The Ultimate Skill Monkey - D&D: Optimized #59 

Errata: Favored Foe requires concentration, so you couldn't couple it with Bless. Bless is obviously the better choice for you and your entire party :).

This build is hilarious, I’m just gonna play it like “I once had and uncle that had a friend that had a uncle that learned this thing so naturally I can do it.” In a thick Brooklyn accent

Here’s my all 18 proficiencies at level 7 build, it is only 2 classes Race: Variant Human Skill: Performance Feat: Skilled (History, Insight, Investigation) Background: Custom (Proficiency in Stealth and Religion) Level 1-4 Rouge Scout Proficiencies: Acrobatics, Perception, Slight of Hand, Intimidation Survivalist: Proficiencies and Expertise in nature and survival Feat: Eldridge Adept; Beguiling Influence: Proficiency in Deception and Persuasion Level 5-7 Lore Bard Proficiency: Animal Handling Bonus Proficiency: Arcana, Athletics, Medicine

This may be the most MAD build of all time: in fact, it's got proficiency in every skill, and being good at every skill is what the build is based on, so in a way it's AAD (All Attribute Dependent)

I would have done something a little different, starting at level 7. Rather than getting Ranger 2 and 3, go back to Rogue the rest of the way. Either go with the Phantom subclass to get that last proficiency at Rogue 3, or stick with Soulknife and use the feat to get it at Rogue 4. Either way, you're on your way to Reliable Talent at Rogue 11, which means that you will laugh at natural ones on your skill check rolls.

Level 1:(see above) [rogue 1 & race] Levels 2:(see above) [bard 1] Levels 3:(@16:46) [bard 2] Levels 4:(@17:44) [bard 3 & sub-class] Levels 5:(@20:19) [cleric 1 & sub-class] Levels 6:(@24:10) [ranger 1] Levels 7:(see above) [ranger 2] Levels 8:(@29:36) [ranger 3 & sub-class] Levels 9:(@31:51) [ranger 4 & ASI] Levels 10:(see above) [ranger 5] Levels 11:(@34:50) [bard 4 & ASI] Levels 12:(@36:01) [rogue 2] Levels 13:(@36:30) [rogue 3 & sub-class] Levels 14:(@42:58) [rogue 4 & ASI] Levels 15:(see above 14-17) [rogue 5] Levels 16:(@43:41) [rogue 6] Levels 17:(@44:01) [rogue 7] Alternate path 1 (@46:00) Alternate path 2 (@46:25)

Don't know if it got mentioned in another comment, but Jack of All Trades apply to ANY ability check that does NOT add your proficiency bonus. This includes: Initiative, counterspell/dispel magic vs higher level magic, any other ability check that does not fall under one of the skills.

