That was my exact thought as well! Maybe even go full out with Mastodond..I mean if its ancient linage...or if your DM let's you...why not flavor it "Tolkien wise" and go Mûmakil. That would surely make for a beast within! Maybe you could ask your dm for a homebrew where you, via the tusk attack in you beast form, could ad some piercingdmg to say "grappling via tusk" or if you pin down via tusk... Just would make for such good visuals and or flavoring imo!!!
Fun build - even at low levels. Obviously, mediocre damage totals are the elephant in the room on this, but I like the tactics you’ve stored in the trunk.
Errata: Forgot to add the increase to rage damage at Barbarian 9 - this changes the DPR slightly for levels 13 and 17 damage reports :). Updated the spreadsheets. ALSO! It's true that, even though he initially tweeted to say you *could*, Jeremy Crawford has since clarified that RAI you shouldn't be able to shove with your BA first then make attacks, with the Shield Master feat. I feel confident that most tables would allow it anyway, but if we're trying to be strict with the rules, you probably won't have advantage until round two.
I believe a BA can interrupt the multiple attacks from the Attack Action. So you could Attack 1=grapple, BA shield shove, Attack 2=claw with advantage.
I’m a bit miffed that the hobgoblin warlord can use their shield to attack but a fighter can’t, the shove bonus action from the feat is still good though.
Made a character a few years ago. He's an artificer/rune knight that uses a light hammer reforged into a shield so he can throw and get his shield back.
Flavor wise I would love to imagine this character as almost like a wooly mammoth! Super thematic, and it paints your class abilities as more primal evolutionary traits. I could even see a backstory where she's thawed out of ice just like captain america!
Need a chameleon / disguise feature to turn him pink. Imagine a pink elephant walking on the ceiling, you think a guard is going to report seeing you in the castle? “No, Really Sire, I just saw a pink Elephant on the ramparts”. Lol.
At the end when you were making the elephant noises my daughter came running into the room and saw you doing that. She said, "That's why you like him, he is the younger prettier version of you!" So thanks for that. LOL. I used to make those motions and noises for her all the time. It was funny.
One of my players was asking me not long ago about how to make a shieldmaster character and I couldn't really come up with a good build so this video came at a great time!
I've been thinking about grappling builds a lot lately and I've struggled to find good use for the shield master feat. The abilities that give advantage to strength checks both use your bonus action already and neither are precast friendly, and most of the time I feel like you'd be better off grappling and shoving with your action on round one anyways. Using it also means extra attack martials won't be able to deal good damage since it doesn't work with gwm+pam, which can still combo with grappling for loxodons. The best way to utilize the shield master feat that I've thought of is to go rogue instead. Rogues make great grapplers because of expertise and cunning action dash allowing you to force a grappled opponent to move twice as far, potentially into a web spell or something like it. The problem is they can't grapple and shove prone in the same turn without because they lack extra attack, but shield master fixes that. Soulknife would easily be the best option for this, and of course you'd still need loxodon to have enough free hands to make it work.
Just an FYI, I was looking at using Shield Master in order to shove with my bonus action and then have my attacks with advantage as they are prone, but came across a clarification in the Sage Advice Compendium that says the attack action has to come before the bonus action due to the “if… then …” wording which makes sense. From the SAC: SHIELD MASTER Q: The Shield Master feat lets you shove someone as a bonus action if you take the Attack action. Can you take that bonus action before the Attack action? A: No. The bonus action provided by the Shield Master feat has a precondition: that you take the Attack action on your turn. Intending to take that action isn't sufficient; you must actually take it before you can take the bonus action. During your turn, you do get to decide when to take the bonus action after you've taken the Attack action. This sort of if-then setup appears in many of the game's rules. The “if” must be satisfied before the “then” comes into play.
Came here to say this. It's something that's overlooked a lot and it does take a fair bit of power out of the shield master feat, as most enemies you knock prone will stand back up before you get to attack them. With this build that's less of an issue since they can't stand up anyway. However, I've found that many DM's will just allow you to use the bonus action whenever as long as you do take the attack action on your turn.
@@loganreed291 Yes my DM considered and approved "holding" the Bonus action until the [IF] attack action was made...then released...i figure any other DM would consider this as well...
This is a huge pint that Colby seems to have missed unfortunately. That ruling ruined the feat. BUT, with the Beast Barb claw attack you can actually compensate pretty well for the if/then issue. Assuming you’re already raging (so this would be round 2) you, Grapple, bonus action shove prone (since you used the attack action to grapple), Claw attack, second free claw attack.
@@sldf45 you only get the free extra attack if you attack with the claws. Making a grapple is not the same an Attack. It also is apart of the attack action, which would need to be completed before taking the bonus action shove anyway. Note how it says "you can make one additional claw attack as part of the same action."
If you have extra attacks you should be able to use those after doing an attack and using the bonus action. The game allows you to split your attacks between different opponents, use movement between attacks, perform a shove with one of those attacks, interact with an object, etc. The idea that you can't use the bonus action in the middle of all that, but only at the end, would be pretty dumb.
I could see the whole cleric route, where you work on juggling 3 or 4 enemies, you have the ones you let go trying to get out of your spirit guardians (at half their speed since they were prone) and then you drop 2 and go grab them and drag them back to your pile of enemies.
Fighter (battle master) Artificer Armorer/guardian. Mechanically re-theme the thunder gauntlets as your shield. Use battle master to throw your shield (improvised weapon) and execute battle maneuvers like tripping or disarming.
Good to see the Rune Knight be a staple of multiple Shield Master builds. I'm pondering on that Armorer+RK build myself, which is more pure Shove focused. The new DM is also giving us a free feat at level 1 so I get to solve the Shield Master issue early.... and maybe even mix Shove, Mobile and Ashardalon' Stride late game.
I had a very similar build and it was a ton of fun. It was more focused on the grappling side than the shield side but I intended to get Shield Master later. I took expertise in Athletics with Skill Expert feat, went Simic Hybrid for manta glide and appendages, and took Beast barb to level 6. I planned to multiclass into Rune Knight fighter after that but game ended before that. The jumping ability (with expertise Athletics + rage adv) plus manta glide is a super cool combo. I had +10 in athletics at level 6 (also great for grappling) and would add that to high jump making jump height 3+STR+2d20kh1+10. Then once in air, I'd use manta glide to coast twice that distance horizontally. Only downside was dungeons/buildings with little headroom. So you're looking at, on average, 10 ft. movement + ~30 ft vert. jump (jump height caps at movement speed total) + 62 ft glide. You can even do it from standing at potentially give even further distance on the glide that way (up to 80 ft glide).
Fun thing to remember with the beast super jump is that with proficiency in athletics and advantage while raging, a level 6 beast barb can jump an average of 15 avg from advantage+ probably 4 for str mod+ 3 proficiency+ 7 feet of standing high jump, for a total average standing high jump of almost 30 feet vertical. If you use the guy you are grappling as a cushion, that is a lot of extra damage. When you get to the rune knight levels and can become large, you can have an eleven foot tall mammoth man launching 30+ feet towards enemies.
By level 17 with the expertise in athletics you can enlarge and rage, then leap 5(str)+4(standing high jump)+12(athletics expertise)+15(average advantage roll) for an average vertical jump of 37 feet+your twelve foot tall enlarged form and your additional six feet of outstretched arms mean you could attempt to grapple an adult red dragon flying 55 feet above you with a reasonable likelihood of success. That is not only hilarious, but also clearly helps the barbarian conquer the flying creature vulnerability. If you have the ring of jumping you can leap about as far as a hand crossbow can fire. You are the ranges weapon.
At level 11 I would go monk levels and change fighting style earlier to unarmed fighting. Flurry of blows with a d6 damage is schaweet! Way of shadow for 3 spells that are not considered spells for raging purposes! It's insanely good. Pass without trace to get in sneaky and leap out of the shadows to surprise or grapple enemies even quicker. Very underrated
@@micahswerens2472 Spells like Darkness and Silence require concentration still; but Pass without trace does not require concentration in base spell anyways.
