The Knight in Shining Armor - D&D: Optimized #51

[@austinburant7114]

April 1st video idea: Levels 1-3: standard optimized build Levels 4-10: odd choices that make everyone think that you are pulling an April Fools joke Levels 11-15: All the previous odd choices come together to make an optimized character. Therefore, pulling off the rare double bluff.

[@markeyestone9980]

You really optimized getting through your title cards quickly. 10/10

[@brandf.7691]

Just a friendly reminder that if you are a small character using another player character as your mount, getting the Mounted Combatant feat gives your teammate free evasion and you can take all of the attacks aimed at them.

[@Hesauce]

Me, who is playing a Cavalier/Paladin tank: Nice

[@noahegli2150]

Asked in episode 12, received in episode 51! I'm loving this build, and glad to see it in action. Keep up the great work, these builds are awesome and really get me thinking about the game 😊

[@gdoggy121]

Just a little note here for the Shield Master feat if it hasn’t been mentioned: you can knock a creature prone with a shove action. So attack, then regardless of if you hit or not, you can shove them prone, then attack with advantage, potentially marking a target that you couldn’t hit before.

[@zero11010]

Best and most detailed video description I’ve seen. Full of useful info and I dig the time references. I appreciate the effort!

[@DnDDeepDive]

Thanks!

[@HighPhoenix1754]

Now this? This is what I've been waiting for. Defender? Mounted? Aesthetically pleasing with roleplay appeal already built in? Yes. All of this.

[@Lysving]

I have on occasion been the mount (as a moon druid) for a paladin friend who has mounted combatant. His tankiness is very appreciated and those auras are gonna be wild. And I took sentinel for some extra busted synergy!

[@ORBliterator]

With the Cavalier ability, I was really surprised he didn't take Sentinel.

[@Lysving]

@@ORBliterator This build already doesn't have very many ability score increases, so I think it just didn't add enough to the package. He is already getting a third of that feat from the 3rd level cavalier stuff. You bringing that up did bring to mind though, that going farther down the cavalier path does get you hold the line at ten, which would be a great way to stop folks from just walking around you, which might be more my taste for this kind of build anywho. Missing out on the pally stuff would be real sad, though

[@ak_sushi4808]

If the paladin uses sanctuary on Druid it can get crazy.

[@BLynn]

Level 1:(see above) [fighter 1, fighting-style & race] Level 2:(see above) [fighter 2] Level 3:(@17:54) [fighter 3 & sub-class] Level 4:(@23:07) [fighter 4 & ASI] Level 5:(@26:19) [paladin 1] Level 6:(@28:22) [paladin 2 & fighting-style] Level 7:(see above) [paladin 3 & sub-class] Level 8:(@38:04) [paladin 4 & ASI] Level 9:(@40:45) [paladin 5] Level 10:(see above) [paladin 6] Level 11:(@49:28) [paladin 7] Level 12:(@52:19) [paladin 8 & ASI] Level 13:(@53:15) [paladin 9] Level 14:(see above) [paladin 10] Level 15:(@56:40) [paladin 11] Level 16:(@56:59) [paladin 12 & ASI] Level 17:(@57:24) [paladin 13]

[@AuthoritativeNewsNetwork]

Oath of the Ancients with Warding bond... totally having a Lady Hawke moment between the rider and his steed.

[@Procrazy11]

Thank you for always giving such great character idea. I've been following these guides for weeks now and always scare my dm friends with the builds >:)

[@xjbxpsn84]

Love your content man, keep it up. You have fans in Portugal, it’s official.

[@papabear8687]

For the lance bit, you could ride up, attack with the lance at ten, step up, the. Have your mount disengage back to ten feet when you attack again. Controlled mounts move on your turn and can dodge disengage or dash. Use that feature if you want to use the lance. Also, if you feel the need to relocate within the mounts speed, usually 50, no op attacks because of the disengage action. Unless of course your DM wants to be a jerk and say the mount disengaged but you didn’t here’s an attack. Then again you can then say I didn’t use my movement, action, bonus action or reaction to move, so it’s like forced movement on your part, which doesn’t provoke. Either way, controlled mount Disengage. Powerful tactic.

[@jawamaster]

Controlled mounts move on their own turn, either before or after yours.

[@Charles-ij1ow]

Another D&D build from Colby, I can't think of a better way to spend my time.

[@cabie58]

Love the flavor of your latest build, Colby! Thank you for sharing!

[@AV-69]

"It's unlikely you're going to get hit in the face with a fireball for 3 rounds in a row" - it's happened to me before

[@Thuase]

Same here. Curse of strahd campaign lol

[@edwinharbauer2260]

With the lance you could have your Mount disengage and then you could attack without taking an opportunity attack ;)

[@lunatickgeo]

Yeah, I was surprised that he missed this. We have a Cav in our party and that's what he does.

[@binolombardi]

The disconnect is because the rules are trash and contradictory. One portion of the rules says a mount can move and be directed on the turn it’s mounted. Another portion dictates that the mount has its own turn, even when it moves in the same initiative count as the rider. This would mean a mount would have to take its turn to move either before or after the riders turn, but not during the actual riders turn. This basically fucks mounted riding entirely. Mounted combat RAW is trash, and everyone basically plays in a bunch of different ways based on assumptions without knowing exactly how trash mounted combat is. The last part is probably a good thing because it means everyone’s more likely to have fun instead of arguing over trash.

