Its based on an optional rule a lot of folks use, where proficiency in a relavent skill can help with a tool. (Sleight for theives tools, performance for instruments, investigation for cartography, ect)
If you mainly want Magic Initiate for Booming Blade, I'd recommend Artificer Initiate as an option as well, so you can get that extra tool proficiency, as well as opening up Cure Wounds or Sanctuary as options for that 1st level spell.
Right now I'm trying out a Swashbuckler Rogue with a Genie Warlock, and being able to gain access to stuff like Booming Blade and Hex so early is great! The only issue I'm finding is the early game where I still have to deal with either no bonus disengage or no eldritch invocations. It's definitely worth a shot though!
Having theory-crafted that same build, I did Rogue 1 / Warlock 1 /Rogue 2 / Warlock 1 and then the rest Rogue. I went to Rogue 3 before the 2nd Warlock level to get Cunning Action and all the Swashbuckler goodies. The other benefit is that since I was Eldritch Blast as my ranged option, I would pick up Agonizing Blast right when I get the 2nd attack using Eldritch Blast. However, Cunning Action and the Swashbuckler stuff is probably the more important part, because it lets you do BA Dash + Booming Blade + Fancy Footwork, to easily kite enemies.
If possible could you tell me moreabout your character level progression? I've been thinking about doing this myself but as a newer player I'm not sure how to go about it
For a high seas adventure i would want to play an ooze fathomless Warlock. I like the idea of reflavoring my eldritch blasts as lashing out with oozie tendrils, and I feel like the tentacle theme of the fathomless Warlock fits this idea well.
I actually did something really similar with a character I played for a one-shot. His name was Jim Starling (an obvious homage to Capt. Jack Sparrow) and he was a Half-Elf Swashbuckler Rogue/Fathomless Warlock. I reflavored his Eldritch Blasts as high pressure jets of water shooting out of the Black Spot on his left hand, a "gift" (or rather, curse) from his cruel patron Davy Jones. I only got to play that character once but it was a really fun combination of classes that works incredibly well for a high seas adventure.
For level ten you could also take a dip in either fighter for medium armor shields and a fighting style or hexblade warlock for med armor shields an some cantrips
Especially since you get 1 free cast per day from the hexblood lineage and if you go magic initiate warlock thats 2 casts per day and hex can be moved with a bonus action which swashbuckler frees up from not having to disengage like other rouges you can probably get very good milage with it allowing your one attack to go a bit further than normal. Although I think arms of Hadar makes more sense as a last ditch effort when surrounded which will occasionally happen to grab for magic initiate but that still leaves you with hex once per day
Multiclassing for the sole purpose of getting booming blade is a bit ridiculous when you can just be a high elf. I was hoping for some advice on when to actually start taking warlock levels, and how to pair the features.
While the build is very interesting, I feel that the Hexblood race was used as merely flavor rather than an integral part of the build which is a shame considering how the traits it provides can synergize well with the build you presented. 1) Ancestral Legacy will provide the character with 2 additional skills of choice with the default option of having this lineage from character creation, allowing the character to start with 8 skill proficiencies rather than the mere 6 you showed. This can potentially change the skills chosen with the Expertise feature of the Rogue (though the selection mentioned are good, but Expertise with Thieves' Tools would also be a good option). 2) Hex Magic provides two additional spells that can be cast once per day each. Disguise Self can be used to enhance the deceptive nature of the character, potentially allowing the character to better isolate a target or just sow confusion amongst their enemies with a creative player. The Hex spell can further increase the damage that the attack made with Booming Blade does increased damage even if BB doesn't trigger (and since it can be cast as a Bonus Action, it isn't hard to set up, though it means that on the round it is set up will make kiting difficult). Additionally, since this build doesn't acquire higher level spells that would make concentration on Hex less optimal, it will remain a useful spell throughout the characters career. Both of these spells are also very in-theme for the build's backstory of being related to a sea hag, who are known to deceive and curse others (particularly sailors). 3) Darkvision allows the character to use dim light and darkness to their advantage as they will be able to see in both. While a lot of other races also have this ability, it can be quite useful against those opponents that don't have it. Not as flashy as some of the other abilities the build has, but always good to have in one's back pocket for when it is relevant. 4) Finally, Eerie Token can have some interesting applications for sending telepathic messages or remote viewing that a clever player can potentially make use of. Information gathering is the most likely default, but general roguish mischief can also lead to some very interesting situations as well. Over all though, this is the one trait that has the least synergy with the build, but isn't entirely useless for it either. While the choice of race can add a lot of flavor to a given build, one must not forget the mechanical benefits it can also provide... and the Hexblood lineage provides a lot that makes this build even better than it was made out to be (which was already quite good).
