D&D 5E [+]What Characters Are You Excited to Build?

[doctorbadwolf]

Soon we will have new updates to each class and race and many subclasses, many hugely improved over their 2014 incarnation.

So what characters are you excited to make with the new builds, assuming the most recent UA versions are pretty close to what we’ll see?

For me, I am dying to play a Fey Warlock, Assassin Rogue, and Open Hand or Mercy Monk.

But even more than those, I am excited for the Ranger, and especially the Beast Master.

Fey Warlock with Tome and later Chain, just teleporting all day and playing merry Hob with my enemies. Blade boon optional tbh.

Assassin Rogue has always frustrated me because frankly, it sucks. It’s boring, it’s too hyper focused on the (to me) boring infiltrating poisoner assassin, and it just kinda doesn’t work.
But the latest UA version looks great. Not good enough to abandon my Assassin class, but certainly fun. The Swashbuckler as well. Cunning Strike just puts the Rogue over into A++ territory for me.

The new Monk is absolutely killer. The stuff people want nerfed I don’t care about so even if it is nerfed I won’t notice. I can’t wait to play this Open Hand.

And I could do a whole post about the Ranger!

So what are yours? Do you also have any actual playtest characters you’re eager to update when the phb comes out??

 

[Mistwell]

I definitely want to play a monk. Not sure which one. Elemental looked pretty sweet once they can fly and carry others with them. Open Hand looks great too.

 

[doctorbadwolf]

I definitely want to play a monk. Not sure which one. Elemental looked pretty sweet once they can fly and carry others with them. Open Hand looks great too.

I really hope they make Elements look more like the second draft of the UA Hunter Ranger, where they put the choices back, but not as complicated as the 2014 version, but yeah it does look pretty sick.

 

[Charlaquin]

I already updated my warlock I’m playing in a very sporadic campaign to the UA7 version. I’m most interested to try out a rogue next, and I’m thinking of doing a one level monk dip for bonus action unarmed strikes to grapple and/or shove, which martial arts also now lets you use dex for. Between that and cunning strike, I’m hoping this character will make a great “martial controller,” tossing out Grappled, Prone, and Poisoned conditions left and right. That should also make it very easy to get advantage on melee attacks, so Vex is probably unnecessary, so I’m thinking of using the two weapon masteries on scimitars and clubs. Martial arts would make that a 1d6 weapon I could use with Dex, which doesn’t work with sneak attack since it doesn’t actually have finesse, but I can always swap to it just for the slow if I land a sneak attack on the first scimitar attack.

Thinking of making this character a gnoll, using the gnoll PC species from Exploring Eberron. The idea of a character who’s just a straight-up bully, shoving and dragging people all over the battlefield, tripping them, clubbing them while they’re down, and laughing like a manic hyena the whole time seems like a lot of fun.

 

[doctorbadwolf]

Ideally, for me, I’d want the elements monk to have 3 or so choices per subclass level, or just learn 2+ new techniques each time.

Like, at level 7, you learn X and Y techniques. Rather than just one. A little more choice in play.

And tbh I think thier whole idea of “some of these are just worse than others so we should just auto pick the best ones for the player” is just wrongheaded.

 

[doctorbadwolf]

I already updated my warlock I’m playing in a very sporadic campaign to the UA7 version. I’m most interested to try out a rogue next, and I’m thinking of doing a one level monk dip for bonus action unarmed strikes to grapple and/or shove, which martial arts also now lets you use dex for. Between that and cunning action, I’m hoping this character will make a great “martial controller,” tossing out Grappled, Prone, and Poisoned conditions left and right. That should also make it very easy to get advantage on melee attacks, so Vex is probably unnecessary, so I’m thinking of using the two weapon masteries on scimitars and clubs. Martial arts would make that a 1d6 weapon I could use with Dex, which doesn’t work with sneak attack since it doesn’t actually have finesse, but I can always swap to it just for the slow if I land a sneak attack on the first scimitar attack.

