Draconic 1 / Stars X / Twilight 5, with DEX as the highest stat!?
Hereās my favorite character build that Iāve played in D&D 5e (weekly through the second half of 2022). I might write later about DMing. I thought a lot of the build decisions were clever, and Iām really proud of the result. The progression is really, really smooth, with fun new toys at every level, and everything fits together both thematically and mechanically.
The module was Ghosts of Saltmarsh, so the vibe was essentially āpiratesā. I wanted to go Stars Druid (my favorite subclass), for the navigating-by-stars vibe; their best feature is the Dragon constellation, and draconic theming is also nice here because dragons, like pirates, covet treasure. Other party members were a Great-Old-One Warlock, a Knowledge Cleric, a Swashbuckler Rogue.
Level 0
Race
Tiefling (Variant: Winged)
Flight is really, really good (and no feat races or backgrounds). Flavored to be dragonborn-adjacent.
Stats
Strength: 8
Dexterity: 16+2
Constitution: 14
Intelligence: 11
Wisdom: 15+1
Charisma: 13
(Highest 3 results of 4d6 with 1s rerolled; any order, and floating stat increases.)
Wait, what?? 18 DEX and 16 WIS?? Yep. Druids donāt need that much wisdom (the good spells donāt depend on it), and canāt wear metal (that is, half-decent) armor. The extra point of dexterity will get us to the standard resting 19 Armor Class at level 2, once we equip a shield, and is very nice for initiative and even dart attacks at low levels! 14 CON is standard, and we need 13 CHA to multiclass. 11 INT lets us take advantage of some of the Stars features for INT checks, and we can make up for the 8 STR with Wildshape for utility (which did make a huge difference, netting us 2k gold apiece, which translated to, like, a Wand of Fireball).
With point-buy, Iād go 8/14/13+1/8/15+2/13, taking Divine Soul and wearing half-plate (DM permitting).
Level 1
Draconic Bloodline Sorcerer 1
Spells
Cantrips: Mage Hand, Minor Illusion, Prestidigitation, Shape Water
Level 1: Shield, Silvery Barbs
Sorcerer dip for CON save proficiency, along with Shield and Silvery Barbs. You get four free cantrips; donāt pick attacking ones (youāre much better off attacking with weapons, given the 18 DEX and 13 CHA), and the utility is quite nice (this is a role-playing game, after all, not just a battle simulator). Draconic is a surprising pick; why not Divine Soul, Clockwork Soul, or Aberrant Mind? Well, first of all, itās thematic; donāt be a dirty powergamer. But, actually, itās the optimal choice: 13+DEX yields 17 AC here at first level (23 with Shield). The extra point of HP is also nice (actually, it guaranteed that Iād survive a Magic Missile at 2nd level, letting me choose not to Shield, which I remember won us the fight against a wizard guy, I think because it saved a slot for Thunderwave, as with his own Shield his AC was too high for us to hit reliably? Taking Thunderwave is fun but generally suboptimal, so I donāt recommend it below.)
Right now, itās optimal for you, an unarmored sorcerer, to go into melee to sponge for the actual martials (youāre tankier than they are, with 17 AC and the two premier defensive reactions; martials lol). With daggers, you have +6 to-hit for 1d4+4 piercing (action) and +6 for 1d4 piercing (bonus action, two weapon fighting); thatās pretty respectable, if not better than some of your martial friends (martials lol).
Level 2
Draconic 1 / Druid 1
Spells
Cantrips: Guidance, Mage Hand, Minor Illusion, Prestidigitation, Shape Water, Thorn Whip
Level 1: Entangle, Goodberry, Healing Word, Shield, Silvery Barbs, Thunderwave
Our first level in druid! Guidance is incredibly useful for ability checks (including initiative!); weāll get it duplicated next level, but can switch it out with Cantrip Versatility in a bit. Having Guidance at level 2 is worth more than having Magic Stone at levels 2-4, because +5 to-hit for 1d6+3 bludgeoning is worse than what weāre doing with daggers. But Thorn Whip is nice, because we can fly: thatās +5 to-hit for 1d6 piercing, and (assuming weāre above the target) an extra 1d6 bludgeoning as they fall prone (which is the main thing weāre after). Also, you could in principle pull someone off a ship, which is quite funny. Goodberry and Healing Word are auto-picks; theyāre nice for out-of-combat healing and in-combat reviving, respectively. Entangle is a nice control spell, and Thunderwave is fun. Itās too early for Absorb Elements to be relevant, but weāll grab it later.
