So I'm going into a level 30 oneshot...

[deleted]

I can only wonder what in hell is your DM going to throw at you. A party with that kind of build seems like something that could take on a bunch of Tiamats and Tarrasques.

So, I am running an Epic level campaign that is going to level 30. I asked r/3d6 what builds they would make and it exploded. Now, I have rules for magic beyond 20 in this thread, but not in my game. You can see the multitude of builds here. Some of my favorites are:

• Paladin 20 / Sorcerer 9 / Hexblade 1. Charisma SAD martial with 19th level spell caster slots.

• Archfey Patron 17, Swashbuckler 13. Gish that's always in control of the field.

• Zariel Tiefling 6 Vengeance Paladin/6 Shadow Sorceror/18 Hexblade Warlock.

• 20 Zealot Barbarian/ 10 Scout Rogue - Aarakocra

And one of my personal favorites

• Echo Knight - 20/Gloomstalker - 3/Conquest - 6/Hexblade - 1

On Round 1 of combat: Sneak into combat with Echo Teleportation, invisibility to darkvision. Have a Bonus to Initiative= Dex + Wis, Movement - You can move your echoes up to 30 feet each without any effort. You can move yourself your speed +10 feet, from Dread Ambusher.

• Bonus Action - Hexblade's Curse
• Action - Attack = 1(Dread Ambusher Attack, Divine Smite), 2(Attack, Divine Smite), 3(Attack, Divine Smite), 4(Attack, Divine Smite), 5(Attack, Divine Smite)
• Action Surge - Attack Action = 6(Dread Ambusher Attack, Divine Smite), 7(Unleash Incarnation from Echo 1's position, Divine Smite), 8(Unleash Incarnation from Echo 2's position, Divine Smite), 9(Attack, Divine Smite, This is the final spell slot you have this fight - the warlock level lets you regain two at the end of a short rest), 10(Attack), 11(Attack), 12(Attack)

Edit: just some other things to think about:

• 20fighter/10rogue gets you 10 ASis.
• Thief 17 with Alert gets you a whole second turn in the first round, Samurai 3 gets you action surge and Fighting Spirit BA for Advantage on all attacks, Sorc/wizard 5 gets you haste, Gloomstalker 5 gets you extra attack and one more attack per action on the first round.

I would go Dragonborn Paladin of Conquest 14/Hexblade 2/Sorcerer 14 Draconic Bloodline, running 15 str, 15 dex, 18 con, 13 int, 15 wis, 20 cha before any ASIs, take dragon fear as a feat, Legendary is the Holy Avenger, Obsidian Flint Dragon Plate ( +2 plate armor with minor bonuses and no attunenent if memory serves), Sentinel Shield (because the bonus on initiative is gross and advantage on perception roles based on sight = awesome), ring of protection. Broken, possibly, fun, absolutely. Rolling smite every round no matter what is nice, I think unless you are burning high level spells for smites you won’t compare to a Fighter Samurai in pure damage but you have tons of utility and defensive options. AC is only 23. This character is absolutely not based on Arkhan the Cruel and under no circumstances should you use his mini on the tabletop.../s

EDIT: whoops, Obsidian Flint Dragon Plate is Legendary, so +2 Plate that is scary looking would work.

Do a stout halfling level 19 rogue, 11 fighter with the scout and champion subclasses. Make dex 20, con 19, wis 15, strength 15, int 13, cha 13.

As rogue, take expertise in stealth, acrobatics, athletics, and thieves tools just incase there is a locked door or loot drop as well as proficiency in perception. Also, use a ton of daggers and a light crossbow. Increase constitution to 20 at level 4 with resilient constitution. savage attacker at 8. sharpshooter at 10. lucky at 12. crossbow expert at 16. mobile at 19.

As fighter take archery fighting style at level 1. at 4 take tough. at 6 take resilient wisdom. at 8 take resilient strength. at 10 take martial adept with precision attack and reposte. and at 11 take either two weapon fighting or defense fighting style, depending on whether you want to use two daggers and melee/ranged or crossbow ranged primarily.

