The Berserker Lurker: d4
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- Опубликовано: 6 июл 2024
- Our D&D character build this week is a Rogue/Barbarian multiclass that reliably gets sneak attack twice every round... but at a cost...
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Character Concept:(0:00)
Roll for Combat - Battle Zoo (sponsor):(6:08)
Level 1:(8:47)
Levels 2-6:(13:49)
Levels 7-9:(29:49)
Levels 10-13:(35:26)
Levels 14-17:(39:12)
Final Thoughts:(44:02)
Outtakes:(46:48)
Math/Graph for this episode: docs.google.com/spreadsheets/...
Sustained DPR Comparisons (3 Tabs): docs.google.com/spreadsheets/...
Thanks to LudicSavant for the amazing DPR calculator! forums.giantitp.com/showthrea...)
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Развлечения
I felt that berserker would be more tenable in a Naval Campaign since you can commonly get multiple days between fights while sailing around. So make this guy a Viking or pirate and it works much better.
That gives me Vinland Saga vibes XD
There could also be some synergy with Frenzied Berserker for a STRanger build at higher levels of play. Tireless (Tasha's optional Ranger ability at level 10) lets them drop a level of exhaustion on a short rest.
Thematically would surprisingly fit as a Viking due to being similar to one of the four berserker tribes. :o
Errata: As several have pointed out, RAW, you don't get to benefit from Extra Attack if you are holding your Action to attack with your reaction, as Extra Attack states that you only benefit from it when you take the attack action "on your turn." My bad! Here's the good news: this means that we'd be leaving Barbarian after level 3 or 4 (if we want the ASI/Feat), and getting our Sneak Attack damage scaling a little quicker. In the end, getting an extra d6 of Sneak Attack damage, when we're getting it twice per round, means that the numbers I've presented that account for Extra Attack will only be a little bit less at each of the Damage Reports - call it ~4 DPR give or take, depending on the enemy AC etc. Definitely not a death blow to the build :).
Also! I accidentally said “short rest” instead of “long rest” when discussing when we get our rage uses back.
This makes Magic Initiate/Arcane Trickster quite a bit more valuable for the Owl Familiar's Help action. The build then solves the issue of getting advantage on both the BA Frenzied Reckless attack, and the one Readied Attack with Help. Ask the DM if the Familiar can take its turn right after ours. RAW it's supposed to have its own turn and initiative. So this isn't any big favor if it already shared its turn with ours at the table. Our trigger then can be "I will attack when Bird distracts the enemy." I feel Bird is an apt name for our one-track mind Berserker. "I attack if the enemy moves a muscle" is also a good one. Even if our victim was prone we'd get a Reaction attack in before they could finish standing upright I'd think. Using this trig, we'd also be fine with the conventional "familiar acts on our turn" QoL allowance.
Phantom coming online sooner helps make up for the lost damage albeit to a secondary opponent. We could unload all 3 uses in the first two rounds if we like. This would mean taking Magic Initiate at Barb/Rogue 4. Delays the STR bump, but we weren't hurting on what to do with our ASIs in this build. We could get to Phantom 9 a lot faster which is great. Most tables would probably still want Extra Attack sooner than later for combats without Frenzy, but I dunno. Some campaigns might not make it to Phantom 9 if they do that, and Tokens of the Departed is a complete game changer. Shorter campaigns might do well with Trickster and Barb 5. Silvery Barbs could be taken as one of the initial spells. We could potentially get this cast off before our turn comes up on round 1. Distort Value maybe to help fund all the birds we're going to go through at 10gp a pop. Silent Image is another good one often regardless of a low DC.
Soulknife is an interesting hybrid. We get the option to attack twice on our turn even when we aren't Frenzied and lacking Extra Attack. Psi-Bolstered Knack helps pad our potentially high Expertise modifiers even more. So Exhaustion imposing disadvantage might still make us relatively decent at skills. Doesn't waste any resources if we do fail. Might want to dip Fighter for Thrown Weapon Fighting. Helps us draw a dagger to apply Sneak Attack on would be OAs, adds a decent damage bump from 60ft thrown range, and could get Action Surge. Then we can actually attack twice on our turn, Surge, and Ready to Attack with a dagger off turn. Battlemaster is of course right there...giving us Trip Attack, Quick Toss, and Brace.
Another race selection that I thought would be great when wondering if we'd go to Barb 5 for Extra Attack would be Dragonborn, and bumping Str with the Dragon Fear half feat asap. This gives us an amazing ability to kick off with round 1 replacing one attack. Even with low Cha (start with 13) it'll shut down half of those making a save in Tier 1. Eventually take another Cha feat to stay close to those odds. Fey Touched for Gift of Alacrity makes better use of Trickster slots. Skill Expert for the Soulknife route works well. Even if we keep Cha low, 40% of monsters being frightened until it's their turn to be the prime target is nuts. So even if we don't Frenzy, we still contribute sizable control as we rush in and scare the pants off the opposing monsters. Works nicely from Reach since they can't approach us. Whip out a whip round 1, or eventually make it your main squeeze! Most our damage progression is coming from Sneak Attack and damage modifiers. Validates the Bugbear option a little more too since they couldn't play keep away with off turn attacks. No Reaction Reachin'.They'd need to be within 5ft with any other finesse weapon. Works a lot better for the Dex Battlemaster route though. Much better base initiative and we could snag the Ambush maneuver.
