Full Build Friday - Dismas the Highwayman
- bjacobt1
- 3 hours ago
- 11 min read
This was a request that I received a while back and one that I wanted to put together before I head out on a little vacation. I have to admit, it went different places than I was expecting it to! As always, this build is conceptualized entirely in a vacuum, with choices made in my best attempt to fit the character. These choice may not hold up in a campaign with different themes and should be adjusted accordingly.
This will be the last video for a little bit until I'm back from that vacation, so I hope you check it out.
Let's get into the build for Dismas the Highwayman from Darkest Dungeon!
THE HIGHWAYMAN
CHARACTER Dismas the Highwayman
SOURCE Darkest Dungeon
BUILD GOALS
o A former bandit seeking redemption, the Highwayman is a swift class able to deal out high damage with his sword and pistol
o He makes attacks with his blade through Wicked Slice as well as Open Vein, the latter of which causes bleed and reduces speed
o There’s also Duelist’s Advance, which deals damage, moves the Highwayman forward, and sets him up to riposte foes
o He uses his pistol for Pistol Shot, which deals extra damage to marked creatures. Point Blank Shot knocks back enemies and Grapeshot Blast hits a group of enemies
o There’s also Tracking Shot, which deals smaller damage while revealing enemies and increasing the Highwayman’s own damage and accuracy
o For his camping skills, Gallows Hammer reduces stress, Unparalleled Finesse buffs his melee combat while his Clean Guns buff his ranged combat, and Bandit’s Sense makes it harder for enemies to surprise the party while allowing the party to better surprise their foes
Summary of Goals: Dismas should be built as a nimble criminal who wields gun and blade in tandem. He nimbly moves about the battlefield while inflicting high damage and debilitations upon his foes. Importantly, he can set up a riposte to strike back against enemies that try to attack him.
LEVEL 1
Ancestry & Heritage: Versatile Human
o Ability Boosts & Flaws: +Strength, +Dexterity
o Ancestry Feat: Gloomseer
o General Feat: Fleet
Background: Bandit
o Ability Boosts: +Dexterity, +Charisma
o Skill Increase: Intimidation (T), Terrain Lore (T)
o Background Feat: Group Coercion
Class & Subclass: Rascal Style Swashbuckler
o Class Ability Boost: +Dexterity
o Skill Increase: Acrobatics (T), Athletics (T), Diplomacy (T), Warfare Lore (T), Occultism (T), Stealth (T), Thievery (T)
o Class Feat: Flashy Dodge
Details
o Ability Boosts: +Dexterity, +Constitution, +Intelligence, +Wisdom (Str +1, Dex +4, Con +1, Int +1, Wis +1, Cha +1)
Starting in on the basics, Dismas will be a human and take advantage of the versatile heritage to pick up an early Fleet feat to demonstrate some of his alacrity. Gloomseer is mostly wish fulfillment for Darkest Dungeon so that he doesn’t have to waste so many goddamn torches! Given the limited information we have on his history, the bandit background seems obvious and we will actually make use of Terrain Lore skill. Just make sure to ask your GM what terrain will be useful in the campaign that they are running. There are a lot of options you could go for when it comes to class and I’d love to hear some of your ideas, but I settled on swashbuckler, which will put a slight focus on his melee combat. He’ll be able to wield a dueling pistol alongside something like a shortsword or a dogslicer as the backstabber trait is something that he can make use of. None of the 1st-level class feats particularly suit him, but he has a decent dodge score to influence the use of Flashy Dodge, which is also just a good way to panache.
