Character Construction (Review and comment?)

[Athelian]

Hey, everyone. I'm, admittedly, a little inexperienced as it comes to running/participating in proper sessions of DnD - When my friends and I originally purchased the box set, I was elected to run our games. Now, given their lack of patience for number crunching/roleplay, this led to a more... Haphazard style of game than, I presume, is generally run. So, I've decided to hazard a try at the online community, where I could participate as a player in a more... 'developed' campaign than I managed to create. (I admit, I've always sought to experience a rich and developed roleplay in amongst strategic battle sequences. Shameless advertisement for an open slot in a campaign!)

http://www.myth-weavers.com/sheetview.php?sheetid=142428

So, I began toying with the mechanics of a character idea that I had dreamt up what seems to be millenia ago, and came up with a Rogue 3/Scout 3 Tiefling. I noticed in the Dungeon Master's guide that Tieflings are considered to have a +1 to their effective level, so, to ensure that I could maintain his effective level as six, without sacrificing his class levels, I got rid of his resistance to fire, electricity, and cold, as well as his ability to cast Darkness. I've always seen Tieflings as being more subtle in their genetic composition than advertised (Horns and hooves? Why not just go for a Half-Fiend and be done with it?), so, I do not mind losing those abilities, but, I guess I am asking if that was too far, too little, or just right of a nerf?

As for the next question, have I done his equipment well enough? The weapons and bracers seemed fair enough, but I am concerned with his armor. Is a +1 Shadowed Studded Leather armor too much for a level six? It easily fell within the bounds of the recommended wealth limit for level six players (13,000), but, it also was the most expensive piece of equipment in his possession by over half (5025, with the next piece being his bow at 2375.) If it is too much, please, let me know - I'd rather not be pushing the limits on what is realistic or fair.

Next up, I guess, is general build. I know the classes don't have too much of a difference between them, but, it fits the fluff I have developed and he hasn't lost anything major, as far as I can see it - If there are any majorly glaring flaws in his build, please let me know. (I was aiming for someone who could have the skill monkey applications of a rogue - Lock picking and device disabling - and retain the sneak attack capabilities, while combining them with the Scout's fair movement based damaged and earlier usage of some of the Rogue's abilities. On top of all of that, are his first three feats underpowered or simply undesirable for his class combination? I was thinking of choosing Weapon Finesse, Track (For flavor purposes and if there is an absent ranger) and dodge, but ended up opting for the dodge, mobility, spring attack tree, as it allows me to more fully utilize the Scout's movement damage and, perhaps, get me flanking so that I can pile on that sneak attack. So far, my only regret is the inability to choose weapon finesse, as I can get Track as my bonus feat, next scout level, but the dodge tree seemed like the overwhelmingly better decision, as it provided more, sooner.

So, thank you for reading my overly long post and aiding a poor, confused newb with his quest in creating a decent, first character.

[Pharaoh's Fist]

LA means that you are considered a level 7 character with 6 class levels.

[Hat-Trick]

Yes, he wants to know if his modifications to the Teifling set-up constitute the drop of the LA.

[Athelian]

LA means that you are considered a level 7 character with 6 class levels.

I'm aware. I'd prefer to participate in a game where the players start at level six, but I wanted to ensure that I would not have to waste a level for his race, which I chose for how it was integral to the backstory that I developed him on. Hence, the nerf.

[Pharaoh's Fist]

There's a lesser tiefling variant floating around on the internet somewhere. You may want to research that.

I believe your variant is balanced. Until you pick up a wand of Alter Self and transform into a Dwarven Defender for +18 NA, at least...

[Athelian]

Thanks much. I'll keep an eye out for the variant. I love the over all flavor of Tieflings, but it almost seemed as if the people who drafted it were trying to get the LA bump, to the point of adding extraneous abilities. I don't mind the Darkness ability, but the resistances just rub me wrong.

Anyone have advice on the overall class build or equipment choices?