Curious: Why did you choose to compare this build to DPR builds instead of Tanks? Control+Hard to kill sounds like a Tank build to me. Would it be hard to add this character to the Tank sheet Too? With or without a short released as bonus content covering just the level checks (since the build was discussed here)?
I suppose for two reasons: 1 - didn't have a real "taunt" (though, as I said, it does a pretty great job of protecting allies and getting attacked regardless) and 2 - I didn't really prioritize survivability here, though they have some pretty decent tankiness. In the end it's definitely a bit of a hybrid :).
I think if you're done with the base class features, a 3rd multi-class into rogue would probably be the biggest DPR gain. Having advantage essentially on demand, ensures you get sneak attack every round. Additionally you gain up to 4 expertise, and Uncanny Dodge (rogue 5). Anything past that is just levels for ASI, and more sneak attack dice.
definitly a great elephant warrior build. What cant be understated is how well rounded and overall good this character is: Ok damage, good control and can take a beating as well. It perfectly counters the crippling weakness of tank bulds by simply beeing countered by walking away from them taking their harmless attacks. On top it feels like this character will get good use out of magic gear and the overall fantasy is great as well. Propably the overall "best" build i have seen on this channel. I could also see that at lvl 11 the character could take 1 lvl of barbarian for the initiative boost and then the rest as fighter. The rune, indomitable an addional asi/feat as well as the extra attack at the very end seems better then what the barbarian offers. The additonal feat itself is likely better by itself.
The Shield Master feat says that you have to take the attack action on your turn to get the bonus action shove. That seems to indicate that you have to take your attack action or actions first, then you get the bonus action and not the other way around. So, I think, at best, you're only going to get the bonus action shove after attacks on the second round of combat and thus not have advantage until the 3rd round attack actions from the prone opponent. Or, does converting an attack action into grapple let us trigger the bonus action shove on the first round of combat? If so, this all still works since we are grappling first, then shoving as a bonus.
As a dm i usually approach it like this: You can declare your actions and decide the order after that. As soon as you decide to shove, you've locked in your descision to use the attack action.
Aye - Jeremy Crawford has actually made two tweets on this topic, but they directly contradict each other :). I think the more recent one says you'd have actually make the attacks first. That said, my hunch is that most DMs would rule as Pencilbender mentions below, but definitely something to discuss with your DM.
RAW you must take the attack action to use the bonus action shove. You take the attack action to grapple. You can now shove with your bonus action. There is no wording about completing the attack action, only that you take it. You could then drag your grappled, prone opponent behind a wall before using your extra attack feature.
12 minutes into the video and I already love the flavor! I'm also liking the different races you have chosen to go with in recent videos! I'm playing a minotaur with a similar story - in the quest for vengeance, this minotaur raged, destroying anything and anyone in their path, until the moment when they almost killed a child. Since then, they have spent a decade in penance, meditating and reflecting over who they are. And have sworn to use violence only as the ultimate last resort. It is interesting because most of our party has a similar idea of non-violence in mind, and the cleric even refuses to use command or bane, because it involves forcing others! Very interesting dynamic.
I love the Loxodon Barbarian flavor! Someone at my table dubbed it the BARBARian. I actually made a build with similar inspiration: Introducing, the Boxodon! A Loxodon Beast Barbarian 5+ / Monk 1 / Rogue 1 / Fighter 1 - that’s right, quad class action! Start off Barbarian, then grab a level of Monk for at will bonus action trunk slaps. Then focus on Barbarian up to PC level 6. Play as pretty much a normal Beast Barbarian, except you have that bonus action up your sleeve. Why beast? Long term, claws give you an extra attack, which is sweet. Before you get extra attack at PC level 6, you probably want to use Tail for AC as you need to use a monk weapon at least once on your turn to get the BA attack, so unarmed strikes are better than beast form attacks (for now). While each attack may have a small damage die, adding Strength modifier and Rage damage to the four hits (at 6+) per turn pumps those numbers! Along the way, use your first ASI to grab Shield Master. Your Rage gives you advantage on Strength checks, so you’re a natural grappler and shover. And since you can grapple enemies with your trunk, you really are a natural grappler! At level six, in a turn, you can either make two claw attacks and two unarmed attacks, or two claw attacks, a grapple, and a shove. You’re either dishing out some damage and controlling the battlefield, or just dishing out substantial damage. (A focus on grappling is more MMA than boxing, but boxers DO grapple and I couldn’t pass on the Boxodon pun! #sorrynotosorry) Also, adding shield mod to some dex saves and taking no damage on all Dex save successes against damage makes you a master of all three physical saves! Next, a level of Rogue gives you expertise, at athletics naturally. If you’re going to forgo attacks to grapple and trip people, you want them to succeed and you want them to be unable to break free. When going for damage, you can also draw a dagger at the start of each turn to get your sneak attack, and it’s still a monk weapon to make your bonus action trunk slap. Reckless attack gives you advantage so you’ll always be eligible for Sneak Attack! “Obviously” drop the dagger between your dagger strike and your claw attacks to still make four attacks. Lastly, a level of Fighter taking the Unarmed fighting style bumps your trunk up a die into a formidable weapon! And (very slightly… 1d4…..) punishes grappled foes if they didn’t break free (or die) since you grabbed them. Also second wind is not a bad touch of out of combat healing. It’s essentially an extra hit die per rest! From here on out, the world is your oyster! - Another level of Monk gives you two flurry of blows a short rest (or dashes / dodges as bonus actions), which contributes to the relentless beat ’em up fun! - Another level of Fighter gives you action surge, also for bringing the pain with three extra attacks in one turn per short rest! - Another level of Rogue gives you at will bonus action dash, disengage, & hide - making you the true master of at will bonus actions! - Or just keep focusing on Barbarian to get - some ASIs - more rages - more rage damage - magical slashes for the purpose of resistance / immunity - and Infectious Fury is also great when you’re grappling foes and dragging them into melee range of their allies so you dictate who they strike! In short, that’s the Boxodon! Thanks for coming to enduring my Ted talk!
I've noticed several times in your video you've mentioned Simics. I would like to provide some mechanics that can help utilize them in optimizable ways. Starting a Grapple: RAW is "Requires at least one hand" (PHB Making an Attack) as opposed to "Requires one hand" stated in the video. Simics can grapple with hand and tentacle by RAW, and maintaining a grapple with tentacle is RAW by the virtue of their ability. Just establish the grapple with normal grapple rules then free the hand.
Gotta say I've been loving all of your character builds. Having the fun aspect of the character build being just as important as trying to max out the character's combat effectiveness has been a massive boon. I played the Flame Thrower Kobold for a few weeks before he got eaten by a Cloaker, and am now playing the Street Fighter character and having a ton of fun with the interesting backstory to justify all of the crazy options and multiclassing that needs done for it.
My first thought of why a character wouldn't use weapons was from Game Of Thrones. The Dothraki capital is a no blood zone, so some of the merchants employ guards that could bloodlessly kill with their hands.
Hey Coby. Long time listener here. I hope you read this Comment. I just want to say that your infections positivity really makes my day every time I watch one of your videos. You really do turn my frown upside down. I wish I could do more than like and subscribe but finances don't allow. Thank you so much for all the great content you provide. 🙂
My idea for a Shield Master is more Heathcliff from the first season of 'Sword Art Online' than Captain America or Eric, using a sword as the primary weapon and the shield as an off-hand weapon. For this, you'll need the Dual Wielder (to use one-handed melee weapons that aren't light in each hand) and Tavern Brawler feat (to make you proficient with improvised weapons, which is what the shield would count as). You'd have to work with your DM to create a crucifix shield with a pivoting brace, giving you reach. As for mechanics, I'd say that when you make a weapon attack with your shield, you lose the AC bonus from the shield (getting the +1 to AC from Dual Wielding, instead), the shield doing 1d8+STR for damage (the same as a warhammer). As for equipment, I think a Defender (longsword) and a customized magic shield, The Shield of Striking, which allows you to apply its magical AC bonus to attack and damage rolls when you use it as a weapon. I just think it's a fun idea that you block with the sword and strike with the shield, catching your enemy off guard.
