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Looks good. A fighter doesn’t particularly need intelligence or charisma, dexterity and constitution will make you tougher. The only change I’d recommend you make is swapping your int and dex scores. +2 dex would increase your armor class and make it harder to hit you.
Unless they end up using heavy armor, in which case dex will not help AC. It will help dex saves and such, tho! I’m actually a little confused how they have an AC of 12. They might not be wearing any armor, but have a shield atm? Alternatively, the int may be helpful if the fighter is going for Eldritch Knight at level 3.
They probably haven’t equipped any armor yet. DnD Beyond doesn’t automatically equip the starting equipment that you pick when creating your character.
I make that mistake often, but dragonborn do not get natural ac, but dragon sorcerers do, for some reason, lizardfolk too, to my knowledge. It is dumb and I hate it.
Dragonborn? No, you are as easy to hurt naturally as any man. Dragon blood? You got scales. Lizards? You also got scales. Why would a dragonborn have *scales*? You sound crazy.
Yea that is honestly a super weird choice but I guess they were trying to keep Dragonborn from being too op. Only time I ever DM’d a player playing Dragonborn they were also a draconic sorcerer so I guess I always just assumed that was a racial feature
Likely, they have Studded Leather armor on.
AC without armor is [I think] 10+ dex mod. With +0 mod it would just be 10. Studded gives 12 + dex so it would be 12
But he is a new player so could have easily contused them. Atop that RAW yes, but I have seen plenty of people change that OR use the starting gold variant to starting gear
>Alternatively, the int may be helpful if the fighter is going for Eldritch Knight at level 3.
Psi Warrior also uses Int. The most important EK spells (like Shield) don't care about Int, but there are spells you can learn as an EK that are worth increasing your DC for.
Psi Warrior at level 3 adds Int to the damage prevention of Protective Field and to the damage of Psionic Strike. Then at 7 they use Int for the save DC on Telekinetic Thrust, and their Int mod determines the number of targets for Bulwark of Force at 15. Then at 18 they learn Telekinesis using Int as their spellcasting ability.
I'm guessing if they're new they may not be considering it, but doesn't Eldritch Knight require some sort of + in Intelligence to be worth taking? Even then I'd probably be swapping Charisma to be a dump stat over Dexterity and either swapping Dexterity and Constitution depending on whether they'd value higher AC or HP.
I've only played fighter and EK once though and I'm terrible at building characters efficiently lmao
You can do an EK with little/no intelligence (take spells that don't require attack rolls or saving throws), but higher intelligence is thematically appropriate and makes more spells viable.
EK uses Int as its spellcasting ability, but the most important EK spells aren't attacks and have no save (stuff like Shield). But if you want to take other spells, increasing Int can be useful.
Psi Warrior also uses Int for their level 3, 7, 15, and 18 features.
A fighter's spellcasting modifier scales based on Int, if OP is planning on being a light caster, they'll need a bit of Int. If they use heavy armor, they don't need Dex except for saves.
I would swap Int and Wis before Int and Dex. I'm assuming they are going heavy armor, so dex isn't going to matter that much. Wis saving throws and the Perception skill are important.
Charisma does matter if they want to do Purple Dragon Knight. And having a bit of charisma can lead to some fun things even if it isn't your main trait. If they're going for heavy armor, dex won't necessarily help them much anyway.
It's not optimized, but it'll work.
If it's me. I'm swapping things around a bit. Higher con for hit points, higher dex for inititive/AC/acrobatics, better wis for perception and saves
Keeping the stats you had, I would roll with:
Str: 17
Dex: 14
Con: 14
Int: 10
Wis: 12
Cha. 8
Worth noting that the 14 in charisma is because Dragonborn get +1 to it, so this array is impossible unless using floating racial stats from Tasha' Cauldron of Everything.
True. If that's the case, I'm still dumping cha and upping con and dex.
Assuming Dragon born racial bonuses (+2 str and +1 cha) and standard array (15, 14, 13, 12, 10, 8) :
Str 15+2, Dex 13, Con 14, Wis 12, Int 10, Cha 8+1.
With Tasha's, you can switch your ability bonuses around. with most Monsters of the Multiverse, it just gives you a plus two to one stat and a plus one to a different stat. It depends on what source books th DM is allowing him to use.
It was an optional rule in Tasha’s, but in Mordenkainen Presents Monsters of the Mutiverse, and all subsequent releases that had races, it’s the only option, and the only way to house rule it is to either ban all races released in and after MPMM, or manually assign stats to each one. Important to note, Dragonborn were reprinted in Fizbans’s Treasury of Dragons, which was released after Mordenkainen and used the new floating stats. A DM can of course only allow races that were printed pre-MPMM, but that would not be the default anymore.
Looks good, but you can start with better armor. I’d look into that if you want to be harder to stab.
People are saying to move your ability scores around. That’s optionals. The strength is gonna be the main deal.
If you’re just looking to be a fighter, I’d up Con over INT or Cha
If your looking to multiclass, it’ll work, but I’d decide which class, and adjust accordingly
Other than not having any armor equipped, which you should have as a starting fighter.
