How on Earth Do I Make This Character?

[Laura Eternata]

For an upcoming 3.5 game, I have to play a character who's like Dante from Devil May Cry (long, convoluted story as to why that is). However, I have no idea at all how to go about creating anything like him without being extremely MAD. A swordsage might accomplish what I'm looking for, perhaps with a few fighter levels thrown in for an extra feat here and there, but apart from that, I really don't know how to build her. If anyone can help me, it's you guys.

Any WotC-published source apart from UA is legal. We're using 38 point buy.

[danzibr]

Hrm yeah, I've seen pics and a few gameplay vids, but that's not enough to go off of to make a build.

[Biffoniacus_Furiou]

Factotum...

[Laura Eternata]

(Wow, it didn't even occur to me that so many people wouldn't be familiar with DMC. Sorry 'bout that.)

She needs to...

Be incredibly quick, both in terms of combat and reflexes.
Have the ability to fight competently with a greatsword (or similarly large sword; think anime)
Be able to function in little to no armor
Be able to perform certain superhuman athletic feats; extra long jumps, high physical strength, et cetera. Again, think anime here.
Be flashy; as flavor focused as that sounds, a large part of Dante was showing off however he could, and I need to maintain that part of his personality.

Ordinarily I'd hate to do something so unoriginal, but my group decided on this as a way to mess with the DM. He told us at the end of our last game that the next one would be "Asian-focused." He refused to go into more detail than that, but it's safe to assume he meant OA type stuff.

However, after he left, one of my other group members came up with the idea of us all showing up next week with our favorite anime characters. We all know that the DM despises anime in every form, so it will definitely be a good way to screw with him (especially if he's planning an authentic feudal-Japan campaign.) I don't watch any anime, though, and the only character even remotely rooted in anime that I'm familiar with is Dante.

We don't have to go all out, thankfully; these are still supposed to be semi-original characters who are just based off preexisting anime ones. I don't have to do the whole half demon bit, or the dual wielding pistol thing; as long as an onlooker would say while watching us play, "Hey, that chick's kinda like Dante from that video game!", then it's fair game.

[Biffoniacus_Furiou]

Use either Kung-Fu Genius or Carmendine Monk, assuming your DM will let them work with Swordsage. If not, just dip two levels of Passive Way Monk (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/variant/classes/variantCharacterClasses.htm#passiveWay) and hopefully use fractional BAB.

Int > Dex > Con > Str > Wis/Cha
Swordsage 2/ Swashbuckler 3/ Factotum 3/ Exotic Weapon Master 1+/ more Swordsage and/or Factotum to taste

EWP: Elven Court Blade (RoTW, Finesse-able Greatsword)
Get the Show-Off trick from EWM, and possibly also Trip Attack to use with the feat Knock-Down.
You get your Int bonus to AC, Int to damage, and Int to all Strength checks and Dexterity checks (grapple, trip, initiative, possibly reflex saves) and to skills based on Str and Dex, in addition to your Str and Dex bonuses.
Say you bested The Highest Spire detailed in Complete Scoundrel to get Agile Athlete (replaces Str with Dex on Climb and Jump checks) without spending a feat on it.
Get a lot of the movement-category skill tricks from Complete Scoundrel.

Not a high-Strength character, but he gets to add at least one of his two highest stats (Int, Dex) to anything he would normally add his Strength bonus to.

Edit: Also use the Arcane Stunt ACF (CM) and pick Expeditious Retreat.

[Chilingsworth]

how about ex monk 2 (evasion, fast movement, wis to AC)/barbarian 2 (more fast movement, uncanny dodge)/ warblade x?

[Shadowknight12]

Warblade. It and the Iron Heart discipline give you the extra resilience Dante clearly has, what with getting repeatedly (and thoroughly) impaled by big longswords. Pick up Tiger Claw disciplines for the flashy jumping around, then pick up skill tricks from Complete Scoundrel for extra acrobatics, combine with Diamond Mind for extra "untouchableness" and all the nifty warblade class abilities like Battle Reflexes for even more crazy dodging.

Also, warblades have "showing off" as part of the official fluff suggestions.

