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View Full Version : [3.5] Help with a build around a character concept



Thurbane
2010-07-19, 09:18 PM
OK, here's the concept - a full BAB (or close to it) warrior type, who has a single weapon that he bonds with, and uses to the exclusion of all others.

Something along the lines of Anointed Knight, Kensai, Weapon of Legacy and Item Familiar all rolled into one. Also, I'd like the weapon to be adaptable - with the enhancements that let it overcome DR, change form etc.

Here's my fiats:

Sources: no ToB, Psionics or Incarnum; no Dragon material or 3rd party/homebrew; nothing FR or Eberron specific; other than that, pretty much any WotC 3.X hard cover book is open.

Race: preferrably human, but any PHB race (or MM1 variant thereof).

Levels: I'd like for this character to be playable from 1st level through about 14 (the highest the game is likely to get to).

Concept: full BAB (or close to), but ideally with decent skill points/selection and some out of combat versatility (yes yes, I know ToB is better at this, but it's not used in our games). I'd like to steer clear of casters if possible, but pseudo-casters like Binder etc are cool.

Greymane
2010-07-19, 09:19 PM
Fighter/Kensai/PrC-From-Weapons-of-Legacy? Legacy Champion or something of the sort? AFB at the moment...

Thurbane
2010-07-19, 09:26 PM
Something along those lines, yes.

What's the earliest level you can get into Kensai, and what's the best base to build on? And how does Kensai stack up against Anointed Knight?

Gerrtt
2010-07-19, 09:34 PM
Isn't there a enchantment that allows a weapon to count as multiple metal types for DR purposes? Metalline or something like that, maybe Transmuting?

Also, with pure fighter you're looking at level 8 for entry into Kensai because of needing ranks in 2 cross class skills. If you went with a two level paladin dip, however, you could get in earlier at level 6.

Eldrys
2010-07-19, 09:44 PM
make sure to get Morphing and Mettaline on your weapon for variability

IdleMuse
2010-07-19, 09:44 PM
Yeah, [Base Melee of Choice]/Kensai is really what you're looking for, I think? Your base class mixture depends a bit on what kind of weapon you're picking. Swashbuckler3/Fighter2 for Finesse weapons, Barbarian dips otherwise? Knight is pretty cool if you want to be Charismatic and use a shield? Paladin can be alright if you want a lawful paragon flavour, which is fairly good for Kensai, and probably the intended entry route. Unfortunately without FR you mis the fairly cool Harmonious Knight Alt.Paladin.

Kensai can be got into after 5 levels pretty easily, assuming you are in a combination of classes that gives you the skill reqs as class skills (Concentration, Diplomacy, Ride).

Anointed Knight is similar to Kensai in terms of qualification, and has the advantage of Full BAB, but is rather stuck to the Good fluff, so fine for a religious style character. Kensai has generally nicer class features IMO, but has a bit of an XP cost (whereas Anointed Knight has a GP cost). It's worth noting the amusing ability off Anointed Knight to make your weapon an Intelligent on.

So yeah, Swashbuckler 3/Fighter 2, Fighter 4/PounceBarb 1, Knight 5 (if your chosen weapon is a Lance), Paladin 4/PounceBarb 1 are all fairly good entries in the abstract, choose based on what kind of auxilliary abilities you want.

gallagher
2010-07-19, 09:53 PM
barbarian one for pounce and whirling frenzy. go lawful, you cant rage anymore but you couldnt anyway. take 2 levels of pally and 3 of knight, and pump your CHA. take some levels of kensai, and dungeoncrashing variant fighter for awesomeness. have a reach weapon, or something that you can bullrush with (i have no idea if you can bullrush with a weapon) and have fun

Thurbane
2010-07-20, 12:55 AM
Thanks for all the advice so far...any ideas on how to integrate Item Familiar into this? I'm a little shaky on the IF rules, but I think it would fit my concept.

Kylarra
2010-07-20, 01:28 AM
The easiest way to integrate item familiar is to bludgeon your DM until he agrees to never target it.

Keep in mind that as a fighty type you're not really gaining as much benefit from the item familiar as you would if you were a caster.

TurtleKing
2010-07-20, 01:44 AM
To overcome damage resistance you want the shadow striking from ToM. It attunes to a creatures damage reduction to overcome it after you have hit it. This attunement fades after 1d4 minutes since last made contact with the appropiate creature.

Wings of Peace
2010-07-20, 01:46 AM
It's not exactly what you're asking for, and it's not a hardcover book, but I bring it as an offering of something that with some re-flavoring could work quite nicely. (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/re/20030224a)