Greetings and welcome back to my fifth entry into the Character Codex! Here we are going to be dealing with a Magic: The Gathering character. With this one we’ll be traveling past the Smaragdi forests of Skalla to meet up with the Champion of the Wilds herself. The Monster’s Advocate, the Arkbow Ranger, Nature’s Avenger, the Queen of Ghosts.
Today’s build is a character from Magic: The Gathering: Vivien Reid.
Seeking to balance nature and civilization, Vivien is a vastly gifted ranger, able to tap into the spirit of the forest to beleaguer those disrupting the harmony she seeks.
Let’s go over a couple of things I hope to accomplish with this build:
Intentions:
- Archery – Must be great with a bow.
- Spirits – Extra damage from the corporeal and incorporeal.
- Protection – Preserve the beautiful diversity of life in the Multiverse.
Overview:
- Stat Allotment (Standard Array):
- STR 10 (+0), DEX 15 (+2), CON 13 (+1)
- INT 10 (+0), WIS 14 (+2), CHA 10 (+0)
- Lineage:
- Custom Lineage: +2 DEX
- Darkvision: 60 feet
- Feat: Skill Expert (+1 DEX)
- Proficiencies:
- Custom Lineage: Arcana (Expertise)
- Background: Nature (Expertise), Survival, Herbalism Kit
- Rogue: Athletics, Intimidation, Investigation (Expertise), Perception (Expertise)
- Ranger: Animal Handling
- Items to Seek Out:
- OathbowA: Adv. on Sworn enemy, +3d6 piercing on them
- Dragon’s Wrath LongbowA: 5 damage 5ft aoe on a Nat 20, 1d6 extra damage (+2, +3)
- Bracers of ArcheryA: +2 damage on short/longbow attacks
- Serpent Scale Armor: Apply full DEX mod, no disadvantage on Stealth checks
- Moon Sickle +1A: +1 spell attack & spell save DC (+2, +3)
- Cloak/Ring of ProtectionA: +1 AC, Saving Throws
- Badge of the WatchA: +2 bonus to AC if you aren’t using a shield
- Tome of Understanding: Spend 48 hrs reading this book in 6 days, gain +2 WIS
- Manual of Quickness of Action: Spend 48 hrs reading this book in 6 days, gain +2 DEX
A: Requires Attunement (Can only attune to 3 items at a time. Choose wisely.)
Breakdown:
With a focused intensity, Vivien strives to minimize the damage to nature and will not take lightly to those that actively harm it. To that end her skills with a bow and nature need to be top notch. We will start off as a Rogue to get some of her vital skills then multiclass to solidify her archery and nature affinity. Ranger and Druid will be the multiclasses we take, for those reasons. More Ranger levels than Druid is how this build will shake out. Just taking one feat while leveling. It comes down to the play style you want to focus on; extra damage or concentration on spells.
Advancement:
Level 1 (Rogue 1) – Starting off with Rogue gives a bunch of goodies. Four proficiencies to choose from. Thieves’ Cant, a secret language for leaving messages. Sneak Attack, it’ll allow us to do an extra 1d6 damage on an attack if we have advantage or an enemy of the target within 5 feet of them, not just an ally, as long as we’re attacking with a finesse or ranged weapon. This is only if we don’t have disadvantage somehow. Any disadvantage negates this ability. Finally, we get Expertise. It allows us to double our proficiency bonus on two of our skills or one of them skill and Thieves’ Tools. Unfortunately, we are not proficient with a longbow yet, but we will correct that next level.
Level 2 (Rogue 1/Ranger 1) – With Ranger we get another skill proficiency, taking Animal Handling here. We also get the full suite of martial weapons, medium armor, and shield proficiencies. Deft Explorer allows us to learn two additional languages and can give a skill proficiency we have Expertise with it. We’ll grab Expertise in Investigation. Favored Foe allows us to add 1d4 of damage to the first target we hit. Once a target is marked we gotta concentrate on them as if concentrating on a spell, so round after round we can continue to add this damage as long as we keep hitting them. This will tide us over until we get spells for extra damage, and can be used when we want to conserve those slots.
Level 3 (Rogue 1/Ranger 2) – At 2nd level Ranger, we pick up the Archery Fighting Style to increase our accuracy by plus 2. For spells, we’ll keep it simple: Hunter’s Mark for an extra 1d6 damage per weapon attack on the marked target, and Animal Friendship to start gaining the trust and support of a nearby animal.
Level 4 (Rogue 1/Ranger 3) – Now it’s time to pick up our Ranger subclass, and we’re going Swarmkeeper. Styling the swarm as different animal spirits fits with Vivien’s theme. After we hit with an attack they can, once per turn of ours, deal another 1d6 of piercing damage, move the target up to 15 feet horizontally if they fail a Strength save, or move us 5 feet horizontally. We get another spell choice at this level. For now it might be best to pick up some more Ranger only spells, since our future multiclass will allow us access to a lot of the same spells Rangers get. Want a bit more aoe, Hail of Thorns. Need an escape tool for yourself, Zephyr Strike. Additionally, we get Primal Awareness which at 3rd level, gives us the Speak with Animals spell. Could be useful, but it does still cost a spell slot and only lasts for ten minutes. And lastly, we get some particular Swarmkeeper Magic at certain levels. Right now we get a specialized version of Mage Hand that looks like a nature spirit, and the ever useful Faerie Fire that will give us and others advantage on attack rolls against those that fail the Dexterity save. This also negates the benefits of invisibility as they are outlined in a green light.
