PDA

View Full Version : Acrobat Character (3.5)



JellyPooga
2009-09-16, 04:45 AM
I'm trying to build an acrobat character. Combat efficacy is not an issue. What I would like is suggestions for feats, skill tricks, class and PrC combos that add up to produce the most acrobatic character possible.

So far here's what I have:

Race
Thri-Keen : +30 Jump is too good to pass up

Classes
Ninja Lvl 4 : 6+Int skill points/level, Great Leap

PrCs
Thief Acrobat : general acrobatic goodness

Feats
Mental Leap : another +10 Jump
Speed of Thought : Fast = more jump!
Up the Walls : Climb at full base speed? yes please
Run+Fleet of Foot : Running round corners? Thought most could do that...
Leap of Heavens : another +5 Jump when getting a run up

Skill Tricks
Extreme Leap
Leaping Climber
Nimble Charge
Slipping Past
Speedy Ascent
Up the Hill
Wall Jumper

Amiria
2009-09-16, 05:14 AM
Since you already want to take Leap of the Heavens (PH2) I wouldn't take Ninja as the base class ... they get Evasion (a prerequisite for Thief Acrobat) late at Lvl 12. Better take Rogue (maybe the Feat Rogue variant) for even more skill points, or Factotum ?

Yes, the jump checks will be a little lower but with more skill points you can afford more ranks or skill tricks.

JellyPooga
2009-09-16, 05:55 AM
Since you already want to take Leap of the Heavens (PH2) I wouldn't take Ninja as the base class ... they get Evasion (a prerequisite for Thief Acrobat) late at Lvl 12. Better take Rogue (maybe the Feat Rogue variant) for even more skill points, or Factotum ?

Yes, the jump checks will be a little lower but with more skill points you can afford more ranks or skill tricks.

The advantage of taking Ninja over Rogue is that it has Concentration as a Class Skill, which would be required to become Psionically Focused for Up the Walls, Speed of Thought and Mental Leap.

Really, the only reason for taking Leap of Heavens is for the +5 when making a running jump. To be honest, I'm not entirely sure it's worth taking, but I put in in as an option anyway.

As far as Evasion is concerned, I was considering either Rogue or Monk. Either would have to be taken to Lvl 3 at least to avoid Mulitclass penalties. Rogue obviously has the advantage of having an extra 4 skill points/level over Monk and grants Uncanny Dodge at 4th, but Trap Sense is pretty naff. On the other hand, Monk nets me an Enhancement bonus to Speed (small though it is) and Slow Fall (at 4th). Monk also has the advantage of having Concentration again.

Other option include Scout 5, which has the added advantage of netting a bonus feat as well as Uncanny Dodge. Shadowdancer also grants Evasion and Uncanny Dodge for a 2-level dip (though the "price" of Dodge and Mobility is quite high unless I can get some bonus feats)

Atelm
2009-09-16, 06:11 AM
Shadowdancer also grants Evasion and Uncanny Dodge for a 2-level dip (though the "price" of Dodge and Mobility is quite high unless I can get some bonus feats)

You could take two flaws at 1st level and take both Dodge and Mobility as bonus feats.

http://www.d20srd.org/srd/variant/buildingCharacters/characterFlaws.htm

JellyPooga
2009-09-16, 06:14 AM
You could take two flaws at 1st level and take both Dodge and Mobility as bonus feats.

http://www.d20srd.org/srd/variant/buildingCharacters/characterFlaws.htm

True enough. I also thought, after last posting, that I could use the Feat Rogue variant, take 4 levels of that and have Evasion, Uncanny Dodge and 3 Bonus Feats (admitedly they have to be Fighter Bonus feats, but I'm sure there must be 4 fighter feats that are acrobat related)

Trouvere
2009-09-16, 06:23 AM
Cityscape has two tactical feats Roof-Walker and Roof-Jumper, which are not particularly useful to someone who already has Up The Walls. The second allows you to charge by leaping down, and 'fall' sideways along a wall.

Comp. Adv. has Brachiation, which if you happen to find yourself in a wood is probably more useful than it sounds.

rypt
2009-09-16, 08:12 AM
Blade dancer from Oriental Adventures is a must for something like this. +30 bonus and the ability to take 10 for jump/balance/tumble as well as a tripling of your base move speed over 10 levels. Use the quick trait and the celerity domain to get 50 base speed before entering. A 150' speed gives you a +48 jump bonus on top of the aforementioned +30.

JellyPooga
2009-09-16, 08:36 AM
Blade dancer from Oriental Adventures is a must for something like this. +30 bonus and the ability to take 10 for jump/balance/tumble as well as a tripling of your base move speed over 10 levels. Use the quick trait and the celerity domain to get 50 base speed before entering. A 150' speed gives you a +48 jump bonus on top of the aforementioned +30.

Wow. That's impressive. It's a shame I don't have OA. Is that PrC floating around for free (legally) anywhere on the 'net that you know of?