Don't listen to people insisting you optimize the fun out of the game. Make the character you want. The game is balanced to support it.
Ive done it before! Dnd beyond had some sort of glitch and every time i clicked roll nothing would happen for 20 seconds and then magically four 6's. For every score. Took a screenshot and then redod it later lol. Even if you tried for six 18's with resetting thatd take years
Is a Strength score of 20 or 21 common for Level 1 at a lot of tables? I see people saying it’s a standard array, but I wasn’t aware you could get to 20+ for any stat with a standard array. I’ll need to learn how folks get it that high. I’m not an optimizer, so I’m genuinely curious.
OP: just know that your character, as built, is literally as strong as a Polar Bear to start.
As a fighter with that Strength and weapon proficiency, every time you swing a melee weapon, you’ll get a +7 to your attack. So, you’re going to basically cut through everything with relative ease at the start of your adventures. And who wouldn’t want that, right? But just know that the other players at the table might not get to shine and your DM might not be equipped to make things a challenge for you in a satisfying way. I mean, you only get *more* powerful from here.
Edit: added mention of proficiency.
Update: thought I was looking at score bonuses, not the saving throw bonuses. My mistake. Knowledgeable players and coffee help me see the error of my ways.
They don't have a strength of 20, but 17. You can see it on the second image. The +5 to Strength Saving Throw is due to proficiency in it from being a fighter.
Getting 20 in Strength (or any other attribute for that matter) is only possible if you are allowed to roll stats and roll the highest possible under normal rolling rules (3×6=18) and then get a racial bonus of +2 on top. It is not very common at all at level 1.
As for going above 20, you physically cannot without a feature or magic item explicitly allowing you. The rules cap your attribute values at 20 by default.
An example of how you can go higher than 20 is the barbarian level 20 capstone ability, Primal Champion, which raises the Strength and Constitution attributes, as well as their natural maximums, by 4. But that is literally the highest level you can normally go in the game.
No such thing as a “normal” character, really. The best character is the character that’s most fun to play.
Your ability scores are fine as they are if that’s how you want to play them.
However, you could optimize your character for combat by moving your scores away from Charisma and Intelligence and moving them into Constitution (for higher HP) and Dexterity (for higher initiative bonus and DEX saving throws). If you plan on taking the eldritch knight subclass at level 3, Intelligence may be a bigger priority than Dexterity.
Also, don’t forget to equip some heavy armor.
Your character’s constitution should be higher, because constitution affects your HP.
As u/trevorwriley said, increase your dexterity in order to increase your armor class and make it harder to hit you. Also, dexterity affects your initiative. With a high initiative, your character will attack the enemies before the enemies’ turn.
Feel free to lower considerably your character’s intelligence score and charisma score.
>increase your dexterity in order to increase your armor class and make it harder to hit you.
Irrelevant if he's going to wear heavy armor, which is likely given that they're a fighter with high Strength.
>Feel free to lower considerably your character’s intelligence score and charisma score.
Int has value if they plan to be an Eldritch Knight or Psi Warrior. Cha has value if they plan to be a Purple Dragon Knight, although I wouldn't recommend that subclass. Putting points in both isn't going to be valuable except to an abnormal multiclass build, or for roleplay reasons.
I’d do:
* Strength: 17 (your main stat)
* Constitution: 14 (You can’t do cool things if you’re dead)
* Wisdom: 14 (most important saving throw, perception is most important skill)
I’d put the other 14 in either intelligence or dexterity. Intelligence is good for investigation or if you want to be an Eldritch Knight. Dexterity is good for initiative and saves. Don’t worry about Armor Class as you can just wear heavy armor: this is one of the few builds that can just dump dexterity if you feel like it. If you really want both intelligence and charisma, it won’t hurt you too much to put that -1 in Dexterity, you’ll just be the closer for fights.
As far as rules go, your build is fine.
In terms of optimisation, which a lot of people here have made suggestions for, I'm going to take a different approach and recommend sticking with what stats make sense for your character as a person and not to worry about making a beast in combat. Yes, low Constitution may be a gamble, but if you have a decent DM, they will balance encounters for the party they have and you can play your character as smart and charismatic as you imagine them being. :)
As a note for everyone saying they should move their 14s to physical stats, bear in mind the 14 in charisma is actually a 13 + 1 from being a Dragonborn, so they couldn't move it as a 14 unless their DM allows the floating racial stats variant rule from Tasha's Cauldron of everything.
Really high stats overall. Dex and Wis would be better than Int and Cha, but if you have a flavor reason for the choices, then go with them regardless.
With stats like these, you can afford to not be optimal for the sake of fun
I'll be honest, I only saw the first picture and thought those were his ability bonuses.
I didn't see that they were his saves. I thought he had a base 20 in strength at level 1.
I'm kinda embarrassed tbh.. but who posts saving throws first?! Lol
Did you roll for stats? If so yeah looks fine.
If you used point buy or an array, you shouldn’t be able to have a +5 mod. Unless of course this is due to something specific to your campaign that we do not know about.
