The Phantom Menace: D&D Build

[@DnDDeepDive]

Errata: can’t extra attack as a reaction! One attack only when it’s not on our turn. Admittedly, this doesn’t lower our damage a ton, since most of what we’re doing is coming from sneak and other things, but it’s impactful starting at level 9 (when we finally get Extra Attack) - I've adjusted the spreadsheets and the write up (for Silver Members and above) - from level 9 on it's about a 15% reduction to damage on our nova round, depending on the level and enemy AC.

[@ryanscanlon2151]

Booming blade rogues are chefs kiss rogues, it's free real estate for a melee rogue to pick it up

[@Notsogoodguitarguy]

Colby, you must be named and shamed for those mistakes. Stripped down to just undies and paraded through the streets with bell maidens shouting "Shame!" behind you. Such grave mistakes cannot be tolerated.

[@vvsandgaming4648]

Have you seen the Humblewood Fighter Subclass on DnD Beyond? I havea feeling it synergises extremely well with the Path of Giants Barbarian.

[@DnDDeepDive]

@@vvsandgaming4648 not yet…

[@Rabijeel]

I can only strongly asvise for fitting Chars to use the Echo Knight - especially Rogues. The Echo has 1HP and thus is considred (I still have not found a Source that states otherwise) an "Ally", thus flanking grants Advantage basically everytime. It even grants very Soon a second melee Attack that does not demand a Recource like Reaction or Bonus Action - which could be grappling. Also, you can take the Combining that with the Gloomstalker that grants on the first Turn 10ft movement and also another Attack that does not demand an Recource and is only limited on "first round". Also, you get your Wisdom Mod added to your Initiative. Having the Twilight Cleric added, you gain advantage on Initiative also as the Ability to share Darkvision. Now having the Assasin Feat adds crits to that Attacks - getting "Surprise" is your biggest Advantage, and the ramped up initiative is really gruesome. The Sentinel Feat also puts your GM in a tight Spot when it comes to ruling (what he must, as it is not clear): Does your Feats transport to your Echo? If so (the bad for you choice), you can Sentinel with your Echo and get more easy a Rection Attack as well as Styles as "Protection" and such count towards both of you and you can "Shield yourself. If not, you can rejoice - as now, whenever the Enemy you fight attacks either you or the Echo, you get a Reaction (Opportunity) Attack. So, you have now some Fun and can also throw in Shadow Sorcerer for sure - but also choose a more sinister Way - the Warlock or Pally. Smite(s). Pally just needs 2 Levels (no Oath needed) while a Warlock grants fastregenerating Smiteslots but needs 4 Levels. Also, keep in mind, your Echo can be moved in ANY direction - so it can "flay" if it wants, making the Grapple more sinister against flying Enemys. This ends up with Rogue(3)Fighter(3)Cleric(1)Ranger(3)Sorcerer(3) as Basis which all can add another Level to get to Feats/ASIs or another nice Ability. This leaves us with 18 Levels overall to pick from (when including the Sorc that grants nice Spellslots as well as Spellslot management. You got to the Level3 Spellslots as well, unlocking the Counterspell-Annoyment or even Invisibility Spell as well. You even can add another Level of Warlock to ramp thoose Spellslots up to 3 as well. Keep in mind, a Surprised Creature has no Actions. So the Assasin can crit pretty much a lot - like 6 Times, 2 Times it is a Smites 4D8(8D8), 2 are a Sneak Attack for 2D6(4D6) extra. You can unlock this midgame. Damage Count would be at 12 a nice 140 (not counting the To-Hit-Probability) before one can Act if you have it Surprised and that does not consider the Bonus Action Attacks or the Opportunity Attacks. With Pally, this goes up even more as the Pally does not have that Limitation in Smites nummbers as warlock has (but also no Auto-prone and no range Capability what you can pull off as well). With Pall(2) instead of Warlock4(5) you ramp up the Damage by adding more Caster Shenanigans (like Divi Wizzard) to a whopping 233, burning all main Recources in that initial Attack just leaving you with defensive Capabilities alike AC22(27) and a nice CC/Supüport via Echo and Sentinel. But,m I consider that the best of an Assassin that "One-Rond-silently Stealthkills" aka does Alphadamage. Without Recources (I count a simple +2 Shortsword as a Weapon, nothing too fancy for Level 12 imho) your sustainable Damage without Recources is now either 44 (Warlock) or 36 (Pally) - as said, mainly restricting Enemys movements via Echo (Grappling) and Sentinel as well as Protection or such Fighting Styles.

