The Berserker Lurker: d4

[@DnDDeepDive]

Errata: As several have pointed out, RAW, you don't get to benefit from Extra Attack if you are holding your Action to attack with your reaction, as Extra Attack states that you only benefit from it when you take the attack action "on your turn." My bad! Here's the good news: this means that we'd be leaving Barbarian after level 3 or 4 (if we want the ASI/Feat), and getting our Sneak Attack damage scaling a little quicker. In the end, getting an extra d6 of Sneak Attack damage, when we're getting it twice per round, means that the numbers I've presented that account for Extra Attack will only be a little bit less at each of the Damage Reports - call it ~4 DPR give or take, depending on the enemy AC etc. Definitely not a death blow to the build :). Also! I accidentally said “short rest” instead of “long rest” when discussing when we get our rage uses back.

[@Guyoverthere07]

This makes Magic Initiate/Arcane Trickster quite a bit more valuable for the Owl Familiar's Help action. The build then solves the issue of getting advantage on both the BA Frenzied Reckless attack, and the one Readied Attack with Help. Ask the DM if the Familiar can take its turn right after ours. RAW it's supposed to have its own turn and initiative. So this isn't any big favor if it already shared its turn with ours at the table. Our trigger then can be "I will attack when Bird distracts the enemy." I feel Bird is an apt name for our one-track mind Berserker. "I attack if the enemy moves a muscle" is also a good one. Even if our victim was prone we'd get a Reaction attack in before they could finish standing upright I'd think. Using this trig, we'd also be fine with the conventional "familiar acts on our turn" QoL allowance. Phantom coming online sooner helps make up for the lost damage albeit to a secondary opponent. We could unload all 3 uses in the first two rounds if we like. This would mean taking Magic Initiate at Barb/Rogue 4. Delays the STR bump, but we weren't hurting on what to do with our ASIs in this build. We could get to Phantom 9 a lot faster which is great. Most tables would probably still want Extra Attack sooner than later for combats without Frenzy, but I dunno. Some campaigns might not make it to Phantom 9 if they do that, and Tokens of the Departed is a complete game changer. Shorter campaigns might do well with Trickster and Barb 5. Silvery Barbs could be taken as one of the initial spells. We could potentially get this cast off before our turn comes up on round 1. Distort Value maybe to help fund all the birds we're going to go through at 10gp a pop. Silent Image is another good one often regardless of a low DC. Soulknife is an interesting hybrid. We get the option to attack twice on our turn even when we aren't Frenzied and lacking Extra Attack. Psi-Bolstered Knack helps pad our potentially high Expertise modifiers even more. So Exhaustion imposing disadvantage might still make us relatively decent at skills. Doesn't waste any resources if we do fail. Might want to dip Fighter for Thrown Weapon Fighting. Helps us draw a dagger to apply Sneak Attack on would be OAs, adds a decent damage bump from 60ft thrown range, and could get Action Surge. Then we can actually attack twice on our turn, Surge, and Ready to Attack with a dagger off turn. Battlemaster is of course right there...giving us Trip Attack, Quick Toss, and Brace. Another race selection that I thought would be great when wondering if we'd go to Barb 5 for Extra Attack would be Dragonborn, and bumping Str with the Dragon Fear half feat asap. This gives us an amazing ability to kick off with round 1 replacing one attack. Even with low Cha (start with 13) it'll shut down half of those making a save in Tier 1. Eventually take another Cha feat to stay close to those odds. Fey Touched for Gift of Alacrity makes better use of Trickster slots. Skill Expert for the Soulknife route works well. Even if we keep Cha low, 40% of monsters being frightened until it's their turn to be the prime target is nuts. So even if we don't Frenzy, we still contribute sizable control as we rush in and scare the pants off the opposing monsters. Works nicely from Reach since they can't approach us. Whip out a whip round 1, or eventually make it your main squeeze! Most our damage progression is coming from Sneak Attack and damage modifiers. Validates the Bugbear option a little more too since they couldn't play keep away with off turn attacks. No Reaction Reachin'.They'd need to be within 5ft with any other finesse weapon. Works a lot better for the Dex Battlemaster route though. Much better base initiative and we could snag the Ambush maneuver.

[@joshholmes1372]

Since you won't be using multi attack, would it make sense to try and get a melee cantrip?

[@jbw065]

@@joshholmes1372 can’t cast whilst raging so not likely to be used a lot.

[@jbw065]

I’d probably do something like sentinel or riposte battlemaster feat to keep my extra attack in there. Reaction attacks are useful but the way you’ve done it here creates more issues with exhaustion than it’s solves with two sneak attack damages per round.

[@joshholmes1372]

@@jbw065 hmmm. Yeah

[@bboy2278]

I felt that berserker would be more tenable in a Naval Campaign since you can commonly get multiple days between fights while sailing around. So make this guy a Viking or pirate and it works much better.

[@luiztomikawa]

That gives me Vinland Saga vibes XD

[@genrepunk]

There could also be some synergy with Frenzied Berserker for a STRanger build at higher levels of play. Tireless (Tasha's optional Ranger ability at level 10) lets them drop a level of exhaustion on a short rest.

[@VirtuesOfSin]

Thematically would surprisingly fit as a Viking due to being similar to one of the four berserker tribes. :o

[@prostatus7190]

I saw this somewhere, Brogues (also a very cool name) are essentially just slasher movie villains, your Jason Voorhees or Michael Myers, the stealthy but strong types, and that's always stuck with me

[@gweria]

Honestly, I was looking for a way to play a Slasher villain in DnD the other month and that's pretty much where I ended up, so that's accurate.

[@pez1870]

basically bugbears (the monster not race)

[@JoelCSabo]

@@pez1870 I played a 4e Bugbear STR Rogue who could wield shortsword-sized daggers (for the Rogue/dagger benefits) and threw shuriken that were basically blades from a circular saw. Good memories.