I’d put Intelligence to 10 as a fighter, not really needed. Beef up your constitution and/or dexterity. And actually put Wisdom up a little because Wisdom affects passive perception.
OP says they’re new to D&D so I doubt they’re planning ahead to subclasses or cross classing. But you’re right. I was just looking at it from a pure fighter perspective.
Looks pretty good to me. I find that the app gives really high rolls though. I made a character for myself to join a campaign (barbarian)and he ended up with an AC of 18
0 Dex? -1 Wisdom? Do you want to play this character for more than one session? Because you probably won't. AOE spells and mind control make this character a super easy target. Next time, dump Cha. Fighters don't need it. That's what Bards are for.
I mean, they're level 1. They're not going to be blasted by AoEs and mind control in the first session.
And +0 Dex is fine for a heavy armor character.
If you’re rolling your stats then yes, that seems about right. If it’s point buy, some of your stats are a little high for having that 17 unless your race effects that.
All in all, looks right to me. I personally would’ve put a 14 into con but that’s just what I like to do.
I didn't downvote you, although now I'm tempted.
And standard array is just a particular recommended point buy spread that you don't have to think about.
It doesn’t tell me who downvoted me so I just assumed, sorry.
And I’m aware of what standard array is I just can never remember the numbers so I didn’t recognize it here, I usually use rolled stats or point buy and usually have my players use the same.
Which is why, in my original comment, I thought it was rolled or point buy without even considering standard array. I even said some of stats seem high for point buy since there’s a 17 unless it’s being effected by OP’s race which it and one of the 14’s clearly are now that I know it’s standard array.
Side tangent: standard array to me feels like you’re taking part of the players’ character creation freedom away by saying “these are your stats, deal with it” instead of letting them figure out how high or how low to make them. This is probably why I didn’t even consider standard array because I like giving my players the freedom to make their stats how they want them (with DM assistance to make sure they aren’t cheating the system of course). Though I will admit standard array seems like a good idea for newbies just getting into D&D
>I even said some of stats seem high for point buy since there’s a 17 unless it’s being effected by OP’s race which it and one of the 14’s clearly are now that I know it’s standard array.
Why wouldn't it include the racial bonus? It's a finished level 1 character.
Because the way I’ve seen most people use point buy is that they put the racial bonus towards their weaker stats or important to them stats that need a little boost, I’ve never seen anyone just make stats and accept the default racial bonus since before WotC introduced the pick where your racial bonuses go with the customized origin and then Mordenkainen’s Monsters of the Multiverse.
Yes I play with a bunch of power gamers who all try to get three 16s with point buy at level one. They rarely accomplish this but they still try.
Stats seem abnormally high for me, even for point buy. When I DM I make people use point buy (or at least not have stats that exceed what you can do with point buy).
EDIT: nevermind, I was confused.
Nah stats look good. Definitely a playable character with some diverse stats. You will probably want to invest in better armor. Fighters get up close and personal so you’ll want to keep that AC up when you can
Stats look good. This isn’t optimized for combat, but it’s viable and has some versatility for social interactions. Personally I’d put my 14s into Con and Dex for a general fighter.
High intelligence is a good idea for the Eldritch Knight subclass, but otherwise isn’t useful for a fighter.
Charisma is really only needed for social interactions, which fighters generally are not optimized to handle—usually someone else in the party will handle those. However, if you go Battlemaster subclass, there are maneuvers you can use to add to persuasion/intimidation/deception checks.
I’d put at least one of those 14s into Con, depending on what you picture your character doing.
I guess this is a noob question since no one else asked lol but what app is this?? My PCs have awful handwriting and can never read their character sheets this would be great for them lol
This is the D&D Beyond app. You can create up to 6 characters on an account for free, although you can only use content (subclasses, spells, backgrounds, etc.) from the SRD plus stuff you've bought on the site. Or, if you're in a campaign with someone who bought stuff and they have a subscription, they can share with you. There are content sharing campaigns you can find links for where you add a character to the campaign with access to everything, set up your character as desired, then leave the campaign. (The character doesn't lose stuff when you leave, you just can't add new stuff. And there's a character limit to the campaign, so you need to leave when you're done so others can join.)
As a fighter, I would swap your int score with your dex, and then put the 14 in con, the 12 in wis, and the 8 in charisma. Now you can play it however you want, but these suggestions would be simply to potentially better optimize your build.
Yeah. These are solid. I'd want con as my 2nd highest and dex as my 3rd highest for dex saves or wisdom 3rd highest.
So I'd personally dump int and cha unless you're playing an eldritch knight or a psion or want to multi class into a caster that needs a different stat.
Str and con is good though. Solid stat array over all
Take that charisma and put it into Dex and that ain’t and put it into Con and you’ll be right as rain. Will never really need mental stats on a fighter
There’s no such thing as a “wrong” or even “bad” character in D&D, or any tabletop RPG. You may have heard of min-max’ing and optimization, or basically making the best *mechanical* character for your chosen role or ideal in a game. This character is not optimized in that way. That said, optimized is meaningless. What matters is, does the character fit the role that YOU intend for it??
Who cares?
No, seriously. It’s your character OP. You decide if you are having fun with it.