For magic items. Take two potions of greater healing, plus 2 studded leather, and cloak of invisibility.

Wizards and druids have access to shapechange, which normally would only let you turn into a creature CR 20 or lower. At level 30, though, everything from Tiamat's full RoT statblock, the Tarrasque, and a plethora of archfiends open up to you. Paladin makes for a good second class, between Divine Smite and defensive auras. Shapechange doesn't give you access to legendary actions (or lair actions), but it does let you get legendary resistances, and big Tiamat has five. (She also has stupendous HP, regeneration, DC 26 frightening presence, a chonky multiattack, a swathe of immunities, extra reactions, etc.)

And, unlike true polymorph, Shapechange lets you keep all your other features, such as your full casting progression.

18-20 levels of monk are very much worth considering. Not only do you get proficiency in all saving throws, but the 18th level feature lets you turn invisible and gain resistance to all damage except force for 1 minute for 4 ki points. This doesn't require any sort of concentration. Also you can re-roll failed saves for 1 ki point, and stunning strike is bananas. Plus you're completely immune to poison and have +30 feet movement.

I'm not sure what the best class to combine it with is though, I was thinking maybe paladin to get even stronger saving throws as well as some status effect immunities (oath of devotion gives immunity to charmed, and level 10 gives immunity to frightened). They can also learn dispel magic which is 100% necessary because...

Having said all that there is a wizard spell that makes you immune to damage for 10 minutes lol.

Are we fighting fair, where two sluggards duke it out in the arena and you and your friends tell tales of that day for years, or is this a win-at-all-costs situation?

For fighting fun but fair, I love the idea of an Armorer Artificer (UA) 20/Ancients Paladin 10 for the armored juggernaut aesthetic. The saving throw bonus will be +11, and that’s before you add your other modifiers to it. Take Yaun-Ti as your race, and those saves are at advantage. And if you do fail, no worries, you already have resistance to all magical damage.

You also get 25 temp hp as a bonus action each turn, and can fly with boots you made.

EDIT: Honorable mention to Monk 18/Paladin 12 for another fun way to get stupid saving throws. Your Martial Arts dice+ Improved Divine Smite dice mean (1d10+DEX+1d8)x2 + (1d10+DEX) without spending ki or spell slots for your attack. You also get to become invisible as an action (no concentration) and that makes you resistant to all damage but force.

Conquest Paladin and Long Death Monk do this especially well (though you shouldn’t turn invisible as it ruins the combo) to make an enemy afraid every turn, without any resources.

Otherwise, Devotion’s immunity to charm ain’t bad, but largely unnecessary when paired with Monk. I’d recommend Oathbreaker for the +CHA to damage!

Is this an anything goes type of one shot as far as UA is concerned?

20 levels in Artificers which allows you to attune to 6 items (which if selected correctly can boost your stats through the moon) in addition to all the other crazy things Artificers have. Then take 10 levels in necromancy wizard and walk in with an army of half dead half cyborg fighters, archers and rogues at your back. You also then have the ability to add your fallen competitors to your ranks when they die to your (or each others) blades.

alright let’s try something weird

wizard 15/monk 14/rogue 1

divination/Kensei

1 rogue gives you expertise so you pick athletes and acrobatics

15 kensei gives you longbow and weapon skills. Increased mov speed and proficiency with all saves plus reroll from standard monk

15 divination gives you portent which is great you can also get third eye and take see invisible. Finally you get an 8th level spell and take antimagic field

All your monk skills from kensei are not magical and portent isn’t either. Third eye is a maybe. You can boost your sword or bow to a +3, ignore magical attacks, turn off any magic items, even push that annoying moon druid out of shapechange. You can use an attack to grapple/shove with expertise and stab them. You can still fall back into caster mode if you don’t want to engage in close range.

