A lot of person wants their character to be good so they choose what they consider good or optimal... That by itself is min/maxing. Its completly different that a Munchkin build.
It's a the biggest bag of HP it can be lol. But it would be fun to have it as a frontliner protecting the boss. Or maybe several lower level ones to form a bottleneck at the entrances/exits.
Personally this is a cool concept but there are few times I would want to throw this at any party I run for. This would be an absolute slog for characters to go through unless you add in a weakness or second objective that allows you to win without having to just kill this boss.
I rather see this as a bodyguard of a mage or druid or something. I personally would make clear that fighting against that thing is dagerous and fighting it should be avoided. If they then still decide to do so - well that's their problem, have fun dealing 400 hp of damage while a caster is firing spells at you. If they are smart maybe that caster will become a friend later in the campaign and maybe that bear tank will support them in crucial battles. - Would be a good way of pointing your players towards not being murder hobos.
One of the players in my game is playing a Kalashtar Moon Druid and I'm actually praying she doesn't get wise and take Barb levels because she's already terrifying and usually tanks as an Earth Elemental.
You going up to level 20? If yes, maybe it's better she just soloclasses for that unlimited Wild Shape capstone (Archdruid feature). This character is really best suited for levels 1 to 19, not 20.
@@DarthBoberEXMinMaxMunchking Whatever she wants to do. I dont know if we will since we've only had a few sessions so far. We started at 10th level, but I'm already reevaluating my encounters haha
yeah double digit characters are capable of killing all official 5e monsters relatively easily, no matter the CR. Except maybe Tiamat if you play her smart. That thing is TPK personified.
Druid was always my class of choice. As soon as I got wildshape using the jump spell with the lions 25 feet leap was always fun. Nothing more terrifying than thinking you're safe behind a destroyed bridge and then suddenly a lion leaps over 75 feet right on top of you.
Glad you think so! This channel lacks a few key components, the biggest of which is probably the rate of new videos/uploads, but I am in the process of figuring out the optimal workflow, there's only one way and that way is forward, so it will happen!
If you Wild Shape into Giant Hyena and Rage, you basically have 90+, so you're just south of 300 effective HP. I prefer Brown Bear for CR1 though, Multiattack beats extra 10-20 HP in most cases.
@@morganphillips57 You have 2 uses of Wild Shape, each worth 70-90 HP while Raging, depending on the beast you transform into. So basically 140-180 combined. These Wild Shapes replenish after a short rest (1 hour).
I think there are some beasts worth mentioning: Cr 0 -Haungharassk -Magical Properties(6 temp Hp, and Remove Curse at will) 52 Hp. Cr 1: Crag Cat -Non-Detection, Pounce, Spell Turning and 34 Hp. Spider King: -Spider Climb, Two Headed, Web Sense, Web Walker and Web Attack. 44 Hp Cr 2: Ice Spider Queen -Cold Aura, Spider Climb, Web Sense, Web Walker and an Icy Web Attack. 44hp
I made a build with the same race/class combo - I made their backstory involve an archdruid quori that used their final years chronicling a huge amount of wildlife. They started as a barbarian - they were frustrated because they couldn’t effectively communicate with their quori spirit because of the spiritual menagerie.
I’m thinking of doing the exact opposite. He became a wandering Druid in order to find his quori spirit whom he was never able to communicate with. But the quori is an angry entity who only awakens through battle and that’s how I’d flavor his rage, as his quori spirit taking over
(Copy pasting this from my notes so I hope the rest sends) Hear me out, Hill Dwarf (custom lineage (+2 con +1 dex) 13,14,15,8,13,9 Start off 1 barbarian for their unarmored defense, then go 12 into long death monk. 4 and 8 ASI max con then final point into dex in that order. 12 is "tough" feat. Take 2 into barbarian and 2 into moon circle druid. Max HP rolled everywhere is a total of 374 without raging or moon druid brown bear. Being unarmed you can use your dex modifier instead of strength, (yes as a brown bear) use unarmed attacks or a really nice monk weapon like normal, yes even a battle axe because you're a hill dwarf, AND instead of using flurry of blows for 1 ki you can bonus action one free unarmed attack (all of this requires no armor and no shield). You use your ki to say "Fuck you I'm the one in charge".
The biggest thing about that split is the dilemma between taking that 3rd level Bear Totem, to effectively double your effective hitpoints because non-bludg/pierce/slash damage is common at high levels, but you do lose that lvl12 ASI from Monk. I don't think maxing out CON is really needed, you can keep it at 16 or 18, but yeah, Tough feat is a prime pick in that case.
Honestly , that whole like and subscribe bit got me good and now here I am I ve no doubt that your Voice would ve earned that sub on its own but EY who knows now :p I enjoyed the Video hope to see more after this :) Random German wishes you the best.
Same here. You perfectly executed the transition, served it with a solid joke and subtly guilt-tripped me! How couldn’t I like and subscribe? Kudos! Well played, Sir! Having interesting and entertaining content and leaving a sincere impression are the prerequisites in order for this move to work of course, but you provided that as well.
So I think Earth Elemental is actually the best. It can move underground, has 10ft reach, and barbarian fast movement. Add in mobility feat and longstrider spell, and you've got a tank that the enemy can't even hit back with attacks or most spells because he ends his turn 30ft underground, and hits you from 10 feet underground. It's nigh invincible.
Ground is still full cover per RAW, Earth Elemental doesn't come with an exception to that general rule. Moving through the ground is not the same as attacking while inside/below it. This is even somewhat intuitive if you ask me, because of this sentence: "...While doing so (moving through earth/stone), the elemental doesn't disturb the material it moves through..." If the elemental was able to attack underground, it would need a specific trait that allows it do so. Up to DMs interpretation, as always, but I as a DM would stick to the rules here and not allow it, however cool or awesome or cheesy it was.
Think of it this way. If you allow the Earth Elemental to attack while burrowed, you can TPK almost any party out there with a single CR5 creature. The party would need some very specific spell, item or feature that would allow them to burrow + attack while burrowed, because while the Earth Elemental can attack, you can't - the ground is still full cover for you. In other words, Earth Elemental would, by far, be the deadliest monster in all of 5e, because there would be zero ways to survive it other than running/flying away. That's clearly not reasonable or intended design of the monster, right?
@@DarthBoberEXMinMaxMunchking Who says he has to attack while burrowed? He can pop out, attack, then burrow again and end his turn underground. With all the movement speed and mobility feat, this is easily possible.
Tbh I think this one might not have the flexibility a lvl 20 Druid might have but I still find it better. It has more hp for clutch situations since you'll probably never need more wildshapes than 2 but because you have more hp you can limit the risk of damage carrying over to your Kalashtar form. Very nice vid btw
Very few characters ever get to play at level 20 for a substantial amount of time. You're better off for 19 levels before that, which is where 99%+ players finish their characters' adventuring careers anyway.
@@DarthBoberEXMinMaxMunchking Totally agree with that. I'd also go as far as to say that this build might be better than a lvl 20 Druid in certain situations. If there are multiple fights a day then the lvl 20 Druid is better but if you're fighting really strong and dangerous enemies then I'd take the Barbearian. Even at lvl 20 I think that the Barbearian is better at clutch situations where damage not carrying over is extremely important. Me and my friends play a lot of very combat heavy campaigns which is why I'd choose this build over a pure Druid even at lvl 20.
I've done this before Kalishtar and Totem Bear Barbarian is just great. The moon Druid with better combat wildshapes and healing factor works great with it. 5th level build its a devastating tank.
You can't Polymorph into a dragon. Dragons are not beasts, they're dragons. Unless you're talking about some 3rd party/homebrew monsters, that's beyond the scope of this channel, at least for now.
I'm legitimatley surprised you didn't mention Giant Elk. 14 AC, 42 HP w/o rage, Ram attack does 2d6+4, however if you move more than 20 ft towards the enemy it does an additional 2d6 and can knock them Prone resulting in your attacks being made with advantage. Alternatively it's Hooves deal 4d8+4 damage if you can attack a Prone Creature, so if you were an 11th lvl character (5 Barb/6 Druid) you could move 20 ft, deal 4d6+4, knock a target prone, and then with ADV attack a Prone Target for 4d8+4. This isn't including any rage damage either.