Here is an old "Expertise" build I did a long time ago. I need to update it. Human Skills Expert build. The goal of this build was to get as many skill bonuses & advantages for as many skills as possible as quickly as possible. I typically do not play characters beyond 10th level and this build reflects my play style. By level 10 you will have a passive 20 in ten different skills! Human Racial Feature: +1 all stats: Str 14, Dex 14, Con 11, Int 14, Wis 14, Cha 14. *reason need minimum 13 in Dex, Wis, and Cha for multiclass requirements, this array also gives +2 bonus to ALL skills! 1st level: Proficiency Bonus is +2 Rogue 1: 4 skills & 2 expertise (1 can be thieves tools) 2nd level Cleric 1: Knowledge Domain: Guidance Cantrip, Blessing Knowledge: 2 languages, +2 skills & expertise in both (Arcana, History, Nature, or Religion) Benchmark = +2 bonus to all skills from attribute stats, 6 skill proficiencies (add +2), 4 of those skills have expertise (add another +2). Of all eighteen skills, you have twelve skills at +2, two skills at +4, four skills at +6, and can cast Guidance (+1d4). 3rd level Bard 1: 1 skill, 1 musical instrument. Benchmark = +2 bonus to all skills from attribute stats, 7 skill proficiencies (add +2), 4 of those skills have expertise (add another +2). Of all eighteen skills, you have eleven skills at +2, three skills at +4, four skills at +6, and can cast Guidance (+1d4). 4th level Bard 2: Jack of All Trades + 1/2 proficiency in all untrained skills. Benchmark = +2 bonus to all skills from attribute stats, 7 skill proficiencies (add +2), 4 of those skills have expertise (add another +2). Of all eighteen skills, you have eleven skills at +3, three skills at +4, four skills at +6, and can cast Guidance (+1d4). 5th level: Proficiency bonus increases to +3 Bard 3: Expertise 2 skills, Lore +3 skills, Enhance Ability Spell. Benchmark = +2 bonus to all skills from attribute stats, 10 skill proficiencies (add +3), 6 of those skills have expertise (add another +3). Of all eighteen skills, you have eight skills at +3, four skills at +5, six skills at +8, and can cast Guidance (+1d4) or Enhance Ability spells. 6th level Rogue 2: Just to get to Rogue level 3 & 6 faster. 7th level Rogue 3: Scout: Proficiency & Expertise in Nature & Survival Benchmark = +2 bonus to all skills from attribute stats, 12 skill proficiencies (add +3), 8 of those skills have expertise (add another +3). Of all eighteen skills, you have six skills at +3, four skills at +5, eight skills at +8, and can cast Guidance (+1d4) or Enhance Ability spells. 8th level Rogue 4: Skilled feat +3 skill proficiencies Benchmark = +2 bonus to all skills from attribute stats, 15 skill proficiencies (add +3), 8 of those skills have expertise (add another +3). Of all eighteen skills, you have three skills at +3, seven skills at +5, eight skills at +8, and can cast Guidance (+1d4) or Enhance Ability spells. 9th level: Proficiency bonus increases to +4 Rogue 5: Just to get to Rogue level 6 faster. Benchmark = +2 bonus to all skills from attribute stats, 15 skill proficiencies (add +4), 8 of those skills have expertise (add another +4). Of all eighteen skills, you have three skills at +3, seven skills at +6, eight skills at +10, and can cast Guidance (+1d4) or Enhance Ability spells. 10th level Rogue 6: Expertise in 2 of your proficient skills. Benchmark = +2 bonus to all skills from attribute stats, 15 skill proficiencies (add +4), 10 of those skills have expertise (add another +4). Of all eighteen skills, you have three skills at +3, five skills at +6, ten skills at +10, and can cast Guidance (+1d4) or Enhance Ability spells.

Knowledge cleric 2 and the knowledge of the ages ability could be a good addition early to cover any missing skills until you get proficiency later, and once you do have proficiency in all skills, can be used to make you (effectively) proficient with all tools as well. Would then be easier to justify prioritizing damage earlier.

Favored foe requires concentration, conflicting with both hunter’s mark and also bless :( which is why a lot of people aren’t thrilled about it when compared to the UA version which let you cast hunter’s mark without concentration or a spell slot a certain number of times per day.

If you spread your scores evenly for multiclassing, you could accomplish this with rogue scout 3, knowledge cleric 2, lore bard 3, rest in rune knight for the runes granting expertise on all tool checks with which you are proficient, and or advantage on up to six types of skill checks, in addition to your expertise. You would also be a 12th level fighter with three attacks. Have third level spell slots. (Including enlarge reduce for huge sized rune knight with expertise and advantage on grapples.)

I mean, at least you get the initiative bonus from Jack of All Trades since it's a dex check you're not proficient with

I liked this one a lot. Interesting twist on the usual maximize dpr for a given character build. I never would have guessed it was even possible to have at least proficiency in ALL skills! Let alone so fast! Bravo! 👏

You could use the music at the beginning of the videos to indicate what damage tier The build falls into, and have the music be a subtle way to set the tone if we’re going for big damage or exploring a built.

I think you gave me the template for my ultimate "Dad" character. Or Iroh style character. The one who offers guidance and teaches his fellow party members haha.

