How to build CONSTANTINE in Dungeons and Dragons

[@thewolverine7619]

I love John Constantine it's a shame the show Constantine the show didn't get a fair chance, but I loved that they brought him back for legends. He definitely has rolled several nat 20 checks in deception and religion

[@thewolverine7619]

I did a version of John that was 6 levels of genie warlock (bottled respite being the house of mysteries) and 14 levels of divine soul sorcerer for the cleric type banishing spells

[@dndbuilds]

Hell yeah he has!

[@revthekid7353]

Yes love Johnny boy. Nat 20 on always having a cigarette

[@dndbuilds]

Lung cancer in DnD!

[@prophetisaiah08]

There's one significant change that I would make to this build, and that would be to the eldritch invocations. Constantine should really have Armor of Shadows, but which invocation you'd swap out really depends on which version of John you're trying to emulate. If you're trying to do Keanu's Constantine, then swap out Agonizing Blast (he tends to favour weapons). If you're doing British Constantine, then swap out Improved Pact Weapon, and maybe consider going Pact of the Tome or Pact of the Talisman. The interaction of Armor of Shadows and Arcane Ward is too good to give up. Personally, I think talisman is the most thematically appropriate with probably Armor of Shadows and Eldritch Sight as invocations. Constantine would primarily be a support caster, with the best part of his damage dealing coming from summoning spells. I say summoning is a big thing for Constantine, because he's an unmitigated master of the "Let's you and him fight" school of combat. Lots of rituals, abjuration, conjuration, and divination spells, with relatively few evocation spells. Constantine is a powerful mage, but he does it primarily by outmaneuvering and outwiting his opponents, rather than bulk damaging power in his spells (that's more Zatana's thing; I'd probably make her more of a blaster sorcerer and/or wizard).

[@blackwingdragonmasta]

Zatanna is in no way a blaster lol

[@albertofernandez8651]

The wait was worth it, thank you nobel man. I will procede to play it next week in a new campaign. Keep going man

[@dndbuilds]

Glad you liked it!

[@davidmacgregor6093]

YES!!! Been waiting for this one! And I was hoping it’d be wizard and not another bard build! Thank you!

[@dndbuilds]

Glad I didn't disappoint

[@mikhailthegreatestdragon3627]

I do love me some John Constantine, he's fun cause there's no two equal ways of building him. In saying that, I feel that something that's missing in this setup would be John having the means to deal with monsters early on, which would be mended pretty easily by grabbing Ritual Caster(Cleric) for things such as Ceremony, which can be used to get holy water and such. It's a small thing, but I think it goes a long way in adding to his motif.

[@VoidKami]

I'd argue Mastermind Rogue would fit Constantine, as he's not dangerous because he's powerful, but that cunning. So a mix of Warlock, Mastermind Rogue, and Abjuration Wizard.

[@brandonhughes179]

Only change I'd make is the Charlatan background since Constantine is a total con man and it plays more into his lifestyle than Entertainer does. Edit: also would swap Blade Pact for Talisman Pact. John doesn't really care about fighting with weapons, but he'd be all about that magic artifact that gives him bonuses

[@chrimedina]

FinalIy Yoooooohooooo. I LOVE you, man. It's been a long wait and a great work yo made here. Mine was also v. human but with The Haunted One background from TCOS. Necromance Wizard X/Lore bard 3, more Focus on use vicious mockery to impose disadvantage first, followed by a spell. Always cocky, lots of skills, more focused on spells than the use of magic items or weapons. Tricks and Spells: vicious mockery, Burning hands, mage armor, Magic missile, shield, Identify, False Life, Toll the Dead, dimensional door were some of the spells

[@stevz420]

Found your channel recently. Like it a lot! Ever thought about doing baldurs gate specific builds? That'd be cool

[@stevent7932]

Someone literally just asked a group on social media how to make Constantine as a character in D&D. I sent the link to this video going "follow it to the letter or don't but its a good build" so who knows,could get a burst of subs

[@dndbuilds]

Well thank you I appreciate it 😊

[@Kotiare]

Yet another to add to my playlist for future D&D games as either a PC or NPC. Thank you sir!

[@kailander2059]

Punisher damn it!

[@dndbuilds]

Already made him 😁

[@steampunkfox4932]

I know this is late but Fiend Warlock works great for Constantine considering in comics the demon that he summoned when he used magic for the first time (Nargal The Defiler) to save a little girl as part of his origin infused it's demon blood with Constantine which allowed him to use black magic without having to pay the consequences

[@fandomonium3789]

Constantine needs access to at least a few Cleric spells: Forbiddance, Dispel Evil and Good, Detect Evil & Good, and Protection From Evil & Good are some that come to mind. Plus of course Planar Binding to bind the demons and devils that he summons. As such, Divine Soul Sorcerer might be more fitting, given his high Charisma and the fact that he doesn't really need a lot of Cleric spells. But at least the basic ones. Plus, as a Homo Magi, the ability to cast spells is in Constantine's blood. It's part of him. While the Sorcerer gets pitance for spellcasting 5e, the 2024 rules are looking to remedy the claustraphobic spell lists of the Sorcerer in the current game.

