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Fax Celestis
2010-11-01, 12:13 PM
My name is Fax Celestis and I have a confession to make.

I am atrocious at equipping my characters.

My wife, Raiven, is running a game bi-weekly in which I play a Wilderness Dungeoncrasher Feat Rogue 8/Swordsage 2 (yes I know I can't technically do that since Dungeoncrasher is a fighter variant and I'm playing a rogue, but the DM cleared it). Here's the sheet (http://pifro.com/pro/view.php?id=4521).

She recently asked all the players to give her a wish list of equipment they want over the next ten levels. This is what I came up with (https://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=0AuqvG3gSGuF7dDRRTUZqaV9vamZqUkdzWDVaa1VUb 3c&hl=en&authkey=CJCzrN0F). However, like an idiot, I forgot about armor.

I'd like to stick to light, mobile armor. Damocles is very fast, very mobile, and very charge-happy. I use skill tricks for crazy mobility shenanigans, and my feats and maneuvers are centered around crushing people against walls and stabbing them with a big ol' sword. You can tell from the wish-list the kind of equipment this character leans towards.

A buckler would be nice too. I don't fancy animated shields as a rule, but this character in particular wouldn't use one. Kelanen demands a swordsman wields his own weaponry, etc., etc. Pretty much any book is valid material, but follow the 'don't be a douche' rule, a.k.a. "Cheating is for LOSERS."

Fortification is boring but practical. Agility and Stamina are cheap save boosts. Nimbleness is potentially worthwhile, but may or may not be that good depending on what the base armor is.

So, that said, halpz?

Dusk Eclipse
2010-11-01, 12:19 PM
The celestial armor in the SRD might be a good start

darbythegambler
2010-11-01, 12:21 PM
Mithral Breastplate is popular amongst the light armored in my group, enhance at your whim

Fax Celestis
2010-11-01, 12:23 PM
Mithral Breastplate is popular amongst the light armored in my group, enhance at your whim

Well, that is sort of the problem. I don't really know what enhancements to go with.

Armor for my characters generally consists of "mithral breastplate of fortification +1". :smallredface:

Psyx
2010-11-01, 12:24 PM
Mithril mail shirts or breastplates are your friends.

Easy travel takes down encumbrance, and there's also a fixed-price enhancement that adds 5' to speed. 'Called' makes getting dressed in the morning a standard-action affair. Other than that, there's plusses and fortification. Deathward is another favourite of mine, though it is a +1.

Fax Celestis
2010-11-01, 12:24 PM
a fixed-price enhancement that adds 5' to speed.

Oh? Where?

dsmiles
2010-11-01, 12:29 PM
A little less on the 'mobility' side, and a little more on the 'nyah!nyah! you missed me!' side, my favorite enchantment is the greater blur one in the MIC.

Duke of URL
2010-11-01, 12:35 PM
Some suggestions...

Straight GP enhancements:

Silent Moves/Shadow (also Improved and Greater) (pick one since you're using a combined Stealth skill) [DMG] - +5/+10/+15 to Stealth
Stone Meld [Eb] DR 5/-, meld into stone 3/day
Various energy resistances [DMG]


Enhancement bonuses:

Death Ward [+1, CArc] - immunity to death effect 1/day
Malleable [+1, Und] - squeeze through small spaces at normal speed
Axeblock / Hammerblock / Spearblock [+2, CWar] - DR against slashing / bludgeoning / piercing
Soulfire [+4, BoED] - immunity to death effects
Fortification [+1/+3/+5, DMG] - (partial) immunity to sneak attacks and critical hits

Telonius
2010-11-01, 12:43 PM
There are a couple good ones in the DMG for something like this. Glamered is always a favorite of mine. Very flavorful, though not much for crunch. Still, could be nice for a Rogue-ish guy. Silent Moves or Shadow will give you a bonus to Move Silent or Hide, if you're typically up doing scout work. (Looks like you have the two skills combined into Stealth - good job!).

Psyx
2010-11-01, 12:46 PM
Oh? Where?

Can't remember. :smalleek:

Last Laugh
2010-11-01, 01:30 PM
Ghost Ward (MiC) is a +1 bonus that lets you add the enhancementbonus of the armor/shield to your touch AC. This might be a great choice for your buckler. And since you have evasion it will make you more survivable. (AoE and rays have difficulty with you)
IF you have a cleric consider loading up on +1 bonuses and have him cast Magic Vestment.
Mobility (MiC) might help with prereqs if you need it...I dunno, maybe you plan on Dervish?
Stamina (MiC) is +1 fort saves for 500 gold. (flat price) but it is a resistance bonus. improved is 4000 for +3, greater is 8000 for +5. (doesn't stack with resistance spells, cloak of resistance or vest of resistance.)

Optimator
2010-11-01, 03:21 PM
Here's a great link. (http://community.wizards.com//go/thread/view/75882/19859922/The_35_Armor_and_Shield_Special_Abilities_thread) I always check it when equipping characters' armor.

