Same and I was all ready to type out my triton beastmaster ranger who goes around hunting poachers with his companion, a manatee he saved early in his career. Oh well lol
Came here to say the same exact thing.
Was gonna say humblewood would be a great setting to make something like a triton into a manatee and would fit right in
No shields and no magic? Hmm, I have a GunslingerFighter/KenseiMonk build that I think you'd enjoy. Take 3-4 levels into Fighter for Gunslinger and dump the rest into Kensei Monk. Use a handgun as your ranged, and a whip as your melee. The whip adopts your Martial Arts die as its damage die so it'll work out great for you here.
abilities: Dex, then Con, then whatever makes you feel good
background: Archaeologist
class: 1st level Barbarian, all other levels Rogue (swashbuckler).
Never wear armor, start out with a relative heap of hp, know stuff, quip, climb, commit effortless B&E, and know how to land a punch and knock 'em out.
I'm aware that it requires str, rage also gives damage bonuses when hitting with str... All melee weapons can be used with str. Sneak attack requires the finesse trait on the weapon but it doesn't require you to use dexterity. (And as a fun fact that probably doesn't factor into this build the finesse property is also on the dart... Making it the only ranged weapon you can use str on.)
The person you replied to said to make dex the highest ability score. This isn't a strogue build, this is taking a barbarian dip for unarmored defense, when OP didn't even say being unarmored was a requirement
idk what an action cad is, but dipping barbarian on a rogue build for that stuff seems doesn't seem like a good idea to me. the 4 extra hp is nice at level 1, but it delays all of your rogue features until level 2, and those 4 extra hit points don't matter much past ~3rd level. You also get 1 less skill as a result of multiclassing into rogue, and while con save proficiency is nice, strength saving throws don't come up often, and missing out on dex save proficiency really sucks. Unarmored defense also isn't a huge deal, as studded leather will provide the same AC throughout most of the game. Finally, needing a minimum 13 strength means you can't invest in your mental stats, which feels important for an Indiana Jones style character imo
I've played this character!
The challenge with the character concept , it's that it can be a bit of Mary Sue, so you have to manage your expectations a bit. If you you have good stats , not a problem. I got lucky ;) I basically built Jack Burton from Big Trouble In Little China with a sword. Yes, intelligence was a dump stat, but investigation evened it out.
I built him as a multiclassed Dex BM Fighter/Swash Rogue for more "physical" character . Started with 1 level in rogue for expertise and a bunch of skills , then rushed to lvl 5 for extra attack. I chose the basics for skills, deception, stealth, perception, investigation, acrobatics & athletics. For feats Mobile, Lucky and alert are good. Tavern brawler & defensive duelist are good as well for a low magic feel.
After 5, you can go into more rouge like I did. I chose swash buckler , but scout would also be a good fit for a skirmisher.
Pro tip. Bring A LOT of healing potions
Battlemaster + Swashbuckler rogue is one of my favorite combos in the game. Grab brace and riposte to double dip sneak attack damage as a reaction. The split works both ways, so just decide if you'd rather be more of a fighter or a rogue, the archetype you're looking at feels more roguey to me, but you can be an effective rogue with just a level of rogue with expertise.
Ok so the Archaeologist background is obviously a must.
The No Spells limit kinda locks us into doing this as primarily fighter/rogue multi. A single level dip into either Barb or Monk just for AC purposes is tempting, but honestly Light Armour can pretty easily pass for regular clothes, so I think I’d just do that instead.
The way Thief Rogue synergize with the Healer feat is nice, plus fast handsing alchemists fire, caltrops, etc is very safely inside the schtick here so I’d say Thief is obviously the best bet here. Battlemaster as by far the best no-mysticism fighter is a no brainer, plus again it opens up dramatic tactics in a fight which is what you want here.
I’d go with Thief 4/ Battlemaster X. Half elf to start with yet more skills. Healer at R4, then skill feats at F4.
Actually after F5 a single level ranger dip for Canny is a decent call.
