste, Kinetic Jaunt, Shadow Blade and Ashardalon’s Stride are fighting for concentration. 

______

So yeah, that’s basically it. Chick Hicks in D&D. Building characters is like a jigsaw puzzle to me, just a bit of fun... Let me leave on a non-negative note though. If you actually want to play with a character like Chick, i.e. run in, attack and immobilize your foe and run along without consequences, at low levels...  One, get the Mobile feat as soon as possible (maybe through Custom Origin) and two, start with Wizard, get Booming blade as your main cantrip and get Longstrider. Maybe go Bladesinger and a multiclass into Rouge would do you good. Invest in Dex instead of Strength, good for both ac and attack. Or don’t. Just have fun. Have a good one! 

[calciumsoda]

Oh hey this just came back to my mind and i havent cursed yall with the knowledge yet

D&D 5e has a way to apply Rage, Sneak attack, Sharpshooter, and Great Weapon Master to one attack.

Rage and GWM are easy. Any old strength-based attack with a Heavy weapon will do. But sneak attack? Sharpshooter? Those require you to attack from range-

Nope.

They don't. They require that the attack *is using a ranged weapon*.

Why do I specify this?

Because a Longbow is a Ranged weapon. With the Heavy property.

It is still a ranged weapon, even if you make an improvised attack by swinging your longbow at someone like a club.

Sneak attack and sharpshooter both fall into this same trap of awful wording, and thus can be used on this attack. And all improvised weapons use Strength. And it's still Heavy.

Congrats, you are now rolling with a penalty of -10 to hit, and if you have, say, +4 strength, you deal 1d4+1d6+4+2+10+10 damage on a hit. This is at level 5, by the way, if you are playing a variant human to get a level 1 feat and take only 1 level in either rogue or barbarian (to make sure the other one gets to level 4 for a feat).

Also note that 5 barbarian/2 rogue is *actually a weirdly viable build,* even without this bullshittery, so you're set up for success either way.

Anyway. Im not sorry for any psychic damage caused by this post.

[alexxuun]

Sharing tomorrows.

[fence-time]

Enamoured by Skizz’s enderman <3

[froggypurse2003]

[venriliz]

Lvl 10 Fishing Skill.

[beif0ngs]

[joicthestoic]

Paladins x D&D 2

Makoa

Makoa, everyone’s favorite big tortoise tank with an ankor. Nobody dares challenge Makoa. So let’s ask the question, what would Makoa be in a D&D context.

Once again, I’m gonna go ahead and say race is pretty easy to guess here. Obviously, being a big tanky tortoise, he would be a Tortle, despite his he technically is a deity of sorts. Since he is said to be a “turtle deity” (despite not being a turtle since he has legs for land) he would likely be some sort of divine being. The classes most befitting of Makoa would be either Paladin, Barbarian or Druid. I’ll go into detail about it later in the post, and he might end up multiclassing.

Tortles do not have subraces, so he would be a regular Tortle so we can remain RAW with this. Even so, I should point out that Shell Defense is not his shield ability, as in D&D it does not summon a big shield around him. However, he would likely use it when using Shell Spin. Makoa being 108 (at least) is a bit troubling since Tortles only live up to 50, but we can mark this down as him being some sort of deity.

Next, his class, he first needs access to his Shell Shield, and since neither Paladins nor Druids have any of the necessary spells, we have to get creative. Because of its round shape, Globe of Invulnerability and Wall of Force are the only options. Since neither Druids or Paladins have this spell by default, we must turn to Barbarian, picking the Ancestral Guardian subclass at level 3 and going up to level 6 for the Spirit Shield. Technically it reduces damage, but in this case we’re assuming it nullifies all damage. Next, the Dredge Ancor must be some sort of magic item. We’ll be using the SRD and use the Dragon Hook, which will allow to grapple and pull the opponent, as well as being used for melee combat with the ult. Like with Barik, we’re ignoring the main weapon, in this case his cannon, because of them being built on the Paladins universe’s materials and therefore not having much options for D&D equivalents. Lastly, the question remains. YOU CHALLENGE MAKOA?! His Ancient Rage will not just be a simple Barbarian rage, though it will function with the rage abilities. First we increase our Barbarian level to 9 for Brutal Critical, which will explain the high damage chance. We’ll take 3 levels into Paladin, with an Oath of the Ancients so that you have access to Divine Smite, and you can use Channel Divinity: Turn the Faithless which is simply there for flavor of when you utter the phrase “You challenge Makoa?!” they will be affected. 

