Goliath Rogue Build Guide

Levels 1-4

Start with a 15 Dexterity and 13 Constitution. Put your Expertise into Athletics and Stealth. Athletics pairs flawlessly with your Powerful Build trait, allowing you to grapple and drag enemies far heavier than your party's Fighter could manage. At level 4, take the Piercer feat. This bumps your Dexterity to 16, and lets you reroll one low damage die on your rapier attacks—crucial since your 1d8 rapier damage makes up a large chunk of your DPR before Sneak Attack scales up.

Levels 5-10

Level 5 brings Uncanny Dodge and a 3d6 Sneak Attack. This is your power spike. You can now reliably stand in melee, halving damage with your reaction and shrugging off the rest with Stone's Endurance. At level 7, Evasion comes online, making you practically immune to fireball damage. At level 8, take the ASI for +2 Dexterity, bringing you to 18. If you're playing a subclass like Phantom, your Wails from the Grave will start hitting harder, benefiting from your staying power in the frontline.

Levels 11-16

Level 11 grants Reliable Talent. With Expertise in Athletics, your minimum grapple check becomes a 20+, making you an inescapable wrestling god despite only having 12 Strength. At level 12, max your Dexterity to 20. For your level 16 ASI, take Skill Expert to bump your Constitution to 14, granting you another Expertise—Investigation is a great pick to leverage your 14 Intelligence when searching for traps without Darkvision.

Levels 17-20

At level 17, your Sneak Attack reaches 9d6. If your DM allows you to use your Large Form feature, you can now physically body-block 10-foot hallways, preventing enemies from reaching your backline while striking with Advantage if an ally stands next to you. Take the Tough feat at level 19; your d8 hit die means your HP naturally tops out around 105, which is too low for a Tier 4 melee combatant. Tough adds another 40 HP, cementing your role as the party's unkillable anvil.

Piercer

Take this at level 4. It rounds out your odd 15 Dexterity to a 16, immediately boosting your AC, Initiative, and attack rolls. Rerolling a 1 or 2 on your rapier's d8 damage die adds consistent DPR, and the critical hit bonus pairs beautifully with your Sneak Attack dice.

Skill Expert

An excellent half-feat to round out your 13 Constitution to a 14, which directly increases the damage mitigated by Stone's Endurance. Grabbing an extra Expertise in a skill like Perception or Investigation helps you function as the party's scout, even with your abysmal 10 Wisdom.

Mobile

If you want to save your Uncanny Dodge and Stone's Endurance for ranged attacks, Mobile is mandatory. It allows you to run in, land your Booming Blade or Sneak Attack, and retreat without provoking opportunity attacks, completely ignoring the need to use Cunning Action to Disengage.

Tough

Because you are playing a melee Rogue with a d8 hit die and no shield proficiency, your HP pool is a liability in Tier 3 and 4. Tough gives you the hit points of a Fighter, allowing you to confidently utilize your Large Form to take up space on the front lines.

Tier 1 (Levels 1-4)

Start with a Rapier and Studded Leather Armor. Your absolute highest priority is acquiring Goggles of Night. Without Darkvision, a Goliath Rogue is completely crippled in underground environments, unable to target enemies for Sneak Attack in total darkness.

Tier 2 (Levels 5-10)

Seek out a Cloak of Elvenkind. Your sheer size makes narrative stealth difficult, but imposing disadvantage on enemy Perception checks mathematically fixes your lack of natural sneakiness. Upgrade to a +1 Rapier to ensure your single Sneak Attack lands against enemies with magical resistance.

Tier 3 (Levels 11-16)

A Belt of Dwarvenkind is phenomenal here. It grants you the Darkvision you desperately lack, while simultaneously boosting your Constitution by +2. This increases your HP pool and adds a flat +1 to the damage you reduce every time you trigger Stone's Endurance.

Tier 4 (Levels 17-20)

Hunt for a Bloodfury Tattoo. The extra 4d6 necrotic damage on a hit stacks viciously with your 9d6 Sneak Attack, and the healing effect keeps your HP topped off. Paired with a +3 Rapier, your single strike will devastate even Demon Lords.

As a Goliath Rogue, your role is a durable melee Striker with secondary battlefield control via Athletics grappling. Because you want to be in the thick of the fight to use your Powerful Build and Large Form to block enemies, you need party members who can capitalize on your positioning.

You pair exceptionally well with a Battle Master Fighter. Their Commander's Strike maneuver allows you to use your reaction to make an attack on their turn, granting you a second Sneak Attack in a single round. Furthermore, a Twilight Cleric or Gloom Stalker Ranger is vital for this build; they can cast Pass Without Trace to offset any situational stealth penalties your DM might apply to a towering giant, and the Cleric can share their Darkvision with you.

Fighter 3 (Battle Master)

Taking a three-level dip into Fighter is incredibly potent. You gain the Dueling fighting style (+2 damage on your rapier), shield proficiency (bumping your AC by 2), and Action Surge. More importantly, the Riposte and Brace maneuvers allow you to attack enemies outside of your turn, triggering Sneak Attack twice per round. Your Stone's Endurance keeps you alive in melee long enough to execute this.

Barbarian 2

A two-level dip for Reckless Attack guarantees Sneak Attack on every turn without needing an ally nearby. However, this requires attacking with Strength. Since our optimal build uses 12 Strength and 15 Dexterity, this dip is a trap unless you rolled stats and have an 18 in both STR and DEX.

• Forgetting the lack of Darkvision: A Goliath in a pitch-black dungeon has disadvantage on attacks, meaning you cannot trigger Sneak Attack under any circumstances. Buy torches, cast Light, or get Goggles of Night immediately.
• Wasting Stone's Endurance on chip damage: You only get a limited number of uses. Don't waste your 1d12+CON reduction on a goblin's 4-damage shortbow shot. Save it for the critical hits or the massive giant clubs.
• Ignoring Athletics: Just because you use Dexterity to attack doesn't mean you should ignore your Goliath traits. Powerful Build makes you the best grappler in the game if you take Expertise in Athletics.
• Playing exclusively at range: Large Form and Stone's Endurance are wasted if you are hiding 60 feet away with a shortbow. Get into melee and use your hit points as a resource.