[@TreantmonksTemple]

I believe extra attack only works on your turn, so if you're holding your action to attack off turn, you don't get it. I should also specify, the Double Phantom often gets attributed to me since I made the video featuring it, but it's not my build.

[@Justkidding277]

Extra Attack says "You get to attack twice, instead of once, when you take the attack action on your turn." So yes, it does only function on your turn.

[@jaspermooren5883]

​@@Justkidding277RAW you are absolutely correct. Yet I still have to find a DM that doesn't allow you to use extra attack when you hold your action.

[@Justkidding277]

@@jaspermooren5883 My DM usually doesn't, but that's also because my table asks me for rules clarifications when anything comes up, and it's something I've mentioned a few times.

[@Tusitala1967]

It's fantastic! I used the Double Phantom as an enemy in one of the games I run. He was a legendary highwayman, raised from the dead and under the control of a greater Hag. His steed was a very strong zombie warhorse with Horseshoes of the Zephyr. The fight took place in the snow, so the PCs were in difficult terrain, while the horse floated over it. The Hag cast a wall of ice to block the party's escape. The Phantom was able to extend his Ghost Walk to the steed, so he would use hit and run tactics by riding through the wall of ice. The fight ended when the party killed the horse and the Phantom floated up to the top of the wall of ice. The Battle Master/Swashbuckler Rogue PC got to the top of the wall and they engaged in a duel to the death. It was a very exciting session, so thanks for posting that build, Chris! 🙂

[@Notsogoodguitarguy]

Chris, Horde Breaker also only works on your turn xD

[@BLynn]

The Phantom Menace: D&D Build #158 Level 01: (see above) [rogue 1 & race] Level 02: (see above) [rogue 2] Level 03: (@14:21) [rogue 3 & subclass] Level 04: (@16:28) [fighter 1 & fighting-style] Level 05: (@17:11) [fighter 2] Level 06: (@17:25) [fighter 3 & subclass] Level 07: (see above) [rogue 4 & ASI] Level 08: (@27:49) [fighter 4 & ASI] Level 09: (@28:03) [fighter 5] Level 10: (see above) [rogue 5] Level 11: (@31:02) [ranger 1] Level 12: (@32:32) [ranger 2 & fighting-style] Level 13: (@33:57) [ranger 3 & subclass] Level 14: (see above) [rogue 6] Level 15: (@39:55) [rogue 7] Level 16: (@40:20) [rogue 8 & ASI] Level 17: (@40:49) [rogue 9]

[@1fireupThe]

I appreciate you the most dood. ty for making these comments in all the videos i've seen you on

[@BLynn]

@@1fireupThe Colby is the GOAT, I am just one of the commenters.

[@jeffadams9807]

​@@1fireupThe Dude & Not Dood, lol...

[@1fireupThe]

no i mean dood. I'm a fighting game player i've been using dood for years. Benefits include: Gender neutral, feels funny to say, and is easier to type lol@@jeffadams9807

[@CamachoElMacho]

Just wanted to thank you for your positive messages and welcoming us home. It really means a lot!

[@coffeeproblems5780]

I'm playing a mage slayer Phantom Rogue / Shadow Monk right now, and it's an ungodly amount of fun. Uncounterspellable teleport right behind a spellcaster, shank 'em in the neck, and do it again as a reaction if they cast a spell. Not to mention, the concentration check from a sneak attack is pretty dang tough, especially at disadvantage from mage slayer. Just find the guy in robes, and Gank that dude.