If combat is a concern, I'd recommend going half-elf with the following array. STR 10, DEX 14 (+1), CON 10, INT 12, WIS 14 (+1), CHA 17 (+2); +2 Skills Background: +2 Skills LVL 1: Rogue 1: +4 Skills (8 total), 2 expertise (2 total) LVL 2: Warlock (Hexblade) 1: CHA to attack, MED Armor, Eldritch Blast LVL 3: Warlock (Hexblade) 2: CHA to Eldritch Blast, Beguiling influence (+2 skills) (10 total) LVL 4: Cleric (Knowledge) 1: +2 Skills (12 total), +2 Expertise (4 total), Spells, Shields LVL 5: Bard 1: Eldritch Blast keeps up damage, +1 Skill (13 total) LVL 6: Bard 2: Jack of all trades LVL 7: Bard (Lore) 3: +3 Skills (16 Total), +2 Expertise (6 total), Cutting Words LVL 8: Rogue 2: Cunning Action LVL 9: Rogue (Scout) 3: +2 Skills (18 Total), +2 Expertise (8 Total), +1 Sneak Attack Die You keep up in combat through Eldritch Blast and you have 2nd level spell slots. Then you can build out from there pretty freely. If you don't like Rogue (Scout): LVL 8: Bard (Lore) 4: Skill Expert - +1 Skill (17 Total), +1 Expertise (7 Total), 18 Charisma LVL 9: Ranger 1: +1 Skill (18 Total), +1 Expertise (8 Total) This way, your combat is on a strong stat (Charisma) and you have more bardic inspiration die. Although, I think a true skill monkey would be part Artificer, so they can double any tool proficiency too. The issue is it will take longer, and you will have to decide to prioritize combat or skills. If skills, Probably: Half Elf STR 10, DEX 14 (+1), CON 10, INT 17 (+2), WIS 13 , CHA 14 (+1); +2 Skills (Tasha's Rules) Background: +2 Skills LVL 1: Rogue 1: +4 Skills (8 total), 2 expertise (2 total) LVL 2: Artificer 1: Spells, MED Armor, Shields LVL 3: Artificer 2: Infusions LVL 4: Artificer (Battle Smith) 3: Int to Magic Weapons, Martial proficiency LVL 5: Artificer (Battle Smith) 4: Skill Expert - +1 Skill (9 Total), +1 Expertise (3 Total), 18 Intelligence LVL 6: Bard 1: +1 Skill (10 total) LVL 7: Bard 2: Jack of all trades LVL 8: Bard (Lore) 3: +3 Skills (13 Total), +2 Expertise (5 total), Cutting Words LVL 9: Cleric (Knowledge) 1: +2 Skills (15 total), +2 Expertise (7 total), Spells, Shields LVL 10: Rogue 2: Cunning Action LVL 11: Rogue (Scout) 3: +2 Skills (17 Total), +2 Expertise (9 Total), +1 Sneak Attack Die LVL 12: Ranger 1: +1 Skill (18 Total), +1 Expertise (10 Total) LVL 13: Artificer (Battle Smith) 5: Extra Attack LVL 14: Artificer (Battle Smith) 6: Tool Expertise You survive on your weaker dex and spells until you can change over to being SAD with INT. 3 more levels of bard and you can get Shadow Blade, a finesse magic weapon created from spells. You can change this up to finish Artificer earlier to have more damage earlier.

For a slightly simpler version of this build you can go Scout Rogue 3, Lore Bard 3, Either 4 and get Eldritch Adept: Beguiling influence. Only 6 expertise's, but a bit less ability score dependent.

Thank you so much for doing a build close to what I requested! Can't wait to watch it!

Jack of All Trades is still a little useful once you have proficiency in all skills. It bumps your initiative bonus, because it's a Dexterity check.

One note: Having proficiency isn't enough at later levels. At about level 5 you need at least your proficiency bonus + 1 to a skill check for it worth using most of the time, pb + 2 at level 10, and pb + 3 at about 15th level. Grabbing spells to boost your rolls is a good call.

That’s a pretty great build. I was thinking it was going to be variant human with skilled feat, start rogue and get scout 3 for extra expertise, 3 levels of lore bard then 1 level of knowledge cleric. Then taking rogue to 11 for Reliable Talent. Though I think your build definitely does much more damage, more accurately.

Glad you stuck with the new intro music after all! Not crazy about the new “damage report” visual and music you recently introduced tho. Heavy metal is dissonant with the vibe of this channel. Keep on rockin tho Colby! Love you work.

Build idea: The ultimate expert. You pick one skill and then try to get every ability you can that buffs that skill, just to have those 2 moments during a campaign where you roll a 50 in something.

I love this build so much! I'm thinking of running some players through Candlekeep Mysteries, and this guy would be a perfect "follower" character if they need him (i.e. the friar in Van Helsing, the silly sidekick, etc.). Stays out of most combats because he's squishy, can aid a character since he can do a little bit of everything, a true jack of all trades. :) Great job as always, Colby!

I just discovered your channel recently after joining a local (Utah) group for some 5e fun. I hadn't played D&D since 3.5, and had instead been playing Pathfinder with a another group of friends. I've really enjoyed listening to your videos like a podcast while I paint miniatures/armies. Great content!