In the end of the video you suggested War Cleric to get that extra BA attack, but I will point out that if the campaign has not rewarded this character a thematically appropriate magic shield, Forge Cleric can get you one, and by the wording for Shield Master, its bonuses go up as well.
Not having watched this yet, I'm so stoked by the concept, mainly because the PC I'm playing right now is a shield master focused build. Earth Genasi Ancestral Guardian Barbarian, currently level 14, going to dip into fighter next 4 levels for battlemaster maneuvers/die. Shield Master, Mobile, maxed CON, Martial Adept (Bait and Switch, Quick Toss), and my DM was gracious enough to give me a Shield of Battering. I can comfortably "control" 2 "nodes" of combat and go between backline and frontline fairly reliably, imposing disadvantage on whoever the biggest threat is to hit anyone but me with Ancestral Guardian feat, reaction only to mitigate damage taken by allies ("You see a spectral Dao come out of the ground beneath you, charging at the attacker and softening the blow, though dusting you in a fine mineral mist" - ancestral guardian genasi can be dope to roleplay/flavor), I can push allies out of melee with forced movement, I can knock enemies prone before my melee allies turn. I'm limited to 2 shove attacks in order to place the Ancestral Protectors, but those can be pushes of 15ft+prone depending on shield charges, or just 5ft or prone. But should I need it, can forgo ancestral protectors and push a total of 45ft in a single turn. (And for clarification on the 3 pushes, "Shove" is a replacement for a single attack of the attack action, so still checking the box of "choosing the attack action" to get the shield master bonus action shove). Anyway, now that I've gushed, I'm hyped to see what you've done!
28:19 "And, I suppose, you could even get up to some shenanigans here. Potentially, grappling an enemy, maybe crawling up the wall with them, hitting them a few times on the way, and then dropping them for more damage ..." Rules as written: lycanthropes aren't immune to fall damage, so it bypasses their immunity to "Nonmagical Attacks that aren't Silvered", making this a solid option when battling werewolves. A tall creature, like a Goliath, Loxodon, or Bugbear, could actually lift a grappled werewolf over its head and slam it to the ground (using the ground as an improvised weapon), doing an extra 1d6 bludgeoning damage, because the werewolf fell at least 10 feet. At least, this is at my DM's table, but I think it's funny for a Loxodon to swing a werewolf around with its trunk, the lycanthrope yipping with each impact with the ground.
Always wanted to play a good shield basher / brawler, going to play this build in the campaign I'm in. Going to be a great time!! I haven't been able to figure out a good build for a concept I had similar to this one, only using a shield in each hand, more bashing, less grappling. Thanks for doing this one.
Thanks for the video! It was fun to watch as this is very similar to the build I have been playing for 4 or 5 months. I have a Harengon Beast Barbarian(6)/Fighter(4) who wields a shield. True, I miss out on the trunk which is cool, but I get quite a bit of mobility with the Rabbit Hop and Beastial Soul: Jump (especially if you have boots of striding and jumping!). You can Rabbit Hop with a grappled opponent as long as you aren't encumbered. Like you pointed out, the bonus action contention can be a bit frustrating at times, but over all, It is one of the most fun characters I have ever played! Thanks again
I’m glad you’ve done a beast barbarian! I love this subclass so much, simic hybrid does have some more fun synergy with beast barbarian since you can jump so high the manta glide feature effectively lets you fly
My Loxodon grappler build is a Lawful Stupid, non-smiting Sorcadin who summons what looks like a tornado of shattered iridescent glass (Cloud of Daggers) as a bonus action, then holds someone in it while hitting them with a hammer, lol. Not that I'd never smite, but he actually uses spells actively for his strategy and unless he crit wouldn't really bother with smites.
Sup J-dog. I like to think that the Loxodon has a curse placed upon them. Our character was a part of a tribe that predicated itself on strength and endurance in a fight and in leaders. Our character decided to make an attempt to become the leader by trial of combat (very normal for their tribe, but never to the death only to submission as a way to show honor and restraint). The current leader was a vicious and mean-spirited Loxodon that treated your family, in particular your mother (as the tribe tends to rely on the wisdom of matriarchs). You took up arms against them and fought them with all your might. They made a nasty remark about your mother which you deemed to be too far and proceeded to take a battleaxe to their face ending their reign. As a result you were banished from your tribe and cursed, in secret, by some of the elders to transform into the "monster" they saw you as when you entered rage. Just sounds so cool to me
Damn, I got an idea for an Orc Barbarian that splatters his enemies with his fists while watching this, BUT it turned out an entirely different beast (see what I did here?) and way more fun in the end... Beast Barbarian (6) with an Ascendant Dragon Monk (10), plus Hunter Ranger (4) for flavor and some extra things. It's attribute heavy, and probably viable only in campaigns with rolls for stats. Key points: 1) Max STR, high DEX (16+), high CON (16+), with at least 13 WIS for Monk. 2) Grappler, Brawny, and Mobile Feats. 3) Longstrider spell from Ranger (1h without concentration), plus Alarm and Goodberry for flavor as the solo survival character. These fit like a glove to the image I had for him. 4) 70 ft. + 10 ft. (from Longstrider) movement for a total awesomeness of 80 ft. per round. In combat: 1) Bonus Rage, Action grapple x2 with extra attack if multiple targets. 2) Next round Step of the Wind + Wings Unfurled (80 ft. flying speed flavored as a power jump to the skies), have fun... 3) Come back safely (without taking any damage) to watch your masterpiece of a splatter!! Bonus tip: Step of the Wind is a bonus action, so when you reach 80 ft. high just use your action to make two attacks to throw both enemies for an extra 5 damage (from STR) to the 8d6 falling damage they will get. Or else you can just slash them to pieces with 4-5 claw attacks in each round and with some extra little buffs from Colossus Slayer + Favored Enemy. Also you can get the Blind Fighting Style if you want to make your character blind for the "cool master" factor. You can also keep punching them with the d6 Monk fists and get the tail depending on the situation. edit: Corrected the fly speed while dragging the creatures from 160ft. to 80ft. I forgot that dragging grappled creatures halves your speed (80 -> 40), so the dash from Step of Wind returns to the original value (40 -> 80). Still, a lot of damage for such a fun move. Someone correct me if I missed something else.
Awesome video. I was trying to build a "thug" like character with a big focus on critting when I came across this video. The concepts here had me drop alot of what I had in exchange for the Loxodon pinning an enemy to the ground and repeatedly shanking them, which I loved the flavor of. I ended up as a Loxodon 5 lvl dex based Champion fighter +5 lvl Scout Rogue, with shield master and piercer feats. The thrown weapon fighting style using daggers is also a cool combo with rogue's sneak attacks. Its damage isnt great, but the flavor is so on point and its not using either battlemaster or assassin, so it might actually be a character I play one day :D I also dont build higher than level 10 typically as that is just so far off for most campaigns I have been in, that its mostly irrelevant after at certain point.
The recent UA 7 from OneDnD gave us the Brawler Fighter subclass. I feel like their user of improvised weapons, maybe mixed with the recent Giant Barbarian, would make for a fantastic Shield Master 2.0 🤔
Its funny bc I'm imagining this massive 400lb Elephant centaur in half mail, pinning enemies to the ground with his shield; but wailing on them with his tiny elephant tail. I'm crying lol
I was actually making a "Crab-barian" with a simic hybrid, with a strict unarmed strike / grappling design in mind. Though I am not gonna use a shield, I was using totem barbarian, to have my character attune to a crab totem and thus be ostracized by his barbarian clan. However my biggest concern was dealing with creatures with physical resistance/immunity. I had NO idea beast barbarian actually fixed that problem! I am now redesigning my character with that in mind, thank you so much for that info!
