MadCap's D&D Builds - Bill Nye (Bill Nye the Science Guy) (5e)

...yeah, no, you read that right. I'm actually doing this. This is probably the most batshit insane nonsense I have ever done on my blog (debatable) and probably my most ridiculous build for D&D to date, so we're doing this. Buckle up, kiddos!

Bill Nye, the Science Guy. If you grew up in the 90's, you know exactly who this guy is and his theme song is now stuck in your head. I'm not apologizing for that. For six seasons from 1993 to 1999, Bill taught us all about the various sciences in the natural world. So, naturally, the only way to pay tribute to a man who actually got me interested in science as a youth (before I realized how much math was involved in it and noped out of that shit like Dumbledore playing ding-dong ditch with Harry Potter) was to make a character build for him in a game that laughs at science because magic is way more awesome.

If you're expecting me to stick with the feel of the show and give you fast-paced action and humor along with insight... no.

Anyway, try this!

For stats, we're using the Standard Point Array from the Player's Handbook. Like I always say, I recommend rolling the 3d6 (or 4d6) and using this as a guide to plot where you're going to place your scores.

Intelligence: 15

Bill is, after all, a science guy and all of the Knowledge-related skills in D&D are Intelligence based.

Charisma: 14

Bill's instantly recognizable to 90's kids and has been able to silence entire classrooms of rowdy students with a guitar-filled intro and cries of "BILL! BILL! BILL! BILL! BILL! BILL!".

Wisdom: 13

Bill knows a lot of things because he's experienced a lot of things... okay, to be fair, experts have experienced a whole lot of things, but same as.

Constitution: 12

Bill does endure quite a few mishaps on his show and gets up like nothing happened.

Dexterity: 10

Despite his durability, Bill is just an average human at the end of the day and most of his abilities are related to his mind.

Strength: 8

Dumping strength. We just don't need it.

Race and Background -

For race, Bill is a human or at least he was the last time that I checked, so we'll go with Human. Specifically a Variant Human, which means we have one Ability Score improve by 2 and another by 1, get a free skills, and a free feat. For Ability Scores, bump up your Wisdom (15) and Intelligence (16) by 2 and 1, respectively. For our skill take Persuasion, to show his influence over others. For our Feat, we'll take Keen Mind. Intelligence (17) gets bumped up by 1. Bill also now knows how many hours it is until dawn or dusk, always knows which way north is, and can recall anything he's heard or seen in the last month with complete accuracy.

For background, we'll go with Sage. Sages receive proficiency in Arcana and History and two languages of your choice. It's one of the rare times I'll even mention the Specialty section, but Bill is obviously a Professor.

The Researcher feature is also rather appropriate to Bill's build, allowing him to scrounge up a bit of obscure, esoteric knowledge more handily or at least know where to find said knowledge. What the DM does with that is up to them.

1st Level: Cleric (1)

Saving Throws: Wisdom, Charisma

Proficiencies -

Skills: Insight, Medicine

Clerics at first level get Spellcasting with three cantrips and two spell slots to use any spell off of the Cleric spell list.

Cantrips (3):

• guidance
• light
• thaumaturgy

Spells -

Since Clerics can prepare any spells on the cleric list so long as they have the level for it, you can choose whichever you like when you pray. Here are a few suggestions, but keep in mind you only have two spell slots at the beginning. Don't worry, unlike the warlock you will get more.

Guidance will help you show the way, light is a great utility spell to have until you pick up something to give you dark vision, and thaumaturgy will let you do all the wacky sound effects... or am I thinking of Beakman?

...does anyone even remember Beakman? God, I feel old.

