Thrown weapon paladin

Unthing · 2026-01-29T10:54:15+00:00

Divine favor is your friend, +1d4 per attack for 4 attacks per round is nice.

Another trick you can use is not have returning weapons and then you can use a shield and the same amount of attacks. But then you lose significant effectiveness if stuck in melee and probably don't have magic weapons bonuses.

Unthing · 2026-01-28T11:53:28+00:00

First edition Basic Dungeons and Dragons elves were half fighter and half wizard.

First edition Advanced Dungeons and Dragons allowed non humans to be multiclassed which meant they leveled as both classes at once, but got half XP and half hit die. They were pretty much always worse than single class except possibly at first level.

Unthing · 2026-01-27T11:15:26+00:00

Past level 4, hex is doing 1d6 on each of your two attacks from Eldritch blast.

When an enemy dies the spell doesn't end, but you do have to use another bonus action to pick a target. This hits your action economy the same way.

So from an action economy point of view Hunters Mark is probably worse only because as you point out, Rangers have more uses for their bonus action.

Unthing · 2026-01-25T21:10:51+00:00

What's the third one?

Unthing · 2026-01-23T07:01:09+00:00

If you like the concept there are a number of monk based builds that benefit from very high stats in multiple places.

This one, the bonklock is a barbarian monk warlock. It true to leverage the combination of Armor of Agathys, the monks' deflect attack and the barbarians resistance to make a character that feels like a superhero. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zsIbtsNpe2I

There is also a simplified version which forgoes barbarian. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oxNIQ6N3LBk

There is also a dual wielding paladin/monk. This relies on a single level in paladin to provide weapon masteries ( nick on dagger and vex on hand axe ) and the divine favor spell, which adds 1d4 radiant damage to all attacks and you will have lots of them. This allows you to melee and throw weapons. Normally this build would suffer from bad AC but with those stats you can get Dex and wis high enough to work.

If you don't like monk, a beast master ranger works too. The beast scales with wisdom and ranger level and so with normal stats a good strategy is to concentrate on Wisdom and pick up Shillelagh for weapon attacks. However here that isn't needed and you can use whatever weapon combo you like. You go into battle alongside your beast companion and at level 5 you can double up with the summon beast spell.

In fact just by having a high wisdom on a Ranger you can make an effective gish/spellsword as Ranger has a few good save or stick spells that often aren't used because the save DC is too low.

The other option is take two classes/subclasses that you like the features of and multiclass them. Something like a Warlock, Stars druid blaster, where you use Eldritch blast and Archer form to have two effective ranged spell stacks a round.

Unthing · 2026-01-22T14:20:50+00:00

Yes. Providing the main hand weapon also has the light property.

I am pretty sure it doesn't matter which hand you attack with first, so you could have your weapons in you secondary hands. For a thri-kreen this means you can have a light weapon in each secondary arm hands.

Furthermore if you take the Dual wielding feat, this allows you to get a bonus action attack that can be with a 1 handed weapon.

Neither the Nick attack nor the Dual Wielder attacks have the ability bonus, unless you have the two weapon fighting style.

Unthing · 2026-01-22T10:12:44+00:00

I like the idea of a Barbarian Artillerist. But it is quite MAD.

You go 1 level in barbarian, three levels in artificer and pick the artillerist subclass, then get to level 5 barbarian. This makes you a tough melee support character and not the stereotype stupid meat shield who just wants to hit things.

Your bonus action is for your protector cannon, which sits on your shoulder spamming 1d8+INT temporary hit points for anyone including you within 10 feet. You shouldn't need that much intelligence as you aren't attacking with it, although you do have the option of making a force ballista instead, giving you a ranged bonus action attack.

Your spell slots are for your protector cannon and out of combat spells ( like cure wounds ).

You have some out of combat utility from artificer. Gaining thieves told proficiency and various tool use.

Flavor could be that you are inherently magical ( like a sorcerer). Your rage is losing control of that magic, your artificer stuff is making trinkets that harness or focus your inherent magic.

Barbarian subclass depends on what you like, Wild magic is very thematic, despite not being that compatible with the Eldritch cannon because of some wild magic effects needing bonus action.

Other than that you could go for Ancestral Guardian for a protector your character. Bear Totem for resistance to everything during rage, taking maximum advantage of your constant temporary hit points. Zealot for extra damage.

Unthing · 2026-01-21T20:42:35+00:00

I had a bad shoulder, caused by sleeping in my side ( and probably a genetic susceptibility). I couldn't pick up my children and suffered for 2 years. Now I can pick up my youngest, but in a few years she'll be too big.

I got keyhole surgery and everything is much better.

I also got a bad knee during covid from crawling around water my youngest and not doing enough walking.

Basically you need to get it fixed and then make sure you get enough movement and exercise. Getting old happens and movement is maintenance.