[TroubleBrewing]

Also, warblades have "showing off" as part of the official fluff suggestions.

Emphasis mine.

This might be the most ironic thing I've seen today. :smallbiggrin:

[Xtomjames]

I'd suggest Swashbuckler Fighter Hexblade with heavy emphasis on skill tricks and feats.

Reasoning: Dante uses both magic and fighting techniques while also be extremely agile and maneuverable. You can gain martial maneuvers through a feat and you can gain access to exotic weapons fairly easily as well.

I'm not saying that the other builds already posted aren't good mind you but I think this would fit the character better. Also you could take the half-vampire template.

[Shadowknight12]

Emphasis mine.

This might be the most ironic thing I've seen today. :smallbiggrin:

Care to explain? :smallconfused:

I'd hate to think I missed out on some tasty irony.

[TroubleBrewing]

Care to explain? :smallconfused:

I'd hate to think I missed out on some tasty irony.

Official fluff suggestion.

The "official" implies that it's the version supported by WotC, which would imply that it has some kind of mechanical effect, e.g., "if you are playing a Warblade, you are expected to roleplay by showing off at all times, and if you fail to do so, you lose your Warblade abilities." (Cast Atonement to get them back. :smallamused:)

"Suggestion" paired with the above implication is ironic.

This irony is is made funnier by the current discussion raging as to whether or not fluff is immutable or not. (Good post, btw.)

[Shadowknight12]

Official fluff suggestion.

The "official" implies that it's the version supported by WotC, which would imply that it has some kind of mechanical effect, e.g., "if you are playing a Warblade, you are expected to roleplay by showing off at all times, and if you fail to do so, you lose your Warblade abilities." (Cast Atonement to get them back. :smallamused:)

"Suggestion" paired with the above implication is ironic.

This irony is is made funnier by the current discussion raging as to whether or not fluff is immutable or not. (Good post, btw.)

Oh! That. Yeah, that's actually quite ironic. :smallamused:

Thanks, by the way.

[Amoren]

For some reason my mind flashed to Swiftblade. You've got Haste on ya pretty much always (which cannot be dispelled and grants ya increased effects), you can specialize with a greatsword/fullblade/large greatsword/large fullblade (with strongarm bracers), you won't be using any armor really (except for mage armor/bracers of armor)... I'm lost on the physical feats part, but I'm sure there's a spell for that. xD

But then again, spellcasters can do anything really.

[Hiro Protagonest]

Nitpick. Big stunts aren't anime in origin. Anime characters do commonly use them, but the idea as such is wuxia, coming from Asian myths about the stunts that ninjas and monks could do.

Anyway, definitely sounds like warblade, but you should take martial study (flashing sun) for that "incredibly quick in combat" thing.
Edit: a sword of speed might also be in order.

If you don't mind ditching armor entirely or can get your DM to allow this for swordsage, Carmendine Monk or Kung Fu genius is necessary to avoid being MAD, though high wisdom isn't a bad thing, seeing as how it adds to your will saves.

[marcielle]

If you want Dante's weapons, Weapons of Legacy(definitely a WoTC book) are best for emulating their multiple power as well as the whole level up by feeding blood of enemies. Don't know how to build one? I can build one for you! Recently went through the whole book(more or less) and anxious to put it in practice.

1 level of Lion totem barbarian can emulte my fav Dante move
Stinger to Million Stabs( chrage then full attack and if you have haste, even more attacks)

Psionics are fun. Nothing says showoff acrobat than actually running 'Up the Walls'. 1 level of Psi Warrior nets you a feat a Psi power, free Psi feat and +1BAB.

All that said, Warblade 20 is still pretty awesome for Dante. See if your DM will fix monkeygrip feat so you can wield a Large Claymore(I think thats the thing that looks closest to Dante's actual sword) without the penalty.
Or just make a smaller than average Goliath or Half-Giant. They count as large ONLY when it benefits them. +1LA though.

Dante actually seems to have auto-proficiency with a ton of weapons so just pick whatever fits your eventual build and I'll make you a badass Legacy weapon.

[Rei_Jin]

I'm curious what race you're going to be using for this.