1st level picks -

• Bane and Bless are good debuffs and buffs, respectively. Letting you take away or add a d4 to the attack roll or saving throw of up to three creatures you can see (yourself included) and have it last for up to a minute depending on your concentration. Bane forces a Charisma check from the target, and the spell does nothing if they pass the save, of course.
• Cure Wounds allow you to patch up a character you touch by 1d8 + your spellcasting modifier. No effect on constructs or undead.
• Detect Magic allows you to... well, I mean, you detect magic. Kind of does exactly what it says on the tin right there.
• Guiding Bolt has you make a ranged spell attack on a target within 120 feet. If you succeed, then they take 4d6 radiant damage.
• Identify is pretty much a must have for this build, allowing you to touch an object and learn what magical properties it has, if any.
• Sanctuary forces creatures that try to attack a target within 30 feet of you (including you) to make a Wisdom save, having to pick a new target if they fail. This doesn't prevent damage from area effects, but it can keep an orc from raming his sword through your stomach. Also, it lasts up to a minute with no concentration. Very nice!
• Shield of Faith gives you or a target within 60 feet a +2 bonus to AC for up to 10 minutes depending on your concentration.

What's that? Identify isn't on the cleric spell list?

...

Anyway as a first level cleric, Bill must choose a Divine Domain. This opens up the Knowledge Domain Spell List (page 59 of the Player's Handbook for reference) which contains the Identify spell and gives Bill the Blessings of Knowledge, allowing him to pick up two free skills from either Arcana, History, Nature, or Religion. Obviously, we'll be taking Nature and Religion. As for your deity, you could easily say that Bill worships Science!, or at least the concept of Science!.

2nd Level: Cleric (2)

At second level as a Knowledge Domain Cleric, Bill receives the ability to Channel Divinity - allowing him to raise his holy symbol and cause undead within 30 feet to make a wisdom save. Upon a failure, said undead must spend their entire action running as far away from Bill as they can and cannot move with 30 feet of him. As a Knowledge cleric, Bill can also use his power to call up the Knowledge of the Ages, letting him select a tool or a skill and have proficiency with it for the next ten minutes.

We'll be visiting Channel Divinity again, though. Just something to keep in mind.

3rd Level: Cleric (3)

Third level Clerics get second level spells.

2nd Level Spell Picks -

• Aid increases the hit points of up to three creatures within range by 5 for 8 hours, no concentration required.
• Augury allows Bill to ask any question about a specific course of action to be undertaken in the next 30 minutes and will get an answer of Weal (good), Woe (bad), Weal and Woe (good and bad), and Nothing (for results that are neither particularly good or bad).
• Enhance Ability allows you to touch a creature and give them advantage on the next one of one of their saving throws. It also gives some other goodies in some cases, check out page 237 of the Player's Handbook for more.
• Hold Person forces a Wisdom save on a humanoid within 60 feet. If they fail, they are completely paralyzed for up to 1 minute depending on your concentration.
• Lesser Restoration ends a disease or other condition on a creature that you touch.
• Locate Object allows you to sense the location of an object so long as it's within 1,000 feet of you. You even know the direction of its movement. This spell, however, does not operate through any thickness of lead. Magic and Kryptonian superpowers apparently having something in common.
• Prayer of Healing makes six creatures within 30 feet of you regain hit points equal to 2d8 + your spellcasting modifier.
• Zone of Truth creates a 15-foot-radius sphere centered anywhere within 60 feet of you. If a creature moves into or starts it's turn in there, it has to make a Charisma saving throw. On a failure, it cannot speak a deliberate lie. You'll know whether or not they passed the save. This zone lasts for ten minutes and creatures can avoid answering questions, as the spell does not actually compel them to answer it, only to keep from lying if it affects them.

4th Level: Cleric (4)

At fourth level, Bill's going to pick up his first Ability Score Improvement or Feat. Bump up your Wisdom (16) and Intelligence (18) for better saving throws and spellcasting modifiers.

Bill also gets another Cleric cantrip. Sacred Flame brings down a flame-like radiance on a target with 60 feet. Said target must pass a Dexterity saving throw or take 1d8 radiant damage and they do not get the benefit of cover to avoid this attack.

...uh... "Hey, kids! Wanna see what happens when you leave an orc in the sun for too long?!"