Now I had thought Makoa would be a higher level, considering he’s a deity and all. While his pure damage potential with this build might be much higher than Barok, he can only ult once considering the rules of D&D. Still, he would only need to be a 12th level Barbaladin to have all of his abilities, with 9 levels in Ancestral Guardian Barbarian and 3 in Ancients Paladin. I did mention Druid earlier, but after looking through their spell list, I found nothing that would help them get a more accurate Makoa. So, with that being said, Makoa build fresh for the taking. Let me know what you think and feel free to yell at me for using an SRD magic item. If you feel you have some better alternatives to abilities or weapons, let me know, I’d love to hear back from anyone who reads through these. Have a lovely day lads.

[craykaycee]

I had a lot of fun drawing a couple scenes from @crazedauthor 's isekai AU fic "Reality is Stranger Than Fiction" as an art trade! While drawing these, I realized that I have never drawn Moon with soft features, always as a pointy gremlin. He has stolen my heart with his sweet sweet face and soft personality, and I'm excited to see how Crazed's story will develop! Making these, a fun painting style has developed :3c excited to work like this more often in the future ^-^

No dialogue text versions under the cut!

[nerdythebard]

#52: Sayaka Miki [Madoka Magica]

(Art Credit: Mangaka Quarter & Studio Shaft) ---

So, my friends... what is your wish?

Mine would be to finally finish my assignments on this blog, but I'm not gonna sold my soul to a marshmallow cat thing. I'll leave that to some Japanese schoolgirls. Like this here Sayaka Miki, our super-speedy indestructible witch hunter, courtesy of @will0whisper. And I'll say this upfront, this will be just Sayaka, I will not make her witch form here.

Next Time: Boy...

Let's start with the terms of our contract:

Fast and Blue... Sonic will sue: In combat, Sayaka reliest on her speed and agility. She can even react to magic that stops time, and at her fastest she looks like a flash of light.

Indestructible and Relentless: Although all magical girls have the ability to heal, Sayaka's is the strongest. To a point that she can regenerate missing limbs.

Sword Specialist: Sayaka uses a single cutlass. She can also summon multiple swords at once, and they always return to her like boomerangs.

---

Now, Sayaka is a human, that much is clear. We are making her a Variant Human to reflect her transformation into a magical girl. We're gonna put a +1 to our Dexterity and Constitution, get proficiency in Acrobatics, and pick up the Mobile feat right away. This increases our speed by 10 feet, our Dash action isn't impaired by difficult terrain, and if we make a melee weapon attack (doesn't matter if we hit or not), we do not provoke opportunity attacks until the end of the turn.

Hunting witches sounds like a good excuse to make Sayaka an Urban Bounty Hunter. We get to choose two proficiencies (here: Insight and Stealth), and choose two tool proficiencies from musical instrument, gaming set, or thieves tools. Finally, thanks to Ear to the Ground feature, we can form a large network of contacts with people ranging from highest and lowest classes. Work with your DM to establish which circles you operate in.

ABILITY SCORES

Dexterity is obviously going to be our highest score, and we're going to work on it pretty early on. For the sake of future multiclassing, we will put the next number in Wisdom and another in Constitution.

Charisma will be on the lower end. We do not parley with witches but we do care about our friends. Strength will be on the lower end, our strikes are quick and many. Finally, we're dumping Intelligence because we need other abilities more.

CLASS

Level 1 - Fighter: We start with big damage early on. Fighters get the d10 as their Hit Dice, [10 + Constitution modifier] initial Hit Points, proficiencies with light armour, medium armour, heavy armour, shields, simple weapons, and martial weapons. Sayaka doesn't wear any armour, so we have to survive with AC 13 for now, and a cutlass is a shortsword so that's what we're choosing for her. Our saving throws are Strength and Constitution, and we get to pick two class skills from the list (Athletics and Perception).

