Ultimate Purple Dragon Knight: Frontline Support Build

Fighter: Purple Dragon Knight

Frontline Support & Rogue/Paladin DPS Enabling Build

The Character:

"And th're, from the murky depths, cameth the beast: its most wondrous maw and vicious teeth did roar at me, and its many arms pummel'd mine own cater-cousins.  From behind the matt'd black hair of its visage did glow a single, r'd eye, and from yond eye did look into mine own soul and I kneweth mine own time hadst cometh."

The tavern sat enraptured at the visitor's evocative dialogue, gasping on cue, save for a fellow with a long-brimmed hat. He nearly glared a hole through Abraxas. Thankfully, tritons' amphibious nature made a nervous sweat impossible. They grinned and proceeded with a hypnotic lilt.

"Yet, in yond eye, I did see its weakness. I jett'd f'rth and plung'd mine own tapal," Abraxas hefted their strange, curved sword, blue metal gleaming in the candle light, "deep into the r'd gloweth and tdid scream in bloody protest.  Its ichor spill'd into the wat'r 'round me, its crustacean limbs j'rk'd in a death throweth, and I kneweth then yond I fell'd the beast and did save Solvale, and thus the surface w'rld, from utt'r destruction." Abraxas contorted their face into an aspect of triumph, and then, feigning a realization, one of deep sorrow. 

"But, nay," moaned the triton, "I cannot taketh the charge, f'r if 't be true mine own comrades w'ren't th're to distract the creature and loseth their lives to its chaps then...I wouldst not has't hath lived to deliv'r the killing blow. Their sacrifice still haunts me to this day, but somehow, someway, I wend on."

The hatted man had had enough and scoffed, turning back to the bar. "Curious," he finally spoke, "a kraken with jaws and teeth. I remember them to be beaked beasts. Arms, hair, a singular eye...are you sure you bested a kraken, stranger?" The crowd grew silent at the challenge.

The Concept: Build, Character, Backgrounds

On the surface (wink), the Purple Dragon Knight Fighter, aka the Banneret Fighter, is a very weak subclass. That is, if the expectation is to be a ferocious warrior oneself, the subclass is very weak. However, to my mind, there is more than one way to be a hero. The Purple Dragon Knight does its best work enabling the success of its teammates, specifically the melee damage-per-second (DPS) characters, allowing them to take the spotlight. On its own, without allies, an adventurer of this class is not winning any duels; however, when side-by-side with a powerful warrior, the power the combination unleashes may surprise. Plus, this pure support role given to the traditional soldier class makes for an interesting character prompt: a fighter who just isn't. How would they reconcile this? My answer to this question is Abraxas.

In a naïve attempt at heroism, they put the entire triton army that stands united against elemental evil at risk. Abraxas recklessly drew too close to the rift between the Prime Material and Elemental Plane of Water, so they were banished for their safety, that of their fellow tritons, and the surface world they protect. Their exposure to raw elemental arcana, though, provoked the interest of an undersea triton wizard faction who believed further magical manifestations and mutations might occur in time. Field testing their new abilities and reporting the findings to this faction might restore their status among their people, and so Abraxas clings to that hope. They leave for the surface out of shame, but maintain a lie that they are an emissary of the tritons, one of their strongest spellswords, sent to land to make connections and gather allies. 

They are full of it, and themselves, constantly boasting about what they accomplished beneath the waves to soothe their wounded ego and since no one can confront them with proof otherwise. While they are quite familiar with triton culture, their knowledge of the surface is dated, and that of military strategy and the Plane of Elemental Water is far from scholarly--they're not nearly as smart as they think they are. Their outlandish lies are easily seen through by those with extraplanar lore backgrounds or professional monster slayers. Maybe, in time, they would come to accept that being a mythically powerful one-man-army just wasn't their lot, and wasn't the only way to take pride in themselves. Maybe, with the acceptance of friends, they could learn to be honest with themselves and others. Maybe, though they weren't all too skilled at killing, they might come to recognize their natural charisma and ability to lead warriors who can and will kill for righteous reasons.

To fully optimize the Purple Dragon Knight, even skill proficiencies become important. So, while backgrounds are generally more for flavor, this support build should take its best choice: Faction Agent. This grants us proficiency in the Insight skill, which we'll need for reading social situations, and our choice of Charisma skill, so Deception. As a Fighter, we'll take Athletics and Intimidation proficiency. The final piece of our conversation-proficiency-triad, Persuasion, will be granted as a Banneret feature at Level 7 (see Royal Envoy below). Part of our role of support will be conflict resolution or problem solving through conversation, and in order to apply our best tool for the job (Deception, Intimidation, or Persuasion) we'll need to be able to gauge our fellow interlocutors.

The Race: Triton

Solely concerning stats, the half-elf is always a solid choice for a build that utilizes charisma; however, some ancestries offer stats and traits that could create similarly powerful and unique Banneret bodyguards. The runners-up include fallen aasimar, Levistus or Zariel-lineage tieflings, and metallic dragonborn.

However, the star of this selection is the triton. A +1 to STR, CON, and CHA fit the role and play of this build perfectly. Swim Speed, Amphibious, and the Emissary of the Sea (fish speak) trait are nice ribbons. The Guardians of the Depths (cold damage resistance) and Darkvision traits are similarly nice to have when needed, but the reason we chose this ancestry over the other viable options is the innate spellcasting from the Control Air & Water trait. The Fog Cloud and Wall of Water spells will pair with our Fighter features to provide us with a score of unique methods for supporting our party's DPS frontliner. We'll talk more about their specific uses when discussing the features they synergize with below: Fighting Style (Blind Fighting) and Magic Initiate (Sorcerer) respectively. As for Gust of Wind, its purposes are many but two stand out: 

1). grant +15ft movement (on a failed saving throw) for the frontliner to close with opponents

2). crowd control via reducing enemies' movement speed, slowing their approach

The Stat Spread (Point Buy):

STR 16 (+3), CHA 16 (+3), CON 14 (+3), DEX 10 (+0), WIS 10 (+0), INT 8 (-1)

   15 (9pts)        15 (9pts)         13 (5pts)         10 (2pts)        10 (2pts)      8 (0pts)

Previously, I've made use of 5E's "Standard Array" (15, 14, 13, 12, 10, 8) for determining the stats of our Unloved Ultimate builds and the alternate "Point-Buy" system for the more multi-attribute-dependent (MAD) builds of the Optimum Suboptimum Opusculum; however, as the Banneret fighter is MAD and in need of a number of feats, we'll use the latter method in order to maximize our power. 

We prioritize Strength as we'll be making use of heavy armor--Abraxas wouldn't be much of a bodyguard with a flimsy AC--and will continue to increase it to boost our melee accuracy and damage. Charisma is as high as this build will take it right at the start because while the Purple Dragon Knight subclass provides quite a few Persuasion-based bonuses, there are none that warrant prioritizing CHA as our main stat. Lastly, Constitution is high not only for HP but for maintaining concentration on our innate spellcasting. Using the ability score increases (ABIs) at Levels 12 and 19 to boost our stats, our final spread leaves our Strength at 20, with the rest of our stats remaining the same.

The Class: Notable Features

Fighting Style: Abraxas will eventually utilize two fighting styles that synergize with one another and with the Control Air & Water spell Fog Cloud. At Level 1, we begin with the Protection style.

"When a creature you can see attacks a target other than you that is within 5 feet of you, you can use your reaction to impose disadvantage on the attack roll. You must be wielding a shield." -- PHB, pg. 72

Part of our two-pronged role as frontline support is protecting the party's main melee damage dealer, and this fighting style allows just that. As long as we remain at our ward's side, we can use our best judgement and make it far less likely that a big hit ever connects, turning many die worth of damage into zero. We chose Protection over the Interception fighting style for that specific reason: while Interception allows for guaranteed damage reduction, Protection allows for likely damage nullification. 