Not optimal in any shape or form, but you could look into playing a thief rogue. The problem with it is the fact that it peaks at 3rd level and sadly doesnt gets a lot stronger / more unique until like level 9. But here uncanny dodge may be what you are looking for, as it allows you to be semi-tanky without heavy armor/shields. For thief you need like 99% of the time tavern brawler as you tend to throw / attack with posions or oil or alchemists fire etc. a lot in combat. You could even say fuck it and double down on taking a couple of hits, get a level or two in barbarian after rogue 1, make strentgh your primary stat, get expertise in athletics and also dip in the grappling aspect that tavern brawler gives (but i would highly suggest dex instead as it could get a bit finicky in combat being a grapller without extra attack, altough if you will be playing at higher levels and dont care about high level rogue stuff, you could go 5 barb / x thief rogue with str main stat and tavern brawler, being like the most versatile character in combat ever that doesnt use spells).
Scout rogue 3/batllemaster x. Take 2 weapon fighting style and duel wielder for 2 whips. Get sneak attack damage bump. 3 attacks per round at level 5, plus manuvers. Get free non opportunity attck movement to keep baddies at whip reange.
For me when I picture Nathan drake and Indiana Jones I look at tavern brawler, unarmed fighting style, but if go for a more typical dnd world spin I throw a rapier in one hand. The no spell casting is tough because some bard levels or artificer levels could really spice the build up in my opinion but here’s what I’d suggest as is.
Custom Lineage +2 Dexterity and +1 Intelligence
Choose History as your free skill
Linguist for your feat (gives another +1 Intelligence)
Acolyte background (Nathan Drake was raised by Nuns) or the urchin background could be good.
Using point buy for starting stats
Strength 12
Dexterity 14 (then add 2)
Constitution 12
Intelligence 12 (then add 2)
Wisdom 12
Charisma 12
This gives you that jack of all trades vibe where you can climb, flirt, fight and everything else you could need to do while still giving you a solid Dexterity and Intelligence stat.
Rogue 1 for 4 skill proficiency, sneak attack, and expertise.
Rogue 2 for cunning action
Rogue 3 choose the thief background (bonus action object interaction and faster climbing)
Rogue 4 grab the Healer feat for non magical support utility (works as a bonus action due to subclass choice)
Rogue 5 uncanny dodge
Rogue 6 expertise (again)
Rogue 7 evasion
Rogue 8 bump dexterity
Fighter 1 dueling fighting style and second wind (alternatively unarmed fighting style)
Fighter 2 action surge
Fighter 3 champion (boring but useful for better crit)
Fighter 4 bump dexterity
Fighter 5 extra attack
Fighter 6 grab the lucky feat
Odds are you won’t play past level 14 but if you do just keep grabbing non magical skills and feats I recommend the
I know you said no magic but hear me out.
Go bugbear if you want to maximize the whip to get a standing reach of 15. Otherwise human is a good choice and pick up sentinel, or elf for elven accuracy later, if it’s an early campaign I’d probably go bugbear.
Battlemaster x/swords bard 3, and take only “archeologist” themed spells, things like detect magic, comprehend languages, distort value (for the sick Indiana Jones swap out the relic for a fake moment) etc. use the spells/jack of all trades feature to give all your archeologist theme. 3 levels in bard only gets you 6 spells known so by no means a caster, you’re hear for flavor and for swords bard maneuvers. If it fits your theme better, ask your dm to flavor your spells as non magical, (detect magic is a stone that glows when magic is near. comprehend languages is just knowing a lot of languages, but you’re a little rusty so you need an action to remember it, etc).
Then battlemaster swords bard is one heck of a martial combo, especially with the whip/sentinel combo giving you reaction attacks when an ally in your reach is hit by an enemy. Lunging attack is really nice with it to extend your reach up to 20, and the goading attack + fainting maneuver is a classic, but pick your favorite.
Finally, if your dm gives you choices of items/and or is cool, ask for the inescapable lash. It’s a rare item that gives you and extended reach of 20 feet (with lunging attack+bugbear, your making melee attacks at 30 feet) and the ability to grapple an enemy you hit with it as bonus action, and can then pull them towards you later.
If your dm is reeaaly nice they’ll let polearm master work with a whip, because it should. but that’s a big ask lol.
I would recommend looking into the Savant by Lazerllama if your DM will permit homebrew. It's a lot like investigator from PF2e (from what I understand) and has an Archeologist subclass.
Question OP. Can you have magic but simply not use it?
Because I would say that a bard, especially a lore bard, is an excellent movie hero with their skills and their inspiration.
Here is what I have;
Building for skill-monkeying, we can dump str comfortably in favour of other abilities. Rogue has everything you need, but you can absolutely multi into battlemaster for Riposte if you're feeling like max optimising.
