Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves
A straddle Fighter / Rogue focusing on hand crossbows combine one of the most reproducible damage - dealer inDungeons & Dragonswith the acquisition versatility of the Rogue class . Multiclassing between the Fighter and Rogue course has often been good inD&D , and the current edition is no exclusion . The feat support makes the hand crossbow an ideal weapon for this character , and the fighter class features and Battlemaster archetype assistant ascertain accuracy .
As with many other optimum builds , like the polearm - focused Barbarian , the roll Fighter / Rogue is ideally a Variant Human . begin as Rogue rather than Fighter at stage 1 is advantageous , as the superior accomplishment proficiencies of the Rogue more than poise out the two - compass point difference in starting HP between the class . thespian should lead off with a 16 in manual dexterity and Constitution when using point buy , typically 14 in Wisdom to bolster Perception and Insight , and either a 10 in Intelligence to help with Investigation or a 10 in Charisma for societal acquirement .
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lead off with Expertise in Perception is generally the good choice , as a high Passive Perception aid with spotting many hole and ambushes . This pairs well with Expertise in Stealth to make the character an excellent watch , and it can aid in the first rhythm of battlewhen DMs use the Surprise rules correctly . Other Expertise choices might be dictated by the vogue of the game . expertness in Thieves Tools is utile with maw - heavy dungeon Australian crawl , while other games might call for more investigating checks , or societal skill like Deception and Persuasion ( and a higher Charisma score to go with them ) in the event the party does not have a social - focalize Bard graphic symbol , or other standardized original .
Feats Makes The Hand Crossbow One Of D&D’s Deadliest Weapons
The starting bonus substructure from Variant Human should be Crossbow Expert , offer a bonus action fire option and rule out both the disadvantage range quality usually suffer while engaged at melee range , as well as the limitation of the “ consignment ” attribute on crossbow weapon . D&Ddesigner Jeremy Crawford’sSage Advicecolumn clarifies that a character take to have a hand crossbow in one helping hand and nothing in their off script in monastic order to made extra attacks through the fillip activeness attempt afforded by Crossbow Expert or the Extra Attacks feature of the Fighter class .
At class stage 4 , the next feat should be Sharpshooter , which allows the character to push aside most cover charge penalties , fire at long range without disadvantage , and offers the option to take a -5 penalty to hit in substitution for +10 to damage . The combination of Crossbow Expert and Sharpshootermakes hired hand crossbows a muscular weapon system choiceand reach out their good chain to 120 feet without disadvantage - more than adequate for the vast majority ofD&Dbattles . Once these key effort have been find , the next two class levels that yield the choice between exploit and ability score increases should go into power scores to increase manual dexterity to 20 . Unlike Strength , there is no official item in 5eD&Dto interchange a character ’s Dexterity score , so natural increases are expect ( though a Manual of Quickness of Action could further increase Dexterity in high - magic game ) . The grapheme ’s later feat should go to Lucky and Toughness .
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Multiclassing to Fighteraids this build ’s accuracy , as even one Fighter grade allows access to the Archery Fighting Style which add +2 to hit with range artillery . This can help to offset the -5 to hit the character will be regularly look at for the Sharpshooter wrong incentive , and at Fighter point 3 , choose the Battle Master zep - class offers access to the Precision Attack maneuver . The Battle Master ’s pond of high quality die refresh with a short rest , and musician can practice these to turn near misses into lunar time period - turning hits with Precision Attack .
Fighters Excel At Damage, Rogue Levels Offer Versatility Out Of Battle
Multiclassing with at least five levels in Fighterfor Extra Attack is advisable , but the accurate split between Fighter and Rogue storey will diverge establish on the indigence of the game . A marksman - aided shot with a hand crossbow will do close to 18.5 to 21.5 point of impairment per dig on average ( calculate on magical arm memory access ) for a 20 Dexterity role . A split of Rogue 15 / Fighter 5 allow a aggregate of 8d6 Sneak Attack dice , which averages to 28 points of Sneak Attack damage , as well as three attacks per beat , include the Bonus Action plan of attack from Crossbow Expert . This split does between 83.5 to 92.5 points of terms per round on intermediate , get into all attacks make , and the character delivers sneak attack . Taking additional Fighter levels to realise another Extra Attack at Fighter story 11 leaves 9 Rogue levels , with 5d6 Sneak Attack Dice , averaging to 17.5 . This split permit for four attack per round regularly , increase average damage output to 91.5 to 103.5 , depending on magical weapon enhancement .
swipe attack damage can only be delivered once per turn , so the Rogue 9 / paladin 11 split provide higher-ranking damage on mean , in the conclusion , as well as more Superiority Dice to help with Precision Attack for accuracy . Forgames where otherD&Dparty membersroutinely engage the foe in melee , thus let consistent Sneak Attack for the ranged Rogue , the steady increase in damage over prison term from Sneak Attack could ply more immediate benefit . Considering the turgid gaps between levels where the Fighter gains an additional attack , this might give the edge to the Rogue 15 / champion 5 split . More Rogue level also put up more science - relate benefits , such as the Rogue 11 feature Reliable Talent .
Conversely , the same build could be accomplished as a single - classed Fighter , although even a single Rogue level significantly increase the character ’s service program outside of fight . The pure Fighter hand crossbow specialist will receive extra feats , which could allow for Resilience , for proficiency in Wisdom saving throws , or Alertness for a bonus to Initiative . The single - classed range Fighter will out - damage the multiclassed random variable at tier 20 , when they gain a third Extra Attack , averaging 92.5 to 107.5 damage with their five attack per round in total , without needing to bank on Sneak Attack , as well as nonpareil spike damage from the round the character makes nine attack per round by using Action Surge to take a 2d Attack Action . However , the steady growth in damage from Sneak Attack dice increases benefits of the multiclassed version more at low levels , and it has far more public utility outside of scrap .
Teamwork Can Make The D&D Crossbow Fighter Even Deadlier
Regardless of the precise split the player decides on to divide their levels between Fighter and Rogue , this build offers first-class ranged damage , assist in truth by the Fighter and Battlemaster feature . In addition to tolerate for Sneak Attacks , political party synergy inDungeons & Dragonscan declare oneself other way to boost accuracy . A caster providing Greater Invisibility to the paw - crossbow character , or the 8 - hr welfare of Foresight at higher levels can give Advantage to the ranged assaulter - alongside with the Superiority Dice used on Precision Attack - to help control hits .
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germ : Sage Advice