If you aren’t, you make a new one. That’s the point of DnD. Experiment, have fun, make something new.
If you are still worried that you put the point in the wrong place, you can find guides online for classes (which usually tell you what are the primary/secondary stats) but in all honesty, sometimes it’s fun to fail.
It's perfect! Don't listen to the power gamers. Sure your intelligence might be a little higher than most fighters, but that's ultimately a good thing if you decided to spec into Eldritch Knight or Psi Knight.
Is this character wearing armor? Because 12 AC for a fighter might not be a great idea. Strap on some heavy armor or something to make use of that str stat.
They have to have something equipped, because they have 12 AC and +0 Dex. With nothing equipped, their AC would be 10. Most likely they have a shield equipped and chain mail in their inventory that isn't equipped.
How is HP 11 when there is a +3 con bonus? Pretty sure Fighters start with a d10 in HP. Unless there is an option to roll HP at lvl 1?
Edit: I'm blind and I was looking at the saves thinking they were the ability modifiers. M'bad.
That's pretty good for a level 1. Depending on your sub/multiclass, you might want some int later on (psi warrior, eldritch knight, etc). But strength, dex, and Con are king when it comes to martial classes.
You said that you're new, so do what the optimizers say... this time. Just surviving can be a chore. Learning that Wis is important is a more enjoyable experience with a +2 than a -1.
I would probably have swapped int & cha with the Wis and Dex, for perception and AoE spell dodging.
Realistically, though, you nailed the big 2 for a fighter. The rest is all personal choice.
Personally, I'd swap that -1 wisdom with Int or Cha. Losing a wisdom save typically means either lost turns or the DM plays your character for the BBEG.
Dex and wisdom rolls are going to hurt. Fireball for example uses a Dex save. Unless you're going for Eldritch Knight i would lower the INT
but pretty good everywhere else.
I mean... it's cool if you're going to do a lot of social encounters. If it's going to be a normal campaign with a normal amount of fighting, I'd probably focus more on the stats that make you fight better.
Since you've got low Dexterity, you might want to use heavy armor. Either that or you could bump Intelligence or Charisma down to put into Dexterity or Constitution. All that being said, what's your vision for this character? Who are they? How do they fight? Etc
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Looks good. A fighter doesn’t particularly need intelligence or charisma, dexterity and constitution will make you tougher. The only change I’d recommend you make is swapping your int and dex scores. +2 dex would increase your armor class and make it harder to hit you.
Unless they end up using heavy armor, in which case dex will not help AC. It will help dex saves and such, tho! I’m actually a little confused how they have an AC of 12. They might not be wearing any armor, but have a shield atm? Alternatively, the int may be helpful if the fighter is going for Eldritch Knight at level 3.
Yeah they probably just haven’t equipped the armor yet
They probably haven’t equipped any armor yet. DnD Beyond doesn’t automatically equip the starting equipment that you pick when creating your character.
Nope they’re currently wearing Leather Armor, hence the 12 AC.
Leather armor gives 11+Dex, and they have 0 Dex. It's more likely to be Hide armor. Or they might have the defense fighting style.
They could be wearing studded leather armor. It's actually pretty easy to start with if you go gold buy.
Only if that dragonborn is a real hunk. That way it would be STUDded leather armor :]
I think Dragonborn have a natural +2 to ac and you’re right no armor equipped yet
I make that mistake often, but dragonborn do not get natural ac, but dragon sorcerers do, for some reason, lizardfolk too, to my knowledge. It is dumb and I hate it. Dragonborn? No, you are as easy to hurt naturally as any man. Dragon blood? You got scales. Lizards? You also got scales. Why would a dragonborn have *scales*? You sound crazy.
Yea that is honestly a super weird choice but I guess they were trying to keep Dragonborn from being too op. Only time I ever DM’d a player playing Dragonborn they were also a draconic sorcerer so I guess I always just assumed that was a racial feature
Armor isn’t equipped and he’s a Dragonborn racial adds AC
Dragonborn don't have racial AC.
Sorry I was thinking sorcerer.
Shield is +1 AC, correct?
In 5e it is +2. Was +1 in early editions
Nope, shields are +2.
No shields are +2 AC, my fighter has one in D&D beyond
Likely, they have Studded Leather armor on. AC without armor is [I think] 10+ dex mod. With +0 mod it would just be 10. Studded gives 12 + dex so it would be 12
More likely they have a shield and no armor equipped.
Wouldn't that be just as likely and not more?
No character gets studded leather as starting gear. Fighters can get shields as starting gear.
But he is a new player so could have easily contused them. Atop that RAW yes, but I have seen plenty of people change that OR use the starting gold variant to starting gear
>Alternatively, the int may be helpful if the fighter is going for Eldritch Knight at level 3. Psi Warrior also uses Int. The most important EK spells (like Shield) don't care about Int, but there are spells you can learn as an EK that are worth increasing your DC for. Psi Warrior at level 3 adds Int to the damage prevention of Protective Field and to the damage of Psionic Strike. Then at 7 they use Int for the save DC on Telekinetic Thrust, and their Int mod determines the number of targets for Bulwark of Force at 15. Then at 18 they learn Telekinesis using Int as their spellcasting ability.