[@Zyhrow]

Hi Colby, I don't usually do this but I love your content and your work so much that I have to. So here's my very first KZbin comment! First of all, I wanted to thank you again for everything you do! I'm 27 and I haven't played Dnd for 15 years and it's your content that's made me want to get back into it! And god, I love it! I watch your content that I look forward to from France (Yes a foreign viewer 😉) every week and am delighted every time. I have started a new campaign with Friends and am using your "PsyClaw" Build with a Dhampir (I use the Soulknife side to give "magic" and finesse to the "Silent Vampire" side of the Dhampir and the way of the beast as if he embraced the bestial side of his blood (Draconic Cf Castlevania lord of Shadow). I just wanted to thank you for everything you do and let you know that even in other countries you have a positive impact on viewers 😁 (If by any chance you'd like to do a Vampire/Dhampir build with a rapier in Castevania Alucard mode I'd love to see that (Yes great Castlevania Fan here 🤣- I'm hoping to ask you something you haven't already done that I might have missed 🤣) Thanks for everything! 🙏 From the South of France with love !

[@ninnusridhar]

My favourite rapier build is a swashbuckler x/genie warlock 1. Basically rush in, use booming blade, and dash out. Enemies have to move this taking booming blades additional damage. Genielock also adds a bit more damage every round from genies wrath. If you go dao genie you can then pair that with crusher for some extra forced movement. Piercer for a bit more damage Plus this does have that alucard feel. Hyper fast, purely melee but almost has a magical feel to it. And you can flavour your genie warlock as being the manifestation of your vampire bloodline.

[@geltza7]

I'm fully convinced at this point that when Colby was born and the doctors were filling out his birth certificate, his first words were "make sure to put me down as Custom Lineage, not human" 👀 I also agree on the Phantom Rogue and Soulknife being super fun and flavourful!

[@slimee8841]

Now I have to imagine that every time I use the wails of the grave feature a shadow whale jumps and slams into the second target

[@JamesTaylor-oh1sd]

The Phantom's flavor has always been one of my favorites. Dart throwers are super fun too!

[@ericmerrill9808]

My favorite magic dart weapon was a golden clawed gauntlet shaped like a dragon claw. It was decorated with one of each of tiamats heads, which could be pulled with the other hand to be thrown at the enemy and the were darts. They were all +1 darts and returned to the gauntlet at the end of your turn. And they all could do the damage of that head if you chose to. The gauntlet also counted as a +1 shield.

[@reganclark5626]

Love the Star Wars references. That scene plays in my head literally anytime I hear "rogue one"

[@1manApocalypse_CP]

Not to mention the build itself being called "Phantom Menace."

[@chrisg8989]

Yes! I love this rogue Sub-class! Glad to see the Phaontom get some D4 Love!

[@andrewhalmo656]

In general (not necessarily on this build) I wonder if you take Genie Warlock, would the extra damage you get from Genie’s Wrath allow you to add your Sharpshooter damage? It states that you add damage by the chosen type equal to your proficiency bonus on an attack roll, not damage taken!

[@zhu05107]

Hey man just wanted to say been following your content for a few months. Never played dnd but watch d dudes, yourself and others and I find the whole community fantastic. I spoke to my cousin at Christmas - we often get into things at similar times - certain bands, games etc - he’s on the same tip!! Never played but was saying he watches all these vids on character builds and the like. So, keep doing what your doing and thank you x

[@thundyrcat]

I swear it's like we are related...love the monks, love the rogues...played a Combat Rogue in WoW for years...This build is FANTABULOUS!

[@Bubble_Rum]

In the short time I have been subscribed(Found you about a month ago from your bladesinger builds when looking to mad scientist my way into being mildly to moderately busted) I have been saddened you have never made a phantom rogue build. But now you have and I've never been more excited!

[@bensledge4652]

You used Quick Toss before in The Needler for the net. One of my favorite builds :)

[@loredalamora8123]

simply amazing build, might be one of the ones i liked the most, the idea, the mechanics, the options, utility and very solid damage. I think the best part of having your "nova damage" spread over more than 1 turn is that you don't steal the show. You will never deal massive damage in one round and make the other characters in the party look bad.

[@cornycornsnake]

Thank you for the build. It was a delightful foray into limits of what’s possible once again.

[@MalloonTarka]

I just noticed that I think there's a problem between Fighter 5 (possibly Fighter 2 when using Action Surge) and Ranger 2: Until you get the thrown weapon fighting style, you can only draw or stow one weapon on a turn. So unless you're already holding two darts, you can only attack with one. Which is also true of every round hereafter. Darts are thrown weapons after all, not ammunition. Edit: Oh, and once you attack with a net, you can't attack again, though it doesn't say if that's per turn or per round.