Im doing something similar to this but i took warlock lvls and played as a dampiir. I dont really play rouge past lvl 11 without multiclassing. I eventually planed on taking 2 lvls in bard but the campaign didnt go all the way to 20.
Have built a rogue for CoS who is a hexblood. I’ve been trying to avoid the temptation of playing swashbuckler because so many people play swashbuckler rogues. This may have convinced me otherwise….
Fighting initiate for dueling fighting style is a poor pick, dueling FS works when you have multiple attacks. Burning a feat for a +2 per turn isn’t great. Better to pick up the battle master feat and have repost for an extra sneak attack on a critical reaction attack. Or precise attack for an all important hit.
The ruling on green flame blade & booming blade don’t make sense, range of self(you are the origin of the spell) makes perfect sense, but as you use the weapon as a material component, and make a melee attack with it, why not just remove the ruling on 5ft radius“ & just leave it at making a melee attack with the weapon” so if it has reach, you get to use your reach, & if you are a bug bear you get to use your extra reach, it just sounds dumb that you can imbue a reach weapon with magic, but you can’t use the weapon for it’s intended purpose of making an attack with reach, why would the magic stop working as soon as part of the weapon goes more than 5ft from you while you are still holding it?
Really nice vid! Still working on the assumption that this is only up to level 10, do you think it's worth dipping into Fighter for 3 levels to get Dueling fighting style and Battlemaster for access to Brace for the free attack, potentially with sneak attack damage, on anyone that moves into range?
So is the owl helping just in case? As through good positioning and rakish audacity, won't you be able to pull off the sneak attack pretty much all the time? there's only a couple of scenarios I can think of in which you wound be able to sneak attack without help. Such as an ally being within 5 ft of you.
Josh, 3 questions: -What you can do with the Deception skill in combat and how? -I understand that if you use Booming blade, you are using the "cast spell" action, so you can't atack with a bonus action., Is that correct? Besides D&D, did you play another rpg games (Vampire, mutants and masterminds, etc) ? Thanks.
1) Using Deception would take your action in combat and you could attempt to trick the enemy for example: Make them look away from you by pointing something out to them that's not there. 2) Yes, it's casting a spell so you can't use your Bonus Action to make an offhand attack. This build can easily drop the magic theme and go full dual wielder similar to the Swarmkeeper Ranger build I did. 3) I've played the old World of Warcraft d20 system back in the day. I tried to play Mutants and Masterminds too but no one was willing to run it for me.
@@DungeoneersPack i 1) if you trick someone you gain advatages or something? 2) i have very bad luck with dices, but this build its allright. 3)M&M could be a Nightmare to a DM and the system could be very hard also, but one of the best rpg for superhéroes. Not the same thing but you can try Godbound instead.
Sleight of Hand isn't used to disarm traps. If you want expertise in that function, you'd need to take Expertise in Thieves' Tools.
Its based on an optional rule a lot of folks use, where proficiency in a relavent skill can help with a tool. (Sleight for theives tools, performance for instruments, investigation for cartography, ect)
I played a Water Genasi Open Handed Monk with a pirate background in Saltmarsh, He's now called Captain Ebb
If you mainly want Magic Initiate for Booming Blade, I'd recommend Artificer Initiate as an option as well, so you can get that extra tool proficiency, as well as opening up Cure Wounds or Sanctuary as options for that 1st level spell.
Swashbucklers are so much fun.
It's on my "to play" list!
I have a Magic Initiate Swashbuckler in my campaign that frequently uses the Booming Blade tactic
I'm rocking the aberrant dragonmark, still got booming blade, and burning hands as an "oh shit" button when I've got more than one to deal with
Right now I'm trying out a Swashbuckler Rogue with a Genie Warlock, and being able to gain access to stuff like Booming Blade and Hex so early is great! The only issue I'm finding is the early game where I still have to deal with either no bonus disengage or no eldritch invocations. It's definitely worth a shot though!