I'd recommend the Hellbred from Fiendish Codex II, with the Body aspect rather than the Spirit aspect. It has no Level Adjustment (unlike the Tiefling) and there is no way that Dante is a human, which I see as being an alternate mechanical option. I'm aware that the Hellbred isn't actually a fiend, but they're about as close as you can get without actually being one, and the good/evil nature thing could fit nicely.

In terms of class, it's hard to say exactly what would work for what you're after. I do have an idea that's so crazy it might work though.

Monk 2/Hexblade 8/Disciple of the Word 10.

Feats you would take include Truename Training, Ascetic Mage (which you qualify for with 8 levels of Hexblade and your 2 monk levels), Weapon Focus: Longsword, Whirling Steel Strike, Monkeygrip, and whatever else you like.

You would end up with Charisma to Saves vs Spells, Charisma to AC, Mettle, Evasion, awesome base saves, a +16 BAB, and a mechanic to boost heaps of your abilities through a single skill (Truespeech).

Now, this won't work in the same way that a Warblade or Swordsage will, but it will certainly make things interesting for you as you pull out weird things from left, right, and centre.


EDIT: Another option for feats would be to take the Whirlwind tree of feats (Dodge, Mobility, Spring Attack, Combat Expertise), so that you can grab the new Martial Art feat listed on page 218 of the Tome of Magic... thus giving you a nod towards the Oriental Adventures setting.

[WinWin]

Battle Dancer from OA gains impressive modifiers to jumps and acrobatics.

Fullblade is a good stand in for a BFS, at least until you gain a method of using oversized fullblades. Zanbato (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zanbat%C5%8D) is the name of an anti-cavalry sword that was supposed to have been used in ancient China and Feudal Japan...Though honestly, noone with a martial arts background that I know believes this. The weapon is just far too large to use effectively for any length of time. Might help you get it past your DM though.

Swordsage and warblade have already been mentioned. I'll throw in Artificer as a suggestion...only so you can design some custom gear. Wands might be a good stand in for pistols.

[Laura Eternata]

Awesome suggestions from everybody. I think I'm gonna take Biffoniacus_Furiou's suggestion up until 10th level, then take warblade levels instead of extra swordsage/factotum (with one extra swordsage level thrown in for flashing sun.)



Nitpick. Big stunts aren't anime in origin. Anime characters do commonly use them, but the idea as such is wuxia, coming from Asian myths about the stunts that ninjas and monks could do.

Sorry. Like I said, I'm not a big fan of anime (except Death Note, but that's hardly relevant in this case), so I'm pretty much going by the stereotypes.


As for race, I think I'll probably go with Lesser Tiefling for the Int and Dex bonuses. How do these ability scores look?

STR 14
DEX 16
CON 14
INT 18
WIS 12
CHA 8


Marcielle: I'm unfamiliar with these Weapons of Legacy, but they sound intriguing. Fill me in? Also, I can't take Lion Totem Barbarian. It's from UA, which is the one source that's illegal.

Rei Jin: That's actually a very interesting suggestion, but I don't think it would quite work. Dante never struck me as having very high charisma; sure, he thinks he does, but he always comes off as a bit of an ass.

[Hiro Protagonest]

Marcielle: I'm unfamiliar with these Weapons of Legacy, but they sound intriguing. Fill me in? Also, I can't take Lion Totem Barbarian. It's from UA, which is the one source that's illegal.

Weapons of Legacy is the book those weapons are in. The sample ones are bad, but from what I've heard, you can make some amazing things using the creation rules.

Also, he didn't mean lion totem, he meant spirit lion totem, from Complete Champion.

[BenInHB]

Hand Cross Bows with wand chambers containing wands of ray spells are good pistols too

[marcielle]

Lion totem barbarian is ALSO from the srd. You can argue that you are taking it from THAT instead of UA. If your DM is nice it is the EASIEST way to do stinger. LOVE THAT MOVE.

