Character Build: The Speedster

This build is all about the need, the need for speed in 5e. If you want to get from one side of the battlemap to the other in one turn then this build is for you.

The race for this character will be Centaur (taken from the Dungeons & Dragons book Monsters of the Multiverse), because you start with a walking speed of 40 feet. You get an additional skill with Natural Affinity and a Bonus Action attack with Charge (in the right conditions). If the idea of being half-horse is not appealing to you then Wood Elf also works, but your initial walking speed will be 5 feet slower than the Centaur and this reduction in speed will follow you throughout the build.

I’m using the rolls I made for my last build for continuity across all these builds, which were 12, 10, 15, 16, 8, and 15. I am assigning them thusly:

Str 12   Dex 16   Con 15   Int 10   Wis 15   Chr 8

I will add the +2 to Dexterity and the +1 to Wisdom making them 18 and 16 respectively.

First Level

You start your adventuring career as a ranger. At first level, you get Deft Explorer and Favored Foe from Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything. The updates in Tasha’s makes for a much better ranger and Deft Explorer has a nice little bonus for this build later on.

Second Level

At second level you are a second level ranger. Here is where you get a Fighting Style and Spellcasting. I would pick up Dual Wielding as your Fighting Style because you will be delayed picking up your Extra Attack. Two short swords are the best choice for this particular build. Also, the Bonus Action Charge attack from the racial abilities has a few restrictions and this guarantees an attack on your Bonus Action.

For spells, you are picking up Longstrider and Zephyr Strike to boost your speed even more. Between those two spells, you effectively double your walking speed in combat when they are cast. Zephyr Strike is an excellent spell that can be cast as a Bonus Action. While you are concentrating on this spell, your movement does not provoke opportunity attacks. Once during the duration of the spell, you get advantage on one weapon attack, you deal an extra 1d8 of force damage, and, whether or not you hit, your walking speed increases by 30 feet until the end of the turn. Longstrider is a non-concentration spell that lasts an hour and increases your walking speed by 10 feet.

Third Level

You get to choose your Ranger Archetype and we are choosing Gloomstalker. We now have Darkvision which is a nice addition to any character. Also, on the first round of combat, we get to add an additional 10 feet of movement until the end of the turn.

Fourth Level

As a fourth level ranger we get to select a feat and, of course, we are choosing Mobility. This increases our walking speed to 50 feet which is also boosted on the first round of combat to 60 feet. Longstrider adds 10 feet and Zephyr Strike adds another 30 feet once during the duration of the spell.

Fifth Level

We are leaving ranger to start a new career of being a monk. We no longer have to wear armor and have an Armor Class of 17 and we also get Martial Arts. No additions to our speed, but next level there will be something to add.

Sixth Level

At sixth level, we are now a second level monk. We get Ki and Unarmored Movement which adds an additional 10 feet to our walking speed. We can also use Ki points to do Flurry of Blows, Patient Defense, or Step of the Wind on our Bonus Action.

In the perfect combat situation, you would cast Longstrider before combat began. You now have a walking speed of 70 feet. You add an additional 10 feet of movement for your first turn of combat which now boosts our speed to 80 feet. As a bonus action, you cast Zephyr Strike which adds an additional 30 feet of movement if you attack an opponent. On turn one of combat, you have a walking speed of 110 feet. Granted, on your second turn of combat your Speed could drop down to 70 feet which is still more than double the speed of the average character.

Seventh Level

We go back to the ranger and get Extra Attack. Second Level spells are now open to us and choose whatever helps your character in the campaign you are in. Mostly, you would use your spell slots for Longstrider and casting/recasting Zephyr Strike. Since you will be away from the rest of the party, it would not be a bad idea to get Cure Wounds for a bit of self-healing.

Eighth Level

At eighth level, we move up to be a sixth level ranger and look what we found another 5 feet of movement from Deft Explorer.

Ninth Level

We are now a seventh level ranger which grants us Iron Mind which gives us proficiency in Wisdom Saving Throws.

Tenth Level

As an eighth level ranger, we get a new feat. I suggest Resilient in Constitution, which not only raises our Constitution to 16, but also gives us proficiency in Constitution Saving Throws. This will make it harder for us to lose concentration on Zephyr Strike. We also pick up Land’s Stride which is nice, but we already have Mobility which covers many of the benefits you get with this feature.

Eleventh Level

We are going back to monk and are getting our Monastic Tradition. It may sound strange, but we are choosing Way of the Drunken Master because of Drunken Technique. If we use Flurry of Blows on our turn, then we get the benefit of Disengage and our walking speed increases by 10 feet until the end of the current turn. If for some reason we lose concentration on Zephyr Strike, then this is the poor man’s version of that ability. It will cost Ki points every time we use it, but it will keep us mobile on the battlefield.

We also get Deflect Missile which is a very nice damage-reducing feature we can use as a Reaction.

Twelfth Level

We are now a fourth level monk. I suggest taking the ability score improvement at this point and adding +2 to your Dexterity. Slow Fall is also added to our list of features.

Thirteenth Level

Add another level to monk to be fifth level and get Stunning Strike. Unfortunately, we don’t get to add Extra Attack since we already have it from our Ranger class.

Fourteenth Level

As a sixth level Monk we get another 5 feet of movement from Unarmored Movement. We pick up Tipsy Sway from Way of the Drunken Master which includes Leap to Your Feet and Redirect Attack. Leap to Your Feet allows us to stand quickly if knocked Prone using only 5 feet of our movement. Also, our unarmed strikes count as magical.

The rest of the build will keep going with monk to pick up the Unarmored Movement upgrade at 17th level (9th level monk) and additional 5 feet of movement at 18th level (10th level monk). The Unarmored Movement upgrade means that our half-horse character can now run up walls (which is more goat-like) and run across water.

At the end, you will have a walking speed of 75 feet which can be moved up to 115 feet with the proper use of Longstrider and Zephyr Strike. On the first round of combat will add an additional 10 feet of movement. You can also spend one Ki during combat to use Flurry of Blows and gain 10 feet of movement. Is that fast enough for you? Oh, and if a sorcerer or wizard in your party has Haste then forget about it.

Here is what the character looks like at twentieth level:

8th level Ranger Gloomstalker

12th level Monk Way of the Drunken Master

Features: Charge, Favored Foe, Deft Explorer, Fighting Style (Dual Weapon), Spellcasting, Primal Awareness, Dread Ambusher, Umbral Sight, Unarmored Defense, Martial Arts, Ki, Unarmored Movement, Drunken Technique, Land’s Stride, Tipsy Sway, Deflect Missile, Slow Fall, Extra Attack, Stunning Strike, Ki-Empowered Strikes, Deft Strike, Evasion, Stillness of Mind, and Drunkard’s Luck.

Action Options: Extra Attack, Deft Strike, and Stillness of Mind

Bonus Action: Charge, Off-hand Attack, Zephyr Strike (spell), Unarmed Attack, Flurry of Blows, Patient Defense, and Step of the Wind

Reaction: Deflect Missile, Slow Fall, and Tipsy Sway

Ki Points: 12

Movement: 75 feet (40 feet – racial base speed, +20 feet Unarmored Movement, +5 feet Deft Explorer, and +10 feet Mobility) (can run on vertical surfaces and across water)

Unarmed Combat: 1d8

Armor Class: 18

Let me know what you think and if you have any other suggestions for quirky builds, let me know.