The Moon Singer: D&D Build

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  • เผยแพร่เมื่อ 5 ส.ค. 2024
  • Today is the last video I'm doing inspired by the ‪@DungeonDudes‬ multiclassing Tier-Ranking series. Here's a spoiler warning: we go out with a BANG!
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    Intro:(0:00)
    Table Top Candle Company:(5:37)
    Level 1:(8:42)
    Level 2 - 6:(12:51)
    Level 7 - 9:(29:36)
    Level 10 - 13:(37:01)
    Level 14 - 17:(44:41)
    Final Thoughts:(50:01)
    Outtakes:(56:25)
    Math/Graph for this episode: docs.google.com/spreadsheets/...
    Master Sustained Damage Comparison (5 tabs):
    docs.google.com/spreadsheets/...
    Thanks to LudicSavant for the amazing DPR calculator! forums.giantitp.com/showthrea...)
    Music Credits:
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    Source: incompetech.com/music/royalty-...
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    Celtic Impulse - Celtic by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. creativecommons.org/licenses/...
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  • บันเทิง

ความคิดเห็น • 551

  • @DnDDeepDive
    @DnDDeepDive  9 หลายเดือนก่อน +130

    Errata: I had an error in my calculations at levels 13 and 17 - I accidentally added 10 damage to Cloud of Daggers for some reason - this lowers the damage numbers at those levels, but still keeps them at the top of the class overall. I'll adjust the spreadsheets accordingly.
    Also! Contingency only works on 5th level spells and lower and the spell only affects you - no Force Cage or Wall of Force or Crown of Stars! :)
    Also! I'm seeing people talk about Mage Armor - I'll admit, while I was working the build I was just thinking "Natural Armor and Mage Armor don't stack" and, while that's true, I don't believe there's any reason why you couldn't cast Mage Armor (which lasts for 8 hours without concentration), and benefit from it while wild shaped *instead* of your Natural Armor, since the PHB states "If you have multiple features that give you different ways to calculate your AC, you choose which one to use." So yeah, that's a 13 instead of an 11 (Alas, Brown Bears have a 10 Dex or it'd be higher). I'll take a +2 bump. Especially since it'll eventually be at an 18 when bladesinging... not bad at all.

    • @jiminkpen9750
      @jiminkpen9750 9 หลายเดือนก่อน +2

      And they only target you...

    • @gbcls
      @gbcls 9 หลายเดือนก่อน +4

      Just synaptic-static yourself and everyone around you pays the price. I think thats kind of a worthwhile risk at your bladesong ac.... iv never done it yet but if you have held your reaction you should be able to just shield out of it and flavor a moon burst effect

    • @eleishar18
      @eleishar18 9 หลายเดือนก่อน +3

      They said there will be a three class multiclassing video, but now they started Spell Tier-Ranking, so we'll have to wait, sadly...
      Still, it was supposed to be about powerful builds, so it might be scary when You optimize them :D

    • @michelol8288
      @michelol8288 9 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

      does mage armor count as a feature here? thought its only for monk and barbs with nat. armor

    • @DnDDeepDive
      @DnDDeepDive  9 หลายเดือนก่อน +4

      @@michelol8288 that’s unarmored defense ;)

  • @484558
    @484558 9 หลายเดือนก่อน +369

    The 'Oops all Bladesingers' party really coming along

    • @ericadams1446
      @ericadams1446 9 หลายเดือนก่อน +5

      Please and thank you

    • @Gavo172
      @Gavo172 9 หลายเดือนก่อน +7

      Oh nooo how could this happen 😂

    • @DrinkingCarsandTalkingCoffee
      @DrinkingCarsandTalkingCoffee 9 หลายเดือนก่อน +3

      Sign me up, I’ll play in that game!

    • @Wintermute909
      @Wintermute909 9 หลายเดือนก่อน +3

      Thay would be so cool!
      [Edit: I'm gonna leave that typo in because it seems oddly appropriate.....or inappropriate]

    • @The_LaughingHyena
      @The_LaughingHyena 9 หลายเดือนก่อน +2

      @@Gavo172 what monsters would bet they all have silvery barbs too!

  • @PyrotechNick77
    @PyrotechNick77 9 หลายเดือนก่อน +175

    Moon Druid bladesinger elves are literally canon in my setting and I am glad this combo is getting a shine here in d4

    • @petergtzsche8019
      @petergtzsche8019 9 หลายเดือนก่อน +7

      That sounds like a wild setting 😅

    • @Tanthalasa83
      @Tanthalasa83 9 หลายเดือนก่อน +3

      Well bladesingers should be elves...so yeah... and personally I add the few twist of accepting elven armor and weapons for bladesingers... so nothing better than a double-bladed scimitar and bladesong...dancing through the enemies of orcs and similar

  • @ivanfranebijelic7009
    @ivanfranebijelic7009 9 หลายเดือนก่อน +101

    Colby I got a suggestion, Dungeon Dudes are doing a Spells tier list series as well, you can look for quirky or unique spells and try to make builds around using them, that could be really fun

    • @20storiesunder
      @20storiesunder 9 หลายเดือนก่อน +9

      Excellent idea for shorter vids!

    • @Gravitom
      @Gravitom 9 หลายเดือนก่อน +10

      I'd also like to see character combos. What two builds work together well on the battlefield?

    • @knuckles9045
      @knuckles9045 9 หลายเดือนก่อน

      Yeah, I've been trying to think of a way to make vampiric touch work (seems great thematically), but just can't

  • @kalias66
    @kalias66 9 หลายเดือนก่อน +30

    I love how you’ve taken several elements that individually people hate on and combined them into a great build. A druid/bladesinger multiclass is a challenge, but you made it work with cloud of daggers, no one’s first choice for 2nd level spells, and giff, no one’s first choice of ancestry.
    You announce you’re a giff druid/bladesinger and they start laughing, you up-cast cloud of daggers and they start laughing harder, then you wildshape into bear, drag them into cloud of daggers and hold them there until they die and suddenly they’re not laughing anymore.