Later, at Level 4, we will take the Fighting Initiate feat (as detailed in the Feats section below) in order to take the Blind Fighting fighting style.

"You have blindsight with a range of 10 feet. Within that range, you can effectively see anything that isn't behind total cover, even if you're blinded or in darkness. Moreover, you can see an invisible creature within that range, unless the creature successfully hides from you." -- TCoE, pg. 41

This choice synergizes both with our previous fighting style and Fog Cloud. Regarding the former, Protection stipulates that we must be able to see the attacker to impose disadvantage. So, with Blind Fighting, the attacker will always be visible to us so long as they are within 10 feet. To that point, let's talk about Fog Cloud.

"You create a 20-foot-radius sphere of fog centered on a point within range. The sphere spreads around corners, and its area is heavily obscured." -- PHB, pg. 243

Heavily obscured areas render creatures within them blind, forcing their attacks to be made with disadvantage and granting advantage on attacks made against them; however, the 20-foot-radius sphere if centered on us makes half of the space, the interior, visible to us with our 10 feet of blindsight. It is possible that our frontliner does not also have blindsight, though. So, Fog Cloud is best used as a defensive maneuver in that case. While it renders our compatriot blind, it does the same to all nearby assailants and we can guide our ward in a safe direction with our foes none the wiser. If the enemy is somehow immune to the fog's obscuration, such as with truesight, we still always have Protection. Just think of this spell as a smoke grenade for escape.

In the event that the party composition was planned for and optimized, though (which I recommend to accommodate the Banneret's role as a pure support class), this is a deadly offensive tool. In one round, two players with blindsight can have one activate a Fog Cloud while the other makes powerful attacks with advantage. In proceeding rounds, both players can make advantaged attacks and have a significant amount of protection against enemies, all by Level 4. 

Rallying Cry: A middle ground between the Mass Healing Word and Mass Cure Wounds spell, this ability can be used for keeping the party on their feet, but more importantly for getting them back on their feet. 

It's likely our party has a main healer in the form of a cleric, druid, bard, artificer, or other class, so often its best to leave the healing up to them; however, our job of support involves supporting the healer as well. Sometimes there's just too much damage for one healer to mitigate, and in that scenario Rallying Cry can be a bit of a top-off for our injured allies.

Eventually, though, there will come a time where the healer is indisposed and a total-party-kill seems inevitable: multiple allies are at 0HP and making death saving throws, and others are on their way to the same fate. One of those downed characters might even be the party's main healer. This is when Rallying Cry really shines. Restoring HP to multiple unconscious allies is the catalyst for a fighting chance, a complete comeback. If the cleric is restored, suddenly they can cast mass healing spells and restore the party even further, or at least beat a hasty retreat with the group. 

Royal Envoy: Supporting Abraxas' fellow adventurers doesn't end on the battlefield. Effective Expertise (x2 proficiency bonus) in Persuasion allows us to be the face of the party and do two things: 

1) Problem solving/conflict resolution that doesn't involve or circumvents combat

2) Freeing up skill roles for other party members

It goes without saying that not all conflict must end in a fight, and a good enough Persuasion roll might just be enough to de-escalate dangerous dealings. There's no better way to protect the frontliner than them not entering a fight at all. Not only that, but being the charismatic face is a role in high-demand, and it often becomes the burden of the party bard or rogue to shoulder it. With it in our toolbelt though, we can allow our party composition to be skill diverse and free our Expertise users to make interesting and diverse choices for their bonuses that benefit the party in nontraditional ways.

Inspiring Surge: I would argue this feature is the signature ability of the Banneret and indicative of it's goal in general: when Abraxas uses a classic Fighter feature now their allies can share in the glory. Action Surge grants us an extra action to use on our turn, only now thanks to Inspiring Surge it also grants one of our allies (two @ Level 18) within 60 feet an extra melee/ranged attack as a reaction.

This feature is why we're classifying Abraxas as specifically frontline support and not general support. Each class specializing in melee DPS has a feature that they can incorporate into their attack (even when not their turn) to enhance it in some way. Listed below are the best frontline classes to utilize this free attack: cyan is best, green is good, and orange is okay.

Rogue: Sneak Attack relies on us or an ally being in place to grant it, but should we set it up correctly it potentially adds 10d6 extra damage in a round.

Paladin: Divine Smite allows for our paladin ally to pump a potential 5d8 extra radiant damage per round into a foe, 6d8 if its a fiend or undead!

Monk: Contingent on a failed CON save, an extra shot at Stunning Strike could be tide turning, not to mention subclass-based attack options.

Fighter: Dependent on subclass, this is either great or useless. An extra Maneuver from a Battle Master or Fire Rune from a Rune Knight are good! A regular hit from a Champion--just okay.

Barbarian: Rage grants a guaranteed +4 to the attack's damage, and that's about it. Like the Fighter, depending on subclass this extra attack can be boosted but not by much, such as with Divine Fury or Thunderous Blows. If the attack is a critical hit, a 5% chance, Brutal Critical would apply as well.

Bulwark: Indomitable, effectively the Legendary Resistance trait, makes us a warrior of myth able to shrug off even the most brutal of failures by rerolling failed saving throws. Bulwark allows us to extend that grace to one of our nearby allies. Since we're spending our time ideally only 5 feet away from our frontliner, it's not unlikely we'll both be targeted with area of effect spells. If everything goes the worst and we both fail, we can make it possible that we both succeed instead by granting a reroll: a nice insurance policy for our playstyle.

Feats: All for One and One for All

The Banneret's features are situational, but good, and they just need a little support to make them great. Thankfully, Fighters get access to more ABIs and feats than any other class, totaling 7! We'll take the following feats in the order below at Levels 4, 6, 8, 14, and 16.

Fighting Initiate (Blind Fighting): as described above, Blind Fighting will allow us to make the most use of our innate casting of Fog Cloud as well as ensure that our Protection style is always useable.

Sentinel: our goal is not only to protect the frontliner but enable them in battle. Sentinel is useful for both. It ensures that opponents will never flee our primary DPS dealer with guaranteed opportunity attacks and successful strikes reducing opponents' speed to 0. Also, now we have two potential uses for our reaction: Protection to prevent a big hit or Sentinel to attack if the assailant's hits are negligible or their health is low.

Magic Initiate (Sorcerer): Abraxas' close brush with the Elemental Plane of Water empowered them with control of air and water, but wild magic can linger dormant and mutate on a whim. As their warrior prowess grew, so too did the sorcerous surge within.

This feat affords us a couple cantrips and a first-level spell of our choice. It is crucial that we have access to the Ray of Frost cantrip for reasons we'll explore below, which limits our choices to the Artificer, Sorcerer, and Wizard variants of this feat. Artificer offers healing/defensive spells like Cure Wounds and Sanctuary while Wizard provides utility options like Cause Fear and False Life. However, we've gone with the Sorcerer variant to be able to utilize Charisma as our spellcasting modifier.

Excluding Ray of Frost, cantrips like Green Flame Blade and Lightning Lure are useful melee options while Friends is great for our Persuasion rolls. Ultimately, though, Booming Blade gives us a means of ensuring multi-opponent lockdown and is our best pick. If we feel that more than one foe might flee, we can save our Sentinel opportunity attack for a healthier/more important opponent to keep near while using Booming Blade to either finish off a low HP opponent who may try to flee or discourage an opponent who knows the spell's effect from running. For our first-level spell, Thunderwave  and Shield are good offensive and defensive possibilities though with our cantrip selection, Charm Person will serve us best and round-out our spell repertoire. 

On its own, Ray of Frost is nice in that it provides us with a ranged option with unlimited ammo and level-scaling damage, and its secondary effect of reducing a target's speed by 10 feet is also nice for crowd control. That effect in particular synergizes with Gust of Wind also. However, its synergy with Wall of Water is especially interesting. 