I feel like I've referenced Dwarf Fortress somewhere else on this channel, but, man, oh man, if you want to do damage in game with any item Dwarf Fortress is amazing with the miscellaneous item user skill. If you choose a piece or furniture as your weapon the random junk you shove into the coffin or cabinet adds to the modifiers for the damage you do and it gets ridiculous how many things crumble beneath the weight of everything. Also, throwing anything at anyone can be surprisingly effective. It cracks me up. Dnd doesn't know how to make a difference between hitting someone with a sock versus a frying pan vs a shovel vs a table. It would be cool if they did.
So,.... when I got to the lvl 10 and saw how unsure you were where to take the build, my instinct to perform took over. :) Imagine a Loxodon, Barbarian-Fighter-Baaard. :) A proffesional wrestler! yes it requires tweaking points, but I'd go Eloquence for the monologues and smack talking :) the beastial soul climbing and jumping become a bit more interesting for me then :) so many things I can imagine from there.
Loxodon! Yes! I've been trying to figure out a shield master build passively in the back of my brain for a while, as well as an excuse to play a Loxodon. Never connected those in my head. Love it! Another addition to the PC wishlist. May just have to start throwing some in as NPCs to get a little taste! 😂
Some interesting things about Beast Barbarian: The jump boost can be used as a pseudo flight mechanic, though you need to confirm with your DM if it uses your base movement. If so, then you can instead use it with the Herrengone and the Jump spell for extraordinary jumps. One way you can boost your damage while holding a shield is by using two-weapon fighting with the Dual Wielder feat, using a main hand weapon and your tail as an off hand. The claws only count as wielding when empty, so you can still use the hand for object interactions and don’t need to stow the claws.
Just wanted to add, since your a Loxodon, biting creatures might be hard but you got tusks. So when you go beast and pick bite, your tusks turn into giant vampire teeth which you skewer your enemies then drain the life from them.
I built something kinda similar to what you described at the end... except it was a Loxodon Way of Astral Self/Rune Knight/Cleric so all built around WIS and locking down as many enemies as possible in our Spirit Guardians with our Astral Arms feature and trunk
I had a warforged paladin that used grappling & the tavern brawler feat to beat Yeenoghu with one of his own minions during the Descent into Avernus dream sequence
I think I'd build this character pretty differently. I'd start as a Variant Human Fighter. Grab Shield Master and the Unarmed Fighting Style right away. Then take 5 levels of Barbarian, probably going the Bear Totem route for sheer tankiness. Then take a level of Rogue for Expertise and possibly a 2nd level if at that point in the campaign Cunning Action Dash was something I wish I had. Then more Fighter levels, but I'd go Battlemaster instead of Rune Knight. End up with 8 levels of Barbarian, 1-2 levels of Rogue, and the rest Fighter. After Shield Master, there aren't a ton of Feats I think you'd need. Resilient Wisdom would be on the list for sure. Otherwise I would probably just increase Strength and Con. Or take Martial Adept and Fighting Initiate Superior Technique for as many maneuvers and Superiority Dice as possible.
Pretty dope. You get the feat the character is based on at Level 1, shield character should probably be a tank, expertise works well to be a super strong grappler, finally Battlemaster feels more right as a non-magic martial. Adding to this feel like there are lots of good feats, that are in line with the character concept: Martial Adept: Interception or Protection (just wanted to be specific), Tavern Brawler, Tough, Grappler, Crusher. Last thing beyond level 3 not sure why you'd keep going Barb.
@@andreasaslaksen4430 I think that getting early Barbarian levels is more important than the Fighter levels, so getting Extra Attack from Barbarian feels right. That covers the first 5 levels. 6th level feature isn't great, but you do get a 4th Rage, which is really nice to have. The 7th level feature though, is fantastic. Great for any Barbarian. And once your 7th, may as well go 8th for the ASI.
Huh, javelin to keep the Rage going? *hand shaking terribly* 😉 Love the build, especially the Loxodon choice and the often shunned Beast Barbarian! And the Elephant sound is hilarious 😆
I love the Beast Barbarian Build Style just imagine a giant elephant climbing all the ceiling dropping down on people as terrifying I would love to play this definitely a good concept
I made a very similar character in my current game. Custom lin: Tavern Brawler Fighter 3: unarmed fighting style, echo knight Monk 3: way of astral self Barb 3: ancestral guardians It takes till lvl 9 to get the full potential, but it so fun. I also understand that it takes three turns to fully get the rage, echo, and arms out. This however then allows you to grapple enemies near and far for a BA due to Tavern Brawler. This also gives a free d4 to our grappled targets due to our fighting style. Not optimized, but a lot of fun.
Hey Colby, just wanted to say I always enjoy your videos. You always have such fun ideas and well made videos. You so a great job editing and scripting these.
Not bad. Curious to see what a captain America inspired build would be like. Soldier Variant human Tavern brawler At least 1 level artificer for returning weapon infusion. Battle master fighter Maybe rogue levels?
Flavoring beast form as becoming a more primal, brutal Woolly Mammoth works really well.
This is incredible!
That was my exact thought as well! Maybe even go full out with Mastodond..I mean if its ancient linage...or if your DM let's you...why not flavor it "Tolkien wise" and go Mûmakil. That would surely make for a beast within!
Maybe you could ask your dm for a homebrew where you, via the tusk attack in you beast form, could ad some piercingdmg to say "grappling via tusk" or if you pin down via tusk...
Just would make for such good visuals and or flavoring imo!!!
Brutal critical is such a let down of a feature. Love the Loxodon racial pick here.
I've been wanting to do one forever :).
BOTH OF YOU... WHERE IS OUR WARMAGE BUILD??? WEEE NEEEEEEEEEED IIIIIIIIIIIIITTTTTTTTTTT!!!!!!!!!!!
I smell another team up video!! Sorry I rolled a nat 20 on my perception check... love you :)
@@shapshane8241 check my channel for the SpellSword build curtesy of Ludic Savant.
I’m playing a loxodon rune knight in my own campaign right now, his name is Holdil (short for Holdilox)
Fun build - even at low levels. Obviously, mediocre damage totals are the elephant in the room on this, but I like the tactics you’ve stored in the trunk.
Underrated comment. I shall never forget it.
Obvious flavor choise for the fangs: Have the tusks grow in size or have them grow spiky protrusions.
Have the Tusks grow in size and give a gore attack for bleed 🩸 damage!
Have the tusks become mandibles like a number hulk to chew the victims
I got the notification for this just as I was in the middle of homebrewing a Shield Bearer fighter subclass. Of course I'm going to stop and watch
Planning to release it anywhere?
Lmao I just made a Shield based Barbarian subclass so very fitting lol
Level 1:(see above) [barbarian 1 & race]
Level 2:(see above) [barbarian 2]
Level 3:(@17:16) [barbarian 3 & sub-class]
Level 4:(@22:25) [barbarian 4 & ASI]
Level 5:(@26:00) [barbarian 5]
Level 6:(@26:31) [barbarian 6]
Level 7:(see above) [fighter 1 & fighting-style]
Level 8:(@35:18) [fighter 2]
Level 9:(@35:42) [fighter 3 & sub-class]
Level 10:(see above) [fighter 4 & ASI]
Level 11:(@42:27) [barbarian 7]
Level 12:(@45:45) [barbarian 8 & ASI]
Level 13:(@45:56) [barbarian 9]
Level 14:(see above) [barbarian 10]
Level 15:(@49:12) [barbarian 11]
Level 16:(@50:07) [barbarian 12 & ASI] {text says fighter 12}
Level 17:(@50:45) [barbarian 13]
Loved the Kipling reference!
Also can't wait for the next three builds to all be custom lineage with hexblade dips 😂
Errata: Forgot to add the increase to rage damage at Barbarian 9 - this changes the DPR slightly for levels 13 and 17 damage reports :). Updated the spreadsheets. ALSO! It's true that, even though he initially tweeted to say you *could*, Jeremy Crawford has since clarified that RAI you shouldn't be able to shove with your BA first then make attacks, with the Shield Master feat. I feel confident that most tables would allow it anyway, but if we're trying to be strict with the rules, you probably won't have advantage until round two.