Having theory-crafted that same build, I did Rogue 1 / Warlock 1 /Rogue 2 / Warlock 1 and then the rest Rogue. I went to Rogue 3 before the 2nd Warlock level to get Cunning Action and all the Swashbuckler goodies. The other benefit is that since I was Eldritch Blast as my ranged option, I would pick up Agonizing Blast right when I get the 2nd attack using Eldritch Blast.
However, Cunning Action and the Swashbuckler stuff is probably the more important part, because it lets you do BA Dash + Booming Blade + Fancy Footwork, to easily kite enemies.
If possible could you tell me moreabout your character level progression? I've been thinking about doing this myself but as a newer player I'm not sure how to go about it
Man, I can't get over how good your editing is! Thanks for the build and the vid :D
That is high praise as you have some of the cleanest editting I've seen! Thank you!
For a high seas adventure i would want to play an ooze fathomless Warlock. I like the idea of reflavoring my eldritch blasts as lashing out with oozie tendrils, and I feel like the tentacle theme of the fathomless Warlock fits this idea well.
I actually did something really similar with a character I played for a one-shot. His name was Jim Starling (an obvious homage to Capt. Jack Sparrow) and he was a Half-Elf Swashbuckler Rogue/Fathomless Warlock. I reflavored his Eldritch Blasts as high pressure jets of water shooting out of the Black Spot on his left hand, a "gift" (or rather, curse) from his cruel patron Davy Jones. I only got to play that character once but it was a really fun combination of classes that works incredibly well for a high seas adventure.
Booming blade is sweet
For level ten you could also take a dip in either fighter for medium armor shields and a fighting style or hexblade warlock for med armor shields an some cantrips
I can see this character would be fitting for a “Sea of Sorrows” adventure in Ravenloft.
Perhaps this character is sailing to the island of Blaustein?
I like your build. I played an arcane trickster to 14 in a game and can say BB and mobile is a potent combo. Good work and good luck on your channel.
Thank you! Glad you enjoyed it! Lots of ways to pull off the Booming Blade shenanigans. BB+Mobile is another good one.
Great build and video.
I'm definitely gonna try this combo!
Great vid bud
Gracias Amigo!
I'm currently running a similar build swashbuckler with magic initiate (warlock), I'm very surprised that the Hex spell isn't mentioned.
Especially since you get 1 free cast per day from the hexblood lineage and if you go magic initiate warlock thats 2 casts per day and hex can be moved with a bonus action which swashbuckler frees up from not having to disengage like other rouges you can probably get very good milage with it allowing your one attack to go a bit further than normal. Although I think arms of Hadar makes more sense as a last ditch effort when surrounded which will occasionally happen to grab for magic initiate but that still leaves you with hex once per day
Multiclassing for the sole purpose of getting booming blade is a bit ridiculous when you can just be a high elf. I was hoping for some advice on when to actually start taking warlock levels, and how to pair the features.
Just use the magic initiate feat lmao
While the build is very interesting, I feel that the Hexblood race was used as merely flavor rather than an integral part of the build which is a shame considering how the traits it provides can synergize well with the build you presented.
1) Ancestral Legacy will provide the character with 2 additional skills of choice with the default option of having this lineage from character creation, allowing the character to start with 8 skill proficiencies rather than the mere 6 you showed. This can potentially change the skills chosen with the Expertise feature of the Rogue (though the selection mentioned are good, but Expertise with Thieves' Tools would also be a good option).
2) Hex Magic provides two additional spells that can be cast once per day each. Disguise Self can be used to enhance the deceptive nature of the character, potentially allowing the character to better isolate a target or just sow confusion amongst their enemies with a creative player. The Hex spell can further increase the damage that the attack made with Booming Blade does increased damage even if BB doesn't trigger (and since it can be cast as a Bonus Action, it isn't hard to set up, though it means that on the round it is set up will make kiting difficult). Additionally, since this build doesn't acquire higher level spells that would make concentration on Hex less optimal, it will remain a useful spell throughout the characters career. Both of these spells are also very in-theme for the build's backstory of being related to a sea hag, who are known to deceive and curse others (particularly sailors).