[@verpine95]

Phantom is one of the most flavorful subclasses out there to me. I wish the trinkets came online earlier

[@larsespeland6068]

Thanks for the well wishes at the end of your video, it made me feel good. Always appreciate your positive attitude and great reach you give into making these builds. Well done on this one as always. I'd enjoy playing it. I love rogues. Not the best damage dealers, but so much character

[@TheCasualGM]

Its been awhile since I last watched the Phantom Menace, I must be remembering it differently but don't remember it being this good!!

[@jaspermooren5883]

For the net: even if they succeed the DC 10 strength check, that's still an action they wasted just to get out of the net. Quick toss is amazing with nets! Particularly when you have sharpshooter or crossbow expert (no disadvantage in melee). Particularly when there are more people in the party than opponents, which is fairly common, their actions are worth more than yours, so a net is great! Most underrated weapon in 5e in IMO.

[@wytsedejong5752]

Hey Colby, the theme of this build is a lot like one of my own, but I made a more straight forward version. I went Variant Human (we roll stats) and picked up Magic Initiate for Green Flame Blade and then just went Phantom Rogue X/Hunter Ranger 3. You have the GFB, Wails of the Grave and Horde Breaker for cleaving and since I play a melee character it is (I assume) easier to get two enemies next to eachother. Great fun!

[@SuperHbkforever]

And the black smoke riiiiiiiiiiseeessss. I saw their concert in vancouver last year. Amazing band

[@rogerandriel2308]

Love watching your videos while having lunch. Yours and Treantmonks are my favorite d&d channels.

[@rodrigoabreu3305]

I enjoy very much these sneak attack builds. So much fun! You didn't use quick toss, but you mentioned this route in the berserker lurker video. Maybe this is why you thought you had already used it. I played this quick toss route, it is cool for some spike damage here and there. In real games, though, I find that sentinel + mirror image (arcane trickster) & other party members gives us reliable sustained damage. We can go one hexblade level for BB + better crit chance.

[@finalfantasy50]

You can't use extra attack with the ready action since you aren't attacking on YOUR turn.

[@DnDDeepDive]

Truth! Just pinned a comment on this :)

[@TheOldMan-75]

I've never even played D&D but you are a pleasure to listen to.

[@Aaronnyc89]

Im rewatching Daredevil season 3 and this build really reminds me of Bullseye!

[@albertrobles2498]

I started playing a phantom during lockdown. We are epic level now. I went 16 phantom, 4 warlock. If I have one target, booming blade+weapon damage+wails+sneak. If I have more than one target, green flame blade+weapon damage+wails+sneak. Good fun.

[@paulnamesa]

Totally agree with the comment at lvl 9. more attacks is just such a significant increase to both damage and reliability it makes it a tough feature to avoid as a martial. Rogues really need something to compete and I think the obvious thing is give them expertise in attack rolls with finesse and ranged weapons. Bam! instantly rogue 5 becomes worth taking and means that your one big sneak attack fuelled strike is super reliable. it also perfectly fits the theme and mechanics of the rogue. If that's too strong for lvl 5 then maybe a 1.5 x proficiency bonus on finesse and ranged weapon attack rolls, which scales to full expertise at lvl 11 would be more fair. Its just that 1.5x proficiency is a weird thing to calculate, although jack of all trades from bards already uses 0.5 proficiency so its not unprecedented.

[@beastslayer8729]

That's... not a bad idea. It makes sense for the rogue being basically the expertise king. I would love to see this implemented in a UA of some kind!

[@daninterest6913]

Hi Colby, loved the build and can’t wait to bring it into a game in the future! :) Got a bit of an odd request/challenge here but do you think you could do a build based around the Grung and their poison damage? Is there a viable way to significantly up poison damage output for most builds at all? Been trying my hand at it myself and it seems like picking up Poisoner and spellcasting is the only way to go at it (I’m aware of the weakness of poison builds but I still think it’s an interesting thought experiment). Happy adventuring!