I believe a BA can interrupt the multiple attacks from the Attack Action. So you could Attack 1=grapple, BA shield shove, Attack 2=claw with advantage.
I’m a bit miffed that the hobgoblin warlord can use their shield to attack but a fighter can’t, the shove bonus action from the feat is still good though.
Made a character a few years ago. He's an artificer/rune knight that uses a light hammer reforged into a shield so he can throw and get his shield back.
Brilliant
I'm literally in the process of making a shield master Paladin as this comes out, perfect timing!
I've been playing an oath of vengeance paladin with shield master. It's a blast
Flavor wise I would love to imagine this character as almost like a wooly mammoth! Super thematic, and it paints your class abilities as more primal evolutionary traits. I could even see a backstory where she's thawed out of ice just like captain america!
Need a chameleon / disguise feature to turn him pink. Imagine a pink elephant walking on the ceiling, you think a guard is going to report seeing you in the castle? “No, Really Sire, I just saw a pink Elephant on the ramparts”. Lol.
I imagine the use of the cloud rune as our loxodon swinging one of the grappled targets with their trunk to block an attack. Meat shield.
Literally running in a campaign as a shield only warforged, even made him with only one arm. He's been one tanky boi i'll tell you what!
Love the idea of a humanoid elephant bellowing "Free hugs for all!" as it wraps enemies in its trunk 🤣
At the end when you were making the elephant noises my daughter came running into the room and saw you doing that. She said, "That's why you like him, he is the younger prettier version of you!" So thanks for that. LOL. I used to make those motions and noises for her all the time. It was funny.
Something I would love to see is a build around the Poisoner Feat.
One of my players was asking me not long ago about how to make a shieldmaster character and I couldn't really come up with a good build so this video came at a great time!
I've been thinking about grappling builds a lot lately and I've struggled to find good use for the shield master feat. The abilities that give advantage to strength checks both use your bonus action already and neither are precast friendly, and most of the time I feel like you'd be better off grappling and shoving with your action on round one anyways. Using it also means extra attack martials won't be able to deal good damage since it doesn't work with gwm+pam, which can still combo with grappling for loxodons.
The best way to utilize the shield master feat that I've thought of is to go rogue instead. Rogues make great grapplers because of expertise and cunning action dash allowing you to force a grappled opponent to move twice as far, potentially into a web spell or something like it. The problem is they can't grapple and shove prone in the same turn without because they lack extra attack, but shield master fixes that. Soulknife would easily be the best option for this, and of course you'd still need loxodon to have enough free hands to make it work.
Just an FYI, I was looking at using Shield Master in order to shove with my bonus action and then have my attacks with advantage as they are prone, but came across a clarification in the Sage Advice Compendium that says the attack action has to come before the bonus action due to the “if… then …” wording which makes sense.
From the SAC:
SHIELD MASTER
Q: The Shield Master feat lets you shove someone as a bonus action if you take the Attack action. Can you take that bonus action before the Attack action?
A: No. The bonus action provided by the Shield Master feat has a precondition: that you take the Attack action on your turn. Intending to take that action isn't sufficient; you must actually take it before you can take the bonus action. During your turn, you do get to decide when to take the bonus action after you've taken the Attack action. This sort of if-then setup appears in many of the game's rules. The “if” must be satisfied before the “then” comes into play.
Came here to say this. It's something that's overlooked a lot and it does take a fair bit of power out of the shield master feat, as most enemies you knock prone will stand back up before you get to attack them. With this build that's less of an issue since they can't stand up anyway.
However, I've found that many DM's will just allow you to use the bonus action whenever as long as you do take the attack action on your turn.
@@loganreed291 Yes my DM considered and approved "holding" the Bonus action until the [IF] attack action was made...then released...i figure any other DM would consider this as well...
This is a huge pint that Colby seems to have missed unfortunately. That ruling ruined the feat. BUT, with the Beast Barb claw attack you can actually compensate pretty well for the if/then issue. Assuming you’re already raging (so this would be round 2) you, Grapple, bonus action shove prone (since you used the attack action to grapple), Claw attack, second free claw attack.
@@sldf45 you only get the free extra attack if you attack with the claws. Making a grapple is not the same an Attack. It also is apart of the attack action, which would need to be completed before taking the bonus action shove anyway.
Note how it says "you can make one additional claw attack as part of the same action."
If you have extra attacks you should be able to use those after doing an attack and using the bonus action. The game allows you to split your attacks between different opponents, use movement between attacks, perform a shove with one of those attacks, interact with an object, etc. The idea that you can't use the bonus action in the middle of all that, but only at the end, would be pretty dumb.
Fun idea.. I went two weapon fighting.. and tail beast for defense to save on hit points.. avoiding damage is better than taking half.
I could see the whole cleric route, where you work on juggling 3 or 4 enemies, you have the ones you let go trying to get out of your spirit guardians (at half their speed since they were prone) and then you drop 2 and go grab them and drag them back to your pile of enemies.
First Elsa, now captain America??? Come on, Colby! We may need to do a collab ;)
Do you want ceiling elephants? Because that's how you get ceiling elephants! 🤣
This is why I love your builds. They have such wonderful flavour 😸
You could also reflavor tail to trunk and claws to tusks damage would be the same flavor is free
Fighter (battle master) Artificer Armorer/guardian. Mechanically re-theme the thunder gauntlets as your shield. Use battle master to throw your shield (improvised weapon) and execute battle maneuvers like tripping or disarming.
Good to see the Rune Knight be a staple of multiple Shield Master builds.
I'm pondering on that Armorer+RK build myself, which is more pure Shove focused. The new DM is also giving us a free feat at level 1 so I get to solve the Shield Master issue early.... and maybe even mix Shove, Mobile and Ashardalon' Stride late game.
I had a very similar build and it was a ton of fun. It was more focused on the grappling side than the shield side but I intended to get Shield Master later. I took expertise in Athletics with Skill Expert feat, went Simic Hybrid for manta glide and appendages, and took Beast barb to level 6. I planned to multiclass into Rune Knight fighter after that but game ended before that.
The jumping ability (with expertise Athletics + rage adv) plus manta glide is a super cool combo. I had +10 in athletics at level 6 (also great for grappling) and would add that to high jump making jump height 3+STR+2d20kh1+10. Then once in air, I'd use manta glide to coast twice that distance horizontally. Only downside was dungeons/buildings with little headroom. So you're looking at, on average, 10 ft. movement + ~30 ft vert. jump (jump height caps at movement speed total) + 62 ft glide. You can even do it from standing at potentially give even further distance on the glide that way (up to 80 ft glide).
I love all of your vids it inspires me to make unhinged character ideas and helps me out during these tough times.
Fun thing to remember with the beast super jump is that with proficiency in athletics and advantage while raging, a level 6 beast barb can jump an average of 15 avg from advantage+ probably 4 for str mod+ 3 proficiency+ 7 feet of standing high jump, for a total average standing high jump of almost 30 feet vertical. If you use the guy you are grappling as a cushion, that is a lot of extra damage. When you get to the rune knight levels and can become large, you can have an eleven foot tall mammoth man launching 30+ feet towards enemies.
By level 17 with the expertise in athletics you can enlarge and rage, then leap 5(str)+4(standing high jump)+12(athletics expertise)+15(average advantage roll) for an average vertical jump of 37 feet+your twelve foot tall enlarged form and your additional six feet of outstretched arms mean you could attempt to grapple an adult red dragon flying 55 feet above you with a reasonable likelihood of success. That is not only hilarious, but also clearly helps the barbarian conquer the flying creature vulnerability.
If you have the ring of jumping you can leap about as far as a hand crossbow can fire. You are the ranges weapon.
Cloud Rune makes me think of the "Stop hitting yourself" all the older siblings know about XD
100%
I remember requesting a dual shield build on Twitter ages ago. I'm really glad this has come forth in this shape, cool stuff Colby.
Thank you!
