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quiet1mi
2009-10-21, 10:25 PM
I was reviewing the Crusader from the Tome of Battle and noticed that the crusader gets a bonus to hit and damage based on how much damage he is dealt...

I decided to build a Crusader that is both a Masochist and a Sadist, delighting in the damage he takes with the damage he deals...

What feats would best optimize this concept, What Maneuvers would best illustrate this concept... My initial thoughts were any Maneuver that heals him (To allow him to continue taking damage)

Weapon-wise I see him wielding a Vicious Weapon that is also merciful (Non-lethal damage still hurts while vicious weapons only fuel the his bonuses to hit and damage)

So, any other thoughts?

Naturally he will be Chaotic Evil so Vile feats are not off limits...

infinitypanda
2009-10-21, 10:34 PM
There's a feat (I can't remember the name, sorry) which gives you a bonus to skill checks equal to how much damage you took last round or something like that. That would be kind of a fun one. You could be like Tyler Durden from Fight Club, and be extremely intimidating after getting the crap beat out of you.

Mongoose87
2009-10-21, 10:53 PM
Make sure he takes the 9-th level Devoted Spirit maneuver, if he's gonna be like that. On-hit Heals = win.

SurlySeraph
2009-10-21, 10:54 PM
There's Masochism and Sadism feats (or are they spells? I honestly can't remember) in the BoVD. Bonuses depending on how much damage you take or receive.

PairO'Dice Lost
2009-10-21, 11:04 PM
There's Masochism and Sadism feats (or are they spells? I honestly can't remember) in the BoVD. Bonuses depending on how much damage you take or receive.

They're spells--Sor/Wiz 2, others 3; +1 bonus per 10 points taken or dealt.

rezplz
2009-10-22, 12:36 AM
I think Robilar's gambit would work pretty well. You get hit more, and you also get more AoO's.

Eldariel
2009-10-22, 01:10 AM
Pain Mastery from Savage Species works; just, since it only works in increments of 50, you need quite a lot of HP to make it workable. Other than that, Karmic Strike, the mentioned Robilar's Gambit, and then you could use stuff like Stone Power and Elusive Target to not die.

RagnaroksChosen
2009-10-22, 07:54 AM
wouldn't it make more sense being LE instead of CE? ehh not sure...


but as far as the crusader goes i like the viscous idea... Mabye a flail or whip as well for a weapon..
Mabye even a spiked chain.,

JeenLeen
2009-10-22, 08:00 AM
They're spells--Sor/Wiz 2, others 3; +1 bonus per 10 points taken or dealt.

There's an (IIRC) earring which takes the ring slot which gives you a continous Sadism and Masochism. It seemed very strong when I read it.

For feats:

Reflexive Psychosis from Elder Evils gives you DR 5/- but makes you Confused. Could work with your concept--going into a battle rage where you don't care who you hurt and sometimes just stand around gibbering. Although it's prereqs appear rather sub-optimal.

Vile Martial Strike (same book) gives your weapon 1 Vile Damage, which, again, perhaps not strong (requires Weapon Focus) but could work with the character. Slowly taint them and injure their soul, while not actually lethally hurting the body: very sadistic. I'm not sure how Vile and Merciful interact, though.

A lot of the Deformity feats give bonuses to Intimidation.

Grumman
2009-10-22, 08:28 AM
If you don't already have a stance planned, you could pick up Martial Study and Martial Stance for the Blood in the Water stance (and Rabid Wolf Strike) from the Tiger Claw school. Every time you crit, you get a cumulative +1 to hit and damage.

deuxhero
2009-10-22, 08:47 AM
If you're open to homebrew, there is an [evil] focused discipline somewhere if someone can find it.

Pharaoh's Fist
2009-10-22, 08:49 AM
Khorne cares not where the blood comes from!

Sinfire Titan
2009-10-22, 08:50 AM
Elder Evils
This portion is devoted (pardon) to the darkest forces in existence. Devoting yourself to an Elder Evil provides an immediate Bonus Vile Feat from a set list, plus an additional feat for every 5 HD you have. Total benefit is 5 free feats, at the cost of your soul (but that's not as bad as it sounds, seeing as you can still be rezzed). Hands down, this book is the best supplement for a Crusader. Why? 5 free feats, many of which are nothing but gravy for you. Also, easy access to difficult feats such as Willing Deformity: Tall or Obese. Finally, the Elder Evil Serotous grants every single domain in existence. Even the exalted ones. This couples nicely with the Devotion feats above. A level-dip or so into Cleric is well worth this, and the Vile Crusader is one of the most powerful builds for a Crusader character (only Lockdown exceeds its sheer power).



