Character Build: The Skirmishing Initiative Master
I was thinking the other day, what if I wanted to almost guarantee that I would go first in combat in 5e Dungeons & Dragons, how would I build that character?
The problem of going first is that you are either going to hold your turn to allow your AOE compatriots to go ahead of you or you need to do your thing and get out of the way. If you are going to win initiative consistently then you need a plan for what you are going to do. I envision a character that moves quickly across the battlefield making hits and moving out of range of the enemy (and your friend’s fireball). Let’s build, the Skirmishing Initiative Master.
The race that I am picking is the herangon so that I could get their Hare-Trigger trait which adds your Proficiency Bonus to your Initiative roll. The Rabbit Hop gives another option for moving around the battlefield that does not provoke opportunity attacks. The herangon also gives us the Perception skill and Lucky Footwork which gives us +1d4 to Dexterity saves with our Reaction.
I’m not a big fan of point buys or standard arrays, so I rolled my stats. Here is what I rolled: 12, 10, 15, 16, 8, and 15. Here is how I assigned them. Strength 8, Dexterity 16, Constitution 12, Intelligence 10, Wisdom 15, and Charisma 15. Using the Tasha’s variant rule, I added the character’s +2 to Dexterity and +1 to Charisma which increases them to 18 and 16 respectively. In the beginning, the character’s Initiative Bonus is +6, which is not too shabby.
First Level
Given the awesome Dexterity score, I decided to start the build as a Rogue. Of the available skills, I would choose Acrobatics and Stealth. As for the other two skills, pick whatever matches the campaign or character you want to play.
The melee weapon I chose was the rapier and I decided to get a hand crossbow as soon as I could. Of course, the character will keep several daggers as backup weapons. With leather armor, our starting Armor Class is a very respectable 15. The first level Rogues features are Expertise (I would do Acrobatics and Stealth), Sneak Attack, and Thieves’ Cant.
Second Level
Cunning Action is the only feature that is added at second level. With Cunning Action, we can Dash, Disengage, or Hide, on our Bonus Action, which starts the soon-to-be long list of things that can be done on our Bonus Action with this build.
Third Level
This is where we get to choose the Roguish Archetype which will be Swashbuckler, which is why we started with a high Charisma. Our Sneak Attack adds an additional d6 to make it 2d6. We also get the following Roguish Archetype Features:
Fancy Footwork: If you make a melee attack then the target of your attack cannot make an opportunity attack against you for the rest of your turn. An important detail is that you do not have to hit, you just have to make the attack.
Rakish Audacity: Add your Charisma bonus to your Initiative roll. This character would get a +3. So, our Initiative Bonus is now a +9. We also gain an additional way to use our Sneak Attack that does not require the need for Advantage.
The Swashbuckler archetype features propel this build along. The Rakish Audacity helps both with our Initiative Bonus while allowing us to use Sneak Attack. Fancy Footwork allows us to get away without provoking opportunity attacks.
In combat, we can win Initiative, move to engage an enemy, strike them (using our Rakish Audacity to get Sneak Attack damage – doing 1d8 + 2d6 +6 in damage), then get out of the way with our Cunning Action to Dash out of range of our Druid’s Entangle spell. This character is all about getting in close hitting the enemy and running away before the enemy ever gets a chance to take a swing at us.
Fourth Level
We now have either an ability score improvement or feat. I know that the Alert feat is the obvious choice, but hear me out. To add to our movement ability around the battlefield, I suggest picking up Fey Touched (see my article about Fey Touched for more). This half feat gives us a +1 to Wisdom, improving it to 16 (which will make sense at next level) and gives us Misty Step, which is a very nice Bonus Action to add to our repertoire. The other thing is we can pick up Gift of Alacrity, if you don’t know this spell here are the basics: 1 minute to cast, lasts for 8 hours, and gives a 1d8 bonus to Initiative.
Here is a quick check on our ever-improving Initiative Bonus, it is now +9 +1d8 for a minimum of +10, but can be as good as +17.
For our next level, I thought about going down the Fighter Battle Master route at this point of the build, but I think Monk is a better fit for the design. It takes too long to get everything online that I wanted for this build going the Fighter route. Granted the Battle Maneuver Ambush is a great addition to the build but it uses up a Supremacy Die which cuts into the Actions and Bonus Actions you can take throughout the adventure day. The Fighter does not give us the quick movement rate that Monk does without having to use another feat to get Mobile. So, with that said, let’s keep going.
