The following Dungeons & Dragons subclasses can thoroughly foil a Dungeon Master's combat encounters, especially in multiclass combo builds.

In a campaign of Dungeons & Dragons, the goal of Dungeon Masters is to create challenges players can eventually overcome with a combination of planning, daring, and enough lucky rolls of the dice; players who study the mechanics of D&D character creation, however, can create multi-class builds capable of trivializing balanced encounters or evening the odds in campaigns run by "killer DMs." The following 5th edition D&D subclasses are particularly potent when used in multi-class character builds, letting players become un-killable, inflict godly amounts of damage in a single turn, or shut down a Dungeon Master's favorite tricks.

As Dungeons & Dragons, the world's first fantasy tabletop roleplaying game, evolved over several decades, the expected relationship between the RPG's Dungeon Master, their rules, and their players slowly changed. The original campaign modules designed and run by D&D co-creator Gary Gygax were built around the notion of an antagonistic DM who tried their best to kill all the characters in an adventuring party while never making the challenges utterly unfair (this old-school approach to DMing reached its zenith in the infamous Tomb Of Horrors campaign module). More modern editions of D&D present DMs and players more as collaborators, working together to weave an epic tale of magic, peril, and adventure.

Related: D&D: History Of The Tomb Of Horrors (& Why It’s The Ultimate Challenge)

But even the rules of Dungeons & Dragons 5th edition still assume DMs will create combat encounters capable of causing a "total party wipe" if the dice of players are cursed and they refuse to act intelligently. To this end, the Monster Manuals and Dungeon Master's Guides of D&D 5e give DMs a series of tools for making the life of fantasy adventurers player characters difficult – giant monsters with multi-attack actions, wizard antagonists who cast debilitating spells in the first round of combat, Mind Flayers with brain-eating attacks that can insta-kill PCs, etc. How potent these "DM Tools" are depends on the equipment, spells, and class abilities of an adventuring party; a multiclass D&D player character build with subclasses like the ones below can "break" even the most deadly combat encounters under the right circumstances.

The Druid of D&D 5th Edition is by itself a high-tier character class, giving players access to a useful mix of destructive and restorative spells while also letting them shape-shift into animals with powerful melee attacks and large amounts of HP. The "Circle Of The Druid" subclass takes the basic versatility of the 5e Druid and leans heavily into the concept of Druids who can talk with and command wild animals (i.e., a militant Snow White). At 5th level, a D&D Circle of the Shepherd Druid gains access to the Conjure Animals spells, which lets a player summon packs of small animals or single large animals to aid them in battle; at 6th level, these conjured animals gain more health and deal magic damage, letting them bypass the resistances of otherwise durable foes. Any multi-class build with six levels in the Circle of the Shepherd Druid subclass (Fighters, Rogues, Monks, and Clerics each pair well with Druids) is theoretically capable of calling down a swarm of local critters to utterly maul an otherwise implacable "boss" enemy, particularly if they're able to summon Raptors or other animals with the pack tactics ability.

The "Sorcadin" – i.e. a D&D Sorcerer/Paladin build – is one of the most potent multi-class builds in Dungeons & Dragons 5th edition thanks to the sheer synergy of each class's respective spell-casting abilities. Both Sorcerers and Paladins use their Charisma to cast spells, minimizing the need of players to invest in multiple attributes; furthermore, a player with a Sorcadin character can use high level spell slots from their Sorcerer class levels to empower the Paladin's divine smite ability, letting them deal heavy amounts of damage with a single weapon strike.

Related: D&D: Why Dragonlance Characters Get Free Feats

Each Paladin and Sorcerer subclass can be combined to create a novel and useful variant of Sorcadin, but the Storm Sorcerer subclass is particularly useful for Sorcadin or "Gish" D&D characters who want to mix it up in close combat; the 1st level "Tempestuous Magic" Feature lets Storm Sorcadins fly ten feet in any direction after casting a spell without provoking opportunities attacks, while the "Heart Of The Storm" Feature lets Storm Sorcadins deal extra area-of-effect damage when they cast a thunder/lightning spell like the Paladin's thunderous smite.

Though less complex than it was in previous editions, grappling in Dungeons & Dragons 5e is still extremely useful if a player specs their character properly. Abilities like the Barbarian's Rage, the Rogue's Expertise, or magical spells like Enlarge or Enhance Ability can give players huge bonuses to the Athletics checks needed to wrestle foes hand-to-hand in D&D. Once successfully grappled and knocked prone, most D&D enemies are vulnerable to close-range attacks and must move wherever the grappler goes, letting canny players completely shut down a Dungeon Master's fiercest "boss" enemies (or drop them off the nearest cliff).

Dungeons & Dragons players who want to create a multi-class Bard with strong grappling abilities are often better off picking the College of Lore Bard subclass, even though the martial-themed College of Valor Bard subclass may seem the better choice. Two key features make the College of Lore Bard a deceptively potent pick for aspiring magical grapplers; first off, the D&D College of Lore Bard's exclusive "Cutting Words" Feature lets them spend Inspiration Dice to insult enemies, giving said enemy penalties to the attack rolls and ability checks needed to break free of grapples. Second, the "Additional Magical Secrets" feature of the Lord Bard gives them more opportunities to unlock useful spells from other classes – spiritual guardians to damage grappled foes at the start of their turns, counterspell to stop enemies from escaping the grapple using magic, etc. As a Charisma-using spellcaster, the Bard class pairs well with other charismatic magic classes such as Sorcerer or Warlock. For magical grappling builds, though, the Bard class is best multiclassed with Dungeons & Dragons martial classes such as the Fighter, Rogue, or Paladin.

Next: Mythic Musicians To Inspire D&D Players Creating Bard Characters

A Chicago-based Writer, Author and freelance translator. Looking to prep his readers for the next renaissance or apocalypse, whichever comes first. Write and publishes web fiction under the pseudonym Aldo Salt on Inkshares.com.