What are the most Overpowered D&D character builds?
Creating a character in DnD can be a very intricate, very personal process that takes hours or days to complete. Many say your first DnD character is a reflection of yourself.
But what happens after you’ve created your first character, and then your second, and then your third and fourth until no more fantasy versions of you remain?
What happens when you’ve cycled through all of the classic tropes like the Dwarf Cleric, Halfling Rogue and Elf Wizard? Well, that’s when you start thinking outside of the box, and it’s when those creative juices start flowing that some of the most bizarre, most powerful characters come to life. In my years playing DnD, here are the top 10 most OP characters I’ve encountered.
10) Me First (Highest Initiative)
Build Power Rating: 73/100
A rogue ready to assassinate.
How many times have you watched your friends win a fight before you even get to take a turn? How often have you sat there taking hit after hit while you wait helplessly for your chance to attack? With the Me First build, you’ll be guaranteed to take the first turn in every single encounter.
How to build it:
- There’s a lot of freedom here, so just throw a Bard together with the Human Variant and get Dexterity, Intelligence and Charisma up to 20 as soon as possible.
- You’ll need two levels in Bard for Jack of All Trades which allows you to add half of your Proficiency Bonus to Initiative.
- Two levels in the Unleashed Arcana version of Ranger will get you Advantage on Initiative with Natural Explorer.
- Two levels in Wizard with Tactical Wit allows you to add Intelligence to Initiative.
- Three levels with a Swashbuckler Rogue gives you access to Rakish Audacity that lets you add Charisma to Initiative.
- Along the way, pickup the Alert and Lucky feats. Alert gives you +5 to Initiative and Lucky will allow you to reroll a Skill Check, choosing the higher of the two rolls.
The result:
- Dex modifier is +5.
- Alert gives you +5.
- Jack of All Trades gives you +3.
- Tactical Wit gives you +5.
- Rakish Audacity gives you +5.
- Natural Explorer gives you Advantage.
With this build you now have a +23 Initiative with Advantage. Even if someone somehow rolls higher than you, you can use Lucky to roll again. In other words, you’re going first every time.
9) All-Seeing Rogue
Build Power Rating: 78/100
See all, hear all, sense all.
Rogue’s are known for being stealthy, but how about a Rogue that can also see, hear and generally detect anything in his or her surroundings. With this build, you’ll be crafting Peter Parker’s own “spidey sense” into your next character.
How to build it:
- Put your highest roll into Wisdom. Let’s assume you start with a score of 15.
- Human Variant raises that to 16 and the Observant feat puts it at 17.
- Pickup proficiency in Perception.
- Go with the Rogue class and Expertise will double your Perception Proficiency Bonus.
- At level 4, increase Wisdom to 19.
- At level 8, increase Wisdom to 20.
- Your Perception modifier is now +11, which also puts your Passive Perception at 21.
The result:
- You can see EVERYTHING!
- No one will EVER sneak up on you!
But wait! Don’t forget all the other skills Wisdom is responsible for: Animal Handling, Insight, Medicine and Survival. So now you can be friends with all those animals your keen eyes are seeing, and you’re basically a walking, talking lie detector. Out of healing potions? No problem. Lost? No, never. This is a build that will take your Rogue from the rear of the Marching Order straight to the front.
8) Proficiency in All Skills
Build Power Rating: 83/100
This bard is prepared for any situation.
Looking for a character that’s simply good at everything? Here’s a build that will make you the Swiss Army Knife of every party, and keep your DM’s pants in a wad.
How to build it:
- Start with a Half Elf and choose proficiencies in Acrobatics and Insight.
- Use the Rogue class and pickup proficiencies in Deception, Investigation, Perception, and Persuasion.
- The Urchin Background gives you proficiency in Sleight of Hand and Stealth.
- For second level, dip in Cleric for Knowledge Domain and pick proficiencies in Nature and History.
- It’s time to become what you were born to be. Multiclass Bard and pickup Performance as your proficiency.
- At third level Bard, go College of Lore and gain proficiencies in Intimidation, Medicine and Survival.
- At fourth level Bard, take the Skilled feat and become proficient in Animal Handling, Arcana and Religion.
The result:
- If you didn’t already notice, you’re proficient in everything but Athletics which is covered by Acrobatics.
- ‘Nuff said.
From fighting in dungeons to performing in taverns to talking your way out of a prison cell, this build is sure to put you in the spotlight of every encounter.