Chosen of Evil: Con damage hurts, but the payout is decent. Find a way to heal it and you're set. Prerequisite feat for the most part. Emergency button otherwise.
Master's Will: Hello! It seems like a trap. It isn't. This feat is more of a Double-Edged Sword, but that helps you. As an Immediate action, roll 1d20. If the result is odd, +8 to the next d20 roll of your choice for one round. Not a bad benefit. If even, however, you take damage equal to your level. This fuels Furious Counterstrike. At 20th level, this feat becomes: Immediate action for a +8 to one roll or a +4 to attack and damage rolls this round. Nothing whatsoever wrong with this. Intense on the Immediate action though...
Evil's Blessing: Dark One's Own Luck for 5 rounds. Odds are, as a Crusader, you have a decent Cha. It stacks with Indomitable Will. If you have a Surprise action this encounter, use this and activate Travel Devotion (or some other Swift/Immediate action ability).
Insane Defiance: The requirements for this feat are fairly high, but a Cleric/Crusader/RKV will have the ability to take it. 1 point of Wisdom damage to redirect any effect that targets Will to another target, legal or otherwise. The new target takes a -4 to their save. The party's Beguiler will love you.

Deformity: Madness!: -4 Wis for immunity to Mind-Affecting abilities. Blanket immunity. Not a +2 bonus, not a Cha to saves against, blanket-****ing-immunity. Hard to get more powerful than that. Oh, and 1/2 character level to one Will save 1/day. The hit to Wis hurts, no doubt about it. But unless you are an RKV, you won't care!
Reflexive Psychosis: Immediate action for DR 5/-. No drawback other than the -4 Wis from the requirement. What's that? Confusion? Mind-Affecting, thus you are immune. Ha!



Generous Sacrifice: Got a Wizard nearby? Does he know how to cast Animate Dead? Get him to Animate a frog. Keep it in your pocket. Give it negative levels during post-combat healing. Or to the party's Lich Dread Necromancer. Or any undead ally. Exemplars of Evil.

Blessing of the Godless: Take a look at the first ability. That's the only one that really matters. If the other two come up enough, use them too. But in general you will only need the first one. Turn a bottle of Holy Water into healing for the entire party. 25gp heals a total of your Level*X, where X is the number of other participants+1. There's a cap of 6 people total (yourself counted), so that equals roughly 120hp. Everyone has to take their Character Level's worth if they use it, but odds are you are the only one who will really need it. That's the equivalent of a Heal Spell, CL 12th, for 25gp and 10 minutes. Exemplars of Evil. Vile feat.

Fell Conspiracy: The other Ritual feat in EoE. This one's weakest ability is Message At Will to anyone in the group. That's a short range telepathy ability. Perfect for spying. Or just gathering information. The second two abilities are effectively Hive-Minding the entire party. 100ft radius Telepathy and none of you can be Flanked unless everyone is. +2 Spot and Listen. Best utility feat I've ever seen. Combine this with Blessing of the Godless, above, and you've effectively got a powerhouse party with just you! 1 hour, 6 minutes every day at 9th level and higher, costing a total of 527gp/day, and can be done while everyone else is preparing spells and such. Vile Feat, Exemplars of Evil.

Willing Deformity (Obese): Dragonborn for the Vile characters. Sort of. +2 Con, -2 Dex. Nothing bad about that! BoVD.


There you go. Those feats are everything you need.

Person_Man
2009-10-22, 09:04 AM
Retributive Amulet: Probably one of the most powerful defensive items out there. Every time you take melee damage, that damage is split between you and the attacker. Book of Exalted Deeds pg 116.

There's also a Binder Vestige (Dahlver-Nar) that allows you to choose one enemy, and if he fails a Will Save then he takes 50% of the damage you take. You'd have to dip into Binder (3ish levels?) to get access to it though.

And there's always good old Hostile Empathic Transfer (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/psionic/powers/empathicTransferHostile.htm) and Claws of the Beast, though that would require Warmind 6 or Psychic Warrior 7 or Psion 7.

And obviously there are a bunch of Devoted Spirit stances and manuevers that will help.

Glyde
2009-10-22, 09:14 AM
There's a feat called Lady's Gambit that deals damage to you up to your character level, then adds that to hit and damage equal to half that value. It's originally in a Dragon mag, but its also on crystal keep.