I'm personally not a fan of Giant Elk, Cave/Polar Bear is better in almost every way except AC. However, elk's 15 AC at level 9 is low anyway, so I'd much rather have a reliable multiattack and always deal some damage than rely on charging and proning, which isn't consistent and debuffs half the party.
That said, in a melee-only party, I would consider it for that advantage. Still, Giant Constrictor Snake with auto-restrain attack is better if you wanna be a teamplayer, so yeah...
True but you can only turn into creatures you see. Finding a Giant Ell I feel is fairly consistent so many elves ride those in Cannon. 🤷🏻♂️ Also, Cave Bear does significantly less damage if you knock targets prone with the Elk and Bear is no more tanky than an Elk. Even if you aren’t using the Hooves, the Elk is superior in AC and Move Speed. I would argue I would personally rather do Cave Bear in a build that doesn’t feature Extra Attack, with Extra Attack Giant Elk deals significantly more damage potential. Even if you don’t know the target prone it’s 8d6+8 if both Ram attacks hit and you sweep around tanking the AoO (which I would absolutely recommend doing).
I was just playing around with an Orc of Eberron with Druid Moon Aspect with Barb Totem of the Bear to get a whopping lift/push weight of 4,800 lbs with advantage 🤣😅. So a carrying ability of 2,400 lbs when raged 😉
At the moment I'm playing a Eladrin MoonDruid-BearBarbarian-AssassinRough-WayOfTheFourElementsMonk-ChampionFighter. Eyverything at Third Level. All that, just so that I transform into a cat, infiltrate and assassinate a Boss. A cat deals 1 Point of slashing damage, Fangs of the Firesnake deals 1d10 Fire damage, Rage gives me advantage on the attack and a +2 to damage, sneak attack deals 2d6 extra damage and I can also use one of the fighting manovers for an additional 1d8. So a small cute cat suddenly gets angry at you and then jumps you with 10 foot long burning Claws that will decapetate you. *HARD!*
This thing still has way more hitpoints than my second channel has views. Come hang out with me as I'm DMing a homebrew campaign for my D&D gang: ruclips.net/channel/UCjZAhthhLSys4WaDZ9KvY7g
The best DM tool against most of these forms is that you can only tranform into creatures that you can see, most places do not have dinosaurs or other Dire versions of animals or the exotic types.
Thanks dude, 1 more update vid soon, 2 more crazy characters after that and I'll also do the short behind-the-scenes video about that charity stream I hosted in July. I'll eventually knock out all my recent backlog, aiming to do it before December, but I'll be happy to clean it up before New Year realistically.
Question: I red somewhere that Unarmored defense works in wild shape, where you choose which AC to use, so 1 lvl of monk and maxed wisdom gives air elemental 20 AC and boosts other beasts by 1 or 2 AC
The first rule of wild shape states pretty clearly, and I quote: "Your game Statistics are replaced by the Statistics of the beast, but you retain your alignment, personality, and Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma scores(...)". The "Armor Class" is one of these statistics that gets replaced.
@@levy.azevedo What @Leon Dream said is actually correct. You're missing a key feature of Wild Shape: "You retain the benefit of any features from your class, race, or other source and can use them if the new form is physically capable of doing so. However, you can’t use any of your special senses, such as darkvision, unless your new form also has that sense." Monk and Barbarian Unarmored Defense features are two that you're able to retain while wild shaped, meaning that you can choose to use them in place of any other armor calculation that might be at play (with beasts, this will usually be the default 10 + Dex or some form of Natural Armor). You cannot benefit from both Natural Armor from your Wild Shape AND Unarmored Defense, but you can choose which ever is higher. In the case of the Air Elemental, this means a total of 20 AC if the Druid / Monk has maxed out his Wisdom at 20. For another example, the popular Cave Bear has 10 (0) Dexterity, 16 (3) Constitution, and 12 AC (Natural Armor). A Monk / Druid with 20 Wisdom could choose to use the 12 AC (Natural Armor), or to make use of their Unarmored Defense to have 15 AC (10 + Dexterity Mod (0) + Wisdom Mod (5)). A Barbarian Druid could choose to use his Unarmored Defense in place of the Natural Armor to have 13 AC (10 + DEX + CON). Supporting Source: www.sageadvice.eu/2015/01/14/druid-monk-unarmored-defense-in-shapeshift-form/
@Levy Costa The 4th rule states: "You retain the benefit of any features from your class, race, or other source and can use them if the new form is physically capable of doing so." So your AC in Brown Bear form is 13, not 11 like it's listed in the default statblock, because you can use the Unarmored Defense feature. @Leon Dream you can't stack 2 different Unarmored Defense features together. General rule for AC is that, if you have multiple calculations available to you (Unarmored, heavy, medium, maybe racial like Loxodon or Lizardfolk), you must choose only one of them. You simply pick the one that gives the highest number. In case of Monk's Unarmored Defense, you don't get better AC than Barbarian's Unarmored Defense in most cases.
@@DarthBoberEXMinMaxMunchking I always rule against this, unarmored def clearly states it doesn't work while wearing armor. A barb or monk cannot wear armor but choose the unarmored AC option. This also applied to most beast forms as far as I'm concerned since they stat "natural armor" which cannot be taken off.
@@verphix7821 Jeremy Crawford specifically addressed natural armor in relation to Unarmored Defense in this podcast dnd.wizards.com/articles/features/chris-avellone-and-philip-daigle-planescape-torment-enhanced-edition He said that natural armor is not considered to be worn, it just is, it's part of your body, so you can't possibly wear it in a sense that you don/doff it. Which is why Unarmored Defense feature should synergize with Wild Shape. Your table your rules, but I'm just providing the designers' perspective.
I used a similar build (custom lineage instead for sentinel) to tank Polukranos at lvl 5 pretty much by myself, managed to drop me to 0 after tanking about 300 dmg
My dm is adamant that at level 20 a multi class character can’t stand up to a single class character and that it’s a waste of time. I’m planning on doing a rogue/fighter 7/13 to see if he’s wrong or not . He gave us the stats of 20/18/15/15/10/10. How would you prove him wrong?
Kobold if you want advantage on every attack as long as Pack Tactics applies. And a hand-cross bow and snipe (sharpshooter) every attack. Kobolds get a +2 Dex & -2 Str Put a 15 on str which will be reduced to 13 and still meets the multi-class requirements if you want to go something exotic, 20 in Con, 18 +2 to Dex, 15 Wis (Perception), others are up to you: Int(Investigation) or Cha if you want to be a light voice.
I'm gonna multiclass bear totem barbarian and rune knight fighter (9,11). I'm pretty sure it's gonna be ridiculous considering I'm a homebrew race,(check out the compendium of forgotten secrets it's amazing) so I have resistance to all damage and when I go giant might, I weigh 16 tons
I’m doing this in my current campaign where we will all be lv 20 at the end. I am thinking about picking up a lv in warlock at around lv 13 or 14. End lv Druid 15 barbarian 4 warlock 1. This is because I can pick up armor of agathys to upcast since the temp hp boost will be doubled and will be able to use its damage longer. Genie patron to give me a few spells, some extra damage, and a ring I can long rest in.
Interesting video and I really like your breakdown. Quick question though, if HP negation is the primary point of the build, wouldn't going Bar 3, Druid 10, and Rogue 7 be best? Rogue and Bar go surprisingly well with advantage on almost all dex saves stacking on evasion to entirely negate a lot of damage and an otherwise rarely used reaction to reduce physical damage to a quarter. While the 4d6 sneak attack damage isn't allowed in wildshape RaW, certain animals DO use dex on their attacks so a DM could allow it. Lastly, the expertise of the Rogue doesn't exactly make up for the spell powerhouse of a level 17-20 druid, but being able to wildshape combined with stealth expertise will make the other Rogues blush.
