Lurking in the Shadows with a D&D spy character
Hello! Nerditor Doug here to introduce a new voice to the Nerdarchy community here on the website. Tyler is a longtime fan of the Nerdarchy YouTube channel who got in touch with us to ask about contributing to the website as part of a high school program he’s a part of. As always we are happy to work with writers in the Nerdarchy community and share their work here. Tyler is sneaking onto the scene with a D&D spy character concept. In keeping with the theme I snuck in a video from the Nerdarchy archives with Nerdarchists Dave and Ted and Nate the Nerdarch taking a crack at their own version of a D&D spy character.
Hey nerds! I wanted to create a true spy style character for fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons with this multiclass Way of Shadow monk warlock. Feel free to send me a message on twitter with your thoughts and suggestions. Let me paint a word picture:
Quickly walking down a silent hallway. Sprinting now, without as much as a whisper of your boots. You deftly remove the door of its lock. And you are through. But there is a complication, the baron is still in his study. With a swift punch to the back of the head the baron is ‘asleep.’ You thoroughly read through the legal documentation and personal letters on the baron’s desk. With knowledge of the plans laid out by the government, you make your return trip, with no one batting an eye.
The D&D spy character
Standard array of ability scores: STR 8 DEX 15 CON 10 INT 12 WIS 13 CHA 14
Race: Variant Human — +1 to DEX and WIS to bump them to even numbers. I would take the Keen Mind feat, allowing you to collect a huge amount of information and leave the original documents in place, reducing suspicion.
Background: Urchin — It is really useful to move yourself or a party through a city quickly.
Shadow monk warlock multiclass breakdown
Level 1
Warlock 1. You gain light armor and simple weapon proficiencies, and spellcasting ability. For cantrips, I would take mage hand and friends. For spells, I would take charm person and comprehend languages. These spells allow you to collect information, objects and help you on your way in and out. For the Patron I would take the Great Old One for the telepathy — great for sharing information within the party over a distance.
Level 2
Warlock 2. For your Eldritch Ivocations I would definitely take Devil’s Sight to see in magical darkness that you get at 3rd level. I would also take Eyes of the Rune Keeper, but you’ll be retraining it. I would also temporarily take hex.
Level 3
Warlock 3. For 2nd-level spells, retrain hex for darkness and pick up invisibility. I would also take the the Pact of the Chain and retrain your Eyes of the Rune Keeper Eldritch Invocation for the Voice of the Chain Master. These can increase your ability to move around and gather information without even being present.
Level 4
Warlock 4. ASI: Put both points into Charisma. This brings up your spell attack modifier to +6 and spell save DC 14. You should also pick up the ray of enfeeblement spell and prestidigitation.
Level 5
Monk 1. I am suggesting monk levels to go for the Way of Shadow abilities, but monk is a pretty solid class for a spy type character even without the Way of Shadow. At this point you can lose the armor to have a AC 15 with your Wisdom.
Level 6
Monk 2. Here, you get an additional 10 ft. of movement, which is always helpful. You get access to Ki and the related actions. The Step of the Wind will probably be the most useful, but options are not detrimental.
Level 7
Monk 3. Take the Way of the Shadow Monastic Tradition. From the start you can cast a number of spells that will help you move around undetected.
Level 8
Monk 4. Rounding out this build, Slow Fall is a good way to leave from a second or third floor window without taking much or any damage. ASI: Both into DEX to increase your Stealth, AC and attacks.
[NERDITOR’S NOTE: Want to try this D&D spy character out in your next game? Maybe for a campaign later this year like, oh I don’t know, Waterdeep: Dragon Heist? Here’s a character sheet created with D&D Beyond ready to print out and start rolling funny shaped dice (I filled in the missing skills and details like alignment and traits for you too. You’re welcome, internet).]
Sure, spy is a variant of the criminal background but this character didn’t stop spying when they became an adventurer! What’s your take on a D&D spy character? We’ve got the Nerdarchy crew’s take in the video below, let us know yours in the comments!
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