[@logancuster8035]

@@binolombardi My understanding is that there are separate rules for Controlled and Independent mounts.

[@binolombardi]

@@logancuster8035 that is correct. there’s also nothing stopping you from utilizing both sets of rules every single round of combat as you switch from controlling to allowing movement.

[@lunatickgeo]

@@binolombardi My understanding is that you don't switch rules between both set of rules, that you only use the set which applies to your mount. If your mount is intelligent enough to act independently then it uses the independent mount rules, basically it means it is its own character. If the mount is controlled, it's an extension of the PC's features and abilities. It simply doesn't make sense for a controlled mount to switch to the independent rule set because it doesn't have the prerequisites to be considered an independent mount. And conversely, why would an independent mount want to limit themselves to being controlled? Doing will severely limit their actions per turn.

[@BSTobias]

With a sword and shield in hand, you might need war caster for those S spells like counterspell and shield

[@michaelbeal1400]

Support the channels you care about! The hope is to have them making content in lieu of a day job. P.S. add a gold tier!

[@gmkgoat]

Something I don't think you considered was Sentinel. The three elements of a good Defender are Tankiness, Stickiness, and Marking. Without Hold the Line or Sentinel, you lack stickiness. Enemies can simply walk away to harass your party unimpeded. Sure they take an AoO, but that's not a huge disincentive coming from a 1d8+3 Longsword. Given your average Time to Die was well over 10 rounds in a lot of situations, you could spare a Con ASI for Sentinel if you really had to keep Mounted Combatant. Sentinel also pairs beautifully with Shield Master which you were a little hesitant on. The ability to shove prone and keep them there by reducing speed to 0 gives you quite powerful lockdown. Great video, though. I appreciate the breakdown.

[@TheRobversion1]

agreed here on the 3 elements. well stated argument for sentinel. though personally i'd skip shieldmaster and just shove prone normally to save an asi.

[@WhatWouldBojackDo]

I mean.. as soon as you have extra attack, you can hit and mark one enemy, then shove another enemy prone and still have your bonus action for whatever you like. Don't need Shieldmaster there. If you stick with fighter until lvl 10, you get the relevant part of Sentinel, as well as a reaction akin to the shield spell. You could instead get ASIs or different feats for support spells to cast on your BA or maneuvers or even Polearm Master or Slasher for some additional bonus action marking or more movement control. I think that's the beauty of the Cavalier, the feats you'd take are kind of embedded in the subclass already. I'd probably stay fighter until lvl 11 before I start multiclassing.

[@gabrielberger7673]

"unwavering is about as good as it gets when it comes to taunting." Ancestral barbarian: i see how it is :(

[@DnDDeepDive]

I'm just referring to the "your enemy has disadvantage when they attack anyone other than you" mechanic. Not the specifics of how you make that work as a Cavalier :).

[@binolombardi]

Unwavering mark would work fairly well to protect your mount if they’re wearing barding. Your mount wouldn’t be more than 5ft away from you and your enemy very often. If they successfully hit your mount through the disadvantage then they have a bonus action attack coming their way with advantage and bonus damage. I suppose you could use your reaction to try to make the attack against your mount miss too. Interception fighting style could be used for mounts and allies. Warding maneuver could be saved to use for yourself. You’re more likely to be the one who gets crit since your allies are potentially getting attacked at disadvantage, so you’d probably get more value out of the resistance.

[@shinybugg9156]

Thanks! This is a great build for a character I made who is focused around mounted combat and the Find Steed spell. She has a reindeer mount, switching to a winged reindeer when she uses Find Greater Steed (use pegasus stats)

[@christophergibson4429]

Thanks Colby, always enjoyable to watch

[@noah509]

The Lance has so many limitations, but its flavor is just so unique. Would love to see a Lance build one day, I can never find a solution to its special conditions.

[@snazzyfeathers]

I made a Bioshock flavored build with an armblade lance as a Warforged. It's not too shabby. The whole "have to hit from 10 ft away" thing didn't really come up. If anything your character is going to be an annoyance that you're hitting enemies from just out of their reach.

[@DnDDeepDive]

I did a double lance build for the Mounted Battlesmith episode...

[@TheRobversion1]

i've shared my own lancer build somewhere in the comments as well based on the enlarge spell and mounted combatant.

[@akmi1931]

You can start with a mount if you choose the Guild Artisan (Guild Merchant) background. Sure, it’s a mule but it is a mount. But most importantly, it sets a precedent. No DM can argue that you can’t start with a mount if the PHB allows you one.

[@carsonlake3842]

Great build! Making me nostalgic for my first character that got a gryphon at like lvl 4

[@chara2038]

Haha, i was talking yesterday with a friend about trying to build an archer on horseback, eventually the conversation went to talk about how making a tank on horseback was much better

[@maxcoto9061]

I disagree. A mounted archer takes full advantage of a mounts mobility by being nearly impossible to catch as you kite the enemy. It is much easier to set the distance between you and the enemy with such great movement speed, and can even work to pull enemies out of position as they try and pursue you. A tank on the other hand wants to get stuck into combat. They want to be in the middle of the fray so they can easily reach and damage enemies, physically impose themselves in between the enemy and their allies to make it harder to reach them, and use various auras and aura-like abilities to guard and benefit allies. A mount will just get swarmed and ganked in these conditions, and its mobility will be nearly useless once the tank gets stuck into combat. Mounts are always a boon because mobility is king, but archers take advantage of it much better.

