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Gamiress
2009-02-27, 10:13 PM
Okay, in my previous thread I got help choosing a class (Thank you again everyone!) for my Riddick style Drow. I've got it statted out, I just need some help tweaking it.

We get 200,000 gp to spend on chargen, plus a magic item up to 12000 subject to approval. The DM allowed me to play without LA, and the other members of the party are:
a Fighter/Cleric/Hunter of the Dead,
Ranger/Horizon Walker,
Rogue,
Barbarian,
Sorcerer,
Fighter/Paladin/Vassal of Bahamut

And so, my character so far is: Neertel (http://www.thetangledweb.net/forums/profiler/view_char.php?cid=5590)

Feats:
Weapon Finesse
Exotic Weapon Proficiency
Shadow Blade
Combat Reflexes
Stand Still

Stances:
Child of Shadows
Flame's Blessing
Black Pearl of Doubt
Dance of the Spider
Ghostly Defense

Maneuvers:
Burning Brand
Death Mark
Desert Tempest
Flashing Sun
Zephyr Dance
Fool's Strike
Scorpion Parry
Ballista Throw
Bloodletting Strike
Death in the Dark
Enervating Shadow Strike
Ghost Blade
Hand of Death
One with Shadow
Shadow Blink
Dancing Mongoose
Fountain of Blood
Hamstring Attack
Pouncing Charge
Prey on the Weak

Will this work properly? Is there anything I should switch out, or anything I should really really get?

Keld Denar
2009-02-27, 11:31 PM
First of all, I don't think you qualify for Holocaust Cloak when you have yourself taking it. You should still have an IL of 2 when you get your 2nd stance, restricting you to 1st level stances. Take Flames Blessing instead. Its the same school (doesn't mess up any maneuver dependancies you may have) and at your level would grant resistance20 to fire. Its not a stance you will spend much time in, but great utility if you need to run into a burning building or fight a red dragon. You also don't qualify for Five Shadow Creeping Envervation Strike which requires an IL of 17 (you max out at IL15)

As far as gear...

+1 Mithril Chain Shirt of Freedom 37100g
+1 Wounding Spiked Chain 18325g
Boots of Speed 12000g
+6 Dex gloves 36000g
+6 Wis neck with +4 Con 52000g

Hmmm, thats just over 155,000 leaving you with 45,000, unless you count the Boots of Speed as your 12,000g item, in which case you have 57,000g

If its the 57,000g, drop another 50,000g on a Phoenix Cloak which leaves you with about 7000g. Go through MIC and pick up a half dozen minor items like the Eyepatch that allows you to see invisible once a day and similar. That should serve you pretty well, IMO.

Draz74
2009-02-27, 11:34 PM
If its the 57,000g, drop another 50,000g on a Phoenix Cloak which leaves you with about 7000g. Go through MIC and pick up a half dozen minor items like the Eyepatch Headband that allows you to see invisible once a day and similar. That should serve you pretty well, IMO.

Fixed for you. (Scout's Headband. Though Blindfold of True Darkness is a tempting alternative.)

Keld Denar
2009-02-27, 11:42 PM
Meh, either or. The Scouts Headband is good, but the Eyepatch has style points. The merits of TS vs SI are pretty marginal for most people. Plus, I didn't leave him with much cash left, if he gets all the gear I recommended, so it would probably be wiser to go with the cheaper of the 2...

Lycanthromancer
2009-02-27, 11:49 PM
Get the headband.

You'll want sun lenses from Sandstorm. They negate penalties based on bright light, and cost a total of 10 gp. See Komiyan (http://darkencomic.com/) for details.

Gamiress
2009-02-27, 11:52 PM
Get the headband.

You'll want sun lenses from Sandstorm. They negate penalties based on bright light, and cost a total of 10 gp. See Komiyan (http://darkencomic.com/) for details.

Yeah, I've got the Sundark Goggles. I drew them into the rough sketch of his portrait, they're badass.

I cast Daylight and blind you!
HAH! You can't! THAT is the purpose of the goggles!

