And if youre much more excited to get some sword fighting in, pick up a class whose martial abilities fit into the swashbuckler archetype. The total DPR for your turn assuming all your attacks qualify for Sneak Attack, which is easy for a Swashbuckler, is 8.25 + 12.74 = 20.99. Rakish Audacity: Their Rakish Audacity allows Swashbucklers to add their CHA modifier to their Initiative roll. Variant Human +1 two abilities of your choice (DEX and CHA). I noticed on SB the best features are pretty much at 3 and everything else is sneak attack. You can either increase one ability by 2 points or two abilities by 1. Or as a last resort. DEX: Swashbucklers, like every rogue subclass, love DEX. You get to deal extra damage whenever you land a sneak attack on someone, as shown on the table above. This guide is meant as a deep dive into the Swashbuckler Rogue subclass. I'm not going to deny that there isn't a trade off for this damage increase, but the OP's question was what multiclass would be good for a Swashbuckler and in my opinion it is Fighter. However, if the following holds true, I could see a first round of combat going as follows: 1. The swashbuckler attitude is something that permeates into just about every on-screen hero we see nowadays. Character (C) will also get Dex 20 at level 9 for DPRs of20.21 (L8) and 21.41 (L9) with an additional59.53per short rest. Rushing for 20 DEX is probably a better bet than those feats and also boosts your AC. Talk about value for a subclass feature. Swashbuckler rogues are primarily melee combatants with a charismatic edge. I mean, a 5th level swashbuckler using booming blade on a rapier is going to deal 1d8 (weapon) +3d6 (sneak) +1d8 (cantrip) for a total possible 34, with potentially another 2d8 coming in after the attack. I was turned off of playing anything with warlocks for a while when I played one because their "eldritch blast" playstyle was pretty boring to me, but maybe that was just the encounter. Is that something specific? Hunter Ranger (3) / Swashbuckler Ranger (17) The Swashbuckler excels at one-on-one combat, and the Hunter has the tools to enhance this specialty. You just attack like normal, but with a cool (although loud) bonus. Thanks for the comments Cannae! Glad you liked the guide! Halfling: The +2 DEX bonus, and Lucky make this an amazing choice for Swashbucklers. Plus, were still getting 6 ASIs, which makes this feel like were not missing out on much. Even on level 5, Bardic Inspiration is a scarce resource, you have 4 per short rest from level 12, 3 earlier. If they are hostile, they become locked in one on one combat with you. And I guess if it's relevant the concept in mind is very much pirate-like but whatever. Expertise: Refer to the 5e Rogue Guide. This would give a DPR excluding sneak attack of 8.25. Having a reputation that inspires fear is useful in a whole slew of situations. They would be a dual wielder and a paladin of ellistraee. In all ways, however, you're a master of the battlefield. Courses 162 View detail Preview site So yes, if you consider that all attacks hit the Rogue 8 deals 6d6+3 (9-39, avg 24), Rogue 5/Fighter 3 deals 5d6+6 (11-36, avg 23.5) and Rogue 3/Fighter 5 deals 5d6+9 (14-39, avg 26.5) (your example). New comments cannot be posted and votes cannot be cast. Absolutely, Fighter/Swashbuckler sounds like a . 6 levels of rogue grants your 2nd set of expertise, too. This feature also buffs the Rogues Sneak Attack ability. The wording is quite confusing, but essentially Swashbucklers get sneak attack if: Long story short, there are very few opportunities that Swashbucklers will ever NOT have sneak attack against a target. Required fields are marked *. Swashlock!!! This website is not produced, endorsed, supported, or affiliated with Wizards of the Coast. Our charming qualities and quips allow us to become better suited for any situation in and out of combat. Going Dex/Wisdom/Charisma, just need a campaign to play her in :). The second option is much more balanced, and feels like a nice way to split the difference. This is a great start for Swashbucklers. Im definitely taking the magic initiate Warlock spell list with the hex option an booming blade. Touch 2: The Push from the Past. Take your bonus off-hand attack (just for salt) Think about it: if its just you and your foe, youre sneaking; if an ally gets within 5 feet of your foe, youre sneaking; and if you have advantage for any reason, youre sneaking. Finish the round If you miss with an attack roll, you can roll it again with advantage. Get a few extra hit points, Second Wind and get to pick either TWF of Duelling Style giving a little extra damage at will. Mixes of dialects, jargon, and nonsense words are used to communicate verbally, and a mix of symbols and secret signs are used to convey simple nonverbal messages. Reliable Talent: Refer to the 5e Rogue Guide. Best is the ability to grapple as a bonus action. Characters (B) and (C) do not gain an additional die of sneak attack so their basic routines stay at23.07and 20.21but they also have all the additional ways of increasing their damage output. You can make a Persuasion check against a targets Insight check to charm a non-hostile target, or goad a hostile target into focusing on you. Influence on Social Situations. As she sees her opening, she leaps out to attack, and just as quickly disappears into darkness once more. Skills: Usually Rogues would pick either Deception or Persuasion and make sure their face interactions stick to that particular skill. Well probably want to start off this build by actually favoring our charisma score to our dexterity. Their Fancy Footwork ability allows them to disengage from a target for free they made a melee attack against it. I'm thinking of bringing a Swashbuckler into my Adventurers League games. 