Why didn't I find you before? smooth talk about character creation and you share my little obsesion in crazy building, you are the perfect channel. hope you will growth a lot .

I like the new music. I have always wondered about a build like this and you blew ot out of the park

Cool build, thanks so much! On the Psychic Blades: even later it might come in handy. Imagine you are stuck in melee. Despite having CBE, you could use one of your extra attacks to shove the enemy prone and then take two swings with your blades with advantage, which also helps to trigger your sneak attack. And since the character is likely to succeed on the Athletics contest, it will probably work 😊

This is so useful. I would never play this build, but I'm definitely going to use some of these dips when I want expertise.

I honestly love the new music for sure! Loved the video!

Love that you added the combat angle to the skill aspect. Truly a swiss army knife.

Loved the build and also wanted to say love the shirt!!

Colby, add a little note on screen at 39:46. You only lose the psionic die if the skill check succeeds. If it fails you keep the die.

Love this one! Optimizing for the other pillars is super fun. Nice :)

While I would never play this I had so much fun watching you describe it! Thank you!

Royalty free idea: the 'if I say so' build. Halfling, Lucky feat, and rogue that can give help at range. Add in a few divine soul sorc levels for extra support. And a few 'goo'lock for some lovely control effects.or druid for a more natural feel instead.

Love the new starting music!

Going with your level 8 (cuz that's when you realistically got all proficiencies lol) benchmark Going Rogue 3 (phantom)/Cleric 1/Bard 3/ Ranger 1 gets you all proficiencies by 8. As phantom gives you one skill or tool proficiency of your choice per long rest. So, you have that skill from phantom be a not so awesome skill of your choice and could swap it out for ANY tool proficiency when needed. Then you could take an ASI such as prodigy or skill expert later to cover up that one proficiency, so you could use the speak with grave to constantly on any tool proficiency of your choice. Allowing you to go Rogue 11 (for reliable talent)/Cleric 1/Bard 3/ Ranger 1 (and last level in any class of your choice whether you'd rather have an extra ASI/spell slots/Fighting style/or Channel Divinity. Allowing you to essentially NEVER roll below like a 17 (assuming a 1 on guidance roll ) ANY skill check or tool check with any tool (with a short rest) by level 16, even with just regular proficiency, no expertise included. You'd roll over 23 on anything you had expertise in. Also, with wails to the grave, your damage output wouldn't be too shabby. And you'd have 1 additional ASI as well

This was a great one. A true Jack of all Trades and super fun sounding

This is awesome! I took this a little further and went Rogue 8 for another ASI and then Fighter 2 for Action Surge for 4 attacks plus the bonus attack and also added a shield once I took crossbow expert.

Love the artwork!

On your latest video I mentioned a "social build", not realizing this was a thing. It's exactly what I'm looking for! I built this as level 3 wtih 1 in rogue, bard, cleric and managed to enjoy 13 skills with 4 expertise. I love this idea, and I'm 100% using it.

I like that you optimized something non-combat related. I have been thinking about how to optimize mobility (horizon walker 11 & scout 3). I'd like to see what build you'd come up with for maximizing mobility.

16:55 Jack of all trades can continue to be useful as there are a number ability checks that do not allow proficiency. Initiative is an example of a well known one, but there are other examples. Some creatures that grapple or restrain on hit give ability check DCs to escape but do not allow athletics or acrobatics proficiencies to be added. Similarly, If a creature cast telekinesis on you, you would be able to use your jack of all trades. Wrathful smite has an ability check that doesn’t allow for proficiency too. A more restrictive DM might not allow proficiency in a skill to be used when another table would. Such as when breaking down a door.

It's the second episode with the new intro music, at first I was like "ehhh...", but now I'm on board. It total suits you.

I`ll be honest.....I missed the metal anthem ahahahah. Great content as always!

The Sage background feature works with this build. "I know something about everything, but if I don't know something specific I know where to find it!".

Digging the new intro music!

I did something slightly different, but still got to all proficiencies by level 7. I started half elf instead of variant human. Which gave me 2 skill proficiencies and some other nice features. Followed the same level progression and took the skilled feat at bard 4. Ends up with one less skill expertise, but I think worth it for more ability score increases and other features from half elf

I did my own take on this build at one point. It was a Half-Elf Scout 6/ Lore Bard 14. A little slower to get everything since I needed two feats to get there, but it's been fun to see the differences.