Fifth Level
We are taking our first level in Monk. I really like the abilities that come with adding Monk to the build. As a first level Monk, we get the features of Unarmored Defense (lose the leather armor and now our armor class is 17) and Martial Arts. Martial Arts adds an additional Bonus Action that is if you make an unarmed or monk weapon attack then as a Bonus Action you can make an additional unarmed or monk weapon attack. Also, our Proficiency Bonus is now +3 which makes our initiative bonus +10 +1d8. This also increases our Rabbit Hop to 15 feet.
The downside of both 5th and 6th level is that the rapier which has been the main weapon of the character is now not available as a monk weapon. At 6th level there is a workaround with a minimal cost, but that does not help us here at fifth level. The best choice at fifth level is to use the quarterstaff since it has the versatile feature and can cause 1d8 points of damage that we are used to.
Sixth Level
We are now a second level Monk which now gives our movement ten more feet and we get our first two ki points.
There is a nice bit of synergy between the monk feature of Step of the Wind and being a harengon. Given that we can already Dash, Disengage, or Hide as a Bonus Action, Step of the Wind does not help us except that we double our jump distance which, because of our Rabbit Hop ability, is five times our proficiency bonus. This means the character can jump 30 feet when combining Step of the Wind and Rabbit Hop at the cost of 1 ki point and our Bonus Action. Remember that Rabbit Hop does not provoke opportunity attacks. We can also use ki to either do Flurry of Blows or Patient Defense on our Bonus Action.
The big issue with this build is that there is an overload of Bonus Actions available to you. Right now, there are 9 different Bonus Actions available in each combat round. You either use your Bonus Action to cause more damage to your target or you use it to get out of trouble. This character is all about stringing together attacks and movement to optimize your abilities and features on the battlefield.
Dedicated Weapon in Tasha’s allows you to use one ki point to make a weapon you are proficient in into a monk weapon until you use that feature again. This means you can do this between adventures and not affect your ki points during the adventure. We can now welcome back the rapier into our arsenal.
Seventh Level
We become a third level Monk and get to choose our Monastic Tradition and also get the Deflect Missiles feature. Deflect Missiles gives us use of our Reaction to reduce damage from missile weapons. We will choose the Monastic Tradition of Way of the Kensei. The weapons I would add would be rapier and hand crossbow. The addition of Kensei Shot will give our hand crossbow some punch when we are kept out of melee range. Agile Parry is another benefit of the tradition which can add +2 to our armor class in the right situation. Our Unarmed Combat damage increases from a d4 to a d6.
Eighth Level
We are now a fourth level monk which gives us the features of Slow Fall and an ability score improvement or feat. Slow fall is another nice addition to our Reaction options, but the real star of this level is the feat we pick up. Here is where the Alert feat is added to the build. Now our initiative bonus is +15 +1d8. This gives us a minimum of +16 and a maximum of +23 without even picking up a d20. We are going first in most combats with a stable of attack and run options that will make us useful in most, if not all, combat situations.
This is when this build really feels like it is hitting on all cylinders and has everything we need to make it work at its best. Not saying that it hasn’t been working before now, but here is where it is really shining. Ninth level is just adding more to what is already working so well.
Ninth Level
We are now a fifth level monk so we can get Extra Attack and Stunning Strike. Oh, by the way, our Proficiency Bonus is now +4 which makes our Initiative Bonus +16 +1d8. Our Rabbit Hop is now 20 feet (40 feet if you use a ki point with Step of the Wind).
The seventh level feature for both the Rogue and Monk are exactly the same, so the choice to move up in either Monk or Rogue depends on what each 6th level offers. The additional movement and the addition of more ki points is way better than picking up Expertise so continuing to move up as a Monk makes sense at this time.
Tenth Level
It just keeps getting better as we are now a sixth level monk. We now have an additional 5 feet of movement, Ki-Empowered Strikes, Magic Kensei Weapons, and Deft Strike.
Eleventh Level
We are now a seventh level monk which adds Evasion and Stillness of Mind. Evasion (which is exactly like the Rogue feature Evasion) allows us to reduce damage from AOE spells. This pairs nicely with Lucky Footwork to reduce or eliminate all damage that requires a Dexterity saving throw.