Since you won't be using multi attack, would it make sense to try and get a melee cantrip?
@@joshholmes1372 can’t cast whilst raging so not likely to be used a lot.
I’d probably do something like sentinel or riposte battlemaster feat to keep my extra attack in there. Reaction attacks are useful but the way you’ve done it here creates more issues with exhaustion than it’s solves with two sneak attack damages per round.
@@jameswebb4545 hmmm. Yeah
I saw this somewhere, Brogues (also a very cool name) are essentially just slasher movie villains, your Jason Voorhees or Michael Myers, the stealthy but strong types, and that's always stuck with me
Honestly, I was looking for a way to play a Slasher villain in DnD the other month and that's pretty much where I ended up, so that's accurate.
basically bugbears (the monster not race)
@@pez1870 I played a 4e Bugbear STR Rogue who could wield shortsword-sized daggers (for the Rogue/dagger benefits) and threw shuriken that were basically blades from a circular saw. Good memories.
@@JoelCSabo you actually played 4e? poor thing:(
jokes aside, that does sound really fun!
@@pez1870 I started during 3.5 and did 4e until my friends turned me onto Pathfinder. Now I'm in a regular 5e group. I've had fun with all of them, despite the rep 4e gets. But yeah, Hellyug was a satisfying character. He was basically a very dangerous Wookiee
i was talking to a buddy about perhaps making a rogue with Sentinel so you can more reliably get your second sneak attack off given that they either try to run away, disengage and run, or attack an ally.
Hiding around your tankier friends would help you do this (aka lightfoot halfling since that's a specific ability they have) so once an enemy targets your hp sponge ally while you're stealthed so you aren't a target would allow you to do this more often, skulker would also provide some good use so you don't reveal yourself when you whiff an attack
this is really achievable with the arcane trickster or three levels in a full spell casting class (really good with draconic sorcerer to sixth level and haste spell) with the mirror image spell, since it is a different target than you and it doesnt need to be a creature, so the image is the target of this and you trigger reaction attack
I absolutely love this.
My version of the story for him is that he's an ex soldier who swears "I do not have spell-shock!" I imagine war in these words having hedge wizards casting fire balls and other hectic spells everywhere. For a standard soldier it's hell, just like real war.
So his rage is a PTSD episode, which is why it can cause exaction. After the battle he's coming back to reality. Additionally I would have the death stuff from the Phantom Rogue as the soles of people he killed and friends he lost in battle.
I think the roleplay for this character would be amazing and the arch could be awesome
For a STR based rogue, I always liked the idea of a Grung that grapples opponents and is double proficient in athletics. The poisonous skin can cause disadvantage on their attempts to get away, and with enough feats you’re always getting advantage on your attacks while grappling. And I really like the idea of a hidden frog jumping 30 feet out of the shadows onto someone’s face and never letting go.
Personally, I really love the silent rage archetype instead of the standard run in there in a screaming fury. There's just something so terrifying about a barbarian who just walks in there quietly and then without a word or a scream cuts right through their foes. It's what I do on the Storm Herald I play. She learned her skills from working with giants, so her rage is more of a meditative trance where her intense focus summons the storm around her as she just walks forward ready to pummel those in her way.
silent Rage Barbarian = John Wick
Honestly, I'm impressed with how consistent your builds are uploaded. Some of them are obvious ones like your first video (hexblade) but a lot are very interesting, fun, and clever. You've also helped me learn about optimizing and I've applied some of what I've learned to my own characters. Thank you and keep up the good stuff! Also this music into is the best one and I love it.
Extra Attack states you get the extra attack "whenever you take the Attack action on your turn." With this setup you're neither taking the Attack action, nor doing so on your turn.
I was about to type this, but i am assuming that what Colby means is that if you cant get advantage for your reaction you will just be taking an attack action rather than using a readied attack.
Yeah, that's the problem. It won't have a drastic impact on the numbers, it's removing 1d8+Str from the damage pool every round, and taking a bit of damage reliability away because you don't have that second chance at getting your sneak attack off. It doesn't break the build, but it makes the extra Barbarian levels much less appealing. On the flip side, you get another SA die for swapping those 2 to rogue levels.
You *are* taking the Attack action as your readied action, but you are right that it does not happen on your own turn, so Extra Attack does not apply.