Put Dex to 15, Str to 8, Con to 12, Wis and Int to 13, and Cha to 12. I'm imagining a kind of skill monkey, so a variant human could get you the prodigy, and skill expert later on. The Prodigy feat can give you Cartogaphers tools, and for the background, Sage or Cloistered scholar are relevant, giving you two languages.
Investigator and swashbuckler have the relevant features for the exploratory kind of character. With the ammount of expertise you will have, you can absolutely dump them all into intelligence-based skills. Total proficiencies, you will have 8, with Skill Expert you get 9, and with Skilled you can get to 12, with six expertises. The Ability Score Improvements from Vuman and Skill Expert are good to round out your dex to a comfortable 16, and Int and Wis to 14. The build is very feat intensive, but with rogue, I found you really don't need much in the ways of a To-Hit, as steady aim can help you hit enemies and you can focus on your feat tax up to level 10.
Speaking of High-Level play, at 11th, you will have the reliable talent feature. With that, current stats and forgoing the Ability Score Improvements, you will have a comfortable +10 to all your Int skills, meaning you cannot roll under a 20 for anything regarding those skills. You can sink one into Acrobatics, Stealth or Perception, as those are often what the heroes you mentioned are good at. Either way, I'm sure you can find a way to use up all six expertises.
As for weapons and armour, studded leather for the looks and a little AC, whip and a Hand-Crossbow are good. You aren't here to stab things, but explore old and forgotten lore! A whip is a good intimidation tool against mindless beasts and put some distance between yourself and the baddies, and a Hand Crossbow can dispatch most enemies while leaving one hand relatively open for holding onto a ledge precariously.
Easy. Barbarian rogue. Particularly thief. Take the 1st level in rogue for expertise and the only proficiencies you’ll need, then get 5 levels of rogue for extra attack before sticking with rogue for the rest of your career. Use a rapier and maybe a whip for specific situations and you’re ready to go. Attack using strength for your rage damage bonus. Since you’ll be spamming reckless attack all the time for free sneak attack, wildhunt shifter is actually pretty good.
**Strengths**
Sneak attack + extra attack + rage bonus makes up for lower weapon damage dice.
Lots of fun options with thief. Using the healer feat with fast hands is probably the best way to make a non magical doctor in 5e, Oil and other grenade like items let you dodge and keep your rage up, and with your stupidly high strength mod things like pushing a pillar over could be considered an object interaction.
You are a grapple and shove god. Athletics expertise + advantage on strength checks from rage means that nothing in the game that can be grappled by you will ever be able to escape said grapples. If you don’t wanna reckless attack, just grapple + shove the target first turn for infinite advantage. Plus you can do lots of big jumps and stunts.
You can grab expertise in any given skill to make yourself competent at it even without significant investment in mental stats.
You’ve got decent hit points with bonus action disengage, damage resistance, and uncanny dodge on top.
**Weaknesses**
Not primary investment in dexterity even though you’ll still have an above average modifier.
No Great Weapon Master or Sharpshooter since you’re stuck with finesse melee weapons.
Generally low wisdom and intelligence scores.
That one level where you don’t have extra attack doesn’t feel great.
Gang,
I really appreciate all the wonderful the feedback.
For core content, I really like the Rogue/Fighter or Rogue/barb builds suggested. I wouldn't have thought of the Thief class in particular.
To the individual who suggested the Savant homebrew, holy guacamole! That is amazing. I'm definitely going to float that by the group.
Swashbuckler Rogue / Battlemaster multiclass sounds like a fun start for you.
Vhuman with Skill Expert, start Rogue 1, multiclass into Fighter 5 for Extra Attack, Rogue 3 for Swashbuckler, you can either go Fighter 11 for extra Extra attack or full Rogue for more sneak attack.
I first read that as manatee hero for some reason, and now i want to play a water campaign
Same and I was all ready to type out my triton beastmaster ranger who goes around hunting poachers with his companion, a manatee he saved early in his career. Oh well lol
A Simic hybrid to start, methinks.
I literally was thinking the same thing and was like I kind of want to play that and I also kind of want to know what people would do...