Anyway. Weaons of legacy are self built weapons that level up WITH the character(technically, the weapons power 'awakens'). This means instead of having to sel one weapon to get a better one as you level up, you get a more expensive weapon that upgrades ITSELF. This was made to give awesome weapons to newer characters without automatically making them overpowered. The thing is, there are A LOT of powers accessible to WoLs only.
Examples :
Deflection bonus. On a weapon. Great for characters who don't want a shield but want a decent AC. You basically cut arrows out of the air and block touch rays WITH YOUR SWORD.

Infinite unseen servant . Can be refluffed as a ghost that is bound to your weapon. So many uses it's not even funny(to your DM)

Dancing lights. Glowing weapons? BAH! Your sword is a veritable DISCO.

Infinite scorching ray. Congrats, you have a close approximation of the Artemis gun from DMC 3.
Alternately, if your DM allows you to switch with any 2nfd level spell. 24/7 blur means you are too fast to be hit half of the time.

Of course, there are downsides to such awesomery. You have to pay a personal cost. You can follow the ones in the books, but since you dont have the book, it would be impractical. Instead, you are ALSO allowed to create a story line cost. Eg. there are 2 examples of legacy weapons with storyline costs in this thread:http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=205607&page=2

TL;DR It gives you powerful abilities you can't normally have on weapons AND saves you a lot of money because you don't have to resell your weapons at reduced prices. The cost of such powers differ depending on YOUR STORY. Not just tons o' math. Just give me a concept(or your fav weapons from the games) and your rough build.

p.s. Remember you can enchant longcoats with armor enhancements :smallcool:

[Starwulf]

Awesome suggestions from everybody. I think I'm gonna take Biffoniacus_Furiou's suggestion up until 10th level, then take warblade levels instead of extra swordsage/factotum (with one extra swordsage level thrown in for flashing sun.)



Sorry. Like I said, I'm not a big fan of anime (except Death Note, but that's hardly relevant in this case), so I'm pretty much going by the stereotypes.


As for race, I think I'll probably go with Lesser Tiefling for the Int and Dex bonuses. How do these ability scores look?

STR 14
DEX 16
CON 14
INT 18
WIS 12
CHA 8


Marcielle: I'm unfamiliar with these Weapons of Legacy, but they sound intriguing. Fill me in? Also, I can't take Lion Totem Barbarian. It's from UA, which is the one source that's illegal.

Rei Jin: That's actually a very interesting suggestion, but I don't think it would quite work. Dante never struck me as having very high charisma; sure, he thinks he does, but he always comes off as a bit of an ass.

/rant
Wow, I'm not sure I agree with your stat placement, to be perfectly honest. I mean, I understand the need to have a functioning character, but if you're making it based off Dante, well, I've played several DMC's, and, Dante's ALWAYS struck me as being incredibly charismatic. Hell, you can't be FLASHY, without being charismatic, an un-charismatic person wouldn't even understand the point, or need to be flashy, they would consider it ridiculous(or so I'd imagine). Again, I know mechanics have to over-ride fluff at a certain point, but in this instance, taking an 8 in charisma, when the character is an Homage to Dante, I just can't agree with your choice, in any sort of way.
/end rant

edit: In the end, Wisdom has always struck me as being..well, common sense, to an extent anyways, and if there is one thing that Dante lacks, it is damn well common sense. If you could find it in you to suffer ****ty Will Saves, I'd switch Wisdom with Charisma. 12 is still a bit low to emulate Dante, but I do recall you saying it's supposed to be SEMI original, so maybe this Homage isn't quite as charismatic as the original.

[Hiro Protagonest]

Lion totem barbarian is ALSO from the srd. You can argue that you are taking it from THAT instead of UA. If your DM is nice it is the EASIEST way to do stinger. LOVE THAT MOVE.

You said "charge and full attack". That's spirit lion totem from Complete Champion.

[Andion Isurand]

I would look at trying to take Keen Intellect (Oriental Adventures 3.5 in Dragon Magazine 318) as your first level only feat, so you can make Wisdom your dump stat.

It basically lets you use your Intelligence modifier instead of your Wisdom Modifier for Will Saves, as well as Heal, Spot, Sense Motive and Survival checks.