What this means is that until rogue level 7 or 9, taking the Attack action on your turn would give more than readying it for another creature's, since the damage from the Extra Attack will outpace the extra sneak attack for quite a while (12.5 damage on average vs 14 damage from a 4d6 sneak attack). Add to this sacrificing your reaction for possible AoO or uncanny dodge and the risky business of putting all your eggs in one basket with the reaction attack vs. Having two chances to land a slightly weaker hit.
Yeap he fucked it up... but the phantom rogue feat also works on both sneak attacks and that makes up for it
Actually, he is taking the attack action since the Ready action does "take the action" that you readied when its released (or for the entire duration its readied till released in case of spells).
What makes it invalid is it not being on his turn.
I can tell by the title of this video alone that this'll be a GOOD one
Colby: The Steady Aim optional rule for rogues does not require that you use it for Sneak Attack. I think that could provide for some fun multiclass builds, such as a Rogue Caster.
I played an intelligence based rogue with an artificer dip once 😄 great fun to turn a class around like this
Armorer artificer is a great subclass to merge with rogue levels you get the lightning launcher who's first hit deals an extra d6 lightning damage allowing you to make up for some of the lost rogue sneak attack progression and you got yourself a lightning damage based sneak attack additionally you could use medium armor and grab medium armor master for infinite advantage on stealth checks thanks to the infiltrator armor and with Infusions and shield proficiency you get an even more tanky rogue
@@lucasramey6427 None of the Armorer armor models provide a finesse weapon, and I think there's no way of dealing sneak damage without a finesse weapon, so Armorer doesn't work, sadly. Would be cool if it worked tho
@@TheTrueAnarchel The lightning launcher is ranged, and you can sneak attack with ranged weapons.
Aah, of course, forgot about that. Although I'm still wondering how you're supposed to do that using lightning, but I guess RAW it works
@@TheTrueAnarchel *sneakiest thunder noises in the background*
Amazing idea as always. Super pumped for the build! Bring on the Lurkserker!
This is my FAVORITE DnD channel. Thank you so much bro. Keep up the good work.
This is such an awesome idea for a build! I’ve never played a rogue and now I’m all in. Looks like fun at every level! Thanks Colby
One of my favorite level 20 builds is Scout Rogue 18/Barbarian 2 because you get to pair Reckless Attack with Sneak Attack, Elusive, and Sudden Strike for some truly crazy damage in group fights at no cost. Even if you don't go Scout, Reckless Attack pairs so so well with Rogue's level 18 feature Elusive. The one downside is that you can't pair a level 2 feature from Barbarian with a level 18 feature from Rogue until you reach level 20, which means most games will not see you getting to combine those features.
Level 1:(see above) [barbarian 1 & race]
Level 2:(see above) [barbarian 2]
Level 3:(@15:10) [barbarian 3 & sub-class]
Level 4:(@21:34) [rogue 1]
Level 5:(@24:09) [barbarian 4 & ASI]
Level 6:(@24:41) [barbarian 5]
Level 7:(see above) [rogue 2]
Level 8:(@30:45) [rogue 3 & sub-class]
Level 9:(@33:43) [rogue 4 & ASI]
Level 10:(see above) [rogue 5]
Level 11:(@35:48) [rogue 6]
Level 12:(@36:15) [rogue 7]
Level 13:(@36:41) [rogue 8 & ASI]
Level 14:(see above) [rogue 9]
Level 15:(@41:34) [rogue 10 & ASI]
Level 16:(@41:54) [rogue 11]
Level 17:(@42:34) [rogue 12 & ASI].
My girlfriend and I always wait for these videos to come out! Excited for this one.
I'm actually playing the Blade part of your recent Mount & Blade build with a friend of mine who's playing a Strength-based Phantom Rogue who's focusing on Grappling to increase our tanking ability. DM allowed me to play a Small Warforged because it fit my original Custom Lineage justification and I've been having a blast!
Every time I suddenly think of a cool concept, I discover you already have a video for me to use for it.
Its beautiful.
A strength rogue is one of my favorite concepts I've never had the chance to play. Very excited for this video.
God I love this build. I used a flat STR based assassin rogue Half-Orc as my very first 5e character and I loved it. Wish I had thought of this because it looks like so much fun.
I've been kicking around a Brouge for a while, ever since I got the idea for a Kaz Brekker build, so I'm very excited to watch this!
I actually played an arcane trickster/ sorcerer to use quickened spell for double sneak attacks. You get plenty of spell slots which you can convert into points to do this most of the time (unless your DM throws like 4 encounters your way per day)
*Corrected Below*
Double sneak attacks? You know you can only apply Sneak Attack once per turn right? You can apply Sneak Attack on your turn and then on somewhere else's turn during opportunity attack.
Unless your talking about Magical Ambush. Which technically wouldn't work either. After you cast the first spell your no longer hidden. So wouldn't apply to 2nd spell. So, a little confused.