[@ColtHack]

What's really wild is how dealdash lets you say "yes there's a catch" in their sponsor ad

[@dicksonmattxenoblade6491]

Worth noting about taking Ranger levels is that you also get access to Zephyr Strike, which basically combines Steady Aim advantage, with a built in Dash and a passive Disengage, with a little extra damage to boot. Not especially useful on the Nova Round (unless you use the advantage on Round 2 while having all your actions available?), but thought it worth mentioning.

[@goblin12]

Another banger vid and couldnt stop laughing with the cut in of the whale everytime u said wails from the grave great vid again best wishes to you and your family

[@UndoubtedMist]

Oh man I'm never awake for when these are posted! I'm so excited .

[@storyspren]

The fact that this gets kinda sustainable with the wails in later levels makes me wonder how this would stack up on the sustainable damage list

[@joshuaclendenon]

Came for the build, stayed for the "Tappa, tappa, tappa." Good stuff, Colby.

[@hadeszero4526]

Always stay for the outtakes.

[@SolarBlademaster]

The existence of darts as the sole thrown weapon that counts as a ranged weapon really makes me wish there were more. Like a proper "throwing knife," or like kunai or shurikens or throwing axes (ones actually weighted for that use not some random hand axes). Stuff like that would be so fun!

[@TommyTheCat83]

Flavor is free, bud.

[@johannesstephanusroos4969]

Flavour may be free, but you can't even throw clubs for 1d6 damage by RAW anymore. This edition is ridiculously nerfed

[@TommyTheCat83]

@johannesstephanusroos4969 thats because clubs are not an effective thrown weapon. To throw a weapon effectively, it should be weighted appropriately. otherwise, it will not be effective.

[@johannesstephanusroos4969]

@@TommyTheCat83 Do me favour, stand still. I'll throw my balanced weighted club at your head, and let's see if it won't crack a bone or two...

[@xRoseBUD88x]

Changling psi warrior fighter 7 soul knife rogue 13. Look for glamour, studded, leather armor boots of elvin kind. Ask your DM about leveling up your psi blades as you level up. Grab sharpshooter actor, skilled magic initiate cleric for guidance, and cure wounds or bless. You end up with the master infiltrator master skill monkey and and a very effective striker and with psi bolsterd knack and guidance a possible face of the party. The amount of things you can do that are spell like with just your brain power is truly impressive. My favorite build by a longshot

[@peterchambers2401]

Bit of a flavour idea for the Horde Breaker part, since you're SA is split via Wails of the Grave. You can say the dart is etheral in nature thus able to split into soul fragments.

[@Solenum756]

Love the Young Frankenstein reference!!

[@zamba136]

The title of this video alone inspired a new character idea for me. Race: doesn't matter. Background: Haunted One Class: Phantom Rogue 9 / Ancestral Gaurdians Barbarian 11 The character is a Medium, i'm imagining a typical Goth girl that hangs out in graveyards and enjoys the company of the dead more than the living. Your background feature might help with the 3rd ability of Tokens of the Departed if your DM is nice to your character concept. Level 6 feels really nice, with your spirits adding to your damage and your party's protection. Rage reflavored as being posessed by an angry ghost. If your table uses background feats like my table does, i would choose Ritual Caster. Holding creepy rituals in a graveyard to speak with and/or apease the dead feels on brand.

[@theoneandonlyflexo]

21:32 Unexpected Bluey! Hurray!

[@TTRPG_Witch_Leon]

Re-flavour the darts into Cards and you have Gambit from the X-men! ❤ I AM HERE FOR IT! 💪🏻

[@dannorth3447]

Whales 🐋 of the grave sounds like a metal band 🐳

[@bambooshoot8732]

Stumbled upon your channel and i really like it here, tysm for all the videos. I'm trying to build a Nova type rogue main so i'm glad to find this. If you can, i'd like to see more straight build like the one on Treantmonk's channel. Good straight build are cool as hell to me.

[@ethan6882]

This build is the key to all of this. If we can get this build working. Because it’s a more optimized character than we’ve ever had in any of the videos before.

[@gaidencastro9706]

What do you mean?

[@jasondenevers9026]

Ok George.