[@C_A_I_N_N]

i think a divine soul sorcerer woulda been a better choice instead of warlock since thats metamagic AND access to the entire cleric spell list while also granting you the chance to choose the netural alliginment which grants you the spell at base of protection from good and evil.

[@ANONM60D]

Nice! I'd like to see this build fully fleshed out

[@TheClown-0]

Ayooo I've requested this a while ago! Happy to see it! You're the GOAT! Edit : Saw my comment in the vid lmao

[@shadyjackstavern1648]

Personally would’ve given him armor of shadows that way he can spam mage armor to buff his ward, which seems very in-character to exploit the rules. Overall though, a lovely build

[@dmitrybr2273]

I love this build! It really annoys me that all Constantine builds take bards classes, even tho he didn't hold musical instrument when casting 😑. Instead of agonising blast would take shadow armor to pare it with adjuration wizard abilities. It is a cheesy cheating but suits a magical cheater very well) also a few feats - Telecenesis (he clearly has it without visible mage hand) and of course Lucky! It is an op feat but it suits him very well. Also a metamagic feat, just because he probably would research something like that. Thank-you so much for choosing wizard+worlok - suits very well!

[@noditianniz-emir7075]

I rolled a Nat 1 on my initiative roll and I arrive so late at Sandman TV show recording that one of my antecessors stole my role in the series!

[@commandershepaaarrrdwrex2881]

0:50 what music is that

[@igneel5365]

I'm loving your videos and I was wondering can you do Marco the Phoenix

[@noditianniz-emir7075]

One of my favorite tricks for the abjuration wizard is to use Armor of Shadows to recharge your ward.

[@garretttroke8800]

It would be better for your defensive build to forego the 9th level wizards spells and take 2 more warlock levels, giving you another invocation, which should be armor of shadows. When you have your ward up, you can recharge it between fights by spamming mage armor for free.

[@liqqidsurgegaming2970]

Omg you should definitely make an updated version of Zatanna. I know you could do her justice 😊

[@Zendrist-8128]

Sounds like a solid build, but with the heavy emphasis on defense, I'm surprised you didn't go with the Armor of Shadows invocation.

[@gibbsterV]

Seeing as Spider-Verse has just released could you do a character from that? I don't mind which one but characters I'd love to see is The Spot, Hobie, Miles or Miguel

[@guropanda6593]

Yes thank you 😊

[@wolvz_bane3459]

Awesome Constantine build I would really love to see a painkiller build from the Black Lightning TV show

[@ZeroVacancy]

John 100% needs planar binding magical circle and scrying

[@alanarnedo6663]

Here’s a challenge: Stephen King’s ‘It’ aka pennywise the clown. Shape shifting, illusion-wielding, fear-mongering character that can bite your arm off lol.

[@БенедиктХристиан]

Thanks.

[@guttersnipepie8923]

YES! I love Constantine! Now please do Korpi from the film SISU.

[@Fakenit66]

Agreed. Please watch SISU and do a Korpi build.

[@jacksongamin335]

I don’t know if this comment will get lost in the sea of comments… but do you think you could build Boji from Ranking of Kings? I’ve just found this channel and i can’t stop watching your videos. Keep up the great work!!!

[@CEllis1036]

I always thought Constantine would be a bardlock.

[@CEllis1036]

Starts as bard. The encounter with Nergal infusing him with his blood marks point he becomes warlock.

[@CEllis1036]

His persuasion as bard inspires his "friends" to act and fall like dominos....

[@morganpetros9635]

I think I would add both Charm spells (Person and Monster) and Suggestion to reflect both Constantine's nearly supernatural (?) ability to get just about anyone to do just about anything *AND* his equally uncanny ability to p!ss people off after they realize what he's convinced them to do. He also needs the Gate spell, since he regularly calls beings to Earth that shouldn't be summonable by normal means (archdukes of Hell, Satan ... f##king Satan!). He also needs either the Legend Lore spell or a custom background that gives him the Sage's Researcher feature. What John "studies" isn't spells; it's lore. Two of his skills should be Arcana and Insight or Investigation (possibly both) rather than Performance and Acrobatics. In fact, if there were *ANY* Ritual summoning spells, I would argue for his being a rogue with the Ritual Caster feat, and not belonging to a spellcasting class at all. But then, I'm fairly old school and take my inspiration from the first four or five years of the comic book series. I've never seen the TV show and utterly despise the "Bill and Ted Go to Hell" movie. 🤣😈

[@Kai89-de7cf]

You should’ve gave him fireball

[@nealenthenerd399]

Work with your DM to have a cameo with your character’s Ex who is a Barbarian Sahuagin.

[@bludude2591]

Awesome vid 👍, could you do Gambit from X-men next?