"You create a wall of water on the ground at a point you can see within range. You can make the wall up to 30 feet long, 10 feet high, and 1 foot thick, or you can make a ringed wall up to 20 feet in diameter, 20 feet high, and 1 foot thick. ...Any ranged weapon attack that enters the wall’s space has disadvantage on the attack roll, and fire damage is halved if the fire effect passes through the wall to reach its target." -- XGtE, pg. 170

The effects of this spell are the biggest reasons Triton was the best ancestry for our frontline support role. All the others had something to offer, but access to a powerful, 3rd-level defensive spell is something else. While it is technically the weakest of the wall spells, it still has much to offer, but none so much as when paired with an ice spell like Ray of Frost:

"Spells that deal cold damage that pass through the wall cause the area of the wall they pass through to freeze solid (at least a 5-foot-square section is frozen). Each 5-foot-square frozen section has AC 5 and 15 hit points. Reducing a frozen section to 0 hit points destroys it. When a section is destroyed, the wall’s water doesn’t fill it."

With this effect, as long as we're creative, there are a multitude of defensive options we can employ:

1). Zig-Zag Barrier: if we need to make a passageway impassable, we can cast the wall in a zig-zag pattern and cast Ray of Frost clear through with its 60ft range, freezing every 5-foot panel in one go and creating a 90HP obstacle between our opponents and ourselves so long as the walkway is only 5-feet wide.

2). Ice Colosseum: the wall in liquid form is best defending against ranged attackers and spellcasters, but it is better in ice form against melee combatants. If there is time enough to cast Wall of Water and then Ray of Frost for all 8 panels of the ring wall variant (6 seconds per cast, so a minute total), we can force opponents to waste time breaking through to get to us. They'll likely only destroy one panel, which creates a choke point to funnel them through into an ambush. If not, they waste more time attacking the wall, and not our party.

These are just the most common applications. The possibilities are endless.

Martial Adept: we've already taken a little from the Eldritch Knight Fighter with our spellcasting. Now it's time to take from the Battle Master. This feat is best taken by Battle Masters themselves for extra Maneuvers considering the paltry 1d6 superiority die we gain with it, but there are two maneuvers that specifically compliment the Purple Dragon Knight's existing features and elevate them.

1). Commander's Strike: our attacks are tame. We exist to enable damage from our DPS-focused teammates. Inspiring Surge already procs an extra attack from them, but by sacrificing one of our two attacks (and a bonus action) we can proc another. So, utilizing both features in one round, we can enable a Paladin to get off 4 smites in one round, or a Rogue to get 4 sneak attacks. Essentially, this is granting them a full Action Surge without having to lose two levels to a Fighter multiclass. If they are multiclassed to have their own Action Surge, though, this grants them a second--and might be reason enough to take this feat earlier than 14th level.

2). Commanding Presence: with Expertise, we have a pretty hefty bonus to Persuasion already, but are lacking bonus versatility for other situations. A potential +1d6 to Performance and Intimidation could make up for that, or +1d6 to our already high Persuasion could ensure success against nigh impossible odds. This also rounds out our feat, allowing us to make use of it in non-combat scenarios.

Inspiring Leader: before every risk of battle, we can grant our party 19 temporary HP at 16th level when we take this feat and 23 by 20th level. This is an enormous boon that can soak up more than one hit per fight. At this point, the major features of our build are set, so everything else is just gravy. Its known that Inspiring Leader is slightly better at the lower levels, but its not bad at the higher levels, and all we took before was foundational for our build. 

Some other good options for feats if we roll for stats and don't need as many ability score increases include Slasher (Booming Blade + Sentinel should be enough incentive to lock opponents down but pairing it with Slasher just tightens the lock, and the speed penalty also synergizes with Ray of Frost); Healer (the ability to revive our downed ward or an important teammate, maybe the healer themselves, after our Rallying Cry is expended could be very good in a pinch); Shield Master (a +2 to DEX saving throws and full negation of damage is good, but the bonus action shove to knock a foe prone can be a real boon for gaining advantage without Fog Cloud up).

Play Style: Set Up for Success

Pre-Battle: At higher levels, Inspiring Leader should always be done right after a rest. Before we have access to that feat, though, setting up Wall of Water or our ice colosseum variant of it especially is a pre-battle must so long as we can anticipate combat. Otherwise, positioning is key. At all times, we need to be adjacent to our frontliner. Create and practice formations with the party beforehand to maximize their support of the two-person frontlining team that is Abraxas and their ward. Ideally, Wall of Water will be set up in such a way that to get around its ranged/spellcasting damper attackers will have to move themselves into a position that makes them vulnerable to our party members who are hiding behind cover and/or have ranged attacks/spells of their own held and ready for firing.

Early Battle: Waiting until enemies have drawn near unsuspectingly is the most effective time to use Fog Cloud offensively. Enemies might be hesitant to enter an existing fog, but entering its area of effect before it exists ensures maximum number of enemies affected. The same principle goes for Gust of Wind. Ultimately, crowd control is the name of the game for the early game. At this point in the fight, its crucial to manage the number of enemies that get within melee of our frontliner. The ideal number of foes up-close is one, and two maximum (one for both Abraxas and their partner). This way, our one use of Protection per round can keep our ally unscathed rather than merely less damaged.

Mid-Late Battle: Finishing the fight decisively is what the Banneret was meant for. All of our resources should be saved for the final hour. Rallying Cry is best when used to rouse an unconscious party for a second chance. Inspiring Surge, in partnership with Commander's Strike, should be used when the enemy is weaker but still has enough fight to be a danger. Using both at once, we deliver a powerful finishing series of blows rather than allowing the enemy to flee when near death. Bulwark should be saved for the attacks/spells enemies are saving for the end for the same reason we're saving our Inspiring Surge. If things take a turn for the absolute worst, though, late-game is the time to employ Fog Cloud defensively. It can facilitate an escape against all but the most perceptive enemies.

Roleplay: 80% of the Ocean is Unexplored...

Before considering personality, it is important to remember that life underwater is not just thematically different from the surface--it is fundamentally so. The sea is alien to surface dwellers.

For starters, language. Speaking on land is easy as the air carries words much farther than water. The Aquan dialect of Primordial that is Abraxas' first language is likely more akin to whale song or the dolphin language: wails and whistles of varying pitch and length that carry farther through the thick sea. Tritons also likely utilize oral tradition over written records, as the water would wash away ink and carved tablets would eventually become eroded by the movement of the ocean. 

Movement is also very different. Triton are used to 3D mobility whereas the land restricts. As a result, Abraxas might be constantly checking above and behind, afraid of their shackled legs and potentially feeling claustrophobic so stuck to the ground. Their fighting style with their tapal, a triton weapon meant for underwater combat shaped like a boomerang-longsword, might also utilize movements and attacks that are less effective on land or that trip them up in combat.

Triton with a tapal (left) and triton 3D fighting (right)

As for eating, fire is an impossibility for the most part. Caves with air pockets are possible, and undersea volcanic vents exist, but mostly cooking food with fire is impractical. They may use acid in undersea plants or traded citrus fruits to create ceviche, or eat raw sushi and kelp. So, it is safe to assume most triton food is bland, and the spices we use may either addict them or overwhelm their unchallenged guts. 

Regarding culture, tritons are rather isolated and may have outdated information about the surface. Abraxas may speak in antiquated Common (old English/Anglo-Saxon), their knowledge of science/magic may be dated (flat earth, earth-centric solar system, etc.), and their memory of surface-dweller customs may be irrelevant. There are a million ways life underwater might affect Abraxas' behavior and physiology, so be on the lookout for fish-out-of-water roleplay moments to capitalize on.