  • @SwordsmanOrion
    @SwordsmanOrion 9 หลายเดือนก่อน +82

    This build seems like the kind of thing that a DM would start building encounters specifically to counter after seeing more than twice.

    • @johngleeman8347
      @johngleeman8347 9 หลายเดือนก่อน +12

      If that's the case it will make things easier for the rest of the party. The monsters can't counter the whole party's tactics simultaneously.

    • @murderyoutubeworkersandceos
      @murderyoutubeworkersandceos 9 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

      so just have a caster and use crowd control

    • @williamtaylor6886
      @williamtaylor6886 9 หลายเดือนก่อน +3

      As a wizard, this character won’t be a one-trick pony (make that bear). If conditions don’t look right for grapple and daggers, drop a nasty control spell and Wildshape to hide.

    • @orangeflame568
      @orangeflame568 5 หลายเดือนก่อน +3

      Bear only has 34 HP and 15 AC. Bear form is pretty easy to drop once character is in tier 2 by just attacking it.

    • @Lacertos
      @Lacertos 4 หลายเดือนก่อน

      ​@@orangeflame568that's by far the biggest weakness of this build. If the enemy also doesn't care about hurting his ally, he can also just explode the bear using an AoE spell.

  • @JoseAlberto-Jugo
    @JoseAlberto-Jugo 9 หลายเดือนก่อน +78

    I came for the BG3, stayed for the fun DnD builds!

    • @20storiesunder
      @20storiesunder 9 หลายเดือนก่อน +6

      Next step is playing some tabletop ;)

    • @coreytaylor3633
      @coreytaylor3633 9 หลายเดือนก่อน +4

      BG3 has bought in table top curious players far better than crpgs of the past!

    • @20storiesunder
      @20storiesunder 9 หลายเดือนก่อน

      That's great, love seeing new folsk streaming in@@coreytaylor3633

    • @Reoh0z
      @Reoh0z 8 หลายเดือนก่อน +2

      I came for the fun DnD builds, stayed for the BG3 builds as well.

    • @JoseAlberto-Jugo
      @JoseAlberto-Jugo 8 หลายเดือนก่อน

      @@20storiesunder I want to say thank you! I've played my fair share of dnd with friends but haven't had the chance to join a campaign (run by a friend) in the past year. Your comment inspired me to say "fck it, I'll DM" and after talking with several friends who were interested I can officially say that now I'll be the one taking people to the mines. Again, thanks for the little push and wish me luck!

  • @FrothyTheRabidBugbea
    @FrothyTheRabidBugbea 9 หลายเดือนก่อน +37

    I like the idea of taking two more druid for giant octopus. Flavor it with a piraty curved sword or rapier as the singer blade and sea shanties out of wild shape. Almost same str, more hp, and you now have a single 15' reach 2d6 tentacle attack that initates grapple to hold the poor soul in your piratey cloud of daggers. And that's just on land.

    • @CaspaDeSobaco
      @CaspaDeSobaco 9 หลายเดือนก่อน +4

      Relying on a +5 to hit to grapple will be very rough, especially later on. Similarly, the 10 speed will make it near impossible to drag enemies into the cloud of dagger. So unless you're playing an underwater or pirate-style campaign, I'd advice against it.

  • @irian42
    @irian42 9 หลายเดือนก่อน +24

    I want the Paladin Bladesinger now!

  • @skeletronxd
    @skeletronxd 9 หลายเดือนก่อน +4

    7:14 "they actually have a new candle, and they SCENT it to me" 😂

  • @schuepbachr
    @schuepbachr 9 หลายเดือนก่อน +11

    Re: Song of Defense and Concentration:
    I know the bear has a higher than typical chance of getting hit, but if you get hit by something big, you can use your reaction to drop the damage to a point where your concentration check is more manageable.
    "He gets hit for 30." (That's a 15 to save concentration)
    Second level spell to prevent ten damage? Now it's a ten.

  • @williamtaylor6886
    @williamtaylor6886 9 หลายเดือนก่อน +8

    Love the synergy between you and the Dungeon Dudes. I don’t know that “is it better than…” is the best question here. But certainly you can answer “yes!” to “is this a fun and powerful build.” Bonus points: super distinctive.

  • @toolman4745
    @toolman4745 9 หลายเดือนก่อน +3

    You win the internet man. Your videos are amazing, your break downs so thorough and interesting. And you're such a nice guy. Kudos to you and all that you do.

  • @alarin612
    @alarin612 9 หลายเดือนก่อน +3

    You can cheese the heck out of Contingency. "When I go 'rowr, rowr, rowr,' it casts fireball." Get a free action fireball (or whatever) while in bear form.

  • @mattdodson1272
    @mattdodson1272 9 หลายเดือนก่อน +16

    My mind is blown. I love the crazy combo!

  • @Seraphim_MTG
    @Seraphim_MTG 9 หลายเดือนก่อน +8

    The more time passes the more I'm getting convinced Cloud of Daggers is the strongest damage spell at 2nd level, potentially period. No save, magical slashing damage, enter-and-start-of-turn clause, insane scaling, this spell is the best spellblade spell in the game.

    • @Pacific-NW-Native
      @Pacific-NW-Native 9 หลายเดือนก่อน +2

      Cloud of Daggers is definitely an underrated spell. Pushing/ pulling/ grappling opponents in it is devastating!

    • @elise-3198
      @elise-3198 8 หลายเดือนก่อน +2

      It's either Cloud of Daggers or Spike Growth

  • @JamesTaylor-oh1sd
    @JamesTaylor-oh1sd 9 หลายเดือนก่อน +6

    My first thoughts are that this will be really powerful. It'll have to be a bit MAD (erm.. multiple ability score dependent), but the combination should be crazy. Wizards and Druids are both difficult to multiclass out of, but I think this can work. Super excited for it!!!!