It would work on paper, but you need a heckton of levels in all of those 3 classes, so in my opinion double-classing makes more sense in terms of more consistent progression curve.
@@DarthBoberEXMinMaxMunchking I'm excited. You make excellent content. You are doing God's work friend. Striking fear into dms across the globe. HAHAHAHAHAHAHA...
So I said screw psychic resistance, and decided to go for a hill dwarf because that gives me an extra 20 HP at 20th level which gives me the little extra bulk I desire. Also we are playing with a homebrewed version of shillelagh so my great club is doing 1d10 + wisdom modifier + great weapon master + rage damage.
The point of the psychic dmg resistance is just to make sure there is no way to ever be hit by something that you aren't resistant to. There are definitely better races to play as if you don't think psychic dmg will be that big of a deal.
if you go straight druid levels at level 20 you have effectively unlimited hitpoints if you arnt killed outright since once your HP gets low in beastshape you can just reshape into another creature an unlimited number of times
Yes, I said the same thing in the video. Still, you will have way more hp first 19 levels and most people rarely go above 15, so this character is playable in 99% of cases.
How does this work with Yuan-ti pureblood? Psychic is a rare type of damage and is almost always taken by failing a save. Is it not more beneficial to have advantage on every magical saving throw than having resistance on one rare type of damage?
I wouldn't say psychic is a rare damage type in practice. A whole lotta DMs throw Mind Flayers, Intellect Devourers, Banshees, Flinds, Fomorians, Star Spawns... There are a lot of staple dnd monsters that deal a ton of psychic damage.
So I rolled for stats and got really high. My stats are currently 18 STR, 16 DEX, 20 CON, 14 INT, 17 WIS, 14 CHA. After I max STR, what do I do with my ASIs?
hey, wanted to say good job, I'm currently trying out this build in my first game. which build would you recommend, 17/3 or 15/5 for a game with a level cap of 11? thanks!
@@DarthBoberEXMinMaxMunchking with BG3 launching soon, you should try making some PHB min max builds. People will be flooding to those videos soon I will be using this build modified to fit what BG3 will allow for my main character
Um... brown bears only have 34hp. And you can't say you have 200 hp because healing isn't total health its a regeneration of health. Now don't get me wrong playing a bearbarrian in my next game and I had forgotten about the Kalshatar so thanks for that.
You take half damage, so it would take a minimum 68 damage to drop that bear to 0HP. Odd damage when halved is rounded down too - 7 damage becomes 3 damage for example, so you would most likely need to take 70+ damage for the bear form to drop to 0 HP. Healing is effective HP increase, I was calculating effective average HP because that's how much damage is needed to drop you to 0 HP. Also, it's much easier to put "450 HP" in the thumbnail than "AT LEVEL 5 THIS CHARACTER CAN TAKE 450 DAMAGE BEFORE DROPPING TO 0 HP"
question: cmiiw, but offensively this build, especially when you go the martially focused progression, is somewhat lacking right? considering the low plus to hit from the wildshape are not the best/almost always lower than your own. i know the build was meant to be defensively powerful as the focus, but just want to confirm because you mentioned you've actually playtested the build. Currently lowkey theorycrafting Beast Barbarian as opposed to Bear Totem; less defense capabilities, but more power and hits more often at higher tier (i could be wrong though) as the Beast Barbarian's natural weapon still uses your own proficiency but can utilize Wildshape's STR modifier. Not to mention thematically extremely synergistic.
On lower levels it's not as apparent (currently playing with a level 8 one and she's dealing OK damage), but at higher levels, yes, your accuracy and damage fall behind. You could put 2 levels of Paladin in there for smites, but then it makes the build even more MAD.
@@DarthBoberEXMinMaxMunchking Say you cast Shillelagh and/or Magic Stone and is wildshaped as something with hand. Can you technically make attacks with those, with your modifier and prof bonus?
Hm,.. how much would a DM crank up the CR to compensate for the HP? The rest of the group shouldn`t suffer to much, so holding back would be nice,... ~ Level 5 Charakter Barbarian 1d12 + 5HP Con/Level -> 85 HP for comperison Your Mages, Sorcerer,... maybe become 1-2 Hits, there play would be not so nice.
That's why being open about your goals beforehand, usually during Session Zero, is what sets the expectations upfront. If you wanna powergame with the most minmaxed optimized character there is, you should tell that to everyone, so they know what they're dealing with. Being underhanded about your character/s is a quick road to being the most hated or at least the most negatively perceived person at the table
Like he already said. You should always be upfront with your DM about your intended build path. As a rule of thumb, everything you have planned out you should tell them. Min/Maxing can be fun for some groups and unfun for others. Realistically at a session 0 your entire group needs to agree on how you guys want to build character. You should all aim for approximately the same level of power vs flavor. People just need to agree if everyone is doing normal builds, min/max builds, or meme flavor builds. If everyone is on that same page then the DM will be able to balance accordingly.
I am now playing Lizardfolk moondruid(4) and totem barbarian (3). instead of bear my totem is crocodile to fit swamp theme (but same stats as bear totem) So imagine big kroxigor like lizard raging around and if need strikes wildshaping into various animals.
What’s the point of the Druid levels? Just be a bear and heal 1d8? Can I do this where I just run around and bite and hit stuff not really use any magic other than speed?
You will be in humanoid form often enough (low initiative, easy combat, negative conditions like charm or stun). I've seen it enough in practice to base my opinion on. Higher mental scores would mitigate some of those, but now you're juggling 5-10% odds. I err on the side of "more HP + more AC = more consistent". Anecdotal evidence though, adapt this according to your specific needs (DM's style, campaign type, pillars of game distribution...)
Sorry if I just missed it, but did you mention the order you should take the Barb and Druid levels in / what levels you should take the feats? Or is that only in the Patreon document? Hvala!
ruclips.net/video/fXyPEHAVBoA/видео.html is the progression. Those 2 white blocks are screenshots of the Patreon document. There isn't really anything important behind the paywall other than me writing 4-5 thousand words long walls of text in those .docx files, just kinda going into nooks and crannies of some details. Nema na cemu!
How were you able to get 20 wisdom in the level 20 character dndbeyond link? In your guide for combat focus build I only see ASI being used for Lvl 13/Druid 8 CON+1 CHA+1, then Lvl 17/Druid 12 CON+2? The other two ASI's were used for sentinel and tough.
Amulet of Health. IIRC, I even said in the video, if you can get that item early into your character progression, there's no need to put any points into CON, just pump your WIS for Druid spells.
How viable would it be to take the shillelagh cantrip in the event that you run out of rage and Wild shape? Because shillelagh does make your staff magical so I wanna know your opinion
Isn’t resilient a better feat than tough if you want to keep your allies alive ? To keep concentration on the polymorph you cast before transformation by example ?
Can you pick octopus at cr1? It has a swim speed. Also I like using Wildhunt shifters, as you can Reckless Attack every turn while Shaped, raged and shifted without them attacking you at advantage.
What would be the level progression of this build? Start with Barbarian for 2 levels to get reckless attack then go druid? when do you take levels of each class? Is there an optimal leveling or it doesnt fully matter?
You take half damage when Raging. So, to lose, say, 20 HP, you need to take at least 40 damage. Odd numbered damage is rounded down when halved, so it's often even more than that.
Sooo, lv20 Moondruid is basically IMMORTAL ? How to kill one ? Druid has access to Foresight to be nearly invincible... And also many other potent spell... Also I have a question, in a scenario when you are in a battle royal (no wish, demiplane and other out of bondary spell), isnt the most efficient way to kill everyone is to cast leomund tiny hut followed by control weather to change the terrain into an apocaliptic artic blizzard nightmard and kill everyone by exhaustion while making marshmallow in your hot hut ? And after 4 hour of artic nightmare change into hot desert like climate ? Can you even let rain BOILING WATER ? Just thought that by checking Druid spell list and found control weather. Fun spell for a BBEG, might try it out of its possible
I didn’t hear you talk about the spell choices you took. Maybe I missed and someone can give me a time stamp, but if not any specific reasons why you chose the spells you did?
ruclips.net/video/fXyPEHAVBoA/видео.html If you listen again you'll hear me say it's because I don't want the video to last half an hour, so that's why I only mentioned a few that can work even while Raging and Wild Shaped.