@@LiqwdE Like in the video, you can make 1 attack as a bonus action (quickened spell booming blade) and then Ready an Action to take the attack action during someone else's turn. Two sneak attacks per round!
@@Ramschat Thats true, thats true. Your wording threw me off. Double sneak attack vs 2 sneak attacks per round. But your totally right. I offer a thumbs up 👍 and an apology lol.
@@LiqwdE Hey, no problem! The reason my comment didn't go into detail is that at one point in the video, Colby mentioned this particular build and explained it there. But yeah, not everyone will have understood what I was referring to
I have also played a arcane trickster/sorc build and it was a ton of fun! Lots of utility cantrips + skill expertise makes you great out of combat, and double sneak attack + booming blade makes you great in combat. A very well rounded character with lots of things to do to keep it interesting.
Thanks boss. Hadn't put the berserker benefits together with this yet. Done rogue/barbs before but this is a whole new level
Holy frick, you've made me realize I can apply Sneak Attack through throwing Soulknife Rogue's Psychic Blades using Strength! This makes my Barbarogue WAY better!
I think the best barb/rogue build is Path of beast 6/soul knife X. When you attack with a claw, you get a free claw attack. Manifest your psychic blade and attack with that. Claw attack as the other attack and get a free claw attack. Bonus action your other psychic blade attack which is a d4. So 3d6+mods, 1d4+mod and then add your sneak attacks. This is basically deemed for a long term campaign or if you start in mid tier. But they both sync very well together.
I'd love it normally but how to fix such contrasting flavour!
@@CharalamposKoundourakis I've got it! This character feels like a Marvel character to me, somehow. A skilled assassin, genetically modified in a lab. Shifter would be the perfect race. The idea is that she was given a series of enhancements that included lycanthropy. She can not only fight like a panther, but she can cause her claws to be neurotoxic as well, dealing psychic damage. Overall, it's similar to Wolverine but with mental mutations on top of the claws.
@@oathboundhero1782 Niiiiice
In response to your in-video question "have I done a phantom rogue build before?" Yes you have! It was used in your "Blender" build, as part of the Battery & Blender duo team! I've actually made this character and can't wait to play her!!
Great video as always 🙏
Oh right! Thanks ;)
Only reason Tuesdays are bearable. Pop in the ear buds, keep working and listen to Colby talk builds. Sign me up.
Never been able to play a game of dnd in person so all of my experience with the game comes from videos and making character sheets like this
I watched this video awhile back and loved it. And as I have been making my own characters, I actually discovered something today that I'm not sure on, but it would achieve the same goal as this character without needing Berserker Barbarian. Technically, you can make an attack roll using the "Use an Object" action:
Use an object: You normally interact with an object while doing something else, such as when you draw a sword as part of an attack. When an object requires your action for its use, you take the Use an Object action. This action is also useful when you want to interact with more than one object on your turn.
The description is circular by my understanding, meaning that you can take the attack action to use an object, or take the use an object action to make an attack. The intent was *likely* meant for interacting with something like a poison or an Acid Vial, the ladder of which states:
As an action, you can splash the contents of this vial onto a creature within 5 feet of you or throw the vial up to 20 feet, shattering it on impact. In either case, make a ranged attack against a creature or object, treating the acid as an improvised weapon. On a hit, the target takes 2d6 acid damage.
So, if you can use the Use an object action to make a ranged attack with a vial of acid as an improvised weapon, you should also be able to use it to make an attack with a pocket knife, or a rapier you so happen to be holding. SO, the thief rogue can actually take an attack with its bonus action, hold its action, and then use its reaction to make an attack.
Edit: I hope you check your comments on old videos because I'd love to see the deep dive thief rogue build!
Very cool and thematic build, thank you!
Great video, I totally overlooked Sneak Attack with Strength. I usually use Haste to get double Sneak Attack. I use the Haste Action on my turn and hold my normal Action to attack on an Ally's turn. For a Dexterity Build, I would try an Elf with 12 levels of Phantom Rogue, 8 levels of Divine Soul, Meta Magic Adept, and Elven Accuracy. This would give you 2.5 Sneak Attacks per round, 6 Ability Score Options, 4 Meta Magic Options, 10 Sorcery Points, and access to Healing Spells, Mage Armor, Aid, Haste, Death Ward, etc. Mage Armor, Aid, and Death Ward all have an 8 hour spell duration without Concentration. As an Elf you could cast all of them with Extended Spell before each Trance and get your resources back after 4 hours, while still having 12 hours of spell duration left over after your Trance is complete.
Ooh I like this build, might do some number crunching to see how good it can be
@@benjaminwalker9369 I'm glad you find it interesting. I like that the Bonus Action is still free for use, a Fireball for instance.
This build sounds like fun. Haven’t really touched the phantom rogue so this could be a fun build.