LEVEL 2
o Class Feat: Gunslinger Dedication – Way of the Drifter
o Skill Feat: Schooled in Secrets
o Skill Increase: Deception (T)
o Gear: ring of discretion
LEVEL 3
o General Feat: Feather Step
o Skill Increase: Stealth (E), Thievery (E)
o Stylish Trick: Pickpocket
o Gear: +1 dogslicer, stalk goggles, ring of discretion
LEVEL 4
o Class Feat: Basic Shooting – Dual-Weapon Reload
o Skill Feat: Ambush Tactics
o Gear: blazons of shared power, +1 dogslicer, necklace of knives, ring of discretion
LEVEL 5
o Ability Boosts: +Strength, +Dexterity, +Wisdom, +Charisma (Str +2, Dex +4.5, Con +1, Int +1, Wis +2, Cha +2)
o Ancestry Feat: Clever Improviser
o Skill Increase: Acrobatics (E)
o Gear: +1 striking dogslicer, blazons of shared power, charlatan's gloves, necklace of knives, ring of discretion, stalk goggles
Swashbuckler covers Dismas’s use of his blade but it would still allow him to use a firearm as long as it’s a simple or martial weapon. However, he can improve and expand his use of them with a Gunslinger Dedication. He has to choose a gunslinger way and given his combat style, he’ll obviously have to take up the Way of the Drifter. He’ll follow that up with Basic Shooting for Dual-Weapon Reload, which is pretty necessary for the general function of the build. I like Schooled in Secrets to aid him in investigating the estate and discovering whatever depravities that the ancestor got up to whereas Ambush Tactics is a little bit more mechanical, using the Terrain Lore provided by his background, which is why I took it over one of the other criminally inclined backgrounds. The inclusion of Feather Step is based off of the mobility that our dastardly Dismas demonstrates, letting him nimbly move through the ruins and such that dot the landscapes he fights across. Clever Improviser is just a generally useful feat and it always feels like it fits super solidly for rogue-typed builds, which the Highwayman admittedly is.
LEVEL 6
o Class Feat: Advanced Shooting – Munitions Crafter
o Skill Feat: Quiet Allies
o Gear: +1 leather, +1 striking dogslicer, alchemist goggles, blazons of shared power, necklace of knives, Jack's tattered cape
LEVEL 7
o General Feat: Incredible Initiative
o Skill Increase: Stealth (M), Thievery (M)
o Stylish Trick: Tumbling Teamwork
o Gear: vaultbreaker's harness, +1 leather, quick runner's shirt, +1 striking dogslicer, blazons of shared power, charlatan's gloves
LEVEL 8
o Class Feat: Bleeding Finisher
o Skill Feat: Swift Sneak
o Gear: boots of bounding, clandestine cloak, vaultbreaker's harness, +1 leather, +1 striking dogslicer, blazons of shared power
LEVEL 9
o Ancestry Feat: Incredible Improvisation
o Skill Increase: Acrobatics (M)
o Gear: +1 resilient leather, boots of bounding, wounding weapon rune, vaultbreaker's harness, blazons of shared power, +1 striking dogslicer
LEVEL 10
o Ability Boosts: +Strength, +Dexterity, +Intelligence, +Charisma (Str +3, Dex +5, Con +1, Int +2, Wis +2, Cha +3)
o Class Feat: Advanced Shooting – Sword and Pistol
o Skill Feat: Foil Senses
o Skill Increase: Medicine (T)
o Gear: greater shadow armor rune, +1 resilient leather, lesser clarity goggles, wounding weapon rune, blazons of shared power, +1 striking dogslicer
This block features Dismas dancing a bit between his base class and multiclass, which leads into a fun little combo. We start with Advanced Shooting so that he can get Munitions Crafter, which might seem a bit strange on this particular character. However, he can possibly use the splash from elemental ammunition to reference Grapeshot Blast and he can also get some considerable use out of exsanguinating ammunition. He can combo it with Bleeding Finisher, which is inspired by his Open Vein, and go even deeper into it with Advanced Shooting for Sword and Pistol. This leads into something of a combo because you have to keep in mind that you can’t make attacks after using a finisher. So a turn could consist of activating exsanguinating ammunition for his first action, making a Strike with his pistol as his second action, and then using action number three for Bleeding Finisher against enemies made off-guard by the pistol Strike. On his skill feat side of things, Quiet Allies will help him lead his allies in sneaking up on foes per Bandit’s Sense. He delves deeper into Stealth with Swift Sneak so that he can move faster when he’s on his own and Foil Senses to account for the strange creatures that dwell within the estate and the unusual senses they may possess. For his Stylish Trick, he takes Tumbling Teamwork to help his allies maneuver about the battlefield since that is what happens in Darkest Dungeon when you move in the line-up. Incredible Initiative helps to represent his Speed and Incredible Improvisation simply builds out of Clever Improviser and makes it easier for him to pull off untrained skill checks.