Fighters get to pick their Fighting Style. For Sayaka, we'll grab the Superior Technique style, which lets us select one manoeuvre from the Battle Master subclass and gives us one d6 Superiority Die to fuel the ability. We're gonna pick Lunging Attack, which lets us spend the Superiority Die to extend our weapon's reach by 5 feet. If our attack hits, we add the SD result to our damage die.

Thanks to Second Wind, we can use our bonus action to regain [1d10 + our Fighter level] Hit Points once per short or long rest.

Level 2 - Fighter: With Action Surge, we can take an additional Action on our turn once per a short or long rest.

Level 3 - Fighter: At this point, we will pick our subclass: our Martial Archetype. To give Sayaka the appearance of a magical girl, we need spells, so it's time for the Eldritch Knight. They use mostly defensive and damage-dealing spells, so we don't need to worry about Sayaka becoming a full caster. Speaking of, we get Spellcasting: Intelligence is our casting ability, and we know catrips and a fixed amount of regular spells. We start with two cantrips (Blade Ward and Sword Burst) and three 1st-level spells (Expeditious Retreat, Shield, and Mage Armour).

We also gain Weapon Bond. Unless we're incapacitated, we cannot be disarmed. As a bonus action, we can summon the weapon to our hand from any distance as long as the weapon and us are both on the same plane of existence. We can bond up to two weapons in this way.

Level 4 - Fighter: Time for our first Ability Score Improvement. We're gonna double down and raise our Dexterity by two points. We can also pick up another spell (Longstrider).

Level 5 - Monk: More agility! More weapons! Multiclassing into Monk doesn't give us proficiencies in anything new, but we do get Unarmoured Defense: when wearing no armour, our AC is [10 + our Dexterity modifier + our Wisdom modifier]. We also learn Martial Arts, which gives us several benefits:

We can use Dexterity instead of Strength for attack and damage rolls of our unarmed strikes.

We can use a d4 instead of our Strength modifier for damage rolls of our unarmed strikes.

When we use the Attack action on our turn to make an unarmed strike (or a monk weapon attack), we can use our bonus action to make one unarmed strike.

Level 6 - Monk: We learn Unarmoured Movement. When not wearing armour or a shield, our speed increases by 10 feet.

We also unlock the Monk's secret magic - the Ki. We gain a pool of Ki Points (starting with 2), which we can spend to fuel various Monk abilities. We unlock three such abilities at this level:

Flurry of Blows: Spending 1 Ki Point immediately after using the Attack action lets us make two unarmed strikes as a bonus action.

Step of the Wind: Spending 1 Ki Point lets us take the Dodge action as a bonus action on our turn.

Patient Defense: Spending 1 Ki Point lets us take the Dash or Disengage action as a bonus action on our turn. Our jumping distance doubles for that turn.

Level 7 - Monk: We are now able to Deflect Missiles. As a reaction, we can reduce the damage taken from a projectile attack by [1d10 + our Dexterity modifier + our Monk level]. If the damage result in 0, we catch the projectile and can use the same reaction to make a ranged attack with that projectile.

We also pick our second subclass, our Monastic Tradition. To become even better at swordplay, we're gonna pick the Kensei tradition. This tradition gives us several benefits in both melee and ranged weapons (as well as proficiency with calligrapher's supplies), but since we're using the former, I'm gonna focus on just one benefit - Agile Parry. After we make an unarmed strike, we can use our weapon to defend ourselves; we gain a +2 to our AC until the start of our next turn.

Level 8 - Monk: Thanks to Slow Fall, we can use our reaction to reduce the falling damage by [our Monk level x5].

It's also time for another ASI. We're gonna raise our Dexterity by one point, but we also gonna need one point in Charisma moving forward, because it's time for...

Level 9 - Warlock: Don't get too excited there, floof butt, we only need one level here. Now, Warlocks also get Spellcasting, but theirs work in a different way: Charisma is their casting ability, and while they also know cantrips and regular spells, their spells always fire at the highest possible level. We start with three cantrips (Friends, Green-Flame Blade, and True Strike), and we get two 1st-level spells: we're gonna grab Protection from Evil and Good, and we'll wait with the second one for our subclass.