In terms of personality, we've established Abraxas is a pathological liar, at least at the start. Their ego really cannot handle the hit of their banishment, so they tell stories of life beneath the waves to compensate. Their natural charisma and general lack of knowledge of triton society among surfacers allows them to get away with it among the commoners, but I like to think its a bit more transparent to the party. If not, though, their arrogance is certainly palpable. Tritons view themselves as vital to the safety of the air-breathing races, and in many ways they are, so they expect respect and deference even though most are ignorant of what their people has done for the land.

Unintentionally, the feats that best compliment Abraxas' class features invoke the idea of leadership or a military commander. I'd like to think that as they spend more time on land and build their practical knowledge, battle prowess, etc., and learn to capitalize on what they're actually good at, leading, they gain real war stories to share rather than having to feign a heroic past. They also have a band of loyal adventurers to show for all their effort. 

As for the triton wizards guild back home, I've left them vague to be developed by the player and the DM. Abraxas could make regular reports back, the faction could wind up intending to use them for nefarious ends and they must truly fight a kraken, or (my personal favorite) Abraxas decides that as they grow more renowned on land that they don't need to return to Solvale, they're doing just as much in their own way on their own turf, and abandons the faction. Regardless of what is chosen, be sure that it guides Abraxas down a path of self-actualization rather than back to where they started.

Conclusion:

The Purple Dragon Knight is uniquely underwhelming in many ways. It needs a significant amount of help to make it a choice worth taking--should those choices be taken though, as laid out above, it can be a real enabler of DPS more than any other class! There's something special and humbling about one's character being all about making the other party members shine. There are a plethora of classes that play a support role, but none that carry as much flavor as a well-intentioned warrior, with little to no magic, simply bringing out the best in their friends and winning the day for it. As always, I wish those future Bannerets luck in their adventuring and that they have as much fun playing Abraxas as I had building them, or whatever character they choose to make with the race, stats and abilities of the build!

Character Sheets:

Level 1 Character Sheet

Level 20 Character Sheet

Ability Score Increase Change in 'Tasha's Cauldron of Everything'

The New Rule

To those without access to the D&D 5th Edition (5E) companion book, Tasha's Cauldron of Everything (TCoE), here is the quote from page 7 adjusting the Ability Score Increase (ABI) trait:

"...you may ignore your Ability Score Increase trait and assign ability score increases tailored to

your character. Here's how to do it: take any ability score increase you gain in your race or subrace and apply it to an ability score of your choice. If you gain more than one increase, you can't apply those increases to the same ability score, and you can't increase a score above 20.

    For example, if the Ability Score Increase trait of your race or subrace increases your Constitution by 2 and your Wisdom by 1 , you could instead increase your Intelligence by 2 and your Charisma by 1."

My Thoughts About the Change

Ultimately, I think this is a real positive. Not confining new characters to specific roles based on their heritage overcomes some challenging and outdated ideas and increases freedom of choice for character concepts. Congratulations, orcs, wizardry is finally within your purview!

There is only one minor negative, however...

    This is a change I feel should have been introduced with a new D&D 5.5 Edition, as it throws off the existing balance of 5E. Now, the best choice of race is the variant human for a starting feat or the mountain dwarf for its two +2 stat modifiers which can now be assigned to any stat. There are reasons to choose others for their ribbon abilities in very niche situations, and in non-min-maxing scenarios this is entirely irrelevant, but when crafting mechanically optimized characters there are now only two real choices.

    As long as it isn't pursued to a toxic end, "mechanics-first" gameplay shouldn't be discounted as a valid playstyle! I find a lot of joy in creating my characters' stories by starting with the mechanics and justifying them through personality and history. One of my favorite DMs, Brennan Lee Mulligan, said it best in his interview with D&D Beyond's Amy Dallen:

"What I have often found about starting with the story, if you start to get an idea of your character, is that you sometimes get backed into weird positions... . You go, like, "I have a perfect vision for this fantasy character" and then you're taking class selections and you're going, like, "Well, I want druid spells, but I don't necessarily think Wild Shape is right for my character to have" and you end up with...having to accommodate mechanics. 

    So, especially for one-shots, one of the things I like to do is set a mechanical objective, like "most damage in a single round," and then write the character around all the goofy stuff I chose: where I go, like, "I guess this assassin paladin is a rabbit!" and [my objective becomes] "Make that make sense."

My Homebrew Variant

To counter this mechanics-based penalization of variety in my 5E home-games, I've ruled it so that going forward players must treat their selection like the new races introduced in expansions post-TCoE such as the Harengon in The Wild Beyond the Witchlight:

"Increase one ability score by 2, and increase a different one by 1, or increase three different scores by 1."

I don't imagine this will be my "homebrew" for long, though. I suspect this will be the overall rule in the inevitable next edition, whether that be 5.5 or 6th. 

What This Means for Future Builds Here

Rather than make builds using my own homebrewed rule, which feels inapplicable to many people's home games, or now be limited by only two race options, which will kill my creativity and enjoyment, I have decided on the following:

-I will be ignoring the TCoE ABI rule as far as this blog's optimized 5E builds goes.

    -Were I not to do this, nearly every character I created would be a human or dwarf, and that's just not fun (for me)!

-When the inevitable 5.5E or 6E releases, I will follow the new rules for the ABI trait for builds of that edition, as it will have been considered in the balance, but I will continue to follow the old ABI trait rules for 5E builds for the same reasons as stated above.

    -I will also reorganize the blog into different edition categories for ease of navigation, as well.

I hope I've summarized my thoughts here well, but should you have any questions, feel free to leave them in the comments and I'll respond as regularly as possible!

Optimal Ranger/Warlock (Part 1): Eyes in the Back of Your Head

 Eyes in the Back of Your Head

Ranger/Warlock Multiclass Build: Part 1

The Character:

It wasn't a beach. It wasn't seafoam that bubbled around his knees, but angry spit. It wasn't land, but chiton, and they weren't puddles, but eyes, thousands of eyes staring up at them. In all his years as navigator, Lochan had never made an error, but at least this would be his first and last.

"Lochan," whispered the bosun, "w-what is this?"

The captain stepped forward, all eyes beneath their feet swiveling to follow his movement, emotionless. He raised his cutlass, tip pointed at the eye closest to him. "What are you shaking for, bilge rats? Start carving out Far Realm eyes or it'll be your heads." He plunged his blade deep, black swirling and staining the milky white pool. 

The band stepped forward, hands on weapons, courage restored as the captain flashed a gold-toothed grin. In an instant he was gone, and in the next his coat crumpled to the ground, empty, a hoard of horseshoe crabs scuttling out from beneath the clothes and between their legs. The boots of any they scuttled over suffered a similar fate. It was too fast to scream.

The Concept: Build, Character, Backgrounds

Excluding Unearthed Arcana reconstructions, the Ranger class is infamous for being one of the weakest classes in D&D 5e. However, it is also known as one of the strongest options for a multiclass dip as a lot of its best features are front-loaded. Now, when I say "good for a multiclass dip," that usually doesn't refer to a multiclass pairing with another half-caster that uses a different spellcasting ability . . . but that's exactly what we're doing today. Warlock and Ranger have more in common than one might think and, as always, when combining classes we look for the similarities to anchor our character with. The biggest aspect the two classes share is a thematic relationship with monsters, whether as prey, companions, or patrons. Now, Warlocks are so versatile that I found there are two very different but equally viable builds for this multiclass. Thus, we're doing something unprecedented up to this point for Classes in Session: both builds will be published here, with this entry standing as Part 1. 

