PDA

View Full Version : Build Concept Help



Talbot
2010-09-02, 10:24 PM
The sitch: Playing in a game with a few friends and mostly good DM as a high-Cha Bardsader with crappy Str and Con (built him deliberately to be Cha/Int-centric and work mostly as a party face/buffer). DM doesn't really seem to use Cha for anything, my diplomacies fall on dead ears, I don't really have much opportunity to bluff, despite a 22 CHA all NPCs instinctively dislike the character etc. Basically, I'm not enjoying playing the character because the way the campaign works, he isn't really able to do what I wanted from him. I don't want to quit the campaign (because I do like playing with my friends, and I know from past experience I can enjoy a game with this DM), but I also don't want to play this character any further.

So I've come up with a few character concepts for replacements. Now, as any of you who may have helped me build my Factotum detective or my Unarmed Swordsage Swashbuckler may have noticed, I like to start with kind of a basic sketch of who I want the character to be and a class or two I want to use, but not much else. Below are four loose character concepts. What I'm looking for from the Playground is A) build tweaks/ideas/suggestions/modifications to make the characters more fun and B) input as to which of the four seems like a better concept and/or build.

Important considerations: DM is difficult about multiclassing, so keeping builds to 2 (3 at the most) classes is ideal. Campaign seems pretty combat heavy, but not terribly optimized. Up to 2 Flaws allowed, but no Psionics.

Character #1: Madigan (Gray Elf)
A jaded adventurer. In his younger days, he was of the Errol Flynn mold, but a long life of disappointment and war has left him without much of a moral compass and little faith in the world around him. He's dabbled in mercenary work, but mostly just wanders the world looking for a quest/campaign/adventure that can re-ignite his enthusiasm. I want to play him as a grizzled, slightly amoral seen it all, done it all type.
Alignment: True Neutral
Classes: Thinking Swashbuckler 3/Warblade 17. Amenable to subbing out some of those Warblade levels, though.
Feats: Want to focus on Int a bit, so probably Faerie Mysteries Initiate, Educated, and Knowledge Devotion, at least. I'd like to squeeze in the TWF tree if I can (always wanted to see if Knowledge Devotion made it worthwhile), but not married to it. Not sure beyond that.
Other: Definitely uses a finessable weapon.

Character 2: Bub (Water Orc)
A former pirate, Bub got sick of taking orders, and took to the land to make a name for himself. Knowing nothing of life on the land, he still largely talks, thinks, and behaves like a pirate; albeit not a malicious one. In a throwback to his pirate days, Bub fights by throwing cannon balls at people.
Alignment: Chaotic Neutral
Classes: Not sure what to start with (Probably Scout or Fighter?), but finishing up with some combo of Master Thrower/Bloodstorm Blade/Hulking Hurler. Not sure quite how to build a thrower, though, as I've never tried before.
Feats: *shrugs*
Other: I'd like his main three stats to be some combo of Str/Int/Dex/Con. Don't really care which, but he should definitely have cruddy Cha and Wis for the way I want to play him.

Character 3: (Human?)
Lusufu
Raised by a tribe of Tiger worshipping Barbarians, Lusufu grew up as hunter doing his level best to emulate the noble cats his tribe worshipped. He showed great promise and a prophecy began to circulate that he would become a great champion, leading their tribe to never before imagined heights. And indeed, he might have, but when sent to town one day in his early adulthood, Lusufu fell in love with the virtues (or perhaps vices) of the civilized world and set himself up as a bounty hunter instead to feed his hedonistic habits.
Alignment: True Neutral or Chaotic Neutral
Class: Scout or Ranger X/Lion Totem Barbarian X/Warblade or Swordsage X/Bloodclaw Master 5
Feats: I'd like him to have the TWF tree, but otherwise I don't much care.
Other: Again, I'd like him to have low Wis for how I plan to play him. I dunno quite how the ratios will workout, but I'd like to cram as much Tiger Claw/Skirmish/Favored Enemy into him as I can for Pouncy goodness. May have to let one of those three go, though, in favor of making the other two actually useful. Current leaning is Scout 2/ Ranger 3/Lion Totem 1/Warblade 9/Bloodclaw Master 5 with Swift Hunter, but there's probably a better way, and the multiclass-hating DM is likely to torpedo it.

Character 4: (?)
Death Jr.
A dangerously delusional youth who believes himself to be the son of the Grim Reaper, or at least believes himself to be a Grim Reaper in training. Nobody's quite sure where Death Jr. came from, but he's been working as an unnervingly upbeat assassin, or as he calls it "practicing".
Alignment: Lawful Evil or Lawful Neutral
Class: Rogue or Ninja 5/Swordsage 5/Shadow Sun Ninja 10
Feats: Dunno
Other: Uses a Scythe. Love it if he could get Hide in Plain Sight. Not married to any of the classes, but I definitely want him to have something Sneak-Attacky/Sudden Strikey to go with the whole "assassin" thing.