Any Caster 20 gets straight value from Warlock 10

Lv 20 blade wizard, 10 levels in champion fighter. Ultimate gish!

Not exactly overpowered, but some combination of Barbarian/Rogue would be fun. You can wield a finesse weapon while still opting to use Strength to attack, allowing you to get the benefits of both Rage and Sneak Attack. Reckless Attack gives you Sneak Attack on demand since it’s basically free advantage. Uncanny Dodge stacks with damage resistances, so if you go Bear Totem you can mitigate damage really effectively. Evasion and Danger Sense mesh really well together. If you take Expertise in Athletics you’ll be a master of grappling and shoving.

I’m sure there’s other synergistic things about the combo as well, but that’s just off the top of my head. Without any Spellcasting ability you might fall short, but I’m sure you’d have fun as your enemies flail helplessly as they try to chew through your massive HP, damage resistances, Evasion, and Uncanny Dodge.

Do note that a single dispel magic (rolling for higher levels aside) can strip any and all spells on the target, including mage armor, foresight, mirror image, etc...

Also if you go as a nonmagical class like barbarian, consider any item that lets you make an antimagic field to protect yourself from some nasty spells

Well moon druids get unlimited wildshapes and elemental forms eventually so 20 levels there should have you covered health wise (any time they get your low in your wildshape form just wildshape again to reset your health).

Then take 4 levels rogue. Put your expertise in athletics and whatever else takes your fancy. Maybe stealth. And you also get that cunning action fun.

6 levels fighter for that sweet sweet action surge extra attack and 6th level feat/ asi

Make sure to grab the mobile feat for that extra movement boost (you want as many movement increasing features as you can get)

And now for some mean mean combat.

Step1 cast spike growth at an enemy location Step2 wildshape into an air elemental Step3 grapple target (remember you have expertise in athletics so it's gonna be pretty high. You also have extra attack from fighter so if you fail try again) Step4 drag them around your spike growth with your insane movement, bonus action dash, action surge dash. 2d4 damage per 5feet they move through the spikes. You can fly so you're good. Step5 end your turn and if they can't break out of your grapple they end their turn within 5 feet of you so you can use your reaction to move half of your crazy speed. Let's drag them around some more.

This is especially crazy against casters because of all those concentration saves they have to make

If you fail both grapples you can bonus action dash away and the mobile feat will minimise opportunity attacks too

I would probably pump up my tortle wizard+ Maj'Eek Mee'sell. The Magic Missile Nuke.

Currently he is Evocation Wizard 17, Fighter 2, Hexblade Warlock 2.

Magic Items: Ioun Stone of Mastery, Chronolometer (from the acquisitions incorporated book), shavarran birch focus.

Tomes of clear mind, and leadership are good for it too.

Only spells you need are counter spell, simulacrum (preferably Sansuri's Simulacrum from Storm Kings Thunder, not limited to a single simulacrum so you can have more counter spell batteries), and ofcourse Magic Missile.

Hexblades curse your target, drop magic missile on them. Higher the level the better. For this build I suggest using the optional rule for magic missile "roll 1 die that counts for every dart". Gives you a 1/4 chance for max damage.

Empowered Evocation adds your INT bonus to one damage roll of an evocation wizard spell. Hexblades curse adds your proficiency to damage. Shavarran birch focus adds +1 damage to a damage roll of a force damage dealing spell.

Cast MM at level 9.

(1d4+1 + INT + Proficiency + 1) x 11. Damage you cant miss with, and if they shield, you or a simulacrum use counter spell.

Bumping it from 20 to 30 I would probably just add sorcerer 10, for the ability to use meta magic to use magic missile more often, with all the sorcery points I can get. Along with action surge from the fighter. The Chronolometer is honestly just there because it has a 50/50 chance to give you an additional action on your first turn.

I also just having Maj'Eek as a character. So fascinated by the accuracy and dependability of magic missile he made the study of his life goal.