@@knightghaleon Thank you, I'm glad you find it interesting. I like that the Bonus Action is still free for use, a Fireball for instance. Since Phantom Rogue is new to you, I want to point out that the 3rd level Phantom feature Whispers of the Dead and the Feat Keen Mind can get you all skill proficiencies.
You did a good job on this video.
Also, if you can get Scimitar of Speed, it will let you to take the attack action on your bonus action without having to make an attack with your attack action. Sorry for multi-posts
I think battlemaster for a regular rogue is great. Between precision, quick toss, riposte and brace you have a bunch of ways to get a second sneak attack or make sure your sneak attack lands. With the manoeuvre fighting style you get 5 dice as well.
"Now finding ways to build around this trick has given me many many hours of fun and theory crafting, im just kind of wierd that way" Spoken as a true nerd.
I salute you sir!
o/
Another benefit of starting with barbarian is the d12 hit dice. The extra HP is especially important for the first 2 levels.
22hp vs 18hp. Plus rage half damage? Ya. That's essentially 26 more hit points in the first 2 hit levels. GREAT POINT!
@@vinspad3 Once you add Uncanny Dodge to the half rage damage, your HP will last a long time.
One little thing that can pair well with berserker: 10 levels of moon druid gets you elemental wildshape, which are all immune to exhaustion.
Our table ditched the Exhaustion from Berserker. Making it a much more tenable Archetype (and even still, almost everyone just goes Bear Totem :'D )
For a build like this, I would probably consider Sentinel. It would give you more opportunity attacks, for more sneak attacks. This would be especially good if you chose to go with fighter levels instead of barbarian
I love the adlib song at the end.
It's worth noting that your ability to pick locks or disarm traps might still be perfectly fine as a Strength -based Rogue. Tools don't have built in or required ability scores to use, so as long as you flavor it the right way, you could end up making Strength (Thieves' Tools) checks pretty regularly. Plus, I don't know if you covered this (still mid-video), but free Expertise in Athletics is REALLY good, particularly on a high-Strength character.
Edit: That becomes extra important if your table allows you to attack twice on a readied attack. First attack: Shove prone, Second attack: Advantage attack.
why use thieves tools when you can use a crowbar. Be that kind of rogue.
Attacking twise on a readied attack would be preety non RAW
@@CharalamposKoundourakis Hence the "if"
@@GrrumpyPants *how you would argue str for a thieves tools check lol
@@lucasramey6427 “This lockpick, my friend, is a special-made sliver of Dwarven adamantine. Special-ordered from two continents away for 100 GP each. Nothing in this mundane world can break it.”
“Okay…but why do you need all that for a lockpick?”
“Ah, well! It turns out that if you run a lock through with an invincible metal spike, the lock doesn’t really work anymore”
I love the idea of playing a naval captain akin to davy jones with a similar build that you shared with us! With the choices of zealot barbarian for some added damage along with swashbuckler rogue. What is fun is to replace the rapier with a whip and extend your range by an additional 5 feet, which could mean it is easier to proc a reaction for sneak attack. Flavoring the offhand as a parrying dagger instead of a shield or simply dual wielding whips that could appear as tentacles would be incredible as well!
Point of Clarity: Reckless attack only gives advantage on Melee Attacks.
Melee weapon attacks yes
I love this combination. sneak attack with a STR weapon is something many people overlook.
I love Str Rogues, so I'm happy to see it featured here.
15:50 I love the small edit just to say "Pun intended" bshsjsn
The battlemaster route would work pretty slick with the soulknife.
A strength rogue is the character I was playing when I had my greatest moment in D&D so far; I dropped the troll back down the hole in the Yawning Portal during a Dragon Heist campaign with a well timed lariat {high strength, expertise in Athletics}, and some phenomenal dice luck. One day I will complete Phuge's {Assassin/Totem} story.
One of the best ways to get an optimized rogue is to duo with a party member.
A shadow sorcerer with one level of order cleric is so fun to play. Cast things like command, or blindness/deafness, and target both the enemy and the rogue. Whenever you target the friend, they get a reaction attack (every round).
The enemy gets a disadvantage on the save, and the rogue gets an opportunity attack out of it.
For example, "command"ing (upcast or twinned spell to target both) your rogue to "throw" might be something they were already going to do. On the other hand, the enemy might not want to throw his axe. Same goes for things like "hide" or "move" or "disengage".
As to upcasting blind/deafen, the enemy won't like being blinded, but your friend might not mind being deafened. If you are feeling risky, you can target the enemies and friendly with "slow" and just drop concentration if your rogue fails the save.
Your discussion of bonus action attacks got me thinking of a build I helped make for a friend a while ago when she wanted a wolf-themed shifter barbarian. While not an attack with a weapon, the longtooth shifter gives you a bonus action unarmed attack each turn, and I found that to be a great fit for the way of Mercy monk, since the Way of Harm lets you use ki to add damage to one unarmed attack a turn, and you can use your action to make attacks with a better non-monk weapon like a greatsword. And also necrotic bites are wicked cool.