7) Ninja (Highest Stealth)
Build Power Rating: 85/100
A ninja getting a bird's-eye view of her surroundings.
Take your Rogue to the next level with this ninja build that will make you practically invisible.
How to built it:
- You can go with either a Lightfoot Halfling or Wood Elf. Each race gives you +2 Dex and handy abilities for hiding.
- You’ll need 2 levels in Rogue to get Expertise in Stealth which doubles your Proficiency Bonus, and Cunning Action allows you to hide as a Bonus Action.
- Switch over to Ranger and level up 10 more times. Take Pass Without a Trace as a spell and you’ll get Hide in Plain Sight at level 10.
- Make sure you get your Dex up to 20.
The result:
- With Expertise, your Stealth modifier will be +13.
- You can cast Pass Without a Trace to add another +10.
- If there’s time, you can use your Hide in Plain Sight to get yetanother +10.
Best cast scenario you’re looking at a +33 Stealth modifier. Worst case scenario you can still hide after every attack with a base modifier of +13. This is the ultimate build for players who most enjoy the attack-hide-attack-hide ability of the Rogue class.
6) Corrupted Paladin
Build Power Rating: 87/100
Clearly a man not to be messed with.
If Paladin’s are lawful good warriors that draw their power from a divine being, then what happens when they turn to a demon for help? Here is a character that really upsets the balance of DnD lore.
How to build it:
- Build a Strength-based Paladin.
- Multiclass with Warlock at level 3, and all levels on should be put into the Warlock.
- Second to Strength, prioritize Charisma since both character classes use this ability to cast spells.
- Take melee options as you level up.
The result:
- With Divine Smite, deal an extra 2d8 radiant damage when you expend a spell slot after hitting a creature.
- For every spell level higher than the first, add an additional 1d8 radiant damage to Divine Smite.
- Because you’ve multi-classed with a Warlock, you’ll regain all of your spell slots after every Short Rest instead of every Long Rest.
The final product is a melee tank that can potentially deal an additional 5d8 per successful hit, and not have to wait for a Long Rest to regain the ability. As an added bonus, you can trick all of your friends into thinking you’re a lawful good Paladin, then turn on them once you’ve revealed that you’re actually possessed by a demon!
5) Polearm Master Sentinel Fighter
Build Power Rating: 94/100
"Not so close," he says just before attacking.
Don’t like people in your personal bubble? No need to worry any longer. The Polearm Master Sentinel Fighter gives you a protective radius that can cripple anyone coming too close to you and your friends.
How to build:
- Start with Human Variant and Fighter.
- Choose Battle Master with Precision Attack.
- Get yourself a big stick. Preferably a glaive, halberd, quarterstaff or spear.
The result:
- Polearm Master allows you to use a Bonus Action to attack with the opposite end of the weapon, dealing an additional d4.
- Polearm Master also allows you make an Opportunity Attack anytime a creature comes within your reach.
- Here’s when things get saucy. Because of Sentinel, a successful Opportunity Attack reduces a creature’s speed to zero for the rest of the turn.
- Additionally, Sentinel allows you to take Opportunity Attacks even when a creature uses his or her Disengage action.
With the dice on your side, you could hit a creature when he or she comes within range, freezing said creature, and then hit and freeze that creature again if he or she tries to flee or attack. As a bonus, Sentinel also allows you to attack any creature within 5 feet of you that makes an attack on one of your pals. And yet another bonus, with Precision Attack you can add a superiority die to any of these attack rolls, before or after the roll.
4) Sniper with a 400’ Kill Shot
Build Power Rating: 96/100
"That only counts as 1!"
One of my all-time favorite memories in DnD was when my Ranger saved the day by shooting through the rope that was being used to hang our friend from over 100’ away. Now, let’s take that shot to 400’ and add a whole bunch of damage to it.
How to build it:
- Take Human Variant with the Sharpshooter feat and Ranger class.
- At level 2, choose Archery as your Fighting Style and Hunter’s Mark as one of your spells.
- At level 3, choose the Hunter Archetype with Colossus Slayer.
- At level 4, take the Crossbow Expert feat.
- At level 5, multiclass Cleric with War Domain for the next 6 levels and pickup +2 Dex.
- Now, get your hands on a heavy crossbow.
The result:
- Because of Sharpshooter and the heavy crossbow range, you can choose any target up to 400 feet away, ignoring all but full cover.
- If within range, tag your enemy with Hunter’s Mark.