Wild build! While I know the goal is proficiency in all skills, I really like the astral elf for skill monkeys (over half elves or Tabaxi which are the other popular options for folks) because you get Perception (or Tasha's custom options for a different one) innately then your Astral trance to switch your skill once per Long Rest. Githyanki also get Astral Knowledge, but they don't get the base Perception. So you can trim some of the skill proficiencies if you're willing to have to adapt each day. Not sure what, to be honest but its a versatile alternative.

Great points about who this build can be for. I could see more experienced players/optimizers gravitating towards this because they play with newer and/or more casual peeps. Handicapping yourself can definitely be the difference between some party members feeling impactful instead of impotent. Especially handing out support spells to shore up their abilities. Fresh or shy groups might also be less inclined to handle the RP side of things. You can be the safety net for this or training wheels. Teams work together with what they have, and ANYONE can suggest what Batman pulls out of the belt next. Sure, Brucey boy is technically doing it all, but now you setup Robin with the one-two punch, or Alfred with the clutch idea. Toll troll blocking your penniless plunderer's path with perilous prowess? Send in Beyonce.

I really enjoyed this build. Also, as for the music, I like both, but I think the new music fits the feel of the videos more. The old one felt, to me at least, like a really fast hard turn to go from metally vibes to chill video vibes, but that may just be me. Either way is cool.

My version of this build (the order of the levels as needed): Variant Human with the Skilled Feat. 11 levels of Rogue Scout for Reliable Talent and Expertise in 6(!) skills, two of which must be Nature and Survival. One level of Knowledge Cleric for Expertise in Arcana and Religion. Three levels of Lore Bard for Expertise in two more skills. Five levels of Fey Wanderer gives you one more Expertise. For feats I'd go with Xbow Expert, Sharpshooter and Tough and use the last ASI to bump Dex to 18. If you want to go more into allround and less for pure damage you could take Ranger 4 and Lore Bard 4 to get an extra ASI to max out your Dex. With this build you would also have a fourth level spell slot. For spells the ones you really want are Bless, Guidance and Enhance Ability, to be used as needed. In total, profiency in all skills, Expertise in 11 of them. If you make sure to take Expertise in Athletics and all three Int skills then the lowest you can roll is an 18 without Guidance or Enhance Ability. With a hand crossbow you would also be able to do (with Hunter's Mark) 8D6+ 1D4 +15 points of Damage in a single attack which, if you throw up Hunter's Mark on the turn before, you could easily get advantage on with the Aim bonus action. Not too bad. :)

Nice build. I like how you kept it to AL's PHB+1 format (minus the background). Personally, if you don't have to go PHB+1, an 8 Level build I like is a Half-elf Charlatan with Scout 3, Lore 3, Knowledge 1, Ranger 1. I think it may be short a skill though, so pick your least favorite to have JoAT apply.

You favor actor Anthony Starr (AKA Homelander) so much that I wouldn't be surprised if you were related. I did a build with a similar idea in mind, but I want a different route. I stuck with bard, and stuck with College of Swords. Reason being, you aren't taking advantage of persuasion unless you can cast tongues. Having Luck helps with skill checks, and as a halfling you can re roll 1's. He isn't quite as good at skill checks, but has has good AC and Umph in combat with two weapon fighting. Considering you can get Magic Secrets, and he gets most of the important skill checks

I like this concept a lot and tried my hand at it before Tasha's was released. I got to 18 skills at level 8 in what I think maybe a little bit more elegant solution. Half-Elf, Faction Agent, ScoutRogue4/LoreBard4. I enjoyed the roleplay concept you had here and wanted to spin mine in a similar way, a CIA Operative type character akin to the ones in the '60s that were used to destabilize nations. The Half-elf can work in both human and elven circles while belonging to neither, a college graduate who studied a broad amount of topics yet has had enough training that can roll up their sleeves and get their hands dirty when need be. Half-elf: Persuasion, Acrobatics Faction Agent: Investigation, Insight Rogue1: Deception, Perception, Sleight of Hand, Stealth Scout: Nature, Survival Skilled Feat: Athletics, Animal Handling, Medicine Bard1: Performance Lore: Arcana, History, Religion Prodigy Feat: Intimidation Expertise: 2 from Rogue, 2 from Bard, 1 from Prodigy From here I would bee-line to Rogue 11 (character 15) to get Reliable Talent, which gains another 2 Expertise from Rogue at 6. Assuming Standard Array, the worst roll you could make is a 14, and the minimum of a skill in a prime stat with expertise is 23 (nat20 becomes 33). To finish this to Level 20 I would grab three more Rogue levels and two in Bard, bumping another stat, advantage on initiative rolls, font of inspiration, and I want Pass without a trace from Magical Secrets to show off a minimum stealth roll of a 33 (max 43).