Then if you are using the Lesser Teifling and don't mind a change in favored class to sorcerer... I would suggest taking the LA +0 Magic Blood template (Dragon Magazine 306) to give him -2 Wis, +2 Cha among other things.

[ILM]

Dervish? I know the usual is to go with TWF but hey, nothing's stopping you from using a 2-handed weapon instead. Treat the sword as a Great Falchion instead of a greatsword if you must. Gets you high mobility, lots of attacks, good reflex save, full BAB. Pair it with, say, Warblade to get some nice maneuvers too (Warblade 10/Dervish 10 gets you an 8th level maneuver if you take it at level 20).

[Cerlis]

I'd personally go with a dip of swordsage and then psychic warrior

She needs to...

Be incredibly quick, both in terms of combat and reflexes.
A few feats such as that dodge feat from ToB, as well as some setting sun maneuvers (such as the ones that allow you to chase your enemy across the battlefield) and maybe some dodge counters would represent this well.

Have the ability to fight competently with a greatsword (or similarly large sword; think anime)
Psywarr gets you proficiency, maneuvers add power.

Be able to function in little to no armor
Swordsage's armor +wisdom which is the casting stat for Psywars. Psywars also have defensive abilities as do Swordsages

Be able to perform certain superhuman athletic feats; extra long jumps, high physical strength, et cetera. Again, think anime here.
Super strength is represented by Setting sun's throws, Psywar's Grapple power, and Stone Dragon's attacks that deal alot of damage and ignore hardness and damage reduction. Essentially you are throwing people around, grabbing them and not letting go, and breaking walls with your fists or weapon: Long jumps and athletic abilities could be scene with Tiger's claw boosts, Psionic Jump, and a few psychic feats (i think up the walls and, then there is one that allows you to use focus for Bonus to jump check)

Be flashy; as flavor focused as that sounds, a large part of Dante was showing off however he could, and I need to maintain that part of his personality.

You get some flashyness from your maneuvers, and additional Spell like (he's a half demon right? who uses some magic?) fluff due to powers (i'd say straight psywar but maenuevers give you counters and attacks, while psywar would give you buffs) such as manifesting demonic acid on your blade(poisonous weapon), increased demonic speed (hustle) and even a badass mode if Dante' has one (the lvl 5 power that turns you into a tentacles monster). oh and the dragon breath powers are more demonic acid.

[marcielle]

To second the other posters, I think Dante should Definitely have a lower WIS than CHA. He literally runs down a 100 mile tall tower INTO the mouth of the leviathan. Sure he won, but does that sound like something anyone with a lick of common sense would do?

Don't worry about AC. A Legacy weapon can change stats around a wee bit ( the given example is Wis to AC but I dont see any reason it can't have INT or STR or even CHA to AC).

[Andorax]

Completely unrelated to Dante (about which I know nothing), I just had an amusing thought or to about alternative ways to mess with a DM who's only guidance is "Asia-Focused".

Specifically, draw upon the wealth of character personality notes and information and recreate Marco Volo from FR, played with a nod to his original namesake (up to and including plans of mercantile exploitation).


Alternatively, you could do my horrific multiple D20 sourcebook mashup:

Barbarian*/Barbarian** Barbarian*** Barbarian****.

* Standard PHB class
**Multiclassed with the Diablo II D20 System class
***Using the EQ D20 "Barbarian" race
****All outsiders in an OA setting are considered barbarians.

[Laura Eternata]

/rant
Wow, I'm not sure I agree with your stat placement, to be perfectly honest. I mean, I understand the need to have a functioning character, but if you're making it based off Dante, well, I've played several DMC's, and, Dante's ALWAYS struck me as being incredibly charismatic. Hell, you can't be FLASHY, without being charismatic, an un-charismatic person wouldn't even understand the point, or need to be flashy, they would consider it ridiculous(or so I'd imagine). Again, I know mechanics have to over-ride fluff at a certain point, but in this instance, taking an 8 in charisma, when the character is an Homage to Dante, I just can't agree with your choice, in any sort of way.
/end rant

edit: In the end, Wisdom has always struck me as being..well, common sense, to an extent anyways, and if there is one thing that Dante lacks, it is damn well common sense. If you could find it in you to suffer ****ty Will Saves, I'd switch Wisdom with Charisma. 12 is still a bit low to emulate Dante, but I do recall you saying it's supposed to be SEMI original, so maybe this Homage isn't quite as charismatic as the original.