At level 11 I would go monk levels and change fighting style earlier to unarmed fighting. Flurry of blows with a d6 damage is schaweet! Way of shadow for 3 spells that are not considered spells for raging purposes! It's insanely good. Pass without trace to get in sneaky and leap out of the shadows to surprise or grapple enemies even quicker. Very underrated
Do shadow monk allow to not need concentration for it's spells using ki?
@@micahswerens2472 Spells like Darkness and Silence require concentration still; but Pass without trace does not require concentration in base spell anyways.
Curious: Why did you choose to compare this build to DPR builds instead of Tanks?
Control+Hard to kill sounds like a Tank build to me.
Would it be hard to add this character to the Tank sheet Too? With or without a short released as bonus content covering just the level checks (since the build was discussed here)?
I suppose for two reasons: 1 - didn't have a real "taunt" (though, as I said, it does a pretty great job of protecting allies and getting attacked regardless) and 2 - I didn't really prioritize survivability here, though they have some pretty decent tankiness. In the end it's definitely a bit of a hybrid :).
For a lot of enemies, grappling them is much better than a taunt for preventing attacks on your allies
@@DnDDeepDive You are grappling two enemies that have very limited ability to attack anyone other than you. Sounds like a very effective taunt to me.
A player in my game is doing something very similar to this. I should link him the video. Thanks Colby.
I think if you're done with the base class features, a 3rd multi-class into rogue would probably be the biggest DPR gain. Having advantage essentially on demand, ensures you get sneak attack every round. Additionally you gain up to 4 expertise, and Uncanny Dodge (rogue 5). Anything past that is just levels for ASI, and more sneak attack dice.
dude, this helped me a ton with a yuanti tank i'm going with. thanks a bunch
Echo knight, protection fighting style, shield master. Done.
definitly a great elephant warrior build. What cant be understated is how well rounded and overall good this character is: Ok damage, good control and can take a beating as well. It perfectly counters the crippling weakness of tank bulds by simply beeing countered by walking away from them taking their harmless attacks. On top it feels like this character will get good use out of magic gear and the overall fantasy is great as well. Propably the overall "best" build i have seen on this channel.
I could also see that at lvl 11 the character could take 1 lvl of barbarian for the initiative boost and then the rest as fighter. The rune, indomitable an addional asi/feat as well as the extra attack at the very end seems better then what the barbarian offers. The additonal feat itself is likely better by itself.
The Shield Master feat says that you have to take the attack action on your turn to get the bonus action shove. That seems to indicate that you have to take your attack action or actions first, then you get the bonus action and not the other way around. So, I think, at best, you're only going to get the bonus action shove after attacks on the second round of combat and thus not have advantage until the 3rd round attack actions from the prone opponent. Or, does converting an attack action into grapple let us trigger the bonus action shove on the first round of combat? If so, this all still works since we are grappling first, then shoving as a bonus.
As a dm i usually approach it like this:
You can declare your actions and decide the order after that.
As soon as you decide to shove, you've locked in your descision to use the attack action.
Aye - Jeremy Crawford has actually made two tweets on this topic, but they directly contradict each other :). I think the more recent one says you'd have actually make the attacks first. That said, my hunch is that most DMs would rule as Pencilbender mentions below, but definitely something to discuss with your DM.
RAW you must take the attack action to use the bonus action shove. You take the attack action to grapple. You can now shove with your bonus action. There is no wording about completing the attack action, only that you take it. You could then drag your grappled, prone opponent behind a wall before using your extra attack feature.
I just found this channel yesterday, but I want to say it is awesome.
thanks! And welcome!
12 minutes into the video and I already love the flavor! I'm also liking the different races you have chosen to go with in recent videos! I'm playing a minotaur with a similar story - in the quest for vengeance, this minotaur raged, destroying anything and anyone in their path, until the moment when they almost killed a child. Since then, they have spent a decade in penance, meditating and reflecting over who they are. And have sworn to use violence only as the ultimate last resort. It is interesting because most of our party has a similar idea of non-violence in mind, and the cleric even refuses to use command or bane, because it involves forcing others! Very interesting dynamic.
I love the Loxodon Barbarian flavor! Someone at my table dubbed it the BARBARian. I actually made a build with similar inspiration:
Introducing, the Boxodon!
A Loxodon Beast Barbarian 5+ / Monk 1 / Rogue 1 / Fighter 1 - that’s right, quad class action!
Start off Barbarian, then grab a level of Monk for at will bonus action trunk slaps.
Then focus on Barbarian up to PC level 6. Play as pretty much a normal Beast Barbarian, except you have that bonus action up your sleeve.
Why beast? Long term, claws give you an extra attack, which is sweet. Before you get extra attack at PC level 6, you probably want to use Tail for AC as you need to use a monk weapon at least once on your turn to get the BA attack, so unarmed strikes are better than beast form attacks (for now).
While each attack may have a small damage die, adding Strength modifier and Rage damage to the four hits (at 6+) per turn pumps those numbers!
Along the way, use your first ASI to grab Shield Master. Your Rage gives you advantage on Strength checks, so you’re a natural grappler and shover. And since you can grapple enemies with your trunk, you really are a natural grappler!
At level six, in a turn, you can either make two claw attacks and two unarmed attacks, or two claw attacks, a grapple, and a shove. You’re either dishing out some damage and controlling the battlefield, or just dishing out substantial damage.
(A focus on grappling is more MMA than boxing, but boxers DO grapple and I couldn’t pass on the Boxodon pun! #sorrynotosorry)
Also, adding shield mod to some dex saves and taking no damage on all Dex save successes against damage makes you a master of all three physical saves!
Next, a level of Rogue gives you expertise, at athletics naturally. If you’re going to forgo attacks to grapple and trip people, you want them to succeed and you want them to be unable to break free.
When going for damage, you can also draw a dagger at the start of each turn to get your sneak attack, and it’s still a monk weapon to make your bonus action trunk slap. Reckless attack gives you advantage so you’ll always be eligible for Sneak Attack! “Obviously” drop the dagger between your dagger strike and your claw attacks to still make four attacks.
Lastly, a level of Fighter taking the Unarmed fighting style bumps your trunk up a die into a formidable weapon! And (very slightly… 1d4…..) punishes grappled foes if they didn’t break free (or die) since you grabbed them. Also second wind is not a bad touch of out of combat healing. It’s essentially an extra hit die per rest!
From here on out, the world is your oyster!
- Another level of Monk gives you two flurry of blows a short rest (or dashes / dodges as bonus actions), which contributes to the relentless beat ’em up fun!
- Another level of Fighter gives you action surge, also for bringing the pain with three extra attacks in one turn per short rest!
- Another level of Rogue gives you at will bonus action dash, disengage, & hide - making you the true master of at will bonus actions!
- Or just keep focusing on Barbarian to get
- some ASIs
- more rages
- more rage damage
- magical slashes for the purpose of resistance / immunity
- and Infectious Fury is also great when you’re grappling foes and dragging them into melee range of their allies so you dictate who they strike!
In short, that’s the Boxodon! Thanks for coming to enduring my Ted talk!
I've noticed several times in your video you've mentioned Simics. I would like to provide some mechanics that can help utilize them in optimizable ways.
Starting a Grapple: RAW is "Requires at least one hand" (PHB Making an Attack) as opposed to "Requires one hand" stated in the video. Simics can grapple with hand and tentacle by RAW, and maintaining a grapple with tentacle is RAW by the virtue of their ability. Just establish the grapple with normal grapple rules then free the hand.
Gotta say I've been loving all of your character builds. Having the fun aspect of the character build being just as important as trying to max out the character's combat effectiveness has been a massive boon. I played the Flame Thrower Kobold for a few weeks before he got eaten by a Cloaker, and am now playing the Street Fighter character and having a ton of fun with the interesting backstory to justify all of the crazy options and multiclassing that needs done for it.
the loxoxdon race pick, and that genius idea with grapple and shield master. i am thoroughly liking this idea
I think this is one of my favourite builds from d4!