[@johannesstephanusroos4969]

Sounds like a Star Wars reference, but I'm too out of the loop to know for sure

[@ryanscanlon2151]

28:57 is that right? I feel like the prepared attack is always 1 attack even if you have multi attack...have I been doing it wrong all these years or is that a mistake?

[@lapetitecuillereetlepaindo3005]

You are right RAW. It seems like a mistake.

[@DnDDeepDive]

Truth! Just pinned a comment on this :)

[@greypilgrim9967]

Ohohoho. The name hooked me so hard. And the intro just added another hook!!! 😁 so pumped!

[@dpjgiii]

Just found your channel! You make fun, powerful builds, support artists, and upload extremely frequently? Automatic subscribe hah

[@leonardofica4793]

I was thinking for a while to build a phantom rogue, this was what I needed? Always one step ahead

[@mattdahm4289]

Thanks Colby!

[@hadeszero4526]

Trinket the last enemy. So cool the final strike rips out there soul 🎉🎉🎉

[@jamesfoster9613]

Ok, the whale popping up EVERY time you said Wails from the Grave absolutely slew me. I was laughing so hard. Also, shameless request: please do a swashbuckler/hexblade build :D

[@clintoncurtis9926]

Hi Colby, as you liked Greta Van Fleet & Zeppelin fantasy references (yes I watch your videos right through to the end), I highly, highly recommend you give the album 'Queen 2' by Queen a listen. Back from 1974 this Queen album was fantasy based (mostly based on a painting but that's another story) I noted one time someone from ToA was wearing a Queen shirt so you may already be across it. Keep up the great videos, I look forward to then dropping every week.

[@renegadebond3603]

I would really love to see the numbers on this if we used if as a sustained damage build

[@brianpraamsma2607]

By the build title, I was hoping this would be a Revenant Blade build with Double-Bladed Scimitars. Great build none the less.

[@linkatronic]

I came for the build but I stayed for the Star Wars references!

[@Warmag3]

Haven’t seen you use bestow curse on a build before. Upcast to 5th level it doesn’t require concentration, so it stacks with other buffs like spirit guardians, or you can use your concentration for something other than damage. Could work really well for something like a swift quiver bard.

[@michaeljpastor]

My dog chased the family truck to my elementary school too, on a rare rainy day in San Diego. A wet German Shepherd terrified classmates until I realized it was Shadow, and they had to call my mom to come back to pick her up. My mom told me that Shadow had a tendency to be a little kooky on those rainy days.

[@alphaamino]

Hi Colby! I have a very specific build in mind, and was curious how you felt about its usability: Can you optimize a Changeling druid that uses its Change Appearance racial ability while wild shaped? Since MMotM allows a Changeling to change its size from Medium to Small, can you wild shape into a polar bear, then make it look like a black bear? How about hiding a bear as a bunny?

[@jonathanhaynes9914]

thanks colby

[@Notsogoodguitarguy]

I think, if we wanna be pedantic, this build will work a little worse than you think, because Darts should technically only be a ranged weapon when shot out of a blowgun. Otherwise they're a thrown weapon, not a ranged weapon. xD But, hey, good thing that D&D doesn't make that distinction. Also, Colby, big oopsie you made - you cannot make multiple attacks when you ready an action, only one. Also also, Horde Breaker only works on your turn. So no additional attack as a reaction.

[@henrymalinowski5125]

Thrown is a weapon properly, not a weapon type, like melee or ranged are.

[@Notsogoodguitarguy]

@@henrymalinowski5125 yes, but it doesn't make sense that a dart is a ranged weapon UNLESS shot out of a blowgun. And then, it's the blowgun that's the ranged weapon, not the dart. The dart is just a piece of ammunition. It's as much of a ranged weapon as arrows are ranged weapons. But, again, that's just what makes sense. But, seeing how it's not written like that in D&D, then it works.

[@henrymalinowski5125]

@@Notsogoodguitarguy have you never played a game of darts before? That’s definitely ranged.

