Donox
2011-09-17, 11:29 AM
Ok, so I'm currently involved in a Red Hand of Doom campaign, and we've just arrived at Brindol. Our party is a core only charger paladin, a swift hunter scout/ranger, a Sorcerer/PRC bard/Early entry sublime Chord (my character, don't ask), and my cohort, a duskblade/sneak attack variant fighter/Swordsage.
As you can see, our party really lacks any front line fighters (since the Paladin mostly charges past enemies with ride by attack,) except my cohort, who really can't take a beating.
We have just beaten the Hill giant encounter, but during that fight, the hill giants managed to go through 2/3rds of my cohorts HP, and 2/3s of the NPC's HP (although the Paladin wasn't their), and we really only managed to kill them due to several failed fort saves vs Wyvern poison on their part. If the NPC ally wasn't there, we would have lost.
I am asking for ways to improve my cohorts durability and versatility. No one in the party is particularly highly optimized (excluding my primary character who has an insanely high bluff mod), although all of us are well built and haven't had that much trouble yet.
I kind of want this character to be able to have a bunch of cool stuff to do in combat, that you can get at a lower level, but still functions at a higher level. However, I'm kind of unfamiliar with ToB, so I'd like some help choosing maneuvers. I've chosen things that complement each other (sneak attack+bonus damage+extra attacks+invisibility+flanking) but it kind of seems like there is too much happening at once. I've also found that his original strategy of moving towards the enemy and using spell-storing weapon+channel spell to deal lots of damage doesn't really work that well with maneuvers in general (I'm fine with this because he runs out of spells really quickly.)
My primary concern is his durability, which seems really low as of now. His AC is 21 (with a shield) and due to our parties lack of melee characters, it seems like he'll be taking most of the hits.
I'm planning on taking another level in Swordsage, than 2 more levels in Warblade, although I've also debated taking Jade Phoenix mage next level instead.
Cohort Stats
Duskblade 5/Sneak attack variant fighter (drow substitution level) 1/Swordsage 1
Race: Half Drow
Str 10
Dex 19
Con 14
Int 14
Wis 10
Cha 8
Feats
1 Master of Poisons
F1 Murky Eyed Improved Initiative
F2 Vulnerable Weapon Finesse
3 Poison Spell
6 Craven
Trait: Aggressive
Maneuvers
Flashing Sun
Burning Blade
Moment of Perfect mind
Cloak of deception
Action before thought
Sapphire nightmare (debating between this and Distracting Ember)
Stances
Island of Blades
In short, I'm asking for advice on maneuvers, increasing his defenses and durability, and getting his various abilities to work together. Thanks in advance!
As you can see, our party really lacks any front line fighters (since the Paladin mostly charges past enemies with ride by attack,) except my cohort, who really can't take a beating.
We have just beaten the Hill giant encounter, but during that fight, the hill giants managed to go through 2/3rds of my cohorts HP, and 2/3s of the NPC's HP (although the Paladin wasn't their), and we really only managed to kill them due to several failed fort saves vs Wyvern poison on their part. If the NPC ally wasn't there, we would have lost.
I am asking for ways to improve my cohorts durability and versatility. No one in the party is particularly highly optimized (excluding my primary character who has an insanely high bluff mod), although all of us are well built and haven't had that much trouble yet.
I kind of want this character to be able to have a bunch of cool stuff to do in combat, that you can get at a lower level, but still functions at a higher level. However, I'm kind of unfamiliar with ToB, so I'd like some help choosing maneuvers. I've chosen things that complement each other (sneak attack+bonus damage+extra attacks+invisibility+flanking) but it kind of seems like there is too much happening at once. I've also found that his original strategy of moving towards the enemy and using spell-storing weapon+channel spell to deal lots of damage doesn't really work that well with maneuvers in general (I'm fine with this because he runs out of spells really quickly.)
My primary concern is his durability, which seems really low as of now. His AC is 21 (with a shield) and due to our parties lack of melee characters, it seems like he'll be taking most of the hits.
I'm planning on taking another level in Swordsage, than 2 more levels in Warblade, although I've also debated taking Jade Phoenix mage next level instead.
Cohort Stats
Duskblade 5/Sneak attack variant fighter (drow substitution level) 1/Swordsage 1
Race: Half Drow
Str 10
Dex 19
Con 14
Int 14
Wis 10
Cha 8
Feats
1 Master of Poisons
F1 Murky Eyed Improved Initiative
F2 Vulnerable Weapon Finesse
3 Poison Spell
6 Craven
Trait: Aggressive
Maneuvers
Flashing Sun
Burning Blade
Moment of Perfect mind
Cloak of deception
Action before thought
Sapphire nightmare (debating between this and Distracting Ember)
Stances
Island of Blades
In short, I'm asking for advice on maneuvers, increasing his defenses and durability, and getting his various abilities to work together. Thanks in advance!