[@pez1870]

@@JoelCSabo you actually played 4e? poor thing:( jokes aside, that does sound really fun!

[@JoelCSabo]

@@pez1870 I started during 3.5 and did 4e until my friends turned me onto Pathfinder. Now I'm in a regular 5e group. I've had fun with all of them, despite the rep 4e gets. But yeah, Hellyug was a satisfying character. He was basically a very dangerous Wookiee

[@CC-oj5qf]

One of my favorite level 20 builds is Scout Rogue 18/Barbarian 2 because you get to pair Reckless Attack with Sneak Attack, Elusive, and Sudden Strike for some truly crazy damage in group fights at no cost. Even if you don't go Scout, Reckless Attack pairs so so well with Rogue's level 18 feature Elusive. The one downside is that you can't pair a level 2 feature from Barbarian with a level 18 feature from Rogue until you reach level 20, which means most games will not see you getting to combine those features.

[@dinen5000]

i was talking to a buddy about perhaps making a rogue with Sentinel so you can more reliably get your second sneak attack off given that they either try to run away, disengage and run, or attack an ally.

[@lucasramey6427]

Hiding around your tankier friends would help you do this (aka lightfoot halfling since that's a specific ability they have) so once an enemy targets your hp sponge ally while you're stealthed so you aren't a target would allow you to do this more often, skulker would also provide some good use so you don't reveal yourself when you whiff an attack

[@andresromero5409]

this is really achievable with the arcane trickster or three levels in a full spell casting class (really good with draconic sorcerer to sixth level and haste spell) with the mirror image spell, since it is a different target than you and it doesnt need to be a creature, so the image is the target of this and you trigger reaction attack

[@RepentanceH]

I absolutely love this. My version of the story for him is that he's an ex soldier who swears "I do not have spell-shock!" I imagine war in these words having hedge wizards casting fire balls and other hectic spells everywhere. For a standard soldier it's hell, just like real war. So his rage is a PTSD episode, which is why it can cause exaction. After the battle he's coming back to reality. Additionally I would have the death stuff from the Phantom Rogue as the soles of people he killed and friends he lost in battle. I think the roleplay for this character would be amazing and the arch could be awesome

[@BLynn]

Level 1:(see above) [barbarian 1 & race] Level 2:(see above) [barbarian 2] Level 3:(@15:10) [barbarian 3 & sub-class] Level 4:(@21:34) [rogue 1] Level 5:(@24:09) [barbarian 4 & ASI] Level 6:(@24:41) [barbarian 5] Level 7:(see above) [rogue 2] Level 8:(@30:45) [rogue 3 & sub-class] Level 9:(@33:43) [rogue 4 & ASI] Level 10:(see above) [rogue 5] Level 11:(@35:48) [rogue 6] Level 12:(@36:15) [rogue 7] Level 13:(@36:41) [rogue 8 & ASI] Level 14:(see above) [rogue 9] Level 15:(@41:34) [rogue 10 & ASI] Level 16:(@41:54) [rogue 11] Level 17:(@42:34) [rogue 12 & ASI].

[@lorddolphin2935]

Honestly, I'm impressed with how consistent your builds are uploaded. Some of them are obvious ones like your first video (hexblade) but a lot are very interesting, fun, and clever. You've also helped me learn about optimizing and I've applied some of what I've learned to my own characters. Thank you and keep up the good stuff! Also this music into is the best one and I love it.

[@grey_wind]

Every time I suddenly think of a cool concept, I discover you already have a video for me to use for it. Its beautiful.

[@alanschaub147]

Colby: The Steady Aim optional rule for rogues does not require that you use it for Sneak Attack. I think that could provide for some fun multiclass builds, such as a Rogue Caster.

[@loganbalmer2822]

Personally, I really love the silent rage archetype instead of the standard run in there in a screaming fury. There's just something so terrifying about a barbarian who just walks in there quietly and then without a word or a scream cuts right through their foes. It's what I do on the Storm Herald I play. She learned her skills from working with giants, so her rage is more of a meditative trance where her intense focus summons the storm around her as she just walks forward ready to pummel those in her way.

[@SavageGreywolf]

silent Rage Barbarian = John Wick

[@Psynister_PBP]

Extra Attack states you get the extra attack "whenever you take the Attack action on your turn." With this setup you're neither taking the Attack action, nor doing so on your turn.

[@beastzerkerjet]

I was about to type this, but i am assuming that what Colby means is that if you cant get advantage for your reaction you will just be taking an attack action rather than using a readied attack.

[@Psynister_PBP]

Yeah, that's the problem. It won't have a drastic impact on the numbers, it's removing 1d8+Str from the damage pool every round, and taking a bit of damage reliability away because you don't have that second chance at getting your sneak attack off. It doesn't break the build, but it makes the extra Barbarian levels much less appealing. On the flip side, you get another SA die for swapping those 2 to rogue levels.

[@SamFinklestein]

You *are* taking the Attack action as your readied action, but you are right that it does not happen on your own turn, so Extra Attack does not apply. What this means is that until rogue level 7 or 9, taking the Attack action on your turn would give more than readying it for another creature's, since the damage from the Extra Attack will outpace the extra sneak attack for quite a while (12.5 damage on average vs 14 damage from a 4d6 sneak attack). Add to this sacrificing your reaction for possible AoO or uncanny dodge and the risky business of putting all your eggs in one basket with the reaction attack vs. Having two chances to land a slightly weaker hit.

[@PvPNecrash]

Yeap he fucked it up... but the phantom rogue feat also works on both sneak attacks and that makes up for it

[@ANDELE3025]

Actually, he is taking the attack action since the Ready action does "take the action" that you readied when its released (or for the entire duration its readied till released in case of spells). What makes it invalid is it not being on his turn.