[@DnDDeepDive]

Pinned a comment in the reaction stuff. As for darts, raw they’re always ranged *and* thrown. Your dm may decide to rule otherwise as always :)

[@johannesstephanusroos4969]

3rd Edition gave you the ability to do this with daggers, they were melee weapons that could be thrown and thus were ranged when thrown

[@Yenaldooshi138]

I like what I see. I like what I hear. Subscribed

[@majinsole8554]

The Phantom Menace is an incredible Rogue outlaw name. ~_~

[@janniselvers5503]

26:58 why don’t you poke them with your dart (you can make melee attacks with ranged weapons, it’s in the improvised weapon rules) you still get a d4 and can even add sharpshooter and sneak attack rules as written.

[@PointySword]

Would be really nice to have some Monoclass oltimized too. I am currently at a table that doesn’t allow multiclass and I’m trying to make a build for it that is worthy of d4 ❤

[@SortKaffe]

Most of the build ideas can work adapted to single class as well. Less damage but more high-level features, thus, I prefer single class builds. Often, Colby discusses single-class adaption at the end

[@PointySword]

@@SortKaffe 😅 Are we watching the same show? “This combination of 5 classes can work just the same with just one class” is not what I mean anyway. I mean exploring base class optimization. Of course you can pick class abilities and feats for similar concepts, but I mean “let’s make the best plain 4 elements monk”. I would find that very interesting and educational on basic optimization.

[@Scapp302]

Hey d4! Love your videos! Have you ever done a build with Nature Cleric? If no, I think that could be a fun concept to try! My thoughts for something unique was a Nature Cleric with Swarmkeeper Ranger as a sort of cheese grater-type build. Maybe 1 level in hexblade for hexblades curse? Maybe a dwarf so you don't need strength to wear your heavy armor? Would love to hear your (or others) thoughts on a Nature Cleric build! On a similar vein, I'd love to see an Arcana Cleric build as well.

[@DnDDeepDive]

I have - just search for "nature cleric" :)

[@MalloonTarka]

Oh good, my weekly helping of Colby's silky-smooth voice has arrived. Right on time for me to kick back and let my hair down.

[@JollySmalley]

Colby has this character building thing down to a science

[@jonathonosgood4405]

The quick toss was on your build that threw the nets! I almost used it for a battle royale I was playing with my friends!

[@jonathonosgood4405]

I made this comment before I heard you say “nets” in this video😅

[@richardchisenhall387]

I've got a build I'd really love to see you look at, it's a support styled class and it's got bit of a reliance on archived material but I think it's a really fun concept

[@HumphreyBertram]

I love rogues builds so much! Have I totally missed something or can you do a rogue/ blade singer build? It could be harder considering you always want lv 9 spells but 3 levels in rogue does give you some pretty decent abilities. I mean, you’re Colby, you can probably do something with it

[@DnDDeepDive]

On my to do list!

[@HumphreyBertram]

thanks so much, i look forward to it!!@@DnDDeepDive

[@JollySmalley]

You might need to do calculations for DPR (damage per round) over various numbers of rounds for a deeper comparison of the power of these almighty builds 🤔🤔 Challenge suggested.

[@MarkoSeldo]

Hordebreaker - you throw two darts at the same time. One arm movement, two darts, two targets.

[@richardunderwood156]

Extra attack only applies to the attack action and only on your turn. 😊

[@DnDDeepDive]

Indeed - pinned a comment on this :)

[@Screwball-D2]

I've been theory crafting with a bard/cleric build which uses it's magical secrets to take find greater steed, so that when you target yourself with a spell, you also target your steed, allowing you to proc order cleric's 1st level feature and give your mount an extra attack, on top of multi attack, and then hasting yourself and your mount. Valor Bard or Swords Bard or Lore Bard? Is this something you've ever considered Colby?

[@DnDDeepDive]

It's on my to do list! :)

[@johannesstephanusroos4969]

That's a nice exploit, you could also just ride your party's Druid in bear form or something like that 👍🏻 (though I know your point was doubling the effect due to how Greater Steed works)

[@hamsmcham3238]

5:52 his artwork is really good. How much time do you give him to work on each character? It seems like it would take weeks to do something like that with how much detail and work is in it...

[@btumor]

Played this kind of build in the past, it is nice on paper and the proficiency utility coupled with eladrin or such variant elf to get more proficiencies is nice, however, I'd recommend something else instead. Necrotic damage is terrible. Would recommend hexblade swashbuckler and being a face for the party instead to have a bit more fun if wanted to be rogue.