I have a similar build, but I just go variant human, then start with rogue, then lore bard, knowledge cleric, then scout rogue all the way (scouts give you extra proficiencies as well). Decent damage thanks to sneak attack but that's not the main point. You'll still have enough ASIs to afford a feat at later levels

Metalllll intro!

Love the music.

Love this build! In the past I asked for an optimized ship's captain. You said you would add it to the list; greatly appreciated. I had some questions for Sliding into my DMs to accompany the concept. 1) Can you use the shape water cantrip to help push/steer your ship, i.e., greater maneuverability? 2) Can you use the Gust cantrip to increase your ship's speed and maneuverability? The spell says you can move a medium or smaller creature 5 feet on a failed save. A Dragonborn is medium creature that can potentially weigh over 400 pounds and be pushed 5 feet by a gust of wind, that is a lot of force. 3) Call lightning states that you can control an existing storm if there is one... how does this affect your ship, or others, in the middle of a storm at sea. Also, I am committed to liking all the videos. Thanks to you and all the gang for all the hard work you have put in.

I'm liking the new intro music.

i think the new music would fit more but the metal music is more stand-outish and iconic to me and i like it

Maybe someone else mentioned this, but being Harengon would have added proficiency in Initiative as well. This build was fun. It made me start thinking about how you could gain proficiencies in a lot of the tools, gaming sets, magical instruments, and whatever else there is to be proficient in.

I had a skill monkey build but I had different priorities for mine: #1 - leaving out 11 levels for rogue so I could get Reliable Talent. #2 - be proficient in all skills. #3 - get double proficiency bonus in as many skills as I can, especially those with passive scores (insight, investigation, perception). I think I picked Half-Elf for race and for subclasses: Scout archetype, Knowledge domain, Lore college (that was pre-Tasha's, it's possible I'd build it differently if I were to do it today).

I'd love to see a Battlemaster D&D O. They seem so versatile and cool

Thanks for giving me this idea. I decided on my own build and made a half-elf at the start for better stats while still having an extra skill proficiency. I could go +3 dex, +2 to Cha, Int, and Wisdom, +1 con, and -1 STR. Making STR the dump stat for this over-achieving bookworm makes sense. Then at lvl 6 I could still have proficiency in every skill except for athletics if I go Rogue 1, Cleric 1, and Bard 4 and pick up the skilled feat then. From then I'd just go rogue all the way to get to reliable talent. If I really wanted to I could get skill expert at some point to get athletics as well, but I probably won't. Leave the heavy lifting to the barbarian.

Nice Would have gone for half elf to have another +1 to two stats and the two skill proficiencies. May have delayed the accumulation of all skills but may have given higher stats to begin with and make you more well rounded I would have also gone for scout rogue, dropped the ranger and cleric levels, taken the skilled expert and skilled feats and got to rogue 11 for reliable talent

This new music is great!

Some people have mentioned the 11th level Rogue already for its reliable talent. Although you can't hit the 18 skills as quickly, I feel like a Harengon Scout Rogue (11), Lore Bard (3), Hexblade (3) would be much more powerful. You take skilled and skill expert, the Beguiling Influence invocation (and Agonizing Blast, of course), and you can take your pick between Eldritch Blast or Sneak Attack (combined with a Rapier and Booming Blade?) for damage, whichever is better under the circumstances. You can concentrate on Charisma rather than splitting between Dex, Wis, and Cha. And you're skilled in all 18 skills plus thieves tools, 2 other tools, and initiative. Not to mention 7 skills you're expert in. Take your pick on Pact. You could even use your last Feat for resilient to get proficiency in a 3rd Saving Throw if you want to lean into that +6 Proficiency Bonus you've got.