He also has a city of himselves thanks to Sansuri's Simulacrum, those simulacrums casting wish to become real, and finding an empty area and they all just start casting Galders Tower.

20 Moon Druid. 7 Oath of Ancients Paladin. 2 Fighter, 1 Hexblade Warlock

Initial Stats: 13 STR, 13 DEX, 15 CON, 15 INT, 18 WIS, 18 CHA

Final Stats: 14 STR, 14 DEX, 16 CON, 15 INT, 18 WIS, 19 CHA

Halfing (Wouldn't want to roll a nat 1)

• Uncommon Item 1: Brooch of Shielding (Resist Force Damage)
• Uncommon Item 2: Stone of Good Luck (+1 To All Saves)
• Very Rate Item: Animated Shield (Extra AC is always good)
• Legendary Item: Ring of Three Wishes (Wishes)

Feats:

• Sentinel (Druid 4)
• War-caster (Druid 8)
• Resilient (Con) (Druid 12)
• Resilient (Cha) (Druid 16)
• Resilient (Dex) (Druid 19)
• Resilient (Str) (Paladin 4)

Important Spells

• Shapechange (Druid)
• Absorb Elements (Druid)
• Shield (Hexblade)

Strategy

1. On turn 1 Shapechange into Tiamat. Action Surge Wish, Hexblade Curse the biggest threat to you (Or the weakest opponent)
2. +16 To All Saves (From Aura, Luckstone and Feats)
3. Shield as a reaction gives 32 AC
4. Absorb Elements will help minimize damage from AoE attacks
5. Sentinel lets you punish people who choose to not fight you within 25 feet with Tiamats Tail. You can smite on this attack as well
6. Half Damage From Spells (Oath of Ancients Aura) will keep your damage minimal
7. Legendary Resistances Guarantee you 5 Turns as Tiamat.
8. Ring of Three Wishes is a versatile casting tool. If you cant think of any fun wishes go with Simulacrum. Now there's two super Tiamats!

If Tiamat isn't allowed instead go for:

1. Hundred Handed One (Mythic Odysseys). Also gets one reaction per turn
2. If Hundred Handed One isn't allowed choose Marilith for the same reason.

you need:

• Half-Orc
• Crossbow Expert Feat
• Dual Wielder Feat
• 3 levels of Rogue(Assassin)
• 2 levels of Cleric(Grave)
• 5 levels of Ranger(Hunter)
• 20 levels of Fighter(Archer-Battlemaster)
• 2 hand crossbows +1 equipped

You take the first turn in combat and assassinate from the shadows, which causes you to auto-crit. You put your Mark of the grave and your Hunters Mark on the target in prior. You shoot 6 bolts, each deals 1d6+6 damage +1d6 for Hunters Mark (so 12d6+36) +2d6 for sneak attack + 6d8 for any maneuver of the Battle Master (so 14d6+6d8+36), but all the dice are rolled 3 times because you crit as a Half-orc, so that's a total of 36d6+18d8+36 damage (243 on average) Except that we didn't look at the Grave Mark yet, so that's doubled to 486 damage in a SINGLE TURN!! Note that if there's a second enemy standing next to your victim, thanks to the Hoard Breaker ability of the Hunter, you can obliterate that one too. You're going to be hated at the table though, so don't forget to hide afterwards ;)

EDIT: forgot to consider action surge, so basically you can just do the thing twice (I doubt your first victim survived)

Don't worry about normal damage and stuff like that. take a bunch of "save or be kinda screwed" spells (Feeblemind, Polymorph,Plane Shift etc.) and go to town on your enemys with subtle spells (you'll have enough small slots to shredd into Sorc-Points) try and Counterspell what really hurts you (so not damage) and pick a bunch of Magic Items that protect you.

Lastly: Take PWK to waste any "hah, Wildshape go brrr" moon druids, after they take the slightest amount of damage.