Is there a way to make the Elven Accuracy feat work with the second benefit of Great Weapon Master?

Question

Is there a way to make the Elven Accuracy feat work with the second benefit of Great Weapon Master?

Elven Accuracy (XGtE, p. 74) says:

Whenever you have advantage on an attack roll using Dexterity, Intelligence, Wisdom, or Charisma, you can reroll one of the dice once.

The second benefit of Great Weapon Master (PHB, p. 167) says:

Before you make a melee attack with a heavy weapon that you are proficient with, you can choose to take a - 5 penalty to the attack roll. If the attack hits, you add +10 to the attack’s damage

Boundary Conditions

Any official material (non-UA) is fine, as are optional rules like feats (obviously) and multiclassing.

What does not work

The Shillelagh cantrip lets you attack using Wisdom, but the Quarterstaff is not heavy.

Background

Champion Fighters could really benefit from an increased crit chance, and melee advantage is very easy to get.

Answer 1

The most optimal way to do this would be to play a Half-elf Hexblade.

Drow (PHB) & Shadar-Kai (UA Elf Subraces) come in second (+1 to Cha vs Half-Elf's +2), and other elves are still viable (just a little behind on Cha). You can start using a heavy weapon once you reach 3rd level in Warlock with the Hexblade Patron.

Hex Warrior (XGtE 55,56)

• Proficiency with martial weapons (as well as medium armor and shields)
• Select a single weapon which is not two-handed and use Charisma for attack and damage. This extends to your pact blade, regardless of its type.

Pact of the Blade (PHB 107)

• At 3rd level you can choose to summon any melee weapon as your Pact Blade. At this point you may choose your heavy weapon and attack with Charisma.

Also note that your attack cantrips such as Eldritch Blast and Shocking Grasp would benefit from the reroll as well.

Here are some ideas that come close but I don't think quite work:

• 3rd level Paladin with the Oath of Devotion
  • Sure, you add Charisma to your attack. That probably doesn't count as using Charisma. Let's call it a bonus. Note that you don't add Charisma to your damage. (Maybe you can convince your DM that this works. It comes down to what using Charisma actually means in the context of the various rules.)
  • Also, this takes an action where you could have been attacking and uses up your Channel Divinity that you only get once per rest.
• Kensei Monk with a Bow
  • Improvised weapons don't inherit properties from what they really are. Using a bow as a club/staff doesn't give it the heavy property and doesn't make it a monk weapon. In melee, a bow is just a length of wood (not even as good as a staff). (It certainly doesn't inherit the ranged property.)

Honestly, it makes sense that you are having a hard time using a heavy weapon without using Strength. This is part of the game balance that 5e sets up. If anything Hexblade/PoB breaks this balance by using Charisma with any weapon. Don't be surprised if you see Hexblade as the go-to for getting around balancing rules.

Answer 2

A Hexblade Warlock (from Xanathar's Guide to Everything) who chooses the Pact of the Blade and summons a heavy weapon as their pact weapon can attack with it using Charisma. This will allow them to gain the benefits of Elven Accuracy and Great Weapon Master simultaneously.

Answer 3

At this time, the only way I can think to get this to work is to take three levels in Hexblade and selecting Pact of the Blade. Here's the relevant text for the Hex Warrior feature (which Hexblade Warlocks get at first level):

"When you attack with that weapon, you can use your Charisma modifier, instead of Strength or Dexterity, for the attack and damage rolls." Now, normally this does exclude two-handed weapons as defined earlier in the feature, but the final sentence gives us this gem:

"If you later gain the Pact of the Blade feature, this benefit extends to every pact weapon you conjure with that feature, no matter the weapon's type.

So, a 4th level Hexblade Warlock who took Pact of the Blade and the Elven Accuracy feat could take advantage of Elven Accuracy with their summoned Pact Blade Greatsword/Greataxe/Glaive/insert heavy weapon here.

Answer 4

It's Unearthed Arcana content, but the Artificer Battle Smith allows for +Intelligence to weapon attacks and damage which is a perfect fit for both GWF and Elven Accuracy.

https://media.wizards.com/2019/dnd/downloads/UA-Artificer2-2019.pdf

Battle Smith is proficient with martial weapons and medium armor, which is a good start, but things just get better from there. Battle Smith gets free magic items, some healing, expertise in tools (including thieves' tools), and if your DM will allow it firearms. The Arcane Weapon spell allows you to use a greatsword and have a standard attack at +6 for 3d6+4 at level 3 (plus potential Booming Blade/Green Flame blade damage). At that same time your Bonus action Iron Defender bite is +4 attack for 1d8+2.

I recommend High Elf, with point buy stats of INT 16, DEX 14 (med armor cap), CON 14 (HP+saves), and rest into WIS or CHA as you see fit, dumping STR.

It's your call on GWF or Elven Accuracy at 4 or 8. But with class included Iron Defender companion you will be able to set up flank or help action for advantage. You also have Faerie Fire as a spell, but I recommend Arcane Weapon. There is an added defensive bonus too, as the Iron Defender will impose disadvantage on anyone attacking you if they are the ally you use to get flanking advantage.

With High Elf sub-race you can snag Booming Blade/Green Flame as your racial cantrip. The Cantrip isn't that great since above 5 this class gains a second attack that is almost always better. Alternately you could sub race into Eladrin for Fey Step, though the potential of War Caster later might mean sticking with the cantrip melee attack.

At level 8 you finally have both GWF and Elven Accuracy: 2 attacks, +3 hit rolling 3 dice, 3d6+14 damage, with an additional 2d4 on the first hit from Arcane Jolt that also heals for 2d4. That's barbarian level damage. You have 59 HP and 18 AC due to the free half plate +1. You can blind an attacker who hits you as a Reaction once per rest using free +1 Radiant Weapon. Your Bonus action can be used for an Iron Defender bite at +5 for 1d8+3 if you aren't using it for GWM bonus attack. You have 4 first level slots and 3 2nd level slots that can be used for healing or utility (though the above damage numbers use Arcane Weapon). If your enemy is harder to hit, consider Haste instead of Arcane weapon after level 9.

At level 12, look for a half feat to take your INT to 18, for which I recommend Keen Mind or Observant. Your Arcane Jolt is 4d4 and your free items are now +2. At 16 take INT to 20. At 19 consider War Caster to bring Booming Blade back into relevance and pick up advantage on CON saves for concentration, or look at Tough for extra HP if you haven't found a Amulet of Health. At 20 you can attune to three extra items and you gain +6 to all saves.

I don't recommend multiclassing since the level 20 ability looks good to me, but if you know your game won't hit that level I could see a few options: a 1 level dip in Forge Domain Cleric for heavy armor (allowing you to dump DEX) and healing word; 3 levels of Fighter Champion for Improved Critical, Action Surge, Second Wind, and a fighting style; 2 levels into Wizard for War Magic's Arcane Deflection, Shield spell, and INT to initiative.

Answer 5

Yes, there is a way to do this.

Xanathar's Guide to Everything has an archetype for the Warlock called Hexblade. Beginning at level 3, if you select the Pact of the Blade feature, you can use your Charisma for the attack and damage rolls of any weapon that you bind to, including heavy weapons.

Note that this would not work for levels 1 and 2, as you can only use your Charisma for non-heavy weapons at that point - and as a non-human, you wouldn't normally be able to take a feat until you get an ASI at level 4.