[@adamkaris]

I still think the "Cavalier" and "samurai" names should be switched. A dude on horseback from 100' away using sharpshooter benefits a lot more from the Bonus Action "I have advantage now" ability, and fits more with a samurai theme

[@binolombardi]

Elven rogue with elven accuracy. Use steady aim to ensure a hit with sneak attack die applied. You get a slightly increased chance to crit without having to choose between your attack action or two weapon fighting attack if fishing. On horseback they may move around, since giving up your own movement doesn’t stop your horse from moving. You could get the sentinel feat. If creatures actually catch up to you and decide to attack your horse, you get a reaction attack potentially using sneak attack. Your horse is an ally after all.

[@PatandSylus]

Could you possibly do a healer build based on the life transference spell? I'm playing a fighter1/abjuration wizard19 whos main utility is life transference for huge heals into vampiric touching the enemy to get the health back and the spell seems really good if used right. Im curious how far it could be pushed.

[@adamkaris]

You definitely want 2 fighter 5 sorc for lower levels with this spell. (Or tasha's metamagic adept as wizard and ignore sorc levels) It says "when you cast this spell you do the vamp thing, and later you can use your action to do it again" So you quicken the casting, get the life suck Action, do the life suck again action surge, do the life suck a 3rd time that round.

[@binolombardi]

Life leech build Aasimar- fallen scourge subrace 1 level of life cleric for boosted healing and armor proficiencies X levels of divine soul sorcerer Access to the rest of the cleric spell list and metamagics like quicken and extended spell go great together. The fallen scourge transformation ability gives bonus necrotic damage which improves spell damage and healing of vampiric touch and enervation. 3rd level vampiric touch casting would heal about 10 hitpoints per hit on average, which is about the same as its damage. Enervation would heal about 15 while dealing 18 damage each action, and only requires 1 initial failed save for follow up damage. There’s a distance and concentration requirement, but you also don’t roll to hit or save again afterward. Quicken allows for enervation or vampiric touch to be cast the same turn your aasimar ability’s activated. It also allows for you to potentially activate both spells twice in one turn for the initial casting if you’ve already used your aasimar ability, or want to save it. Disciple of life adds to the base healing of each of those spells each time it’s used. Disciple of life also slightly boosts healing received by upcasting the spell. Tashas introduced mind sliver if you want to increase the likelihood of enervation sticking in your initial casting. Empowered metamagic could be a cheap way to increase the damage and healing of both spells too. When your sorcerer reaches a high enough level they may opt to cast regenerate on on themselves. Extended metamagic makes this last for 2 hours. Disciple of life makes regenerate passively heal you 10 hitpoints at the beginning of each of your turns.

[@kaemonbonet4931]

Um, casting it is kind of pushing it as far as it goes... Its not a super great idea. You can always try something like death cleric channel divinity with vampiric touch. At level 5 you deal about 25 damage once with it. At level 8 you deal about 35 damage twice per short rest... Ultimately the problem with it is you have to use vampiric touch, which isn't great at dealing damage and requires you to walk up to someone and say, "hey, loser, I'm concentrating" and all it gave me was 5 hp.

[@thesuitablecommand]

You could do a Twinned Enervation plus life Transferrence as a divine Soul Sorcerer, with Fallen Aasimar race for extra necrotic damage/health steal. Takes more than 1 round to set up, but far from unsustainable once you've got some victims of Ennervation

[@kaemonbonet4931]

@@thesuitablecommand enervation requires an action and that you remain within 30 feet of both targets. If you don't use your action the spell ends. Its not worth it. Just cast slow or haste or fireball or like anything. Enervation requires too much and gives too little. The problem with life transferring is that if you're not using it as an oh shit button on a wizard. Then you're probably better off healing other ways. Even then, you probably would be better off with having your familiar or homonculus give a potion. Even then you're a wizard, there's probably something better you could be doing. Put up a wall of force, cast slow, thunder step do another thing and you'll probably be happier with the result.

[@alexbookbinder3634]

Does the Dire Druid in the primal circle book have Wisdom/Strength saves? It’s always bothered me that that’s the one combination that doesn’t exist

[@DnDDeepDive]

it does!

[@Lloydy1916]

There's a fun tank build I came up with that I wanna try. It uses the Primeval Guardian UA ranger subclass (which is absolutely trash but I managed to make it sorta work). So you play a bugbear and you use a reach weapon (Halberd/Glaive) and then when you transform into this tree form you are a large sized creature with a 20ft reach, but you can only move 5 feet on your turn which kinda sucks. But at level 5 with this (I went ranger 3/fighter 2) your attacks deal 1d10+2d6 (Piercing Thorns + Hunter's Mark), you have at least a 17 AC with chainmail and defence fighting style and you also have the interception fighting style. My idea of this build was a tank/protector who just sits on the fragile ranged rogue/spellcaster, when you get Polearm Master + Sentinel you stop people getting to them, you reduce damage they take from attacks, and you get to smack things 20ft away which sounds ridiculous. Also if you have a caster in your party who can cast Enlarge/Reduce you can become Huge sized which is hilarious.