Min/Max Munchking Ok, was just contemplating spell options to throw out at the beginning of a combat to better control. Group in low on melee combatants.
@@DarthBoberEXMinMaxMunchking thats the thing, when would you fight in your humanoid form having the chance to turn into a beast? I have been thinking that there is no way an enemy can make you change into a humanoid form. So in whay circunstance would you be fighting as a humanoid?
@@fabrizzioandres8807 Only 2 wildshapes per short rest. Either a really long dungeon crawl where a short rest is too dangerous. Or even just a trash fight that isn't worth using half your main resource until your next rest.
Ape for damage, croc to be loved by your party (auto-restrain) However, in combat, you're more useful in your humanoid form as a Dreams Druid in most cases.
Love your content as always. Have you played around with the Circle of spores Druid and Way of Mercy monk combo before? I know poison is a universally ‘meh’ damage type but it’s a pretty good build given how they seem to intermingle.
no, but I made something similar ruclips.net/video/0GSUfmZrQys/видео.html It's an older vid from the time when I made very sloppy vids, but I played that char at level 6 and it is VERY solid at lower Tier 2 play.
Min/Max Munchking Thanks for the link! I’ll look into it. CoS and WoM do well to cut down ki cost for using the poison damage bonus with CoS providing near constant poison status and Hands of harm giving a suitable extra bit of damage. At level 7 I’ve been getting an average of 46 assuming my quarter staff(2hits) and flurry of blows+hands of harm (2 unarmed strikes) connect. (+7 on attack rolls with 18 in both wis and dex.). I hope to see more people playing monks once WoM catches more eyes. Keep up the great work and stay safe
Also, I understand why you say what you say but you didn't account for the number of rages. You're assuming you will drop 140 HP at least in one combat so you can use a second Wild Shape right? Otherwise your math is off due to the number of rages. Also, I enjoy your content. I wanted to echo that as you received 13 dislikes, which is bogus.
Min/Max Munchking ah, I see. So you’re saying effective as in theoretical, not necessarily actual due to random factors and situations. I understand. Thanks for the replies and keep up the great work!
Yeah, I went with the worst case scenario where you have to go all out and burn most/all your available resources, just like I usually do in most my other character build videos.
That moment when the min/maxer gives you a better role play concept than anyone else...
My dude, everyone min/maxes, everyone to a certain degree. Now whether or not you roleplay at the table, that is what matters.
@@vernonhampton5863 thats not what min/maxing means...
A lot of person wants their character to be good so they choose what they consider good or optimal...
That by itself is min/maxing.
Its completly different that a Munchkin build.
@@vernonhampton5863
I think there's a difference between being optimal and min/max'ing
@@addamazeing agreed
For fellow DMs out there... This is an amazing boss character concept.
It's a the biggest bag of HP it can be lol. But it would be fun to have it as a frontliner protecting the boss. Or maybe several lower level ones to form a bottleneck at the entrances/exits.
Personally this is a cool concept but there are few times I would want to throw this at any party I run for. This would be an absolute slog for characters to go through unless you add in a weakness or second objective that allows you to win without having to just kill this boss.
I rather see this as a bodyguard of a mage or druid or something. I personally would make clear that fighting against that thing is dagerous and fighting it should be avoided. If they then still decide to do so - well that's their problem, have fun dealing 400 hp of damage while a caster is firing spells at you. If they are smart maybe that caster will become a friend later in the campaign and maybe that bear tank will support them in crucial battles. - Would be a good way of pointing your players towards not being murder hobos.
I just made a whole tribe of these boys.
That's why I watch this too. My players hate it.
One of the players in my game is playing a Kalashtar Moon Druid and I'm actually praying she doesn't get wise and take Barb levels because she's already terrifying and usually tanks as an Earth Elemental.
You going up to level 20? If yes, maybe it's better she just soloclasses for that unlimited Wild Shape capstone (Archdruid feature). This character is really best suited for levels 1 to 19, not 20.
@@DarthBoberEXMinMaxMunchking Whatever she wants to do. I dont know if we will since we've only had a few sessions so far. We started at 10th level, but I'm already reevaluating my encounters haha
yeah double digit characters are capable of killing all official 5e monsters relatively easily, no matter the CR. Except maybe Tiamat if you play her smart. That thing is TPK personified.
Druid was always my class of choice. As soon as I got wildshape using the jump spell with the lions 25 feet leap was always fun. Nothing more terrifying than thinking you're safe behind a destroyed bridge and then suddenly a lion leaps over 75 feet right on top of you.
Yeah, you can really pull off some daring maneuvers at very low levels with the Moon Druid, it's my favorite Tier 1/low Tier 2 spellcaster subclass.
I love your content. You're seriously the most underrated dnd content creator.
Glad you think so! This channel lacks a few key components, the biggest of which is probably the rate of new videos/uploads, but I am in the process of figuring out the optimal workflow, there's only one way and that way is forward, so it will happen!
@X20 Adam.............. your goddamn right!
agreed. I always look forward to these guides.
I didn't think bears had 68 hit points
34 normally and at least 68 when Bear Totem Barbarian Raging, because you only take half damage, rounded down on odd numbers.
So basically 70.
If you Wild Shape into Giant Hyena and Rage, you basically have 90+, so you're just south of 300 effective HP.
I prefer Brown Bear for CR1 though, Multiattack beats extra 10-20 HP in most cases.
@@DarthBoberEXMinMaxMunchking gotcha but then what's that second doubling for
The 68*2
@@morganphillips57 You have 2 uses of Wild Shape, each worth 70-90 HP while Raging, depending on the beast you transform into. So basically 140-180 combined. These Wild Shapes replenish after a short rest (1 hour).
@@DarthBoberEXMinMaxMunchking ooooooohh now I get it
To make it capable of hitting like a truck as well if not aiming for extra attack, a Paladin dip for smiting as a bear works well too.
I think there are some beasts worth mentioning:
Cr 0
-Haungharassk
-Magical Properties(6 temp Hp, and Remove Curse at will) 52 Hp.
Cr 1:
Crag Cat
-Non-Detection, Pounce, Spell Turning and 34 Hp.
Spider King:
-Spider Climb, Two Headed, Web Sense, Web Walker and Web Attack. 44 Hp
Cr 2:
Ice Spider Queen
-Cold Aura, Spider Climb, Web Sense, Web Walker and an Icy Web Attack. 44hp
Back again with another great one, huzzah!!
I'll keep em coming as long as I am able to!
I made a build with the same race/class combo - I made their backstory involve an archdruid quori that used their final years chronicling a huge amount of wildlife. They started as a barbarian - they were frustrated because they couldn’t effectively communicate with their quori spirit because of the spiritual menagerie.
I’m thinking of doing the exact opposite. He became a wandering Druid in order to find his quori spirit whom he was never able to communicate with. But the quori is an angry entity who only awakens through battle and that’s how I’d flavor his rage, as his quori spirit taking over
(Copy pasting this from my notes so I hope the rest sends) Hear me out, Hill Dwarf (custom lineage (+2 con +1 dex)
13,14,15,8,13,9
Start off 1 barbarian for their unarmored defense, then go 12 into long death monk. 4 and 8 ASI max con then final point into dex in that order. 12 is "tough" feat. Take 2 into barbarian and 2 into moon circle druid. Max HP rolled everywhere is a total of 374 without raging or moon druid brown bear. Being unarmed you can use your dex modifier instead of strength, (yes as a brown bear) use unarmed attacks or a really nice monk weapon like normal, yes even a battle axe because you're a hill dwarf, AND instead of using flurry of blows for 1 ki you can bonus action one free unarmed attack (all of this requires no armor and no shield). You use your ki to say "Fuck you I'm the one in charge".
