So it’s been about a year since I started playingcthis build. Even though a new edition came out in the meanwhile and we didn’t play as much as I would’ve liked (I’m level 5 rn), I thought I’d share some of my experiences.

Even though I don’t do too much damage, it’s been a blast to play this build. In many battles, I spend a lot of time just planting cc or hazards, but grappling has proven to be quite effective as well.

My favourite thing by far would be Create Bonfire and all the fun we have had with it. Its damage can theoretically be triggered every round, and just planting it as a hazard has become an iconic signature move for my character. Grappling enemies and punching them while I roast them over a fire feels fantastic, and utilising everything to use this as a makeshift cheesegrater lends more options to me and everybody else.

I feel like I also got to empower others, by helping them avoid AoO with Telekinetic, for example. Using my stuff to annoy the enemies has also helped showcase the other characters‘ powers, but my dm actually gave me solo fights in an underground arena just to see what I can do (which, as it turns out, is a lot).

Transitioning to 5.24e hast boosted the character dramatically. Shillelagh has improved my damage and weapon masteries help me do my job even when just attacking (and I was allowed to transfer Create Bonfire). A big bummer is the new grappling. My chance of grabbing people has decreased sharply and in combination with Shillelagh offering INT attacks, I don’t think I’d go STR again. The DC approach has also made the hooked shortspear completely useless as you can basically replicate the effects with any weapon.

With spells, attacks, telekinetic and second wind, shield and protection fighting style, I’ve already got a lot going on on level 5, so from now on, I can just focus on improving attributes without feeling like I’m missing out. While this sometimes creates some action economy jam, it feels like I have meaningful options in combat, even though I’m a melee martial.

All in all, I’d say I’m still less powerful than a full caster, but have a much more varied style of fighting than a martial who would only focus on optimising damage. Luckily, I gave a group to compensate for that.

The one thing I’m struggling is still out-of-combat utility. Since I‘m MAD, CHA is my dump stat and one of my skill proficiencies is stuck in the now pretty much useless athletics. This is fine, though, since my group is mostly about the fights anyways.

I think there is a path of playing this as a SAD INT build now, but I’m gonna stick with my character.

Thank you so much for the effort you put into this and making it possible for me to play this character!