Acanthopleura granulata

Luring ships to their end in aberration-infested waters was the piratical forte of the New North. Subsequently, its crew was also talented at slaying aberrations...for obvious reasons. One would be surprised how much an alchemist is willing to pay for an under-the-table morkoth's beak. When dealing with beings from the Far Realm, though, scholars advise it is often better to let sleeping dogs lie. Barrelman Lochan Blackhate served as the eyes of the New North, alerting its crew when prey of any kind, mortal or alien, was nearby. He failed, though, the night his ship ran aground on a mysterious island, spelling the end for his days of monotonous raiding. Thousands of eyes stared up at the pirates from beneath chitinous turf, considering them with complete indifference, yet the crew suffered horrifying changes under their gaze.  Considering the state of some of his fellows, Lochan thought himself quite lucky to escape with only the many eyes that now sprouted from his scalp. Upon returning to shore, he sought a lover of his: a wizard named Chaunta. She lodged in port nearby to study the alien life that took harbour in the waters there, and would have answers for him. Her academic curiosity and his newfound investment in her field of study brought the two closer together than ever before. 

After his fateful contact with the creature, Lochan was burdened with an insatiable drive to see the shores of all distant lands and hear the whispers of each creature who walked upon them, though for what purpose neither he nor Chaunta knew. They dubbed it his "Call to the Sea," and it became the focal point of their investigation into the creature's motives. Now, Lochan sails incognito with different ships, covering his deformed skull, following the pull to foreign lands in hopes that he and his lover might glean some insight into what the creature wants. It wasn't until either in port, or at sea, that he encountered a promising adventuring party whose ranks he infiltrated--if any individuals were strong enough to help him seek answers, it would be they. 

The intentions of Lochan's abnormal patron, as well as why the seas surrounding it are infested with alien life, are purposely left vague here to be determined by the DM of the campaign Lochan is played in. It's an easy way to get the DM invested in Lochan's story, creates a potential story arc, and leaves a fun investigation for the players to solve with the help of NPC Chaunta. Lochan's patron is based on the undersea life known as Acanthopleura granulata, or the "Sea Cradle," a creature with many eyes all across its back. Many aberrations are described as looking vaguely aquatic, and its said that at the very limit of sight in the Far Realm drift huge multi-layer shapes, vaguely resembling creatures of the deepest ocean. I thought it might be fun to explore that a bit further by creating the mysterious chiton-themed old one that lurks at the bottom of Lochan's sea. In regards to mechanics, we've chosen the Sailor/Pirate character background for its proficiencies in Athletics and Perception, both necessary skills for an infiltrator build. Lochan is a murderous thief, as is the case for most pirates, and for that reason we've chosen a Lawful Evil alignment for him. He is not, however, a wanton murderer, taking life left and right. He does it when it benefits him, particularly if it will make him richer. Most importantly he does it when its easy and convenient for him, out of the sight of authorities. If he can just rob someone without taking their life, that's a lot less work, and he'll likely opt for that. Make sure when playing evil-aligned characters to remember that they are still people with nuanced personalities and motivations, and not to have them killing every NPC that aggravates them, else you risk aggravating the DM and your fellow players.

The Race: Half-Elf

Originally, my idea for this build was a Githyanki pirate sailing the astral sea, pledged to the star they guide their ship by. Unbeknownst to them that star is the dying body of a horror in the Far Realm. Feel free to take this concept, of course. However, this series of builds is meant for optimizing a suboptimal class combo, so for this reason we'll be going with the Half-Elf for full min-maxing capability. The +2 CHA, +1 DEX, +1 WIS, proficiency in two skills (Acrobatics, Stealth), and additional language proficiency (Aquan), put our heavily multi-attribute dependent (MAD) build in the best place possible.

The Stat Spread (Point Buy):

DEX 16 (+3), CHA 16 (+3), CON 14 (+2), WIS 13 (+1), STR 8 (-1), INT 8 (-1)

    15 (9pts)        14 (7pts)         14 (7pts)         12 (4pts)        8 (0pts)      8 (0pts)

As will be the case with most of these Optimum Suboptimum Opusculum builds, this multiclass is highly MAD, so point-buy works best. DEX is our primary source of damage, yes, but more important for a scout its what determines our stealth rolls, so we want this stat to eventually be our highest. Most of our spells will be from the Warlock, so we want CHA to be our second highest for spell attack rolls and spell save DCs. Even though we'll be fighting from a distance, as hefty a pool of HP as we can manage is always important, so CON comes in third. We need at least a 13 WIS to multiclass to Ranger (that is, if we were starting as Warlock), but more importantly, a key feature has as many uses as our WIS modifier so we want that to be moderately high. STR and INT will be our dump stats. The 4 ABIs we gain access to with this build will be used as follows: substituted for the Observant feat first (boosting our WIS by 1 making our modifier +2), used to boost DEX by 2, substituted for the Skulker feat, and finally used to boost DEX by 2 one last time. This should leave us with DEX 20 & WIS 14.

The Classes: Notable Features & Synergies

Monster Slayer Conclave Ranger (5)

Great Old One Patron Warlock (15)

The first of our two Ranger/Warlock multiclasses will focus on the role of scouting. Our main goal is to be an expert of infiltration and intel gathering. 

Combining the Monster Slayer Conclave Ranger's tracking abilities, cloaking spells, and buffs to perception with the Great Old One Patron Warlock's magically enhanced telepathic abilities, expanded spell list, and various invocations, we can create a versatile spy. For infiltration, we can sneak into enemy quarters ourselves with the aid of magic, send our thrall in as an inside-man, or scry from a distance. For scouting, no walls, or even skulls, will keep information from us. Our eyes see all, our ears hear all--there are no more secrets.

Primary Weapon: Longbow (Two-handed, Ranged) -- Since we'll benefit our scouting role by remaining in stealth, we want to be shooting from the shadows with this weapon most of the time (this also takes advantage of the Skulker feat which we'll discuss later).

Secondary Weapon: Rapier (Finesse) -- It's impossible to avoid getting into close quarters with every single enemy fought over the course of a campaign. For those encounters where we must engage in melee, the rapier is the best DEX-based melee weapon we can utilize.

Tertiary Weapon: Dagger (Finesse, Light, Thrown 20/60) -- In games where RAW is king, using a longbow requires arrows for ammunition. In the event of arrows running out during a long fight, the dagger can substitute as a DEX-based ranged attack, albeit with much less power and accuracy.

An Ixitxachitl, or 'Demon Ray,'
a deadly aquatic aberration

Key Ranger Features:

-Favored Enemy: Aberrations (with Deep Speech language proficiency). Many of the most powerful aquatic monsters fall under this category, including the aboleth, chuul, and morkoth. Notable exceptions include dragon turtles and amphibious dragons, storm giants, marid djinn and other water elementals, the kraken monstrosity, "giant" varieties of underwater beasts like the giant squid, and humanoid races such as the Sahuagin. Favoring any of these categories is also a solid choice, but those that are less useful are celestials, constructs, fey, fiends, oozes, plants, and undead.

-Natural Explorer: Our favored terrain should be Coast, naturally. As a DM, I interpret "Coast" to include the sea, and not just be the line between mainland and ocean, and I feel like any reasonable game master would feel the same. The doubled proficiency bonus to scouting abilities (Perception) on favored terrain are the first step to achieving ultimate barrelman status.

-Fighting Style: Archery. Lochan isn't built for melee, and if we're doing our job right, our enemies should never know he's there in the first place; therefore, distance is key. Should we need to axe a guard or two in our way while in an enemy stronghold, Dishonored style, we can do so from a distance with an expertly placed arrow. Should we be fighting a boss, keeping our distance suits our scouting-selves just fine also. 

-Hunter's Sense: This feature by itself is truly why we chose the Monster Slayer conclave for our ranger. 