Thinking of making this character a gnoll, using the gnoll PC species from Eberron: Rising from the Last War. The idea of a character who’s just a straight-up bully, shoving and dragging people all over the battlefield, tripping them, clubbing them while they’re down, and laughing like a manic hyena the whole time seems like a lot of fun.

Not that it matters, but the Gnoll is in Exploring Eberron. 5e still lacks any official playable Gnoll.

Anyway, that sounds really fun actually.

A Rogue/Monk could be a really fun knife fighter, with 1d6 daggers and all the cool action economy stuff, and the option to use unarmed strikes instead of the second dagger as a BA when it makes more sense to trip someone or whatever.

I may have to take a good look at the Kensei monk and make sure it fits the new monk, because a swashbuckler/Kensei could be pretty dope.

 

[Charlaquin]

Not that it matters, but the Gnoll is in Exploring Eberron. 5e still lacks any official playable Gnoll.

Oh, right! Fixed. Fortunately I know the DM who’s game I would most likely play this character in is cool with 3PP.

Anyway, that sounds really fun actually.

A Rogue/Monk could be a really fun knife fighter, with 1d6 daggers and all the cool action economy stuff, and the option to use unarmed strikes instead of the second dagger as a BA when it makes more sense to trip someone or whatever.

I may have to take a good look at the Kensei monk and make sure it fits the new monk, because a swashbuckler/Kensei could be pretty dope.

Yeah, whatever weapons you go with, I think the new monk is a great multiclass combo with rogue. They do have a lot of stuff competing for the bonus action, but I just see that more as options to use as the situation demands. A lot of potential ways to sequence your turn, which is exactly the kind of tactical gameplay I really enjoy.

 

[ECMO3]

Soon we will have new updates to each class and race and many subclasses, many hugely improved over their 2014 incarnation.

So what characters are you excited to make with the new builds, assuming the most recent UA versions are pretty close to what we’ll see?

For me, I am dying to play a Fey Warlock, Assassin Rogue, and Open Hand or Mercy Monk.

But even more than those, I am excited for the Ranger, and especially the Beast Master.

Fey Warlock with Tome and later Chain, just teleporting all day and playing merry Hob with my enemies. Blade boon optional tbh.

Assassin Rogue has always frustrated me because frankly, it sucks. It’s boring, it’s too hyper focused on the (to me) boring infiltrating poisoner assassin, and it just kinda doesn’t work.
But the latest UA version looks great. Not good enough to abandon my Assassin class, but certainly fun. The Swashbuckler as well. Cunning Strike just puts the Rogue over into A++ territory for me.

The new Monk is absolutely killer. The stuff people want nerfed I don’t care about so even if it is nerfed I won’t notice. I can’t wait to play this Open Hand.

And I could do a whole post about the Ranger!

So what are yours? Do you also have any actual playtest characters you’re eager to update when the phb comes out??

I generally like the old classes and subclasses better than the new.

Feylock is an exception, I certainly want to try one of them, pact of the Chain with a sprite.

I like the new Assassin better than the old one, but probably not enough to play one. I also generally like the new Swashbuckler, but I don't like that Panache now uses Dexterity for DC, which makes no sense to me.

 

[doctorbadwolf]

Oh, right! Fixed. Fortunately I know the DM who’s game I would most likely play this character in is cool with 3PP.

Yeah, whatever weapons you go with, I think the new monk is a great multiclass combo with rogue. They do have a lot of stuff competing for the bonus action, but I just see that more as options to use as the situation demands. A lot of potential ways to sequence your turn, which is exactly the kind of tactical gameplay I really enjoy.

Hell yeah. It’s an excellent combo with nearly any subclasses of the two classes.

Als speaking of rogue, I might try to update my rogue/wizard to the new versions. He’s a swashbuckler/bladesinger, and it has really hit its stride at 6/4, but the new wizard should be interesting and the new Swashbuckler rogue is so much closer to what I want from a swashbuckler.

 

[O-Castitatis-Lilium]

I haven't even gotten to play 5E yet LOL!!! I'm the forever DM lol, but I'm excited to play nearly all the classes, but I guess that comes with never having actually played before lol.