[@TheNoahThacker]

For a STR based rogue, I always liked the idea of a Grung that grapples opponents and is double proficient in athletics. The poisonous skin can cause disadvantage on their attempts to get away, and with enough feats you’re always getting advantage on your attacks while grappling. And I really like the idea of a hidden frog jumping 30 feet out of the shadows onto someone’s face and never letting go.

[@madluk6282]

I watched this video awhile back and loved it. And as I have been making my own characters, I actually discovered something today that I'm not sure on, but it would achieve the same goal as this character without needing Berserker Barbarian. Technically, you can make an attack roll using the "Use an Object" action: Use an object: You normally interact with an object while doing something else, such as when you draw a sword as part of an attack. When an object requires your action for its use, you take the Use an Object action. This action is also useful when you want to interact with more than one object on your turn. The description is circular by my understanding, meaning that you can take the attack action to use an object, or take the use an object action to make an attack. The intent was *likely* meant for interacting with something like a poison or an Acid Vial, the ladder of which states: As an action, you can splash the contents of this vial onto a creature within 5 feet of you or throw the vial up to 20 feet, shattering it on impact. In either case, make a ranged attack against a creature or object, treating the acid as an improvised weapon. On a hit, the target takes 2d6 acid damage. So, if you can use the Use an object action to make a ranged attack with a vial of acid as an improvised weapon, you should also be able to use it to make an attack with a pocket knife, or a rapier you so happen to be holding. SO, the thief rogue can actually take an attack with its bonus action, hold its action, and then use its reaction to make an attack. Edit: I hope you check your comments on old videos because I'd love to see the deep dive thief rogue build!

[@willowpackerthestoryteller135]

God I love this build. I used a flat STR based assassin rogue Half-Orc as my very first 5e character and I loved it. Wish I had thought of this because it looks like so much fun.

[@Forbeplay]

Amazing idea as always. Super pumped for the build! Bring on the Lurkserker!

[@mattdahm4289]

This is such an awesome idea for a build! I’ve never played a rogue and now I’m all in. Looks like fun at every level! Thanks Colby

[@brianwest5060]

Thanks!

[@jeffnosdivad3080]

Only reason Tuesdays are bearable. Pop in the ear buds, keep working and listen to Colby talk builds. Sign me up.

[@RK9th]

I can tell by the title of this video alone that this'll be a GOOD one

[@peterthompson760]

Great video, I totally overlooked Sneak Attack with Strength. I usually use Haste to get double Sneak Attack. I use the Haste Action on my turn and hold my normal Action to attack on an Ally's turn. For a Dexterity Build, I would try an Elf with 12 levels of Phantom Rogue, 8 levels of Divine Soul, Meta Magic Adept, and Elven Accuracy. This would give you 2.5 Sneak Attacks per round, 6 Ability Score Options, 4 Meta Magic Options, 10 Sorcery Points, and access to Healing Spells, Mage Armor, Aid, Haste, Death Ward, etc. Mage Armor, Aid, and Death Ward all have an 8 hour spell duration without Concentration. As an Elf you could cast all of them with Extended Spell before each Trance and get your resources back after 4 hours, while still having 12 hours of spell duration left over after your Trance is complete.

[@benjaminwalker9369]

Ooh I like this build, might do some number crunching to see how good it can be

[@peterthompson760]

@@benjaminwalker9369 I'm glad you find it interesting. I like that the Bonus Action is still free for use, a Fireball for instance.

[@knightghaleon]

This build sounds like fun. Haven’t really touched the phantom rogue so this could be a fun build.

[@peterthompson760]

@@knightghaleon Thank you, I'm glad you find it interesting. I like that the Bonus Action is still free for use, a Fireball for instance. Since Phantom Rogue is new to you, I want to point out that the 3rd level Phantom feature Whispers of the Dead and the Feat Keen Mind can get you all skill proficiencies.

[@chrisainsworth8575]

This is my FAVORITE DnD channel. Thank you so much bro. Keep up the good work.

[@danielc1977]

I think the best barb/rogue build is Path of beast 6/soul knife X. When you attack with a claw, you get a free claw attack. Manifest your psychic blade and attack with that. Claw attack as the other attack and get a free claw attack. Bonus action your other psychic blade attack which is a d4. So 3d6+mods, 1d4+mod and then add your sneak attacks. This is basically deemed for a long term campaign or if you start in mid tier. But they both sync very well together.

[@CharalamposKoundourakis]

I'd love it normally but how to fix such contrasting flavour!

[@oathboundhero1782]

@@CharalamposKoundourakis I've got it! This character feels like a Marvel character to me, somehow. A skilled assassin, genetically modified in a lab. Shifter would be the perfect race. The idea is that she was given a series of enhancements that included lycanthropy. She can not only fight like a panther, but she can cause her claws to be neurotoxic as well, dealing psychic damage. Overall, it's similar to Wolverine but with mental mutations on top of the claws.

[@CharalamposKoundourakis]

@@oathboundhero1782 Niiiiice

[@friday8531]

Thanks boss. Hadn't put the berserker benefits together with this yet. Done rogue/barbs before but this is a whole new level

[@wandrilleturle36]

I played an intelligence based rogue with an artificer dip once 😄 great fun to turn a class around like this

[@lucasramey6427]

Armorer artificer is a great subclass to merge with rogue levels you get the lightning launcher who's first hit deals an extra d6 lightning damage allowing you to make up for some of the lost rogue sneak attack progression and you got yourself a lightning damage based sneak attack additionally you could use medium armor and grab medium armor master for infinite advantage on stealth checks thanks to the infiltrator armor and with Infusions and shield proficiency you get an even more tanky rogue

[@TheTrueAnarchel]

@@lucasramey6427 None of the Armorer armor models provide a finesse weapon, and I think there's no way of dealing sneak damage without a finesse weapon, so Armorer doesn't work, sadly. Would be cool if it worked tho

[@IFailAtUsernames19]

@@TheTrueAnarchel The lightning launcher is ranged, and you can sneak attack with ranged weapons.