Hmm... I guess it boils down to what charisma really is. My DM usually goes by the dictionary definition ("Compelling attractiveness or charm that can inspire devotion in others"), despite how little sense that makes in 3.5 (what with bards and sorcerers casting spells based on charisma.) Going by that definition, Dante really doesn't seem all that charismatic. Not many people actually like him, after all.

Going by the typical D&D definition of charisma=strength of personality rather than straight likability, however, I see your point. If I use Andion Isurand's suggestion of Keen Intellect, then I could pretty much dump Wis as low as 6, allowing a 14 Cha, which would match the character much better.



Barbarian*/Barbarian** Barbarian*** Barbarian****.

* Standard PHB class
**Multiclassed with the Diablo II D20 System class
***Using the EQ D20 "Barbarian" race
****All outsiders in an OA setting are considered barbarians.

That... is the most beautiful abomination I've ever seen. I doubt my DM would allow it, though.


Marcielle, I'm interested. How would I go about constructing a weapon like Rebellion? I'm loving the sound of a deflection bonus on a weapon, and since my DM's never heard of Weapons of Legacy, it shouldn't be too hard to slip permanent blur past him. CHA to AC sounds nice, too, though I imagine this weapon's getting expensive by now. (By the way, your link doesn't work.)

I don't think I mentioned; we're starting on level 11, and will probably go a bit past 20.

[marcielle]

Link fixed. Apparently I copypasta'd the wrong link in. Oops:smalltongue:

Anyway. Building a legacy weapon is as easy as listing down the powers you want and finding out how many 'slots' the power costs(ok, maybe THAT part isn't so easy). There are 3 levels of slots(least, lesser and greater, this is generic D&D jargon as far as I can tell) and you get 6 1st and 2nd level slots and 4 3rd level slots. More powerful powers cost more and higher leveled slots. Personal costs SHOULD be something significant ( a good one for Rebellion would be you can't harm Good humans no matter what or you lose all powers until Atonement).

Anyways, when you decide which weapon you want just post it and I'll get crackin. Or... just gimme a concept( say, a shotgun that shoots ghosts or a hammer of demonfire) and I'll make one up. Rough build for 1st 11 levels will help maximize synergy.

WoLs aren't instawins though. Self imposed nerfs are usually required to prevent utter game breakage. Most downsides will be for balancing made up on my part so if anything looks too limiting just say so.

[Laura Eternata]

Anyway. Building a legacy weapon is as easy as listing down the powers you want and finding out how many 'slots' the power costs(ok, maybe THAT part isn't so easy). There are 3 levels of slots(least, lesser and greater, this is generic D&D jargon as far as I can tell) and you get 6 1st and 2nd level slots and 4 3rd level slots. More powerful powers cost more and higher leveled slots. Personal costs SHOULD be something significant ( a good one for Rebellion would be you can't harm Good humans no matter what or you lose all powers until Atonement).

Anyways, when you decide which weapon you want just post it and I'll get crackin. Or... just gimme a concept( say, a shotgun that shoots ghosts or a hammer of demonfire) and I'll make one up. Rough build for 1st 11 levels will help maximize synergy.


My build so far:
Swordsage 2/Swashbuckler 3/Factotum 3/Spirit Lion Totem Barbarian 1/ Swordsage 1/Warblade 1. I haven't decided whether to continue warblade or swordsage yet, though I'm now leaning back towards swordsage.

Str 14
Dex 16
Con 14
Int 18+2
Wis 6
Cha 14

Feats: Keen Intellect, Carmendine Swordsage (homebrew, but the effect's pretty clear), Exotic Weapon Prof: Elven Courtblade, and Power Attack. I plan to take Leap Attack next level.

The only weapon I'd want would be Rebellion, preferably as an elven courtblade rather than a greatsword (so it can be finessed.) A deflection bonus would be excellent, as would the blur you suggested. And maybe Speed, eventually. I don't really know what effects/pricing would be appropriate, or what slots they would take, though; any ideas?