5th Level: Cleric (5)

At the fifth level of Cleric, Bill can now Destroy Undead of Challenge Rating 1/2 or lower when they fail their saving throw against his Turn Undead ability. This scales to 1 or lower at 8th level, 2 or lower at 11th level, and so on until 17th level where it caps out at destroying undead of CR 4 or lower.

Clerics also get access to 3rd level spells.

3rd Level Spell Picks -

• Beacon of Hope - choose any number of creatures within 30 feet. They all get advantage on Wisdom saves, death saving throws, and regain the maximum amount of hit points from healing for up to 10 minutes depending on your concentration.
• Bestow Curse - another good debuff spell. Touch a creature and, when it fails a Wisdom save, you can do a tasty variety of things to it as detailed on page 218 of the Player's Handbook for up to 1 minute depending on your Concentration.
• Clairvoyance - make an invisible sensor within a mile that you can see or hear through for up to 10 minutes depending on your concentration (you can switch between them).
• Dispel Magic - you pick a creature, object, or magical effect within 120 feet and cancel it. Automatically if it's 3rd level or lower, 4th level or higher requires an ability check of DC 10 + the spell's level.
• Glyph of Warding - ...just check out pages 245 and 246 of the Player's Handbook. It's a lot. Basically, you make a rune that can do several things for you. Lots of utility.
• Magic Circle - same as before, except it's on pages 256 and 257. Big boy spell with lots of utility.
• Mass Healing Word - up to six creatures within 60 feet of a point you choose get healed 1d4 + your spellcasting modifier.
• Protection from Energy - concentrate for up to an hour and get resistance (or give resistance) to acid, cold, fire, lightning, or thunder damage.
• Remove Curse - removes all curses on a target.
• Revivify - touch a creature that has died within one minute, it gets 1 HP. It doesn't restore missing body parts.
• Sending - short message of twenty-five words or less to a target you are familiar with. They can respond to it, even across planes of existence (with a 5% failure chance).
• Tongues - languages? You can speak and understand them all and everyone can speak and understand you. Bitchin'!

6th Level: Cleric (6)

Moving onto sixth level, Channel Divinity gets beefed up to twice per short or long rest. As a Knowledge Cleric, Bill also receives a new form of Channel Divinity: Read Thoughts. He can access a creature's thoughts and take control of it by forcing a Wisdom saving throw on it. When it fails, Bill can read it's surface thoughts for up to 1 minute. In that minute, he can cast suggestion on it as per the spell, which the target will auto-fail the save for. If it succeeds, Bill can't use this feature again until finishing a long rest.

7th Level: Cleric (7)

Seventh level Clerics get access to Fourth Level spells.

4th Level Spell Picks -

Banishment - It's a spell we've covered before a few times. Pretty sure you know what it does by now.

Divination - speak to a god or the servant of a god about an event to occur within seven days. Get a truthful, but cryptic answer. Go figure.

Freedom of Movement - a spell we're also all too familiar with here, particularly with cleric builds.

Guardian of Faith - a spectral guardian representing your faith hops into the fray for up to 8 hours (no concentration required) or until it does 60 points of damage to hostile targets. No concentration required!

Locate Creature - like Locate Object, just for creatures rather than objects.

8th Level: Cleric (8)

At eighth level, Clerics pick up an Ability Score Improvement or Feat, continue to bump up your Intelligence (19) and your Wisdom (17). 

Destroy Undead bumps up to any undead of CR 1 or lower.

Bill also receives Potent Spellcasting, meaning that he can now add his Wisdom modifier to the damage he deals with any cleric cantrip. Pretty sweet!

9th Level: Cleric (9)

At ninth level, Bill gets access to 5th level spells.

5th Level Spell Picks -

Commune - like Divination, except you can ask up to three yes or no questions.

Flame Strike - problem with an enemy? Drop a column of fire on them that does 4d6 fire and 4d6 radiant damage to anyone who isn't fast enough to dodge.

Greater Restoration - a buff/debuff negator. Fun stuff to remove a charmed or petrified effect, remove a curse (or an attunement to a magical item that is cursed), reduction of ability scores or hit point maximum.

