Death Attack Classes [3.5]

[Akal Saris]

Hi all! Out of curiosity, I went through all of my books and found every D&D class with Death Attack that I could find. I'm missing a few, like Sharn: City of Towers or Ghostwalk, but overall this should be a fairly complete list.

Enjoy!


Death Attack
Assassin 1, ecl 6, Core. 10 level rogue-type class, int based death attack.

Assassin, Psionic 1, ecl 6, Eberron - Secrets of Sarlona. 10 level rogue-type class, int based death attack.

Assassin, Psychic 1 (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/psm/20040723d), ecl 6, The Minds Eye. 10 level rogue-type class, int based death attack.

Avenger 1 (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/prc/20070401a), ecl 6, Core. 10 level rogue-type class, int based death attack.

Binder 13, ECL 13, Tome of Magic. Bind Marchosias for Death Attack. (Su) Cha based death attack (10 + 1/2 binder level + cha).

Black Flame Zealot 1, ecl 6, Complete Divine. 10 level 1/2 casting divine class, int based death attack but no paralysis option

Black Dog 2, ECL 7, Eberron: Dragonmarked. 5 level rogue-type class, int based death attack.

Dark Hunter 5, ecl 10, Complete Warrior. 5 level rogue type, int based death attack.

Dark Pilgrim of Takhisis 5, ecl 10, DL: Holy Orders of the Stars (2nd party). 5 level full casting cleric, wis based death attack

Deathstalker of Bhaal 1, ECL 6, Dragon Magazine 322. 5 level rogue-type class, cha-based death attack. Gains +2 to DC per level of class rather than +1, and paralysis is for 1d6 rounds +2/level.

Cultist of the Shattered Peak 5, ecl 11, Forgotten Realms: Lost Empires of Faerun. 5-level rogue type with 3rd level casting. Int-based death attack.

Marrulurk, ECL 4, Sandstorm. Hyena-type Monstorus Humanoid race with 3RHD and +1 LA, as well as 2d6 sneak attack, death attack and poison use. Cha-based death attack

Monk of the Long Death 6, ecl 11, Player's Guide to FR. Monk-type, Int-based death attack.

Strifeleader 8 and 10, ecl 13, Faiths and Pantheons. Cleric-type, Int-based death attack. At 10th gains +4 to the DC of death attack.

Telflammar Shadowlord 6, ecl 14, FR: Unapproachable East. Rogue-type with casting and shadow jump. Int-based death attack.

Justice of Weald and Woe 10, Champions of Ruin. Rogue archer-type with up to 4th level spellcasting. Int-based death attack.

Imaskari Vengeance Seeker 10, ecl 16, FR: Underdark. 10 level 1/2 arcane casting class, int based death attack.

Similiar to Death Attack
Bone Knight 9, ECL 14, Eberron: Five Nations. 10 level 9/10 casting cleric type class, Cha-based "Death Strike" - 1/day death attack without preparation. Does not stack with standard Death Attack.

Darkwood Stalker 10, ecl 15, Complete Warrior. 10 level elf archer type, wis based, only affects orcs

Stonedeath Assasin 5, ecl 10, Races of Stone - stonedeath strike, not quite death attack. 5 level rogue type class, int based, dwarves and gnomes have -4 to save, both must be contact with ground, doesn't stack with death attack

Thayan Slaver 1, ecl 8, FR: Unapproachable East. Rogue-type with minor spellcasting that gains enervating attack, which can paralyze but not kill. Levels stack for paralyze but not death attack.

Increasing Death Attack
Raise Int (or Wis/Cha for some).
Major Bloodline for +3 per class. (Cheese alert!)
Bracers of Murder for +2: DoTU
Assassin's Dagger for +1: DMG
Ability Focus: +2 to DC

Decreasing saves:
Fortitude damage - poison!
Shaken -2
Sickened -2
Unseelie Fey template aura (Cheese alert!)

[Dusk Eclipse]

Not quite a handbook, but this will definitely go to my Handbooks bookmark carpet :smallbiggrin:

Thanks Akal, this is very helpful, the Deathstalker of Bhaal seems really interesting, while the Dark Pilgrim of Takhisis seems to be what the Black Flame Zealot should be.