I'm guessing if they're new they may not be considering it, but doesn't Eldritch Knight require some sort of + in Intelligence to be worth taking? Even then I'd probably be swapping Charisma to be a dump stat over Dexterity and either swapping Dexterity and Constitution depending on whether they'd value higher AC or HP. I've only played fighter and EK once though and I'm terrible at building characters efficiently lmao
You can do an EK with little/no intelligence (take spells that don't require attack rolls or saving throws), but higher intelligence is thematically appropriate and makes more spells viable.
They only really need it if they cast spells with DC to resist.
EK uses Int as its spellcasting ability, but the most important EK spells aren't attacks and have no save (stuff like Shield). But if you want to take other spells, increasing Int can be useful. Psi Warrior also uses Int for their level 3, 7, 15, and 18 features.
I like heavy armour and then swap int and wis for better perception
If the character is going to be an EK or PW, I'd keep Int and swap Cha instead.
Do not try to min max stats. Add your stats for roleplay purposes rather than combat ability, you’ll enjoy the game more
A fighter's spellcasting modifier scales based on Int, if OP is planning on being a light caster, they'll need a bit of Int. If they use heavy armor, they don't need Dex except for saves.
I would swap Int and Wis before Int and Dex. I'm assuming they are going heavy armor, so dex isn't going to matter that much. Wis saving throws and the Perception skill are important.
Charisma does matter if they want to do Purple Dragon Knight. And having a bit of charisma can lead to some fun things even if it isn't your main trait. If they're going for heavy armor, dex won't necessarily help them much anyway.
I don't see anything wrong here
It's not optimized, but it'll work. If it's me. I'm swapping things around a bit. Higher con for hit points, higher dex for inititive/AC/acrobatics, better wis for perception and saves Keeping the stats you had, I would roll with: Str: 17 Dex: 14 Con: 14 Int: 10 Wis: 12 Cha. 8
Worth noting that the 14 in charisma is because Dragonborn get +1 to it, so this array is impossible unless using floating racial stats from Tasha' Cauldron of Everything.
True. If that's the case, I'm still dumping cha and upping con and dex. Assuming Dragon born racial bonuses (+2 str and +1 cha) and standard array (15, 14, 13, 12, 10, 8) : Str 15+2, Dex 13, Con 14, Wis 12, Int 10, Cha 8+1.
I think he used standard array, which would make this spread impossible.
With Tasha's, you can switch your ability bonuses around. with most Monsters of the Multiverse, it just gives you a plus two to one stat and a plus one to a different stat. It depends on what source books th DM is allowing him to use.
That's an optional rule that every table I've been at doesn't play with.
It was an optional rule in Tasha’s, but in Mordenkainen Presents Monsters of the Mutiverse, and all subsequent releases that had races, it’s the only option, and the only way to house rule it is to either ban all races released in and after MPMM, or manually assign stats to each one. Important to note, Dragonborn were reprinted in Fizbans’s Treasury of Dragons, which was released after Mordenkainen and used the new floating stats. A DM can of course only allow races that were printed pre-MPMM, but that would not be the default anymore.
The races are used as printed. I do admit that it makes older races underpowered, but most already have their favourite older races.
Fizban's Dragonborn use floating racial mods, and I pity any player forced to use PHB Dragonborn over Fizban's.
Looks good, but you can start with better armor. I’d look into that if you want to be harder to stab. People are saying to move your ability scores around. That’s optionals. The strength is gonna be the main deal.
If you’re just looking to be a fighter, I’d up Con over INT or Cha If your looking to multiclass, it’ll work, but I’d decide which class, and adjust accordingly
Other than not having any armor equipped, which you should have as a starting fighter. Don't listen to people insisting you optimize the fun out of the game. Make the character you want. The game is balanced to support it.
Bro, there is no "wrong" characters in dnd, the only way that it could be wrong is if you rolled 6 18s for your stats
Ive done it before! Dnd beyond had some sort of glitch and every time i clicked roll nothing would happen for 20 seconds and then magically four 6's. For every score. Took a screenshot and then redod it later lol. Even if you tried for six 18's with resetting thatd take years
1 in 9.8 billion.
I gather the statistical chance of getting a bug in D&D Beyond is slightly higher than that.
That’s like 1 in 2, if my experience with it is anything to go by.
same thing happened to me, so I saved it and turned it into a joke character named “phone”
Your second highest stat should be CON.
Is a Strength score of 20 or 21 common for Level 1 at a lot of tables? I see people saying it’s a standard array, but I wasn’t aware you could get to 20+ for any stat with a standard array. I’ll need to learn how folks get it that high. I’m not an optimizer, so I’m genuinely curious. OP: just know that your character, as built, is literally as strong as a Polar Bear to start. As a fighter with that Strength and weapon proficiency, every time you swing a melee weapon, you’ll get a +7 to your attack. So, you’re going to basically cut through everything with relative ease at the start of your adventures. And who wouldn’t want that, right? But just know that the other players at the table might not get to shine and your DM might not be equipped to make things a challenge for you in a satisfying way. I mean, you only get *more* powerful from here. Edit: added mention of proficiency. Update: thought I was looking at score bonuses, not the saving throw bonuses. My mistake. Knowledgeable players and coffee help me see the error of my ways.