We ended up with concluding that something between a 14-6 and 10-10 barbarian-monk split would be optimal for her build depending on how much you value more ki points or higher level barbarian features, but that was under the supposition that you had to use totem barbarian because that was the original build concept. I'm sure you could do some other clever multiclassing to get more out of it, though I'm not sure what. If you're going rogue/finesse with your main attack to be less MAD, then all your weapons can be monk weapons anyway and you're not benefitting anything from using the bite over your martial arts bonus action. We also play in an environment where uncommon magic items like Gauntlets of Ogre Power can be acquired fairly reliably, making the build less MAD.
Bottom line: Longtooth shifter lets you use the Way of Harm feature from Way of Mercy as a bonus action while wielding a heavy weapon or a special weapon with your main action. Make of this information what you will.
Awesome video, but, to be honest, the end outtakes were amazing and probably the part I enjoyed the most
I've tried to make strength rogues before....looking forward to this!
One thing you touched is sorc's quickened spell but you didn't take it far enough. granted it does take a 5 level sorc investment but the route to go is to quicken haste. use your haste action to make your sneak attack and use your normal action to ready an off-turn sneak attack. on a ranged build this works very well as it'll be hard to break that haste when you're kiting.
props on the phantom pick. imo it's quite underrated and imo is the best rogue at 9+ or the best main class rogue.
Silently screaming for rage made this little scenario pop in to my mind.
Did you just yawn and then rip them to shreds with your skewer stick?
I -- yeah, sure.
I think Swashbuckler rogue would've been better since it is a way more reliable way to always be able to sneak attack that doesn't need any extra resource (like familiar or party member casting a spell) for out of turn damage, but even so it's quite cool what you did and I like the thematical cohesion
a barbarian rogue, the type that when they get angry, they just get really fucking quiet
love it!
I like the thought of these barbarians using the hunting and fighting tactics of wild bugbears
Barb/Rogue is a surprisingly well-rounded, "badass normal" playstyle. Had the good fortune to play a grapple-focused Barb 5 (Ancestral Guardian) / Rogue (Phantom) X from level 12 to 18, and while it didn't focus on damage as much as this particular build, the team support, survivability, flexibility, and RP fuel were remarkable for a pure martial character. Even found a good use case for Mage Slayer in this mage-heavy campaign: a grappled+proned mage would either need to use up a spell and/or action to cast a teleport to get away, or risk casting another spell (that I'd resist with advantage 'cause within 5') and likely eating an off-turn Sneak Attack with a decent chance of failing Concentration checks at disadvantage. And once you hit level 13 in Phantom for Ghost Walk (particularly with Mobile and Barbarian 5 move bonus), you really do become a slasher genre villain, able to bypass most layers of security to show up behind (or above, or below) victims for a lethal jump scare and shrug off most damage.
This might be basic but I'd like to request an optimized build for the theme of the mercurial fey trickster.
A character that is hard to pin down, good at enchanting, charming, deceiving. That thrills in causing mischief and causing trouble often for others as well as himself but also being good at getting out of trouble (at least himself).
A character which plays into that being of the enchanted forest, that gains power from the moon and has a soothing voice or plays a captivating melody.
Basically a super-powered/optimized archfey warlock is what I had in mind. Maybe crossed with a circle of dreams druid (my thinking is control and support vs damage) another class (eloquence bard)?
But if you can do a PC in that theme that does good sustainable DPR I'd be thrilled with that too
• Eladrin (roll randomly at the end of every long rest to determine both season and gender)
• Genie Warlock: Ask your DM if you can randomly determine your element at the end of each long rest (Efreeti = Summer, Marid = Fall, Dao = Winter, & Djinni = Spring)
• Mask of Many Faces and Agonizing Blast eldritch invocations
• Pact of the Chain and familiar that changes form each long rest (Imp = Summer, Pseudodragon = Fall, Quasit = Winter, & Sprite = Spring)
There are so many things you can tweak and change in this build, it's really cool!
The battlemaster version of this build can definitely be interesting...
Cause there's so much you can play with with dexterity, like being an elf, getting elven accuracy, taking one level into hexblade lock, and suddenly you're a crit fishing rogue that can sneak attack twice per round that, when out if maneuvers, can make great use of extra attack and two weapon fighting
You have a decently high chance to crit when rolling 9 die a turn with a crit threshold of 19 and 20
With elven accuracy you can even wait on your sneak attack till you crit or till you do your last attack for turn
So no matter what your dps is sustainable
Extra attack says that "you can attack twice, instead of once, whenever you take the Attack action ON YOUR TURN." so doesn't that mean your readied action is only one attack?
Correct, a Reaction Attack does NOT benefit from Extra Attack.