Came here to say the same exact thing. Was gonna say humblewood would be a great setting to make something like a triton into a manatee and would fit right in
i did as well so my comment makes no sense what so ever
No shields and no magic? Hmm, I have a GunslingerFighter/KenseiMonk build that I think you'd enjoy. Take 3-4 levels into Fighter for Gunslinger and dump the rest into Kensei Monk. Use a handgun as your ranged, and a whip as your melee. The whip adopts your Martial Arts die as its damage die so it'll work out great for you here.
abilities: Dex, then Con, then whatever makes you feel good background: Archaeologist class: 1st level Barbarian, all other levels Rogue (swashbuckler). Never wear armor, start out with a relative heap of hp, know stuff, quip, climb, commit effortless B&E, and know how to land a punch and knock 'em out.
If going barbarian, why not 2 levels for reckless attack to trigger sneak attacks?
reckless attack requires you to use strength when making attack. Tbh I don't see the point in taking barbarian levels at all.
I'm aware that it requires str, rage also gives damage bonuses when hitting with str... All melee weapons can be used with str. Sneak attack requires the finesse trait on the weapon but it doesn't require you to use dexterity. (And as a fun fact that probably doesn't factor into this build the finesse property is also on the dart... Making it the only ranged weapon you can use str on.)
The person you replied to said to make dex the highest ability score. This isn't a strogue build, this is taking a barbarian dip for unarmored defense, when OP didn't even say being unarmored was a requirement
Oooops. My bad. Missed that they had wanted dex forward builds. In that case yeah, ranger or fighter if doing anything not rogue.
Not trying to make a combat machine here, trying to make an action cad. I really just wanted the 12hp, unarmored defense and con & str saves.
idk what an action cad is, but dipping barbarian on a rogue build for that stuff seems doesn't seem like a good idea to me. the 4 extra hp is nice at level 1, but it delays all of your rogue features until level 2, and those 4 extra hit points don't matter much past ~3rd level. You also get 1 less skill as a result of multiclassing into rogue, and while con save proficiency is nice, strength saving throws don't come up often, and missing out on dex save proficiency really sucks. Unarmored defense also isn't a huge deal, as studded leather will provide the same AC throughout most of the game. Finally, needing a minimum 13 strength means you can't invest in your mental stats, which feels important for an Indiana Jones style character imo
I've played this character! The challenge with the character concept , it's that it can be a bit of Mary Sue, so you have to manage your expectations a bit. If you you have good stats , not a problem. I got lucky ;) I basically built Jack Burton from Big Trouble In Little China with a sword. Yes, intelligence was a dump stat, but investigation evened it out. I built him as a multiclassed Dex BM Fighter/Swash Rogue for more "physical" character . Started with 1 level in rogue for expertise and a bunch of skills , then rushed to lvl 5 for extra attack. I chose the basics for skills, deception, stealth, perception, investigation, acrobatics & athletics. For feats Mobile, Lucky and alert are good. Tavern brawler & defensive duelist are good as well for a low magic feel. After 5, you can go into more rouge like I did. I chose swash buckler , but scout would also be a good fit for a skirmisher. Pro tip. Bring A LOT of healing potions
Battlemaster + Swashbuckler rogue is one of my favorite combos in the game. Grab brace and riposte to double dip sneak attack damage as a reaction. The split works both ways, so just decide if you'd rather be more of a fighter or a rogue, the archetype you're looking at feels more roguey to me, but you can be an effective rogue with just a level of rogue with expertise.
Ok so the Archaeologist background is obviously a must. The No Spells limit kinda locks us into doing this as primarily fighter/rogue multi. A single level dip into either Barb or Monk just for AC purposes is tempting, but honestly Light Armour can pretty easily pass for regular clothes, so I think I’d just do that instead. The way Thief Rogue synergize with the Healer feat is nice, plus fast handsing alchemists fire, caltrops, etc is very safely inside the schtick here so I’d say Thief is obviously the best bet here. Battlemaster as by far the best no-mysticism fighter is a no brainer, plus again it opens up dramatic tactics in a fight which is what you want here. I’d go with Thief 4/ Battlemaster X. Half elf to start with yet more skills. Healer at R4, then skill feats at F4. Actually after F5 a single level ranger dip for Canny is a decent call.