[@dragonhearthx8369]

I would like to see how you would role play and optimize this idea. Race: reborn Background: haunted one Class: spirit bard

[@joshd4119]

Awesome video! I'll be adapting this for a lvl8 oneshot -- playing a half-drow mounted on a giant lizard. Going Fighter6/Pally2 to take advantage of the lvl6 Fighter ASI

[@TheRobversion1]

nice vid colby. about the same way i'd build it as well if i was aiming to make a mounted tank. i agree with most if not all of your choices here. regarding find steed though, it working as both an independent and "controlled" mount, essentially a summoned creature you mount is why you spend the spell slot, it's why it's special. if it doesn't work that way there's no difference between find steed and a regular mount. it is meant to be used as a summoned creature fighting alongside the caster that can be mounted. anyway, i've also played my own version of this in the past (had to wait as you said for a campaign that took place in spacious environments before i got to play it). mine has more issues with cramped environments than yours as i wanted to maximize mounted combatant. burst striker build as usual and i'll share here the level 10 theorycraft: 2 fighter, 5 conquest, 3 divine soul custom lineage: piercer (lancer) asi: mounted combatant fighting style: dueling, superior technique-maneuvering attack metamagic: quickened spell, twinned spell tactics: pre-combat: find steed round 1 (steed has lower initiative-skirmisher playstyle): move towards bbeg on find steed (controlled mount) initiative of the mount now matches yours bonus action: quickened enlarge action: 2 attacks with divine smites at advantage action surge: 2 attacks with divine smites at advantage steed action: disengage and move away with remaining move round 2: continue with skirmisher playstyle or switch to combat steed playstyle below round 1: (steed has higher or equal initiative-combat steed playstyle) move towards bbeg on find steed (independent mount) bonus action: quickened enlarge (if round 1 still) steed action: trampling charge action: 2 attacks with divine smites at advantage action surge: 2 attacks with divine smites at advantage (if round 1 still) + maneuvering attack (steed) steed reaction: move at half speed away + move with remaining move further bonus actions can be spent converting spell slots to sorc points so you can quicken another spell like armor of agathys for you and your steed. use favored of the gods or guided strike for misses. if guided strike is unused, convert to spell slot before short rest. should another person in the party want the enlarge buff, we can use action surge instead to twin enlarge so we can have it cast on ourselves, steed and a party member. it was fun to play on open field being a large character on a huge mount charging down large (like young dragons) or smaller enemies and being very mobile. as we got into higher levels though, it wasn't as effective as we encountered more huge+ enemies (like giants).

[@brayavolovalentine5409]

Ah yes, my day has gone from good to great with yet another goodie of a video.

[@kai---runeskin1417]

I will always enjoy your work, hope you may continue doing what you like, thank you and as always have yourself a wonderful day.

[@juliusheart2667]

Isn't your mount an ally within 5ft? You can protect it quite well without the mounted combat feat?

[@Hesauce]

I believe you're correct and I have used Interception very well to keep my giant riding lizard alive

[@adamkaris]

But that won't do quite as much since horses don't have much hp, and the evasion ability is nice

[@DnDDeepDive]

I'm mostly interested in Mounted Combat for the advantage, tbh, but the other perks are nice.

[@AuthoritativeNewsNetwork]

@@DnDDeepDive speaking of, how would that work: "You can force an attack targeted at your mount to target you instead." - this doesn't even require a Reaction ("While you are mounted and aren't incapacitated, you gain the following benefits"), so any/every Attack aimed at my Lovely Horse I can intercede?!? {Both this and the Saddle are just Attacks; doesn't seem to specify Melee/Range/Spell. OP!!} And if say you're able to acquire a Saddle of the Cavalier ("you can't be dismounted against your will if you're conscious, and attack rolls against the mount have disadvantage.") Does this mean that they make the attack against the mount, with disadvantage and then you intercede, or do you intercede before they make the attack and thus they roll normally against you're AC {heavy armour + Defense + Shield + Shield of Faith}?? 🤔🤔

[@TheRobversion1]

@@AuthoritativeNewsNetwork yes you can redirect every attack with a free action. the wording of mounted combat is upon targeting so the attack roll hasn't happened yet so no disadvantage for attacking your mount (you are in "declaring targets phase") and then the attack is rolled against your defenses.

[@roninhare9615]

Could you not make the warhorse a sidekick? Giving it more of a rp flavor, and a potential Ally.

[@shivasamaroo2652]

I really appreciate these videos man

[@LukiecharmzTV]

with shield master you can also bonus action shove prone an enemy which could help lock them down from moving and attacking other allies

[@captainpolar2343]

remember folks, the best cannon is the best tank (enemies can't hit your allies if the enemies are dead)

[@whinemax]

I'm doing a Halfling Cavalier build and it's so sick. Get to ride a big (medium) silly dog. Which, because of it's size, can go wherever the rest of the party can go. My DM gave me an item that allows me to summon said dog once per day with an item usable on short or long rest. (We rarely visit towns in his campaign.) With crusher and warhammer I get to bully around the enemy monsters, pushing them away from my squishier backliners.