[Psyren]

Here's one you missed: Lurks can gain Death Attack as an augment here (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/psm/20070629a) (without needing Psychic Assassin.)

[SaintRidley]

I wasn't aware that there was an interpretation of Ability Focus that didn't allow PCs to take them for non-racial abilities.

[Greenish]

I'm missing a few, like Sharn: City of Towers or Ghostwalk, but overall this should be a fairly complete list.None of the PrCs in the two have a death attack or an analogue.

[Person_Man]

Lists of Stuff (http://community.wizards.com/go/thread/view/75882/19871954/Lists_of_Stuff)

Not as extensive as your list, but a good starting place for you in the future if you do other handbook work. A lot easier then indexing your own books.

[grimbold]

ooh handy list is handy

[Akal Saris]

Lists of Stuff (http://community.wizards.com/go/thread/view/75882/19871954/Lists_of_Stuff)

Not as extensive as your list, but a good starting place for you in the future if you do other handbook work. A lot easier then indexing your own books.

Thank you. That was the starting point for this list, but it didn't have some of the info that I wanted to keep on hand, however, and was missing some of the newer sources.

[SurlySeraph]

The highest Death Attack build I've seen is here (http://brilliantgameologists.com/boards/index.php?action=printpage;topic=7841.0), DC 55 plus save reducers and such to get it to effective DC 79.

If the prereqs listed here (http://www.realmshelps.net/cgi-bin/prestige2.pl?Deathstalker_of_Bhaal) are correct, it can be imrpoved with early entry.

LE Human
1 Cleric, take 2 flaws, Heighten Spell, Sanctum Spell, Earth Sense, Earth Spell
2 Martial Rogue, use the bonus feat for Quick Draw, meet the skill prereqs
3-7 Deathstalker
8-17 Strifeleader

The extra 3 levels could be used for more Death Attacking classes (for +3 to the DC), a Major Bloodline (+6, more if you mixed in more classes), or something else. That build also doesn't have Ability Focus, for another +2.

[Thurbane]

I wasn't aware that there was an interpretation of Ability Focus that didn't allow PCs to take them for non-racial abilities.
Same here...AFAIK, there's nothing in Ability Focus that says the ability must be racial. Just because it appears in the MM, no reason to assume it's a "monster only" feat. It's even tagged as [General], not [Racial] or [Monstrous].


ABILITY FOCUS [GENERAL]
Choose one of the creature’s special attacks.

Prerequisite: Special attack.

Benefit: Add +2 to the DC for all saving throws against the special attack on which the creature focuses.

Special: A creature can gain this feat multiple times. Its effects do not stack. Each time the creature takes the feat it applies to a different special attack.

[Curmudgeon]

The highest Death Attack build I've seen is here (http://brilliantgameologists.com/boards/index.php?action=printpage;topic=7841.0), DC 55 plus save reducers and such to get it to effective DC 79.
Actually that one's quite bogus, as the build relies on breaking a lot of the rules. The two classes involved get different types of death attack: Deathstalker of Bhaal's is CHA-based, and Strifeleader's is INT-based. Neither of these classes has any language allowing their death attacks to stack, or to switch abilities used, yet the build assumes both of those things.

The build also has a Cleric (a WIS-based spellcasting class) with all ability boosts devoted to CHA, and a 3.0 template that reduces WIS to boost CHA further. It also requires casting a personal-range Paladin-only spell for a sacred bonus, and a Diabolic domain-only spell for a profane bonus to CHA. And of course Deathstalker of Bhaaal requires worshiping Bhaal and being Lawful Evil, Strifeleader requires worshiping Cyric (which only permits Cleric alignments of Chaotic Evil, Chaotic Neutral, or Neutral Eevil), and neither Bhaal nor Cyric offer the Diabolic domain.

Let's see, what else? Flaws are used to get more feats, without any drawbacks. The build also assumes the character will somehow get sneak attack on a charge. And finally, the build simultaneously uses a Fey (from template) ability which impairs the saves of non-Fey creatures within 5', and a spell which temporarily changes the caster's type to Outsider, so this Fey ability harms the character (-20 morale penalty to all saves). One save-or-die spell and the character is a goner. :smalleek:


As I said, bogus.