Low Level Builds III
I’ve been enjoying creating the character builds and figured I’d do another round of low-level builds. Today we are exploring the wonderful world of nature with two builds involving classes traditionally associated with the outdoors, the ranger and druid.
The Companion Rogue - Rogue/Beast Master Ranger Build
Race: Mark of Passage Human (+2 Dex., +1 Con., Courier Speed, Intuitive Motion, Magical Passage, Spells of the Mark)
Stats: Str. 10, Dex. 16, Con. 14, Int. 10, Wis. 14, Cha. 12
Proficiencies: Acrobatics +7 (expertise), Deception +3, Investigation +2, Perception +4, Persuasion +3, Stealth +7 (expertise).
1st level Rogue - Sneak Attack, Expertise.
2nd level Ranger - Favored Enemy, Natural Explorer.
3rd level Ranger (Ranger 2 / Rogue 1) - Fighting Style: Two-Weapon fighting, Spellcasting.
4th level Ranger (Ranger 3 / 1 Rogue 1) - Archetype: Beast Master, Primal Awareness, Ranger Companion.
5th level Ranger (Ranger 4 / Rogue 1) - ASI, +2 to Dexterity.
6th level Ranger (Ranger 5 / Rogue 1) - Extra Attack, +3 Proficiency bonus.
I’ll say this now, and it applies to every build I make - I know that people will argue about my stat distribution. I could boost both by Dexterity and Constitution to 17, but at the cost of a decent Wisdom and Charisma modifier. Since this is a low-level build having a 17 doesn’t add to my modifier, keeping both at 16 makes sense. It provides some flexibility and as always, I am sick of failing Wisdom saves in the early game.
We’ll travel to Eberron to take the Mark of Passage Human. Courier speed increases our base walking speed 35 ft., which makes it that much easier to get in close for our sneak attack. Magical Passage is utterly amazing for a rogue. Sneak up, make your sneak attack and use your bonus action to misty step out of danger. Brilliant! Since we are starting off as a rogue, this provides us with an early advantage until we can put our build plan into place. This ability doesn’t come online until 2nd level, but it’s worth the wait.
The next three levels are all in ranger so that we can take the beast master archetype and get our companion as quickly as possible. It doesn’t make any difference which favored enemy or terrain you take for this build, so take whatever your heart desires. Make sure to take hunter’s mark as a spell. Take two weapon fighting as your fighting style and you will have a bunch of different options once we get…
…our companion. This is the crux of this build, chosen at 4th level when we take our next level once again, in ranger. Your companion can be up to medium size and 1/4 CR, providing us with a plethora of options. I recommend taking wolf, although I also considered velociraptor. The wolf has the following stat and abilities;
Armor Class - 13. Hit Points - 11
Speed - 40 ft.
Skills - Perception +3, Stealth +4. Senses - Passive Perception 13
Pack Tactics. The wolf has advantage on attack rolls against a creature if at least one of the wolf's allies is within 5 feet of the creature and the ally isn't incapacitated.
Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +4 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 7 (2d4 + 2) piercing damage. If the target is a creature, it must succeed on a DC 11 Strength saving throw or be knocked prone.
What can we now do with our new friend? The most important thing to know is this. On your turn, you can command the beast to move with no action required by you, or use your action to take the Attack, Dash, Disengage, or Help action. You share your initiative. Done right, we always have advantage if we need it now, and there are a couple of ways to go about it.
Option 1
First, command your wolf companion into a position to provide advantage. Then move up to your target and make your attack(s). Use your action to attack, followed by your bonus action attack. If wielding two rapiers, then you’ll be looking at the following.
First melee attack, sneak attack bonus: Rapier 1d8 (4.5) + Sneak attack 1d6 (3.5) + 5 modifier = 13 damage. Second melee attack, no sneak attack: Rapier 1d8 (4.5) + 5 modifier = 9 damage.
Total - 22 points of piercing damage.
Upside - most attack damage of all options, can repeat next round.
Downside - both you and your companion are vulnerable to attack from your target. You can bet that it will be upset and want to hit you.
Option 2 - If you feel bad about abandoning your faithful companion, then you can change it up a bit.
First, move up to your target. Use your bonus action to cast hunter’s mark. Hold your attack action until an ally moves within five feet of your target, providing advantage. Next command your wolf companion to move to a point within 5 feet of your target, triggering your attack. Have your companion continuing moving with any additional movement, out of range of your target.
Melee attack, sneak attack bonus: Rapier 1d8 (4.5) + Sneak attack 1d6 (3.5) + 5 modifier + 1d6 Hunter’s Mark (3.5) = 16 piercing damage.
Upside - your companion is out of range on the target’s next turn
Downside - companion may be the victim of an attack of opportunity, you are vulnerable to attack from your target. You can bet that it will be upset and want to hit you.
As you can see, the first option is a much more viable option, but if you’re worried about your companion, and the target has already taken their reaction, this is the way to go.
This build gets even better at the 6th level as you should take two more levels in ranger. At the 4th level, take the ASI and put two points in Dexterity, increasing your bonus to +4. At 5th level, your proficiency is now +3 and you have an extra attack. Looking at the ranger companion description we can make one weapon attack ourselves when you command the beast to take the Attack action. We have the same options available above, but we add an attack, increasing our damage by 9 points. In addition, our new best friend provides some new options.