Youāre a caster now! Pilot like Level 1 by default, but break out the control spells or healing when necessary. Use Guidance liberally, and make Goodberries for the next day with unused spell slots.
Level 3
Draconic 1 / Circle of Stars Druid 2
Spells
Cantrips: Guidance, Mage Hand, Minor Illusion, Prestidigitation, Shape Water, Thorn Whip
Level 1: Entangle, Fog Cloud, Goodberry, Guiding Bolt, Healing Word, Shield, Silvery Barbs, Thunderwave
We get our subclass and Wildshape! The Cow is the most useful form; with charge, youāve got +6 to hit for 1d6+4 piercing, with an extra 2d6 piercing if you charge. Notably, it also has +4 STR, which allowed us to retrieve an extremely lucrative heavy treasure chest from a sinking ship, which translated to some overpowered magical items. Spending Wildshape for an owl familiar is also a very nice default usage. Circle of Stars gives us Guidance (which we already have), along with Proficiency Bonus (currently 2) free uses of Guiding Bolt per day (and we can also cast it with slots). We can also use Wildshape to activate a starry form; currently, Archerās bonus action attack is the most useful, since weāre not concentrating on anything important yet.
We now have some more offensive tools: Guiding Bolt into Archer is a fine burst, giving +5 to-hit for 3d6 radiant (action) and +5 to-hit for 1d8+3 radiant (bonus action). The latter is at advantage if our Guiding Bolt hits; but we could also swap the order if the party rogue is going after us, to give them advantage. Of course, if we spend both Wildshapes, Archer into a Cowās charge is going to do more.
Level 4
Draconic 1 / Stars 3
Spells
Cantrips: Guidance, Mage Hand, Minor Illusion, Prestidigitation, Shape Water, Thorn Whip
Level 1:
Entangle, Fog Cloud, Goodberry, Guiding Bolt, Healing Word, Shield, Silvery Barbs, ThunderwaveLevel 2: Pass without Trace, Spike Growth
We get 2nd-level spells! In particular, Pass without Trace essentially guarantees surprise by granting +10 stealth, which is effectively a free round of combat before enemies can react. Spike Growth is fantastic (maybe my favorite spell): enemies take 2d4 piercing for every 5 feet they move (or get moved) through its massive 20-foot-radius area. Notable, Thorn Whip allows us to drag enemies through the Spike Growth, yielding an extra 4d4 piercing on a hit. This also works well with the party warlockās Repelling Blast, and our own Thunderwave.
Instead of concentrating on Guidance outside of combat by default, we now concentrate on Pass without Trace. This is big! We also have Spike Growth, which outputs an insane amount of control and damage (well, maybe Dead is just the best condition you can impose, so itās all just control). From now on, the Dragon Starry Form is much more valuable than the Archer whenever weāve cast a big spell: it guarantees at least a 10 + CON + PB (currently 14) on concentration checks, so weāre in pretty much no danger of dropping concentration (especially since weāre so hard to hit).