Lycanthromancer
2009-02-27, 11:53 PM
Yeah, I've got the Sundark Goggles. I drew them into the rough sketch of his portrait, they're badass.

THAT is the purpose of the goggles!

Ze goggles! Zhey do...

Um...

Nevermind.

Gamiress
2009-02-28, 01:13 PM
Okay, I've updated the sheet with the recommendations.

I'm a little worried about it being a Wounding weapon though, because the DM is really, really big on undead and constructs. Undead, constructs, and swarms. He watches too many horror movies.

Keld Denar
2009-02-28, 01:31 PM
Collision from MIC is another personal favorite of mine. While 2 points average damage lower than say....Holy, Collision has the wonderful property of being "weapon" type damage. This means it smites everyone equally, and only when you can't overcome DR is it negated. Now, you should be hitting hard enough that you'll be able to overcome most amounts of DR with just base damage (weapon + dex + maneuver) and thus the extra damage from Collision would never be negated unless you ran across something with like, DR X/40 or such.

If you are really worried about DR, Transmuting from the MIC is the same price as Wounding and Collision. It doesn't work on the first round, but after that adapts to overcome any DR except X/- and X/Epic. This works out fine most of the time if you do a move + manevuer in the first round, followed by a boost + full attack in the 2nd round. It also retains its "charge" for 10 rounds, which technically refreshes every round you hit something. So if you are whackin on a bunch of constructs with DR/Adamantine, every time you hit one, it would refresh the 10 round duration. If you go more than 10 rounds in a given combat without hitting something, you are probably doing it wrong, or you are probably dead. Shadowstriking is slightly better than Transmuting, working from the first round, but will cost you an extra 14,000g, which, to me just isn't worth it if you use smart positioning and tactics.

Make sense?

Lycanthromancer
2009-02-28, 03:40 PM
Collision is especially good with weaponry and tactics that multiply damage on a weapon. Crit-based builds, lance-centric charger builds, and anything using, say, a manyfanged dagger. :amused:

Gamiress
2009-02-28, 10:38 PM
Any recommendations on that last feat?

Lycanthromancer
2009-02-28, 10:52 PM
I'd suggest Stand Still (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/psionic/psionicFeats.htm#standStill), especially since you don't qualify for Improved Trip or Knock-Down. Additional battlefield control is always nice.

And, because I happened to make this just now (and your topic reminded me of it)...

http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g111/Lycanthromancer/motivator7565426.jpg

Gamiress
2009-02-28, 11:01 PM
LOL indeed! I love Jarlaxle, he's the best thing Salvatore ever wrote. Only he could make Entreri want to be a better man out of spite.

Neertel is something different though, his raison d'etre is: Storm the Abyss, kill Lolth, and install himself as the new authority. This DM likes to cherrypick from different settings, so it's a tossup on whether we meet Drizzt - Neertel reserves the right to punch him in the mouth if we do.

Yeah, he may have 18 charisma, but that's just looks. He's still a jerk.

Lycanthromancer
2009-02-28, 11:27 PM
Hmm. What about Hidden Talent (expansion)? Turning Large-sized 2 minutes/day (more if you get more power points) would be very useful.

It'd also allow you to get other psionic feats.

[edit] And take 15 on Concentration checks. Possibly useful, depending on your maneuvers.

Gamiress
2009-02-28, 11:51 PM
Nah, no psionics here. I have a psionic character, a Telepath, I love him to bits.

With this one I'm trying to run a little closer to badass normal, he's a slave who got tired of being one and is going straight to the head office to complain (violently).

Lycanthromancer
2009-02-28, 11:53 PM
What about incarnum? See any soulmelds you like? Easily reflavored to be more mundane, even if it goes away in an AMF. Like, maybe a magical tattoo in the appropriate item slot.

Gamiress
2009-02-28, 11:55 PM
Isn't Incarnum really underpowered?

Sstoopidtallkid
2009-02-28, 11:56 PM
Isn't Incarnum really underpowered?Odd and complicated, but it seems more mid-level than OP or weak.