Option 3
Command companion to move up to target. Command wolf to attack. You then use your movement to move up to the target. Use your extra attack action, followed by your bonus action to attack again.
Wolf Attack -Bite 2d4 + 2 (7) + 4 your proficiency bonus = 11 piercing damage.
Extra Attack action, sneak Attack bonus, bonus action attack: Rapier 1d8 (4.5) + Sneak attack 1d6 (3.5) + 7 modifier = 15 piercing damage. Second melee attack, no sneak attack: Rapier 1d8 (4.5) + 7 modifier = 11 piercing damage, total = 26 piercing damage
Total damage - 37 piercing damage.
Option 4
Same as above, but use your bonus action to cast hunter’s mark on the target before you move in.
Wolf Attack -Bite 2d4 + 2 (7) + 4 your proficiency bonus = 11 piercing damage.
Bonus action hunter’s mark, extra Action attack, sneak attack bonus: Rapier 1d8 (4.5) + Sneak attack 1d6 (3.5) + 1d6 hunter’s mark (3.5) + 7 modifier = 18 piercing damage.
Total damage - 29 piercing damage.
Keep in mind that if one of the wolf’s attacks the target fails it Strength saving throw it is knocked prone. Now it can continue moving out of range of the target before you move and attack as being prone provides you with advantage! Below is the character sheet.
Next up, we are going to stay in the outdoors amongst nature as we’ll examine Nature’s Holy Protector.
The Smiting Bear - Aasimar Druid / Paladin
Race: Protector Aasimar (Wis. +1, Cha. +2, Darkvision, Celestial Resistance, Healing Hands, Light Bearer, Radiant Soul)
Stats: Str. 15, Dex. 10, Con. 12, Int. 8, Wis. 15, Cha. 15
Proficiencies: Arcana +1, Athletics +4, Intimidation +4, Perception +4.
1st level Druid - Take resistance & shillelagh Cantrips, 1st level must have is goodberry.
2nd level Druid 2 - Wild Shape, Circle of the Moon.
3rd level Druid 3 - 2nd level spells spike growth and/or healing spirit. Racial Ability- Radiant Soul
4th level Paladin (Druid 3 / Paladin 1) - Divine Sense, Lay on Hands.
5th level Paladin (Druid 3 / Paladin 2) - Fighting Style - Defense, Spellcasting, Divine Smite.
I wrote a seperate article about the low level Circle of the Moon Druid which you can find here. A quick recap of this build is as follows.
Shillelagh gives you a melee attack buff and resistance provides a valuable 1d4 to any saving throw. Goodberry provides healing, along with the chance for players to abuse the heck out of it.
Circle of the Moon & Wild Shape is an amazing combo which I’m sure you know about. So we don’t get bogged down, we’ll use everyone’s favorite beast in this build, the brown bear.
Brown Bear: AC 11, HP 35, Speed 40 ft., climb 30 ft., Multi-attack: 2 Attacks, Bite +6 to hit, 8 damage (1d8+4), Claw +6 to hit, 11 damage (2d6+4).
Transformation into the bear does not break concentration. Both most of our spells require it, but it’s not an issue. Getting healing and battlefield control while stomp around as a bear is crazy good.
At 3rd level, we also get a flashy new racial ability, Radiant Soul. Starting at the 3rd level, you can use your action to unleash the divine energy within yourself, causing your eyes to glimmer and two luminous, incorporeal wings to sprout from your back. Your eyes glow, you sprout wings, and channel radiant energy for 1 minute. You have a flying speed of 30 feet, and once per turn, you can deal extra radiant damage equal to your level to one target when you deal damage to it with an attack or a spell.
At the 4th level, we take our dip into paladin. Lay on Hands is nice, but isn’t going to set the world on fire, and Divine Sense is a largely forgotten ability. When we take our 2nd level in paladin at 5th level, things get fun. First, cast a concentration spell of your choice. For this example let’s cast divine favor for additional damage, spending a 1st level spell slot. Other great options are faerie fire for advantage on your attacks and barkskin to boost your bear’s AC to 16. Next, transform into your not-so-snuggly brown bear. When you attack and hit, drop a smite on the poor unsuspecting creature for additional radiant damage. Divine smite is not a spell, but a paladin ability, so that allows you to use a spell slot to rain down painful holy light on your enemies without breaking any rules.
So let’s look at your attack(s) as you bear down on your target (I apologize for the horrible pun).
First attack - Bite attack, smite: Bite 1d8+4 (8) + Divine Favor 1d4 (2.5) + Smite @ 2nd level 3d8 (13.5) = 24 total damage, 8 piercing, 16 radiant.
Second attack - Claw attack, smite: Claw 2d6+4 (11) + Divine Favor 1d4 (2.5) + Smite @ 2nd level 3d8 (13.5) = 27 total damage, 11 slashing, 16 radiant.
Total damage - 51 points of damage, 8 piercing, 11 slashing, 32 radiant.
Yeah, I’ll take that. Next round you can smite one more time at the 2nd level, then you’ll have three 1st level slots (2d8) to use to smite your foes. A brown bear has a Constitution of 16 (+3), so if you get hit you have a good chance of maintaining concentration on divine favor. In my humble opinion, this is a fun build, making an already powerful moon druid even more deadly.
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