Which we're gonna choose right now! Time to choose our Otherworldly Patron. Now, Kyubey grants wishes and that could make a case for the Genie Patron, but his reason for all of this is to prevent the Heat Death of the Universe. In his own twisted way, he protects order. We're making him a Celestial Patron. This gives us access to an Expanded Spell List, from which we'll grab Cure Wounds. We also get some bonus cantrips (Sacred Flame and Light) and we can wield Healing Light: we have a pool of Healing Dice (d6) equal to [1 + our Warlock level]. As a bonus action, we can spend a number of Healing Dice (equal to our Charisma modifier) to restore Hit Points of a creature within 60 feet of us. Our pool replenishes after we finish a long rest. We can finally grant Sayaka's wish and heal Kyousuke's hands.

Alright, back to more slashing!

Level 10 - Fighter: For more slashing we need Extra Attack. During a single Attack action, we can now make two strikes instead of one.

Level 11 - Fighter: Another ASI, and we can finally cap our Dexterity. The remaining point we can put into Charisma for a nice even number.

Level 12 - Fighter: We gain a new subclass feature. With War Magic, whenever we use our Action to cast a cantrip, we can use our Bonus Action to make one weapon attack.

We also unlock 2nd-level spells here. Let's grab Blur to get even more defense.

Level 13 - Fighter: Another ASI. This time, let's actually boost our invulnerability by getting our trusted Tough feat. Our Hit Points increase by [our overall level x2] and at each level-up henceforth we get +2 Hit Points. For this level's spell, let's get Darkvision.

Level 14 - Fighter: We become Indomitable. Once per long rest, when we fail a saving throw, we can re-roll the dice. We have to use the new roll, though, even if it's worse than the original one.

Level 15 - Monk: Our Martial Arts Die changes to 1d6. At this level, we would've gotten an Extra Attack. Personally, I would've allowed here an upgrade that let's us attack three times during a single Attack action, but discuss it with your DM.

What we do get is Stunning Strike. After making a successful melee weapon attack, we can spend 1 Ki Point to attempt to stun the target. The enemy has to make a Constitution saving throw or be Stunned until the end of our next turn.

Level 16 - Monk: Our Unarmoured Movement bonus increases to a total of +15 feet. We also gain Ki-Empowered Strikes. Our unarmed strikes now count as magical for the purpose of overcoming immunities and resistances.

We also get another subclass upgrade: One with the Blade. Our weapon attacks also count as magical for the purpose of overcoming non-magical resistances and immunities. Additionally, once per turn, when we successfully hit the target with a weapon attack, we can spend 1 Ki Point to add extra damage equal to our Martial Arts Die.

Level 17 - Monk: We gain probably one of the best ability in the game: Evasion. When we're forced to make a Dexterity saving throw that would make us take half damage when successful, we instead take no damage. A failed saving throw results in half damage.

We also gain some mental fortitude with Stillness of Mind. We can use our Action to end one Charmed or Frightened effect.

Level 18 - Monk: This is our final ASI of the build. We're gonna grab some more Constitution and put two points there.

Level 19 - Monk: Our Unarmoured Movement improves significantly. While moving, we can now move across liquid and vertical surfaces without losing the grip.

Level 20 - Monk: Our capstone is Monk 10. This improves our Unarmoured Movement bonus to a total of +20 feet. We also reach Purity of Body, which makes us immune to all poisons and disease. No witch tricks can harm us now.

---

And that's Sayaka Miki. Let's see if we fulfilled the provisions of our contract:

First of all, we're super nimble and speedy. With the ground speed of 60 feet, ability to move across liquids and up the walls, the Mobile feat and Dexterity-based fighting style, we are very difficult to pin down and we can position ourselves pretty much everywhere.

Our base AC is 17 but can reach up to 25. We have a +5 to our Initiative and the average of 195 Hit Points.

Unfortunately, triple multiclassing means we have a lot of resources to keep track of (two different kinds of spellcasting, Ki Points, Healing Dice). We also have a negative Intelligence modifier and a rather paltry Strength score.

---

Phew, this one was interesting. I think we've managed to make a solid Dexterity combatant. Have fun zipping around the battlefield, my loves. I'll see you next time for... well, Sayaka's polar opporite.

-Nerdy out!

[typho-draws]

A I L U R A N T H R O P Y 1 0 1

[ruporas]

opla inspired!

[ptr-sqloint]

it's alive! sort of!