How to Play Sherlock Holmes in Dungeons & Dragons (Detective Build for D&D 5e)
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- Опубліковано 23 сер 2024
- Today we have a build for Sherlock Holmes in D&D 5e! Whether you prefer Robert Downey Jr, Benedict Cumberbatch or Wishbone, Arthur Conan Doyle's detective has captivated fans of mystery for generations. With incredible knowledge and investigation skills, this is a great build for a roleplay heavy campaign.
Twitter: / tulokthe
Watson: "What creature type is a genie?"
Sherlock: "Elemental, my dear Watson."
@@gamecavalier3230 well at least you're kind about it
I like how you build his need for Watson into the build.
Sherlock is nothing without the good doctor.
Literally though; Watson is our perspective character in the books, not Holmes. Ostensibly because even if we WERE inside Sherlock's mind, we'd need to make DC 20 Int saves vs massive psychic damage, and perhaps DC 24 Con saves vs -drugs- poison.
Seriously, me too. It made it SO GOOD!
Wattson was a genius in his own right, the guy could notice things nobody else did and always knew to ask the smartest man in the room whenever he didn't know something.
@@tulokthebarbrarian2033 UA Sidekicks Spellcaster(cleric list) on a Soldier NPC could work as his Watson (or Warrior on a medical NPC).
"Just remember to keep your friends close and that's it. There's no follow up, be nice to John." - LOL
When I looked at the Inquisitive in Xanathar's Guide to Everything, I literally thought "This is basically Sherlock Holmes". Glad to know I wasn't the only one.
Oh for sure. It's almost one for one
I actually briefly thought Mastermind but no, that's Moriarty.
@@christopherbacon1077 I was bout to say lol Moriarty is mastermind. Great inspirations.
Same
One tiny little nitpick: Passive skill checks include bonus modifiers, such as your Proficiency. Since Sherlock has Expertise in both skills, his Passive Perception and Investigation are actually a whopping *32*
Ya nothing getting pass him unless mortiary rolled good stelth
Due to Steady Eye, wouldn't he (almost) always have another +5 due to constant advantage?
Bringing it to a godlike *37*
_Perfect._
@@SuperVALERock ...this explains the RDJ scene where all the noises are too loud & almost overwhelming. Imagine trying to function in daily life when you notice literally E V E R Y T H I N G
Another nitpick is his low strength. Remember, he can not only dance around his enemies, he can also beat them with an iron bar, that he himself bent. Seriously, Sherlock literally needs to have strength almost as high as dex.
If I recall corectly, Sherlock Holmes was actually an expert fencer, so giving him a rapier and flavoring it as a sword cane (or just straight up rapier) would also work for your weapon of choice when using this build.
This needs to get to the top
Defensive Duelist Feat
"When you are wielding a finesse weapon with which you are proficient and another creature hits you with a melee attack, you can use your reaction to add your proficiency bonus to your AC for that attack, potentially causing the attack to miss you."
Well, my Proficiency bonus is a +6, so I "reskin" (customize the name of the item) whatever Rapier I have to "Sword Cane", and then RP that the shaft of the cane is held off-hand when using the blade in the main hand, and it basically becomes a situational +6 shield...!
He's also strong. In "The Speckled Band," he was able to bend back an iron poker. I'd say his strength would be around 12.
The instant you mentioned low charisma my mind went straight to that scene from the TV show:
"Punch me in the face."
"What?"
"Punch me, in the face. Did you not hear me?"
"I always hear "Punch me in the face" when you speak, but usually it's subtext."
You talked a lot about how Sherlock needs John, so I think you should pair this with a Watson build!
fighter, get the medicine feat maybe?
@@enigmaodell6806 Depending on when in the series you're playing Watson at, he does start attempting to employ Holmes' methods too. In Hound of the Baskervilles, he does most of the footwork, sending letters to Holmes in London and is even able to solve a number of the smaller mysteries surrounding the situation. Granted, in the very first story, he calls a summary of Holmes' method 'ineffable twaddle', haha.
@@enigmaodell6806 fighter with soldier background if we're oging with the cumberbatch version of watson. don't know jack dip about the other incarnations of Sherlock Holmes, so that might work for the original one too.