Fax Celestis
2010-11-01, 03:53 PM
Here's a great link. (http://community.wizards.com//go/thread/view/75882/19859922/The_35_Armor_and_Shield_Special_Abilities_thread) I always check it when equipping characters' armor.

/me robs some things out of it.

Darrin
2010-11-01, 04:36 PM
Check on the availability of chahar-aina and dastana. If you get a green light, start with a chain shirt + chahar-aina + dastana. This provides +6 AC (better than a mithril breastplate) and you can add a buckler/shield for an additional +1. Also, it's usually cheaper to enchant three or four different armor pieces than trying to load all your enhancements onto a mithril breastplate.

Augment Crystals (usually cheaper to start here than enhancements):

Pick up a +1 buckler if only to attach a Lesser Crystal of Arrow Deflection. +5 AC against all ranged attacks, an absolute steal for 2500 GP.

Armor crystal selection is a bit tougher... Lesser Crystal of Mind-Cloaking for 4000 GP isn't too bad, particularly if your Will save is on the weak side. Otherwise, take a Lesser Iron Ward Diamond or a Lesser Rubicund Frenzy (both 2000 GP).

I'm not sure how chahar-aina and dastana are treated for the purposes of augment crystals. OA lists them with the shields, but I doubt most DMs would allow them to accept augment crystals.

No ranks in Bluff? Huh, no sense in adding the Feycraft template to everything, then (+1 untyped bonus to Bluff per item when using your voice). Consider adding the Hellforged template to your armor (+1 AC when adjacent to an ally) and Pitspawned to your shield (any enemy striking you with a melee attack takes 1 damage).

Also consider, if available:

Shadow Sibling symbiont (8000 GP, Magic of Eberron). +4 circumstance bonus to hide, and as an immediate action gain 50% miss chance against a single attack, usable once per day per Con bonus.

Greaves of Aundair (5000 GP, Forge of War). +10 speed, and 3/day "immediately take a move action" (Shadow Stride, anyone?), but you're dazed until the end of your next turn.

awa
2010-11-01, 04:45 PM
i second the chairama +dastana if you make them master work and make the chain shirt mithral your looking at an armor bonus of +6 with no armor check penalty its hard to do better then that.

chariama and dastana are in oriental adventures its 3.0 though

Fax Celestis
2010-11-01, 04:49 PM
That's a no on the dastananigans, sorry guys. Good notes on the crystals, though.

herrhauptmann
2010-11-01, 04:51 PM
Hello Fax Celestis.


Some suggestions...
Enhancement bonuses:

Death Ward [+1, CArc] - immunity to death effect 1/day
Malleable [+1, Und] - squeeze through small spaces at normal speed
Axeblock / Hammerblock / Spearblock [+2, CWar] - DR against slashing / bludgeoning / piercing
Soulfire [+4, BoED] - immunity to death effects
Fortification [+1/+3/+5, DMG] - (partial) immunity to sneak attacks and critical hits
+1 to soulfire if your DM throws lots of level draining monsters at you. Especially with your low fort save.
Blueshine/durable- Flat costs. Laugh at rustmonsters and those oozes taht destroy all your gear just by getting close.
Axe/hamer/spearblock- I usually ignore it. Too expensive for a minor benefit.
Fortification, meh, good and bad points. It's a waste until you need it, but when you need it, you REALLY need it. A shame the 100% is so much more expensive than the others.
Retaliation armor: Useful if you're against someone who kills you with a thousand papercuts. Generally useless against an uber charger
healing armor (greater): Well you're already getting killed by 1000 papercuts, the free kick-in is nice when you drop below 0 (but above -9). Generally useless against an uber charger
Everbright weapon- see blueshine/durable
Smoking weapon- Lords of Darkness, 20% miss chance. +1 cost.
There's another in CWar, halves your damage against whole body crushing. No save necessary(falling, getting eaten, walls slam shut, DM gets angry and the ceiling caves in)

Person_Man
2010-11-01, 04:52 PM
Shield of the Severed Hand: Hugely important for Dungeoncrasher builds without Knockback. Once per round grants you a Free Bull Rush whenever an enemy attacks you and misses. Requires True Believer feat and 7 HD. Complete Divine pg 102 or Magic Item Compendium (each uses slightly different mechanics).

Mithrilmist Shirt: +2 Mithril Shirt that also provides 20% concealment and Gaseous Form. 21,300 gp, Complete Arcane pg 142.

Millennial Chainmail: +3 chainmail, light armor, +8 max Dex bonus, armor check penalty -2, Fast Healing 3. Requires True Believer feat and 7 HD. 18,800 gp, Complete Divine pg 99.

Calming armor enhancement: +5 competence bonus to Concentration. Useful for various Diamond Mind maneuvers. 4,000 gp, Secrets of Sarlona pg 137.