  • @simonmoody8400
    @simonmoody8400 9 หลายเดือนก่อน +8

    I would think that Mage Armour would be a fairly obvious pickup instead of Absorb (much though I love Absorb, taking that at Wizard 2 seems perfactly reasonable) or Silvery (if that is even allowed at your table). A 2 point AC bump to your bear form will help extend your wildshape durability.

    • @DnDDeepDive
      @DnDDeepDive  9 หลายเดือนก่อน +6

      going to add to my pinned comment about this...

  • @mattdahm4289
    @mattdahm4289 9 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

    Thanks Colbs! Love your D&D builds!

  • @calebboure7429
    @calebboure7429 9 หลายเดือนก่อน

    Very good build! What a fresh set of ideas to max out the power here

  • @BLynn
    @BLynn 9 หลายเดือนก่อน +4

    The Moon Singer: D&D Build #149
    Level 1:(see above) [druid 1 & race]
    Level 2:(see above) [druid 2 & subclass]
    Level 3:(@15:57) [wizard 1]
    Level 4:(@17:55) [wizard 2 & subclass]
    Level 5:(@21:01) [wizard 3]
    Level 6:(@24:08) [wizard 4 & ASI]
    Level 7:(see above) [wizard 5]
    Level 8:(@31:05) [wizard 6]
    Level 9:(@32:51) [wizard 7]
    Level 10:(see above) [wizard 8 & ASI]
    Level 11:(@38:09) [wizard 9]
    Level 12:(@41:00) [wizard 10]
    Level 13:(@42:11) [wizard 11]
    Level 14:(see above) [wizard 12 & ASI]
    Level 15:(@45:31) [wizard 13]
    Level 16:(@47:07) [wizard 14]
    Level 17:(@48:20) [wizard 15]

    • @ya-dude
      @ya-dude 9 หลายเดือนก่อน

      You study under flando?

    • @BLynn
      @BLynn 9 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

      @@ya-dude I did not know who that was until you mentioned them. I am not a critter, because I do not enjoy watching others play except for maybe an hour at a time, which is why I made it through the Force Grey stuff & I did experience the first YT of Critical Roll, but not enough to know who that was. I do this for myself, but it works out that sharing it makes others happy too.

  • @AwkwardPain
    @AwkwardPain 9 หลายเดือนก่อน +20

    The major drawback that is probably the biggest one is... 34 health. By level 10 enemies are going to be doing multi attacks that can eat through 34 health in a moment, or a fireball (or many other spells) and you only have ONE reaction fairly late in the build to even reduce the damage. I would imagine that you will be dropping out of bear form fairly often once reaching around level 10 (especially if you are the largest creature and or the enemies know anything about your tactics)

    • @DnDDeepDive
      @DnDDeepDive  9 หลายเดือนก่อน +7

      Very possible. I'm hoping that, with the help of either wild shape healing or, later, song of defense, we can mitigate that as much as possible, but don't forget: we're not going to be getting hit *every* time an enemy attacks, and we have two uses of wild shape per short rest... get knocked out, next round, new bear, keep grappling.
      I'd love to try it out in game and see how well it works outside of the lab.

    • @AwkwardPain
      @AwkwardPain 9 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

      @@DnDDeepDiveTrue, it really depends on the table...
      For example... my group at level 7 just had to fight a purple worm after a long adventuring day... minimum everyone had 2 levels of exhaustion. Somehow we pulled through using silence and pass without trace and some DM leeway on the reading of those!

    • @hectortoledo8938
      @hectortoledo8938 9 หลายเดือนก่อน +3

      I was wondering if someone had mentioned this, as 11 AC base and 34 hp is really weak in mid levels even. Even if we were to add +2 ac from mage armour and +5 from Bladesong, 18 AC will help somewhat, but 34 hp is really low, you'd be out of wildshape in a single round, meaning this combo cant be used often at all. True, you{re still mostly a wizard, but you{re sacrificing 2 levels for this trick, that may or may not pay out.

    • @Kalladdin
      @Kalladdin 8 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

      For this reason, Mirror Image should be cast before every combat if possible. Honestly, it's not a bad Contingency target either.
      Alternatively Glyph of Warding Dwarf gives the Armor of Agathys spell to bolster our hp. (RAW this probably has to be contingency? Not 100% if you can cast it pre-wildshape and have it carry over. Either way a good option tho)

  • @phatcritz
    @phatcritz 8 หลายเดือนก่อน

    I LOVE this build. The flavor and background storyline are wide and varied. Having wild shape and wizard spells and zeroing out an enemy with grapple WHILE dumping out top tier damage?
    Bravo sir..

  • @josechacon9939
    @josechacon9939 8 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

    I’m glad you brought up the poll because it clicked as soon as I saw this video. It’s an interesting question.

  • @joshuaclendenon
    @joshuaclendenon 9 หลายเดือนก่อน

    Came for the build. Stayed for the singing.
    This worked a lot better than I expected. Nicely done, Colby.

  • @AllNighterProduction
    @AllNighterProduction 9 หลายเดือนก่อน +3

    Fascinating and fun build. Biggest weakness I see at higher levels is bear HP not scaling so potentially losing bear form every round. That being said I still want to use it for atleast a oneshot.

    • @andreasaslaksen4430
      @andreasaslaksen4430 9 หลายเดือนก่อน

      Saw the same issue 34hp, with setup rounds and esp if high dpr should draw aggro. Could be a big problem.

  • @bmw21323
    @bmw21323 9 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

    I've been wanting this for a while. So freaking happy

  • @prygrama9313
    @prygrama9313 9 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

    I like what you did inverting the camera, great editing on this video, really pleasant to see!

  • @achair3648
    @achair3648 9 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

    I always love it when the Bardic Brawler gets a shoutout! I’m playing one at my table and just got to level six (blending time!)