@@benthomason3307 True, Watson was reported to be a war doctor in the second Anglo-Afghan war that took place in the late 19th century in the Sherlock Holmes lore, so I see a Watson with a lesser perception albeit a bit tankier (not Paladin/Barbarian tanky though, more on the Fighter side of things) and perhaps a bit more able to deal some damage, as proposed by Enigma.
Surely watson is a cleric using the war doctor angle right?
Characters like this tend to excel in Matt Mercer's campaigns. He tends to favor tricksters and detectives. Especially if they are well presented.
Definitely. Mercer is all about RP, it's pretty great
Well, not like anyone herr is ever going to play with him.
I did not expect to like this build as much as I did. I think you're videos are improving alot, and I'm excited for your next video on Thursday.
Hey thanks! I'm working on injecting more personality so they're not so mechanical
@@tulokthebarbrarian2033 cool
"Get it memorized"? Sherlock, Axel called and he wants his catchphrase back.
Someone's been reading my slash fiction...
@@tulokthebarbrarian2033 Nope, I just enjoy this video series.
After just watching The Princess Bride, I’d love to see a Westley or Inigo builds.
I also wouldn't complain if we got a Fezzik build. Or even Count Rugen
Westley is difficult in just being incredibly good at everything. Inigo on the other hand is what Swashbuckler is made for, you may want to dip into Fighter though potentially. Fezzik is a stronk, way of open hand is fine. Count Rugen though I might go something like a Necromancer with maybe a dip into Assassin
I just noticed that the level of Monk makes quarterstaffs a monk weapon and your monk weapons can you use dexterity so if you take that level of monk you can use a quarterstaff for for the cane
Well it sesficicly say finesse and range weapons
@@blankiecat9302 it was worth a shot
@@blankiecat9302 DM's discretion.
@@thewolverine7619 yeah, and technically it would need to be a hanbo staff (a little over waist high) to be used as a cane. Although you can homebrew one that acts as a finesse weapon that deals blunt damage.
The quarter staff is a monk weapon but does not qualify for sneak attack because it's not ranged or finesse.
Ever thought of breaking down movies as campaign settings?
Like, what 3 rooms do you have to draw and staff with enemies to make the schwarzenegger Conan the Barbarian movie?
What would Helms Deep look like on a DnD board and HOW would you nerf it to make it managable for 3-4 players?
A year late but this is a really good idea. I'd love to see how he could translate movies or at least some aspects of a movie into a dnd setting
I read this just as Two Towers starts
The thing is, Sherlock, canonically, can literally bend iron pokers like they was bendy straws.
The Terminator should be the next one because he also got unveiled as a mortal kombat fighter
I agree, it would make it topical :)
@@tulokthebarbrarian2033 Terminator as a War-Forged would be awesome.
@@powerhouse04330 Got to imagine taking alot of abilities that basically make them unstoppable and good at imitation and tracking. Champion Fighter/ Hunter Ranger? Guess we will see!
I love that, in addition to RDJ and Cumberbatch, you included Wishbone. The pup was my introduction to the Greatest Detective, and thus my love for the mystery genre in general.
I was disappointed by the lack of Johnny Lee Miller’s Holmes.
With Sherlock in the gallery, I would say Arsene Lupin is a must do now
The first or the third?
I’d like to mention that Sherlock in the books was inhumanly strong able to effortlessly straighten out a poker that a mound of flesh struggled to bend.
dualnitroknife true but this seems to be more based off of the tv versions
This was my favorite. I’d love to se some where you build character concepts and do 2 at a time like John and Sherlock, Inigo and Fezzic, and take into account play styles.
Been waiting for this one for a while. Thanks!
My request, the Doomslayer!
Will be out for DOOM Eternal
@@tulokthebarbrarian2033 hype
I'm imagining a Vengence Paladin with some Frenzy Barbarian mixed in
@@wabschall Local Man Too Angry To Truly Die
@@wabschall berserk barbarian for that frency moment?
This is arguably my favorite build so far. You guys should do Butler from Artimis fowl
So, one thing I love about this show that was exemplified in this video: I'm learning how to DM better by learning how characters are built.