Twelfth Level
We keep going with monk and are now an eighth level monk. I can see taking a feat here, but I really like what an ability score improvement does for the build. Crossbow Expert would make our Hand Crossbow more effective, but we already have a stacked Bonus Action, so adding another one is not the best use of this feature. I would improve Dexterity by +2 to boost both our Initiative Bonus and Armor Class. Our Initiative Bonus is now +17 +1d8 and our Armor Class is now 18 (or 20 with Agile Parry) without a single piece of armor.
Thirteenth Level
We are going back to the Rogue and are now a fifth level Swashbuckler. This gives us Uncanny Dodge, increases our Sneak Attack to 3d6, and our Proficiency Bonus is now +5. This means another improvement to our Initiative Bonus which is now +18 +1d8. This means even on a roll of 1s on both the d20 and d8 our initiative roll would be 20. This also means that our Rabbit Hop is now 25 feet (50 feet with Step of the Wind and 1 ki point).
Fourteenth Level
We go back to Monk and move up to ninth level which allows us to run up walls and across water with the Unarmored Movement improvement feature.
This is really where the build ends for me, but there are still six more levels and if I was to keep going then this is what I would do.
Fifteenth Level
Let us start a new career as a Fighter. We gain a Fighting Style (I would suggest Dueling to add +2 to our rapier damage) and we get yet another Bonus Action with Second Wind for some minor healing. Second Wind would not get used except in a pinch given the minor healing it would give at this level and due to the fact we have ten other choices for our Bonus Action.
Sixteenth Level
We are now a second level Fighter, which adds Action Surge which now gives us the option to hit really hard on one of our turns. Action Surge also resets after a long or short rest, so we have the option to do this more than once per day.
Seventeenth Level
Here it is, we are now a third level Fighter Battle Master. The big feature at this level is the addition of Battle Master Maneuvers and more specifically Ambush. Ambush allows us to add a superiority die to our initiative die roll. Our Rabbit Hop is now 30 feet (60 feet with Step of the Wind and 1 ki point). Our Proficiency Bonus also increased which now makes our Initiative Bonus +19 +1d8 +1d8. If we only rolled ones on the d20 and two d8s, our initiative roll would be 22. The maximum roll you can get for Initiative is 55. I think we can consider that the pinnacle of this build.
Here is what the character looks like at seventeenth level.
Strength 8 Dexterity 20 Constitution 12 Intelligence 10 Wisdom 16 Charisma 16
5th level Rogue Swashbuckler
9th level Monk Way of the Kensei
3rd level Fighter Battle Master
Features: Expertise, Sneak Attack, Thieves Cant, Cunning Action, Fancy Footwork, Rakish Audacity, Uncanny Dodge, Unarmored Defense, Martial Arts, Ki, Unarmored Movement, Deflect Missile, Kensei Weapons, Agile Parry, Kensei Shot, Way of the Brush, Slow Fall, Extra Attack, Stunning Strike, Ki-Empowered Strikes, Magic Kensei Weapons, Deft Strike, Evasion, Stillness of Mind, Fighting Style, Second Wind, Action Surge, Combat Superiority, and Student of War.
Action Options: Extra Attack, Deft Strike, and Stillness of Mind
Bonus Action: Rabbit Hop 30 feet (60 feet with Step of the Wind), Dash, Disengage, Hide, Misty Step, Unarmed Attack, Flurry of Blows, Patient Defense, Step of the Wind, Kensei Shot, and Second Wind
Reaction: Lucky Footwork, Deflect Missile, Slow Fall, and Uncanny Dodge
Sneak Attack: 3d6
Ki Points: 9
Movement: 45 feet (can run on vertical surfaces and across water)
Unarmed Combat: 1d6
Armor Class: 18 (20 with Agile Parry)
Initiative Bonus: +19 (+6 Hare Trigger, +5 Dexterity Bonus, +5 Alert feat, +3 Rakish Audacity) +1d8 (Gift of Alacrity) +1d8 (Battle Master Maneuver – Ambush)
That was a lot of fun and I really want to play this character. Let me know what you think and if you have any other suggestions for quirky builds, let me know.