[@marlonkuenstler9891]

Definitely would add hellish rebuke

[@deansmith3947]

Agonizing blast over armor of shadows?! with the abjuration wizard plus a low AC already, how is that not the pick? You don't even get 18 charisma until super high levels and you are mostly a wizard, you are going to be flinging high level spells around constantly, you are not going to be Eldritch blasting too often unless you have like 4+ combats a day at least. Plus you already spent a pact and invocation on the crossbow. also, feels like pact of the talisman feels perfect for a constantine build, (the counterspelling with the abjuration AND the talisman?) but if you wanted to throw in some Keanu flavor, i get it. PS, honorable mention to Eyes of the rune keeper for a John C build, feels like he would have that sorta thing to read ancient texts from whatever plane of existence. Anyway, not trying to be overly critical, just my two cents. Take care y'all

[@jbw065]

I’d have gone lore bard instead of Abjuration wizard. He doesn’t have a single spell book he uses but loads of different spell books and so has a lot of access to information and that feels more lore bardy to me. Also, he was in a band with a name of Jonny Conjob so bard fits. Plus, with the two rounds of expertise you can supercharge those Arcana, Investigation, Deception and Persuasion rolls big time.

[@Husky_Mirel]

Definitely not bad built but what if give him Acolyte background and make him Arcane Trickster multiiclassed with Bard College of Lore with initiate Tough feat?

[@thescourge2416]

I almost feel like Constantine needs more radiant damage options, since he is constantly fighting/banishing/deleting demons, devils, and other paranormal creatures(undead especially) and a lot of these creatures have some sort of vulnerability to radiant damage. idk tho, I do also like the build you made him

[@jakethesneakergeek267]

Add bard to this mix for enough for things like vicious mockery and heat metal and boom

[@ChristnThms]

Very good build. I'm not usually a fan of MAD MCs. In this case it seems very fitting.

[@ethanstephens8267]

You should do a zenitsu build with nine levels in wizard bladesinger nine levels in rogue scout and two levels in sorcerer draconic blood line with a feat for meta magic initiate it’s an amazing build and I want to see you make a video on it

[@Grayhammer]

eyes of the rune maker would also be fit the character as well

[@lrpgaming5849]

Great build but could you please make a madara build?

[@YTSearchRapBattlesKinGLeoVs]

Do Grubbs Grady or Lord Loss from the Demonata series

[@corbanharris2083]

Death from darksiders or any of the 4 horsemen

[@douglasmckenna5575]

Doesn't improved pact weapon have a level restriction?

[@davidlosey431]

What about Harry Dresden?

[@Exp9378]

Requesting Adam warlock

[@Rakkun_Streak]

Great build! But wait, doesn't Improved Pact Weapon requires 5th Level in Warlock?

[@deansmith3947]

that's thirsting blade (extra attack). Improved pact weapon you can get the moment you get pact of the blade

[@Rakkun_Streak]

@@deansmith3947 Oh yeah! Right. Thanks

[@deansmith3947]

@@Rakkun_Streak NP

[@spencerandrew5517]

Can you build sub zero from mortal Kombat?

[@creeprnsidelink]

Cid Kagenou/Shadow from The Eminence In Shadow?

[@vernonhampton5863]

I can see Constantine (pronounced like the place) as a wizard, but I still prefer him as a bardlock. But the animated version is very much a wizard. Good job.

[@bboy2278]

I would replace warlock with bard since CONSTANTINE does not make permit deals and visious mockery seems much to apporiate

[@axelthouin4389]

zatanna next?

[@lillycline1414]

Day one of asking for miraak from skyrim

[@fknnrd5882]

First? Cool character.

[@dndbuilds]

Hell yeah first!!!

[@josephpetermccray1433]

Would of went pact of the tome, giving him more ritual spells.

[@deansmith3947]

but with wizard, its redundant.

[@silk4710]

🥑

[@dndbuilds]

Barrage of Avocados in my notifications

[@morningstar9849]

This is probably a good place to do this. Who would win in a death battle at their full power, Constantine or Castiel? I'll reply to this comment with more information.

[@morningstar9849]

As far as I know, Constantine was at his most powerful in in a comic where he was able to collect multiple magical artifacts including the staff of the Shazam wizard. But even with all of that he was still unable to defeat Trigon. Castiel however without his most powerful when he absorbs all of those Souls from purgatory, getting what amounts to Godlike power to the detriment of his own health.

[@Zaneoid]

Why warlock he studies magic and fights demons banishing them. He dosent have a patron in any media and he'd have way more spell slots than a warlock. If anything my guy is a wizard school of abjuration.

[@ANONM60D]

Canonically John Constantine came from a bloodline of mages and/or has demonic blood. While he did start studying magic, I think the ancestry and blood is a pretty big deal but how you build him is all personal preference, with many ways to reimagine the main concept of a suave and cunning exorcist

[@youdontknowme236]

Day 5 of asking for Kumoko from spider isekai

[@jonathanhaynes9914]

Huh

[@tylerh2548]

Rip off of Jack Byzantine

[@jorgegarcia-yj6cn]

This build is not john constantine at all