Radar
2009-09-16, 08:43 AM
I would recommend to squeeze in some Balance skill optimisation. Waterwalking (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/epic/skills.htm#balance) and cloudwalking would be very, very in place for this character - it requires a lot of dedication tough (DC of 60 to walk on water). Unfortunately i don't know, how to optimise it, besides a +X competence bonus ring.

Keewatin
2009-09-16, 08:45 AM
One thing to be aware of as you boost your jump skill is its actually very possible to jump much higher then you can safely come down from, so be prepared to take falling damage unless your also bumping your tumble skill up or have a ring of feather fall.

jiriku
2009-09-16, 09:17 AM
+1 to blade dancer. Its feat requirements are steep (dodge, mobility, spring attack, IIRC), but the fighter bonus feats from a martial rogue would meet them. Ten levels of it would triple your base movement rate and give you +30 to balance jump and tumble (with additional jump bonuses based on your increased movement rate). Sadly, I don't think it's web-available in a legal fashion. You might check ebay or amazon and see if you can get a used copy cheap.

Gear! Boots of striding and springing or sandals of harmonious balance from Complete Adventurer would be good. Ring of jumping. The Halberd of Vaulting from Arms and Equipment guide gives a +30 untyped bonus to jump checks when you wield it, and since it's basically a long stick, I bet you could claim a +2 equipment bonus to balance check if you used it as a balancing pole.

Faleldir
2009-09-16, 09:41 AM
You could buy a wand of Footsteps Of The Divine. +50' to speed gives +20 to Jump.

ericgrau
2009-09-16, 10:10 AM
There are a lot of acrobatic things you can do with ride checks. If you're worried about the fragility of an ordinary horse, check out the monster manual and wondrous magic items for exotic mounts. And doing tricks on one of them is even cooler.

oxinabox
2009-09-16, 10:26 AM
Some of the reasons to take Blade dancer:
[spoiler]
REQ:
To qualify to become a blade dancer, a character must fulfill all
the following criteria .
Alignment: Any lawful.
Base Attack Bonus: +7.
Skills : Jump 12 ranks, Tumble 12 ranks.
Feats: Dodge, Mobility, Spring Attack .
Spells: Able to cast arcane or divine spells .
Special : Proficiency with any sword.

Advantages:
Full BAB
normal (poor) fort, will progression
Good Ref progression


CLASS FEATURES
The following are class features of the blade dancer.
Weapon and Armor Proficiency: Blade dancers are profi-
cient with all simple and martial weapons, and with light
armor. Ablade dancer who wears medium or heavy armor, or
carries a medium or heavy load, cannot use any of his special
abilities except for enchanted blade.
Acrobatics (Su) : A 1st-level blade dancer gains a +10 compe-
tence bonus on Balance, Jump, andTumble checks . At 5th level,
this bonus increases to +20, and at loth level it is +30. In addi-
tion, a blade dancer can always choose to take 10 on a Balance,
jump, or Tumble check, even when circumstances would nor-
mally prevent him from doing so .
Leap ofthe Clouds (Su): A blade dancer's jumping distance
(vertical or horizontal) is not limited according to his height .
Fast Movement (Su): A blade dancer moves faster than
normal. A Small blade dancer moves more slowly than a
Medium-size blade dancer, while a ratling moves faster, as
shown on the table below.
Enchanted Blade I (Su) : At 2nd level, a blade dancer can
temporarily enchant his blade to achieve a specific effect . The
effect lasts for 1 minute/level, and the blade dancer can create
the effect once per day. The blade dancer can choose from the fol
lowing special abilities to bestow on his blade: defending,
Blade Dancer Base Speed
Level 20 ft. 30 ft. 40 ft.
1 st-3 rd 40 ft . 60 ft. 80 ft.
4th-6th 45 ft. 70 ft. 95 ft .
7th-9th 55 ft. 80 ft. 105 ft.
10th 60 ft. 90 ft . 120 ft.

flaming, frost, shock, or ghost touch. A blade dancer can use
this ability even if he is wearing medium or heavy armor.
Ride the Wind (Sp): A blade dancer of4th level or higher can
use air walk as a spell-like ability once per day .
Acrobatic Attack (Ex): At 5th level, if the blade dancer
attacks by jumping at least 5 feet toward his opponent, jumping
down at least 5 feet onto his opponent or swinging on a rope or
similar object into his opponent, he gains a +2 bonus on attack
and damage rolls. The blade dancer must make a jump check; if
the result is less than 5 feet, he cannot use this ability on that
attack . If the result is greaterthan the distance between the blade
dancer and the opponent, the blade dancer can limit the distance
to that between himselfand the opponent as a free action .
Enchanted Blade II (Su): At 6th level, a blade dancer can
choose from the following abilities to bestow on his blade: bane
(choose type of creature), disruption, flaming burst, icy burst,
shocking burst, thundering, wounding. Alternatively, he can
add two enchanted blade I abilities to his blade, either simulta-
neously or separately.
Enchanted Blade III (Su) : At 10th level, a blade dancer can
choose from the following abilities to bestow on his blade:
dancing, flying*, passage", or speed. Alternatively, he can add
three enchanted blade I abilities to his blade, either simultane-
ously or separately. ("See Chapter S: Magic Items for these new
weapon special abilities.)
spoiler]