EDIT: Just thought of something else for Rebellion; if it was a greatsword, would it be possible to make it finessable through the Legacy thing?

[marcielle]

Well, since your DM gave you Carmendine Swordsage, I'm thinking he's more of a RAI instead of a RAW fan. As such, Monkey grip SHOULD allow you to finesse a greatsword on the basis of 'it lets you wield a weapon as if it was lighter'. Also, this weapon's grip would be a normal size for you instead of being too big so more logic in your favor. So ask your DM for this: If you put monkey grip on an appropriately sized weapon, it should move its category down 2 instead of 1 because it actually FITS your hand. This is sufficient for finnesse.

Anyway, see if you can get the Claymore sword from 'Stone to Steel'. THIS IS DANTE'S SWORD. The book isn't WotC but from what I hear it is widely regarded as more or less balanced.

Oh, and remember to yell HELM BREAKER on your first power leap attack:smallbiggrin:

Let's get down to business then.

Rebellion

Base: +1 Keen Claymore
A finely crafted claymore, slightly larget than normal, with a distinct gothic motif. One who wields it notices a subtle aura of power. Like a sleeping beast...
Base cost: 2060gp

History
As DMC3 Rebellion

Legacy Rituals(balancing and roleplay requirements to unlock new levels of power)
Least ritual(levels 5-10)
Demonslayer: Must have killed a demon with the sword.
After tasting demon blood for the first time in many years, the sword pulsates with new power. It must then be taken to a powerful cleric or wizard to undo the first seal.
Cost: An additional 1500gp(don't worry, it'll be worth it :smallsmile:) must be paid to a cleric/wizard to undo the first seal.
Lesser ritual(levels 11-16)
Blood of Demons: To unlock the next seal the sword an offering must be made to the god of time and space. You must either defeat 10 more demons and take their blood or buy demonsblood worth approx 10000 gp(I'd get hunting if I were you). An offering must then be made to Sparda's chief general, who also rebelled with him. He will unlock the next seal(who he is and how you find him will be up to you and your backstory).
Greater ritual(levels 17-20)
Son of the Legend: Your deeds have reached the ears of your fathers old enemies. A demon with CR equal to you ECL will be sent to kill you. He will ambush you and try to seperate you from the party by distracting them with minions/ physically taking you away. You must defeat him to prove you are worthy of the sword's power.

These rituals must be completed in order unlock the corresponding powers. You get no powers till you complete the appropriate ritual but you don't need to complete it the second you hit the right level though the sooner the better.

Personal cost(more balancing)
Whenever the wielder hears of demonic threats, he must do all he can to stop them. If the wielder ignores too many, the sword rejects him and he loses all powers except base until he redeems himself by stopping a demonic threat/saving innocents from demons/etc.( this will be decided by the DM. Basically it enforces the whole great power, great responsibility thing)
If any of the player or the DM has access to the books, you might choose one of the tables instead. Though personally I like story costs better.

Powers(a.k.a. the GOOD part)
{table=head]Level|Abilities
5 | Blade Affinity
6 |
7 | Trickster Dash
8 |
9 |
10| Wall Hike
11| Doppleganger - After Image
12| Devil trigger
13|
14| Royal Guard
15|
16| Drive
17| Million Stabs
18|
19|
20| Geryon - Time Lag[/table]

Blade Affinity: This weapon fits you perfectly, wether it is balance, weight or length. You are so good with it treat this weapon as 2 categories lighter(or 1 size, if it is too large for you).

Trickster Dash: You are a blur on the battlefield. Your acrobatics and sheer speed make you an elusive target.
As an immediate action, you are treated as if under the Blur spell for 1 attack. You can use this a number of times a round equal to your Dex modifier. After the attack resolves, you can take a 5 ft step. Incase of multiple attacks, if your 5 ft step take you out of range, the rest of the attacks do not take place. The attacker may shift his remaining attacks to anyone else in range.