[@JakeBontempo-t4w]

I was kind of hoping the build would use the double-bladed scimitar and revenant blade feat to be Darth Maul flavored based on the title. Still a great build and video!

[@anastasiyaivanova4665]

I came here on a whim looking for a rogue build for a centaur pc. I did not expect an actual suggestion to get a mount LOL

[@dennischichester2590]

Hi Colby, love your work! Can you do a scribes wizard/echo knight build?

[@abeez3340]

Wondering if you’ve ever played cyberpunk red? I tried it out coming from dnd and was very impressed with the different style. The game is designed to have every session be a one shot and you are supposed to have 1-3 back up characters because there’s no happy endings in night city. Would love to see a build video or even a video of you reviewing the game!

[@thebitterfig9903]

While I know that this is the rule and fully intended, I think that’s a bad intention. It’d probably be best to buff rogue damage, then cap Sneak Attack, and the big flaw with the OneDD playtest was mostly that they didn’t buff damage first. Right now, there’s potentially a huge gap between rogue damage between tables or situations where the two sneak attacks are practical. I’d love to see baseline Rogue damage go up, buffing them when they only make one sneak attack, and then capping Sneak Attack at once per round. I’d let it happen on or off the Rogue’s turn, since sometimes you need to hold an action for setup, but only one use between your turn and others. Rogue damage would then be consistent, and easier to account for when setting their overall power level. The goal is a buff for Rogues under most circumstances, and one that makes play easier. Increase Rogue damage enough so folks don’t mind only being able to Sneak Attack once. That was the big spot where OneDD failed. Playtesters knew Rogue damage was weak, the test made it worse, but like so many aspects of the playtest the Devs were unwilling to iterate numbers within a better structure. It would be possible to both ensure clearer balance and improve Rogue damage to an acceptable level.

[@RetroTeddyBear]

I would like to request a build around optimizing the Charmed condition as much as possible, but the whole video is spoken like an ASMR. With your voice, that would be a maximum modifier and advantage on the Charm roll.

[@danball7230]

what if you went soul knife instead of Phantom Rogue? would the damage be right around the same? Great video as always

[@pasqualecirone9755]

I downloaded the video to listen to during my commute later. For the time being, I just went to Randal’s Art in hopes to see a Kenku. It’s ok that it wasn’t. I figure that someday someone out there would build a Kenku phantom rogue to get advantage on every skill they use from the phantom ability.

[@ninnusridhar]

For the eventual dartbarian another odd option would be a handcrossbow. Sure you'll be using your Dex as a barbarian. But you can still get a bonus action attack. With the archery and thrown weapon fighting styles on top of sharpshooter. Is it good? No. Is it uniquely absurd to carry around a handcrossbow that you chuck at your enemies only for it to bounce back time and time again? YES

[@talesofnintendia8506]

Whale jump scare

[@Theonemanoffire]

Knew exactly which direction you were going as soon as I saw the darts in the player art, nonetheless was a fun build to watch as always!

[@ashlynnengel2134]

love getting here early for this week's episode

[@JudeCranberry]

the actual mayhem that would ensue if we drank every time you mentioned BG3 would be pretty intense, since these get released/watched in the mornings Xd

[@Bummer873]

The bag of rats guy thing made me chuckle and almost beverage spew, making me kind of want to be that guy, in a comedic way.

[@Bummer873]

Benadryl....oh Benadryl....I work 12 hour nights... I do drug myself at times to get sleep. It's the choice between the Benadryl hangover....or the level of exhaustion where it's an hours and hours long constant anxiety attack until you can go home and try to sleep some more. Then not sleep some more..(Please sir...May I have some more?......MORE?!)..

[@brianfox340]

I think a cleaver (sp?) It's a cool idea, but i just went through a whole campaign with green flame blade, and it came up one single time. (i also had booming blade, so i used that). Sure i could ask the DM to include more of that, but in my (very limited) experience cleaving seems better on paper than in game.

[@cennerdobber8196]

Oh my rogue.

[@abendspiele]

I would probably ask my DM if they would allow me to flavour the Throwing Dart as a Shakram - Xena style. Would also makes sense when it returns to me and bounces between enemies!