Aasimar Champion Fighter Build Guide

Levels 1-4

Start with 15 Strength and take the Great Weapon Fighting style at level 1. You want a heavy weapon—preferably a Glaive or Halberd—to prepare for your future feats. At level 3, you unlock the defining feature of the subclass: Improved Critical. Scoring a critical hit on a 19 or 20 immediately doubles your chance to deal massive damage. At level 4, do not take an Ability Score Increase. Take the Great Weapon Master feat. The secondary bullet point of GWM grants you a bonus action attack whenever you score a critical hit. Because Improved Critical doubles your crit chance, you will trigger this bonus attack frequently, drastically spiking your DPR.

Levels 5-10

Level 5 brings Extra Attack, doubling your chances to roll a 19 or 20 each turn. At level 6, use your Fighter ASI to bump your Strength to 17 or pick up Polearm Master to add a consistent bonus action attack (giving you three chances to crit per turn). Level 7 is a major power spike for the Champion: you gain Remarkable Athlete, which adds half your proficiency bonus to your Initiative checks and Grapple/Shove attempts, and Additional Fighting Style, where you should absolutely take Defense for a passive +1 AC. At level 8, push your Strength to 18. Level 10 grants Heroic Warrior, giving you advantage on saving throws against being incapacitated or outright killed—a niche but incredibly useful defensive tool against high-level spellcasters.

Levels 11-16

Level 11 is the Fighter's holy grail: Extra Attack (2). You are now making three attacks per action, plus a bonus action attack from Polearm Master or GWM. At level 12, cap your Strength at 20. Level 15 brings Superior Critical, expanding your crit range to 18-20. If you have a reliable source of advantage, you now have a 27.7% chance to crit on every single swing. Take the Slasher feat at level 16; since you are critting constantly with Superior Critical, you will constantly apply Slasher's disadvantage debuff to your targets, effectively acting as an off-tank.

Levels 17-20

Level 17 gives you your second use of Action Surge, allowing for explosive 6-attack nova rounds. At level 18, you gain Survivor. Regenerating 1d6 + CON hit points every turn you are below half health makes you exceptionally difficult to kill in prolonged slugfests, stacking beautifully with your Aasimar Celestial Resistance. Finally, level 20 grants Extra Attack (3). With four attacks per action, you are virtually guaranteed to roll an 18-20 on your turn, triggering your GWM bonus action attack almost every round.

Great Weapon Master

This is non-negotiable for a Champion. The -5 to hit / +10 to damage is great, but you are taking this for the critical hit synergy. Improved Critical and Superior Critical mean you will frequently trigger the clause that grants a bonus action attack upon scoring a crit, heavily optimizing your action economy.

Polearm Master

Champions scale linearly with the number of d20s they roll. More attacks mean more chances to roll a 19 or 20. Polearm Master gives you a reliable bonus action attack when GWM doesn't trigger, ensuring you are always maximizing your critical hit fishing.

Slasher

Because your Superior Critical expands your crit range to 18-20, you will trigger Slasher's secondary effect constantly. Giving a boss enemy disadvantage on all attack rolls until the start of your next turn turns your Striker build into a premier debuffer without spending any resources.

Resilient (Wisdom)

With an optimal Wisdom score of 10, you are highly susceptible to debilitating spells like Hold Person or Dominate Person. A Champion who gets mind-controlled will absolutely butcher their own party. Take this to ensure Heroic Warrior isn't your only defense against spellcasters.

Tier 1 (Levels 1-4)

Acquire a Glaive or Halberd immediately to set up your Polearm Master/GWM combo. Purchase Splint Armor as soon as you have 200 gold to bolster your AC, complementing your Defense fighting style from your upcoming Additional Fighting Style feature.

Tier 2 (Levels 5-10)

Upgrade to Full Plate armor. You want a +1 Glaive to offset the -5 penalty from Great Weapon Master. If you can secure a Cloak of Displacement, do so; forcing enemies to attack with disadvantage stacks incredibly well with the passive healing of your Aasimar Healing Hands and keeps your hit points high.

Tier 3 (Levels 11-16)

Look for a Flame Tongue Greatsword. While it breaks your Polearm Master setup, doubling the 2d6 fire damage on an 18-20 critical hit via Superior Critical is mathematically superior. Alternatively, a +2 or +3 Glaive is the mathematically safest choice to ensure your GWM attacks land.

Tier 4 (Levels 17-20)

The Bloodfury Tattoo is your holy grail. It adds 4d6 necrotic damage to your attacks, which doubles on a critical hit, and heals you. Paired with your level 18 Survivor feature, you will out-heal almost any damage you take while dealing absurd burst damage.

As an Aasimar Champion Fighter, your party role is strictly as a Striker. Your entire build is engineered to deal massive single-target damage through high-volume attacks and expanded critical threat ranges. You rely on your party to provide utility, crowd control, and, most importantly, advantage on your attack rolls.

You shine brightest when paired with a Wolf Totem Barbarian or a Faerie Fire-casting Bard. The Champion's Superior Critical feature demands advantage to truly break the math of the game. Rolling 2d20s with an 18-20 crit range gives you a near-30% chance to crit per attack. Furthermore, an Order Domain Cleric casting spells on you allows you to use your reaction to attack via Voice of Authority, giving you yet another chance to roll that coveted 19 or 20 outside of your normal turn.

Barbarian 2 Dip

This is the ultimate multiclass for a Champion. Taking two levels of Barbarian grants you Reckless Attack. Gaining advantage on-demand drastically increases the frequency of your Improved Critical procs. Furthermore, Rage provides resistance to bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing damage, which stacks beautifully with your Aasimar Celestial Resistance.

Paladin 2 Dip

If you have the 13 Charisma required, a two-level Paladin dip turns you into a burst-damage god. Because you crit on a 19-20, you simply hold onto your spell slots and only declare a Divine Smite when you score a critical hit, guaranteeing that your smite dice are doubled every single time.

• Misunderstanding Vorpal Swords: Many players think Superior Critical allows a Vorpal Sword to decapitate on an 18 or 19. It does not. The Vorpal Sword specifically requires a roll of 20 to trigger the instant kill.
• Ignoring Remarkable Athlete: Do not forget that Remarkable Athlete applies to your Initiative rolls. Since Initiative is a Dexterity check, you get half your proficiency bonus added to it, helping you act sooner in combat.
• Popping Celestial Revelation too late: Activating your Aasimar transformation takes an action. Do this *before* combat starts if you have the chance, or on turn one. Do not wait until round three, or you waste your massive radiant damage buff.
• Using a single-attack strategy: Champions are terrible with single, big attacks (like Booming Blade). Your math relies on volume. If you aren't using Extra Attack, Action Surge, and bonus action attacks, you are wasting your Improved Critical.