A variation of this build I did a while ago which gives you proficiency in all 18 skills and expertise in 13 of those skills. Variant Human, Prodigy feat, any background, level 6 Scout Rogue, pick up Skill Expert at level 4, level 3 Lore Bard, level 1 Ranger for Canny, level 1 Knowledge Cleric. You can also add 3 levels of Rune Knight Fighter for the fire rune and a single level dip into Artificer so that you have access to the 'All Purpose Tool' which gives you expertise in all 23 tools. From there you can go 5 more rogue for reliable talent and never get below a 22 on a skill check or add 1 ranger, 1 artificer and 2 fighter for archery and thrown weapon fighting style, returning weapon infusion, sharpshooter feat and extra attack and use an infused returning dart to attack to tie in the throwing knife, 'Needler', build or scrap the fighter levels altogether and go to level 9 Armorer Artificer to keep expertise in every tool, always have advantage on stealth, have extra attack, a magic lightning launcher (that you can still use sneak attack with) and have a ton of infusions in your armor

Time for a New Spreadsheet! The "Flavor Optimization" spreadsheet.

I've made one fun build with this spirit, but slightly different. First level in rogue, one level in bard, third level in rogue I picked scout for two more expertises, third level in lore bard, then one level in knowledge cleric. Then, straight rogue if you want more damage and Reliable Talent at rogue 11, Rogue Scout 16 / Lore bard 3/ Knowledge Cleric 1. Or, straight bard, if you want more versatility and spells, Rogue Scout 3 / Lore Bard 16 / Knowledge Cleric 1. You can get all skills at level 7 too, if you pick V human or Custom Lineage. I never used it in actually game, but seems fun.

The jack of all trades still applies to initiative rolls as well as any other time the DM tells you to make an ability check without an associated skill, so not entirely useless.

3:00 I mean,, I have to have something to graph. LOL I died!

This is a very fun character idea. I think I would try to play it more like Gandalf, who is very well-travelled and wise (and who doesn't cast very many flashy spells!). I would probably go with STR/CON/INT 10, DEX/WIS 14, CHA 14 (+2). First level Rogue1, second level Cleric1 (breastplate and shield for AC, cantrip Thaumaturgy "Do not mistake me for a conjurer of cheap tricks!"), third and fourth Ranger1-2 (for the Goodberry spell and fighting style Druidic Warrior: Thorn Whip and either ProduceFire or Shelaleigh), fifth through tenth levels Bard1-6. The lvl6 damage report (Toll the Dead 2d12) would be worse than your baseline, but you'd be Blessing, Healing and Inspiring your allies in combat instead of pretending to be a DPS... and the next level you could pick up Heat Metal if you wanted some more damage instead of Bless. The Bard4 feat should be War Caster. Bard6 Secrets of Arcana would be Spirit Guardians and Spiritual Weapon, so your later damage reports would be a little behind your Nature's Wrath cleric (lower available spell slot for Spirit Guardians would reduce AoE damage). Eleven and twelve are Ranger 3-4 (finally getting Deception proficiency, Ranger4 feat is Resilient CON), and then the rest of your career is Bard (ASIs bump CHA). It would be really weak in combat at the first half of its career (but it would be solid support and provide excellent non-combat utility), but it would get significantly stronger at Bard6 (level 10). And, honestly, I think it'd be hilarious to be leaning on cantrips and first-level spells for so long while claiming to be a mighty wizard. However, if you wanted to emphasize combat effectiveness, going Rogue1, Cleric 1, Bard 4 would get you Heat Metal and Cloud of Daggers by the first damage report. Then you would probably go Ranger 1&2 to get Thorn Whip to drag them into your Cloud of Daggers, then up to Bard 6 and then Ranger 4.

I really do like your new intro music.

This build is way better than I'd feared it would be, nice work! But please bring back the metal intro music!

Worth talking with a DM for this build to see if they'll allow your bard magic to be of the psionic variety. Make it be mechanically identical to the arcane, but it works brilliantly for tying the flavour together.

going halfling would give you ability to reroll nat ones on an original roll. Then you're only going to fail if you roll nat one twice in succession which is only a 1 in 400 chance. If you additionally take the lucky feat, three times per long rest you can roll another die bringing your chance of failure to 1 in 8,000. you're also monkey sized. :D We could call it the lucky, lucky skill monkey.

Another choice that's interesting is the peace cleric as a 1-3 lvl dip on a rogue. Obviously it is not as direct and quite as strong as knowledge domain but if you aren't your parties only skill user it can be amazing. Emboldening bond gives another d4 on attacks, ability checks and saves, I play a rogue build that does this and and with guidance and Emboldening bond, my inquisitive rogue, a knowledge cleric and our ranger, we basically don't fail ability checks ever and with bless and Emboldening bond I also buff the whole party really effectively in combat as well and In most combats I do a good portion of my parties damage because I almost can't fail the ability check to use insightful fighting to get sneak attack basically whenever I want. I only have a 16 dex but as a ranged rogue with 2d4 to every attack and save it actually doesn't hold me back pretty much at all at around 7th lvl.