The biggest thing about that split is the dilemma between taking that 3rd level Bear Totem, to effectively double your effective hitpoints because non-bludg/pierce/slash damage is common at high levels, but you do lose that lvl12 ASI from Monk.
I don't think maxing out CON is really needed, you can keep it at 16 or 18, but yeah, Tough feat is a prime pick in that case.
When i need ultra awesome ideas you are who i go to. Thanks Munchkin!
Necromancer/moon druid Paleontologist. Raise extinct dinos, becomes dinos, speaks with and observes both, studies the differences.
Honestly , that whole like and subscribe bit got me good and now here I am I ve no doubt that your Voice would ve earned that sub on its own but EY who knows now :p
I enjoyed the Video hope to see more after this :)
Random German wishes you the best.
Ngl this video probably has the smoothest transition into the "like subscribe bell icon" segment of all my videos.
Same here. You perfectly executed the transition, served it with a solid joke and subtly guilt-tripped me! How couldn’t I like and subscribe? Kudos! Well played, Sir!
Having interesting and entertaining content and leaving a sincere impression are the prerequisites in order for this move to work of course, but you provided that as well.
Thank you for coming back with your videos,man. I was missing them a lot. Keep up the good work and don't let the toxic people wear you down,okay?
Since that race wasn't allowed, I went for Goliath for that extra 1d12 + Damage reduction to be EVEN TANKIER
Nice update to the build ! Love your videos! :)
Glad you like them!
I love the way you roll the Like button and Notification bell into the video. Much more fun than 'Mash the Like button.'
I try to be creative with begging :)
@@DarthBoberEXMinMaxMunchking When you do it for a living it's not begging...it's 'aggressive sales' lol
So I think Earth Elemental is actually the best. It can move underground, has 10ft reach, and barbarian fast movement. Add in mobility feat and longstrider spell, and you've got a tank that the enemy can't even hit back with attacks or most spells because he ends his turn 30ft underground, and hits you from 10 feet underground. It's nigh invincible.
Ground is still full cover per RAW, Earth Elemental doesn't come with an exception to that general rule. Moving through the ground is not the same as attacking while inside/below it. This is even somewhat intuitive if you ask me, because of this sentence:
"...While doing so (moving through earth/stone), the elemental doesn't disturb the material it moves through..."
If the elemental was able to attack underground, it would need a specific trait that allows it do so.
Up to DMs interpretation, as always, but I as a DM would stick to the rules here and not allow it, however cool or awesome or cheesy it was.
Think of it this way. If you allow the Earth Elemental to attack while burrowed, you can TPK almost any party out there with a single CR5 creature. The party would need some very specific spell, item or feature that would allow them to burrow + attack while burrowed, because while the Earth Elemental can attack, you can't - the ground is still full cover for you.
In other words, Earth Elemental would, by far, be the deadliest monster in all of 5e, because there would be zero ways to survive it other than running/flying away.
That's clearly not reasonable or intended design of the monster, right?
@@DarthBoberEXMinMaxMunchking Who says he has to attack while burrowed? He can pop out, attack, then burrow again and end his turn underground. With all the movement speed and mobility feat, this is easily possible.
Such great content, you should have so many more subscribers.
I need to upload more often. I'm figuring out the optimal workflow, I will figure it out.
Tbh I think this one might not have the flexibility a lvl 20 Druid might have but I still find it better. It has more hp for clutch situations since you'll probably never need more wildshapes than 2 but because you have more hp you can limit the risk of damage carrying over to your Kalashtar form.
Very nice vid btw
Very few characters ever get to play at level 20 for a substantial amount of time. You're better off for 19 levels before that, which is where 99%+ players finish their characters' adventuring careers anyway.
@@DarthBoberEXMinMaxMunchking Totally agree with that. I'd also go as far as to say that this build might be better than a lvl 20 Druid in certain situations. If there are multiple fights a day then the lvl 20 Druid is better but if you're fighting really strong and dangerous enemies then I'd take the Barbearian. Even at lvl 20 I think that the Barbearian is better at clutch situations where damage not carrying over is extremely important. Me and my friends play a lot of very combat heavy campaigns which is why I'd choose this build over a pure Druid even at lvl 20.
@@DarthBoberEXMinMaxMunchking Btw which version do you think is better? 17/3 or 15/5?
I've done this before Kalishtar and Totem Bear Barbarian is just great. The moon Druid with better combat wildshapes and healing factor works great with it. 5th level build its a devastating tank.
Interesting concept, I wonder how the new Path of the Beast Barbarian would interact with wildshape as well.
Bear Totem is still better, nothing beats resistance to all damage.
Beast Barbarian certainly has an even higher thematic synergy though.
And many more greetings from Split🤗
I liked the video due to the amazing way he described it
Mwahahaha, my evil plan to conquer the hearts and minds of my viewers is working!
Oops, did I say that out loud?! Crap...
i just subbed recently love the vids man
Thanks dude, appreciate it.
I'm curious. I shall see more.
Keep in mind that you can wild shape into a half dragon beast if the beast you want to wild shape into is CR2 and has the size of large
and don't even get me started on polymorph cheese,
you can transform into a CR7 half shadow brass dragon and have a breath weapon that deals 16d6 necrotic damage
You can't Polymorph into a dragon. Dragons are not beasts, they're dragons.
Unless you're talking about some 3rd party/homebrew monsters, that's beyond the scope of this channel, at least for now.
@@DarthBoberEXMinMaxMunchking sorry, your right, i meant to say a half shadow dragon giant ape, which technically is still a beast
I'm legitimatley surprised you didn't mention Giant Elk. 14 AC, 42 HP w/o rage, Ram attack does 2d6+4, however if you move more than 20 ft towards the enemy it does an additional 2d6 and can knock them Prone resulting in your attacks being made with advantage. Alternatively it's Hooves deal 4d8+4 damage if you can attack a Prone Creature, so if you were an 11th lvl character (5 Barb/6 Druid) you could move 20 ft, deal 4d6+4, knock a target prone, and then with ADV attack a Prone Target for 4d8+4. This isn't including any rage damage either.
Prone condition equally benefits and hurts the party, assuming you have ranged characters in a party.
Min/Max Munchking a fair argument, still worth a mention in my opinion but fair nonetheless.
I'm personally not a fan of Giant Elk, Cave/Polar Bear is better in almost every way except AC. However, elk's 15 AC at level 9 is low anyway, so I'd much rather have a reliable multiattack and always deal some damage than rely on charging and proning, which isn't consistent and debuffs half the party.
That said, in a melee-only party, I would consider it for that advantage. Still, Giant Constrictor Snake with auto-restrain attack is better if you wanna be a teamplayer, so yeah...
True but you can only turn into creatures you see. Finding a Giant Ell I feel is fairly consistent so many elves ride those in Cannon. 🤷🏻♂️ Also, Cave Bear does significantly less damage if you knock targets prone with the Elk and Bear is no more tanky than an Elk. Even if you aren’t using the Hooves, the Elk is superior in AC and Move Speed.
I would argue I would personally rather do Cave Bear in a build that doesn’t feature Extra Attack, with Extra Attack Giant Elk deals significantly more damage potential. Even if you don’t know the target prone it’s 8d6+8 if both Ram attacks hit and you sweep around tanking the AoO (which I would absolutely recommend doing).
Great video!
Thanks. More vids soon, I know I have to speed up the upload rate.
Good news for you is that you can now RAW shift your ASIs due to Tasha’s as seen in the new AL
Yeah, I might have to do v3.0 after that becomes official lol.
straight to the point
I love this build, it's so funny to play
One of the most enjoyable frontliners I ever played, yes.
I was just playing around with an Orc of Eberron with Druid Moon Aspect with Barb Totem of the Bear to get a whopping lift/push weight of 4,800 lbs with advantage 🤣😅. So a carrying ability of 2,400 lbs when raged 😉
At the moment I'm playing a Eladrin MoonDruid-BearBarbarian-AssassinRough-WayOfTheFourElementsMonk-ChampionFighter. Eyverything at Third Level.