[@samuelkyle9894]

I do remember now, it was str based whip wielder with 3 levels cavalier(A marked enemy need only deal damage, doesn't need to be within 5 feet for the bonus action attack) into 6 levels of ancestral guardian, funneling the rest into the order domain with a 4th level of cavalier for an asi if i had wanted it. The main character arc reads as a loyal soldier slowly becoming disillusioned into an angry rage before eventually finding a way to channel that rage to defend a way of life, a form of order, that he was finally, truly, content with. And he played completely differently than Sir Galahad would, so at this point I'm just glad I remembered it at all.

[@Tanthalasa83]

Watching the video, I started to think... wait I have seen this build before... and then it hit me... except from a few twist, it is DawnforgedCast ultimate tank... the twist being the race, human over aasimar, and then oath of the ancient replace oath of the crown... but can be the difference in time, what book there was available back then and now... But guess it would happend sometimes... By the way, I have backed the sponsor, so look forward to receive the book...

[@daviddavalle2068]

Playing this similar build and has absolutely saved my allies, due to Unwavering Mark and Aura of Warding. My grappling monk ally (from a previous episode of yours) stays beside me at all times. 😆👍 I went with a single level dip into Warlock Hexblade 1 for Charisma based attacks, better future saving throws, and Shield spell. With that said, took Warcaster feat for somatic casting ease, but to use Booming Blade cantrip for Opp Attacks along with Polearm Gamble (shield and spear combo, Spartan style). As for my concentration spells, I prefer Bless for basic fights, and Shield of Faith for boss fights. All other spell slots are used for Shield, maybe Misty Step for maneuverability around the battlefield. Love my Find Steed war horse mount too 😍 Great Video and Thank. P.S. Due to my work, I listen you on Spotify.

[@TheRobversion1]

the hexblade dip is indeed great as it allows you to use compelled duel on the paladin list for a ranged tanking option.

[@daviddavalle2068]

@@TheRobversion1 Had to re-read that spell, and will definitely added to my spell list. Very few mechanics in 5E that allow the so called marking ability, and adding a spell for range marking keeps the focus on me and not my allies. Thanks!

[@TheRobversion1]

@@daviddavalle2068 as far as i remember it and the battlemasters goading attack are the only ranged marks in the game. the one on the cavalier, armorer, ancestral guardians are all melee.

[@taejaskudva2543]

I have loved armored warriors who protect others ever since the armature in the old Monte Cook iron heroes game. Thanks for this one! 👍🏽 Next item on my wish list is mixing these last two videos to optimize my goofball who I love but can't figure out the numbers: hafling paladin tank armed with a whip...

[@tuaa33]

I inspired by this vid to make a note for myself: Next tank: Rune knight x/Ancients paladin 8. The mount idea is fun but very unpractical. I still love the flavour of your build. Good build :)

[@sheddo6065]

Gotta love my paladin on a dromedary.

[@honorablevalor6337]

Iconic character type, check. It's nice that even if this character got caught away from their mount they can still do everything that's really important to the group; as any real knight in shining armor could.

[@sircreme81]

I think lances still work the occasion where you don’t need to tank, and you can just hit and run enemies without taking OA

[@Giyuo]

5:50 You def ate your words XD

[@binolombardi]

Lore bard multiclass trying to be a paladin would be interesting. Spells targeting only you would affect your steed too if you were mounted. Bladeward, mirror image, comprehend language, cure wounds, detect magic, disguise self, healing word, heroism, longstrider, speak with animals, enhance ability, enlarge/reduce, invisibility, lesser restoration, locate animals or plants, locate object, see invisibility, intellect fortress, nondetection, tongues, dimension door, freedom of movement, greater invisibility, locate creature, polymorph. And that’s just the bard spell list.

[@TheRobversion1]

nice list. i definitely like enlarge with mounted combatant having played a build around it myself. lots of other good stuff, especially if you can find a way to quicken them like mirror image, blade ward, etc.

[@gaidencastro9706]

How did you get them captions? Also, these would be really useful in other videos since I like to watch in places that I need to be quiet at.

[@DnDDeepDive]

Yep, just learned recently :). Will have to try and update old videos when I get a chance...

[@gaidencastro9706]

@@DnDDeepDive Yay!

[@araigumakishiyuroakiba2199]

this is my build I fuckin' love it thank youuu!! S2 S2 S2 S2

[@raultroncoso6714]

so a feat the will help you a lot on having lances is Telekinetic. So you move your mount and it's forced movement so it doesnt get an op atk. Just add a saddle of the cavalier if the dm says "you fall"

[@CasualDnD]

I’d like to do a (mostly) full cavalier build for tanking purposes as getting those extra opportunity attacks at level 18 is gonna be awesome. Only problem is I can’t decide on a Barbarian dip for rage to resist physical damage or a Ranger dip for the extra fighting style and elemental resistance with Absorb Elements

[@jenheath9382]

Can't go wrong with a classic

[@couver73]

Slight correction on a Druid's aversion to metal. It's specifically stated officially that they can't wear metal _armor or shields made of metal_ but they aren't averse to metal weapons. They're proficient with a few metal weapons like scimitars and javelins for crying out loud, and they can easily drop said weapon if they wanted to. Hell, Tasha's includes a sickle magic weapon to increase the power of a Druid's spells. If that isn't a clear sign that metal weapons are fine on a Druid, I don't know what is. Figured I make that clear.