[Dracomorph]

The armor bonuses from your bracers of armor and your studded leather don't stack; you should get rid of the bracers for something different.

Edit: Maybe buy a belt of healing or two with the money. Cloak of resistance would also work.

[Athelian]

They don't? Ach, why doesn't the bloody description explicity state it then? Alright, thanks. I'll check for a few, similarly priced items.

EDIT: Ah. '... Just as if he were wearing armor.' La merde.

EDIT2: Er, belt of healing? Where would this be? It doesn't appear to be in the DMG.

[Dracomorph]

I found it in the Magic Item Compendium; I sometimes forget that not everyone has the same books I do, sorry.

[Athelian]

Er, what would its stats be? It actually sounds kind of useful, if you wouldn't mind posting that. And, heh, don't apologize - Thank you for making the suggestion.

Plus, I built this character with Complete Adventurer, player's manual two and the core books.

[ShneekeyTheLost]

Instead of using Studded Leather, use Mithral Chain as the base. It is strictly better for you until your Dex gets over 22.

If you are going Scout/Ranger, grab Swift Hunter ASAP. Also, Spring Attack chain sucks. Go instead for Manyshot (which you get free of charge from Ranger) and eventually Greater Manyshot, as an archer build works much better than spring attack, unless you are using it as prerequsites for Shadowdancer.

Reading comprehention > me. I read ranger, not rogue. Actually, this is very sub-par, from a mechanics point of view. Either go straight rogue, or go straight scout... or do the scout/ranger with Swift Hunter... but splitting two skillmonkey classes just means you get half the fun for twice the price.

Find a way to increase your Con score. Now. Penalties to CON is a *VERY BAD THING*. Get it to at least a 10. Have you applied the attribute point you got at level 4?

[Pharaoh's Fist]

Er, what would its stats be? It actually sounds kind of useful, if you wouldn't mind posting that. And, heh, don't apologize - Thank you for making the suggestion.

Plus, I built this character with Complete Adventurer, player's manual two and the core books.

I don't have it. Seems to be from the Player's Guide to Faerun though.

Oh, and your con should be 12, Wis 9

[Pharaoh's Fist]

Ah, here you go. It's at the bottom.

Savage Progression (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/sp/20040213a)

[Dracomorph]

Belt costs 750 GP
grants permanent +2 competence bonus to heal checks
3 charges/day; activating is a standard action
1 charge: wearer heals 2d8 points of damage
2 charges: wearer heals 3d8 pts of damage
3 charges: wearer heals 4d8 pts of damage

Probably the most efficient healing I've seen short of having a cleric join the party.

[Doc Roc]

The belt is solid gold.

[Dracomorph]

The belt is solid gold.

Unusable because you can't pick it up?
:smalltongue:

[Athelian]

The constitution and wisdom scores are intentional - I am a firm believer in my character's attributes reflecting his personality and capabilities. Sorry, I'm a crazy diehard roleplayer.

I am considering trading the Rogue levels for Ranger, as the favored enemy would definitely reflect some backstory, but the religious undertones wouldn't apply, so I would only carry it to about third level and continue with Scout.

One major question, though - Why is Disable Device a cross class for the Scout? It states, in it's description of trapfinding, that it can use Disable Device to bypass traps.

[Irreverent Fool]

They don't? Ach, why doesn't the bloody description explicity state it then? Alright, thanks. I'll check for a few, similarly priced items.

EDIT: Ah. '... Just as if he were wearing armor.' La merde.

EDIT2: Er, belt of healing? Where would this be? It doesn't appear to be in the DMG.

Or more simply, they are both 'armor bonuses'. Named bonuses of the same do not stack, with the exception of dodge bonuses.

Edit: Meaningful input! I'll provide some. Later. For now: Find a way to take Weapon Finesse.

Edit 2: Helpful information/Useless biased opinions below
Race.
Tieflings generally have one fiendish feature. Not sure where you're getting the 'all of them have horns and hooves'. I suspect a terminal amount of exposure to 4e.

