9th level optimization

[smashbro]

I'm heading up to school in less than two weeks, and one of my friends apparently has a killer/suicide mission 9th level adventure, as in, don't bring character's you're attached to.

So, I'm making up new characters, and not quite sure how to optimize them for what I want. I'm making a cleric (to make sure we have one available), a bard (cause I like playing them, and I think I can make a really helpful one) and a skill monkey/pack mule (cause I want to). Will likely use the bard if I can, but I'll make all 3.



So, help for making them awesome?

For the bard, I'm planning on making him anything but human or half-orc. Stacking Charisma and Dexterity. giving him Improved Initiative (so he starts singing right away), Weapon Finesse (so I use Dex). for skills, I'd give him ranks in concentration, perform (lute playing and singing), bluff/sense motive/diplomacy and speak language. Sound good/what 2 other feats should I take?

For the cleric, suggestions? All I'm thinking about him right now is healing domain.

packmule/skillmonkey. best class? best race?



EDIT: and suggestions for good magic weapons/armor?

[supermonkeyjoe]

For me, Killer adventure, 9th level and 3.5 set off the Return to the Tomb of Horrors alarm bells. If this is the case then lots of summons from the cleric will do you well.

[Eldariel]

Divine Metamagic [Complete Divine]: Persistent Spell [Complete Arcane] Cloistered Cleric (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/variant/classes/variantCharacterClasses.htm#clericVariantCloistere dCleric)zilla is probably a fairly good call for a killer adventure. Buff the party, handle casting + fighting + skills yourself (to ensure that somebody does it), pack a punch.

You actually wouldn't be that far from a Bard; you'd have good skills, support casting and all that, but you'd be martially and magically more adept (in exchange for no songs, of course).


Just going Human, taking Able Learner [Races of Destiny] and some levels in Ruathar [Races of the Wild] would probably work well. Planar Touchstone: Catalogues of Enlightenment [Planar Handbook] for the granted power of the Kobold-domain on level 6 and you can cover most that needs covering.

Basically, you'd be a frontliner with solid melee, great spot/listen/search/disable device, good buff capabilities and decent offensive magic. Obviously you'd use DMM: Persistent Spell to persist Divine Power & Righteous Might at least on you (probably other stuff too; Righteous Wrath of the Faithful is a nice party buff for example).

[Biffoniacus_Furiou]

Go Spellthief 1/ (Savage (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/variant/classes/variantCharacterClasses.htm#bardVariantSavageBard) ) Bard 8, future levels should be Mindbender 1/ Sublime Chord 1/ Unseen Seer 9. Use Silverbrow Human from Dragon Magic, get two flaws (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/variant/buildingCharacters/characterFlaws.htm), definitely take Able Learner, Melodic Casting, Dragonfire Inspiration, and Song of the Heart, and you'll want Mindsight and Master Spellthief later. Your other three feats starting out can be Point-Blank Shot, Precise Shot, and Rapid shot; Wild Cohort, Obtain Familiar, and Improved Familiar; Weapon Finesse, TWF, ITWF; Wild Cohort with Point-Blank and Precise Shot; etc. You'll have Trapfinding and with Able Learner you can keep up your Search and Disable Device ranks at no extra cost. Sublime Chord's interaction with Master Spellthief will give you a disproportionately high caster level later on. Get a Badge of Valor in MIC, and Slippers of Battledancing from DMG2. Here's a helpful link (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=187851) for high-survival items.

LN Human Cleric of Zarus (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/ex/20041203a), go Cleric 6/ Divine Oracle 4/ Contemplative 10 for your final build, start out Cleric 5/ Divine Oracle 4. Say you visited the Frog God's Fane detailed in Complete Scoundrel to get the feat prerequisite for Divine Oracle without spending a feat on it. Your domains should be Strength and War, with Oracle, Law, and Destiny via your prestige classes. Again get two flaws, your feats should be Extend Spell, Persistent Spell, Divine Metamagic: Persistent, Power Attack, Combat Reflexes, Extra Turning, and Craft Rod. Get a Reliquary Holy Symbol in MIC, craft your own Night Sticks from LM, and get a standard Strand of Prayer Beads which has had the Bead of Smiting removed for 9,000 gp as per the DMG. Get a +1 Animated Mithral Extreme Shield (RoS) and a Lesser Metamagic Rod of Extend. Every day you should activate the Bead of Karma and buff yourself with Greater Resistance, (Rod of Extended) Magic Vestment x2, DMM: Persistent Divine Power, Divine Favor, and Righteous Might, and Greater Magic Weapon.

[faceroll]

Get the elemental reserve feat to summon an earth elemental. Use it to search for traps. Pick up the mindsight feat by dipping a level in mindbender if you've got 5 arcane caster levels. That gives you some pretty good radar.

Artificer can get access to stuff like arcane eye at 3rd level by making scrolls of the combat trapsmith's arcane eye spell, which lets you scout most things out form safety. You also get access to Holy Sword at level 5, which is AWESOME. 'Course, you gotta shell out gold for all that and have to do a lot of bookkeeping.

[Darrin]

For the cleric, suggestions?


Warforged Cleric 9.
Feats:
1) Dragontouched (for Dragonblood Substitution levels)
3) Extra Turning
6) Shocking Fist (ECS)
9) Storm Bolt (reserve) + Energy Sustenance = convert electricity damage into healing

...but it's underpowered because it doesn't get a familiar.