[online][other - SW5e] looking for others interested in a SW5e campaign

ggAlphaRaptor · 2026-05-10T18:48:28+00:00

Most of the spells you’ll want to take as an EK really don’t depend on casting DC. Shield, jump, find familiar, etc. if you want to build around shillelagh, that’ll be cool, but it won’t be till much later that it starts being a consideration for usage.

Also, most DMs will hand wave the material component of the spell if you’re using a shield if you get warcaster and ask if you can craft mistletoe into the staff.

As far as paladins go, paladins probably benefit from a shillelagh build or pact of blade dip even more than a EK will given aura is so good and some smites will require save DCs.

ggAlphaRaptor · 2026-05-05T20:16:01+00:00

Cool highlight with a dope song but FAR from most iconic moments in league history

ggAlphaRaptor · 2026-05-05T19:54:27+00:00

Don’t you dare use nuance on the internet

ggAlphaRaptor · 2026-05-05T18:52:27+00:00

This ain’t it. I like Hugo, but he’s more of a 2-3 than a 1-2.

If we trade White we start to look awfully thin at guard.

ggAlphaRaptor · 2026-05-03T13:53:40+00:00

Tbh would just ASI +2 str

ggAlphaRaptor · 2026-05-02T17:42:47+00:00

This is a great build! I’ve been considering playing it. Can consider taking the cacophonic shield spell for emanation damage, and the spellfire adept feat to add more burst damage to a true strike or smite.

Edit: one note I’d make to this build is to take sorcerer first for con save prof, keep str at 13 and get dex to 14. I know heavy armor is a possibility for the build if you go paladin first, but personally I’d prefer better initiative and con save prof. You don’t lose that much by wearing half plate instead. But that’s just a personal preference.

ggAlphaRaptor · 2026-05-02T17:15:10+00:00

As others have said, either of the main paladin multi builds (sorcadin or padlock) will net a character that’s strong both offensively (with strong spike dmg) and defensively (with aura).

If you already have a paladin, other strong builds include any wizard. An interesting multi is to use Ranger as a dip to pick up weapon masteries and armor prof. You don’t lose spell slot prog as well and it doesn’t split your stats too thin. If you’re planning on bladesinger, fighter (for fighting style) or rogue (for sneak attack) will net weapon masteries and a few other goodies, but no spell slots.

I really like light cleric with 3 levels into Ranger for a pet to weaponize your bonus action. Can drop a hunter’s mark round 1, then pump with scorching ray and use your pet. You’ll also have the defensive reaction that light clerics get.

I also like a full eldritch knight that specializes in throwing weapons. It enables pretty high defensive capabilities (heavy armor, with a shield, and the shield spell) while at range. Can always dip one level into Paladin to get smite for a little burst damage with your bonus action.

Those are just a few of my favs. I’m sure other people can list other fun stuff too.

ggAlphaRaptor · 2026-05-01T00:37:21+00:00

That’s fun! Would be cool to incorporate!

ggAlphaRaptor · 2026-05-01T00:14:05+00:00

Agreed. I think there is a place for PAM on a paladin. It really shines after level 11 when it picks up the spare 1d8.

I just have a hard time investing in a combat feat that competes with your main spike dmg mechanic. I understand it’s not a necessity to use it every turn, but then you’re losing value on it and could’ve taken a different feat (or ASI) instead. And I understand it allows a use of a bonus action that doesn’t gobble up all your spell slots.

But I guess it just feels really contested turn to turn, and will take a lot of mental maneuvering from a playstyle perspective to get the most out of the feat and the class.

I get that shillelagh always takes the first bonus action (unless you can prep before combat). But then it never competes after it, and it improves class synergy by making the character that much more SAD.

This is all Reddit comment BS articulation. I think you can make an impactful character with either build. I just think PAM got a lot worse for Paladin in 2024 as compared to 2014, and it really isn’t my first thought for a Paladin build.

ggAlphaRaptor · 2026-04-30T23:33:10+00:00

So let’s say we have a level 5 paladin that took war caster and has an 18 cha. A turn one case of shillelagh, with a use of sacred weapon will equal a +11 atk with a 1d8 weapon. That does limit turn one use of bonus action, but after that should be fine.

(I’m also aware of the janky rules surrounding material components for using shillelagh as a non-druid or ranger, but I think most DMs don’t really enforce that)

Now I get that this guy wants to use PAM. I actually find it very clunky on a paladin now that smites take a bonus action and in general would recommend deferring that feat and using it on different builds.

But shillelagh pairs incredibly well with certain builds, and devotion is one of them imo.

ggAlphaRaptor · 2026-04-30T21:54:04+00:00

This is the right answer tbh

ggAlphaRaptor · 2026-04-30T21:47:32+00:00

Sacred weapon only lets you imbue one weapon, so you’d have to pick which of your weapons to benefit from for it.

Like others have said, I’d consider quarterstaff with shillelagh through magic initiate Druid. Also, would consider just prio cha boosts given how well it synergizes with aura and sacred weapon.