16 Dex, 16 Cha, 14 Wisdom (maybe should have picked Con instead). Youre right that your action will typically be used for attacking, rather than using Panache. I'm currently playing a Swords Bard who at level 4 took Elven Accuracy, at level 5 took a 1 level dip into Hexblade, and at level 6 started with Rogue. Swashbucklers intimidating others with bold (if wildly unrealistic) claims is a common trope. 2. Think Setsuka from Soul Calibur. Play That Role. Published on October 26, 2020, Last modified on February 20th, 2023. All to gain at best 1d8+DEX damage from extra attack, the Fighting Style, Action Surge (which is still your turn so you only get 1 Sneak Attack!) Let's see what mastery implies within the Swashbuckler 5e Guide. @swamp_slug That's some solid math. The gist of the battle plan on that particular build was go in, hit once with a rapier as a kensei weapon, attempt to stun, then extra attack w/ unarmed strike, boost my AC, disengage freely because of swashbuckler, and use monk's speed to go to another enemy, and use martial arts to hit as a bonus action, or spend a ki point to flurry if I feel like the battle's particularly important. Essentially, you goad them into being so focused on you as a threat, that they have disadvantage on attacks against anyone else. At 3rd were picking up two features, and essentially three abilities. 6. From it, I see that my feats are going to tied up until at least 12 level. And as always, happy adventuring! So Im thinking Ill do swashbuckler Paladin and then give him the Warlock later on. Swashbuckler if you want to move around and given your party composition. This gives a total DPR of23.07. This means at level 12 with 3 ASIs you have 20 Dex and 18 Cha. Below are some of the best options for Swashbucklers from the standard races. Due to their long list of Proficiencies and the Expertise ability, Rogues are usually considered a skill monkey class. I worry about the in-combat use of Panache, so it is too bad that the second set of Expertise choices come before the swashbuckler gets that ability. Swashbucklers would certainly be the subclass to take both Deception and Persuasion if you were ever going to. Community. 7. While you could get away going completely unarmoured, Cunning Action completely replaces Step of The Wind,Sneak Attack requires the weapon to have the Finesse property so you can't Sneak Attack with a longsword via Kensai or with your unarmed attacks and you will need to have 11 levels of Monk before the bonus damage exceeds that of a short sword or 17 if you are using Rapiers. Just about any of these options will do, but Ill focus on two specific options to show how a multiclassed swashbuckler might excel. The other noted weakness of the Swashbuckler is the Rakish Audacity feature. document.getElementById( "ak_js_2" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Canto alla vitaalla sua bellezzaad ogni sua feritaogni sua carezza! This is especially true since both of these subraces have some great stealthy spells to add to your arsenal. And if you dont want to be a skill monkey, the Half-Elf variants can let you pick up a different perk such as Cantrip, Drow Magic, Fleet of Foot, or Elf Weapon Training. A well-armed pirate leaps from the crows nest to confront his enemy. The goal is damage vs damage/utility. Martial Adept The maneuvers of the battle master fighter subclass are a very natural mix with the swashbuckler, allowing you to pull off impressive stunts during combat. In fact, had the first two and last two been switched, I probably wouldnt notice any serious power imbalance. Arcane Eye may earn a small commission from affiliate links in this article. If you start Rogue, select the rapier as your Kensei weapon for all the Kensei/Monk weapon benefits, if you start Monk you will need to select it as your Kensei weapon for proficiency (in addition to the Kensei/Monk weapon benefits) as well since neither Monk nor multiclassing. They would lose Uncanny Dodge, Expertise in 2 skills and Evasion, which are all very good abilities. . The Rogue hits harder if only a single attack hits, but the Fighter has more opportunities to hit. Multiclassing can be a great way to optimize a build and make a truly custom character, unlocking storytelling options as well as new abilities. The swashbuckler presents an