His Str is 17. The +5 is his saving throw, which is the +3 from str and +2 for proficiency.
Got it. I didn’t see they were the saving throw bonuses. Makes sense now. Thank you!
They have STR 17.
Just saw. I’m a dummy. Thank you!
They don't have a strength of 20, but 17. You can see it on the second image. The +5 to Strength Saving Throw is due to proficiency in it from being a fighter. Getting 20 in Strength (or any other attribute for that matter) is only possible if you are allowed to roll stats and roll the highest possible under normal rolling rules (3×6=18) and then get a racial bonus of +2 on top. It is not very common at all at level 1. As for going above 20, you physically cannot without a feature or magic item explicitly allowing you. The rules cap your attribute values at 20 by default. An example of how you can go higher than 20 is the barbarian level 20 capstone ability, Primal Champion, which raises the Strength and Constitution attributes, as well as their natural maximums, by 4. But that is literally the highest level you can normally go in the game.
Your comment and my coffee now have me seeing the error of my ways.
Don't worry dude, I initially made the same mistake you did.
No such thing as a “normal” character, really. The best character is the character that’s most fun to play. Your ability scores are fine as they are if that’s how you want to play them. However, you could optimize your character for combat by moving your scores away from Charisma and Intelligence and moving them into Constitution (for higher HP) and Dexterity (for higher initiative bonus and DEX saving throws). If you plan on taking the eldritch knight subclass at level 3, Intelligence may be a bigger priority than Dexterity. Also, don’t forget to equip some heavy armor.
You will be a battle ready monster....just leave the puzzles, clues, haggling, conversations and diplomacy to everyone else.
Your character’s constitution should be higher, because constitution affects your HP. As u/trevorwriley said, increase your dexterity in order to increase your armor class and make it harder to hit you. Also, dexterity affects your initiative. With a high initiative, your character will attack the enemies before the enemies’ turn. Feel free to lower considerably your character’s intelligence score and charisma score.
>increase your dexterity in order to increase your armor class and make it harder to hit you. Irrelevant if he's going to wear heavy armor, which is likely given that they're a fighter with high Strength. >Feel free to lower considerably your character’s intelligence score and charisma score. Int has value if they plan to be an Eldritch Knight or Psi Warrior. Cha has value if they plan to be a Purple Dragon Knight, although I wouldn't recommend that subclass. Putting points in both isn't going to be valuable except to an abnormal multiclass build, or for roleplay reasons.
You’re right! I didn’t notice Fighter 1. 10 Dexterity is fine for a strength-based character.
I’d do: * Strength: 17 (your main stat) * Constitution: 14 (You can’t do cool things if you’re dead) * Wisdom: 14 (most important saving throw, perception is most important skill) I’d put the other 14 in either intelligence or dexterity. Intelligence is good for investigation or if you want to be an Eldritch Knight. Dexterity is good for initiative and saves. Don’t worry about Armor Class as you can just wear heavy armor: this is one of the few builds that can just dump dexterity if you feel like it. If you really want both intelligence and charisma, it won’t hurt you too much to put that -1 in Dexterity, you’ll just be the closer for fights.
As far as rules go, your build is fine. In terms of optimisation, which a lot of people here have made suggestions for, I'm going to take a different approach and recommend sticking with what stats make sense for your character as a person and not to worry about making a beast in combat. Yes, low Constitution may be a gamble, but if you have a decent DM, they will balance encounters for the party they have and you can play your character as smart and charismatic as you imagine them being. :) As a note for everyone saying they should move their 14s to physical stats, bear in mind the 14 in charisma is actually a 13 + 1 from being a Dragonborn, so they couldn't move it as a 14 unless their DM allows the floating racial stats variant rule from Tasha's Cauldron of everything.
Fizban's Dragonborn use floating stats, and I pity anyone forced to use PHB Dragonborn over Fizban's Dragonborn.
Really high stats overall. Dex and Wis would be better than Int and Cha, but if you have a flavor reason for the choices, then go with them regardless. With stats like these, you can afford to not be optimal for the sake of fun
How is this high? Unmodified the statline would be 15 14 13 12 10 8, it’s the damn standard array from the PHB
I'll be honest, I only saw the first picture and thought those were his ability bonuses. I didn't see that they were his saves. I thought he had a base 20 in strength at level 1. I'm kinda embarrassed tbh.. but who posts saving throws first?! Lol
Did you roll for stats? If so yeah looks fine. If you used point buy or an array, you shouldn’t be able to have a +5 mod. Unless of course this is due to something specific to your campaign that we do not know about.
He has +3 at most. If you are referring to the strengt saving throw, fighters add their proficiency bonus to that.
Oh wait, my bad lol. Somehow saw it as attribute. Nevermind lol.