  • @petervolmert2112
    @petervolmert2112 9 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

    Was not ready for the unboxing content 😆But honestly, all your videos are just unboxing content for hugely entertaining character builds, so I'm not complaining 😄

  • @rosi4510
    @rosi4510 9 หลายเดือนก่อน

    Great combo! Excellent Job!!! 💪👍

  • @jackchaplin3794
    @jackchaplin3794 9 หลายเดือนก่อน

    Was so stoked for what it was gonna be based off the short. Even more excited to see "Moon Singer" which is great fun. Good stuff as always. I love your friendly enthusiasm, even this many videos in. I'm gonna keep up with them all, too good to miss any.
    Had the Moon Singer realisation back in Feb 22. So excited to see someone do something with it. But thought you might enjoy my original concept for the build. Was more for flavour and fun rather than effect.
    Kalastar
    5 bear barbarian
    1 monk
    2 blade-singer wizard
    2 moon druid
    A turn into a
    Ape
    raging
    Resistant to all damage
    with a rapier
    add dex + Int + wis or con to ac
    +20ft movement

  • @Fafnirod123
    @Fafnirod123 9 หลายเดือนก่อน +2

    Called it! I’ve played one of these and they’re so much fun

  • @ChocolateFishBrains
    @ChocolateFishBrains 9 หลายเดือนก่อน +2

    This build reminds me of the Fochlucan Lyrist prestige class of 3.5e, a singing performer with arcane and druidic magic that combined bardic song and lore with the primal magic of nature.

    • @hectortoledo8938
      @hectortoledo8938 9 หลายเดือนก่อน

      That's a blast from the past! Thanks for reminding me for a Prestige Class I loved years ago!

  • @FabulousJejmaze
    @FabulousJejmaze 9 หลายเดือนก่อน

    Now this is the kind of surprisingly effective nonsense I subscribed to you for Colby

  • @petergtzsche8019
    @petergtzsche8019 9 หลายเดือนก่อน +2

    You can teally feel the new editor with all of those amazing sound effects!

    • @D4-Blackthorn
      @D4-Blackthorn 9 หลายเดือนก่อน +2

      🎉 thanks!

    • @DrinkingCarsandTalkingCoffee
      @DrinkingCarsandTalkingCoffee 9 หลายเดือนก่อน +2

      I agree, good job BlackthornEditor! Can’t wait to see progression of ideas and editing in a few months!

  • @scottparsons829
    @scottparsons829 9 หลายเดือนก่อน

    Fantastic video again. Thank you!

  • @jamesfoster9613
    @jamesfoster9613 9 หลายเดือนก่อน

    I love that you made the giff/jiff joke, as its written into their setting info that the culture itself argues over the pronunciation!

  • @AznHeat1187
    @AznHeat1187 9 หลายเดือนก่อน

    Always surprised by the amazing builds. Definitely listening to this episode a couple of times over because what is this build? Lol too cool

  • @Stevensenegal222
    @Stevensenegal222 9 หลายเดือนก่อน

    Absolutely loved this build :D

  • @aaronw4001
    @aaronw4001 9 หลายเดือนก่อน +3

    You need to do a bladesinger multiclass for all the classes now!

  • @grantparker6047
    @grantparker6047 9 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

    I also love that this combo works really well with 2 characters in a party. Any spellcaster who can cast cloud of daggers and a rune knight fighter or path of giants barbarian can pull this off as a team that requires less set up.
    I know thats not the point of this channel, but I always enjoy seeing combos that work better with team work within a party anyways.

  • @Seraphzero0
    @Seraphzero0 3 หลายเดือนก่อน

    Great advice for life there. Instead of lamenting that life doesn’t fit your desires, look for the opportunities. That kind of optimism and creativity are a recipe for success!

  • @soldier660
    @soldier660 9 หลายเดือนก่อน

    Another bladesinger build ?! Wow, thank you Coby, this is really one of my favorite channels here, thank you a lot, and thank you for make me love bladesinger : ) !!! and Shadowblades >: ) !!! : ) !!!

  • @The214thRabidFangirl
    @The214thRabidFangirl 2 หลายเดือนก่อน

    I had kind of wandered away from the D&D side of TH-cam for a bunch of reasons. And i had forgotten how much just putting your videos on in the background to listen to while I go about important but boring task made actually doing those tasks easier.
    Having something that my brain is willing to engage makes getting up and doing things feel in a reasonable time feel like a reasonable ask.

  • @joshuahampton6141
    @joshuahampton6141 9 หลายเดือนก่อน

    Man, that "All singing, all dancing bear of the world." line GOT ME. That's a fan shout out if I've ever seen one. XD
    Also, I always love these Grater builds. I don't plan on ever doing ANY of them myself (because 2-3 rounds of setup just feels... meh to me), but it does inform the way I think about damage with allies, and the importance of movement abilities. I'm in a campaign right now playing a control-oriented evocation wizard, and many of my choice spells push and pull enemies as a side affect. Soon, I'll have access to Pulse Wave, my two cleric allies will have access to Spirit Guardians, and my Ranger ally will likely have Spike Growth, and I would never have considered all of those interactions without regularly being reminded of the power of Graters. So the first time these new players see a Pulse Wave through Spike Growth into twin Spirit Guardians (and maybe even a Cloud of Daggers, from my wizard ally), I will think of you.

    • @DnDDeepDive
      @DnDDeepDive  9 หลายเดือนก่อน

      You are not your khakis.

  • @horbi3683
    @horbi3683 9 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

    Nice build 👍 I love the new jingle just before damage reports. I guess that's Dallin's hand in the video 😉

    • @D4-Blackthorn
      @D4-Blackthorn 8 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

      👋 glad you like it!