Hallow - Check out page 249 of the Player's Handbook for this one. Like making a warlock without eldritch blast, there is literally no reason to not have Hallow in your cleric's spell set.

Legend Lore - name a person, location, or object and learn basically everything about it. Identify on super crack and for more than just items.

Mass Cure Wounds - like Mass Healing Word, only the range is 60 feet and the six creatures within a 30-foot-radius get healed 3d8 + your spellcasting modifier.

Planar Binding - check page 265 of the Player's Handbook, but uh... this spell is basically "No, you aren't going anywhere, you Celestial/elemental/fey/fiend!!! Now do my laundry and be damn quick about it!"

Raise Dead - as Revivify, but the target can have been dead as long as 10 days, with a -4 to its attack rolls, saving throws, and ability checks until it finishes 4 long rests.

Scrying - like Clairvoyance, but with some limitations. Check out page 273 of the Player's Handbook for more.

10th Level: Cleric (10)

At tenth level, Clerics can call upon Divine Intervention. They implore their deity for aid and then roll the percentile dice. If they roll equal to or lower than their cleric level, their deity intervenes and this feature can't be used again for seven days. Otherwise, it can be used again after a long rest.

They also pick up a fifth and final cantrip. Go for Toll the Dead is a fun one from Xanathar's Guide to Everything, dealing 1d4 necrotic damage to a target within 60 feet if it fails a Wisdom save, 1d12 necrotic damage if it's anywhere under its hit point minimum.

11th Level: Cleric (11)

Destroy Undead now takes out undead of CR 2 or lower when they fail against Channel Divinity.

They also gain access to 6th Level spells!

6th Level Spell Picks -

• Blade Barrier - Create a vertical wall of whirling, razor-sharp blades that do a hilarious 6d10 slashing damage? Don't mind if I do!
• Find the Path - Find the shortest, most direct route to a fixed location on the same plane of distance that you are on.
• Forbiddance - want to keep anyone else from getting to the party? This is how you do it.
• Heal - heal a creature 70 hit points.
• Planar Ally - call an Otherworldly entity for aid. Check out page 265 of the Player's Handbook for the deets.
• True Seeing - if it exists you (or a creature you touch) can see it with true sight.
• Word of Recall - teleport back to a sanctuary with five of your buddies.

12th Level: Cleric (12)

Clerics get an Ability Score Improvement or Feat. Keep running up your Intelligence (20) and Wisdom (18).

13th Level: Cleric (13)

Thirteenth level Clerics get 7th level spells.

7th Level Spell Picks -

...look, just... like, all of these are good, okay? Cleric is busted at higher levels.

14th Level: Cleric (14) 

At fourteenth level, clerics have their Destroy Undead beefed up to all undead of CR 3 or lower getting insta-killed upon failing to resist being turned.

15th Level: Cleric (15)

14th level clerics get access to 8th level spells.

8th Level Spell Picks -

...what did I just say?

16th Level: Cleric (16)

Clerics get another Ability Score Improvement or Feat. Since Intelligence is capped off, boost Wisdom (19) and Constitution (13).

17th Level: Cleric (17)

Destroy Undead reaches its apex of taking out CR 4 or lower undead instantly.

Knowledge Clerics also receive their capstone ability, Visions of the Past which... is a neat ability that is detailed on page 60 of the Player's Handbook. Basically, you can look back on the history of an object or the history of an area (the latter up to your Wisdom modifier a number of days back) and get the important inform to your current situation. This does, however, require you to meditate for a number of minutes equal to your Wisdom modifier.

9th Level Spell Picks -

...as you wish.

18th Level: Artificer (1)

We'll be switching over to Artificer for the 18th level. With a capped off Intelligence, we're beyond overqualified. Artificers gain proficiency with light armor, medium armor, shields, thieves' tools, and tinkers' tools. So, we gain proficiency with thieves' tools and tinker's tools.