Aye, going to pin a comment on this.
@@DnDDeepDive love listening to all of your builds, it's the highlight of my Tuesdays
I love the idea of this rogue having the medicine skill and a job at like a hospital or as a traveling doctor and either saving lives or taking a trinket when/if their patients die
Love the shirt. Def Leppard's Hysteria was the first tape I owned.
Great video! I'm currently making a barbrogue, using the beast Barbarian and swashbuckler so this caught my attention!
Downsides of berserker are definitely way too much for any of my tables.
If you really go barbarian 5 for extra attack, there is aso an option for non-frenzy rages (and even after-frenzy non-frenzy rages): you can doff your shield for grappling/shoving. STR+expertise athletics are enough for reliable success in most cases. Some of unescapable embrances of death
My preference for the Rogue subclass would probably be Scout (but you knew that!). Under the right circumstances, the Skirmisher class feature they get at Level 3 is abuse-able. Remembering the Dragonmarked Halfling Support Barbarian build, my take on this build would be a Strongheart Halfling, Path of the Totem Warrior/Scout. It'd be easy to blend those into a theme, and; at my table; we balance Variant Human and Custom Lineage by giving a racial feat from XGTE (EXCLUDING Elven Accuracy, Bountiful Luck and Second Chance) at Level 1. A little bone for flavor for people who like to roll old-school. So my Halfling Totem Scout would get Squat Nimbleness, at Level 1, which is a half-feat giving +1 to either STR or DEX, along with +5' of movement, proficiency in either Athletics or Acrobatics, and Advantage on Acrobatics or Athletics checks to escape grapples. I multiclass a LOT of Rogues (It's kind of my jam), and I always prefer to start Rogue in order to get all of the Skill Proficiencies. I look at it like free money.
I always look forward to your videos challenging my theses on theory crafting, and giving a different perspective and way of thinking about theory crafting. Never mind lifting the build, that's what I take away.
There is an unofficial setting for dnd, called “fateforge” or “dragon” (the French version) which has a feat with which you can ignore 1st level of exhaustion.
It’s a really nice setting with many modular things like madness or corruption. You definitely should check this if you want to add some stuff to vanilla dnd ❤️
Amazing Idea. Just mentioning that ranger 10 has tireless and you can combine with berseker to remove exhaustion on short rests.
Colby, I love your puns!
Could we get a “Pun Intended!” T-shirt in the future? I would totally buy one!
Idea: instead of Phantom, if you go Arcane Trickster, there are two cool spells you can use:
1. Jump- if you cast this right before combat starts, or turn 1 cast Jump and then rage, your essentially have a pseudo fly speed for that fight. And jump in non-concentration, so raging won’t interfere.
2. Find Familiar- your familiar can use the help action to give you the second instance of advantage you need for double sneak attack, and you can declare “the trigger for my held action will be when my familiar finishes using the help action”.
I love the idea. Thinking about It, you could do the same shenanigan with Haste. Using your main action for Ready and the extra one for a normal Attack. This way you'd still have the bonus action available, maybe for steady aim. Just swap the barbarian levels for Wizard/sorcerer. With 5° levels you'd have It twice per day, with 6°, three. Still more than the barbarian option, unless you accept being exhausted for the Better part of the campaign
For a Dexterity Build, I would try an Elf with 12 levels of Phantom Rogue, 8 levels of Divine Soul, Meta Magic Adept, and Elven Accuracy. This would give you 2.5 Sneak Attacks per round, 6 Ability Score Options, 4 Meta Magic Options, 10 Sorcery Points, and access to Healing Spells, Mage Armor, Aid, Haste, Death Ward, etc. Mage Armor, Aid, and Death Ward all have an 8 hour spell duration without Concentration. As an Elf you could cast all of them with Extended Spell before each Trance and get your resources back after 4 hours, while still having 12 hours of spell duration left over after your Trance is complete.
I love the bizlurker builds!!!!
You can as a cavalier make a special bonus attack against a target who is marked by Unwavering Mark at lvl 3. It is situational but you can do it. Rogue cavalier would be pretty cool, lots of oppertunity attacks
29:15 I'm glad you're not loosing any sleep over it, because you're going to need all that sleep.
After the discussion of how good it is to be able to take a bonus action attack without using an attack action first, I now understand why the 'Scimitar of Speed' is rated at very rare. It lets you make an attack as a bonus action, but nowhere does it say you had to attack as a main action first. It also means your off hand can be holding something like say a wand. In my case, I want one so I can get the bonus action attack when I use Booming Blade as extra damage and a little insurance that I'll get my sneak attack damage in.
I'm in the min 15 of the video, and I just realice where are you going... you dirty, dirty Colby. I like it.
My most consistent way to get off turn sneak attack. 3 levels of battle master and the rest rogue. Archery fighting style. Quick toss a dart on your bonus action. Hold your action to shoot an arrow at the beginning of the next turn. You also have brace and riposte if anyone gets into melee range.