Level 5
Draconic 1 / Stars 4
Spells
Cantrips: Guidance, Mage Hand, Minor Illusion, Magic Stone, Prestidigitation, Shape Water, Thorn Whip
Level 1: Absorb Elements, Fog Cloud, Goodberry, Gift of Alacrity, Guiding Bolt, Healing Word, Shield, Silvery Barbs, Thunderwave
Level 2: Misty Step, Pass without Trace, Spike Growth,
We get a few things this level, most importantly a Feat. We pick Fey Touched, which raises our Wisdom to 17, gives us a free daily Misty Step and Gift of Alacrity (which we can also cast with slots). The last one is what we were really after: it gives us an extra 1d8 to initiative. Note that Lucky would be more thematic for Stars (consider the 6th-level feature); itās probably a side-grade. Our PB (and so our to-hit on everything, and our free Guiding Bolt supply) goes up from 2 to 3. Our Thorn Whip damage also goes from 1d6 to 2d6. We also get a 3rd-level slot; Pass without Trace and Spike Growth are worth a 3rd-level slot, but we could also upcast Thunderwave through a spike growth for 28 average damage on a failed save (9 on a success). We also get access to Wildshape creatures up to Challenge Rating 1/2 (notably the Warhorse) or with swim speeds (notably the Giant Poisonous Snake, who weāll see more of next levelā¦). At this point in the campaign, weāve gotten enough gold to get some very nice items (Sentinal Shield for advantage on initiative, Wand of Fireballs for, well, Fireballs).
If youāre keeping track at home, our initiative if we cast Guidance (we canāt always afford Pass without Trace) is now 2d20kh1 + 4 + 1d8 + 1d4, yielding at least 20 more than 80% of the time. Go first. Lay down control. Hit things harder than the martials (lol), with Fireball if needed. Heal when necessary.
Level 6
Draconic 1 / Stars 5
Spells
Cantrips: Guidance, Mage Hand, Minor Illusion, Magic Stone, Prestidigitation, Shape Water, Thorn Whip
Level 1: Absorb Elements, Fog Cloud, Goodberry, Gift of Alacrity, Guiding Bolt, Healing Word, Shield, Silvery Barbs,
ThunderwaveLevel 2: Misty Step, Pass without Trace, Spike Growth
Level 3: Conjure Animals, Sleet Storm
Whereas last level we got a bunch of small things (well, and the Wand of Fireballs), this level we get a single fantastic feature: Conjure Animals, the keystone of this build. We also pick up Sleet Storm for extra control, which is also thematic. (No favorable reading for Plant Growth.) We also pick up a Wand of Web, for some extra control (we have a ton of resources now). We unprepare Thunderwave, as its damage is now relatively low, and our low-level slots are more valuable for spending on Shield, Silvery Barbs, and Healing Word.
With Conjure Animals, we can summon eight Giant Poisonous Snakes. These things are monsters: 18 DEX (so +4 initiative, 14 AC, and +6 to-hit), a ten-foot reach and Blindsight range, and on a hit they do 1d4+4 piercing along with 3d6 poison (CON save DC 11 for half). That is, against a monster with AC 15 and a +4 CON save, we should expect to do 65 damage. Thatās like hitting three enemies with Fireball, but itās single-target, and we can do it again on the next turn (depending on how many snakes survive until then). Itās certainly much more than your martial friends are doing. Conjure Animals also doubles as a great control spell (Wall of Flesh?), since you control eight squares with your snakes. Of course, opportunity attacks are again a massive boost to damage output.
Summon snakes. Profit. Note that your best action may very well be to Dodge, to impose disadvantage on incoming attacks to help protect your concentrationā¦ except that Dragon Starry Form makes your concentration pretty much unbreakable, and you may have several Fireballs to throw.
Level 7
Draconic 1 / Stars 5 / Twilight Domain Cleric 1
Spells
Cantrips: Light, Guidance, Mage Hand, Mending, Minor Illusion, Magic Stone, Prestidigitation, Shape Water, Thaumaturgy, Thorn Whip
Level 1: Absorb Elements, Ceremony, Command, Detect Magic, Faerie Fire, Fog Cloud, Goodberry, Gift of Alacrity, Guiding Bolt, Healing Word, Shield, Silvery Barbs, Sleep
Level 2: Misty Step, Pass without Trace, Spike Growth
Level 3: Conjure Animals, Plant Growth, Sleet Storm
We deepen our relationship with the night by becoming a Twilight Domain Cleric. Remember how opportunity attacks being a massive boost to damage output? Command: Flee generates those on command demand. Ceremony and Detect Magic are generally useful; we pick up Healing Word via Cleric, to free up a prep slot for Plant Growth via Druid. We also have a 4th-level slot now, but again it doesnāt do much extra for us. (I guess we could put around 50 hit points worth of enemies to Sleep, which we get for free along with Faerie Fire? But thatās worse than just summoning eight snakes.) We pick up some general utility cantrips, too. Twilight Domain also gives us advantage on initiative (so give the Sentinal Shield to the party cleric, and pick up a +1 shield instead). Note that, since weāre putting down big control or area-of-effect damage spells, itās most valuable to focus on our own initiative. We can also give our now 300-foot Darkvision to the rest of the party daily for an hour (or more, at the cost of a spell slot).