Level 5 (Rogue 1/Ranger 4) – Our first ASI/Feat pick is here. We’ll just max out our DEX here to give us the best chance at our attacks landing.
Level 6 (Rogue 1/Ranger 5) – Extra Attack time! Keep in mind, Sneak Attack can only trigger on one of those two attacks that hit, but Hunter’s Mark triggers on every attack that hits the marked target. Grab the Aid spell to bolster you and some of your comrades. It boosts the max hit points of three people and increases their current hit points by 5. You may want to swap out Animal Friendship and pick up a different spell. Some others that come to mind are Alarm, Pass without Trace, or Silence.
Level 7 (Rogue 1/Ranger 5/Druid 1) – And now to switch gears slightly and level up Druid. At first level, we learn the secret language of Druids, Druidic. We get cantrips, so let’s get Guidance and Resistance. The three first level spells to consider are, Animal Friendship, Detect Magic, and Protection from Evil & Good.
We are mixing spellcasters again just like the previous build, but this time they are Wisdom based! By the end of this part of the build we will have four 1st level, three 2nd level, and three 3rd level spell slots.
Level 8 (Rogue 1/Ranger 5/Druid 2) – At 2nd level Druid we get a lot of features. Wild Shape allows us to transform into different beasts as we level. However, Vivien doesn’t Wild Shape, so we’ll use the option feature from Tasha’s to get Wild Companion. It lets us use a Wild Shape charge to summon a fey animal spirit as if we were casting Find Familiar. Additionally, we get to choose our Druid Circle, and for that we’re going Circle of the Shepherd. This gives us a couple of features now: Speech of the Woods allows us to speak, read, and write Sylvan and beasts can understand our words while we can deduce their outcries and movements. And Spirit Totem allows us to summon one of three different spirits within 60 feet of us as a bonus action, with a 30 foot radius aura, once per short rest. Bear grants temporary hit points equal to 5 plus our druid level to us and our allies. It also gives those inside the aura advantage on Strength checks and saving throws. Hawk grants someone within the aura advantage on an attack roll at the cost of our reaction, and advantage on Perception checks in the area. Unicorn gives us and our allies advantage on detecting creatures within the aura, but also, casting a spell that restores hit points to any creature inside or outside of the aura each creature in the aura (of our choice) regain hit points equal to our druid level. There is another spell choice here. A good one to consider is Healing Word.
Level 9 (Rogue 1/Ranger 5/Druid 3) – At 3rd level Druid we get access to 2nd level spells. A nice spell to grab would be Summon Beast to get an actual fighting companion, even if they would be a bit weaker at our total level nine. Now while it is a concentration spell, it does only require verbal commands to have it attack. Or for added utility, Animal Messenger, Healing Spirit, Hold Person, or Locate Animals and Plants are all thematic.
Level 10 (Rogue 1/Ranger 5/Druid 4) – For this ASI, we’re gonna go ahead and bump up Wisdom to 16. We get another cantrip choice at this level and two additional spells we can get since taking that ASI in Wisdom. Pick up one of the aforementioned spells, like Healing Spirit to entreat nature to assist in patching you up. Or Hold Person to stop an aggressor in their tracks. For cantrips, Infestation or Thorn Whip could be interesting picks.
Okay. We’ve reached the end of this part of the build. Let’s see what we can do!
Level 10 stats are STR 10 (0), DEX 20 (+5), CON 13 (+1), INT 10 (+0), WIS 16 (+3), CHA 10 (+0). The Spell Save DC is 15, it’s pretty decent for a half-caster. Best skills are +11 Perception. +8 Arcana, Investigation, and Nature. +7 Animal Handling, and Survival. While having a +5 to Acrobatics, Sleight of Hand, and Stealth. The rest have a +4 down to a +0 modifier with an AC of 17 in studded leather.
At 10th level let’s see what I’ve achieved in this build:
- A +11 to hit with a bow to make sure our shots land.
- Sneak Attack and Gathered Swarm damage helps whittle down foes.
- Summoned spirits and beasts help safeguard the area.
Techniques:
Casting Web or Faerie Fire on a chunk of battlefield will greatly help you and your team. Scouting or relaying information with your Wild Companion or even one of the wildlife denizens around is absolutely viable, perhaps even crucial. Summoning a beast as an action, then a totem as a bonus action if the encounter requires an extra helper and one of the auras it provides can turn the tide. And there’s nothing wrong with casting Hunter’s Mark and firing off two arrows, possibly stacking the mark with Sneak Attack and Gathered Swarm damage.
Next week I’ll have part two of this build.
Until then, stay safe and have fun!
Peace!
Black Kevin the Role Playing Gamer 