All that, just so that I transform into a cat, infiltrate and assassinate a Boss. A cat deals 1 Point of slashing damage, Fangs of the Firesnake deals 1d10 Fire damage, Rage gives me advantage on the attack and a +2 to damage, sneak attack deals 2d6 extra damage and I can also use one of the fighting manovers for an additional 1d8.
So a small cute cat suddenly gets angry at you and then jumps you with 10 foot long burning Claws that will decapetate you.
*HARD!*
lol hillarious! XD
This thing still has way more hitpoints than my second channel has views. Come hang out with me as I'm DMing a homebrew campaign for my D&D gang: ruclips.net/channel/UCjZAhthhLSys4WaDZ9KvY7g
Hello! Which races are your favorite for this build? I just made a moon druid barbarian lizard folk, I really like it😁
Gith zeri or how ever it's spelled also gets resistance to psychic damage.
Now you just have to get this build bitten by a wearbear
He wouldn't be able to bear that curse.
Well he might just bearly fail his con save
The best DM tool against most of these forms is that you can only tranform into creatures that you can see, most places do not have dinosaurs or other Dire versions of animals or the exotic types.
Polymorph spell fixes that issue at higher levels because it doesn't have Wild Shape limitations.
It states that in the Wild Shape text "you can use your action to magically assume the shape of a beast that you have seen before."
You did good munchkin you did good.
Thanks dude, 1 more update vid soon, 2 more crazy characters after that and I'll also do the short behind-the-scenes video about that charity stream I hosted in July. I'll eventually knock out all my recent backlog, aiming to do it before December, but I'll be happy to clean it up before New Year realistically.
Question: I red somewhere that Unarmored defense works in wild shape, where you choose which AC to use, so 1 lvl of monk and maxed wisdom gives air elemental 20 AC and boosts other beasts by 1 or 2 AC
The first rule of wild shape states pretty clearly, and I quote: "Your game Statistics are replaced by the Statistics of the beast, but you retain your alignment, personality, and Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma scores(...)".
The "Armor Class" is one of these statistics that gets replaced.
@@levy.azevedo What @Leon Dream said is actually correct. You're missing a key feature of Wild Shape: "You retain the benefit of any features from your class, race, or other source and can use them if the new form is physically capable of doing so. However, you can’t use any of your special senses, such as darkvision, unless your new form also has that sense." Monk and Barbarian Unarmored Defense features are two that you're able to retain while wild shaped, meaning that you can choose to use them in place of any other armor calculation that might be at play (with beasts, this will usually be the default 10 + Dex or some form of Natural Armor). You cannot benefit from both Natural Armor from your Wild Shape AND Unarmored Defense, but you can choose which ever is higher. In the case of the Air Elemental, this means a total of 20 AC if the Druid / Monk has maxed out his Wisdom at 20.
For another example, the popular Cave Bear has 10 (0) Dexterity, 16 (3) Constitution, and 12 AC (Natural Armor). A Monk / Druid with 20 Wisdom could choose to use the 12 AC (Natural Armor), or to make use of their Unarmored Defense to have 15 AC (10 + Dexterity Mod (0) + Wisdom Mod (5)). A Barbarian Druid could choose to use his Unarmored Defense in place of the Natural Armor to have 13 AC (10 + DEX + CON).
Supporting Source: www.sageadvice.eu/2015/01/14/druid-monk-unarmored-defense-in-shapeshift-form/
@Levy Costa The 4th rule states:
"You retain the benefit of any features from your class, race, or other source and can use them if the new form is physically capable of doing so."
So your AC in Brown Bear form is 13, not 11 like it's listed in the default statblock, because you can use the Unarmored Defense feature.
@Leon Dream you can't stack 2 different Unarmored Defense features together. General rule for AC is that, if you have multiple calculations available to you (Unarmored, heavy, medium, maybe racial like Loxodon or Lizardfolk), you must choose only one of them. You simply pick the one that gives the highest number.
In case of Monk's Unarmored Defense, you don't get better AC than Barbarian's Unarmored Defense in most cases.
@@DarthBoberEXMinMaxMunchking I always rule against this, unarmored def clearly states it doesn't work while wearing armor. A barb or monk cannot wear armor but choose the unarmored AC option. This also applied to most beast forms as far as I'm concerned since they stat "natural armor" which cannot be taken off.
@@verphix7821 Jeremy Crawford specifically addressed natural armor in relation to Unarmored Defense in this podcast
dnd.wizards.com/articles/features/chris-avellone-and-philip-daigle-planescape-torment-enhanced-edition
He said that natural armor is not considered to be worn, it just is, it's part of your body, so you can't possibly wear it in a sense that you don/doff it. Which is why Unarmored Defense feature should synergize with Wild Shape.
Your table your rules, but I'm just providing the designers' perspective.
I used a similar build (custom lineage instead for sentinel) to tank Polukranos at lvl 5 pretty much by myself, managed to drop me to 0 after tanking about 300 dmg
300 sounds about right for lvl 5
My dm is adamant that at level 20 a multi class character can’t stand up to a single class character and that it’s a waste of time.
I’m planning on doing a rogue/fighter 7/13 to see if he’s wrong or not . He gave us the stats of 20/18/15/15/10/10. How would you prove him wrong?
Pray to RNGesus you keep rolling nat 20s.
Kobold if you want advantage on every attack as long as Pack Tactics applies. And a hand-cross bow and snipe (sharpshooter) every attack.
Kobolds get a +2 Dex & -2 Str
Put a 15 on str which will be reduced to 13 and still meets the multi-class requirements if you want to go something exotic, 20 in Con, 18 +2 to Dex, 15 Wis (Perception), others are up to you: Int(Investigation) or Cha if you want to be a light voice.
I'm gonna multiclass bear totem barbarian and rune knight fighter (9,11). I'm pretty sure it's gonna be ridiculous considering I'm a homebrew race,(check out the compendium of forgotten secrets it's amazing) so I have resistance to all damage and when I go giant might, I weigh 16 tons
Nobody plays > level 15. At this point the game becomes boring. If you're forced to continue playing above that, I'd die and make a single class
@@josephrobitaille469 literally not true, im the dm for a campaing that is currently at lvl 20 (21 with epic boons)
I’m doing this in my current campaign where we will all be lv 20 at the end. I am thinking about picking up a lv in warlock at around lv 13 or 14. End lv Druid 15 barbarian 4 warlock 1. This is because I can pick up armor of agathys to upcast since the temp hp boost will be doubled and will be able to use its damage longer. Genie patron to give me a few spells, some extra damage, and a ring I can long rest in.
Solid plan - use it before you lose it, OneD&D will render a lot of this multiclass combos ineffective.
Perbaps 1 lvl of Monk, Barbarian 3, and Druid all the way up. CON and WIS added to AC.
Limited, but not really bad. I'll think about it.
Interesting video and I really like your breakdown. Quick question though, if HP negation is the primary point of the build, wouldn't going Bar 3, Druid 10, and Rogue 7 be best? Rogue and Bar go surprisingly well with advantage on almost all dex saves stacking on evasion to entirely negate a lot of damage and an otherwise rarely used reaction to reduce physical damage to a quarter.
While the 4d6 sneak attack damage isn't allowed in wildshape RaW, certain animals DO use dex on their attacks so a DM could allow it. Lastly, the expertise of the Rogue doesn't exactly make up for the spell powerhouse of a level 17-20 druid, but being able to wildshape combined with stealth expertise will make the other Rogues blush.
It would work on paper, but you need a heckton of levels in all of those 3 classes, so in my opinion double-classing makes more sense in terms of more consistent progression curve.
Tasha's changes the ability scores significantly.
Indeed. I will have a fee nee Tasha's updates videos.
@@DarthBoberEXMinMaxMunchking I'm excited. You make excellent content. You are doing God's work friend. Striking fear into dms across the globe. HAHAHAHAHAHAHA...
