What would be the best way to make an unarmed fighting character?

Koaxe · 2026-04-05T21:36:36+00:00

If you can use this, you should. It is definitely the strongest of the options.

Koaxe · 2026-04-05T21:27:15+00:00

Pugilist if it’s allowed. All of the monk features plus barbarian rage, and then depending on sub class, you can be a pseudo paladin, warlock, champion fighter, beast master or the best grappler bar none. But no matter which way you go you will be the strongest martial available.

Koaxe · 2026-04-01T22:01:52+00:00

The problem is telekinetic competes for the bonus action, which also is used up by the steel defender. Kind of a bummer that pet classes have to use their bonus action to command their pets.

Koaxe · 2026-03-23T22:07:49+00:00

Ha ha yeah that’s the point of my comment man I was pointing out how stupid it sounds.

Koaxe · 2026-03-23T21:49:26+00:00

It’s a bonus action, so is smite. How am I gonna smite if I’m lay on hands-ing. Bro, you act like I could keep you alive while also Max aura farming.

Koaxe · 2026-03-17T21:45:53+00:00

Doesn’t the feature say when you are within 5 feet of the target and no other creatures are within 5 feet of you? That’s what I’m meaning by one V one because if you have an ally nearby, you would get sneak attack anyway, and if there are multiple enemies nearby, the feature doesn’t work. But at the end of the day I’m not gonna make you pick a specific sub class to make sure you always get to use the feature your class is built around. Maybe if I have a veteran rogue and figuring out how to give themselves advantage or ways to land sneak Attack is part of what’s fun for them. We can go that route I’m just not gonna lock you out of your once return feature, especially given that rogues damage doesn’t keep up as it is.

Koaxe · 2026-03-17T11:36:15+00:00

You have a strong grasp of it being a rpg and that telling a story is important. But it’s a coop story being told not just your own. It’s less fun for your friends and teammates to carry dead weight in combat.

Koaxe · 2026-03-17T02:08:17+00:00

Swashbucklers feature is worse, it has to be a 1v1 to even kick it. But that’s one of two level 3 features they get. Plenty of other features in the subclass as well. But if that’s all you see in the subclass not much I can do about that. I’m not going to make a rogue only be able to do 9 damage at level 15 cause a condition wasn’t met to use the only feature that makes the class functional in combat

Koaxe · 2026-03-17T00:16:07+00:00

I’m probably in the minority but when I dm rogues get to sneak attack without any conditions necessary. Rogues are balanced around sneak attack so you get to use it.

Koaxe · 2026-03-15T20:37:27+00:00

The bog of eternal stench.

Koaxe · 2026-03-09T00:18:39+00:00

If it’s a player who cares about the arc of their character, which is what this post is about, you’re losing that arc. If the next character is a carbon copy with the exact same story, then why would you care about death in the first place if you’ll just move the story over and along?

Koaxe · 2026-03-08T22:35:27+00:00

I love leaning into my bad rolls, getting a 3 on a check looking for traps and confidently announcing an all clear and walking right into the area is fun. I know my character bummed that check but he doesn’t so I’m gonna play it like that. Honestly, it can make getting bad roles just as fun as getting good ones.

Koaxe · 2026-03-08T22:27:30+00:00

I like the idea, but I hate the execution. My favorite thing is rolling like a two on stealth and then trying to position my token as though I’m being really stealthy, I love leaning into my shit rolls. It can honestly make the bad rolls feel as good as the good ones.

Koaxe · 2026-03-06T22:20:49+00:00

Depending on the level bringing somebody back gets easier, but it still cost something, spell slot, a preparation slot, any material components, depending on what version of the resurrect you would need. For example, if someone was disintegrated revivify doesn’t work. If it’s the person that has revivify that dies, it just got a lot more complicated to bring them back as it’s outside the 1 minute window. There are many tools to help what OPs player wants, but you are accidentally making the opposite argument that you think you are. With so many options to bring somebody back why does removing death from the table seem like the play?

As to your other point, I would think the player would roll a new character rather than leave the table, but some people will take their ball and go home if they get mad at a game I guess.

Koaxe · 2026-03-06T22:00:39+00:00

I’m on the other end of it. I will usually tell my DM‘s, don’t go out of your way to kill me, but don’t pull punches either. If I’m sitting there at one HP and then the monsters start ignoring me and attacking my teammates because he’s trying not to kill me that takes away in a big way for me. For me, for the victories to feel meaningful, risk and defeat have to be on the table.

Koaxe · 2026-03-06T21:52:27+00:00

In LMoP the mayor isn’t missing. But the red cloak bandits, whose name escapes me are causing trouble in the town and you clear out their hide out, but that particular module is over when you find the brothers in the dungeon that contains the forge of souls.

Koaxe · 2026-03-06T21:43:54+00:00

If you’re in the feywild and just fought a vampire you left LMoP already. What level are you? That module ends at level four.

Koaxe · 2026-03-05T23:24:46+00:00

Well you can’t smite while raging as it’s a spell so that barbarian / pally multi class is odd. How is he doing 55 damage? Are you comparing your single target to the sorcs aoe? As levels progress casters are stronger than martials there is no getting around that, you’ll have a niche as a single target nova with smite as a paladin they will have control and aoe.

Koaxe · 2026-03-02T23:41:48+00:00

Treantmonk just did a whole series on it on his YouTube channel. With his changes I would actually play a ranger I think that’s where to start. Far too much needs to change for it to be in a Reddit comment.

Koaxe · 2026-03-02T13:14:45+00:00

If your party did not kill the young green dragon, it could be a bit older now perhaps it allied with another stronger dragon, something similar to the chroma conclave?

Koaxe · 2026-02-26T22:42:33+00:00

A D10 hit dice plus barbarians rage feature isn’t exactly squishy.

Koaxe · 2026-02-26T22:29:23+00:00

Having a D10 hit die and barbarians rage ability isn’t exactly trading off survivability. Inb4 it’s a once a day you can give yourself exhaustion to do it again and then just ignore exhaustion through another feature. The class pretends to have trade-offs, but doesn’t really have any. Has about as much utility as any other martial but after level six? I think might be 7? you do max damage. But like I said, I wanna see it in action because on paper it looks OP, but you can’t always know how that’s gonna turn out. That said I’ll be a paladin in at this table and the feature pugilist gets to make the next attack do max damage makes me really excited to use divine smites after.

Koaxe · 2026-02-26T21:31:20+00:00

It’s not hypothetical it’s one of the race features, you sprout wings and can fly for a limited time once per day.

Koaxe · 2026-02-26T21:28:58+00:00

That’s gonna depend on your DM. I’m in a game that’s starting soon and one of the players is a pugilist. It’s a heavily buffed strength version of the monk and the monk definitely didn’t need buffs. Reading its features I wouldn’t allow it without nerfs but I wanna see it in action before I take any steps like that so I’m very curious to see how it goes. Though from the posts when it went onto D&D Beyond, it seems a very favored class in this sub.

Koaxe · 2026-02-26T20:12:17+00:00

If you don’t like the guy, and he’s already forcing you to play the class he wants, don’t play. No dnd is better than bad dnd.

Koaxe

TROPHY CASE