My first thought of why a character wouldn't use weapons was from Game Of Thrones. The Dothraki capital is a no blood zone, so some of the merchants employ guards that could bloodlessly kill with their hands.
Hey Coby. Long time listener here. I hope you read this Comment. I just want to say that your infections positivity really makes my day every time I watch one of your videos. You really do turn my frown upside down. I wish I could do more than like and subscribe but finances don't allow. Thank you so much for all the great content you provide. 🙂
Hey thanks John! And likes and subscribes (and comments - especially like this one!) are super helpful and appreciated :).
Very interested in playing this Loxodon build here you just did. It’s more my style of play.
My idea for a Shield Master is more Heathcliff from the first season of 'Sword Art Online' than Captain America or Eric, using a sword as the primary weapon and the shield as an off-hand weapon. For this, you'll need the Dual Wielder (to use one-handed melee weapons that aren't light in each hand) and Tavern Brawler feat (to make you proficient with improvised weapons, which is what the shield would count as). You'd have to work with your DM to create a crucifix shield with a pivoting brace, giving you reach. As for mechanics, I'd say that when you make a weapon attack with your shield, you lose the AC bonus from the shield (getting the +1 to AC from Dual Wielding, instead), the shield doing 1d8+STR for damage (the same as a warhammer).
As for equipment, I think a Defender (longsword) and a customized magic shield, The Shield of Striking, which allows you to apply its magical AC bonus to attack and damage rolls when you use it as a weapon. I just think it's a fun idea that you block with the sword and strike with the shield, catching your enemy off guard.
Captain Elephant! Such a great build someone has to be last on a list but they have a special place in my heart!
In the end of the video you suggested War Cleric to get that extra BA attack, but I will point out that if the campaign has not rewarded this character a thematically appropriate magic shield, Forge Cleric can get you one, and by the wording for Shield Master, its bonuses go up as well.
Not having watched this yet, I'm so stoked by the concept, mainly because the PC I'm playing right now is a shield master focused build.
Earth Genasi Ancestral Guardian Barbarian, currently level 14, going to dip into fighter next 4 levels for battlemaster maneuvers/die.
Shield Master, Mobile, maxed CON, Martial Adept (Bait and Switch, Quick Toss), and my DM was gracious enough to give me a Shield of Battering.
I can comfortably "control" 2 "nodes" of combat and go between backline and frontline fairly reliably, imposing disadvantage on whoever the biggest threat is to hit anyone but me with Ancestral Guardian feat, reaction only to mitigate damage taken by allies ("You see a spectral Dao come out of the ground beneath you, charging at the attacker and softening the blow, though dusting you in a fine mineral mist" - ancestral guardian genasi can be dope to roleplay/flavor), I can push allies out of melee with forced movement, I can knock enemies prone before my melee allies turn.
I'm limited to 2 shove attacks in order to place the Ancestral Protectors, but those can be pushes of 15ft+prone depending on shield charges, or just 5ft or prone. But should I need it, can forgo ancestral protectors and push a total of 45ft in a single turn. (And for clarification on the 3 pushes, "Shove" is a replacement for a single attack of the attack action, so still checking the box of "choosing the attack action" to get the shield master bonus action shove).
Anyway, now that I've gushed, I'm hyped to see what you've done!
Flavor: Totem of the Mastodon 🤘
Take the tail for a Jurassic Park experience.
Those outtakes are the best!
Now we need an “ultimate werewolf” build!!!
Shifter, Beast Barbarian 3/Moon Druid 2
You're welcome
28:19 "And, I suppose, you could even get up to some shenanigans here. Potentially, grappling an enemy, maybe crawling up the wall with them, hitting them a few times on the way, and then dropping them for more damage ..."
Rules as written: lycanthropes aren't immune to fall damage, so it bypasses their immunity to "Nonmagical Attacks that aren't Silvered", making this a solid option when battling werewolves. A tall creature, like a Goliath, Loxodon, or Bugbear, could actually lift a grappled werewolf over its head and slam it to the ground (using the ground as an improvised weapon), doing an extra 1d6 bludgeoning damage, because the werewolf fell at least 10 feet.
At least, this is at my DM's table, but I think it's funny for a Loxodon to swing a werewolf around with its trunk, the lycanthrope yipping with each impact with the ground.
Always wanted to play a good shield basher / brawler, going to play this build in the campaign I'm in. Going to be a great time!! I haven't been able to figure out a good build for a concept I had similar to this one, only using a shield in each hand, more bashing, less grappling. Thanks for doing this one.
Yassss, loving the content! You make my day sometimes. Keep it up!
Thanks for the video! It was fun to watch as this is very similar to the build I have been playing for 4 or 5 months. I have a Harengon Beast Barbarian(6)/Fighter(4) who wields a shield. True, I miss out on the trunk which is cool, but I get quite a bit of mobility with the Rabbit Hop and Beastial Soul: Jump (especially if you have boots of striding and jumping!). You can Rabbit Hop with a grappled opponent as long as you aren't encumbered. Like you pointed out, the bonus action contention can be a bit frustrating at times, but over all, It is one of the most fun characters I have ever played! Thanks again
I’m glad you’ve done a beast barbarian! I love this subclass so much, simic hybrid does have some more fun synergy with beast barbarian since you can jump so high the manta glide feature effectively lets you fly
"A short or a long rest, good for you Wizards." 😄 I don't know why but I got a good laugh outta this
My Loxodon grappler build is a Lawful Stupid, non-smiting Sorcadin who summons what looks like a tornado of shattered iridescent glass (Cloud of Daggers) as a bonus action, then holds someone in it while hitting them with a hammer, lol. Not that I'd never smite, but he actually uses spells actively for his strategy and unless he crit wouldn't really bother with smites.
Sup J-dog. I like to think that the Loxodon has a curse placed upon them.
Our character was a part of a tribe that predicated itself on strength and endurance in a fight and in leaders. Our character decided to make an attempt to become the leader by trial of combat (very normal for their tribe, but never to the death only to submission as a way to show honor and restraint). The current leader was a vicious and mean-spirited Loxodon that treated your family, in particular your mother (as the tribe tends to rely on the wisdom of matriarchs). You took up arms against them and fought them with all your might. They made a nasty remark about your mother which you deemed to be too far and proceeded to take a battleaxe to their face ending their reign. As a result you were banished from your tribe and cursed, in secret, by some of the elders to transform into the "monster" they saw you as when you entered rage.
Just sounds so cool to me
love it
Damn, I got an idea for an Orc Barbarian that splatters his enemies with his fists while watching this, BUT it turned out an entirely different beast (see what I did here?) and way more fun in the end...
Beast Barbarian (6) with an Ascendant Dragon Monk (10), plus Hunter Ranger (4) for flavor and some extra things. It's attribute heavy, and probably viable only in campaigns with rolls for stats.
Key points:
1) Max STR, high DEX (16+), high CON (16+), with at least 13 WIS for Monk.
2) Grappler, Brawny, and Mobile Feats.
3) Longstrider spell from Ranger (1h without concentration), plus Alarm and Goodberry for flavor as the solo survival character. These fit like a glove to the image I had for him.
4) 70 ft. + 10 ft. (from Longstrider) movement for a total awesomeness of 80 ft. per round.
In combat:
1) Bonus Rage, Action grapple x2 with extra attack if multiple targets.
2) Next round Step of the Wind + Wings Unfurled (80 ft. flying speed flavored as a power jump to the skies), have fun...
3) Come back safely (without taking any damage) to watch your masterpiece of a splatter!!
Bonus tip: Step of the Wind is a bonus action, so when you reach 80 ft. high just use your action to make two attacks to throw both enemies for an extra 5 damage (from STR) to the 8d6 falling damage they will get.
Or else you can just slash them to pieces with 4-5 claw attacks in each round and with some extra little buffs from Colossus Slayer + Favored Enemy. Also you can get the Blind Fighting Style if you want to make your character blind for the "cool master" factor.