We also gain Spellcasting and unfortunately are now not only multiclassing casters, but it's two classes with different modifiers - Wisdom for your Cleric and Intelligence for the Artificer. Your ability scores are both really high for them, but you have the unfortunate problem with shared spell slots. Luckily, we'll have what we need from both classes by the time this build is done.

As a newly-minted artificer, Bill gets the ability of Magical Tinkering, which we've covered several times in these builds.

He also gets Spellcasting as previously mentioned, which means two cantrips from the artificer list and access to any of the spells on the Artificer list of 1st level.

Cantrips -

Creating bonfire

prestidigation

1st Level -

...look, getting through the cleric spells was enough and it broke me. Check out Page 12 of Tasha's

Cauldron of Everything if you want to see the list. It's all there with only a tiny bit of overlap with cleric.

19th Level: Artificer (2)

At second level, Artificers gain the ability to Infuse Item. At second level, Artificers can know four infusions and can have up to two infused items made. You can choose any infusion so long as you meet the requirements.

Infusions Known -

Enhanced Arcane Focus - +1 to spell attack rolls when holding an arcane focus.

Enhanced Weapon +1 to attack and damage rolls, the weapon is counted as magical.

Mind Sharpener - when the wearer of this armor or robes fails a Constitution saving throw, expend one of four charges to succeed instead. Regains 1d4 charges at dawn.

Replicate Magic Item - there's a fun table on pg 23 of Tasha's. You can make anything on the 2nd level section. Have fun!

20th Level: Artificer (3)

Our 20th level will be the third level of Artificer, where Bill picks an Artificer Specialist. To fit in with the science theme, Bill will become an Alchemist.

Alchemists get a Tool Proficiency of your choice.

They also get Alchemist Spells to add to their selection, but we don't unlock 3rd level Artificer spells until we get to way later in the class... which we won't. Whoops.

The main drawer here is the Experimental Elixir, which allows Bill to produce said elixir after a long rest and have it randomly produce one of six effects (rolling a 1d6 to determine) when someone drinks it. The table is on page 14 and 15 of Tasha's. Bill can produce only one per long rest or more if he is willing to burn a spell slot of 1st level or higher (that is one spell slot = one elixir). Of course, he can only do that if he has alchemist's supplies on his person.

Also at third level just for being an artificer, Bill will always have The Right Tool for the Job, meaning that he can produce a set of any artisan's tools he needs after working withe either already existing thieves' or artisan's tools for an hour. When he creates a new set of tools, the previous vanish.

So, now that we've hit level twenty, let's look at the pros and cons.

Pros:

• Your Wisdom is just shy of being capped off and your Intelligence definitely is. You're proficient in Wisdom saving throws, which are by far one of the most called upon saving throws in the game. Having a +5 to any Intelligence saving throws you have to roll is nothing to sneeze at, either.
• Speaking of spellcasting, you have a good amount of healing, support, environmental control, and damage. Your Experimental Elixir from Artificer can also be a wild card in this regard, giving you a neat ability on the fly. Bottom's up!
• Knowledge! If it exists, you know about it. If you don't know about it, you know someone who does. If you don't know someone who does, you know how to find someone who does. Kind of interesting, since Investigation isn't a skill in this build. Huh.

Cons:

• Split spellcasting modifiers are a pain, as are shared spell slots. Luckily, you don't really go far enough into artificer to have to worry about picking and choosing, but it's still notable.
• Low Constitution means you're not as beefy as you could be. Having armor and your spell selections can help, but you'll go down fairly quick to anyone who can deal a decent amount of damage. Your concentration is also gonna suck, even with your infusion Mind Sharpener to give you four freebies. You're most likely not gonna be a front liner even later on.
• You miss out on some of the higher tier Cleric stuff in those last three levels. Having Divine Intervention that always works 100% of the time? That's something you just shouldn't miss.

But, hey, you're Bill (BILL! BILL! BILL! BILL! BILL! BILL! BILL! BILL! BILL!...sorry) Nye, the science guy! Put on your awesome blue coat, go out there and teach the kids all about science. Just make sure you keep an eye out for trouble, otherwise the end might really be Nye...