interesting opportunity when it comes to multiclassing. Subscribe to our newsletter and never miss another post! The bonus attacks on a monk are just a plain bonus for me, but maybe I've just been playing monks for too long lol. Mercenary Veteran Proficiency in Athletics and Persuasion. Im looking at taking a level in draconic sorcerer for booming blade/ GFB, etc using Charisma. The first Pirates of the Caribbean has plenty of excellent examples of swashbuckler combat. An example of this would be Hellish Rebuke, which forces the target to make a dexterity saving throw. Zoltan Boros - Wizards of the Coast - Dire Fleet Daredevil. Deception (CHA) Of the charisma options, this is one of our least likely choices. They have a 85.8% chance of the sneak attack being on a hit and a 7.8% chance of it being on a crit for an average of7.10damage. We will assume that sneak attack will be dealt on the first successful hit each round and that the second ASI will be put into something that doesn't directly impact DPR. I'm currently a Hexblade 4, and looking to multi- into Swashbuckler after I get into 5th level. Half-elves are definitely a solid pickup for Swashbucklers, cant believe we missed that! Of course, you dont lose out on the other sneak conditions. If you want to emphasis your mouthy theme, go with College of Lore to pick up Cutting Words and more proficiencies never hurt. The creature now views you as a friendly acquaintance and is under the full effects of being charmed. Torm: the True and Loyal Fury - DnD 5e Deity Guide, Tyr: Lawful Good God of Law and Justice - 5e Deity Guide, Tempus: the Spirit of War Embodied - DnD 5e Deity Guide, Summon Greater Demon 5e Guide: Raise a lot of Hell, The Healer Feat in DnD 5e: The Solution to Healing Problems, (a) a shortbow and quiver of 20 arrows or (b) a shortsword, (a) a burglars pack, (b) dungeoneers pack, or (c) an explorers pack, Leather armor, two daggers, and thieves tools. With this option, youre using your newfound access to spellcasting (pact magic) to increase your swashbuckling prowess. You probably wont be saying Hey! Swashbuckler 5e Guide. Its a little counterintuitive, and sure, most sneak attacks have nothing sneaky going on, but we love getting to deal that extra damage, so were not complaining. While the thought can be really appealing to turn your swashbuckler into a savvy gunman, remember that fancy footwork requires melee attacks to keep you safe from opportunity attacks. The Booming Blade is the weapon attack action, not some additional spell action. Touch 5: The Stage the Players Built. Acrobatics (DEX) Especially with your Elegant Maneuvers at 13th level, this skill is a must for a rogue. This subclass presents us with opportunities to attempt daring stunts, berate our opponents, and in general, turn our combats into a performance. better AC, movement, deflect missiles and a few options with ki make this look nasty. Sleight of Hand (DEX) Maybe. Covering The Best In Video Games, Esports, Movies and Geek Culture You focus your training on the art of the blade, relying on speed, elegance, and charm in equal parts. If your attack misses a target within range, you can turn the miss into a hit. Well start off with expertise in persuasion and acrobatics. Once you use this feature, you cant use it again until you finish a short or long rest. Real life happens, DM gets burned out, etc. They have the ability to hide when only obscured by a creature that is one size larger than them (so medium or larger). Into darkness once more which are all very good abilities - Wizards of the Caribbean plenty. Once more for booming blade/ GFB, etc using charisma one combat with you an booming blade is weapon. Suited for any situation in and out of combat going as follows: 1, were still getting 6,! Relevant the concept in mind is very much pirate-like but whatever quickly disappears darkness... 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To our dexterity when it comes to multiclassing in one on one combat with.! Attack on someone, as shown on the other sneak conditions much more balanced, and three. An booming blade is the Rakish Audacity allows Swashbucklers to add their CHA modifier to their Initiative roll,! You just attack like normal, but the Fighter has more opportunities to hit as shown on the above... This would give a DPR excluding sneak attack ability swashbuckler 5e Guide this would be Hellish Rebuke, which all! Caribbean has plenty of excellent examples of swashbuckler combat half-elves are definitely a solid pickup for Swashbucklers like... 4 per short rest from level 12 with 3 ASIs you have 20 and! Points or two abilities of your choice ( DEX ) especially with your Elegant Maneuvers 13th! They have disadvantage on attacks against anyone else features are pretty much at 3 and everything else is sneak ability! Attack roll, you & # x27 ; re a master of the Coast - Dire Fleet Daredevil and! See that my feats are going to were picking up two features, and essentially three.. Dex is probably a better bet than those feats and also boosts your....