  • @nathanfitzgerald2596
    @nathanfitzgerald2596 9 หลายเดือนก่อน

    Fantastic build! I think I've only commented on your videos before to provide occasional algorithm boosts, but I've always felt compelled to talk about possible fun build stuff and just generally talk about the build in the video, and I've decided to start doing that now. Who cares if people read it? I want to rant about DnD, dammit!!
    I love this build, and the synergy present between bladesong and wild shape. It makes a very compelling build, especially at lower levels. But I want to further discuss the idea of using cloud of daggers in combination with wild shape, to make an effective SAD (mostly) full caster that can do some great control, and damage through that control, when they want to.
    Firstly, I wanted to mention the race pick. While I love giff, and think it was the correct pick for this build, I can't help but be dissatisfied by the fact that so many of the giff's features don't really aid in the main focus of this build - the wild shaping in combat. So I wanted to propose plasmoid. Plasmoid is going to be accepted at far fewer tables, I believe - it's harder to sell slime creature that turns into a gummy bear to your high-fantasy loving DM - so giff is still probably a better pick, but I believe that plasmoid's on-paper features are just as, if not more, helpful, and fun to talk about as an alternative. They get advantage on checks to "initiate or escape a grapple." This does mean, sadly, that they wouldn't have that same advantage on checks to shove a creature, but the main focus of this build is grappling, and most of the damage isn't granted by attacks on a creature, so I don't view that as a horrible problem. More importantly, plasmoid gives you several compelling advantages. Firstly, you can squeeze through spaces as narrow as 1 inch wide - no restriction on size, and no description of anatomy, so this would work while you're wildshaping. This is quite handy, especially if your large bear is a little too big for the space you're fighting in, and it means you might be able to achieve half- or even three quarters-cover from your enemy.
    Secondly, and perhaps even more compelling, is the ability to create a psuedopod. This costs a bonus action - which isn't SUPER spoken for on this character - and the feature lists some things you can do with the psuedopod as part of the same bonus action, and then specifies some general actions you cannot take with the psuedopod, implying that any other action could be taken with the psuedopod, as if it were a normal limb (as long as it didn't require the use of fingers, which I'm assuming things like using magic items does). One of these restricted actions is attacking. I believe that this would also stop you from being able to grapple anything with that psuedopod, as grappling is labeled a "special type of melee attack," but I think that DM's would oftentimes allow you to grapple a third creature with this if you asked them, thus letting you control yet another creature and possibly force them into the area of your spell as well. Even if you can't grapple with this, though, it's helpful to have another use for your bonus action, and there's some interesting stuff that could happen with your psuedopod, from the options described in the feature.
    On top of that, I think the use of the shove in this build would be... somewhat unsportsmanlike in practice? I always balk at the idea of using knocking prone as a source of advantage, due to its providing disadvantage to anyone at range. While you could bring this up with your party during character creation and work around it without too much difficulty, I still wouldn't want to utilize shove liberally. Not that there's anything wrong with suggesting it and taking it into account for calculations in your build, to be clear! Just worth mentioning in the comparison between plasmoid and giff here, I think.
    Beyond that, I wanted to discuss alternative options for build ideas like this. The idea here is, functionally, utilizing synergies to make a build that can provide great control and damage through a concentration option and grappling, while still maintaining SAD, through the use of wild shape. And I think there are other interesting ways to go with that build.
    Sorcerer also provides access to the cloud of daggers spell, and could get you constitution saving throw proficiency from level 1, if you started sorcerer - which I don't think is too much of a hinderance, given that a lot of tables start at level 3 or higher, from my experience. Bard is also worth noting, because swords bard would still grant an extra attack at level 8, give you that extra 10 feet of movement speed after you attack, and you could utilize blade flourishes fine while wild shaped (the only specification for using a blade flourish is "making an attack with a melee weapon," and I don't see any reasons our claws wouldn't count as weapons. They're natural weapons!). Plus, I don't see any reason you couldn't do bardic inspiration in wild shape, either - a great use of your bonus action.
    But the most compelling option here by far, for me, is Warlock.
    Warlocks get access to cloud of daggers. Hex is also a compelling option for concentration, if you don't have the spell slots for cloud of daggers. Additionally, Hexblades (yes, Hexblade, please don't eviscerate me) get some really interesting synergies here.
    Firstly, Hexblade's curse. Obviously. Again, this character doesn't have a very well spoken for bonus action, so hexblade's curse is a decent option, once you start making attacks.
    Secondly, Hexblade allows you to do the following: "Whenever you finish a long rest, you can touch one weapon that you are proficient with and that lacks the two-handed property. When you attack with that weapon, you can use your Charisma modifier, instead of Strength or Dexterity, for the attack and damage rolls." Now, this is a bit of a weird tech, but I THINK it works, rules as written; I don't see any reason that you couldn't do this with your claws once you've wild shaped. They don't have the two-handed property, and you add the bear's proficiency bonus to attacks with them (given that the +5 is higher than your +4 Strength modifier), so you're certainly proficient while you're a bear. And since it doesn't take any action cost, there's no reason you couldn't do it in combat.
    All of this only really amounts to giving you a +1 bump to attack and damage when you get a +5 Charisma, but it also means that you could apply invocations to it. Thirsting blade to get extra attack, eldritch smite for a more reliable option to prone an enemy, plus more damage and just generally a really good burst option. Lifedrinker, once you're a high enough level for it.
    You could also get a familiar, by starting with pact of the chain, summoning a familiar with it (preferably one that could turn invisible), and then swapping it for pact of the blade with eldritch versatility at level 4. This does mean you wouldn't be able to re-summon the familiar if it died, but since it can turn invisible, I don't think that's too likely to happen. Plus, it adds more stakes to the campaign, so like. I'm on board. Armor of hexes is also quite useful, though quite high level, and accursed specter isn't bad.
    Perhaps most importantly, though - you could pick up repelling blast through this build, and still have a no-resource control and forced movement option, even when you're out of wild shapes. Even at low levels.
    Do I think that this hypothetical build is more powerful than your build? No, not at all. The biggest issue is that you wouldn't even have anything to boost your concentration with this - unless you started with a level or two in barbarian or sorcerer, and then you'd just slow down your progress to being a bear, and a two level dip into barbarian to start would ruin a big part of the whole idea here - being SAD. Plus, a straight wizard is just more powerful than a straight warlock, and the two levels into druid doesn't change that for this build.
    But c'mon. A hexblade, whose cursed weapon they've made a pact with is literally the claws of the bear they become? Imagine if you had an insignia of claws with this character, tattooed across your back, as a permanent reminder of your pact that possesses you when you wild shape. It's so sick. It's so edgy. It's so DnD.
    Worth considering IMO.

