Gorilla Grodd

This was an interesting build cause there isn't a playable race for a gorilla. So I went to Pinterest and found Beast folk it was perfect so I want to thank /u/coolgamertagbro for making it. So to start you get a +2 and a +1 in any ability score, Wild and Free: advantage on saving throws against being charmed. Speed: 30 feet. You get to pick 2 abilities from a list. The two I picked up were. Adept Climber: Proficiency in Athletics and a 30’ climbing speed. Jumper: Proficiency in Acrobatics and jump distance is doubled. Languages are common and beast speech. I went with the Criminal Background so I can get the proficiencies in Deception, Stealth and Thieves tools.

Grodd is smart, beefy and strong. I'm using my homebrew stats 17, 15, 13, 12, 10 and 8. I'm going to put the +2 into Con and the +1 to Int

Here's how I put the scores

Str:12(+1) Dex:10(0) Con:15(+2) Int:16(+3) Wis:8(-1) Cha:17(+3)

I decided to start with Fighter mainly because I wanted the proficiencies in Intimidation and Perception. As a 1st level Fighter You get a fighting style with Grodd the only one that comes to mind is unarmed fighting (strikes deal bludgeoning damage equal to 1D6 + Str Mod if you aren't wielding a weapon or shield they become D8’s). We also get Second Wind letting us regain HP equal to 1D10 + Fighter level as a bonus action. So we’re going to stay with Fighter for our 2nd level mainly for Action Surge giving us an additional action on our turn. This feature returns after a short or long rest.

Now for the fun part we jump over to Sorcerer specifically Aberrant Mind.

At 1st level we get Psionic Spell at certain levels and these can be switched out for Divination or Enchantment spells from the Sorcerer, Warlock and Wizard spell lists.

Psionic Spells at level 1 Mind Sliver(cantrip) Dissonant Whispers (1st) and Arms of Hader (but we’ll be switching this out with the 1st level spell HEX). We get Telepathic Speech( you can form a telepathic connection between your mind and another mind you can speak telepathically a number of miles equal to your Cha Mod). Also at 1st level we get 4 cantrips and 2 1st level spells.

There are many Cantrips that will work for this build but the 4 I would start with and most likely keep throughout the build are Minor Illusion, Thunderclap, Shocking Grasp and prestidigitation.

1st level spells I would go with Charm Person and Silvery Barbs (if allowed I know some DM’s think it's broken and don’t allow it at the table.) otherwise take Shield. At 2nd level we get one more known spell if you can. The 3 listed are what I’d have, otherwise you can pick any one. I would recommend Earth Tremor, Magic Missile, Sleep or Jump(Quadrupling your distance now) You also get Font of Magic which gives you Sorcery points that you can use to get spell slots back. You start with 2 and you gain another point every time you gain a level in Sorcerer.

At 3rd level we get the Psionic Spells Calm Emotion( we’ll switch this out for ENTHRALL) and Detect Thoughts. We’ll also have access to 2nd level spells. I would go for Hold Person, Mind Spike or Suggestion. We also get Metamagic giving us the ability to twist our spells to suit our needs. We start with 2. I would pick up Quickened Spell( spend 2 SP to change the casting time to 1 bonus action for the casting time), and Subtle Spell( spend 1 SP to cast it w/o any somatic or verbal components). So now you can cast a spell like Dissonant Whispers using a bonus action to cast the Cantrip Mind Sliver as an action then Action Surge Quicking another spell like Hold Person or even Mind Spike (if you want to do damage) All this damage is Psychic too. At 4th level we get to have 5 known spells and another Cantrip. I would probably pick up the Firebolt Cantrip and for my other known spell it would one listed above. However you could easily pick up if you wanted to (Blur, Enlarge/Reduce, Invisibility, Levitate, Misty Step or Tasha’s Mind Whip). We also now get an ASI or a Feat here is where I would pick up Telekinetic( you get a +1 to either your Int, Wis or Cha I would put it in Cha making it an 18{+4}, you get the Mage Hand cantrip and can cast it w/o verbal or somatic components and you can make it invisible and as a bonus action you can try to telekinetically shove a creature w/in 30’ of you they must succeed a Str saving throw {DC 8 + PB + Cha Mod 8+3+4=15}

At 5th level we get the Psionic Spells Hunger of Hader and Sending( we’ll switch for TONGUES). We also get access to 3rd level spells; the two that stand out to me are Fear and Counterspell. At 6th level you now have 7 known spells so the 3rd level spells ( Dispel Magic, Fly, Haste and Hypnotic Pattern are all good picks also). Also we get Psionic Sorcery( when you cast a Psionic Spell you can spend SP equal to the spells level, it requires no verbal, somatic components and no material components unless they are consumed by the spell. We also get Psychic Defenses( we get resistance to psychic damage and adv on saving throws against being charmed or frightened).