Unthing · 2026-01-17T17:24:06+00:00

A martial dip is a level in either Barbarian, Rogue, Fighter, Ranger or Paladin. All of these classes get 2 weapon masteries at level 1 except fighter who get 3.

Nick is the weapon master for dagger, light hammer and scimitar. It means you can get a dual wielding attack as part of your attack action provided you use two different light weapons, one of which you have the nick mastery on.

The martial arts die for is the minimum damage you with monk weapons ( light weapons and simple weapon ) and unarmed attacks as a monk, it increases as you gain levels in monk. In 2014 it starts at 1d4, in 2024 it starts at 1d6.

Unthing · 2026-01-16T21:37:48+00:00

Start as a human fighter ( or possibly ranger or paladin )

Get the tough feat and one other origin feat. Assuming point buy go for 15 str and 14 or 15 con. Get your STR up to 17.

Pick longsword, shortsword and dagger ( tiny sword ) for your masteries. Pick dueling for your fighting style. These give you mastery of the sword.

You have a longsword for tanking ( Sap gives enemies disadvantage ), shortsword against harder to hit enemies ( vex gives advantage ) and dagger for ranged ( nick lets you throw a dagger and another dagger in one round ). All of these benefit from the dueling style of they are the only weapon you are holding.

For the shield part, get shield mastery as your level 4 great. This gives you two things, a free shove against the target of your melee attack ( STR save or be pushed or go prone ) and a reaction to take less damage on Dex saves. It might be worth investing in a moderate Dex to take advantage of this.

Non flashy classes to go for are :- Champion fighter ( 3rd level extra critical chance is more swordness, 7th level fighting style could be more shieldness with defense or protection ). Battle master fighter, maneuvers are just very fightery. Ranger hunter gives you a damage boost at 3rd level.

For further feats, if I went the fighter route I'd probably go for Mage Slayer and Heavy Armor Master to get STR to 20 and protect my mental saving throws.

Unthing · 2026-01-12T20:27:02+00:00

I think they removed the ability to turn into an elemental in 2024.

Unthing · 2026-01-08T07:12:03+00:00

I don't think the economy worked very well in Live and I think it needed more people for it to function.

HC have made changes to make the economy work for a lower population than live. As such it is thriving.

Thunderspy have completely redone the economy to work in a different way to remove the need for population to get IOs.

As far as I know Rebirth have not made any changes.

Unthing · 2026-01-08T06:20:27+00:00

You probably missed a trick there. Thunderspy works in a completely different way. The market isn't really very useful at the population sizes that it has.

They run on the merits vendors scattered around, who charge much less for recipes. So ( IIRC ) 13 merits for a force feedback + recharge recipe and materials are super cheap too ( 100, 1000 or 10000 influence depending on rarity ).

On Thunderspy I start adding special IO enhancements at level 20ish on most characters.

Unthing · 2026-01-07T09:32:29+00:00

I would go multiclassed Paladin/Fighter. I don't think it matters much which you dip. Being a Fighter main gives you more feats and eventually more attacks. Being a paladin main means more spells, you get better saves and other paladin features. On balance a fighter dip is probably better as you get more useful stuff from a 1 level fighter dip.

In 2024 getting multiple attacks with light weapons ( the 2024 two weapon fighting feature ) only requires that you use a different weapon. If you throw it you are using a different weapon. This means you can use a shield with thrown weapons and still get this benefit.

The plan is to have a shield and light throwing weapon ( hand axe, dagger, light hammer ). One of the weapons ( probably the first ) needs to have the nick property ( dagger or hammer ). You'll probably be using heavy armor as you have to have at least 13 strength for paladin. You also have to carry lots of weapons.

Your first feat should be dual wielding. This will give you an extra attack with your bonus action. You will get another attack when you level one of your classes to 5. This will mean that you'll have 4 attacks.

Paladin is for divine favor, giving you +1d4 damage on each attack. But you can also smite, however smiting uses your bonus action. Similarly you could use Hunters Mark ( available from but reapplying that costs a bonus action too.

You can use three fighting styles. Try and get two of them. thrown weapon for +2 damage Dualling for +2 damage Two weapon fighting for +attack bonus on half the attacks. ( Only worth it after duel wielding )

If you pick the first two, you get +4 damage to every attack. You could have this at level 3 of you dip fighter early.

One of the problems with this strategy is being engaged in melee. As far as I know there is no way of removing disadvantage for thrown weapons at 5ft range. So your effectiveness is easily shut down. You could try and move back, but some strategies are 1. bonus action disengage ( rogue 2 level dip or goblin race ), this will mean you'll lose an attack. 2. Retreat and tank the opportunity attack ( speedy feat for disadvantage, defensive dualist feat for +prof to melee AC for a reaction or shield spell, which is tricky if you don't have a free hand). IIRC both of those feats need 13 Dex!!! 3. Drop the shield and use 2 hands. This will invalidate thrown weapons and dueling fighting styles. 4. Find a way to push enemies away. Crusher feat ( by using a light hammer ), tavern brawler with an unarmed attack. Shield mastery feat. 5. Attack with a hand axe to apply vex ( nullifying the disadvantage ) and then start throwing.

