Low-level Multiattack Builds
Extra attacks at low levels are fun, flavorful, and effective
I read a comment recently that rolling dice is fun. That rather self-evident statement led me down the garden path to thinking about what makes a build enjoyable to play. There is a lot to that question, but today I want to focus on one answer: having more than one attack on a turn.
I recently DMed a couple of sessions with three L1 characters: a monk, a druid, and a barbarian. On paper many would say that the monk is the least powerful of these three classes but in practice the monk became the star of every combat. Part of this was that the dice seemed to be in her favor. But a lot of it was the bonus action unarmed strike. With two attacks instead of one, the monk was just much more likely to hit on any given turn, and when you're dealing with something like the 4hp twig blights in Sunless Citadel or the 2hp sprites from my favorite homebrew introductory scenario, the fact that a monk was routinely killing one or two enemies per round while the barbarian often killed zero became kind of a recurring theme.
Perhaps at higher levels, other classes… well, outclass the monk in terms of DPR. But the gameplay experience of these players in this scenario was that the monk just felt much more effective.
The math backs that up. Going by rpgbot's 65% benchmark, a barbarian swinging an axe or a druid firing off a spell should expect to hit 65% of the time. Meaning in a typical fast 5e 3-round combat, you're looking at two turns in which these characters put out damage and one in which they don’t. Furthermore, each combat only affords three chances to do damage - meaning a miss feels like a significant missed opportunity. On the other hand, a monk using the bonus action unarmed strike only has about a 12% chance - about one in eight - of missing with both attacks in a turn. That means on average the monk only has a non-damaging turn about once every three combats.
So how did this play out in my game?
At level 2, the druid took Circle of Stars. This lets the druid use Wild Shape as a bonus action to gain a ranged spell attack that does 1d8+Wis. So basically every combat, the druid can fire a Starry Form: Archer shot and a spell or cantrip. Two attacks per round.
At level 3, the barbarian took Path of the Beast. When the barbarian rages they can get claws which do 1d6+Str+2, and, pursuant to the current topic, they get two claw attacks per round.
So both of these characters are now competitive with the monk for DPR - in fact the druid, with options like Moonbeam, is probably more reliable at dishing out damage at this point - but more importantly the players feel more effective because they're having a measurable effect on the combat on almost every turn, rather than only on ~65% of turns.
So I have to wonder if seeing the monk with her two attacks per round influenced the other players' decision of which subclasses to opt for. Is it a coincidence that all three characters ended up with bonus attacks at level 3, or were my players enticed to choose these specific subclasses by the lure of getting an extra attack each round?
By the way, I’ve had a similar experience playing a monk in 5e as well: at least at very low levels, it's just significantly more fun to be rolling twice as many attacks as my fellow party members, and hitting at least once in almost every round. So, I decided to compile a list of the characters that have more than one attack (or offensive option) on the average round.
Technically, any character of any class can use the Two-Weapon Fighting option in combat, but its restrictions (light melee weapons only, no stat bonus to damage for the off-hand attack) usually prevent it from really being a viable option, so I'm not including it in the main list. There are also classes that allow bonus actions that buff the regular action - Hunter's Mark, Hex, Shillelagh - but these still ultimately rely on only one attack roll per turn. I'm looking specifically for builds with features that grant viable extra chances to hurt the opponent in any round. I’m also excluding features like the War Cleric’s extra attack, which can only be used at most three times per long rest at level 1.
Starting from Level 1
1. The basic monk - 2 attacks per round at level 1.
2. The Fathomless Warlock - regular action + Tentacle of the Deep.
3. Fighter with the Two-Weapon Fighting fighting style.
4. A variant human with the Polearm Master feat.
5. A variant human with the Crossbow Expert feat.
Starting from Level 2
1. Druids: Circle of Stars, as mentioned above. Or take any circle, and wild shape into a beast with Multiattack. Circle of the Moon obviously offers the best options for this.
2. Ranger (or Bloodhunter) with the Two-Weapon Fighting fighting style.
3. Artificer - infuse a homonculus, use a bonus action to command it to fire a force strike. Depending on subclass, Artificers can also get much better options from level 3, such as the Armorer's gauntlets, the Artillerist's cannons, or the Battle Smith's Steel Defender.
Starting from Level 3
1. Barbarian with Path of the Beast, as mentioned above.
2. Bard, College of Swords, Two-Weapon Fighting fighting style.
3. Rogue, Soulknife's Psychic Blades feature.
4. The Spiritual Weapon spell. Available to Clerics and Divine Soul Sorcerers.
5. The Flaming Sphere spell. Available to Wizards, Druids, and Celestial Warlocks.
At level 4, feats open up for all characters, and at level 5, martials get their second attacks and casters get good AoEs (think fireball), so if you can wait for Tier 2, getting reliable damage every round starts to become a lot easier.
I don't know if this play style is for everyone. Some might prefer the relatively higher-stakes but higher-damage classes. Hitting with the paladin's smite or the rogue's sneak attack is its own kind of satisfaction especially since a low-level character routinely dishing out double digit damage from a single attack can feel spectacular in its own way.
Some of these builds - the Polearm Master and Crossbow Expert fighters, for instance - are among 5e's most powerful builds in terms of DPR. Other builds are relatively weak over the long term, but can still be fun and flavorful characters to play. But if you want to have a lot to do in combat in a lower-level module like Sunless Citadel or Lost Mines of Phandelver, give some of these options a try.