MrCruz
2010-04-21, 06:48 PM
My first Giantitp post! I'd just like to take a brief moment to say what a wonderful resource these forums have been; there are really some wonderful (and well-read) minds here, and I look forward to providing my two cents in the future. Anyways, thanks all!
On to the topic of my post: I'm currently DMing a game in a homebrewed setting that involves an organization comprised of mage hunters and information brokers. The party has only encountered one member of this group as of yet, whose build I've included below. She is a recurring character who will be leveling up with the party. I hope that you'll give me a bit of feedback as to where this character should go in the future, or as to how I could have made her better in the initial build.
All non-third party books are open, though I would consider (case-by-case basis) allowing content from Dragon. The basic idea is a grapple-centric, stealthy character with incredible saves against spells/spell likes while (through her aura, curse, and dark companion) simultaneously making her enemies' saves as low as possible.
The build:
Human with Fire Souled template
Monk 2/ Hexblade 4/ Paladin Of Tyranny 3/ Shadowdancer 1 (for Hide in Plain Sight)
Template: Fire Souled (DR314, +4 Cha, Leadership as bonus feat)
Abilities: Str 14, Dex 16, Con 14, Int 18, Wis 10, Cha 23 (18 + 4 template + 1 bump).
Spells Known: Hideous Laughter, Expeditious Retreat
Feats:
Total = 11 (4 Lvl + 1 Human + 2 Flaws + 3 Monk + 1 Template)
So we end up with:
Able Learner, Dodge, Combat Reflexes, Mobility, Improved Unarmed Strike, Improved Grapple, Scorpion's Grasp (Sandstorm 52), Force of Personality (CAdv 109), Leadership, Nymph's Kiss (BoED 44), Frightful Presence (Dcn 106, IIRC)
Highlights:
Saves. Because of Nymph's Kiss, Divine Grace, Force of Personality, Arcane Resistance (Hexblade), and her freakishly high Cha modifier, she's gonna be able to resist just about anything. Granted, these are at their highest against spells/spell likes, but even against mundane stressors, her saves still kick ass.
Debuffs. Hexblade's Curse, Frightful Presence, Dark Companion (Hexblade familiar variant, PHB2 47), and Aura of Despair combine to give your foe a cumulative -2 to skill checks, damage rolls, and AC, a -4 to attack rolls and ability checks as well as a whopping -8 to all Saves!
These two features combine to make her a wonderful complement to the arcane caster; she can sneak in to combat with HiPS, pop out of stealth in the middle of baddies, and the party wizard can start casting fireballs or what have you into the fray without any fear of this character suffering the consequences.
Weaknesses:
Skill points have to be spread super thin. Nymph's Kiss, however, helps mitigate this deficiency quite a bit.
Heavy reliance on grapple in combat. This is alright for casters, but martial characters can be a real bother if not dropped quickly (Hideous Laughter, etc.). Poisoned armor spikes on my Razor Armor (BoVD) Mithral BP for the win, I suppose.
Mediocre AC. Restricted to Light Armor :smallfrown:
Well, that about sums it up, I suppose. I'd be thrilled to hear from some of you 3.5 gurus out there, if you're willing to lend some constructive feedback. I'm not trying to have her completely optimized, and don't expect her to ever be a solo dragon slayer or anything, but it would be nice to see some growth :smallsmile:
Oh! By the by, I have ruled that, were this character to take levels in, say Blackguard, Dark Blessing would not stack with Divine Grace. Although the bonuses are untyped, they both represent a reward from your god, which would be somewhat silly to be able double up on. Because they come from different sources entirely, however, I have ruled that Divine Grace does stack with Arcane Resistance.
On to the topic of my post: I'm currently DMing a game in a homebrewed setting that involves an organization comprised of mage hunters and information brokers. The party has only encountered one member of this group as of yet, whose build I've included below. She is a recurring character who will be leveling up with the party. I hope that you'll give me a bit of feedback as to where this character should go in the future, or as to how I could have made her better in the initial build.
All non-third party books are open, though I would consider (case-by-case basis) allowing content from Dragon. The basic idea is a grapple-centric, stealthy character with incredible saves against spells/spell likes while (through her aura, curse, and dark companion) simultaneously making her enemies' saves as low as possible.
The build:
Human with Fire Souled template
Monk 2/ Hexblade 4/ Paladin Of Tyranny 3/ Shadowdancer 1 (for Hide in Plain Sight)
Template: Fire Souled (DR314, +4 Cha, Leadership as bonus feat)
Abilities: Str 14, Dex 16, Con 14, Int 18, Wis 10, Cha 23 (18 + 4 template + 1 bump).
Spells Known: Hideous Laughter, Expeditious Retreat
Feats:
Total = 11 (4 Lvl + 1 Human + 2 Flaws + 3 Monk + 1 Template)
So we end up with:
Able Learner, Dodge, Combat Reflexes, Mobility, Improved Unarmed Strike, Improved Grapple, Scorpion's Grasp (Sandstorm 52), Force of Personality (CAdv 109), Leadership, Nymph's Kiss (BoED 44), Frightful Presence (Dcn 106, IIRC)
Highlights:
Saves. Because of Nymph's Kiss, Divine Grace, Force of Personality, Arcane Resistance (Hexblade), and her freakishly high Cha modifier, she's gonna be able to resist just about anything. Granted, these are at their highest against spells/spell likes, but even against mundane stressors, her saves still kick ass.
Debuffs. Hexblade's Curse, Frightful Presence, Dark Companion (Hexblade familiar variant, PHB2 47), and Aura of Despair combine to give your foe a cumulative -2 to skill checks, damage rolls, and AC, a -4 to attack rolls and ability checks as well as a whopping -8 to all Saves!
These two features combine to make her a wonderful complement to the arcane caster; she can sneak in to combat with HiPS, pop out of stealth in the middle of baddies, and the party wizard can start casting fireballs or what have you into the fray without any fear of this character suffering the consequences.
Weaknesses:
Skill points have to be spread super thin. Nymph's Kiss, however, helps mitigate this deficiency quite a bit.
Heavy reliance on grapple in combat. This is alright for casters, but martial characters can be a real bother if not dropped quickly (Hideous Laughter, etc.). Poisoned armor spikes on my Razor Armor (BoVD) Mithral BP for the win, I suppose.
Mediocre AC. Restricted to Light Armor :smallfrown:
Well, that about sums it up, I suppose. I'd be thrilled to hear from some of you 3.5 gurus out there, if you're willing to lend some constructive feedback. I'm not trying to have her completely optimized, and don't expect her to ever be a solo dragon slayer or anything, but it would be nice to see some growth :smallsmile:
Oh! By the by, I have ruled that, were this character to take levels in, say Blackguard, Dark Blessing would not stack with Divine Grace. Although the bonuses are untyped, they both represent a reward from your god, which would be somewhat silly to be able double up on. Because they come from different sources entirely, however, I have ruled that Divine Grace does stack with Arcane Resistance.