The example I found here was just in the line "You'll learn everything you possibly can about a puzzle." If you're doing full-form, roleplaying D&D, your players are going to have to roll insight/perception/etc. to figure out pieces of the puzzle presented to them. As a DM, you need to gauge how much to reveal about the puzzle based on what they roll on those checks. And I don't think I would have ever thought about building a puzzle with that in mind without that idea. Maybe I just made a wild, extrapolatory jump there, but hey I found it super insightful so I thought I'd share!
Hell yeah! If I can give people new ideas for how to run they're games while making roughly 4 bad jokes per minute, I'm happy
Just got recommended to this channel by a friend of mine, and I'm Loving it.
Hey, welcome! Thanks!
My only thought about this is Sherlock's tinkerings. If he lived in a world of magic, no way he doesn't have a spell book. I'd probably pick up the ritual caster feat, or, a level in Wizard somewhere. But its so hard to delay the awesome rouge stuff.
Man these are always just so fun, like I love that this build screams for a Watson to help it, or just about any lovable tough guy.
On the more request side of things what are the odds of getting the undead musician of the Strawhat Pirates, Brook from One Piece?
Or alternatively the worst DnD party ever, anyone from Konosuba?
Could be? I'm not familiar, but I'll get there... eventually...
I’d love to see a Watson build to work along side this build, but I’d also really love to see a Moriarty build that can match Sherlock in some skills while falling short in others
I’m genuinely curious about the route you would take to build one of the vampire slayers in Buffy. Buffy herself lends a lot of credibility to some mix of Paladin, Monk, and/or Fighter. Faith could likewise prove interesting for the darker side of being a hunter of the undead. Or maybe being specific would be too difficult (I know it’s been tough for me to figure it out with only twenty levels) so maybe the right way to go is just a Vampire Slayer, not one of them specifically.
if they havent watched buffy that would be a big risk to take with speed research
There will be a couple vampire slayers soon, sadly no Buffy, I never saw it. But I'll get there eventually!
@@tulokthebarbrarian2033 Oh, you absolutely should. IMHGO, still the best TV show ever made, a near perfect blend of horror, comedy, action and melodrama. As for Slayers, basically a Monk/Monster Hunter Fighter combo.
@@tulokthebarbrarian2033 I'll be satisfied with any vampire hunter honestly. But if you do find the time, like Christopher Bacon says, Buffy is a fantastic show that would be well worth your time. It's just a lot of time to invest in.
@@tulokthebarbrarian2033 ooh is it morbius (the living vampire) cause he's got that Jared Leto movie in development or is it Blade love always wanted to play a vampire character there was this one time I played an aasimar and I decide to have his skin be white and I don't mean Caucasian I mean chalk white so when someone had me look in a mirror I said "I look like a vampire on a day pass" unfortunately I had to leave that campaign me and the dungeon master did not geld well. He was limiting my character by changing his spells and abilities and it was only my character he was 1 lvl barbarian, 3 lvl warlock (fiend but in retrospect undying would have been better) oh and fallen aasimar so i gave him the goal of becoming a vampire
Was not actually expecting this one when i mentioned it a few videos ago. Totally awesome
Congratulations, you're a prophet
Can I just play as Wishbone? That would be awesome!
No pupper races yet, WotC needs to get on that
@@tulokthebarbrarian2033 That's so weird too since they have cat, bird, and lizard.
@@BJGvideos and turtle
I'm surprised sum1 else remembers Wishbone.
Wishbone? That bourgeois SWINE.
Really good build the possibility for gameplay and role play are amazing. Definitely one of my favorite builds that you've done. Right up there with night crawler.
Wow, thanks! I really like it my self!
I forgot about wishbone until I saw the thumbnail. Childhood memories coming back to me.
Nice build, too.
Am a day late, but still wanted to say that it is awesome that you built the greatest detective. Keep up the good work!
I was wondering where you were, welcome back. :)
Thanks dude. Been pretty busy lately, but luckily things are calming down now
I love this build, will have to try it sometime.
Given it's the spooky month, could you do a build on Ash Williams?
I recently built the Fate/GO version of Sherlock. He's a bard, much more focused on supporting his allies in combat by revealing the weakness of enemies and bolstering the powers of his team. Plus Zone of Truth is pretty useful for interrogations.
Although it might be a little tricky, a character build for the Doctor from Doctor Who would be fun, even if it meant doing one video for each Doctor.
Funny part about the Medicine mention, you now have Dr. House which was also based off of Sherlock Holmes.