[@tylllllllluuuuuurrrr]

This would be really fun to play

[@nnertnilc3249]

Great video thanks for sharing 👍

[@codyschulte9649]

I know you already did a team up build as a centaur as a mount, however when do we get the Moon Druid with Cavalier Fighter mounted on the moon druid, gets rid of the hassle of trying to maneuver a mount, just have your buddy do it lol Edited to add this could come online at level 2 and get access to a flying mount faster than any other team up, only needing the druid to reach level 8, as well as your mount can concentrate on spells, and honestly this makes a moon Druid actually have great scaling for a change lol also imagine being a Kobold so you can bonus action cry and give the one mounted advantage even in the early game

[@pandoraeeris7860]

Oath of the Watchers is also good for this build. Also, I think it's kind of a waste to not go for Cavalier 17 for the AOO's.

[@mikeyrambo2742]

Hopefully you can do another collaboration. With that art guy from that last video. That was great to see.

[@binolombardi]

Regarding the shield master feat, there are only a small number of single target dexterity save effects available to players. There are a bit more options from monster features though. It may also come into play when you find yourself triggering a trap forcing you and only you to make a dexterity save.

[@BanditLyfe2471]

You ever thought about doing a character built to get the maximum imitative score possible?

[@severknight1143]

Alert, swashbuckler rogue, bard jack of all trades, and max dex/cha, then twilight cleric for advantage on initiative, take guidance to give a d4 on it. That would be... +10 from dex&cha, +2 from jack prof bonus, +2 or 3 from guidance, +5 from alert, +5 from advantage... so... lowest you could get is 25 or 26 with a roll of 1....

[@snazzyfeathers]

@@severknight1143 Swashbuckler Rogue, Alert, Gloomstalker Ranger to add WIS to initiative, Twilight Cleric, Bard, War Wizard for INT to initiative, Oath of Watchers paladin for the additional proficiency bonus added to initiative. I'm too lazy to do the math but I think if you went all in on the max initiative that's what you'd get...a total mess of a multiclass.

[@deschaingames1851]

Pretty sure Offbeat Outlaw put out one like that

[@severknight1143]

@@snazzyfeathers right the gloomstalker too. Anyway, it's overkill after... even +8 really.

[@snazzyfeathers]

@@severknight1143 Honestly yeah. It's silly when you throw in more than one class that lets you add a modifier to your initiative.

[@freya5602]

Would be great to see you have a go at optimising a build using magic stone as well as one using the aberrant dragonmark feat. Keep up the great work, I expect to be binging your channel for the foreseeable future, love your stuff

[@DnDDeepDive]

Thanks! On the list!

[@TheRobversion1]

playing a "stoneslinger" build based around magic stone and eldritch blast in an about to end campaign right now. doing pretty well dealing tons of dmg based around cantrips and at will spells. it was theorycrafted at: 2 fighter, 6 bladesinger, 2 hexblade half-drow currently at level 15 (we're ending at 16): 2 fighter, 11 bladesinger, 2 hexblade excellent burst. wish i had more asis but i went straight down bladesinger as i wanted contingency before the last fight. can share the build and tactics if you're interested.

[@justinwolf3311]

My cavalier tank so far is a fighter 5 and artificer armorer 3

[@umbasa777]

Have been playing a similar build but instead of the Oath of Ancients I chose Redemption with a 1 dip into Hexblade. Variant Human with Mounted Combatant, Oath of Redemption gives Counterspell (and Wall of Force later!!), Hexblade gives Shield, and I took the Sentinel feat to fight the 5e tank fallacy with my trusty lance. It's been a pretty awesome character so far. At the end of the day, it sounds like the Ancients build is better suited against magic from the subclass aura, but Redemption's sheer amount of reverse uno cards is too sexy for me to pass up.

[@TheRobversion1]

redemption is indeed more of a tank than ancients. ancients is more of a support.

[@jeremynowak2800]

This is fricken uncanny. I have been looking at an oath of the watcher/cavalier/lore bard for an upcoming CoS campaign. Are you watching me as well as me watching you? Nice build by the way.

[@DnDDeepDive]

Ha ha! thanks :)

[@Harakiri404]

31:50 you cannot perform the somatic component of shield while holding a weapon and a shield.

[@thebatman6201]

You're going to eat those words. Imagine, a Goliath druid.. shape changing into whatever mount you require.. Imagine an echo knight on it's back, with a lance.. charging around the battlefield, using its echo to mercilessly slay your foes, while you safely gallop around out of reach. Then your mount can heal you, and affect the terrain of the enemies, helping the echo knight. A wildfire druid could help aid the echo knight in its teleportation as well

[@DnDDeepDive]

Here's something I could get behind :)

[@johnathonelliott530]

Really good all around tank build! A question for you (and other optimizers out there). An Ancestral Guardian Barbarian at level 3 with the Ancestral Protectors feature says, "Spectral warriors appear when you enter your rage. While you're raging, the first creature you hit with an attack on your turn becomes the target of the warriors, which hinders its attacks. Until the start of your next turn, the target has disadvantage on any attack roll that isn't against you, and when the target hits a creature other than you with an attack, the creature has resistance to the damage of the target's attacks." Would this feature pair with the unwavering mark of the Cavalier? In other words, once you rage and you hit a creature and mark it with your unwavering mark, if that creature hits an ally with an attack despite the disadvantage, would your ally gain resistance to the damage from Ancestral Protectors and would you also be able to use the bonus action on your next turn to make the special melee weapon attack roll from the Unwavering Mark?