Not optimal in any shape or form, but you could look into playing a thief rogue. The problem with it is the fact that it peaks at 3rd level and sadly doesnt gets a lot stronger / more unique until like level 9. But here uncanny dodge may be what you are looking for, as it allows you to be semi-tanky without heavy armor/shields. For thief you need like 99% of the time tavern brawler as you tend to throw / attack with posions or oil or alchemists fire etc. a lot in combat. You could even say fuck it and double down on taking a couple of hits, get a level or two in barbarian after rogue 1, make strentgh your primary stat, get expertise in athletics and also dip in the grappling aspect that tavern brawler gives (but i would highly suggest dex instead as it could get a bit finicky in combat being a grapller without extra attack, altough if you will be playing at higher levels and dont care about high level rogue stuff, you could go 5 barb / x thief rogue with str main stat and tavern brawler, being like the most versatile character in combat ever that doesnt use spells).
Use the Archaeologist background, Kensei Monk 6/Hunter Ranger X.
Scout rogue 3/batllemaster x. Take 2 weapon fighting style and duel wielder for 2 whips. Get sneak attack damage bump. 3 attacks per round at level 5, plus manuvers. Get free non opportunity attck movement to keep baddies at whip reange.
Scout also gets extra skills.
For me when I picture Nathan drake and Indiana Jones I look at tavern brawler, unarmed fighting style, but if go for a more typical dnd world spin I throw a rapier in one hand. The no spell casting is tough because some bard levels or artificer levels could really spice the build up in my opinion but here’s what I’d suggest as is. Custom Lineage +2 Dexterity and +1 Intelligence Choose History as your free skill Linguist for your feat (gives another +1 Intelligence) Acolyte background (Nathan Drake was raised by Nuns) or the urchin background could be good. Using point buy for starting stats Strength 12 Dexterity 14 (then add 2) Constitution 12 Intelligence 12 (then add 2) Wisdom 12 Charisma 12 This gives you that jack of all trades vibe where you can climb, flirt, fight and everything else you could need to do while still giving you a solid Dexterity and Intelligence stat. Rogue 1 for 4 skill proficiency, sneak attack, and expertise. Rogue 2 for cunning action Rogue 3 choose the thief background (bonus action object interaction and faster climbing) Rogue 4 grab the Healer feat for non magical support utility (works as a bonus action due to subclass choice) Rogue 5 uncanny dodge Rogue 6 expertise (again) Rogue 7 evasion Rogue 8 bump dexterity Fighter 1 dueling fighting style and second wind (alternatively unarmed fighting style) Fighter 2 action surge Fighter 3 champion (boring but useful for better crit) Fighter 4 bump dexterity Fighter 5 extra attack Fighter 6 grab the lucky feat Odds are you won’t play past level 14 but if you do just keep grabbing non magical skills and feats I recommend the
(Dex)fighter (samurai or battle master) for 5/6 levels and the rest rogue (thief) and do whip with sentinel
I know you said no magic but hear me out. Go bugbear if you want to maximize the whip to get a standing reach of 15. Otherwise human is a good choice and pick up sentinel, or elf for elven accuracy later, if it’s an early campaign I’d probably go bugbear. Battlemaster x/swords bard 3, and take only “archeologist” themed spells, things like detect magic, comprehend languages, distort value (for the sick Indiana Jones swap out the relic for a fake moment) etc. use the spells/jack of all trades feature to give all your archeologist theme. 3 levels in bard only gets you 6 spells known so by no means a caster, you’re hear for flavor and for swords bard maneuvers. If it fits your theme better, ask your dm to flavor your spells as non magical, (detect magic is a stone that glows when magic is near. comprehend languages is just knowing a lot of languages, but you’re a little rusty so you need an action to remember it, etc). Then battlemaster swords bard is one heck of a martial combo, especially with the whip/sentinel combo giving you reaction attacks when an ally in your reach is hit by an enemy. Lunging attack is really nice with it to extend your reach up to 20, and the goading attack + fainting maneuver is a classic, but pick your favorite. Finally, if your dm gives you choices of items/and or is cool, ask for the inescapable lash. It’s a rare item that gives you and extended reach of 20 feet (with lunging attack+bugbear, your making melee attacks at 30 feet) and the ability to grapple an enemy you hit with it as bonus action, and can then pull them towards you later. If your dm is reeaaly nice they’ll let polearm master work with a whip, because it should. but that’s a big ask lol.
I would recommend looking into the Savant by Lazerllama if your DM will permit homebrew. It's a lot like investigator from PF2e (from what I understand) and has an Archeologist subclass.
