Jack of All Trades, Ace of (Almost) All (5e Optimized Character Build)
I reckon many players have tried making characters that have proficiencies in most or every skill. Heck, there's an optimized build on the very subject. However, what about getting expertise? Can you do THAT at a low level? Well, no, but that doesn't mean you still can't get a ton of skill expertise as you grow in levels. Here's how:
Follow this guide All Skill Pro by 6th Level, however, do this instead:
Put 6 levels into Rogue instead of just 1. This will allow you to get Expertise twice (meaning 4 Expertise skills) and choose the Scout archetype. Doing so automatically gives you expertise in Nature and Survival. Put 1 level into Cleric, but choose Arcana (or Religion) instead of Nature. Put 12 levels into Bard. This will allow you to get Expertise twice (again, meaning 4 Expertise skills).
Feats:
Like the aforementioned guide says, go for Skilled to get any remaining skills you need. Since you're a Half-elf, you can take Prodigy which, among other things, allows you to gain 1 Expertise. Once more, thanks to being a Half-elf, you can take Everybody's Friend and get Expertise in both Persuasion and Deception.
You should have 1 ASI to spare, meaning you can take another feat to gain expertise in something you don't already, meaning, by level 19, you'll have Expertise in all but 2 skills.
--Alternative--
An alternative is you could sacrifice 5 levels of Bard (meaning sacrificing getting Expertise in at least 2 other skills) and pour them into Rogue, allowing you to take advantage of the Rogue's Reliable Talent feature. Rolling anything lower than a 10 on a skill you have expertise in automatically becomes (at level 17-20, at least) a 22.
Another alternative is going half-elf background 1 rogue 1 knowledge cleric 4 bard 2 loremaster wizard make sure you hsve proficiency in nature by now then put 10 more levels in rogue since you already have double proficiency in nature you can swap it get prodigy twice and everyone's friend . That's reliable talent 2+2+4+2+1+3+1x2+2=18 skills 2+2+2+4+2+2+1x2+2=18 expertise Congratulations, you are now both a Jack AND An Ace Of (almost) All Trades!
Back to Main Page → 5e Homebrew → Optimized Character Builds