LEVEL 11
o General Feat: Incredible Scout
o Skill Increase: Terrain Lore (E)
o Gear: +2 striking dogslicer, greater shadow armor rune, lucky draw bandolier, +1 resilient leather, boots of bounding, blazons of shared power
LEVEL 12
o Class Feat: Mobile Finisher
o Skill Feat: Kip Up
o Gear: +2 resilient leather, +2 striking dogslicer, daredevil boots, greater shadow armor rune, lesser clarity goggles, blazons of shared power
LEVEL 13
o Ancestry Feat: Stubborn Persistence
o Skill Increase: Occultism (E)
o Gear: +2 greater striking dogslicer, +2 resilient leather, greater blazons of shared power, daredevil boots, greater shadow armor rune, lucky draw bandolier
LEVEL 14
o Class Feat: Slinger’s Readiness
o Skill Feat: No Cause for Alarm
o Gear: propulsive boots, +2 greater striking dogslicer, greater lucky draw bandolier, +2 resilient leather, daredevil boots, blazons of shared power
LEVEL 15
o Ability Boosts: +Strength, +Dexterity, +Wisdom, +Charisma (Str +4, Dex +5.5, Con +1, Int +2, Wis +3, Cha +4)
o General Feat: Prescient Planner
o Skill Increase: Stealth (L), Thievery (L)
o Stylish Trick: Legendary Thief
o Gear: +2 greater resilient leather, propulsive boots, keen weapon rune, +2 greater striking dogslicer, skirmisher's coat, greater blazons of shared power
For the movement granted by Duelist’s Advance, Dismas makes use of Mobile Finisher, which is some solid action compression. Likewise, Slinger’s Readiness is almost essential for a dual-weapon build. Not only does it allow Dismas to draw his sword and pistol as a free action, it gives him a Stride as a free action on his turn, which is a massive boon. Kip Up keeps with the trend of action efficiency, but we do slip in No Cause for Alarm. Listen, I’m not even entirely sold on the usefulness of this feat in general, but it is a truly fantastic way to represent his stress reducing camp skill, Gallows Humor. Through his Stylish Trick feature, he also gets Legendary Thief, which I picked up solely because he managed to get up to legendary proficiency in Thievery. Incredible Scout is inspired by the likes of Bandit’s Sense, helping his allies get a jump on their enemies. Akin to Gloomseer, Prescient Planner is something that any player of Darkest Dungeon would love to have, the option to grab an item that they forgot to pick up beforehand in the midst of the adventure. Also related to the game, while it’s an awful idea, you can keep sending characters out on missions in Darkest Dungeon. To help Dismas when he’s stuck in such cases, he uses Stubborn Persistence as his ancestry feat.