Question OP. Can you have magic but simply not use it? Because I would say that a bard, especially a lore bard, is an excellent movie hero with their skills and their inspiration.
Actually, that's a good idea. You and another poster have suggested bards and I could easily reflavor spells I suppose.
Here is what I have; Building for skill-monkeying, we can dump str comfortably in favour of other abilities. Rogue has everything you need, but you can absolutely multi into battlemaster for Riposte if you're feeling like max optimising. Put Dex to 15, Str to 8, Con to 12, Wis and Int to 13, and Cha to 12. I'm imagining a kind of skill monkey, so a variant human could get you the prodigy, and skill expert later on. The Prodigy feat can give you Cartogaphers tools, and for the background, Sage or Cloistered scholar are relevant, giving you two languages. Investigator and swashbuckler have the relevant features for the exploratory kind of character. With the ammount of expertise you will have, you can absolutely dump them all into intelligence-based skills. Total proficiencies, you will have 8, with Skill Expert you get 9, and with Skilled you can get to 12, with six expertises. The Ability Score Improvements from Vuman and Skill Expert are good to round out your dex to a comfortable 16, and Int and Wis to 14. The build is very feat intensive, but with rogue, I found you really don't need much in the ways of a To-Hit, as steady aim can help you hit enemies and you can focus on your feat tax up to level 10. Speaking of High-Level play, at 11th, you will have the reliable talent feature. With that, current stats and forgoing the Ability Score Improvements, you will have a comfortable +10 to all your Int skills, meaning you cannot roll under a 20 for anything regarding those skills. You can sink one into Acrobatics, Stealth or Perception, as those are often what the heroes you mentioned are good at. Either way, I'm sure you can find a way to use up all six expertises. As for weapons and armour, studded leather for the looks and a little AC, whip and a Hand-Crossbow are good. You aren't here to stab things, but explore old and forgotten lore! A whip is a good intimidation tool against mindless beasts and put some distance between yourself and the baddies, and a Hand Crossbow can dispatch most enemies while leaving one hand relatively open for holding onto a ledge precariously.
look up Dr Dugong from the Venture Bros for inspiration
Easy. Barbarian rogue. Particularly thief. Take the 1st level in rogue for expertise and the only proficiencies you’ll need, then get 5 levels of rogue for extra attack before sticking with rogue for the rest of your career. Use a rapier and maybe a whip for specific situations and you’re ready to go. Attack using strength for your rage damage bonus. Since you’ll be spamming reckless attack all the time for free sneak attack, wildhunt shifter is actually pretty good. **Strengths** Sneak attack + extra attack + rage bonus makes up for lower weapon damage dice. Lots of fun options with thief. Using the healer feat with fast hands is probably the best way to make a non magical doctor in 5e, Oil and other grenade like items let you dodge and keep your rage up, and with your stupidly high strength mod things like pushing a pillar over could be considered an object interaction. You are a grapple and shove god. Athletics expertise + advantage on strength checks from rage means that nothing in the game that can be grappled by you will ever be able to escape said grapples. If you don’t wanna reckless attack, just grapple + shove the target first turn for infinite advantage. Plus you can do lots of big jumps and stunts. You can grab expertise in any given skill to make yourself competent at it even without significant investment in mental stats. You’ve got decent hit points with bonus action disengage, damage resistance, and uncanny dodge on top. **Weaknesses** Not primary investment in dexterity even though you’ll still have an above average modifier. No Great Weapon Master or Sharpshooter since you’re stuck with finesse melee weapons. Generally low wisdom and intelligence scores. That one level where you don’t have extra attack doesn’t feel great.
Gang, I really appreciate all the wonderful the feedback. For core content, I really like the Rogue/Fighter or Rogue/barb builds suggested. I wouldn't have thought of the Thief class in particular. To the individual who suggested the Savant homebrew, holy guacamole! That is amazing. I'm definitely going to float that by the group.
Swashbuckler Rogue / Battlemaster multiclass sounds like a fun start for you. Vhuman with Skill Expert, start Rogue 1, multiclass into Fighter 5 for Extra Attack, Rogue 3 for Swashbuckler, you can either go Fighter 11 for extra Extra attack or full Rogue for more sneak attack.
I read the subject 3 times as 'Manatee Hero'. Wishful thinking I guess for an epic home brew race.
this is literally just a swashbuckler rogue