Gamiress
2009-03-01, 12:01 AM
Hmm, I'll see if I can get my hands on a copy of MoI, but if it's really complicated I think I'll pass. This is my first time playing a Swordsage in the first place, and at high level too. I'm taking it carefully :smalltongue:

Lycanthromancer
2009-03-01, 12:04 AM
Isn't Incarnum really underpowered?

Not at all. It just takes some knowledge of how to work the system.

Totemists, for instance, are considered top-of-the-line melee combatants.

You can gain the ability to shape soulmelds through the Shape Soulmeld Feat. However, most soulmelds require a chakra bind for the really awesome abilities, which requires A.) a few levels in a meldshaper class (incarnate, totemist, etc), B.) a feat (Open Least/Lesser/Greater Chakra), or C.) a psionic power or spell to pry a chakra open.

Not all, but most.

One soulmeld, the Phase Cloak, allows you to go ethereal when you move more than 5 ft (if bound to the shoulder chakra, using the Open Lesser Chakra feat, available at level 12). This allows you to be immune to most AoOs, and allows you to fly, but only so long as you 'land' between moves. You can charge in rough terrain, and it prevents falling damage. Possibly worth 2 feats, ne?

I don't recall most of the better soulmelds that don't require binding for cool effects, but I'm sure there's someone else here that easily could.

Lycanthromancer
2009-03-01, 12:23 AM
Combine the ability to go ethereal with Flyby Attack, which allows you to perform a standard action during a move, and you can fly in ethereally (even through walls), perform a standard-action maneuver, and then fly out again. :belkar:

Gamiress
2009-03-02, 01:14 AM
Okay, I looked at Incarnum, and I don't think I'm prepared to learn two new ways of doing things at once at such a high level, with a DM like the one I've got. He's a 'sink or swim' DM.

I don't like the Phoenix Cloak. How about a Ring of Entropic Deflection?

Also, it seems that I'm not getting my full dexterity bonus here, how can I fix that?

Keld Denar
2009-03-02, 01:28 AM
Whats not to like about Phoenix Cloak? Its Wings of Flying, but better.

And depending on how much Dex you are missing, adding Nimbleness (MIC, IIRC) will increase your max dex bonus. Otherwise you'll have to go over to something like Gnome Twist Cloth or other really obscure exotic armor.

Gamiress
2009-03-02, 02:06 AM
Well, the flying doesn't really fit my theme, and if I know my DM (read: lover) the way I hope I do then being the one highest up has bad consequences.

With racial dex bonus, all advancement points in dex, and the +6 on the gloves (I need the details of those by the way) I'm at dex 29, and missing out on a full +3.

I really am the kind of player who will forgo something nifty in favour of story. I'm a White Wolf gamer at heart.

Gamiress
2009-03-02, 03:48 PM
You know, it occurs to me that I'd get a higher AC by ditching the chain and getting some Bracers of Armour or something.

Lycanthromancer
2009-03-02, 04:13 PM
I'd worry less about AC and more about miss chances.

See about getting a cloak of (minor) displacement. Maybe an item that casts blink.

Of course, if you want AC, consider both a monk's belt and a psychoactive skin of ectoplasmic armor (from CPsi).

Gamiress
2009-03-02, 08:32 PM
Ah, I hadn't even thought of a Cloak of Displacement! That's perfect! One Minor Cloak of Displacement, coming right up.

Starbuck_II
2009-03-02, 11:35 PM
Yeah, I've got the Sundark Goggles. I drew them into the rough sketch of his portrait, they're badass.

I cast Daylight and blind you!
HAH! You can't! THAT is the purpose of the goggles!

Actually, by reading the text and RAW: sun lens protect against only 2 things:
1)Any dazzle effect
2) Sun Glare

So other types of blindness can still happen.

Gamiress
2009-03-03, 12:15 AM
Actually, by reading the text and RAW: sun lens protect against only 2 things:
1)Any dazzle effect
2) Sun Glare

So other types of blindness can still happen.

Oh sure, ruin the joke.