- Use Channel Divinity to get +10 to the attack roll. Even with the -5 penalty from Sharpshooter, your attack roll will still be around +12. Basically a guaranteed hit.
Now, here comes the pain. The heavy crossbow alone does 1d10, Hunter’s mark adds 1d6 if within range, Colossus Slayer is 1d8, Sharpshooter is an automatic 10, plus whatever your Dex modifier is. On a hit (which is almost guaranteed) you’re looking at 1d10+1d6+1d8+14ish. And oh yeah, since you’re a level 5 ranger, you get two crossbow attacks and Crossbow Expert lets you ignore the reloading property.
3) Crossbow Fighter
Build Power Rating: 97/100
When a sword won't reach and there's no time to draw a bow.
When I used to think of the Fighter class, I imagined a tanky meat shield that stood at the front of the party hacking baddies with a big axe. However, if you make a few tweaks and throw in a crossbow or two, you get one lethal archer.
How to build it:
- Start with Human Variant and take the Crossbow Expert feat.
- Choose Archery as your Fighting Style and pickup two hand crossbows.
- Go with Battle Master for your Martial Archetype with Precision Attack.
- Choose the Sharpshooter feat at level 4.
The result:
- You can hit targets 120’ away with no penalty to half or three-quarter cover.
- With the Fighter’s natural Extra Attack ability paired with Crossbow Expert, you can make 3 attacks every round.
- Once per short rest, you’ll be able to use Action Surge to get 5 attacks per round.
- If you have a party member that can cast Haste on you, you’ll get 5 attacks or 7 attacks with Action Surge.
- On any of these shots, you can use Sharpshooter to take a -5 penalty and increase the damage by 10.
- With Precision Attack, you can add a superiority die to any of these attack rolls, before or after the roll.
There you have it! A bow-slinging, sharpshooting ranged Fighter. Throw in some studded leather armor and Second Wind and you can also withstand a pretty hefty beating.
2) The Faceless Man A.K.A. A Girl Has No Name A.K.A. Master Assassin
Build Power Rating: 98/100
A man has no name.
Sure, it’s cool when a Barbarian can rage-out and dish 70 damage in one attack. It’s also handy when a Ranger can pop a goblin between the eyes at 400 feet. But what’s reallycool is when you can sneak up on the baddest creature in the dungeon and kill it before initiative is ever rolled.
How to build it:
- Start with a Rogue and whatever race you want with good Dex.
- At level 3, pick Assassin for the autocrits.
- You are now a Fighter from levels 4 through 8 because every good assassin needs Action Surge and Extra Attack.
- Dip in one level of Cleric for War Domain.
- Take one level in Warlock for the Hex spell.
- Use a rapier with Dueling Fighting Style and make sure you get yourself to 20 Dex for the +5 damage.
The result:
- Now you’re a level 10 Rogue Fighter Cleric Warlock.
- Cast Invisibility on yourself and sneak up on a badguy. Hit him with Hex.
- Next, take two handfuls of dice. You’re going to need them.
- You have advantage on every attack, so assuming you hit with each attack available to you, deal 12d8 + 16d6 + 42. That, my friends, is an average of 152 damage on a single turn by level 10.
So you’ve all gathered together on Friday night to take down the bandits pillaging villages in your adventure. The party surrounds the hideout. The DM is about to call initiative, but wait! Your Rogue slips in and kills the villain in one attack, circumventing two hours of content and the super awesome villain speech the DM has been working on all week. Be careful with this build, as it might earn you some enemies around the table.
1) BarBEARian
Build Power Rating: 99/100
Bruce Banner eat your heart out!
Barbarians are awesome. Bears are scary. So what if you could be both? What if you could just… not be killed?
How to build it:
- Start with Druid, and I recommend the lesser known Ghostwise Halfling simply because telepathy is going to be really helpful in Wild Shape.
- Choose Circle of the Moon at second level.
- Switch over to Barbarian at level 3 and choose Totem of the Bear which gives you resistance to all damage other than psychic while Raging.
The result:
- Now you’re a Raging, telepathic bear with Unarmored Defense that’s immune to all damage other than psychic.
- Even if you somehow get dropped to zero HP, you’re then a Barbarian with full HP that can just Wild Shape back into a bear and do it all over again.
- In other words, you’re basically unkillable.
The best offense is always a good defense. So how about a defense that’s simply unstoppable? The BarBEARian combines two of my personal favorite classes and brings out the best in both. Not to mention, packing all that punch into a little halfling is just really fun to imagine.
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