Have fun with Command.
Level 8
Draconic 1 / Stars 5 / Twilight 2
Spells
Cantrips: Light, Guidance, Mage Hand, Mending, Minor Illusion, Magic Stone, Prestidigitation, Shape Water, Thaumaturgy, Thorn Whip
Level 1: Absorb Elements, Bless, Ceremony, Command, Detect Magic, Faerie Fire, Fog Cloud, Goodberry, Gift of Alacrity, Guiding Bolt, Healing Word, Shield, Silvery Barbs, Sleep
Level 2: Misty Step, Pass without Trace, Spike Growth
Level 3: Conjure Animals, Plant Growth, Sleet Storm
So the initiative bump was nice and all, but what we were really after from the Twilight Cleric was the feature we get now: Twilight Sanctuary. Every short rest, we can activate a fountain of temporary hit points for ourselves and our allies, including the rather fragile snakes. Itās only 1d6+2 for now (itāll go up by 1 with every additional level), but since it refreshes every turn, we end up adding a lot of effective hit points. This feature is so broken that 1d6+2 is good even at level 8 (whereas a straight-classed Twilight Cleric would be delivering 1d6+8, or about twice as much, at this level).
Make your snakes much harder to kill.
Level 9
Draconic 1 / Stars 5 / Twilight 3
Spells
Cantrips: Light, Guidance, Mage Hand, Mending, Minor Illusion, Magic Stone, Prestidigitation, Shape Water, Thaumaturgy, Thorn Whip
Level 1: Absorb Elements, Bless, Ceremony, Command, Detect Magic, Faerie Fire, Fog Cloud, Goodberry, Gift of Alacrity, Guiding Bolt, Healing Word, Shield, Silvery Barbs, Sleep
Level 2: Aid, Misty Step, Moonbeam, Pass without Trace, See Invisibility, Spike Growth
Level 3: Conjure Animals, Plant Growth, Sleet Storm
We pick up Aid, for more hit-point boosting. (Weāll use this on our party members, rather than on the snakes.) We also get a 5th-level slot, with which we can upcast Conjure Animals and summon twice as many snakes. This scaling is great; even though weāve spent almost half our levels on multiclassing, our most powerful option is exactly that of a straight-classed Druidās. Our PB goes up to 4, and our Twilight Sanctuary scales by a point.
By this point, you know how to pilot the build.
Level 10+
Draconic 1 / Stars X / Twilight 5
From here on, the campaignās pretty much over. The main draw of this build is the incredible progression during all the levels of typical play. However, for completionās sake, two more levels of Twilight Cleric yield a feat (pick Telekinetic or Lucky or something) and then 3rd-level cleric spells, notably Spirit Guardians, which also upcasts fantastically (and might be somewhat more reliable, once we start running into more enemies at this tier who are resistant or immune to our snakes). From then on, push more Stars Druid levels to get:
Level 12: Cosmic Omen
Level 13: 4th-level spells (Polymorph, Wall of Fire, ā¦), 7th-level slots
Level 14: Feat (the other one of Lucky or Telekinetic)
Level 15: 5th-level spells (Wall of Stone, Planar Binding, ā¦), 8th-level slots
Level 16: Twinkling Constellations
Level 17: 6th-level spells (Conjure Fey, Heroās Feast, ā¦), 9th-level slots
Level 18: Feat
Level 19: 7th-level spells (Mirage Arcane, Plane Shift, ā¦)
Level 20: Full of Stars
So, we hit level 20 with a capstone from our main subclass. Unfortunately, we do miss out on 8th- and 9th-level spells. But 32 snakes will make you feel better.