"You gain the ability to peer at a creature and magically discern 

how best to hurt it. As an action...You immediately learn whether the 

creature has any damage immunities, resistances, or vulnerabilities 

and what they are." -- XGTE, pg. 43

Now, before even discussing the multitude of multiclass synergies we can get up to with this feature, let's just analyze what this means for our scout on its own. For one, no big bad can surprise us with a damage immunity or resistance and waste one of our party members' big spells. Secondly, never again do we have to approach a battle with the big bad in the dark. Instead, we can spy on them and learn their weaknesses in the span of 6 seconds, a mere action. There is, however, a catch:

"...choose one creature you can see within 60 feet of you."

With a sight-based range like 60 feet, this feature requires us to get pretty close to our foe to work, which puts us at risk of being revealed and killed without our party nearby to aid . . . or does it? This feature is good, but solely in the hands of the Monster Slayer Ranger it could use some help. This is where our Warlock levels come in. Yes, we took 15 levels of Warlock pretty much just to buff this feature, and to be honest, it is absolutely worth it.

Key Warlock Features:

-Pact Boon: Pact of the Chain. For a character meant to fulfill a scouting role, a familiar is a welcome boon. Plus, who could pass up the opportunity to give a pirate character a parrot companion? Technically, though, we'll choose the sprite as our familiar for its ability to go invisible and read alignments. As far as I know, the sprite's Heart Sight feature is the only way to learn another creature's alignment definitively. We'll just say for the sake of flavor that aside from his multiple new eyes and 'Call to the Sea,' Lochan gained a strange arcane link with his pet bird who was equally transformed by their patron's alien magics. We can explain the longbow attack away as a Stymphalian bird-like ability to fire its feathers at a foe; this is a parrot touched by the Far Realms after all, no ordinary beast.

-Awakened Mind: And thus begins our path of buffing Hunter's Sense, as well as our general scouting capabilities. Should we not have the luxury of preparing for a fight before hand, we can use our Hunter's Sense at the top of combat and then share our findings telepathically to our allies via Awakened Mind, ensuring our opponent cannot plan for our knowledge of its weaknesses. However, telepathy with a range of 30 feet has many more uses. Get creative with this feature while infiltrating: scare a guard out of the way, create a distraction, give the party a silent signal to act, etc.

  -Thought Shield: Its not impossible despite all our skill that we get caught while infiltrating. No doubt soon after our arrest we'll be interrogated, and depending on who we've been spying on they may have magical means of making us talk. Well, no longer. With Thought Shield, our mind is our own. Additionally, as our favored enemies are aberrations, being resistant to psychic damage (and being able to reflect it back) fits our scout perfectly and makes taking those monsters down even easier.

-Create Thrall:

A Stymphalian bird

Hunter's Sense is to Ranger as Create Thrall is to Warlock. This feature is the pièce de résistance of our Warlock levels. 

"You gain the ability to infect a humanoid's mind with the alien 

magic of your patron....That creature is then charmed by you [indefinitely]...[and] you can communicate telepathically with the charmed creature as long as the two of you are on the same plane of existence." -- PHB, pg. 110

The issue with charm spells is that they have a time limit. If you want an inside man, you need to have a trusted ally talented enough to pass themselves off as loyal to your foe. This is a very special, and rare, relationship to have with an NPC. Well, no longer must you rely on such a thing. The lich king's highest ranking necromancer, leader of all his cults, stands in your way? Nope; now he reports to you. And, more importantly, once your use with him is finished, and your main quarry changes, he can be disposed of and a new mind infected. This feature is already extremely powerful, but then enters the Gaze of Two Minds invocation:

"You can use your action to touch a willing humanoid

and perceive through its senses." -- PHB, pg. 111

Now, a mind infected with the foreign will of our eldritch master sure does qualify as "willing" to me. So, now we can perceive through and speak into the mind of our charmed humanoid. We can see what they see, hear what they hear, and then telepathically tell them what to do/say in response. But that's not all! We're a multiclassed Ranger. What else can we do when seeing a creature? As per Hunter's Sense, we can learn their immunities, resistances, and vulnerabilities. Now, some DMs may contest this by arguing what the definition of 'sight' is and whether or not it must be from your own body's eyes, but I would argue that if you're perceiving everything through the body of this charmed figure, you are "seeing." This also means we can cast Hunter's Sense through our familiar even before we gain access to the Gaze of Two Minds invocation. This method provides all the same benefits of the Create Thrall + Hunter's Sense synergy, save for if our familiar's invisibility is seen through we make our enemies suspicious, and we cannot sculpt conversations with the BBEG like we can with Create Thrall. For this reason, Create Thrall is strictly an upgrade.

No longer must we hide in the shadows, hoping to overhear a conversation of great importance (though we can choose to in the right circumstances). Now, we can be there for all the important conversations, and tailor our inside man's responses. We are the puppet master, and the BBEG our newest marionette.

-Eldritch Invocations:

        - Beguiling Influence: proficiency in Deception and Persuasion rounds out our scouting skills and allows us to gain intel by talking when viable.

        -Devil's Sight: as a half-elf, we already have Darkvision, but automatically bypassing magical darkness and receiving a 60 foot buff to our regular Darkvision is a great boon for our scout.

        - Gaze of Two Minds: we can make better use of Create Thrall -- our charmed humanoid will be willing to allow us to see through them, and when doing so, if we chose our thrall wisely, we can utilize their status as a member of the institution we're infiltrating to get close to enemies. Since we can communicate with our thrall telepathically over any distance, we can also feed them lines.

        - Ghostly Gaze: when scouting, the ability to see through solid walls/objects allows us to more easily pinpoint creatures/items of interest, be immune to truesight, and use Hunter's Sense on a target that's not out in the open without risk of being heard or bumped into by them (like if we were invisible).

        - Gift of the Depths: we are a pirate pledged to an aquatic horror, so if this option wasn't already fitting thematically, it becomes so mechanically for infiltrating in the briny depths: we can sneak onto ships by remaining fully underwater, or sneak into forts by swimming through their moat. 

        - Shroud of Shadows: unlimited casts of Invisibility is incredible for our scout. When we cannot rely on our thrall, or hiding in plain sight, we can resort to good old fashioned sneaking. Witch Sight is another valid option for our 15th-level prerequisite invocation, as it frees up our 8th-level spell slot for something other than Truesight, but unlimited casts of Invisibility is just too good to pass up.

        - Voice of the Chain Master: we can already perceive through our familiar and telepathically communicate with it out to a range of 100 feet as per the Find Familiar spell, but Voice of the Chain Master extends that range to infinity so long as Lochan and his parrot are on the same plane of existence. The additional ability to speak through the familiar can also save us a Sending spell if we're beyond our Awakened Mind feature's range.

Spells: 

-Ranger Spells: There's a reason we took specifically 5 levels of Ranger. While, yes, doing so robs us of our 9th level Mystic Arcanum, it does grant us access to 2nd level Ranger spells, all of which are immeasurably useful for scouting, especially one in particular. Pass without Trace is the goose that lays the golden egg. A flat +10 to stealth checks without requiring concentration is unbelievably valuable for our scout, especially when paired with Shroud of Shadows, and since only Rangers and Druids gain access to this spell, this synergy is only possible with this unique multiclass. 

-Monster Slayer Magic: Lochan isn't all that bulky, so Protection from Evil & Good is a great option for keeping us alive during the more dangerous scraps. Zone of Truth, our 2nd level subclass spell, fits perfectly with our spy. While, yes, this spell is helpful during interrogation, there's no end to its uses when cast from stealth, through a wall, onto two of your quarries mid-conversation...just saying.

-Warlock Spells: Since spell slots are rarer than diamonds for this spellcasting class, cantrip choice is of the utmost importance: not a single one can be wasted. 

