Shadowpouncer

[faceroll]

I'm DM, and I want to use a shadowpouncing drow assassin to kill half of the party before they know what hit them. Swordsage will be used for getting 3 teleports/round. Partially charged wand of extended wraithstrike will be UMD'd to lay down deep cuts. Potions will be drank before combat to get +4 to stats, etc.

The problem I'm running into is getting enough feats, as Shadowlord has a lot of feat requirements, and I want to also pick up stuff like TWF, Craven, and Shadow Blade.

Any thoughts on a CR15 build? I'm looking at something like barb 1(frenzy variant)/swashbuckler 3/swordsage3/Shadowlord6/swordsage2. Unfortunately, between Drow and the template necessary to qualify for Shadowlord, that puts CR at 17.

[TroubleBrewing]

Skip Drow. It's rarely worth the trouble. That saves you +1 LA, then knock off a level of Swordsage. Done!

[ffone]

Weeeeellll, since it sounds like you're giving your guy buff rounds to drink potions and, I suspect, setting up terrain and circumstances to his advantage, his CR (or rather the EL) should be a little higher than his CR as per DMG recommendation.

[Keld Denar]

Is Crinti Maurauder a better choice in this case? IIRC, it has fewer abilities, but also fewer prereqs.

Also, ECL =! CR. A drow's +2 LA do not contribute to it's CR fully. Drow (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/monsters/elf.htm) is only +1 CR. Thus, a 15th level drow NPC would be a CR16 encounter.

[Biffoniacus_Furiou]

Swordsage 7/ Shadowlord 5/ Swordsage 1, keep the race and you get the IL 13 necessary for Shadow Blink.

[TroubleBrewing]

Yeah, but I think he wanted the barbarian level for pounce/whirling frenzy.

EDIT: Upon further consideration, you're building this thing to be lethal, right? So it's one CR above the party. Meh. They'll live.

[faceroll]

Skip Drow. It's rarely worth the trouble. That saves you +1 LA, then knock off a level of Swordsage. Done!

It's drow for story purposes.


Is Crinti Maurauder a better choice in this case? IIRC, it has fewer abilities, but also fewer prereqs.

Also, ECL =! CR. A drow's +2 LA do not contribute to it's CR fully. Drow (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/monsters/elf.htm) is only +1 CR. Thus, a 15th level drow NPC would be a CR16 encounter.

That's why the CR is 17 and not 18. Shadowlord requires a +1 CR template. +1 CR +1 CR + 15 CR = 17 CR. I'll have to check out Crinti Marauder. What book?


Yeah, but I think he wanted the barbarian level for pounce/whirling frenzy.

EDIT: Upon further consideration, you're building this thing to be lethal, right? So it's one CR above the party. Meh. They'll live.

Barb1 for an extra attack. Every extra attack with stacking int, dex, str, craven, magic, and crit fishing (keen claws will get me 12-20 crit range), along with getting 3 attacks per round has a great multiplier effect.

[TroubleBrewing]

(keen claws will get me 12-20 crit range)

Gah! What?! I'm not too familiar with ToB material... Is there something I'm missing, here? Keen should only improve claw attacks to 17-20.

[faceroll]

Gah! What?! I'm not too familiar with ToB material... Is there something I'm missing, here? Keen should only improve claw attacks to 17-20.

Oh my bad, bladed gauntlets (look like claws on a gauntlet) from the 3.0 complete warrior-esque splat. Have a 17-20 crit. Exotic.

[TroubleBrewing]

Ah. My bad. I thought this was sort of 3.5 specific. Well, you're the DM, I suppose.

[Diarmuid]

Are you really trying to "kill half the party" without there being any chance of that not happening, or was that just exaggeration for effect?

If that's the case, do you really care what the build is?

DM - "Bamf* "You feel a flurry of sharp objects carving your vitals in a flash, as you turn around, you see nothing but the swirling of the shadows"

OOC - Player 1, You're dead.

Doesnt exactly sound like the kind of interactive story/game most players are looking for, but maybe you've got some reason to be killing them off.

[Claudius Maximus]

Oh my bad, bladed gauntlets (look like claws on a gauntlet) from the 3.0 complete warrior-esque splat. Have a 17-20 crit. Exotic.

Pretty sure those got errata'd.

[Keld Denar]

You don't need Shadow Blink. Take Hidden Talent (Dimension Hop) at level 1, and burn some cash on the Earth Node magical location from CPsi. That gives you 7 PP per day, and the ability to teleport 10' as a swift action for 1 PP each. That saves you from having to go all the way up to IL 13 or whatever. 7 per day should be enough. Just Shadow Jaunt in, full attack, Dim Hop to the other side of them, full attack, and then Shadow Step out, refresh manevuers, repeat.

[Darrin]

I'll have to check out Crinti Marauder. What book?


Shining South p. 23. It's pretty much perfect for what you're trying to do: Shadow Pounce in 5 levels, drow-only, and requires only two feats: Mounted Combat and Stealthy.

[faceroll]

Are you really trying to "kill half the party" without there being any chance of that not happening, or was that just exaggeration for effect?

Yes.


You don't need Shadow Blink. Take Hidden Talent (Dimension Hop) at level 1, and burn some cash on the Earth Node magical location from CPsi. That gives you 7 PP per day, and the ability to teleport 10' as a swift action for 1 PP each. That saves you from having to go all the way up to IL 13 or whatever. 7 per day should be enough. Just Shadow Jaunt in, full attack, Dim Hop to the other side of them, full attack, and then Shadow Step out, refresh manevuers, repeat.

My nipples just got hard.


Shining South p. 23. It's pretty much perfect for what you're trying to do: Shadow Pounce in 5 levels, drow-only, and requires only two feats: Mounted Combat and Stealthy.

Talk about feat tax. But not so bad. Thanks much.

[Aspenor]

Refluff (or just use it straight up) an Assassin Devil from Fiendish Codex: Tyrants of the Nine Hells. Throw in levels of Teflammar Shadowlord or Crinti Shadow Marauder for the Shadow Pounce. Dimension Door at-will covers teleportation for shadow pouncing, and you can turn invisible at-will to make your enemies flat-footed. Don't forget to rearrange the feats as you deem necessary and don't forget to give it some suitable equipment.