[@TheTrueAnarchel]

Aah, of course, forgot about that. Although I'm still wondering how you're supposed to do that using lightning, but I guess RAW it works

[@wandrilleturle36]

@@TheTrueAnarchel *sneakiest thunder noises in the background*

[@Testeverything521]

One of the best ways to get an optimized rogue is to duo with a party member. A shadow sorcerer with one level of order cleric is so fun to play. Cast things like command, or blindness/deafness, and target both the enemy and the rogue. Whenever you target the friend, they get a reaction attack (every round). The enemy gets a disadvantage on the save, and the rogue gets an opportunity attack out of it. For example, "command"ing (upcast or twinned spell to target both) your rogue to "throw" might be something they were already going to do. On the other hand, the enemy might not want to throw his axe. Same goes for things like "hide" or "move" or "disengage". As to upcasting blind/deafen, the enemy won't like being blinded, but your friend might not mind being deafened. If you are feeling risky, you can target the enemies and friendly with "slow" and just drop concentration if your rogue fails the save.

[@dienezdarcprowlyr9406]

I love the adlib song at the end.

[@lukerazer9565]

My girlfriend and I always wait for these videos to come out! Excited for this one. I'm actually playing the Blade part of your recent Mount & Blade build with a friend of mine who's playing a Strength-based Phantom Rogue who's focusing on Grappling to increase our tanking ability. DM allowed me to play a Small Warforged because it fit my original Custom Lineage justification and I've been having a blast!

[@Daltygaming2]

I played a Beast Barbarian/Scout Rogue. Very fun combo. I’m going to be interested in what Colby does this video!

[@CharalamposKoundourakis]

That sounds super fun. Did you go barb 6 and then rogue?

[@Daltygaming2]

@@CharalamposKoundourakis yeah that’s exactly what I did

[@lexmtaylor]

I think Scout level 3 ability can be used to drag a grappled enemy on other peoples turns.

[@ianfitzgerald1788]

I've been kicking around a Brouge for a while, ever since I got the idea for a Kaz Brekker build, so I'm very excited to watch this!

[@Ramschat]

I actually played an arcane trickster/ sorcerer to use quickened spell for double sneak attacks. You get plenty of spell slots which you can convert into points to do this most of the time (unless your DM throws like 4 encounters your way per day)

[@LiqwdE]

*Corrected Below* Double sneak attacks? You know you can only apply Sneak Attack once per turn right? You can apply Sneak Attack on your turn and then on somewhere else's turn during opportunity attack. Unless your talking about Magical Ambush. Which technically wouldn't work either. After you cast the first spell your no longer hidden. So wouldn't apply to 2nd spell. So, a little confused.

[@Ramschat]

@@LiqwdE Like in the video, you can make 1 attack as a bonus action (quickened spell booming blade) and then Ready an Action to take the attack action during someone else's turn. Two sneak attacks per round!

[@LiqwdE]

@@Ramschat Thats true, thats true. Your wording threw me off. Double sneak attack vs 2 sneak attacks per round. But your totally right. I offer a thumbs up 👍 and an apology lol.

[@Ramschat]

@@LiqwdE Hey, no problem! The reason my comment didn't go into detail is that at one point in the video, Colby mentioned this particular build and explained it there. But yeah, not everyone will have understood what I was referring to

[@davec8385]

I have also played a arcane trickster/sorc build and it was a ton of fun! Lots of utility cantrips + skill expertise makes you great out of combat, and double sneak attack + booming blade makes you great in combat. A very well rounded character with lots of things to do to keep it interesting.

[@prosamis]

There are so many things you can tweak and change in this build, it's really cool! The battlemaster version of this build can definitely be interesting... Cause there's so much you can play with with dexterity, like being an elf, getting elven accuracy, taking one level into hexblade lock, and suddenly you're a crit fishing rogue that can sneak attack twice per round that, when out if maneuvers, can make great use of extra attack and two weapon fighting You have a decently high chance to crit when rolling 9 die a turn with a crit threshold of 19 and 20 With elven accuracy you can even wait on your sneak attack till you crit or till you do your last attack for turn So no matter what your dps is sustainable

[@asmrsammy]

In response to your in-video question "have I done a phantom rogue build before?" Yes you have! It was used in your "Blender" build, as part of the Battery & Blender duo team! I've actually made this character and can't wait to play her!! Great video as always 🙏

[@DnDDeepDive]

Oh right! Thanks ;)

[@heathmorris6100]

Never been able to play a game of dnd in person so all of my experience with the game comes from videos and making character sheets like this

[@benry007]

I think battlemaster for a regular rogue is great. Between precision, quick toss, riposte and brace you have a bunch of ways to get a second sneak attack or make sure your sneak attack lands. With the manoeuvre fighting style you get 5 dice as well.

[@mathiasandersson4153]

"Now finding ways to build around this trick has given me many many hours of fun and theory crafting, im just kind of wierd that way" Spoken as a true nerd. I salute you sir! o/

[@MadnessOpus]

Holy frick, you've made me realize I can apply Sneak Attack through throwing Soulknife Rogue's Psychic Blades using Strength! This makes my Barbarogue WAY better!