JellyPooga
2009-09-16, 11:36 AM
O.k. so here's a little update on where I am at the moment:

Race: Thri-Keen (LA eventually bought off)

Class:
2 Racial HD
Ninja 4 - For Great Leap
Martial Rogue 3 - 2 Bonus Feats, 3rd level to avoid multiclassing penalties
Divine Crusader 1 - Of Xan Yae, grants Celerity Domain (+10ft land speed!) and spellcasting to qualify for Blade Dancer
Blade Dancer 10 - x3 speed, +30 Balance, Jump and Tumble

It's tempting to switch out the Ninja levels for Thief Acrobat and take the Run and Leap of Heavens feats, but I'm not sure which would be best.

Feats:
Dodge+Mobility+Spring Attack - to qualify for Blade Dancer
Weapon Focus (Falchion) - to qualify for Divine Crusader
Up the Walls - effective Climb Speed equal to Land Speed
Speed of Thought - +10ft Speed
Mental Leap - +10 to Jump

With the bonus feats from Martial Rogue, I still have 2 Feats to play with (4 if I take Flaws). I don't think Roof-Walker/Jumper are really worth it that much with Up the Walls, but I'm still considering them for the effective Slow Fall granted by 'Walker and the ability to "fly down" spidey-style granted by 'Jumper. As I mentioned before, Run and Leap of Heavens are options if I ditch Ninja for Thief-Acrobat, which also gives the the option of taking Fleet of Foot and one other should I decide to take flaws.

Gear:

Most magical gear provides competence bonuses, of which Blade Dancer already grants ample. The Sandles of Harmonious Balance might be worthwhile though.

What with only having a spell-list of Expeditious Retreat, Wands aren't an easy option unfortunately and with only 3 levels that have UMD as a class skill, I don't think it's going to be easy reliably activating them (just for reference though, where can I find Footsteps of the Divine?)

lsfreak
2009-09-16, 11:42 AM
Look into Tiger Claw stuff from Tome of Battle. Sudden Leap (jump check and move as a swift action), Leaping Dragon Stance (+10 speed for jump checks, always running), and for combat a bunch of strikes that do extra damage with jump checks. Dip a level or two to grab the best stuff and then continue on your merry way with other acrobatics stuff.

rypt
2009-09-16, 11:43 AM
You are really getting diminishing returns on feats like speed of thought and mental leap. You might consider taking feats that allow you to do other things. Power attack, battle jump and leap attack are obvious options if you want to do more damage (and you are using a 2-handed weapon, afterall).

Also, there are the Boots of Shandukal (spelling may be slightly off) in Magic of Faerun that grants +10' speed and the ability to double your speed for 5 minutes/day.

EDIT: To reiterate what lsfreak said, a dip in swordsage or warblade for sudden leap and leaping dragon stance (among other manuevers) is superior to a couple levels of ninja. If you can dedicate more levels to martial adept classes, moment of alacrity and quicksilver motion would fit in nicely.

daggaz
2009-09-16, 11:47 AM
Dont forget that you get a +4 bonus to jump checks for every 10ft of speed you have over 30. A level of barbarian, the quickness trait, and the boots of springing and striding net you a +12 for speed alone (and then you factor in the competance bonus the boots give on top of that), not to mention you have a sick 60ft/rd move speed if you are a standard race.

FMArthur
2009-09-16, 12:49 PM
You're going to feel very silly when flight becomes widely available to your party. I hope you can come up with a way to make special use of your acrobatics for things other than simple movement, or your character might wind up a no-trick-pony. :smalleek:

JellyPooga
2009-09-16, 01:08 PM
You're going to feel very silly when flight becomes widely available to your party. I hope you can come up with a way to make special use of your acrobatics for things other than simple movement, or your character might wind up a no-trick-pony. :smalleek:

Heh, that doesn't worry me because this isn't a character for a game I'm playing...it's just an exercise in character build. On the other hand, a character such as this is largely quite viable in a low-magic setting or even a no-magic environment in a standard game (AMF doesn't affect any of his acrobatics as yet, with the sole exception of his Celerity Domain granted power, which I believe counts as an Su. ability). Though I do freely admit that he's more useful as an NPC than as a PC; he has no ability bar those of athletics and acrobatics (i.e. he can run, jump, balance, climb and tumble, but not a lot else). Part of the build concept was someone that is largely combat ineffectual.

oxinabox
2009-09-17, 05:13 AM
and then He knocks back a potion of jump for another +30.
and has icarian flight, distance leap