  • @jondrell1313
    @jondrell1313 9 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

    Tuesdays have become my favorite day just for these videos. Get a good cup of coffee, a blanket and ready to take notes on a class I would never have thought of on my own.

  • @shuriksokol
    @shuriksokol 9 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

    Hooray! New video! In love with the name :)

  • @Gunslinger199
    @Gunslinger199 9 หลายเดือนก่อน

    New favorite build. Now do all the classes that are left. Please and thank you.

  • @Chris_the_Nerd
    @Chris_the_Nerd 9 หลายเดือนก่อน

    Damn, just when I think I know where the build is going. This was amazing!

  • @IamaPiRho
    @IamaPiRho 8 หลายเดือนก่อน

    I'm starting out with a Dhampir Moon Druid and I was given a Claws of Insignia as a starting magic item (DM is actually going to improve it further as certain milestones, probably tiers, are met; kind of like 4e items.) So this build is looking better and better for me. Grapple, spiderclimb as bear (Dhampir movement) up a wall and hold the enemy in the cloud of daggers. If they get out of the grapple, fall damage. Then at about the 47:30 mark, you mention the same magic item and I was excited. But I remember that I got the idea from your Dhampir video, so of course you'd be thinking about this item.

  • @ColinKillick
    @ColinKillick 9 หลายเดือนก่อน

    This is absolutely brilliant, one of your most fun builds yet. It’s effectively weaponizing your *movement* to deal damage, which I’ve never seen before (except in your cheese grater build)
    Armor of Agathys would be incredible on this build though, and I think I’d take the new Rune Shaper build to get it. You mentioned Fire Shield being great on this character-AofA is even better for damage, it lasts for eight hours, and the temp HP would go a long way to keep you in wild shape (plus hey, they stack)

    • @GulNadar
      @GulNadar 9 หลายเดือนก่อน

      You end up lowering the Athletics proficiency bonus. IF the DM is flexible and will allow you to try Rune Carver first and if the Grapples are not landing switch to Outlander or whichever. Great suggestion though.

  • @B.J.Camire
    @B.J.Camire 9 หลายเดือนก่อน +2

    Looks like somebody got a new editing tool they wanted to play with 😏 Quick side note, you can't use Contingency to cast Force Cage or Crown of Stars since they're not 5th level or lower (and doesn't target you). In fact, rules as written, Cloud of Daggers targets a point within 60 feet, and not a creature, so even though you could cast it so it technically affects you and no one else, it's not a spell that can target you, and therefore can't be used with Contingency. Love the build as always, and looking forward to episode 150!

    • @DnDDeepDive
      @DnDDeepDive  9 หลายเดือนก่อน

      aye - pinned a comment on this one :)

  • @jamesfoster9613
    @jamesfoster9613 9 หลายเดือนก่อน

    Also my friend, you could keep it going with ALL the Dungeon Dudes' D rank multiclass options ;p We would definitely watch!
    Also I love the Canadian shirt for the "last" DD vid XD

  • @gteche
    @gteche 9 หลายเดือนก่อน

    I ordered those candles for the people I play with for Christmas. Thanks for the suggestion.

  • @docwithagun
    @docwithagun 9 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

    I would love to see you do a series of builds that are optimized for races / lineages which are not frequently used by players!
    Edit: TIL that, the light halo behind Colby is coming from a torch shining on the wall (see the last outtake). Love it!

  • @BeepCrank
    @BeepCrank 9 หลายเดือนก่อน

    You are the Johnny of all Johnnys and I am here for it.

  • @kingcobruh2062
    @kingcobruh2062 9 หลายเดือนก่อน +6

    I haven't clicked so fast before. Let's go MoonSinger.

  • @alexpratt8533
    @alexpratt8533 9 หลายเดือนก่อน +10

    The editing is better than ever! I love the new damage report

    • @DnDDeepDive
      @DnDDeepDive  9 หลายเดือนก่อน +4

      Thanks to Dallin!

    • @D4-Blackthorn
      @D4-Blackthorn 9 หลายเดือนก่อน +2

      😁😁 thanks!

    • @krysuh6936
      @krysuh6936 9 หลายเดือนก่อน +3

      If your damage report is always at the same lvls. The portrait or design could change depending on that. "More damage letters or some" just an idea. Love the content.

    • @D4-Blackthorn
      @D4-Blackthorn 9 หลายเดือนก่อน

      @@krysuh6936 hmmm…. Sounds like a fun thing to try out!

    • @martingoldschmid
      @martingoldschmid 9 หลายเดือนก่อน

      Yeah it feels like when you succeed in doing a combo on a pinball machine :D

  • @michaellavy3269
    @michaellavy3269 9 หลายเดือนก่อน

    I played a similar grappling moon druid cheese grater. Same race and background, but concentrated on spike growth and took levels in rogue (scout) instead of bladesinger to give extra movement with bonus action and reaction. I used a moorbounder instead of a bear. Any enemy that got grappled was instantly shredded with all that forced movement through the spikes.

  • @jonstokes1832
    @jonstokes1832 2 หลายเดือนก่อน

    One thing to not is that enlarge reduce says that the creature maintains the enlarges features even if it can’t grow to that size due to outside conditions so either way it will allow you to grapple larger creatures

  • @gyletre675
    @gyletre675 9 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

    A fun thing I've seen for some people homebrewing that grappling makes the enemy occupy the same square is that they can have an infinite amount of creatures on the same square as long as you continuously grapple a creature that already has another grappled.

  • @abedrahman4519
    @abedrahman4519 9 หลายเดือนก่อน +15

    I will definitely use contingency for Polymorph, just for the memes.
    Think of the enemy working so hard to knock you out of your bear form and possibly your concentration only for you to insta transform into an Ooazaru from Dragon ball Z
    Edit: Also I would cough up the gold for simulacrum. What's better than one cloud of dagger casting , tough to hit and surprisingly nimble, shoving and dragging brown bear? two cloud of dagger casting....