[@Ruthac]

Barb/Rogue is a surprisingly well-rounded, "badass normal" playstyle. Had the good fortune to play a grapple-focused Barb 5 (Ancestral Guardian) / Rogue (Phantom) X from level 12 to 18, and while it didn't focus on damage as much as this particular build, the team support, survivability, flexibility, and RP fuel were remarkable for a pure martial character. Even found a good use case for Mage Slayer in this mage-heavy campaign: a grappled+proned mage would either need to use up a spell and/or action to cast a teleport to get away, or risk casting another spell (that I'd resist with advantage 'cause within 5') and likely eating an off-turn Sneak Attack with a decent chance of failing Concentration checks at disadvantage. And once you hit level 13 in Phantom for Ghost Walk (particularly with Mobile and Barbarian 5 move bonus), you really do become a slasher genre villain, able to bypass most layers of security to show up behind (or above, or below) victims for a lethal jump scare and shrug off most damage.

[@KoiosDusklight]

Your discussion of bonus action attacks got me thinking of a build I helped make for a friend a while ago when she wanted a wolf-themed shifter barbarian. While not an attack with a weapon, the longtooth shifter gives you a bonus action unarmed attack each turn, and I found that to be a great fit for the way of Mercy monk, since the Way of Harm lets you use ki to add damage to one unarmed attack a turn, and you can use your action to make attacks with a better non-monk weapon like a greatsword. And also necrotic bites are wicked cool. We ended up with concluding that something between a 14-6 and 10-10 barbarian-monk split would be optimal for her build depending on how much you value more ki points or higher level barbarian features, but that was under the supposition that you had to use totem barbarian because that was the original build concept. I'm sure you could do some other clever multiclassing to get more out of it, though I'm not sure what. If you're going rogue/finesse with your main attack to be less MAD, then all your weapons can be monk weapons anyway and you're not benefitting anything from using the bite over your martial arts bonus action. We also play in an environment where uncommon magic items like Gauntlets of Ogre Power can be acquired fairly reliably, making the build less MAD. Bottom line: Longtooth shifter lets you use the Way of Harm feature from Way of Mercy as a bonus action while wielding a heavy weapon or a special weapon with your main action. Make of this information what you will.

[@TheRobversion1]

One thing you touched is sorc's quickened spell but you didn't take it far enough. granted it does take a 5 level sorc investment but the route to go is to quicken haste. use your haste action to make your sneak attack and use your normal action to ready an off-turn sneak attack. on a ranged build this works very well as it'll be hard to break that haste when you're kiting. props on the phantom pick. imo it's quite underrated and imo is the best rogue at 9+ or the best main class rogue.

[@GrrumpyPants]

A strength rogue is one of my favorite concepts I've never had the chance to play. Very excited for this video.

[@calabedavis1076]

Love the shirt. Def Leppard's Hysteria was the first tape I owned.

[@joshuahampton6141]

It's worth noting that your ability to pick locks or disarm traps might still be perfectly fine as a Strength -based Rogue. Tools don't have built in or required ability scores to use, so as long as you flavor it the right way, you could end up making Strength (Thieves' Tools) checks pretty regularly. Plus, I don't know if you covered this (still mid-video), but free Expertise in Athletics is REALLY good, particularly on a high-Strength character. Edit: That becomes extra important if your table allows you to attack twice on a readied attack. First attack: Shove prone, Second attack: Advantage attack.

[@GrrumpyPants]

why use thieves tools when you can use a crowbar. Be that kind of rogue.

[@CharalamposKoundourakis]

Attacking twise on a readied attack would be preety non RAW

[@joshuahampton6141]

@@CharalamposKoundourakis Hence the "if"

[@lucasramey6427]

@@GrrumpyPants *how you would argue str for a thieves tools check lol

[@anthonydavid3348]

@@lucasramey6427 “This lockpick, my friend, is a special-made sliver of Dwarven adamantine. Special-ordered from two continents away for 100 GP each. Nothing in this mundane world can break it.” “Okay…but why do you need all that for a lockpick?” “Ah, well! It turns out that if you run a lock through with an invincible metal spike, the lock doesn’t really work anymore”

[@rcschmidt668]

Another benefit of starting with barbarian is the d12 hit dice. The extra HP is especially important for the first 2 levels.

[@vinspad3]

22hp vs 18hp. Plus rage half damage? Ya. That's essentially 26 more hit points in the first 2 hit levels. GREAT POINT!

[@rcschmidt668]

@@vinspad3 Once you add Uncanny Dodge to the half rage damage, your HP will last a long time.

[@dgthunderer]

29:15 I'm glad you're not loosing any sleep over it, because you're going to need all that sleep.

[@b1ackm4gic]

Colby my take on this: high STR swashbuckler 3 / ancestral guardians 3 / battlemaster 3 is tactical base to get reaction sneak attacks without holding back on your turn: swashbuckler walks up and uses rage and reckless attack with dual wielding shortswords, then walks away free w no opportunity attack off to the side away from others; the enemy can now either attack w. Disadvantage &resistance against your allies, or he can come fight you w. Advantage but resistance. Once he comes into range Brace manuever kicks in for reaction attack at 1d8 extra, and swashbuckler's Audacity allows sneak attack off turn....also i went with forest gnome for Cunning so between race and classes I have advantage of some sort on STR, DEX, INT, WIS, CHA + proficiency in CON

[@lex8757]

I love the idea of playing a naval captain akin to davy jones with a similar build that you shared with us! With the choices of zealot barbarian for some added damage along with swashbuckler rogue. What is fun is to replace the rapier with a whip and extend your range by an additional 5 feet, which could mean it is easier to proc a reaction for sneak attack. Flavoring the offhand as a parrying dagger instead of a shield or simply dual wielding whips that could appear as tentacles would be incredible as well!