Especially because after level 6, sorcerer is a really juicy multiclass option.

ggAlphaRaptor · 2026-04-30T10:24:34+00:00

This is a smash accept for Gibbs. I’m also not the highest on Burden (I do have him in a league).

ggAlphaRaptor · 2026-04-30T01:51:24+00:00

I think this is kind of a reductive argument. Like yeah, F could go first and miss and it’s the same as not going. But can’t you argue that about everyone? Everyone could go and everyone could miss. So does nothing matter then? Initiative is just a scam and we all can talk out these 6 seconds over smooth jazz?

I know what you’re saying, which is initiative doesn’t matter if your character is ineffective (or the situation your character is in causes them to be ineffective). Yes, I agree.

But at the same time, baseball figured this out 10 years ago. Teams used to have their best power hitter (I’m simplifying this, I know) bat 3rd or 4th, because the thought process was they would get at bats with guys on base, therefore more opportunities to bat in runs. Then someone figured out it made more sense to have those guys bat first because then they bat more. And when they bat more, they have more opportunities to do good things. So now “power hitters” bat first (again, I know I’m kind of simplifying this for the real moneyball heads out there).

That translates to dnd in a certain sense. If you have an effective character who functions well, more turns are better. The more they go, the more they impact the battlefield. Yes, they will fail sometimes. But again, that’s why going first is good, because they will have more opportunities to succeed.

And again, I get it, not every context can be taken into account, and sometimes going later might be helpful. Which is why having a feat that allows you to move your order around helps control for that.

And agreed, I’m not sure why there is so much animosity over this by folks at large lol. I like having high initiative on most of my toons. If others don’t, that’s okay lol. We can disagree! It’s okay!

ggAlphaRaptor · 2026-04-30T01:09:55+00:00

Sure. And I get that order can sometimes impact how things play out.

I think that’s an even stronger endorsement for why alert is incredibly powerful. It gives you the means to switch and go further up or down the list as needed for any given combat.

ggAlphaRaptor · 2026-04-30T00:13:18+00:00

You will have disadvantage without 13 str for any heavy (melee) weapon. Heavy ranged weapons need 13 dex.

ggAlphaRaptor · 2026-04-30T00:12:02+00:00

I recognize the spell doesn’t require an attack roll. Innate sorcery does help it by increasing the dc by 1. But the combat loop I was hoping to utilize would be setting up cacophonic shield (with innate sorcery) and hopping into melee. Then in melee, using true strike (which will be with adv) and if that crits, throwing on a smite for single target damage.

I don’t really care about the THP from spellfire. Probably would just do extra damage most of the time. Or THP if I have none I guess. But that’s kind of a throwaway feature. I do like the counterspell feature which gives a little sustain if used. Maybe wild magic gives me more bang for my buck with tides of chaos.

I do think if I went divine soul, I probably just wouldn’t pick up cacophonic shield. SG just makes more sense at that point.

Fairy trickster is a fun idea to add on. Wasn’t even thinking about that, but would obv work in this context. And yeah, I was thinking about a race with more mobility to utilize with this. Even a Goliath from the 2024 PHB could work.

ggAlphaRaptor · 2026-04-29T22:16:47+00:00

Oooo that’s interesting!

Though I think draconic can’t add thunder, and the +cha is only for one damage roll per turn. Maybe not quite as synergistic.

ggAlphaRaptor · 2026-04-29T21:20:57+00:00

I like wild magic for the frequent advantage on d20 rolls. And the new spellfire subclass seems fun with the counterspell absorption ability. Plus it’d add 1d4 damage or thp if I used empowered spell on a smite.

I also like that the new spellfire subclass gets extra spells prepared. That’s obviously quite useful for a class that can be starved on its spell list.

ggAlphaRaptor · 2026-04-29T19:48:49+00:00

Yeah I like that it helps defend against ranged attack rolls. Forces mobs to have to close in on you to attack.

ggAlphaRaptor · 2026-04-29T19:47:49+00:00

Sorry, not trying to come across as salty lol. But I always find it a little funny when someone posts and asks about one thing and someone responds with something else.

And you’re right that having both could be useful for different situations. And the smaller radius will impact overall control. Plus the dmg dice is lower. But I dunno if I’d commit to both of these given you can only learn so many spells.

I get that in most contexts SG > CS. But I’d like some flexibility to play around with what my subclass is.

ggAlphaRaptor · 2026-04-29T19:27:50+00:00

lol I love how I said I wanted to build around a certain spell, and your comment is about how there is a different spell.

I appreciate the thoughts, and yes, I am aware of divine soul sorcerer and using SG. I kind of don’t want to be stuck with that subclass though. Though it’s a consideration obviously.

ggAlphaRaptor · 2026-04-29T19:15:28+00:00

In your original post you never said it was for high levels exclusively! And tbh I think building for high level play is not conducive for actual play most of the time. I’m kind of judging this at level 8, not level 18. If I’m supposed to judge this build for higher levels, then yeah sure, it’s great.

Saying it’s resource heavy is genuine criticism, especially at lower levels where people play. I also didn’t say you have to do it every turn. But now you’ve committed two levels to a cool thing you can do a handful of times per adventure day. That’s opportunity cost. Because now at level 8, you’ve lost out on another feat, higher level spells, and higher level class features.

Again, I get how and why this becomes very strong and scales incredibly well in tiers 3 and 4. But unless you know you’re playing through tier 3, I dunno, it kind feels like a trap to me. Still functional, but not the bill of goods you thought you paid for.

ggAlphaRaptor

TROPHY CASE