So I said screw psychic resistance, and decided to go for a hill dwarf because that gives me an extra 20 HP at 20th level which gives me the little extra bulk I desire. Also we are playing with a homebrewed version of shillelagh so my great club is doing 1d10 + wisdom modifier + great weapon master + rage damage.
yeah, psychic damage isn't that prevalent. It usually comes in large numbers though.
The point of the psychic dmg resistance is just to make sure there is no way to ever be hit by something that you aren't resistant to. There are definitely better races to play as if you don't think psychic dmg will be that big of a deal.
Your subscribe spiel alone got me to like the video. That shit was funny dude
if you go straight druid levels at level 20 you have effectively unlimited hitpoints if you arnt killed outright since once your HP gets low in beastshape you can just reshape into another creature an unlimited number of times
Yes, I said the same thing in the video. Still, you will have way more hp first 19 levels and most people rarely go above 15, so this character is playable in 99% of cases.
I'm gonna be playing a human for rp reasons but I genuinely can't wait to try this, if my dream druid dies I'm bringing out the big guns.
Taking damage as this character is not a problem, trust me.
There is one other race option
Emerald dragonborn from Fizban's also has psych res
ruclips.net/video/jYKjLIiFxls/видео.html yup, I made that too
Nice videos, keep it going :D
Thanks, will do!
Bearington Bearman II
How does this work with Yuan-ti pureblood? Psychic is a rare type of damage and is almost always taken by failing a save. Is it not more beneficial to have advantage on every magical saving throw than having resistance on one rare type of damage?
I wouldn't say psychic is a rare damage type in practice. A whole lotta DMs throw Mind Flayers, Intellect Devourers, Banshees, Flinds, Fomorians, Star Spawns... There are a lot of staple dnd monsters that deal a ton of psychic damage.
I'm playing a Kalashtar Bearbarian/Paladin at the moment and my DM hates how tanky I am
Goliath Bearbarian here, same xD
Thanks for making this video
No problem
So I rolled for stats and got really high. My stats are currently 18 STR, 16 DEX, 20 CON, 14 INT, 17 WIS, 14 CHA. After I max STR, what do I do with my ASIs?
Take Lucky feat and then ask your DMA for those Tasha feats that give +1 to WIS.
@@DarthBoberEXMinMaxMunchking I haven't seen the Tasha's feats yet. Would have to look them up
@@DarthBoberEXMinMaxMunchking What do you think of taking Sentinel? Could be good maybe to keep the squishies alive?
@@brandonvanscoycloud6469 I recommended it in this video.
@@DarthBoberEXMinMaxMunchking I also was not able to use the class recommended. We were all forces to play Dwarf. Idk if that changes anything either
hey, wanted to say good job, I'm currently trying out this build in my first game. which build would you recommend, 17/3 or 15/5 for a game with a level cap of 11? thanks!
Oh, three levels to echo night, blink rage bear
nah, too much multi-classing dilution
You should also do Pathfinder character builds. Gives you significantly more class/race options
I thought about it, but now that Tasha expansion will introduce so much morw variety, I'll have content for years to come.
@@DarthBoberEXMinMaxMunchking with BG3 launching soon, you should try making some PHB min max builds. People will be flooding to those videos soon
I will be using this build modified to fit what BG3 will allow for my main character
@@nickanderson8305 I had the same idea.
Um... brown bears only have 34hp. And you can't say you have 200 hp because healing isn't total health its a regeneration of health. Now don't get me wrong playing a bearbarrian in my next game and I had forgotten about the Kalshatar so thanks for that.
You take half damage, so it would take a minimum 68 damage to drop that bear to 0HP. Odd damage when halved is rounded down too - 7 damage becomes 3 damage for example, so you would most likely need to take 70+ damage for the bear form to drop to 0 HP.
Healing is effective HP increase, I was calculating effective average HP because that's how much damage is needed to drop you to 0 HP.
Also, it's much easier to put "450 HP" in the thumbnail than "AT LEVEL 5 THIS CHARACTER CAN TAKE 450 DAMAGE BEFORE DROPPING TO 0 HP"
What's your accent. Just curious, love the builds.
I'm from Croatia.
I see.
How do you turn into a brown bear with just 2 levels in druid when you can only turn into CR 1 creatures with 8 levels in druid?
Moon Druid, PHB page 69
Sorry if this doesn´t make any sense, but what about background??
question: cmiiw, but offensively this build, especially when you go the martially focused progression, is somewhat lacking right? considering the low plus to hit from the wildshape are not the best/almost always lower than your own.
i know the build was meant to be defensively powerful as the focus, but just want to confirm because you mentioned you've actually playtested the build.
Currently lowkey theorycrafting Beast Barbarian as opposed to Bear Totem; less defense capabilities, but more power and hits more often at higher tier (i could be wrong though) as the Beast Barbarian's natural weapon still uses your own proficiency but can utilize Wildshape's STR modifier. Not to mention thematically extremely synergistic.
On lower levels it's not as apparent (currently playing with a level 8 one and she's dealing OK damage), but at higher levels, yes, your accuracy and damage fall behind. You could put 2 levels of Paladin in there for smites, but then it makes the build even more MAD.
@@DarthBoberEXMinMaxMunchking Say you cast Shillelagh and/or Magic Stone and is wildshaped as something with hand.
Can you technically make attacks with those, with your modifier and prof bonus?
Hm,.. how much would a DM crank up the CR to compensate for the HP?
The rest of the group shouldn`t suffer to much, so holding back would be nice,...
~ Level 5 Charakter Barbarian 1d12 + 5HP Con/Level -> 85 HP for comperison
Your Mages, Sorcerer,... maybe become 1-2 Hits, there play would be not so nice.
That's why being open about your goals beforehand, usually during Session Zero, is what sets the expectations upfront. If you wanna powergame with the most minmaxed optimized character there is, you should tell that to everyone, so they know what they're dealing with.
Being underhanded about your character/s is a quick road to being the most hated or at least the most negatively perceived person at the table
Like he already said. You should always be upfront with your DM about your intended build path. As a rule of thumb, everything you have planned out you should tell them. Min/Maxing can be fun for some groups and unfun for others. Realistically at a session 0 your entire group needs to agree on how you guys want to build character. You should all aim for approximately the same level of power vs flavor. People just need to agree if everyone is doing normal builds, min/max builds, or meme flavor builds. If everyone is on that same page then the DM will be able to balance accordingly.
What weapon do you suggest for when you are in human form?
@Witchfinder Nielsen why throwable axes? Wouldn't you want to be up close? Also, can you use metal weapons since there are levels of druid?
The most legendary and artifacty ones you can possibly find/receive from the DM.
Where does the giant subterranean lizard comes from? I find no official content of this beast?
It's one of those official adventure module monsters iirc, I forgot which one.
I am now playing Lizardfolk moondruid(4) and totem barbarian (3). instead of bear my totem is crocodile to fit swamp theme (but same stats as bear totem) So imagine big kroxigor like lizard raging around and if need strikes wildshaping into various animals.
Sounds super fun and there's heavy theme with the race. Keep having fun!
What background should be used here?
Background isn't super important mechanically, so whatever fits your RP ideas.
Sounds fun for theorycrafting but there's no way in hell I'd ever let anyone at my table run that lol.
But think of all the...unbearable puns you're robbing everyone off!
What’s the point of the Druid levels? Just be a bear and heal 1d8? Can I do this where I just run around and bite and hit stuff not really use any magic other than speed?
Wild Shape is the point, many many many extra hitpoints.
Speed isn't magic, it's part of a statblock, so I don't know what to even answer.
I don't get it, why would i want to have high DEX and CON instead of INT and CHA, if i spend most of time in bear form
You will be in humanoid form often enough (low initiative, easy combat, negative conditions like charm or stun). I've seen it enough in practice to base my opinion on.
Higher mental scores would mitigate some of those, but now you're juggling 5-10% odds. I err on the side of "more HP + more AC = more consistent".