Wall Hike: Few things say awesome like running straight up a wall
As the psionic feat 'Up the Walls' but at will

After Image: Initiate a dimensional light-rift causing a shadow versions of yourself to appear.
As Mirror Image spell. 3/day

Devil Trigger: You unlock more of your demonic powers. You can use this raw magic to empower your other abilities.
You start with 3 'Devil Triggers' everyday and gain one more everytime you kill an evil enemy.
You can spend DT to gain more uses of your abilities: Lesser - 3, Greater - 5
You can spend 5 DT to maximize your powers for 3 rounds
You can spend 10 DT to enter Devil Trigger mode. Maximize all rolls for 1 round.

Royal Guard: +5 deflection bonus

Drive: A lightning quick sword swing that sends a powerful shockwave towards enemies.
As Psionic power Energy Bolt. 3/day

Million Stabs: Quickly stab the enemy with blinding speed creating enough momentum to blast them backward.
Rebellion gains Speed and Knockback enchantments.(Here you go:smallbiggrin:)

Time Lag: Send out a dimensional time-rift wave that slows down your enemies
As the spell Time Stop. 1/day

[Laura Eternata]

Thank you so much, this is perfect. I think I might just have to shell out the cash for a used copy of Weapons of Legacy now.

Hopefully all this work will cause a sufficient migraine when my DM sees it :smallwink:

[Andion Isurand]

Instead of a Lesser Teifling, you could also go for the complacent human variant in Dragon Magazine 320, p. 88.

+2 to any ability score (in this case intelligence)
no bonus feat
no extra skill points
favored class: bard

though... with the magic blooded template (Dragom Magazine 306), the favored class would become sorcerer in addition to getting -2 Wis +2 Cha, low light vision and other abilities

Netting you +2 Int, -2 wis, +2 cha for someone both intelligent and charismatic
plus you wouldn't have the planetouched subtype.

[Graytemplar]

I'm curious what race you're going to be using for this.

I'd recommend the Hellbred from Fiendish Codex II, with the Body aspect rather than the Spirit aspect. It has no Level Adjustment (unlike the Tiefling) and there is no way that Dante is a human, which I see as being an alternate mechanical option. I'm aware that the Hellbred isn't actually a fiend, but they're about as close as you can get without actually being one, and the good/evil nature thing could fit nicely.

In terms of class, it's hard to say exactly what would work for what you're after. I do have an idea that's so crazy it might work though.

Monk 2/Hexblade 8/Disciple of the Word 10.

Feats you would take include Truename Training, Ascetic Mage (which you qualify for with 8 levels of Hexblade and your 2 monk levels), Weapon Focus: Longsword, Whirling Steel Strike, Monkeygrip, and whatever else you like.

You would end up with Charisma to Saves vs Spells, Charisma to AC, Mettle, Evasion, awesome base saves, a +16 BAB, and a mechanic to boost heaps of your abilities through a single skill (Truespeech).

Now, this won't work in the same way that a Warblade or Swordsage will, but it will certainly make things interesting for you as you pull out weird things from left, right, and centre.


EDIT: Another option for feats would be to take the Whirlwind tree of feats (Dodge, Mobility, Spring Attack, Combat Expertise), so that you can grab the new Martial Art feat listed on page 218 of the Tome of Magic... thus giving you a nod towards the Oriental Adventures setting.




Hellbred is definitely Appropriate, especially with evil exception, which is both reminiscent of the character and good for the party, also, I seem to recall a feat that let monks treat greatswords as special monk weapons, can anyone verify that?

[marcielle]

Just a warning, I built it late at night and Devil Trigger might be a tad too powerful, especially if you are fighting hordes of low level mooks. In that case it might be appropriate to say you only gain a DT if the CR of the enemy slain is within 1 or 2 levels of your ECL.

Also, IIRC wall hike's wording means you only need to finish your turn on a HORIZONTAL surface. This TECHNICALLY means you can stand on the roof. Talk this out with your DM before actually trying it though, as Dante doesn't roof-walk. Would be awesome in dungeons as most traps are located on the floor and things like cloakers can't get the jump on you.
Imagine WALKING up to one of the ceiling nasties and gently tapping them on the shoulder before blind-siding them from the last place they expected a threat.