Okay, interesting. I've tried builds to max out a skill or three, but never tried for them all in one. The 007 backdrop in the artwork is very fitting. For the algorithm!

After doing some research, I found out that you can just use borrowed knowledge on yourself, and you can gain Skill Empowerment when you unlock level 5 spells, and that lets you gain expertise in a skill you have proficiency in. As far I am already playing a college or swords bard, and they are just awesome in combat. They are just as competent in skills too. I am almost sure you can stack this with Borrowed Knowledge too. With that in mind, The Lucky Feat is great for skill checks too. Also, halflings can re roll ones. Bard's have Bardic inspiration die to add to skill checks. Enhanced Ability if great with this build too, because it counts towards skills that use the contributing attribute. With this set up, you have a character who is not only able to hold his own in combat, he also rarely fails a skill check

I purchased Complete Warmage last week from Mage Hand Press based off your recommendation. Love it! I'm also interested in seeing what you can do with it in a build.

17:05 - technically it never becomes fully useless, as it still buffs your initiative, which is a Dex check, technically.

Ranger at 5th you can get pass without trace spell to turn the team into ninja stealth experts. Which I just rewound and you mentioned. i think that is totally awesome.

Haha finally did a skill monkey!! The new music is definitely you, yet I after a year the metal intro feels more like .... Ok who are we using to splat a random monster!!! Lol

I did a skill monkey Half elf 2 prof Background 2 prof Skilled expert feat 1 prof Prodigy feat 1 prof 11 Rogue-Scout subclass 6 prof 1 Bard 1 prof 1 knowledge cleric 2 prof All but 3, intimidate performance and Athletics Rogue get reliable talent at 11.

I finally got close! My build was soul knife 3, lore bard 3, the rest undetermined since our campaigns end around level 10.

That's freaking MacGyver. I love it :D

Nice! I had done one of these a while back to see if I could make the skill monkey-ist of skill monkeys and ended up with proficiency in every skill and 15 out of 18 having expertise. Obviously you would be horrified at the damage output.. maybe. I took mostly bard so it all depends on how you feel about bards.. lol :D

I love that this should be viable for BG3.❤

good idea, would make a great villain

Sick shirt bro, love to see another roshar fan.

So I'm sort of doing something like this ATM. I've taken Fey Wanderer to level 5 first, now I'm going to take 5 levels of Sorcerer. The point of this is 4 fold 1)more spell slots of Utility spells like Enhance ability. 2)Tides of Chaos 3)the level 5 Reroll 4)quickened Spells for combat, subtle spells for ooc. So rather than going for proficiency in every skill, I was more aiming for abundant rolls (2-3 on each check) and bonuses (my Cha and Wisdom are both +3)

I like the new music. I feel like it fits the general vibe of your videos better... the old music felt a little disjointed when you go from metal into the soft, calming voice we all love xD (the old music did hype though)

You could rp this as a person who jumps to a different job every few months. Trying to get a profession you try to get academic training. Learning that song and dance hold grain of truth about multiplanes. You delve deep into occult songs. Learning forbidden knowledge you get the patronage of a God. Granting you minor divine powers to hopefully seduce you fully to their cause. Realizing nature holds its own secrets this character would turn to ranger. Learning secrets from druidic circles or just learning how to peacefully interact with monsters normally hostile. This build would make a good practical use character. Like saint germane from castlevania. Most people seeing you as a con artist until they see you were right the whole time.

I've played a character like this before. Had a very similar build. Started off rogue, and took lore bard. I dipped into hexblade warlock since invocations can also give you some skill proficiencies. My character was heavier on the charisma, since i was warlock and bard. This helped with the combat attack bonuses. It was an ok character overall, but it very much lacks in the damage output. It's also fairly weak if you are doing a dungeon crawl as the campaign.

Usually you recommend Stealth and Thief"s Tools for expertise. Why the change? Bard also gets an instrument. Might I suggest a wind instrument, pan pipes would be good. Being proficient in a wind instrument is a requirement for the pipes of haunting and the pipes of the sewers. For Bard Spells, I would chose Prestidigitation and Message; Silvery Barbs, Sleep, Unseen Servant and Healing Word. Identify would be my next choice.

I considered going for beastmaster with a monkey as you can get free help action on most skill checks, which means free advantage!