We begin with Chill Touch. Despite the misleading name, this spell has a range of 120 feet, and deals necrotic damage. We're not in it for the d8s, though. This cantrip offers the unique debuff of preventing healing for a round. With our intel gathering, we should know whether or not creatures can self-heal or have allies that can heal them, and this will put a stop to it. We take Frostbite as our second cantrip for similar reasons: not for the cold damage, but for the disadvantage it imposes on attacks. Friends (when paired with the Beguiling Influence invocation) is great for getting information through conversation, and Minor Illusion can allow us to get up to some antics while infiltrating without having to waste a spell slot--creating sounds to draw away guards, leading guards into their fort's own traps, etc.

In regards to Warlock spells, we should focus on taking charms and illusions, with a few notable exceptions to make our infiltrating lives easier, such as Comprehend Languages. This spell is great when trying to listen in on non-aberration and non-aquatic foes. Also, its a better option for us than Tongues because as the Pact Magic feature states in Chapter 6...

"If you have both the Spellcasting class feature 

and the Pact Magic class feature from the Warlock class, 

you can use the spell slots you gain from the Pact Magic feature 

to cast spells you know or have prepared from classes with the Spellcasting class feature, 

and you can use the spell slots you gain from  the Spellcasting class feature 

to cast Warlock spells you know." -- PHB, pg. 164

Essentially, what this means for us is that we can use either our 1st or 2nd level Ranger spell slots to cast the admittedly slightly worse version of Tongues, Comprehend Languages, multiple times and without the burden of burning through our precious few 5th level Warlock spell slots. Detect Thoughts allows us to gain intel that isn't conveniently discussed in the open for us to hear. Spider Climb gives us easier access to fortresses that require climbing to sneak into and makes up for our negative STR modifier. In the same vein, Gaseous Form can help us squeeze through brick walls or through keyholes, or to make a quick escape out a window. 

In terms of manipulating others, Enemies Abound is a very niche spell, but one I think an infiltrator can make great use of. Making a target aggressive toward all nearby creatures is an effect that is quite potent when deep in enemy territory. Suddenly, a powerful general can kill a swathe of their soldiers before being killed in turn, eliminating two large threats. Alternatively, someone that would be more accessible to the party if they were in the dungeons could be sent there as punishment for attacking the castle guard while under the influence of this spell. Major Image, when paired with our Ghostly Gaze invocation and cast through walls, is a great sewer of chaos. Sending is for if our allies happen to be further than 30 feet away, where Awakened Mind cannot reach them. Many strongholds are guarded by monsters or powerful animals, so Charm Monster and Dominate Beast are our key to slipping in without raising suspicion. Dominate Person is of a similar use, but for the much more dangerous mortals that patrol fortresses. 

Our damage dealing options are deprioritized (and limited) but Arms of Hadar is nice support and, as an archer, its nice to have at least one option for dealing with melee combatants that get too close. The spell's additional effect of eating reactions allows us to retreat without taking a slew of opportunity attacks. Summon Aberration is an effective spell to concentrate on in battle for dealing damage to crowds when picking off a bigger single threat with Hunter's Mark and our bow isn't the right call. 

Lastly, every good scout does their research first, and scouts with access to divinatory magics are the best at this. Sometimes the only person who might know something we want to know is an omnipotent extraplanar horror. Contact Other Plane is the spell we can use to contact our patron or some other knowledgeable sea spirit for answers about cosmic truths or secrets so secure even we cannot unearth them. Before infiltrating a fort, or picking a mark for Create Thrall, we should spend several in-game days Scrying on the location/person to gain as much intel from a distance as possible. This way, we're not going into a highly dangerous situation blind. We might even be able to memorize the layout of a fortress before ever stepping foot inside, that is, if its not protected from probing divination.

-Mystic Arcanum: As it turns out, there are some fantastic spells for scouting at higher levels for Warlocks. For our 6th level, we'll take True Seeing. Paired with our Ghostly Gaze invocation, we can see invisible/the true forms of creatures even through solid surfaces. Nothing can hide from us. For 7th level, we'll take Plane Shift. If our thrall is far away, or even stationed on another plane of existence, we need to be able to physically reach them in order to activate Gaze of Two Minds. Additionally, it's just handy for moving about the multiverse. Finally, for 8th level, we'll take Glibness. Immunity to Zone of Truth and Beguiling-Influence-boosted, guaranteed-15 rolls for CHA checks makes us quite literally the world's greatest speaker. We could pull information from anyone we wanted, even when not in their skin, say, like when we're speaking through our thrall to the BBEG.

Unique Multiclass Synergies:

Hunter's Sense + Awakened Mind = Quietly telling on our enemies to our allies!

Hunter's Sense + Pact of the Chain = Sneaky weakness identification!

Hunter's Sense + Create Thrall + Gaze of Two Minds = The ultimate inside man!

Hunter's Sense + Ghostly Gaze = Analyzing foes behind the safety of solid walls!

Entropic Ward + Ranger's Medium Armor Proficiency + Slayer's Prey (& Hunter's Mark) = I left mention of Entropic Ward until now because it's not all too important to the build, but when paired with these additional Ranger features it receives a significant boost! Entropic Ward is as follows:

"When a creature makes an attack

roll against you, you can use your reaction to impose

disadvantage on that roll. If the attack misses you, your

next attack roll against the creature has advantage if you

make it before the end of your next turn." -- PHB, pg. 110

Now, Warlocks in general aren't too heavily armored, but since we'll be starting in the Ranger class, we have medium armor proficiency, meaning we have a higher AC than the typical Warlock. This in turn means that when using Entropic Ward, attacks have a higher chance of missing thereby triggering the effect. Pair all of this with our Ranger feature Slayer's Prey (which adds 1d6 damage to attacks) and Ranger spell Hunter's Mark (which adds another 1d6), and we have an attack that deals 1d8+2d6 (not including modifiers) with a higher chance of rolling a critical hit thanks to the advantage. A max roll crit from this attack is a whopping 40 damage (again, not including modifiers)! Not too bad for a non-DPS focused build.

The Feats: Always Watching...

Feats take our spy from well-informed to omnipotent. Even the inability to hear conversations is no longer a barrier to listening in with Observant, so long as we can see, and with Skulker we can always see. We're always watching. And if someone watches for us, Skulker (along with all our other stealth buffs) keeps us safe and sound in the shadows.

Observant: we gain a +5 bonus to our passive Perception and Investigation, meaning only the absolute highest of stealth rolls will escape our notice. More importantly, we now gain the ability to read lips. Pair this ability with our Ghostly Gaze invocation and we can now overhear conversations from several rooms away! 

Skulker: dim light and darkness no longer put our Perception at disadvantage. With our Perception buffs from the Observant feat, our Natural Explorer feature, our Devil's Sight and Ghostly Gaze invocations, and our True Seeing spell, there should never be anything that we cannot see. Who needs a lighthouse when a sailing ship has us in the crow's nest? Being able to hide when only slightly obscured is also useful when infiltrating, as not every corridor has a convenient barrel to hide in. With Skulker, we approach true Skyrim levels of being able to press the sneak button right in front of an enemy and no longer existing in their world. Lastly, the built-in cushion of being able to miss a bow attack from stealth and not being revealed automatically is a comfort.

While these are the most optimal feats, if you roll for Lochan's stats rather than using point-buy and have a few extra ABIs to spare, these options could be considered: Actor (plain sight infiltration), Crossbow Expert (allows for a DPS upgrade from the longbow to heavy crossbow), Elven Accuracy (for buffing the critical hit chance of Entropic Ward even further), Medium Armor Master (no stealth disadvantage for best medium armor which also buffs Entropic Ward), Sharpshooter (extra ranged damage).

Leveling: When to Take What

(1-5) Ranger -- We begin this build as the Ranger, and rarely enough for multiclass builds, we'll simply take all our planned levels in Ranger and then switch to Warlock for the remainder of the build. The Ranger is the supreme choice to begin with for its medium armor and martial weapon proficiency. We'll focus on leveling it to its maximum of 5 for the quickest access to Natural Explorer, an ABI, the Extra Attack feature, and the Pass without Trace spell. Pass without Trace is good, but it is best at lower levels. We want to be able to rely on it to carry us through the lower levels of Warlock and the power disparity that will occur when we switch classes.