I have an npc named Benedict whose just a conglomerate of Benedict Cumberbatches roles (Sherlock, Dr.Strange, bit of Smaug with the draconic origin sorcerer) so this combined with the doctor strange build really amused and helped me!
Clicked because you put Wishbone in the thumbnail, you legend.
0:45 “Get it Memorized” I’m just gonna mark that down as a Kingdom Hearts reference.
When I was first saw the thumbnail and title I thought it was gonna be an easy build of Divination Wizard with a bunch of Locate spells and maybe at most 5 levels of rogue
Spell slots run out. Sherlock doesn't. That's expertise baby
Why no love for Johnny Lee Miller in Elementary? Seriously, though, this is a rather nice Holmes build. And the single level of Monk lets you use DEX for simple weapons like clubs (even if it's not finesse, so no sneak attack).
I'm just not familiar with it, I've heard good things.
Truth be told elementary is very far from actual sherlock apart from names and a few personality traits. Now the show is still awesome it just is bordering on being loosely inspired by sherlock.
Wow!... Wishbone? Now that’s a flashback and a half, right there.
I don’t know if it was my comment or not but I really appreciate seeing mr.freeze in the poll
Now I wanna see a Watson and moriarty build 😂😂
Watson is a life cleric, Moriarty is a whisper bard/archfey warlock.
@@Hellrazer212 moriarty is the exact same as homes just mastermind instead of inquisitive
Major kudos for adding Wishbone
Tulok's Character Builds
docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/14h__Oid0FsMlqzxMqZiWFAC93Hc1yBu_YrkH4lZCGCA/edit#gid=1161175866
We've already done Jonathan and Jotaro, how about the best JoJo, Joseph Joestar?
I'm working on Dio, does that do anything for you?
Pretty sure Johnathan and Joseph Joestar both have basically the same capabilities and powers, so maybe switch Redemption Paladin multiclass to Conquest maybe and bam, Joseph. He was a crusader after all.
@@tulokthebarbrarian2033 Dio is really cool. I feel like Joseph would be pretty easy to change from Jonathan, he just has a few things different (like his clacker volley and his mind tricks and maybe hermit purple). I feel like it's possible to just have a small segment on changing the Jonathan build to fit Joseph.
Thank you so much for using Wishbone in the thumbnail xD
I'm a simple man, I see Wishbone in the thumbnail, I click.
Another excellent build, Tulok 👍🏻 Your creativity with each build fits these characters extremely well 😊 Your videos have become something I look forward to every Tuesday and Thursday
As far as suggestions for future characters, I would definitely recommend Daredevil, Green Lantern (either as a specific one or more of a concept build like the MIB Agent), any of the Paladins of Voltron, a Power Ranger concept build, and Austin Powers 😆
God, I really should do the international man of mystery
Tulok the Barbrarian I would love to see just what you could come up with for that, especially working in his mojo 🤣
Thank you so much I want to build a Sherlock inspired detective for my friends campaign I feel that he always has some hidden clues and mysterys that no one bothers with and just follow the most liner path so I dont want that to go to waste I'm sure he will appreciate it
Elementary my dear Tulok! Another great build dude 👍🏽 Imagine Benedict Cumberbatch and RDJ both portraying a well-loved fictional arrogant genius popular on both film and books... wait a minute.
o god, The mad lads done it... hes made a build using the keen mind feat... Such a brave yet controversial move Mr Tulok
These bills keep getting weirder and weirder, I love it
Ok, first things first, bless you for incorporating Sherlock's need for Watson on his build, the video was amazing and I loved it. That being said, I'm a little heartbroken you didn't include any Wishbone footage, I was kinda hoping to see the cute doggie ;A;
And, unrelated but... since it's October already... would you consider making a video for a werewolf build? Since you can technically play as one? It's totally cool either way but I thought I'd ask :)
Awesome as always!
I think Gambit would be an awesome build if it fits into the schedule!
That was both fun and interesting. It is satisfying when the character's mechanical flaws match the character's lore ("John is your translator" hehehe). It also shows how Sherlock would be able to unravel some devil's devious scheme, see through its lies, resist its magical compulsion, but be able to physically stop it. Just inform the Holy Order of Scotland Yard paladins and go back to playing the violin.