Empyreal armor or shield enhancement: You can transfer your enhancement bonus to AC to be a sacred bonus to Saves. Although adding this to a +5 shield to get a bonus to your Saves would be twice as expensive as a Cloak of Resistance, it’s noteworthy in that the bonuses stack. So for a grand total of 75,000ish gp, you can get a +10 to all of your Saves when you want it. +2 bonus, Book of Exalted Deeds pg 112.

Ghost Shroud: +4 deflection bonus to AC, and all of your attacks have the Ghost Touch property. 35,000 gp, Libris Mortis pg 76.

Shadow Veil: +2 deflection bonus to AC, and limited 20% concealment. Libris Mortis pg 76.

ericgrau
2010-11-01, 05:00 PM
Boots of striding and springing or boots of speed could negate the speed penalty of heavier armor... or make you go even faster in lighter armor.

I don't think fortification is worth it unless you expect a lot of rogues. For crits you'd do more simply by having another +1/+3/+5 AC. I mean even if the enemy crits 20% of the time (16-20) negating that 25% of the time is only 5% of hits. Another +1 AC would reduce his chance to confirm by more since he might confirm 9 out of 20 times instead of 10 out of 20 (10% less). That's on top of being useful against regular hits. The other enchants mentioned may help, ya it depends. Personally I like the skill boosting armor enchants, but only if you're the stealthy type too.

Fax Celestis
2010-11-01, 05:05 PM
Shield of the Severed Hand: Hugely important for Dungeoncrasher builds without Knockback. Once per round grants you a Free Bull Rush whenever an enemy attacks you and misses. Requires True Believer feat and 7 HD. Complete Divine pg 102 or Magic Item Compendium (each uses slightly different mechanics).

Really, I gotta take a feat for that? :\ Lame.

Keld Denar
2010-11-01, 05:31 PM
Do you have any ranks in Intimidate? Fearful armor in DotU is a flat +5k and allows you to demoralize as a move action. Great if you are only planning on using your standard action and don't really need to move. This + Imperious Command means you can trade your move action to deny your foe his full round (not to mention the penalty to saves and opposed checks...like bullrushing!)

Fax Celestis
2010-11-01, 05:34 PM
Do you have any ranks in Intimidate?

Nope. Damocles isn't very good at the face stuff. More a rough-and-tumble kind of rogue than a charm-your-pants-off kind of rogue.

Keld Denar
2010-11-01, 05:44 PM
Well, Intimidate is more of a scare-your-pants-off kinda skill than a charm-your-pants-off skill. Anyway, moving out of the pants-free area of thinking...

I'm partial to Energy Immunity in the MIC as well. Its a 1/day complete energy immunity to the flavor of your choice for 1 minute. This is especially useful vs things like dargons. See also - dargons. Big dargons with nasty breath weapons can rack up a decent amount of damage even if you have decent saves. Energy Immunity generally lasts long enough that you can stay out of trouble for a whole fight, provided you don't have to fight more than one dargon per day, or several dargons in a dargon multisampler pack.

That would be a better investment than the flat energy resistances in the DMG which are generally over-priced for the 5/10/15 points per attack they resist. Dargons usually hit you hard with their breaths, rather than multiple small amounts of damage over time.

Fax Celestis
2010-11-01, 05:47 PM
dargons [...] dargons [...] Big dargons [...] dargon [...] several dargons in a dargon multisampler pack [...] Dargons

lol

Just...lol.

Darrin
2010-11-01, 06:24 PM
That's a no on the dastananigans, sorry guys. Good notes on the crystals, though.

Ok, then try:

Shadowsilk Hide Armor (Tome of Magic p. 155). +4 armor bonus, so not quite as good as a breastplate, but counts as light armor and has a +2 untyped bonus to Hide and Move Silently. Add Muffling (900 GP, FR Underdark) for another +2 circumstance bonus to Move Silently. Same book, you can also add Camouflage for another +2 circumstance bonus to Hide in a particular terrain (such as underground).

Otherwise, Mithril Hellforged Breastplate, maybe slap on a little Blueshine.

Fizban
2010-11-02, 01:00 AM
Mithrilmist Shirt: +2 Mithril Shirt that also provides 20% concealment and Gaseous Form. 21,300 gp, Complete Arcane pg 142.

Millennial Chainmail: +3 chainmail, light armor, +8 max Dex bonus, armor check penalty -2, Fast Healing 3. Requires True Believer feat and 7 HD. 18,800 gp, Complete Divine pg 99.
These have both been updated in the MiC with much lower prices (around 3,500 and 8,000) and presumably weaker or more limited abilities.

As for my own suggestions, I don't really know either. Aside from wanting bonuses as high as possible, most of the different immunities you could get depend on the foes you're going to be fighting, so unless you know that you can't really decide.

For mobility, the Halfweight enhancement in Underdark is pretty nifty: it makes any armor into light armor, so you should be able to run around in Halfweight Mechanus Gear without any penalties (it costs a hefty +3 bonus, but you can make some of it up if you're psionic, not that you are).