Anecdotal evidence though, adapt this according to your specific needs (DM's style, campaign type, pillars of game distribution...)
Don't you get the bears AC when wildshaping? Why go so deep into dex at the start? Won't con/str be better?
You can still benefit from Barbarian class AC calculation, nothing preventing this.
Emerald Dragonborn is also resistant to psychic damage
ruclips.net/video/jYKjLIiFxls/видео.html
Pro tip to any spell casters out there; don’t polymorph anything into any creature on this wild shape list such as a giant snapping turtle.
Yeah, Giant Ape & T-rex are really the only 2 options for that spell.
Sorry if I just missed it, but did you mention the order you should take the Barb and Druid levels in / what levels you should take the feats? Or is that only in the Patreon document? Hvala!
ruclips.net/video/fXyPEHAVBoA/видео.html is the progression.
Those 2 white blocks are screenshots of the Patreon document. There isn't really anything important behind the paywall other than me writing 4-5 thousand words long walls of text in those .docx files, just kinda going into nooks and crannies of some details.
Nema na cemu!
@@DarthBoberEXMinMaxMunchking Oh, perfect! Excited to try this out!
10:33 you can think of a scenario where you might need more than 1k HP? What the heck is it? Are you trying to wrestle a Terasque?
I said it's the very extreme scenario, didn't I? ;)
How were you able to get 20 wisdom in the level 20 character dndbeyond link? In your guide for combat focus build I only see ASI being used for Lvl 13/Druid 8 CON+1 CHA+1, then Lvl 17/Druid 12 CON+2? The other two ASI's were used for sentinel and tough.
Amulet of Health.
IIRC, I even said in the video, if you can get that item early into your character progression, there's no need to put any points into CON, just pump your WIS for Druid spells.
How viable would it be to take the shillelagh cantrip in the event that you run out of rage and Wild shape? Because shillelagh does make your staff magical so I wanna know your opinion
It would make some sense, but if you ever find yourself in that predicament, better just run away XD
Isn’t resilient a better feat than tough if you want to keep your allies alive ? To keep concentration on the polymorph you cast before transformation by example ?
You can't concentrate on spells while raging.
Ooh yes true ! I forgot that
Can you pick octopus at cr1? It has a swim speed.
Also I like using Wildhunt shifters, as you can Reckless Attack every turn while Shaped, raged and shifted without them attacking you at advantage.
Whoops you're right about octopus. Yeah, Wildhunt barbs are special
Gonna update this video again as soon as you can play a gem Dragonborn that gets physic damage resistance
yeah, probably.
Maybe use asi for unarmed fighting style for grappling and free hit on grappled creatures
unarmed fighting style doesn't synergize with natural weapons possessed by the beast forms.
What would be the level progression of this build? Start with Barbarian for 2 levels to get reckless attack then go druid? when do you take levels of each class? Is there an optimal leveling or it doesnt fully matter?
ruclips.net/video/fXyPEHAVBoA/видео.html
@@DarthBoberEXMinMaxMunchkingthanks, hadn't finished the video at the time. It's a fantastic build
I thought it was gonna a be a human with the tough feat, bear totem barbarian and a constitution of 18
You can't have hundreds of effective HP with just the Bear Barbarian, you need Moon Druid for it.
could you explain to why kalashtar from has 88(90) hp and so on
You take half damage when Raging. So, to lose, say, 20 HP, you need to take at least 40 damage. Odd numbered damage is rounded down when halved, so it's often even more than that.
Sooo, lv20 Moondruid is basically IMMORTAL ?
How to kill one ? Druid has access to Foresight to be nearly invincible...
And also many other potent spell...
Also I have a question, in a scenario when you are in a battle royal (no wish, demiplane and other out of bondary spell), isnt the most efficient way to kill everyone is to cast leomund tiny hut followed by control weather to change the terrain into an apocaliptic artic blizzard nightmard and kill everyone by exhaustion while making marshmallow in your hot hut ?
And after 4 hour of artic nightmare change into hot desert like climate ?
Can you even let rain BOILING WATER ?
Just thought that by checking Druid spell list and found control weather.
Fun spell for a BBEG, might try it out of its possible
Yeah dude high level droods are insanely powerful.
Dispel Magic ruins Tiny Hut, but you have to reach it first ;)
items:
If the image has a bear wearing loincloth, why can't it wear a belt of fire giant strength...
You're kinda right I guess, i don't remember if his attunement slots are already all used up, but yeah...
I didn’t hear you talk about the spell choices you took. Maybe I missed and someone can give me a time stamp, but if not any specific reasons why you chose the spells you did?
ruclips.net/video/fXyPEHAVBoA/видео.html
If you listen again you'll hear me say it's because I don't want the video to last half an hour, so that's why I only mentioned a few that can work even while Raging and Wild Shaped.
Min/Max Munchking Ok, was just contemplating spell options to throw out at the beginning of a combat to better control. Group in low on melee combatants.
i was thinking, why not to put all your best stats in CHA, INT and WIS? i mean, in combat you will be a bear or a wolf with its stats(HP and AC)
You'll still be fighting in your humanoid form from time to time, you don't want to do that with 25 HP at level 5, trust me.
@@DarthBoberEXMinMaxMunchking thats the thing, when would you fight in your humanoid form having the chance to turn into a beast? I have been thinking that there is no way an enemy can make you change into a humanoid form. So in whay circunstance would you be fighting as a humanoid?
@@fabrizzioandres8807 Only 2 wildshapes per short rest. Either a really long dungeon crawl where a short rest is too dangerous. Or even just a trash fight that isn't worth using half your main resource until your next rest.
Im new to D&D i dont know what happening XD but amazing video
Welcome! dnd 5e isnt that complex and deep, even though it might seem overwhelming at first.
Something horrible has been released.
What’s the strength for? When you’re out of form or something?
That and multiclassing requirements.
This migh be slightly off-topic, but I'm about to make a Dreams Druid, could I get some recommendations for a CR1/2 Wildshapes? (we start at lv5)
Ape for damage, croc to be loved by your party (auto-restrain)
However, in combat, you're more useful in your humanoid form as a Dreams Druid in most cases.
Eyy, I'm first, gettings from Ðakovo
Greetings from Split!
@@DarthBoberEXMinMaxMunchking greetings from Trogir
if you got a free feat at level 1 take sentinel. what else would you replace at level 7?
probably Tough feat, since HP is the thing you're going for.
Love your content as always. Have you played around with the Circle of spores Druid and Way of Mercy monk combo before? I know poison is a universally ‘meh’ damage type but it’s a pretty good build given how they seem to intermingle.
no, but I made something similar ruclips.net/video/0GSUfmZrQys/видео.html
It's an older vid from the time when I made very sloppy vids, but I played that char at level 6 and it is VERY solid at lower Tier 2 play.
Min/Max Munchking Thanks for the link! I’ll look into it. CoS and WoM do well to cut down ki cost for using the poison damage bonus with CoS providing near constant poison status and Hands of harm giving a suitable extra bit of damage. At level 7 I’ve been getting an average of 46 assuming my quarter staff(2hits) and flurry of blows+hands of harm (2 unarmed strikes) connect. (+7 on attack rolls with 18 in both wis and dex.). I hope to see more people playing monks once WoM catches more eyes. Keep up the great work and stay safe
very nice
Equip a Ring of Psychic Resistance and choose any race
Where do you people find DMs who just give you these items? I want in.
Also, I understand why you say what you say but you didn't account for the number of rages. You're assuming you will drop 140 HP at least in one combat so you can use a second Wild Shape right? Otherwise your math is off due to the number of rages.
Also, I enjoy your content. I wanted to echo that as you received 13 dislikes, which is bogus.
Min/Max Munchking ah, I see. So you’re saying effective as in theoretical, not necessarily actual due to random factors and situations. I understand. Thanks for the replies and keep up the great work!
Yeah, I went with the worst case scenario where you have to go all out and burn most/all your available resources, just like I usually do in most my other character build videos.