[3.5] Quick Help (Links)

[Woodzyowl]

So if someone could link me to optimization levels, that would be great. Or explain them. Or tell me a good newbie-friendly build that won't be completely outshone in melee by 3.5k damage per hit at level 25. A huge aoe tripper might work, but I don't know how easy it is to understand tripping for your first time. I have someone visiting who might want to play DnD, and I don't exactly think that a wizard, druid, etc. are very easy to use.

[Wings of Peace]

So if someone could link me to optimization levels, that would be great. Or explain them. Or tell me a good newbie-friendly build that won't be completely outshone in melee by 3.5k damage per hit at level 25. A huge aoe tripper might work, but I don't know how easy it is to understand tripping for your first time. I have someone visiting who might want to play DnD, and I don't exactly think that a wizard, druid, etc. are very easy to use.

What kind of character would you like to play?

[Woodzyowl]

What kind of character would you like to play?

I'm not playing it, but something melee and easy to learn would be helpful.

[PollyOliver]

Druid is actually pretty easy to use. It's a lot of bookkeeping, but even if you do it really badly, you're still more than competitive.

If you want a melee character, the best way to keep him relevant would be to give him a warblade or crusader if you have access to ToB. He can pretty much pick his maneuvers at random and still be moderately effective.

If you don't have access to ToB, Saph's horizon tripper (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=80415) is versatile, easy to use, and effective--and core. But it would help if we knew what level this character was going to be played at, and what books you have access to.

[Woodzyowl]

Druid is actually pretty easy to use. It's a lot of bookkeeping, but even if you do it really badly, you're still more than competitive.

If you want a melee character, the best way to keep him relevant would be to give him a warblade or crusader if you have access to ToB. He can pretty much pick his maneuvers at random and still be moderately effective.

If you don't have access to ToB, Saph's horizon tripper (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=80415) is versatile, easy to use, and effective--and core. But it would help if we knew what level this character was going to be played at, and what books you have access to.


...a good newbie-friendly build that won't be completely outshone in melee by 3.5k damage per hit at level 25...

Those are good ideas, and I could attempt to optimize a spiked chain lvl. 25 build for the tripper. I have every book ever made at my disposal, per the OGL. I'm playing a HUGE damage monk, so something that would complement my glass-cannon-ness would be helpful, like a tripper. Man, that idea comes up a lot.

[PollyOliver]

Hmm...level 25 is tricky. Frankly, if you're using epic spellcasting rules, at that point any other advice I could give you goes out the window in favor of "play a caster", if any of the enemies will be casters--otherwise you're screwed.

I've only ever played epic once, and only very low epic, so I'm not so sure how useful this advice will be. But if you want someone to lock down enemies so you can thwomp them and don't want a caster crusader may be your guy. Give him a reach weapon and a spiked gauntlet, thicket of blades stance, combat reflexes, stand still, mageslayer, and karmic strike or robillar's gambit. Improved trip if you want, you'll probably have the feats. Season to taste. Maybe some charging feats if you have the space, or an item that let's him dimension door, or a brief late-level dip in swordsage for shadow stride. Charge/teleport into position, thwack enemy. Anything the enemy does, whether attacking you, attacking him, casting a spell, or taking a five-foot step, provokes. Use the AOO to damage a caster or trip or "stand still" everything else. Full attack or use a strike. Repeat.

If you're open to playing a caster, you can lock down enemies from afar with battlefield control spells. Druid and wizard both work just fine for this. In epic levels, the only real advice I can give you for a caster is "max spellcraft and go to town".

[Woodzyowl]

Hmm...level 25 is tricky. Frankly, if you're using epic spellcasting rules, at that point any other advice I could give you goes out the window in favor of "play a caster", if any of the enemies will be casters--otherwise you're screwed.

I've only ever played epic once, and only very low epic, so I'm not so sure how useful this advice will be. But if you want someone to lock down enemies so you can thwomp them and don't want a caster crusader may be your guy. Give him a reach weapon and a spiked gauntlet, thicket of blades stance, combat reflexes, stand still, mageslayer, and karmic strike or robillar's gambit. Improved trip if you want, you'll probably have the feats. Season to taste. Maybe some charging feats if you have the space, or an item that let's him dimension door, or a brief late-level dip in swordsage for shadow stride. Charge/teleport into position, thwack enemy. Anything the enemy does, whether attacking you, attacking him, casting a spell, or taking a five-foot step, provokes. Use the AOO to damage a caster or trip or "stand still" everything else. Full attack or use a strike. Repeat.

If you're open to playing a caster, you can lock down enemies from afar with battlefield control spells. Druid and wizard both work just fine for this. In epic levels, the only real advice I can give you for a caster is "max spellcraft and go to town".

I know how to play casters, but as before, since they are new, this person would probably pick lame spells. I'll check out crusader, because all I've ever played from ToB was a halfling swordsage who jumped and did tiger claw stuff constantly. He was fun, and pretty straightforward, but I'm not sure how well he would scale into the epics.