3) Darkvision allows the character to use dim light and darkness to their advantage as they will be able to see in both. While a lot of other races also have this ability, it can be quite useful against those opponents that don't have it. Not as flashy as some of the other abilities the build has, but always good to have in one's back pocket for when it is relevant.
4) Finally, Eerie Token can have some interesting applications for sending telepathic messages or remote viewing that a clever player can potentially make use of. Information gathering is the most likely default, but general roguish mischief can also lead to some very interesting situations as well. Over all though, this is the one trait that has the least synergy with the build, but isn't entirely useless for it either.
While the choice of race can add a lot of flavor to a given build, one must not forget the mechanical benefits it can also provide... and the Hexblood lineage provides a lot that makes this build even better than it was made out to be (which was already quite good).
Im doing something similar to this but i took warlock lvls and played as a dampiir. I dont really play rouge past lvl 11 without multiclassing. I eventually planed on taking 2 lvls in bard but the campaign didnt go all the way to 20.
love ya channel !
Thank you!
Have built a rogue for CoS who is a hexblood. I’ve been trying to avoid the temptation of playing swashbuckler because so many people play swashbuckler rogues. This may have convinced me otherwise….
Swashbucklers have some really fun mechanics and I can see why people gravitate towards them! Arcane Trickster is one of my favs.
I would like to see one on a swash buckler blade singer
Good vt. Would maybe have 1 level of warlock ...hexblade
Magic Pirates should get advantage on giving creatures scurvy. 🏴☠️
I usually get booming blade from my race
Fighting initiate for dueling fighting style is a poor pick, dueling FS works when you have multiple attacks. Burning a feat for a +2 per turn isn’t great. Better to pick up the battle master feat and have repost for an extra sneak attack on a critical reaction attack. Or precise attack for an all important hit.
The ruling on green flame blade & booming blade don’t make sense, range of self(you are the origin of the spell) makes perfect sense, but as you use the weapon as a material component, and make a melee attack with it, why not just remove the ruling on 5ft radius“ & just leave it at making a melee attack with the weapon” so if it has reach, you get to use your reach, & if you are a bug bear you get to use your extra reach, it just sounds dumb that you can imbue a reach weapon with magic, but you can’t use the weapon for it’s intended purpose of making an attack with reach, why would the magic stop working as soon as part of the weapon goes more than 5ft from you while you are still holding it?
Should put expertise in persuasion to make Panache actually viable
BUT! The owl familiar is a Parrot!!!!
Really nice vid! Still working on the assumption that this is only up to level 10, do you think it's worth dipping into Fighter for 3 levels to get Dueling fighting style and Battlemaster for access to Brace for the free attack, potentially with sneak attack damage, on anyone that moves into range?
Battle Master/Swashbuckler is always a solid multiclass combo. Really helps players feel like a duelist.
So is the owl helping just in case? As through good positioning and rakish audacity, won't you be able to pull off the sneak attack pretty much all the time? there's only a couple of scenarios I can think of in which you wound be able to sneak attack without help. Such as an ally being within 5 ft of you.
I’m not sure if this rogue should have athletics because didn’t we use strength as a dump stat?
Definitely not optimal. If your DM allows for the skill to be swapped from your background then change it to whatever you deem fit!
Josh, 3 questions:
-What you can do with the Deception skill in combat and how?
-I understand that if you use Booming blade, you are using the "cast spell" action, so you can't atack with a bonus action., Is that correct?
Besides D&D, did you play another rpg games (Vampire, mutants and masterminds, etc) ?
Thanks.
1) Using Deception would take your action in combat and you could attempt to trick the enemy for example: Make them look away from you by pointing something out to them that's not there.
2) Yes, it's casting a spell so you can't use your Bonus Action to make an offhand attack. This build can easily drop the magic theme and go full dual wielder similar to the Swarmkeeper Ranger build I did.
3) I've played the old World of Warcraft d20 system back in the day. I tried to play Mutants and Masterminds too but no one was willing to run it for me.
@@DungeoneersPack i
1) if you trick someone you gain advatages or something?
2) i have very bad luck with dices, but this build its allright.
3)M&M could be a Nightmare to a DM and the system could be very hard also, but one of the best rpg for superhéroes.
Not the same thing but you can try Godbound instead.
Why not flavor the find famillar as a trash talking parrot
It's not blooming blade. IJS