  • @20storiesunder
    @20storiesunder 9 หลายเดือนก่อน +4

    Stop it Colby, the moment I accept that I can't possibly have enough games to play the characters I want to play you come and give me ideas!
    There goes my afternoon xD

  • @daxdleader719
    @daxdleader719 9 หลายเดือนก่อน

    I like the image of a gargantuan bear with person-sized meteors floating around them when you use crown of stars

  • @HighPhoenix1754
    @HighPhoenix1754 9 หลายเดือนก่อน

    Exactly what I'm looking for.. this Video could not have come out at a better time.

  • @Titaniccosmos
    @Titaniccosmos 6 หลายเดือนก่อน

    Great build, one idea for a bit more optimization. Take the Giant Foundling background which gives the Strike of the Giants feat, take Hill Giant option so you can attack with more damage and potentially make them prone without needing to use an attack dedicated to it. When you take Skill expert just use that opportunity to take athletics and then expertise it as well.

  • @justinmichael9043
    @justinmichael9043 9 หลายเดือนก่อน +7

    I loved the dungeon dude’s series about multiclassing and looked forward to each episode every week. However, my favorite episode was the one about warlocks. I loved taking a deeper look at multiclassing into warlock beyond just Hexblade. That video was full of things I had never thought of before and I feel like you could spend several months making videos on ideas just from that one episode alone.

  • @ab0186
    @ab0186 8 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

    Normally when i play a moon druid i take the telepathic feat (the first time up until level 8 i had a patchwork quilt with things I could point to on it while in animal form "trap floor" "short rest later fight now" etc etc)
    I think for this though if you cant giff then the telekinetic feat would be really good lettinf you do some 5ft push/pull with your bonus action and spell DC each turn. There's also an argument that if theres no verbal or somatic components there'd be nothing stopping your bear form summoning a mage hand which could write messages in the sand or something

  • @Wyann_FDS
    @Wyann_FDS 9 หลายเดือนก่อน

    This is perfect for a villain I was thinking about, i will definitelly make this character, buff a lot of stuff and turn this into my BBEG (Big BEAR Evil Girl). Thanks Colby.

  • @Gargandan
    @Gargandan 9 หลายเดือนก่อน

    Had a cleric/paladin forge cleric who had two bandoliers of +1 adamantium daggers that I would just chuck on the ground and then animate them in future turns. That was a lot of fun.

  • @rokisha5150
    @rokisha5150 8 หลายเดือนก่อน

    One interesting benefit to Artificer if you are going to wear armor and take 2 levels for infusions, grab the armor of magical strength to add your INT modifier to your athletics checks up to 6x per day :)

  • @MesserBen
    @MesserBen 9 หลายเดือนก่อน

    ‘Swiss army bear’ sounds like a character out of girl genius. I love it.

  • @Fafnirod123
    @Fafnirod123 9 หลายเดือนก่อน

    I played this as a max int mostly druid + 2 levels of bladesinger and it was pretty fun. No extra attack but the AC, con and movement speed boosts were 👌🏻👌🏻

  • @mickthelick5788
    @mickthelick5788 3 หลายเดือนก่อน

    You should also be rest casting mage armour which will carry through just like enlarge/reduce would, so you will have a base AC of 17 in Bear form while blade singing.

  • @Praiokles
    @Praiokles 9 หลายเดือนก่อน

    19:47 that defensive tone 😂 he knows that the dancing bear is pretty ridiculous 🎉

  • @aeternusgaites
    @aeternusgaites 9 หลายเดือนก่อน

    Yes!!! I was waiting for this combo.

  • @TMRyan
    @TMRyan 9 หลายเดือนก่อน +3

    Even though this build doesn’t make use of melee attacks that often in favor of grappling, I might rule that you could use the primal savagery cantrip while wild shaped, and make use of the Bladesinger extra attack.

    • @thief05
      @thief05 9 หลายเดือนก่อน

      I love this, but, we would have to use our Druid spell mod (WIS) to hit, which is my great.

  • @Scapp302
    @Scapp302 8 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

    I would like to see if most DMs consider the "Multiattack" action that monsters have as the same as a PC taking the "Attack" action with Extra Attack. Grappling requires you to take the Attack action and replace an attack with a grapple, so it is technically not the same as taking the multiattack action that monsters get. That being said, if I was the DM, as long as the attack could reasonably grapple the target I'd allow it.

  • @brennanalleyne8895
    @brennanalleyne8895 9 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

    Hippos truly are the most dangerous creatures known to man 😂 great video as always. Just a 2 cents on the outtakes if feedback is wanted on the change; the bleep to break up the cuts made me giggle but as someone that usually watches these videos multiple times (I listen back to old episodes to wind down for bed) the level of the bleep might wake me up if I’d drifted off so could come down slightly.
    If this is the first vid with the new editor I think I remember being mentioned, thanks for your work and great job fitting in to the style of the channel!

    • @D4-Blackthorn
      @D4-Blackthorn 9 หลายเดือนก่อน

      Noted. I will lower the beeps for the future outtakes. 😊😊

  • @Solenum756
    @Solenum756 9 หลายเดือนก่อน

    Ooh I like the title card and little guitar riff for the damage report

  • @thomasfalkiner2469
    @thomasfalkiner2469 9 หลายเดือนก่อน +3

    my friend was struggling to decide between a moon druid and a bladesinger. so this timing is very good him and very bad for me, the dm!

  • @jaeshin6200
    @jaeshin6200 9 หลายเดือนก่อน

    I just started playing a 2 bladesinger 2 moon druid eladrin with 17 int 14 wis 14 con. Even with the limited number of times you can bladesong, mage armor from wizard spell list greatly improves AC for almost any form and when you do sing you're very dodgy (giant spider with 19 AC lol). It's a super fun build I did not expect to work gameplay-wise and story-wise. I'm looking forward to getting air elemental to abuse the mage armor+bladesong combo for something like 22 AC.