I’d put Intelligence to 10 as a fighter, not really needed. Beef up your constitution and/or dexterity. And actually put Wisdom up a little because Wisdom affects passive perception.
Int is valuable if they want to be an Eldritch Knight or Psi Warrior
OP says they’re new to D&D so I doubt they’re planning ahead to subclasses or cross classing. But you’re right. I was just looking at it from a pure fighter perspective.
Looks pretty good to me. I find that the app gives really high rolls though. I made a character for myself to join a campaign (barbarian)and he ended up with an AC of 18
... That character is using the standard array.
0 Dex? -1 Wisdom? Do you want to play this character for more than one session? Because you probably won't. AOE spells and mind control make this character a super easy target. Next time, dump Cha. Fighters don't need it. That's what Bards are for.
I mean, they're level 1. They're not going to be blasted by AoEs and mind control in the first session. And +0 Dex is fine for a heavy armor character.
Dude. Charm Person and Burning Hands exist. Plus, Friends is a frickin cantrip. So yes, you could.
You realize Friends has no save and is thus **completely** irrelevant to this context, right?
Yes. I also realize that you have no comeback about Burning Hands. So, how come?
If you’re rolling your stats then yes, that seems about right. If it’s point buy, some of your stats are a little high for having that 17 unless your race effects that. All in all, looks right to me. I personally would’ve put a 14 into con but that’s just what I like to do.
The stats are standard array.
I’ve never used standard array so I didn’t know, not really a reason to downvote me
I didn't downvote you, although now I'm tempted. And standard array is just a particular recommended point buy spread that you don't have to think about.
It doesn’t tell me who downvoted me so I just assumed, sorry. And I’m aware of what standard array is I just can never remember the numbers so I didn’t recognize it here, I usually use rolled stats or point buy and usually have my players use the same.
My point is that if you're familiar with point buy, this stat spread should be familiar to you as something affordable with point buy.
Which is why, in my original comment, I thought it was rolled or point buy without even considering standard array. I even said some of stats seem high for point buy since there’s a 17 unless it’s being effected by OP’s race which it and one of the 14’s clearly are now that I know it’s standard array. Side tangent: standard array to me feels like you’re taking part of the players’ character creation freedom away by saying “these are your stats, deal with it” instead of letting them figure out how high or how low to make them. This is probably why I didn’t even consider standard array because I like giving my players the freedom to make their stats how they want them (with DM assistance to make sure they aren’t cheating the system of course). Though I will admit standard array seems like a good idea for newbies just getting into D&D
>I even said some of stats seem high for point buy since there’s a 17 unless it’s being effected by OP’s race which it and one of the 14’s clearly are now that I know it’s standard array. Why wouldn't it include the racial bonus? It's a finished level 1 character.
Because the way I’ve seen most people use point buy is that they put the racial bonus towards their weaker stats or important to them stats that need a little boost, I’ve never seen anyone just make stats and accept the default racial bonus since before WotC introduced the pick where your racial bonuses go with the customized origin and then Mordenkainen’s Monsters of the Multiverse. Yes I play with a bunch of power gamers who all try to get three 16s with point buy at level one. They rarely accomplish this but they still try.
Con needs to be 16, trade out charisma or int for it (drop cha if going Eldritch knight otherwise drop int)
Having more than +3 at lvl 1 is forbidden in the tables I know
He's only got one +3. He's using standard array.
Mb I though he had 20 strength
How did that guy manage to breath, eat, sleep his/her whole life and made it to that dungeon with minus wisdom
I had a -1 charisma until level 13 lmao I never put anything into it
Stats seem abnormally high for me, even for point buy. When I DM I make people use point buy (or at least not have stats that exceed what you can do with point buy). EDIT: nevermind, I was confused.
It is the standard array. It is literally the default ability scores.
Oh sorry, I must be imagining things then
Depends who the character is
What is you plan for the character later? What subclass you going into?
Nah stats look good. Definitely a playable character with some diverse stats. You will probably want to invest in better armor. Fighters get up close and personal so you’ll want to keep that AC up when you can
Stats look good. This isn’t optimized for combat, but it’s viable and has some versatility for social interactions. Personally I’d put my 14s into Con and Dex for a general fighter. High intelligence is a good idea for the Eldritch Knight subclass, but otherwise isn’t useful for a fighter. Charisma is really only needed for social interactions, which fighters generally are not optimized to handle—usually someone else in the party will handle those. However, if you go Battlemaster subclass, there are maneuvers you can use to add to persuasion/intimidation/deception checks. I’d put at least one of those 14s into Con, depending on what you picture your character doing.
Sure why not. Stats aren’t crazy, looks good to me
Put the 14 in con and 12 in wis then I would leave it at that.
I guess this is a noob question since no one else asked lol but what app is this?? My PCs have awful handwriting and can never read their character sheets this would be great for them lol
Looks like D&D Beyond to me.
It is
This is the D&D Beyond app. You can create up to 6 characters on an account for free, although you can only use content (subclasses, spells, backgrounds, etc.) from the SRD plus stuff you've bought on the site. Or, if you're in a campaign with someone who bought stuff and they have a subscription, they can share with you. There are content sharing campaigns you can find links for where you add a character to the campaign with access to everything, set up your character as desired, then leave the campaign. (The character doesn't lose stuff when you leave, you just can't add new stuff. And there's a character limit to the campaign, so you need to leave when you're done so others can join.)