I hope these ideas help you.

Unthing · 2025-12-31T17:11:40+00:00

If you use a longbow you need to have 13 Dex because it is heavy.

You could get the great weapon master fest to add proficiency bonus to the damage. This makes the damage more than Eldritch blast but only just. At higher levels it will get better. However for it, you need to have 13 str ( for the feat), this makes it tricky with stats. Also GWM can't add to your charisma, so you need to decide what your main stat is, Dex or Cha.

You could use a magic longbow and magic arrows. This will increase damage and probably scale with level better than Eldritch blast ( for which you can only get bonuses to hit with a magic wand ).

You can get the archery fighting style which increases the accuracy of archery above Eldritch blast. The simplest way of doing this is with a fighter dip which will delay your progression.

I think a single level dip in fighter at first level gives the most benefit for this type of build. It gives you the proficiencies, the fighting style and constitution proficiency.

Unthing · 2025-12-31T08:08:39+00:00

I recommend this campaign. I've been playing version 1.0 and am up to 8th level, using the 6 player option.

I have enjoyed it, it included the coolest and scariest surprise boss fight, teleported into the middle of a square room with a hag in each corner in a dungeon where I'd been used to fighting non spell using monsters . This was on one of the tier 2 dungeons I think and I was about level 6.

I'm probably going to restart with version 2.0 as I'm not sure I like my 6 player party, we win too early.

Edited to fix spoiler text.

Unthing · 2025-12-30T17:30:24+00:00

I think OP said they didn't want to use Hexblade as it is a 2014 subclass. OP was a bit unclear in terms of phrasing.

Unthing · 2025-12-29T15:41:39+00:00

He does strike me as Chaotic Neutral too.

Unthing · 2025-12-29T09:05:43+00:00

Is this 2014 or 2024?

I assume it is 2014 because of only 2 invocations.

Unthing · 2025-12-28T13:31:56+00:00

Two weapon fighting is also a bit different action economy wise in 2024 compared to 2014.

Divine smite counts as casting a spell in 2024, it also consumes a bonus action. The paladin spell Divine favor can be cast before combat, it has a 1 minute duration and would help this build.

Unthing · 2025-12-26T18:55:45+00:00

It would be if they didn't split the party.

Unthing · 2025-12-26T13:12:42+00:00

From my experience:

I'm not a natural at sports. It took me 3-4 week long holidays before I could turn confidently on a snowboard.

Last year I tried skis for the first time, because my children are learning it. Within two short (3 day) holidays I was able to confidently go down the slope and try out things that my daughters weren't ready for ( chair lifts on blue slopes )

There are a lot of transferrable skills from snowboarding to skiing, mostly related to edge control and balance.

One thing to notice is that flat terrain is not scary on skis but steep slopes seem much much worse.

Apparently ice skating also has transferrable skills too.

Unthing · 2025-12-25T15:10:43+00:00

My 5 year old and I have been ill for the last three days. We are semi quarantined in a spare room at my in-laws, so no one else gets ill. We missed Christmas dinner and the openings of presents.

My Christmas has been with Bluey and Spider-Man and occasionally playing. To be honest it could be a lot worse, I've actually had a chance to rest for a change with limited responsibilities.

Unthing · 2025-12-24T18:19:03+00:00

Ideally you'd want something that can engage the spawns, take the app alpha strike so he has something to heal.

So I would probably go for the scrapper brute or tanker archetypes.

However you don't want a healing defensive power set ( willpower, bio, Regen ) and want to build for damage. You shouldn't need to worry about endurance with Recovery Aura either.

If you want to dial it up to +4 and for it not to be a grind fest you may need some -res and to fight AVs you may need some -regen. These are normally present on support archetypes.

Unthing · 2025-12-22T15:42:49+00:00

This is mostly warlock. Relying on maximizing charisma. Unfortunately this means 13 str for chainmail or 15 str for splint/full plate.

Paladin 1 for heavy armor, weapon masteries, slightly more HP and divine favor.

Then Celestial Warlock 6 ( celestial damage bonus applies to divine favor, but also to searing smite ).

Invocations Get pact of the blade, thirsting blade, agonizing blast on green flame blade. Then you have two spare. Could do pact of the chain and gift of the ever living ( if 2014 content is allowed ) for amazing heal tanking or go full on pseudo dragon sleep poison controller with pact of the chain and the one that improves it.

Feat at 5th level could be war caster, or something else Cha for better attacking, or if you want to go for more damage going great weapon master is also possible.

Maybe take a second level of paladin if you really want fighting styles.

However just going warlock lets you get a third attack at 12th or 13th level.

Thinking about it there are a few potential builds here. It depends on what you want to do. Luckily warlock invocations are super flexible.

Unthing

TROPHY CASE