LEVEL 16
o Class Feat: Combination Finisher
o Skill Feat: Legendary Sneak
o Gear: greater thunderblast slippers, +2 greater resilient leather, major everair mask, propulsive boots, +2 greater striking dogslicer, greater blazons of shared power
LEVEL 17
o Ancestry Feat: Natural Ambition – Extravagant Parry
o Skill Increase: Acrobatics (L)
o Gear: +3 greater striking dogslicer, greater thunderblast slippers, greater corrosive weapon rune, +2 greater resilient leather, propulsive boots, greater blazons of shared power
LEVEL 18
o Class Feat: Parry and Riposte
o Skill Feat: Slippery Prey
o Gear: cloak of swiftness, +3 greater striking dogslicer, bloodthirsty weapon rune, greater thunderblast slippers, +2 greater resilient leather, greater blazons of shared power
LEVEL 19
o General Feat: Toughness
o Skill Increase: Occultism (M)
o Gear: +3 greater resilient leather, cloak of swiftness, major shadow armor rune, +3 greater striking dogslicer, greater thunderblast slippers, greater blazons of shared power
LEVEL 20
o Ability Boosts: +Dexterity, +Constitution, +Intelligence, +Wisdom (Str +4, Dex +6, Con +2, Int +3, Wis +4, Cha +4)
o Class Feat: Advanced Shooting – Penetrating Fire
o Skill Feat: Calm and Centered
o Skill Increase: Society (T)
o Gear: +3 major striking dogslicer, +3 greater resilient leather, mercurial mantle, greater daredevil boots, bloodthirsty weapon rune, greater blazons of shared power
To begin this block, Combination Finisher enhances the combo I talked about earlier with exsanguinating ammunition and Bleeding Finisher and takes some great advantage of his agile weapon – whether he’s carrying a dogslicer or a shortsword. With Extravagant Parry, he can take Parry and Riposte so that he can use Opportune Riposte a bit more regularly, but then he has to go back into gunslinger options so that he can take Penetrating Fire, which is a much better fit for his Grapeshot Blast than the elemental ammunition is. He talks a few more subterfuge-esque feats, such as Legendary Sneak and Slippery Prey, but also takes Calm and Centered to help him recover from the frightened condition.
FREE ARCHETYPE SUGGESTIONS: Obviously, this build makes some serious use out of the gunslinger archetype. In a free archetype game, he’ll be able to keep up with these gunslinger feats while still investing in his swashbuckler feats. This could let him take options such as Dastardly Dash, Reflexive Riposte, and maybe even a proper capstone feat, such as Inexhaustible Countermoves or Illimitable Finisher. Other than that, I’d consider the scout archetype so that Dismas can help his allies act first and make use of options such as Scout’s Speed, Scout’s Pounce, and Fleeting Shadow, which all mesh nicely with his general design.
BUILD CONCLUSION
Dismas the Highwayman is a versatile human swashbuckler of the rascal style and the bandit background - a history that he seeks to leave behind. The speed of the Highwayman is expressed through the likes of Fleet, Incredible Initiative, and the swashbuckler's vivacious speed. He wields gun and blade alike, facilitated by feats such as Dual-Weapon Reload and Sword and Pistol. The Bleeding Finisher feat fantastically fits for Open Vein and even more so once he unlocks his exemplary finisher feature as a rascal swashbuckler. Mobile Finisher covers the mobility of Duelist's Advance while he needs the likes of Opportune Riposte to cover the riposte feature that this grants. Point Blank Shot is really just going to have to require Dismas shooting somebody in close range and then moving back because I couldn't quite fit in a way to knock foes back in the gunslinger options available to him. He does manage to cover Grapeshot Blast through Penetrating Fire and then can use Sword and Pistol to make a foe off-guard to his next sword Strike - thereby recreating the increased accuracy provided by his Tracking Shot. No Cause for Alarm as well as Calm and Centered help to cover his Gallows Humor skill while the likes of Quiet Allies, Incredible Scout, and Ambush Tactics are meant to represent his Bandit's Sense ability. Sadly, there aren't really options to just sit down and boost his combat skills, but Sword and Pistol aren't bad for the rotating buffs they provide that fit the concept of Clean Guns and Unparalleled Finesse.
A repentant robber, this rakish rogue reaps, rips, and roars through regiments of rapacious ravagers, rendering the rapscallions into wrecks with rapier and rifle in ruthless retort.
Please let me know what you think and what other builds you'd like to see!
If you want to join in on the discussion of these builds and the ones I do for monsters or just hang out with a bunch of fellow TTRPG nerds, check out the Discord server. We also have a Twitter where we try to post teasers for the blog and a YouTube channel filled with video formats of these blog posts. As I've said a few times now, I'll be out next week but will be back the following week with a fresh new remastered build!
Have a fantastic Friday!
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