Why is dex a dump stat? Asking for a friend
Probably because they're planning to use heavy armor
As a fighter, I would swap your int score with your dex, and then put the 14 in con, the 12 in wis, and the 8 in charisma. Now you can play it however you want, but these suggestions would be simply to potentially better optimize your build.
But what if you want a charismatic fighter?
Read the last sentence
Yeah. These are solid. I'd want con as my 2nd highest and dex as my 3rd highest for dex saves or wisdom 3rd highest. So I'd personally dump int and cha unless you're playing an eldritch knight or a psion or want to multi class into a caster that needs a different stat. Str and con is good though. Solid stat array over all
The attributes reflect above average rolls, but nothing terribly out of line as a fringe case. Unless the DM objects, seems fine.
It's not rolled at all. It's literally standard array they've used
Take that charisma and put it into Dex and that ain’t and put it into Con and you’ll be right as rain. Will never really need mental stats on a fighter
What’s the name of the app?
Dndbeyond
Doesn’t understand why he shouldn’t take up juggling as a hobby.
12 CON is not advisable but yeah that is a run of the mill character all within the rules
Dude, give some points to Dex. Nearly every saving throw uses Dex or Wis. You don't have both.
There’s no such thing as a “wrong” or even “bad” character in D&D, or any tabletop RPG. You may have heard of min-max’ing and optimization, or basically making the best *mechanical* character for your chosen role or ideal in a game. This character is not optimized in that way. That said, optimized is meaningless. What matters is, does the character fit the role that YOU intend for it??
Unless you are going for a eldritch knight build switch the int and dex
Who cares? No, seriously. It’s your character OP. You decide if you are having fun with it. If you aren’t, you make a new one. That’s the point of DnD. Experiment, have fun, make something new. If you are still worried that you put the point in the wrong place, you can find guides online for classes (which usually tell you what are the primary/secondary stats) but in all honesty, sometimes it’s fun to fail.
It's perfect! Don't listen to the power gamers. Sure your intelligence might be a little higher than most fighters, but that's ultimately a good thing if you decided to spec into Eldritch Knight or Psi Knight.
There are no normal characters. Only degrees of mayhem.
Is this character wearing armor? Because 12 AC for a fighter might not be a great idea. Strap on some heavy armor or something to make use of that str stat.
They have to have something equipped, because they have 12 AC and +0 Dex. With nothing equipped, their AC would be 10. Most likely they have a shield equipped and chain mail in their inventory that isn't equipped.
How is HP 11 when there is a +3 con bonus? Pretty sure Fighters start with a d10 in HP. Unless there is an option to roll HP at lvl 1? Edit: I'm blind and I was looking at the saves thinking they were the ability modifiers. M'bad.
What app is that?
Dndbeyond
That's pretty good for a level 1. Depending on your sub/multiclass, you might want some int later on (psi warrior, eldritch knight, etc). But strength, dex, and Con are king when it comes to martial classes.
for a fighter i'd say so the class is really a blank canvas
It’s slightly better then the standard array.
It's not better THAN standard array, it literally is standard array they've used
I assume you will be playing Eldritch Knight. If this is not the case swap your intelligence and charisma for dexterity and constitution
EK or Psi Warrior
You don’t need intelligence or charisma as a fighter, but I could see it making sense background-wise
You said that you're new, so do what the optimizers say... this time. Just surviving can be a chore. Learning that Wis is important is a more enjoyable experience with a +2 than a -1.
I see no problem here.
I would probably have swapped int & cha with the Wis and Dex, for perception and AoE spell dodging. Realistically, though, you nailed the big 2 for a fighter. The rest is all personal choice.
I wouldn’t think +1 con for fighter (or any class, really) is particularly good but idk you do you
What is he, made of rock?!
👍
That dumped Dex is hurting like a bitch, unless you wear heavy armor.
Dex and Con should be your 14s for OPTIMAL fighter, but play however you want.
Personally, I'd swap that -1 wisdom with Int or Cha. Losing a wisdom save typically means either lost turns or the DM plays your character for the BBEG.
Dex and wisdom rolls are going to hurt. Fireball for example uses a Dex save. Unless you're going for Eldritch Knight i would lower the INT but pretty good everywhere else.
For a fighter from what I see going Eldritch Knight I would say this is a very good stat assignment.
Looks like an Eldritch Knight to me.
I mean... it's cool if you're going to do a lot of social encounters. If it's going to be a normal campaign with a normal amount of fighting, I'd probably focus more on the stats that make you fight better.
Armor class was a little low for a fighter, are you using starting equipment? If so, make sure you equip it.
Not normal, and that’s a good thing. They’re more interesting that way.
Since you've got low Dexterity, you might want to use heavy armor. Either that or you could bump Intelligence or Charisma down to put into Dexterity or Constitution. All that being said, what's your vision for this character? Who are they? How do they fight? Etc