[@dmytroeidelshtein6284]

If you really go barbarian 5 for extra attack, there is aso an option for non-frenzy rages (and even after-frenzy non-frenzy rages): you can doff your shield for grappling/shoving. STR+expertise athletics are enough for reliable success in most cases. Some of unescapable embrances of death

[@TheTeamDarkforce]

If your DM doesnt let you use a rapier and STR, you can use a shortsword :D it's a finesse and looks more... strenghtened?

[@marcducorsky8736]

Also, if you can get Scimitar of Speed, it will let you to take the attack action on your bonus action without having to make an attack with your attack action. Sorry for multi-posts

[@horbi3683]

Very cool and thematic build, thank you!

[@thesquirteler4520]

Idea: instead of Phantom, if you go Arcane Trickster, there are two cool spells you can use: 1. Jump- if you cast this right before combat starts, or turn 1 cast Jump and then rage, your essentially have a pseudo fly speed for that fight. And jump in non-concentration, so raging won’t interfere. 2. Find Familiar- your familiar can use the help action to give you the second instance of advantage you need for double sneak attack, and you can declare “the trigger for my held action will be when my familiar finishes using the help action”.

[@FlutesLoot]

I love Str Rogues, so I'm happy to see it featured here.

[@AuthoritativeNewsNetwork]

A strength rogue is the character I was playing when I had my greatest moment in D&D so far; I dropped the troll back down the hole in the Yawning Portal during a Dragon Heist campaign with a well timed lariat {high strength, expertise in Athletics}, and some phenomenal dice luck. One day I will complete Phuge's {Assassin/Totem} story.

[@ericpeirce5598]

For a build like this, I would probably consider Sentinel. It would give you more opportunity attacks, for more sneak attacks. This would be especially good if you chose to go with fighter levels instead of barbarian

[@Briandnlo4]

My preference for the Rogue subclass would probably be Scout (but you knew that!). Under the right circumstances, the Skirmisher class feature they get at Level 3 is abuse-able. Remembering the Dragonmarked Halfling Support Barbarian build, my take on this build would be a Strongheart Halfling, Path of the Totem Warrior/Scout. It'd be easy to blend those into a theme, and; at my table; we balance Variant Human and Custom Lineage by giving a racial feat from XGTE (EXCLUDING Elven Accuracy, Bountiful Luck and Second Chance) at Level 1. A little bone for flavor for people who like to roll old-school. So my Halfling Totem Scout would get Squat Nimbleness, at Level 1, which is a half-feat giving +1 to either STR or DEX, along with +5' of movement, proficiency in either Athletics or Acrobatics, and Advantage on Acrobatics or Athletics checks to escape grapples. I multiclass a LOT of Rogues (It's kind of my jam), and I always prefer to start Rogue in order to get all of the Skill Proficiencies. I look at it like free money. I always look forward to your videos challenging my theses on theory crafting, and giving a different perspective and way of thinking about theory crafting. Never mind lifting the build, that's what I take away.

[@mcphadenmike]

You did a good job on this video.

[@midwesternpickle]

Built a similar but less creative barbarian/rogue for an opps all rogues/thieves' guild one shot. He was more focused on tanking, though, so he was Ancestral Guardians/Pantom. Liked how those two subclasses fit together thematically. He dual wielded brass knuckles (re-skinned daggers). Also used a build based off of your combat medic rogue to be the healer of that group.

[@gregoriogarcia3085]

I have come up with a similar concept but I use totem barbarian for some cool bonuses to sneak and my build is called "Rambo". I use a shortsword and reflavour it as a big army knife. I also use the wood elf for that sweet camuflage.

[@codydwyerify]

One little thing that can pair well with berserker: 10 levels of moon druid gets you elemental wildshape, which are all immune to exhaustion.

[@daho7104]

I think Swashbuckler rogue would've been better since it is a way more reliable way to always be able to sneak attack that doesn't need any extra resource (like familiar or party member casting a spell) for out of turn damage, but even so it's quite cool what you did and I like the thematical cohesion

[@angelaik0s960]

15:50 I love the small edit just to say "Pun intended" bshsjsn

[@Arthur-qh6wc]

Awesome video, but, to be honest, the end outtakes were amazing and probably the part I enjoyed the most

[@beowulf.reborn]

Our table ditched the Exhaustion from Berserker. Making it a much more tenable Archetype (and even still, almost everyone just goes Bear Totem :'D )

[@seanskeldon3930]

Extra attack says that "you can attack twice, instead of once, whenever you take the Attack action ON YOUR TURN." so doesn't that mean your readied action is only one attack?

[@raedien]

Correct, a Reaction Attack does NOT benefit from Extra Attack.

[@DnDDeepDive]

Aye, going to pin a comment on this.

[@seanskeldon3930]

@@DnDDeepDive love listening to all of your builds, it's the highlight of my Tuesdays

[@thecrittable3702]

19:53 you only take the level of exhaustion after the rage ends no matter how many times you used your bonus action attack during the rage. Just wanted to state that so people don't think they take a level of it for every use of the bonus attack.

[@undersci]

If you don't want to go Berserker, you could go Zealot and take Shifter Longtooth for your bonus action attacks. You'd push back Piercer and ST 20, but you'd get to burst more often and without exhaustion.