  • @taylorsmith9197
    @taylorsmith9197 8 หลายเดือนก่อน

    I would love to see you do a sort of ridiculous build that has made some rounds around the web. Taking a single level in genie warlock, and having it interact with the spell "Glyph of Warding". As, from what I can tell RAW, you could set up a theoretically infinite number (as long as you had enough diamond dust) of glyphs inside your Genie's vessel as it is another plane. Allowing you in 1 turn, to enter your vessel, say the command word, activate all the glyphs you want, and leave the vessel in the same turn. And I know you usually only go to level 17, but if you took a full spell caster (or full spellcasting levels) to 19 after the 1 level of Genie Warlock, you could put up to 6th level spells in a glyph. And allowing you to concentrate on any other spell you want as your own concentration. And I say all of that to say I would love to see your calculations on something like this as I am sure you'd find stuff that I have missed.

  • @jaspermooren5883
    @jaspermooren5883 9 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

    I do think this is one of the most assumption dependant builds you've ever made: you're assuming that in any campaign at higher lvls than lets say 8 a brown bear would survive for more than 1 round. The likelihood that you're going to get shot out of wildshape just seems so high and at high lvls basically garentueed. At low lvls it might be good, but at high lvls it's probably better to not use wild shape at all. Typical enemies are going to do more damage than a brown bear has hp in 1 attack, and your AC is super low so it's more likely to hit than not.
    I love the build from a theory crafting standpoint to see what is possible in the best case scenario. And yes all your builds are best case scenario, but I just feel that this is the most best case scenario dependant build I've seen from you: both not that likely to actually happen and significantly worse if you're out of your optimal situation, since you're grapple would be pretty bad outside of wildshaping with that 8 strength.
    The build is really good at low levels, but that's true for all moon druids really, I don't think there is a mechanically stronger build at 2nd lvl than moon druid.

  • @TheRealGraylocke
    @TheRealGraylocke 9 หลายเดือนก่อน

    I present to you the SwashBlade; a Rogue Swashbuckler/Wizard Bladesinger. You don't need allies or advantage to get sneak attack. Booming Blade attack and Fancy Footwork to strike and move away. It's fun to play.

  • @ZacharyKatzStein
    @ZacharyKatzStein 8 หลายเดือนก่อน

    I really love this build! The concept and execution is so flavorful, fun, and creative! My only concern would be how realistic it is to maintain wildshape, especially as you get into higher levels. Song of Defense would help A LOT with this, but that does mean you would need to be spending a fair number of your spell slots on damage mitigation...which may be fine? I think I'd need to see it in play to really understand how viable it is to execute this strategy. However, I don't need to see it in play to know it looks fun!

    • @DnDDeepDive
      @DnDDeepDive  8 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

      Yes that’s the biggest weakness, for sure. With mage armor and a 20 Int we’d have an 18 AC - not horrid - and lots of damage absorption, and we shouldn’t need our spell slots too much since we’re mostly just casting CoD and hitting stuff/grappling. Would be fun to see how well it worked in game.

  • @user-fc7sv5ln6m
    @user-fc7sv5ln6m 9 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

    A big weakness here is teleporting enemies, can't keep them grappled despite your great bonus and advantage

  • @samacorn0325
    @samacorn0325 9 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

    Hippo hippie from outer space sounds like a song that I would definitely listen to

    • @D4-Blackthorn
      @D4-Blackthorn 9 หลายเดือนก่อน

      Sounds like a Bowie classic. 😂😂

  • @JK-oe1dl
    @JK-oe1dl 9 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

    11:47 you can simply choose proficiency in Athletics no matter whtat background. See the "Customizing your Background" section in the PHB, which is often overlooked but NOT otptional.

  • @Dickythemainman
    @Dickythemainman 9 หลายเดือนก่อน

    This brings up an interesting question I was once confronted with from a Druid/Cleric multiclass player: he was a Triton so he asked if I would allow him to ignore the swim speed restriction for wildshape since the character has a swim speed already and, in theory, as a low level Druid in the water he would probably be mostly exposed to swimming animals. I said yes, but made sure that the precedent didn’t also apply to Aarokocra’s fly speed.

  • @harbleboy
    @harbleboy 9 หลายเดือนก่อน

    You explained what was happening with the cloud of daggers and grappling and the only thing I want to do is upcast armor of agathys while doing all of this even though that gives up hippo strength to go mark of warding dwarf (or I guess a 1 level dip in warlock but that becomes hard due to the Cha requirement since you want Wis and Int)

  • @christiansandoval8366
    @christiansandoval8366 9 หลายเดือนก่อน

    I played this in a Level 20 battle royal, it was very potent. Created my own mounts with mounted Combatant and the extra AC was great. Replacing an attack with a cantrip is also super potent.

  • @Seraphzero0
    @Seraphzero0 3 หลายเดือนก่อน

    This could be said for all of your builds that use this tactic but you can do a team up with others that use moonbeam or spike growth to melt enemies.

  • @outlawkuma6460
    @outlawkuma6460 8 หลายเดือนก่อน

    These are my two fav classes and subclasses combined

  • @Bushisame90
    @Bushisame90 8 หลายเดือนก่อน

    Huge singing space circus bear is a phenomenal addition for a spelljammer campaign.

  • @chrisg8989
    @chrisg8989 9 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

    Just throwing this out there. How about a character build around Weakening enemies for your party.
    Thinking along the lines of Mind Sliver + Bane... maybe some Mind Whip action, too. Sounds fun!

    • @DnDDeepDive
      @DnDDeepDive  9 หลายเดือนก่อน +2

      You might enjoy "The Fate Weaver" if you haven't seen it yet...

    • @chrisg8989
      @chrisg8989 9 หลายเดือนก่อน

      @@DnDDeepDive I'll check it out!

  • @narzeel9160
    @narzeel9160 9 หลายเดือนก่อน

    Love video, didnt expect to see wizz/druid multiclass. Still patiently waiting for hexbucler video by video😈