Amazing, I was JUST rewatching Sherlock on Netflix, love it!!
Also, maybe its an idea to show the total character level, especially if you multiclass often. Love your channel, it gives me lots of insoiration.
I need a judge dredd build.
Dang, me too. I should get that on the schedule
I noticed that the character multiclassed into a "rouge" on the 5th level. I'm not sure what benefits a shade of red has.
Rouge Class: Atleast we aren't 50 shades of gray!
Holy shit this is an underrated comment
ask and you shall receive. thanks for this build. I only suggested it a couple of weeks ago. either it had been requested by many others and had been on your mind for a while, or you are that quick.
I'm not that quick. Just a happy accident. :)
@@tulokthebarbrarian2033
Hey, take the credit & just say "it was nothing really".
The reason I asked for Holmes was that I was thinking of playing Watson in an upcoming 1 shot as the party had no healers. We were trying to think of famous cleric healers & he was all that I could think of. Not sure if watson is one, but will be interested to see your build of him.
Since Halloween is coming up you should do some creepier builds. A good idea I had was Scare crow from Batman.
Batman has been done. Yay!
>wishbone in the thumbnail
Ah, I see you're a man of culture as well.
Based off the build, I think your passive perception is higher than 20 at max level. +5 from Wisdom, +5 from Observant, and +12 from proficiency and expertise in the Perception skill would bring it to an astronomical 32 (PP = 10 + all modifiers that normally apply to the check).
The time lord known as the doctor
As a quick fix to something I noticed in the video, this build's passive perception at 20th level would be 27 due to passive perception being calculated as 10 + Wis + Bonuses. Yes, this includes proficiency bonuses and since you all can do basic math I won't bore you with it. It also means that your passive perception is a lot higher during leveling too. Have fun dealing with Sherlock, DMs.
If you can talk someone into playing a "Lucius Fox" artificer to keep you equipped, this is a decent Batman build too
You forgot about Sherlock Holme’s incredible strength. In the books, Sherlock unbends an iron poker without breaking a sweat. An iron poker that a goliath of a man struggled to bend.
Alas, a lot of exceptionally-rounded characters like him have to be nerfed like this to fit into the D&D system. The more powerful the character in their original canon, the more has to be compromised for them to work as a (typically balanced) PC. Another example is the Batman build: based on the character's typical portrayal, he would have high stats in _every_ ability... but something had to be dumped, so Tulok set his strength and constitution to about average, making him more of a stealthy stalker than a brawler by necessity.
Not that it doesn't make me sad either. But barring major augmentations, that's how the game is set up. :
Considering he's a proper English gentleman you could grab a pair of white gloves of giants strength
ARSEN1C hell I would have settled for him just taking the Tavern Brawler feat
I have an interesting build idea. Marvels own: Taskmaster, the man with a little bit of Spiderman, Captain America, Wolverine, MoonKnight, Hawkeye, and pretty much everyone else all rolled into one. Photogenic Reflexes, the definition of perfection except that he always loses somehow, because he's obviously a jack of all trades. But with all his different gadgets, I know you tend to go Eldritch Knight for things like Cap's shield, so how would you work that into a jack of all trades build? And what unusual powers would you throw in to simulate his photogenic reflexes
Please do Conan the Barbarian. He's a barbarian character who is strangely well-read. He's smart, but he'll cave your skull easily.
We need someone who has knowledge, can remember everything, and can see everything when they walk into any situation.
My prediction: Inquisitive or Mastermind Rogue with Expertise in Perception/Investigation, Keen Mind feat, Observant feat, and high Intelligence/Wisdom scores.
Actual Build: Yep.
You know who else loves justice? The Tick.
Thank you Tulok! You are amazing!
Finally, a build I would actually like to use.
Yes definitely do a Watson build for Thursday, or next week since you've already planned and are working on the Thursday build.
Man, your videos are so fun to watch. Please, give us a how to play Neo/Tidus/Cloud/Sol Badguy
I’m just gonna keep requesting Bakugo from MHA, he would be so cool to play.
I love MHA, definitely gonna get some more content of that nature out in the future
OH MY GOD thanks for responding man, I respect all of these builds and LOVE your content.
