So this was my first attempt at generating a character off a tv show, and trying to keep to the initial theme as much as I could.  The following pdf link will give you the character sheet for the character.  I have no real guide, so I wummarise the way it’s built and the ruling that can make or break the concept.

Concept

This bits simple, it’s Prince Oberyn of Dorne.  A human fighter with a long bladed spear, with a quick spinning blade, and a whirling spinning ginsu chopping PC.  For this I went Battle Master, for the tricks and extra damage possible.  In the character sheet, stats are standard array, and averages for HP.  I went for a Human Varient, and for the theme went with a Calashite.  Everything about his looks are in there, but obviously change them if you want or have to.

The Build

This bit was actually pretty simple, because to be flashy like the Oberyn character is, is to go human and use the variant to get the Feat at first level; in this case Polearm Master.  Stats are the standard array.  Int is the dump stat, and I went for a higher con, and kept Str and Dex the same.  For the flashy theme, I took the Entertainer background, but went with the Gladiator variant.  For skills, Acrobatics, Intimidation, Perception, Performance and Survival.  Change them for yourself, they for me seemed right, and also as I wasn’t making the actual Oberyn, but I wanted the feel, the flash and the showmanship of the character that inspires it.  

While this PC sheet is set to 3rd level, at 4th level you should grab Martial Adept, for more Superiority Dice, and two more maneuvers as well.  As a fighter, the fighting style I went for was Great Weapon Fighter.  Because the build is a BATTLE MASTER based build.  For the maneuvers I went with Disarming Attack, Evasive Footwork and Lunging Attack

I put the character in splint, as anything heavier would not feel close at all, but it makes sens to use this with no penalty over leather armor; that reduces their AC to sometimes stupid levels for no reason. 

ISSUES

There is only one.  The Feat that makes this build work really well is the Polearm Master and the wording in the book, in the feat.  When I made this I was with the Adventurers League as a Local Co-Ordinator.  I helped get the stores in my city filled with players, playtesting material for upcoming seasons stuff like that.  So when I asked about the wording (“While you are wielding a glaive, halberd, pike, or quarterstaff, other creatures provoke an opportunity attack from you when they enter your reach.”)  It’s plural, and I contacted my AL person higher than me, and a couple of days back I got a ruling from WotC that I was right, it is plural, and does allow for more than one attack.

The idea is you are spinning the weapon around like a madman, putting steel capped butt or the sharp slicing piece of steel, in the path of anything coming along.  So if they walk into it, they get hit, anything that walks into it, creatures especially dumb will do it, but not smartly run monsters will as well.  WHen I used this in my game, our group was hit with a swarm of giant rats, and I stood in their path doing my spinning, and as they ran past most got hit, a couple died but the rest got past me.  In total I did 71 pts damage in a round, spread over 12 creatures.

For this build to work to that level, then the GM has to approve the use of the feat as I describe it.  If not, it’s still pretty close, and will work.

FAQ

Overpowered much?

Well no actually.  I have run this rule for 5 years, after doing some more accurate maths, and may be closer to 6 tbh.  While it does allow more attacks, they are only on one creature per attack, so it’s not massive spike damage on one large creature.  Also you still have to make an attack roll to hit, and the way I do it is alternate ends, so the player would normally strike blade first, and then the butt end, then the blade, and so on.  While spinning the blade when the feat kicks in, it’s a 50/50 on which end will be hitting (1-50 = blade, 51-100 = butt end), so damage average is slightly lower. 

But in that 5 years, it’s never been used again, because the theme of the character was already spent, the mechanics under it are not as relevant to said theme, but the same could go for a flashy asian style fighter with some ancient chinese or japanese style characterization. 

 

The Download