Gnome Fighter Build Guide

Levels 1-4

Start with the Dueling Fighting Style and equip a Longsword and a Shield. With a 15 Strength, your hit modifier is decent, and Dueling keeps your level 5 DPR afloat at 7.8 without relying on Heavy weapons. At level 3, choose the Rune Knight archetype. The Fire Rune provides a 2d6 damage burst and a Strength save restraint, while the Cloud Rune lets you use your reaction to redirect an enemy attack to a different target. At level 4, take the Slasher feat to round your Strength up to 16. The resulting 10-foot movement speed penalty on enemies helps offset your Gnome's sluggish 25-foot walking speed.

Levels 5-10

Level 5 brings Extra Attack. With Giant's Might active, you deal an extra 1d6 damage once per turn, and you can safely swap to a Greatsword without Disadvantage while enlarged. Use your level 6 ASI to bump Strength to 18. Level 7 grants Runic Shield, allowing you to force rerolls when an ally is critically hit. At level 8, take the Resilient (Wisdom) feat. While Gnomish Cunning protects against magic, Resilient patches your vulnerability to non-magical monster abilities like a Dragon's Frightful Presence.

Levels 11-16

At level 11, you unlock Extra Attack (2), pushing your baseline melee DPR to 10.73, though your burst damage with runes is much higher. Use the level 12 ASI to cap your Strength at 20. Level 15 introduces Master of Runes, letting you invoke your Cloud and Fire runes twice per short rest. Take the Sentinel feat at level 14; when combined with your Large size from Giant's Might, you command a massive threatened area to lock down enemies. At level 16, take a +2 Constitution ASI to push your CON from 13 to 15, padding your hit point pool.

Levels 17-20

Level 17 grants your second use of Action Surge, and level 20 unlocks your fourth attack per action. Level 18 brings Runic Juggernaut, allowing your Gnome to become a Huge creature dealing an extra 3d6 damage on attacks. At level 19, take the Tough feat. Your 13 starting Constitution leaves you with a mediocre 123 HP at level 17; Tough retroactively fixes this, ensuring your massive, magic-resistant Gnome has the raw health to survive CR 20 encounters.

Slasher

Take this at level 4. Because you start with an odd 15 Strength and are initially locked into versatile weapons like the Longsword due to your Small size, Slasher provides a crucial +1 STR bump. The 10-foot movement speed reduction on a hit is mandatory for preventing enemies from kiting your 25-foot speed Gnome.

Resilient (Wisdom)

Grab this at level 8. Fighters have notoriously weak Wisdom saves. While Gnomish Cunning gives you Advantage against spells, it does nothing against supernatural monster abilities. Adding proficiency here plugs the single biggest hole in your defense, ensuring you never lose a turn to fear effects.

Sentinel

Essential at level 14. Once you are reliably using Giant's Might to become Large, your physical footprint expands massively. Sentinel stops enemies dead in their tracks, leveraging your massive space to prevent them from bypassing your high Armor Class to attack the squishy wizard.

Tough

Take this at level 19. A Fighter with a 13 Constitution is dangerously fragile in Tier 4 play. Tough retroactively adds 38 hit points at level 19, pushing your pool from a terrifyingly low 123 up to 161, giving you the meat necessary to survive multiple rounds of ancient dragon breath weapons.

Tier 1 (Levels 1-4)

Start with Chain Mail, a Longsword, and a Shield. Do not bother buying a Greatsword or Maul yet; your Gnome size gives you Disadvantage on those attack rolls. Seek out a Moon-Touched Sword as soon as possible to ensure your attacks bypass early non-magical bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing resistance.

Tier 2 (Levels 5-10)

Upgrade to Splint, then Plate Armor. Your top priority is finding a Belt of Hill Giant Strength. Since your Strength is lagging at 16 or 18 due to feat taxes, setting it to 21 instantly fixes your attack modifiers. A Cloak of Displacement is premium here; combined with your AC 20 (Plate + Shield), it forces attacks at Disadvantage, compounding your high survivability.

Tier 3 (Levels 11-16)

Hunt down a Flametongue Longsword. At level 11, you are making three attacks per action, meaning you can trigger that extra 2d6 fire damage three times a turn. Pair this with a Belt of Fire Giant Strength to push your Strength to 25, guaranteeing your Fire Rune and Slasher effects land consistently.

Tier 4 (Levels 17-20)

The ultimate goal is a Bloodfury Tattoo. At level 20, with four attacks per action and two Action Surges, you can dump all 10 charges of the tattoo in a single boss phase. This delivers an extra 40d6 necrotic damage while healing you for the same amount, perfectly supplementing your mediocre Constitution score.

Your Gnome Fighter operates as a highly durable, magically-resistant frontline Striker, but your 25-foot movement speed is a glaring liability. You need a party that can buff your mobility and capitalize on the space you control. An Oath of Vengeance Paladin makes an excellent partner. They can cast Haste on you, doubling your speed to 50 feet and granting an extra attack, while their Aura of Protection mathematically breaks the game when stacked with Gnomish Cunning.

A College of Creation Bard is another phenomenal pairing. They can hand out Bardic Inspiration to ensure your Fire Rune's Strength saving throw lands against high-CR monsters. More importantly, their Dimension Door can instantly teleport your slow Gnome directly into the enemy backline, bypassing the need to Dash.

Finally, a Twilight Domain Cleric patches your biggest stat weakness. Their Twilight Sanctuary provides a constant stream of temporary hit points every round, masking your relatively low 13 Constitution and keeping your 81 HP pool healthy through Tier 2 and Tier 3 combats.

Barbarian 2 dip

Taking two levels of Barbarian for Reckless Attack is a massive DPR boost, granting you at-will Advantage. Danger Sense stacks beautifully with Gnomish Cunning, giving you Advantage on Dexterity saves alongside your mental ones. Just remember you cannot cast spells or concentrate while Raging, though Rune Knight features are magical abilities, not spells, so they function perfectly while enraged.

War Magic Wizard 2 dip

Despite your dumped 8 Intelligence, a two-level dip into War Magic offers the incredible Arcane Deflection feature. This lets you use your reaction to gain +2 to AC or +4 to a saving throw. When a Lich casts Finger of Death, combining Gnomish Cunning's Advantage with a +4 from Arcane Deflection makes you functionally immortal against saving throw nukes.

• Using Heavy Weapons without Giant's Might: The Heavy property explicitly imposes Disadvantage on Small creatures. If you swing a Halberd while your Gnome is not actively enlarged by the Rune Knight feature, your DPR will tank. Stick to a Longsword otherwise.
• Ignoring your sluggish movement speed: Gnomes have a 25-foot walking speed. If you don't take the Slasher feat to slow enemies down, or carry javelins for ranged options, you will spend half your encounters taking the Dash action instead of attacking.
• Wasting ASIs on Intelligence: The provided optimal stats set INT to 8. Even though Gnomes historically get an Intelligence boost, do not try to fix this negative modifier to force an Eldritch Knight build. Commit your ASIs to Strength and feats.
• Overestimating Gnomish Cunning: Gnomish Cunning grants Advantage on mental saving throws against magic. A Mind Flayer's Mind Blast is magical, but a Vampire's Charm might not be depending on the exact text, and a Dragon's fear aura is purely supernatural. Don't get cocky against non-spellcasters.