I see you mentioned that. It works pretty well
Colby my take on this: high STR swashbuckler 3 / ancestral guardians 3 / battlemaster 3 is tactical base to get reaction sneak attacks without holding back on your turn: swashbuckler walks up and uses rage and reckless attack with dual wielding shortswords, then walks away free w no opportunity attack off to the side away from others; the enemy can now either attack w. Disadvantage &resistance against your allies, or he can come fight you w. Advantage but resistance. Once he comes into range Brace manuever kicks in for reaction attack at 1d8 extra, and swashbuckler's Audacity allows sneak attack off turn....also i went with forest gnome for Cunning so between race and classes I have advantage of some sort on STR, DEX, INT, WIS, CHA + proficiency in CON
The Double-Bladed scimitar would have been perfect if you didn't need to take the attack action first, to get the bonus action attack
Love your builds - thank you! I'd be really interested to see what you could do with the new Thri-Kreen race from Spell Jammer. Four arms have got to be good for something, yeah?
Built a similar but less creative barbarian/rogue for an opps all rogues/thieves' guild one shot. He was more focused on tanking, though, so he was Ancestral Guardians/Pantom. Liked how those two subclasses fit together thematically. He dual wielded brass knuckles (re-skinned daggers). Also used a build based off of your combat medic rogue to be the healer of that group.
Piercer is an amazing feat if you're using a lance. Rerolling a d12 if you roll low is super helpful
I played a Beast Barbarian/Scout Rogue. Very fun combo. I’m going to be interested in what Colby does this video!
That sounds super fun. Did you go barb 6 and then rogue?
@@CharalamposKoundourakis yeah that’s exactly what I did
I think Scout level 3 ability can be used to drag a grappled enemy on other peoples turns.
Bremer Dan gorst from the first law series is the perfect example of a character using strength with finesse weapons
Oh my god, this is straight up Fitzchivalry, just needs a ranger dip for animal companion. If only you could sneak attack with an axe
Cool.Sppoky. Useful!😁
Alternatively, (after a talk with your DM), for your second feat/ASI, you could take- hear me out- Keen Mind.
"Why would I ever need Keen Mind?!"- I already hear you asking. Well, the feat contains a point stating: "You can accurately recall anything you have seen or heard within the past month."
Ok? How do we use that? Well, the "Whispers of the Dead" ability from the phantom rogue subclass, allows you to gain a skill or tool proficiency of your choice, per short and long rest, as a ghostly presence shares it's knowledge with you.
I know, it's a bit cheesy, but that's why you need to discuss with your DM first and foremost. Technically, Keen Mind allows you to recall the knowledge you gained thanks to the Whispers, allowing you to keep the proficiencies? Provided you go through them every month.
So, essentially, you can be proficient in every tool and skill, which would make for a fun McGuiver character, with a lot of flavour.
Full marks for creativity :)
Alternative: beg/bribe your DM into giving your rogue a scimitar of speed. ;)
If you don't want to go Berserker, you could go Zealot and take Shifter Longtooth for your bonus action attacks. You'd push back Piercer and ST 20, but you'd get to burst more often and without exhaustion.
Arcane gunslinger next?
Medium armor master might be a good feat to consider. Get to use a higher DEX mod for our armor class, as well as not having disadvantage on Stealth checks with scale mail and half plate.
I would love to see another STR Rogue build without the Berserker subclass!
I really like going Elf Barbarian 5 (or 6 depending on subclass), taking Revenant Blade at lvl 4, and then going Rogue the rest of the way. 3 Reckless + Rage attacks + Sneak attack damage is pretty sweet
😄 I did the exact same oh hello seeing this week notification 😄
So two things.
1. I know this doesn't directly do anything for your damage, but going 6 into Barbarian gives you mindless rage. Being immune to Charms and fears while raging can come in clutch.
2. I'd say Swashbuckler is the best bet for guaranteeing that your reaction held attack gets sneak attack. Alternatively, going Inquisitive can also achieve this (but this relies on an ability check, which may be an issue).
I just built a character using the dungeon coach’s psion class and it’s looks so fun I’m playing it tomorrow in a one shot and I can’t wait I haven’t played in a while. For others who have that psion class I’m playing a arcane trickster 4 order of the hidden hands 6 41 average dmg on all attacks hitting
This is reminding me of a PF1 rogue option called the skulking slayer where an orc/half orc can sneak attack with 2h weapons and use larger sneak attack dice.
I get a strong Jason from Friday the 13 vibe, unrelenting and supernatural psychopath killer, crazy strong and lumbering but sneaky. I kind of like it!
I have come up with a similar concept but I use totem barbarian for some cool bonuses to sneak and my build is called "Rambo". I use a shortsword and reflavour it as a big army knife. I also use the wood elf for that sweet camuflage.