Play Your Next 5E D&D Game as a Drunken Tactician

Over at Nerdarchy the YouTube channel Nerdarchists Dave and Ted take a shot for a very fluid fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons character. Sometimes these character builds start with a narrative and sometimes they mash different classes together out of mechanical curiosity. In the case of the Drunken Tactician it’s the latter. This 5E D&D character started with mechanics and built a narrative around them. Let’s get into it.

Behind the CBG — Drunken Tactician

Every CBG we create considers the journey as much as the final outcome. We aim to present a guide suitable for any level of 5E D&D play whether you’re pursuing an epic campaign from start to finish, starting beyond 1st level or choosing a character for a one shot. Then we take those concepts and develop an NPC or creature version of the character build for DMs to incorporate into their games. All of this gets packaged up and laid out in a PDF you can find over at Dungeon Master’s Guild. We’ve got dozens of pay what you want products at DMG, many of them best sellers so if you want to check those out start with the Drunken Tactician here.

All about the character story

Each CBG starts with a character concept sticking to a particular schtick, from the Mind Breaker’s psyche crushing smites to the Drunken Tactician’s thirst for a compelling narrative. Sometimes puns and pop culture references instigate the creation of a CBG too. And while the drunken style doesn’t necessitate actually being drunk, we like the idea this character incorporates their experience with dwarven monks into their fighting style. While they may drink to forget the terrible things they witnessed as a soldier, as an adventurer they apply whatever wisdom gained through those experiences in a tactical, if unorthodox way.

For us it’s important to consider who these characters are as individuals and why they follow these particular paths. One special thing to note with this CBG is while we always aim to make the journey to 20th level as practical as possible — none of these characters “come online” after an awkward slog through many levels — the Drunken Tactician is more about the interplay between the character’s backstory and journey with the features they gain along the way. In this regard the Drunken Tactician checks all the boxes for us by 4th level.

Tactical Drunk NPC for 5E D&D

Full disclosure — the NPCs and creatures we make in CBGs are some of my favorite bits of 5E D&D content to create. We step back and look at the character build to find the standout features that feel like signature abilities. The juice! From there we consider what sort of person or people would possess or gain these abilities and build a stat block around them. More often than not the section of a CBG For Dungeon Masters presents a generic creature.

For the NPC version of the Drunken Tactician character build we cleaved to the narrative we imagined so this character is truly a drunk and not merely emulating the jerky, unpredictable movements of a drunkard. The Tactical Drunk could come across humorously but could be an opportunity for a more serious encounter. This NPC experienced severe trauma and doesn’t want to think about the past. Getting them to open up and share their tale could be therapeutic for them and rewarding for the characters and players.

Did I Do That? Characters see a drunk stumbling through town using a battered sword in a scabbard for a cane. A group of thugs tries to steal it. Characters who intercede on the drunk’s behalf make a friend, or they see the drunk easily best these thugs then wander off in a stupor. When the characters see the drunk later and ask about it the incident, they don’t remember.

“Languid Movement. The tactical drunk moves erratically, throwing off their opponents. Whenever the tactical drunk is prone, it can stand up by spending 5 feet of movement. In addition, when it makes a melee attack against a creature, it doesn’t provoke opportunity attacks from that creature for the rest of the turn, whether it hits or not.”

If your next 5E D&D game needs a character who packs a lot of options for moving around and controlling the battlefield — whether you’re the DM or a player — check out the Drunken Tactician Character Build Guide here.

*Featured image — Jackie Chan stars as the mischievous young son of a martial arts school master who is sent to his sadistic uncle for discipline training in the comedy kung fu classic Drunken Master.

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