[@rowanbowers5743]

I love the idea of this rogue having the medicine skill and a job at like a hospital or as a traveling doctor and either saving lives or taking a trinket when/if their patients die

[@greypilgrim9967]

This might be basic but I'd like to request an optimized build for the theme of the mercurial fey trickster. A character that is hard to pin down, good at enchanting, charming, deceiving. That thrills in causing mischief and causing trouble often for others as well as himself but also being good at getting out of trouble (at least himself). A character which plays into that being of the enchanted forest, that gains power from the moon and has a soothing voice or plays a captivating melody. Basically a super-powered/optimized archfey warlock is what I had in mind. Maybe crossed with a circle of dreams druid (my thinking is control and support vs damage) another class (eloquence bard)? But if you can do a PC in that theme that does good sustainable DPR I'd be thrilled with that too

[@alanschaub147]

• Eladrin (roll randomly at the end of every long rest to determine both season and gender) • Genie Warlock: Ask your DM if you can randomly determine your element at the end of each long rest (Efreeti = Summer, Marid = Fall, Dao = Winter, & Djinni = Spring) • Mask of Many Faces and Agonizing Blast eldritch invocations • Pact of the Chain and familiar that changes form each long rest (Imp = Summer, Pseudodragon = Fall, Quasit = Winter, & Sprite = Spring)

[@HaloFTW2408]

So two things. 1. I know this doesn't directly do anything for your damage, but going 6 into Barbarian gives you mindless rage. Being immune to Charms and fears while raging can come in clutch. 2. I'd say Swashbuckler is the best bet for guaranteeing that your reaction held attack gets sneak attack. Alternatively, going Inquisitive can also achieve this (but this relies on an ability check, which may be an issue).

[@bonzwah1]

The quick toss alternative sounds really good if you need to do rogue things all the time and can't afford to ever have disadvantage on ability checks. I'm glad you mentioned both

[@raedien]

Except you can't use Cunning Action if you are using Quick Toss. They both require your bonus action. It's not a huge issue imo but it does take up a major class feature.

[@bonzwah1]

@@raedien I think it's a very small deal to be honest. The thing about the quick toss build is that you can't afford to do the double sneak attack every round of combat. If anything, if you're concerned about the bonus action usage, then you absolutely must use the quick toss build instead of the frenzy build because the frenzy build eats up the bonus action every single turn.

[@raedien]

@@bonzwah1 it's a good idea to keep in mind that me noting the bonus action usage is not the same as me approving the choice of Berserker. Berserker also precludes the use of Cunning action. Just something to keep in mind.

[@bonzwah1]

@@raedien of course, but you should also keep in mind that using bonus action to secure two sneak attacks is a far superior usage of bonus action than cunning action. It's similar to comparing true strike to just attacking twice. Cunning action is great to have and use situationally or when you're conserving resources. But if you are ready to spend resources and the circumstances allow for double sneak attack, quick toss is far superior are does not "conflict" with cunning action because it's just simply better.

[@raedien]

@@bonzwah1 I personally love quick toss but it's only "superior" to Cunning action if you are only considering damage which is a pretty narrow view.

[@CrimFerret]

After the discussion of how good it is to be able to take a bonus action attack without using an attack action first, I now understand why the 'Scimitar of Speed' is rated at very rare. It lets you make an attack as a bonus action, but nowhere does it say you had to attack as a main action first. It also means your off hand can be holding something like say a wand. In my case, I want one so I can get the bonus action attack when I use Booming Blade as extra damage and a little insurance that I'll get my sneak attack damage in.

[@CharalamposKoundourakis]

Great video! I'm currently making a barbrogue, using the beast Barbarian and swashbuckler so this caught my attention! Downsides of berserker are definitely way too much for any of my tables.

[@diegochiko]

Last year I made a strngth based rogue. He was so fan! He was a blind duergar soulknife rogue/fighter withe the alert feat and the blind fighting style. Not very practical, but a lot of fun.

[@theblindjedi41]

I love this combination. sneak attack with a STR weapon is something many people overlook.

[@camsill342]

Not entirely relevant to the contents of the video, but I’ve been working on making a homebrew subclass for each class as part of the rollout for my upcoming homebrew campaign, and seeing this in my feed made me realize I should absolutely make a STR-focused rogue archetype, something like a Thug or Street Tough. In general I love the build tho, the reckless+sneak attack combo is one of my favorite tricks in the game. Great stuff as usual!

[@mister_transparency_812]

Fun little build thing to add to this. Waterdeep has a specific weapon called the oversized longbow, where its basically a greatbow in the sense that it uses strength in place of dexterity for shooting arrows.

[@finalfantasy50]

it uses str to for damage but still requires dex to hit so it is a total waste unless the dm gives you gloves of ogre strength while you built your character like a standard archer (archery fighting style and dex focus)

[@mister_transparency_812]

@@finalfantasy50 DMG states that the same stat you use for damage is the same stat you use for the to hit modifier. So it's strength for both actually

[@Ash.King.Y]

Amazing Idea. Just mentioning that ranger 10 has tireless and you can combine with berseker to remove exhaustion on short rests.

[@menarg1549]

a barbarian rogue, the type that when they get angry, they just get really fucking quiet love it!

[@FuskyArts]

Don't know if this was said but all you need is 1 level in war domain cleric. You get bonus action attacks based on your wisdom modifier. So you just have to spec in high str and wis. So reliably you have 3 attacks. Without penalty. Could still do the 3 levels of barb then rogue rest of the way.

[@peterthompson760]

War Priest - From 1st level, your god delivers bolts of inspiration to you while you are engaged in battle. When you use the Attack action, you can make one weapon attack as a bonus action. You can use this feature a number of times equal to your Wisdom modifier (a minimum of once). You regain all expended uses when you finish a long rest.

[@MalevolentLoki]

Point of Clarity: Reckless attack only gives advantage on Melee Attacks.

[@brystalwilliams6073]

Melee weapon attacks yes

[@chrisg8989]

phantom is my fav rogue subclass. And if you use the 10 levels of exhaustion rule from DnD One, this build is a lot more viable to use in more combats. Very Cool.

[@hh3161]

Colby, I love your puns! Could we get a “Pun Intended!” T-shirt in the future? I would totally buy one!