(6-20) Warlock -- gaining Create Thrall at 19th level is a bummer, but our other familiar and charm spells should substitute for it just fine until then. It's the end-game organizations and bosses that we need the best infiltration tactics for anyway, so this is not a huge loss.

Playstyle: “I think the deeper we go, the less likelihood we'll have of being recognized as something unwanted. It's like the human body - the greatest density of pain receptors lies in the skin.” ― Alastair Reynolds, Revelation Space

Pre-Battle: while we are not a battle-focused build, battle is no doubt a key component of D&D gameplay. So, if we have time to prepare for a fight, we should utilize Hunter's Sense, either through our thrall, our familiar, or worst case scenario, our own eyes, and communicate what we learn with our party. Using Primeval Awareness is also a good idea if we have the time in order to gauge how many enemies we're up against. Lastly, we should cast Pass without Trace on ourselves (and the party) and take the Hide action, aided by Skulker. If we're of high enough level, we should utilize the Shroud of Shadows invocation as well.

Early Battle: if killing a single target is our main concern, we should lead off the fight by placing Hunter's Mark and Slayer's Prey on the foe. If crowd control is a concern, utilize Summon Aberration and pick off targets with singular, but weaker, bow shots. Ideally, with the aid of Skulker, Pass without Trace, and Shroud of Shadows, our location should never be discovered. If it is, though, make use of Entropic Ward when attacks miss us. If we need to focus on debuffing, use Chill Touch to prevent a target from healing (or an undead target from attacking you) and use Frostbite to cripple a dangerous melee attacker. If we need to split a large group into more manageable chunks, make use of Major Image or any of our charm/dominate spells to trick/attack enemies, breaking their ranks.

Mid-Late Battle: if we've charmed/dominated a foe, use them against their allies, having them attack with full force. Otherwise, continue laying on either the arrow attacks or the debuffing cantrips until the foes are downed. There's not much that requires too complex a strategy for this build in combat.

Scouting/Infiltrating: generally, this section won't contain a description of non-combat play, as the various scenarios that take place outside of combat are so vast that its difficult to write a catch-all for them. I also prefer to leave that bit of creativity up to the individual player; however, as this build focuses so heavily on infiltrating enemy strongholds, I'll lay out the basic tools at Lochan's disposal when doing so. 

    -Preparation: if possible, we should be scouting long before hand with an inside man via Create Thrall or another charm spell (and using Hunter's Sense). If this is not an option, using the Scry spell is our next best bet. We should cast it several times over the course of a few days if time is not an issue to fully memorize the layout of the place, the number of foes inside, who quarters where, guard patrol paths and times, etc. We should also cast Contact other Plane with any questions we may have to help us gain a clearer picture. Primeval Awareness when we are within range is a means of determining how many foes are within. Using Locate Object if we're looking to steal something will help us plan out our path as well. When we're right about to infilitrate, casting Comprehend Languages on ourselves is always a good idea just in case. Pass without Trace should most certainly be active, also.

    -Execution: first we must consider how we're getting in. Ideally, we'll be invisible, whether that be via a spell or the Shroud of Shadows invocation at higher levels. If we must parkour, casting Spider Climb is the way, or potentially Gaseous Form (though I would save this spell for infiltrating through solid walls or making a quick escape as it consumes one of our Warlock spell slots). If we must walk in in plain-view, say in a costume, we should use our 8th level Mystic Arcanum, Glibness. If there are guard beasts, or monsters, Dominate Beast and Charm Monster are our greatest friends. We should cast Find Traps at our planned point of entry just to be sure we aren't walking into something we can't get ourselves out of. Finally, once we're in, we cast our 6th level Mystic Arcanum, True Seeing. This spell, paired with our Devil's Sight and Ghostly Gaze invocations, means we should be able to see everything in the fort, and so long as we can see we can also hear thanks to Observant. If we don't feel confident sneaking in somewhere, we can send our invisible parrot in instead and see through them via Voice of the Chain Master. If we want to sew discord or manipulate others while inside, we have our charm spells, including Enemies Abound, and illusions like Major Image. When we've seen all there is to see, we can make our escape with Gaseous Form, Dimension Door, or if all our spells have been consumed, our 7th level Mystic Arcanum, Plane Shift.

Roleplay: "As I was a-walking down Paradise Street, To me way-aye, blow the man down. A pretty young damsel I chanced for to meet. Give me some time to blow the man down!"

Barrelman Lochan Blackhate is a man taken to wandering, even before his mind was infected with wanderlust by an alien. He is a debaucher, a hedonist, and a storyteller. His first stop in port is likely to be the tavern or the red-light district. Lochan revels in the nomadic lifestyle, taking many partners and having many adventures before it all must come to its inevitable, grizzly end. His one constant in this is Chaunta, who is fully aware of his lifestyle and lives a similar life herself. I've purposely left her background, and what drives her academic interest in aberrations vague so that either the player or the DM can tailor her story to better fit the campaign setting. Take the time over the campaign to explore Lochan's relationship with Chaunta, and perhaps even have it evolve into a full romance arc if that's your thing. Just be careful not to fall into the writing trap of "the polyamorous characters fall for one another and become monogamous." Keep the characters' personalities in-tact while exploring a relationship that deepens in intimacy through shared trauma (ala alien life at the bottom of the sea) and interactions rife with romantic chemistry. 

We also have the unique opportunity to play a character with supernatural deformities: in Lochan's instance, eyes all over the top of his head. This frightful sight is easily covered with a bandana or a headscarf, and the material can be thin enough to maintain the advantage of literal eyes in the back of his head. This can explain his otherworldly Passive Perception of 21, and makes for very flavorful storytelling moments. Did Lochan happen to notice a character sneaking up on him, or something else that would have slipped by most others? Narrate that he was facing away from the act, and mysteriously turned to catch the culprit red-handed--a scary and impressive scene. Additionally, his extra eyes can be a secret between the DM and the player, leaving the party members confused as to why he's able to see in situations that don't make sense. This plants the seed of curiosity, which ideally will lead to party members questioning him about his backstory, or even sneaking a peak under his scarf while he's sleeping. Lochan can remain evasive, and eventually, in a climactic moment, the truth can be revealed. 

As with all casters, one of the most fun things for character development is the flavoring of their spells. Think about Lochan's patron and put an alien or aquatic spin to each of his magical abilities. Instead of inky black tendrils, Arms of Hadar can summon the tentacles of an aboleth. Spider Climb can sprout arthropod-like legs from Lochan's ribs, allowing him to climb ala the coconut crab. If we need to spy on a pirate ship, we can slide on deck disguised as ocean mist or sea spray via Gaseous Form, and his illusions can be formed from ocean mist smelling strongly of salt. A symptom of his charm spells might be that one of the eyes on his head closes as one of the eyes on his targets opens, revealing Lochan's eye now in their head. The possibilities are limitless.

Conclusion:

The Warlock is an extremely versatile class, its invocations allowing for a wide breadth of fine-tuning, which makes a multiclass with the Ranger something we can use to highlight the strengths of the latter class. Lochan's story is one I was only able to form because of the unique focus these classes bring to monsters and specific mechanics, so whether or not they are as powerful as a typical multiclass build, it cannot be denied that the character potential this build unlocks is unlike anything else in 5e. As always, I wish those future Ranger/Warlocks luck in their adventuring and that they have as much fun playing Lochan as I had building him, or whatever character they choose to make with the race, stats and abilities of this build! And remember, stay tuned for Part 2...

Character Sheet:

LVL 20 Character Sheet