Their description:
Many tieflings are indistinguishable from humans. Others have small horns, pointed teeth, red eyes, a whiff of brimstone about them, or even cloven feet. No two tieflings are the same.

Mechanically, take the tiefling from the wizard's website linked above but do not take the racial level. This removes the +2 int bonus, the darkness ability, and lowers the resistances to 2. If this is meant to be a character for a more-or-less 'official' game, I would use this over any homebrewed options, even if it's just for flavor.

I feel the variant you created is a little too good for LA +0, due to gaining a bonus to two scores and a penalty to only one. Also, being an outsider comes with many advantages.


Equipment.
Is this a PC or an NPC? They use different tables for wealth-by-level.* Either way, at this level I don't think spending an extra 3,750g on +5 to hide checks is worth bothering with. Honestly, I don't think it's ever worth bothering with. Save the gold and buy a mithril shirt for 1,100g. +4 armor bonus, +6 max dex, and no armor check penalty. You can't ask much more from light armor. If you really want the +1 ac, feel free to add it. Armor hasn't reached 'all or nothing' at level 6, so it could help.

I think your bow is right on the dot. A level 6 character could reasonably be expected to have a +2 weapon, but there's nothing wrong with a +1. If you do go up to a +2, enhancement bonuses really aren't worth it. Grab a +1 special property instead. +1d6 fire damage is generally accepted to be better than +1 hit/+1 damage. (Especially since rogues can pick up wands of greater magic weapon when it starts to matter.) Since you can't flank with a bow though, and sniping is a -20 to your hide checks, I'd save that extra +1 for your melee weapon. Heck, you might even just want to use a masterwork composite shortbow since again, +1 damage is hardly worth the gold.

Of course, this depends on how much use you expect to get out of it.

I'm not sure why your shield is darkwood.

Classes.
If Rogue/Scout is something you want to play, go for it. Sneak Attack and Skirmish stack, so as long as you can get that 10' move (easy enough if you're tumbling), you get both. Invest heavily in use magic device. Yes, even then.

Feats.
Weapon Finesse. Get it. The dodge tree is terrible. I see what you're trying to do, but with precious few feats to spare, Weapon Finesse has better survivability. It's going to (right now) raise your chance to hit by +3. There is no good reason for your character to have it. No, not even then.

You'll need to switch to a finesse weapon. Rapier is generally the weapon of choice for rogues. Later on you can get keen or burst rapiers and go to town.

If you really want to get some sort of mobility thing, take a dip into barbarian and take the lion-totem variant (Complete Champion, iirc). It lets you trade a barbarian's fast movement for the ability to full-attack on a charge (pounce). You can combine this with two-weapon fighting if you like, which isn't bad when you're getting a pounce. Those Sneak Attack/Skirmish dice stack up nicely with an extra attack. A rogue could stay out of sight until an opportunity presented itself and then charge into a flanking position, getting a +4 to hit and all the advantages of Sneak Attack/Skirmish, or still get a +2 to hit when using TWF.

Yes, that's an entirely different thing. Even with my unhelpful idea for replacing it, mobility still isn't worth the effort.

*I don't have to explain my boldfaced type font to you!


obnoxious
sig

[PurinaDragonCho]

One major question, though - Why is Disable Device a cross class for the Scout? It states, in it's description of trapfinding, that it can use Disable Device to bypass traps.

Look for the errata online - I think it changed to add DD as a class skill.

[TheThan]

They don't? Ach, why doesn't the bloody description explicity state it then? Alright, thanks. I'll check for a few, similarly priced items.

EDIT: Ah. '... Just as if he were wearing armor.' La merde.

EDIT2: Er, belt of healing? Where would this be? It doesn't appear to be in the DMG.

With the exception of dodge bonuses, like bonuses don't stack. so just look for which kind of bonus the gear provides and cherry pick accordingly.