You can also keep punching them with the d6 Monk fists and get the tail depending on the situation.
edit:
Corrected the fly speed while dragging the creatures from 160ft. to 80ft. I forgot that dragging grappled creatures halves your speed (80 -> 40), so the dash from Step of Wind returns to the original value (40 -> 80). Still, a lot of damage for such a fun move.
Someone correct me if I missed something else.
I feel like having prints of the feats, items, etc you talk about on the image would help a lot
Awesome video. I was trying to build a "thug" like character with a big focus on critting when I came across this video. The concepts here had me drop alot of what I had in exchange for the Loxodon pinning an enemy to the ground and repeatedly shanking them, which I loved the flavor of. I ended up as a Loxodon 5 lvl dex based Champion fighter +5 lvl Scout Rogue, with shield master and piercer feats. The thrown weapon fighting style using daggers is also a cool combo with rogue's sneak attacks. Its damage isnt great, but the flavor is so on point and its not using either battlemaster or assassin, so it might actually be a character I play one day :D I also dont build higher than level 10 typically as that is just so far off for most campaigns I have been in, that its mostly irrelevant after at certain point.
The recent UA 7 from OneDnD gave us the Brawler Fighter subclass. I feel like their user of improvised weapons, maybe mixed with the recent Giant Barbarian, would make for a fantastic Shield Master 2.0 🤔
Its funny bc I'm imagining this massive 400lb Elephant centaur in half mail, pinning enemies to the ground with his shield; but wailing on them with his tiny elephant tail. I'm crying lol
I was actually making a "Crab-barian" with a simic hybrid, with a strict unarmed strike / grappling design in mind. Though I am not gonna use a shield, I was using totem barbarian, to have my character attune to a crab totem and thus be ostracized by his barbarian clan. However my biggest concern was dealing with creatures with physical resistance/immunity. I had NO idea beast barbarian actually fixed that problem! I am now redesigning my character with that in mind, thank you so much for that info!
I feel like I've referenced Dwarf Fortress somewhere else on this channel, but, man, oh man, if you want to do damage in game with any item Dwarf Fortress is amazing with the miscellaneous item user skill. If you choose a piece or furniture as your weapon the random junk you shove into the coffin or cabinet adds to the modifiers for the damage you do and it gets ridiculous how many things crumble beneath the weight of everything. Also, throwing anything at anyone can be surprisingly effective. It cracks me up. Dnd doesn't know how to make a difference between hitting someone with a sock versus a frying pan vs a shovel vs a table. It would be cool if they did.
So,.... when I got to the lvl 10 and saw how unsure you were where to take the build, my instinct to perform took over. :) Imagine a Loxodon, Barbarian-Fighter-Baaard. :) A proffesional wrestler! yes it requires tweaking points, but I'd go Eloquence for the monologues and smack talking :) the beastial soul climbing and jumping become a bit more interesting for me then :) so many things I can imagine from there.
Love the barbarian build so much fun
Probably, I want to see something like Hoarah Loux from Elden Ring build, with crazy powerful fist only punches, grapples and yolo jumps
Loxodon! Yes! I've been trying to figure out a shield master build passively in the back of my brain for a while, as well as an excuse to play a Loxodon. Never connected those in my head. Love it! Another addition to the PC wishlist. May just have to start throwing some in as NPCs to get a little taste! 😂
Would love to see a Wild Magic Barb build at some point.
I love this idea. It just generate memes
Some interesting things about Beast Barbarian:
The jump boost can be used as a pseudo flight mechanic, though you need to confirm with your DM if it uses your base movement. If so, then you can instead use it with the Herrengone and the Jump spell for extraordinary jumps.
One way you can boost your damage while holding a shield is by using two-weapon fighting with the Dual Wielder feat, using a main hand weapon and your tail as an off hand.
The claws only count as wielding when empty, so you can still use the hand for object interactions and don’t need to stow the claws.
My idea for a shield user is so different thanks for not stealing it
Omg the segmented trunk helmet in the artwork is awesome
Right!? My favorite part :)
I love the possibility of getting Infectious Fury and becoming this travelling menace that causes brawls to break out in every tavern you visit
Just wanted to add, since your a Loxodon, biting creatures might be hard but you got tusks. So when you go beast and pick bite, your tusks turn into giant vampire teeth which you skewer your enemies then drain the life from them.
Great artwork for this one
I built something kinda similar to what you described at the end... except it was a Loxodon Way of Astral Self/Rune Knight/Cleric so all built around WIS and locking down as many enemies as possible in our Spirit Guardians with our Astral Arms feature and trunk
35:35 The Claw attack is only once per turn, even if action surge.
I had a warforged paladin that used grappling & the tavern brawler feat to beat Yeenoghu with one of his own minions during the Descent into Avernus dream sequence
“The trunk is rather handy”
Hehe, *hand*. He gonna grab ya with it lol
No no, that's "handsy" - totally different :)
I think I'd build this character pretty differently. I'd start as a Variant Human Fighter. Grab Shield Master and the Unarmed Fighting Style right away. Then take 5 levels of Barbarian, probably going the Bear Totem route for sheer tankiness. Then take a level of Rogue for Expertise and possibly a 2nd level if at that point in the campaign Cunning Action Dash was something I wish I had. Then more Fighter levels, but I'd go Battlemaster instead of Rune Knight. End up with 8 levels of Barbarian, 1-2 levels of Rogue, and the rest Fighter. After Shield Master, there aren't a ton of Feats I think you'd need. Resilient Wisdom would be on the list for sure. Otherwise I would probably just increase Strength and Con. Or take Martial Adept and Fighting Initiate Superior Technique for as many maneuvers and Superiority Dice as possible.
Pretty dope. You get the feat the character is based on at Level 1, shield character should probably be a tank, expertise works well to be a super strong grappler, finally Battlemaster feels more right as a non-magic martial. Adding to this feel like there are lots of good feats, that are in line with the character concept: Martial Adept: Interception or Protection (just wanted to be specific), Tavern Brawler, Tough, Grappler, Crusher. Last thing beyond level 3 not sure why you'd keep going Barb.
@@andreasaslaksen4430 I think that getting early Barbarian levels is more important than the Fighter levels, so getting Extra Attack from Barbarian feels right. That covers the first 5 levels. 6th level feature isn't great, but you do get a 4th Rage, which is really nice to have. The 7th level feature though, is fantastic. Great for any Barbarian. And once your 7th, may as well go 8th for the ASI.
Huh, javelin to keep the Rage going? *hand shaking terribly* 😉
Love the build, especially the Loxodon choice and the often shunned Beast Barbarian!
And the Elephant sound is hilarious 😆
I would love a matt mercer gunslinger nova damage build. Love the theme this week
I love the Beast Barbarian Build Style just imagine a giant elephant climbing all the ceiling dropping down on people as terrifying I would love to play this definitely a good concept
Liked for the Kipling reference! I loved Just So Stories as a kid.
And I'd like it twice if I could for the Wax & Wayne reference too!
I made a very similar character in my current game.
Custom lin: Tavern Brawler
Fighter 3: unarmed fighting style, echo knight
Monk 3: way of astral self
Barb 3: ancestral guardians
It takes till lvl 9 to get the full potential, but it so fun. I also understand that it takes three turns to fully get the rage, echo, and arms out. This however then allows you to grapple enemies near and far for a BA due to Tavern Brawler. This also gives a free d4 to our grappled targets due to our fighting style. Not optimized, but a lot of fun.
I had a similar idea some time ago. Reflavoring the loxodon race to be a baga that uses her tail to grapple enemies!
That's one of my favorite active series. (Mistborn) love the wayne reference.
To overcome resitance you could also make a "weapon" attack with an enemie in magical armor. I like the idea to swing enemies against each other.
Hey Colby, just wanted to say I always enjoy your videos. You always have such fun ideas and well made videos. You so a great job editing and scripting these.
Thank you!
Not bad.
Curious to see what a captain America inspired build would be like.
Soldier
Variant human
Tavern brawler
At least 1 level artificer for returning weapon infusion.
Battle master fighter
Maybe rogue levels?
What an amazing build! It honestly sounds fun.