[@DnDDeepDive]

I would think so, yes.

[@jdrt10]

You can very comfortably use a lance in melee mounted combat with unwavering mark, you can attack from reach, end your turn within 5ft, and on your next turn you can use your mount's action to disengage and attack from reach again without incurring on opportunity attacks or disadvantage, you lose your mount's ability to dodge or dash, but it's still pretty nice, and you get to use it 1 handed with a shield

[@TheRobversion1]

you also lose the mount's ability to attack if it's find steed. that's a cost imo.

[@jdrt10]

@@TheRobversion1 At that point yes, it is a bit of a loss, but the find steed attacks are normally pitiful compared to yours

[@TheRobversion1]

@@jdrt10 yes but you arent giving up your attacks either. You are giving up disengaging (defense). It doesnt mean if you're moving away without disengaging you lose your attacks. It just means you get hit (since you can redirect the attack to your mount to yourself). Given your solid defenses, i'd take that attack (which may miss anyway) to give my find steed a chance to trampling charge.

[@jakeholmes9296]

Whenever it comes to riding other characters I see people talking about a spell caster riding a burly melee fighter. But the best tank would be a small melee fighter riding a medium spellcaster. Take the mounted combatant feature and you can take any damage dealt to the spellcaster and protect them from AoEs. I know this is super cheesy but it’s cool

[@adamlawrence7772]

Long time viewer. Big inspiration for my own optimization work. An interesting idea that occurred to me the other day that might be an interesting challenge for you. I was toying with the idea of combining the Psi Warrior and the Astral Soul Monk to create what I refer to as a Telekinetic Pugilist, or a Psychic Boxer. In my own work on it so far, I've found it to be a bit MAD, but I'm curious what you could come up with. Have a wonderful day!

[@DnDDeepDive]

On the list!

[@TheRobversion1]

should definitely work. wis as the main stat with dex, con and int as ancilliary stats. dump str and cha.

[@Sunny_Punkin]

I'm inspired to build an oath of redemption Paladin that focusses on grappling but flavoring it like they're running in there and hugging the enemy low level goons and crying over the tragedies that brought them to that point in their life. Like 15 Cha 13 Str 15 Con sort of character main focus is to be the face of the party and sway weaker enemies to put down their weapons

[@TheRobversion1]

you;d probably want eloquence bard thrown in there. i also find it funny that they can talk about their tragedies in 6 seconds. doesn't seem plausible but i guess you could info dump it with some sort of telepathy.

[@Scoopest]

What made you go oath of ancients over oath of the crown? The low dc for your channel divinity? I only ask because your other channel divinity lets you completely tank a hit of your choice.

[@richytheking1315]

You should look into the oath of conquest paladin. Its aura of conquest provides huge utility and battlefield control. Use a race like fallen aasimar or something that helps with frightening, combine with feats like pam and gwm fot huge battlefield control and good damage, or if you wanted to really lean into tanking and control use shield master bonus action to shove enemies probe while frightened. Overall there are a ton of possibilities and I find it to be an extremely versatile and under utilized sub class, especially with how unique the rp is for it.

[@DnDDeepDive]

Indeed: kzbin.info/www/bejne/qYebfpt4ls-Lqqc

[@NicholsHomeTeam]

Id love to see what you can do with a wildfire druid

[@DnDDeepDive]

On the to do list!

[@fabbit89]

Regular Algorithm Bump #1 Really enjoy your videos. Been watching since #23 and caught up on the other ones. I can't support you financially but will start my regular Algorithm bump by commenting.

[@DnDDeepDive]

Thanks!

[@wacpas]

I have a player using an oath of the antient paladin (pala 8/hex blade 2) in one of my games, they got a shield and use shield of faith almost every combat. They are very very tanky, especially if the party buffs them further with haste (25 ac regularly...)

[@Revelwoodie]

I have a level 4 Oath of Devotion paladin, I'm considering multiclassing, and cavalier is one of the things I'm looking at. Any advice for someone who started as a paladin (human), and so would be starting from the other direction? I took "Fey Touched" at level 4, and for my extra spell I took "beast bond" (my DM is allowing homebrew falconry). I figured I could use that for my falcon, and also for any "real" horse I get (i.e. not from "Find Steed"). Strength and Charisma both 16 right now. I'm fighting sword and board, with "Protection" for my paladin fighting style. My priorities are tanking, buffs, and healing. My group is a bunch of squishy magic people. Their dps is awesome, but they need a "knight in shining armor" sometimes, lol.

[@daltondavidson7997]

I’ve heard the oath of vengeance pally is really strong. I would love to see you bring that one up someday.