At 7th level we get the Psionic Spells Evard’s Black Tentacles and Summon Aberration( switch for FEEBLEMIND). We now get access to 4th level spells; two good ones are Confusion or Greater Invisibility( you could also take Charm Monster, Dominate Beast or Polymorph). At 8th level our spells known are now 9 and we get another ASI or Feat: I would put the +2 into my Cha maxing it out to 20(+5) making our spell save DC 17 and our spell attack mod +9.

At 9th level we get our last two Psionic Spells: Rary's Telepathic Bond( switch for DOMINATE PERSON) and Telekinesis. We get our 6th and last Cantrip. I would pick up Chill Touch. We get access to 5th level spells: Synaptic Static is my go to here however, Bigby’s Hand and Hold Monster are worth a try as well. At 10th level we get another Metamagic Empowered Spell( spend 1 SP to reroll a number of damage die up to your Cha Mod. You must use the new rolls). Or Twinned Spell( spells that target only 1 creature and doesn’t have a range of self, you can spend SP equal to the spells level to target a second creature w/in range of the same spell).

At 11th level we get access to 6th level spells; now here’s where we need to get picky cause we’ll only have 1 spell slot for 6th, 7th 8th and 9th. The only ones that I would even look at are Mental Prison, Globe of Invulnerability or Mass Suggestion. At 12th level we get an ASI or Feat this is really an up in the air and could go either way you can put the +2 into Dex bumping your AC up (Breastplate + Dex Mod = 15) or you can take Alert( you can’t be surprised while conscious, +5 to initiative and other creatures don’t gain adv on attack rolls against you as a result of being unseen by you).

At 13th level we get access to 7th level spells the Sorcerer spell list here is not good and with only the 1 spell slot it's almost worth up casting a lower level spell but if your heart is set on having a 7th level spell the ones that fit for Grodd are Reverse Gravity or Power Word Pain. At 14th level, you get Revelation in Flesh, you can unleash the aberrant truth hidden within yourself. As a bonus action, you can spend 1 or more sorcery points to magically transform your body for 10 minutes. For each sorcery point you spend, you can gain one of the following benefits of your choice, the effects of which last until the transformation ends: and honestly not a single transformation works with our Grodd build.

At 15th level we get access to 8th level spells which are shorter than 7th level spells list. However, Dominate Monster takes the top slot with Earthquake and Power Word Stun coming in a close second. At 16th level we'll get our last ASI or Feat. I would take the Tough feat giving you an extra 36 HP and depending on your rolls you'd have around 156 HP right now which for a Sorcerer is pretty good.

At 17th level we finally get 9th level spells now. I know that Wish is a good spell but I don't see it working for Grodd. That's why I went with Psychic Scream. Time Stop and Power Word Kill will also be good options. Our cap stone is 18th level Sorcerer. Here we get our last Aberrant Mind ability. Warping Implosion( As an action, you can teleport to an unoccupied space you can see w/in 120’ of you. Once you disappear creatures w/in 30’ of you must make a Str save. On a fail they take 3D10 force damage and are pulled towards the space you left. On a success they take half damage and aren’t pulled). This can have some interesting tactics like jump off a cliff then teleport pulling everyone off possibly.

Now that we’re done some of the pros of this build spells and a lot of them you have many options and most of the damage is psychic which most players won’t have resistance to. We’re mobile with a climbing speed of 30’ and jumping high and far. Cons we’re still squishy so we’ll need meat shields and a lot of them plus our spell slots are limited once we get to 11th level and higher. This is also a time to mention that if you home brew spells or find ones on Pinterest use them I would I currently have 146 spells pinned to my wall ranging from Cantrips up to 9th level and some I would definitely put on Gorilla Grodd if I was playing him. I hope you enjoyed reading this as much as I enjoyed making it.