Dr. John Watson
Variant Human
_+1 Wis and +1 Con
_ Bonus Feat: Crossbow Expert / Gunner
_ Bonus Skill: Medicine
_BG: Soldier (Athletics and Intimidate)
Str:. 8 Int: 10
Dex:. 14 Wis: 16
Con:.14 Cha: 12
Start as a War Cleric for one level then go Cavalier Fighter the rest of the way.
You need to make Eric Draven form the crow for Halloween. Also make a vampire hunter like Angel from Buffy, Buffy the vampire Slayer, or Van Helsing
Another great build! You should totally do a Green Lantern build! (maybe multi class Psionics of Soulknife and Aegis?..is that even doable?)
picking up the observant feat would make you a nightmare for your GM since you'd see everything coming and the ability to see invisible targets to some extent makes even more sense your not seeing them your predicting their movements to find out where they are
I mean, if you take the feat, you've earned it.
Keep it coming, I love it!
Anyways, the usual Morgana from League and a more likely option in Catwoman if you didn't do it yet.
She unfortunately didn't win her redemption poll, but I'll get a Catwoman soon
@@tulokthebarbrarian2033
One can only hope
As for a cane for sherlock, if you can talk the dm into it, try a hanbo which is a Japanese half staff similar in length to long sword. Which as a rogue you have proficiency with a longsword and simple weapons from level one. As for style it could count as a simple weapon 2lbs with 1d6 bludgeoning damage.
I'd love it if you did a build for John Constantine, ive got a game coming up pretty soon and i think that'd just be badass
Arcane Trickster and Bard... With a pinch of Warlock?
@@FirstnameLastname-kn5sw ive heard people recommend sorceror or even cleric in the mix there somewhere
This was really fun. Every video of yours makes me want to play the build.
Standard request for Goblin Slayer and Hit Girl. And Kick-Ass. Why not? Lol
I definitely would like to see Conan the Barbarian!
Get it memorized.... got it memorized... ooohhhh Axel from KH or have I missed it and you did it
Oh I did it. And its glorious. (Actually it's one of my earlier videos that I'm scared to watch because it might be a little rougher...)
Slight difference in execution, I used a Kenku because they already have perfect memory and mimicry. I was going for a different character but eventually became a Sherlock type.
Inquisitive, obviously, but my starting stats were:
Dex 14 (+2 for racial bonus)
Int 14
Wis 14 (+1 for racial)
Con 12
Cha 10
Str 8
Definitely take observant after getting dex to 18.
No researcher feat? Seems like something Holmes would be good at, even if he rarely has to use it.
You got the stats wrong (despite him needing a translator) Sherlock's dump stats are actually Dex and Strength as Sherlock doesn't often fight (in both books and movies but he is adept at fighting well) Sherlock is also THE master of Disguise as such he needs a high enough charisma to use disguise kits.
A Gentleman's cane is easily a reflavored club, 1d4 bludgeoning and it's a simple weapon so Rogues and Monks have proficiency. Baritsu is online.
But technically not finesse. So that's where you need your DM to work with you. I personally think all monk weapons should be finesse, and that's how it works at my table, but it ain't RAW
The madlad actually did it
Lol I was just retooling through these older vids and realized that the screen pic for this video you put Wishbone in between Benedict Cumberbatch and Robert Downey Jr
I know it's October, but I would love to see a Santa Clause build. 🎅
On November/December, yes!!
That makes me think... how about a/some spooky build/s for October? Like witches, ghosts and/or... Jack Skellington? 💀
Please do a build for Doomsday from DC Comics.
Should be that hard, they're basically just a barbarian goliath
@@tulokthebarbrarian2033 it would be your first true Constitution focused build
@@sliksick123 wolverine
Alternatively a single level dip into knowledge cleric gets you a couple of free knowledge expertises.
Watson is a cleric/fighter. Either that or a Paladin, but you use Paladin a lot and you'll probably go for something a bit campy, yet fun too make.
I feel like Watson would probably be a fighter who either multiclasses into Cleric or Bard. Bard would actually make more sense since his healing isn't religious (He's a doctor not a priest) and Bards in D&D serve a similar purpose to field medics: common healers with no divine ties necessary.
Try to make kreig the psycho from borderlands 2. Some general goals I would go with are: must be able to go beserk (easy), and must be a fire fueled pain train.