[@DnDDeepDive]

On the list!

[@TheRobversion1]

yup. one of the best if not the best paladin subclass.

[@yhhhea]

Was recently thinking about playing more flavour/roleplay characters more than strong mechanicly. I'm thinking either fighter samurai + monk kensei or reborn rogue phantom + cleric of the grave. thoughts?

[@dustinlivingston4089]

Biggest question about this build is what square do you count yourself in when referencing all of you auras and interception and cavaliers mark benefits?

[@TheRobversion1]

he has a vid discussing his default position on this. personally i'd just be a blob (partially occupying all 4 squares) in the middle of the mount.

[@DnDDeepDive]

Right! As Rob said, that Mounted Combat vid I linked was a pretty nice discussion I think on this and all other Mounted Combat questions. Also, I think the best and easiest solution is to just consider your character your mount, occupying all 4 squares. Anything else is just really weird/clunky.

[@TheRobversion1]

@@DnDDeepDive agreed but i think it does become weird/clunky when there's a 2 size difference between ride and mount like a polearm using medium character riding an elephant. personally, i'd just say the pc is in the middle square and can reach around the mount with a reach weapon if the target enemy is also huge but would have trouble reaching medium size or smaller adjacent to the mount. he also cant be reached by attacks without a large amount of reach as the pc is in the center on top of a 15ft cube (essentially 20 ft high).

[@dustinlivingston4089]

@@DnDDeepDive cool I will check it out. It is not really a big boost but does add a few squares mounted compared to not mounted.

[@joshuafrench8151]

You should do a double PC episode with a mounted combatant riding his friend centaur or druid Edit: I said this before I heard you say you didn’t want to do that

[@DnDDeepDive]

Ha ha, it’s on the list regardless ;)

[@MasterZenII]

GUYS!! The sponsor druid compendium is ALREADY FUNDED!! We rock! Be sure to go pick up your copy!

[@DJWidget]

Don't know what the gold tier will be (if it will be), but I'm for it!

[@Firenze_gaming]

Have you done/would do a shield master build?

[@DnDDeepDive]

will put it on the list!

[@thesuitablecommand]

Have you ever done a build themed around the Fear mechanic(s)? I am looking into good options for a Conquest Paladin right now, it looks really fun (as long as your DM doesn't constantly throw fear-immune enemies your way)

[@DnDDeepDive]

I have... check out the Undead Support Warlock from a few weeks back :)

[@thesuitablecommand]

@@DnDDeepDive Thanks!! I will take a look

[@cameronbrown925]

Considering that having half cover gives the same bonus as a shield to AC and all saving throws, Shield Master really should do the same. Presumably they didn't want to make the no damage clause easier to achieve. And re: Harness Divine Power. Playing an Ancients paladin, I almost exclusively use Harness Divine Power and leave Nature's Wrath for flavor - things like quickly wrapping a surrendering enemy up or, once, stitching together a torn in two body to return it to their partner.

[@AReed030188]

Any plans to do anything with a Gloomstalker build? I've heard the class can already be kind of broken, I'm curious how it stands up to some of your best.

[@DnDDeepDive]

^ this! Admittedly, it's not a full Gloomstalker... will have to do a more dedicated one in the future...

[@AReed030188]

@@Story_Sandwich Thanks, I'll check that one out. I've been following for a while but I must have missed that one.

[@fallenangel7364]

I'm playing a Goliath cavalier With a homebrew feat that's just a full on taunt - fail save attack me And have plans to go one level into warlock hexblade so i can get absorb element and having the shield spell is also great But that's as far as my planning goes (Though I'm also using a lance with the find steed (or technically summon steed ) spell )

[@briang3598]

If constitution saving throws were a concern at Paladin level 8, I'm not sure why there was any more value in going for a constitution boost instead of a charisma boost, since the improvement to your aura would have given you the same CON saving throw boost, boosted saving throws for your aura-affected party members.

[@TheKilogram1000]

I'm new, but my favorite thing to do in DnD is problem solving. Solve the fight in the most creative way possible like throwing an enemy off a cliff, or set up a trap. Or get past a dungeon trap using mage hand. What is a good build for optimizing Utility? Not optimized for damage, but optimized for whacky things. Push enemies around, turn invisible, fly, make a trap with a glyph of warding, use mage hand for cool stuff etc.

[@TheRobversion1]

illusions, mold earth, polymorph. mold earth is my fave thing to use for eliminating enemies without doing a single point of dmg.

[@ericrockwell4059]

This man me think about a headless horseman kinda bulid. Undead warlock/oath of conquest.

[@alpacaofthemountain8760]

just found out about this channel..... very cool

[@DnDDeepDive]

Hooray, and Welcome! :)

[@dominicdwk]

I’m doing a Stout Halfling Paladin on a Mastiff mount

[@mikeyrambo2742]

We did that once and it was hilarious. I played a goliath monk who a homebrewd master in poison class and my sister played a homebrew scorpion person and she whould ride on my shoulder and I would drink the Poison from her tail to regaine ki points do to my homebrewd ability that allows me to regain 1d6 ki from eating my element. Thers nothing like blowing all your ki and then taking a drink of poison from a tail to get back more to re blow all over again its great and funny.