[@genrepunk]

You picked a tough concept to build around! While STRogues are interesting, Frenzied Berserker's downside is so harsh. Disadvantage on ability checks means this character will have a lot of trouble being useful outside of combat (and grappling or escaping grapples in combat!) Your backup idea of Battle Master dip has a lot more going for it, all the more because Action Surge means you can both take the Ready action and the Attack action on your turn. So it's really five rounds of two Sneak Attacks, recharging on a short rest. I'd pick up the Sentinel feat and the Riposte and Brace maneuvers in addition to Quick Toss. If the enemy approaches you, use Brace. If they attack you, use Riposte. If they provoke an OA use that. If they attack an ally while they're within 5 feet of you, use Sentinel. If they're out of range you can use Quick Toss. Getting advantage reliably is a little harder without Reckless Attack, but since you really only need it for two attacks per round there are options. Steady Aim plus familiar? Maybe a mount or a Phantom Steed plus the Mounted Combatant feat? Some approaches get pretty feat-hungry but it's not terrible if we go Custom Lineage or vuman, enemy and terrain permitting.

[@genrepunk]

I'd probably pick Arcane Trickster for a low level build, or Scout for higher levels. The extra damage from Phantom's Wails from the Grave is great when you can get it, but it only procs on your turn and doesn't have much sustain before Rogue 9

[@quendi5557]

In terms of Feats I'd suggest, I'd probably go with Fighting Initiate(reasons why depending on your choice), Telepathic(to keep up the silent), Defensive Duelist or the Feat that allows you to take 2 battle master maneuvers and gain a superiority dice. Skilled and Skill Expert could also be useful. (I'd also be using a Scimitar and Slasher because I like the idea of that better and probably would've picked up Swashbuckler to have more ways to trigger sneak attack. But that's me and my focus.)

[@DWQMusic]

You can as a cavalier make a special bonus attack against a target who is marked by Unwavering Mark at lvl 3. It is situational but you can do it. Rogue cavalier would be pretty cool, lots of oppertunity attacks

[@samuelraymond5852]

I think the easiest way to sneak attack twice per round is to go arcane trickster and haste. It gets fairly sustainable especially the more 3 level slots you have and if you get any rings of spell storing. I would probably take a few levels from a caster class to get the slots sooner and an extra 4th level potentially. Or if you want to go all the way to warlock 5 you can probably haste at every opportunity. You could also go hexblade and ditch dex. Though that's mostly useful if you have your spells with saves which you probably won't

[@zachopotamusrex2581]

I made a similar build last year that was really fun to play. Bugbear Phantom Rogue/Barbarian (never made it to subclass on barb) strength grappler. Named him Huggy Bear.

[@rayindc2074]

The Cavalier Fighter is another option. You get STR bonus action attacks per long rest without needing to take a triggering Attack action (so 5/LR after you max Strength), but the downside is that it needs to be triggered by marking the target on your previous turn (not a problem) and then the marked target attacking someone else (more situational, so not as reliable).

[@jeandesauw7646]

There is an unofficial setting for dnd, called “fateforge” or “dragon” (the French version) which has a feat with which you can ignore 1st level of exhaustion. It’s a really nice setting with many modular things like madness or corruption. You definitely should check this if you want to add some stuff to vanilla dnd ❤️

[@crownlexicon5225]

Piercer is an amazing feat if you're using a lance. Rerolling a d12 if you roll low is super helpful

[@Ahglock]

The battlemaster route would work pretty slick with the soulknife.

[@michaelpenner6053]

I like Longtooth Shifter Beast Barbarian 6/Rogue X. Stab 'em with a blade, if it lands then sneak attack, claw, claw, bite. If it doesn't, second attack with blade, then bite. Guarantees you an additional attack, and B/A if shifted, and the spider-climb is ludicrous for stealth.

[@chrisg8989]

Swap race to Bugbear and Primal Path to Totem or Guardian and this makes for a very cool sneaky tank / Bruiser! My brother did this build with totem, it was a very cool tank build!

[@Crispy915]

I think the slasher feat would help this build out a bit, giving any enemies you hit disadvantage, help balance your reckless attack.

[@indigo_tribe]

I like the thought of these barbarians using the hunting and fighting tactics of wild bugbears

[@izzaragoza]

I'm in the min 15 of the video, and I just realice where are you going... you dirty, dirty Colby. I like it.

[@ottavioromano1691]

I love the idea. Thinking about It, you could do the same shenanigan with Haste. Using your main action for Ready and the extra one for a normal Attack. This way you'd still have the bonus action available, maybe for steady aim. Just swap the barbarian levels for Wizard/sorcerer. With 5° levels you'd have It twice per day, with 6°, three. Still more than the barbarian option, unless you accept being exhausted for the Better part of the campaign

[@peterthompson760]

For a Dexterity Build, I would try an Elf with 12 levels of Phantom Rogue, 8 levels of Divine Soul, Meta Magic Adept, and Elven Accuracy. This would give you 2.5 Sneak Attacks per round, 6 Ability Score Options, 4 Meta Magic Options, 10 Sorcery Points, and access to Healing Spells, Mage Armor, Aid, Haste, Death Ward, etc. Mage Armor, Aid, and Death Ward all have an 8 hour spell duration without Concentration. As an Elf you could cast all of them with Extended Spell before each Trance and get your resources back after 4 hours, while still having 12 hours of spell duration left over after your Trance is complete.

[@eugeuogwapo8431]

I would suggest taking Revenant Blade for the feat form Custom Lineage this would give you a +1 to str or dex and makes the double bladed scimitar a finesse weapon so you can still do sneak attack form it. And lastly you can take a bonus action from the double bladed scimitar. So, this means you can take another barbarian subclass that is more optimal.

[@marcducorsky8736]

I was looking for dual wield Barb/Rogue and replace the word RAGE in the ability description with Battle Trance/Dance