[E6] Optimizing AC and Health

[Marthinwurer]

I was wondering about this. For my upcoming game, the important rules for magic items are 40k total, max for one part of an item (magic or material) 9k, and 32 PB. We also have 5 bonus feats.

[teslas]

Generally, you don't count on actual armor for AC (or even AC for that matter). In Epic 6, though, you know, stuff's different.


Without Armor:
I think you can get into the Fist of the Forest PrC by 6th level. If you were a Monk -> FotF, you could get DEX, WIS, and CON to AC. Even with a couple 14's and a 16 (and the corresponding 4k +2 enhancement to each), this adds up pretty quickly. Down side? You have to play a Monk. At least you'll have a decent movespeed. With the extra feats you'll get at 6th level, the pre-reqs for FotF are not bad. Hell, at level 6, Great Fortitude can almost sound like a good option.


With Armor:
Oddly, Plate Mail is probably your best option if you're doing some sort of martial class. Woah. Tower Shield for another +4. This way, a Fighter or Paladin with full BAB gets an iterative attack and has +12 to AC from mundane armor alone. Heavy Armor Optimization and Shield Specialization feats take this to +14. Making them both +2 takes it to +18.

I'd suggest Paladin 5/Fighter 1. Your Heavy Warhorse special mount with chain barding is a destroyer of men at that level. Fighter 1 gives you tower shield proficiency and a free feat.


Common sense:
Depending on money, Amulet of Natural Armor +1 or +2, Ring of Deflection +1 or +2. If you go the Monk/FotF route, Bracers of Armor are also fairly inexpensive. The Dodge feat, although normally subpar, is something you'll want to look at. Throw 5 ranks in Tumble for +3 AC when fighting defensively, or you can go the Combat Expertise route (but I personally hate Combat Expertise). Picking a small race as opposed to a medium one gives you a +1 size bonus to AC and attack rolls (with the obvious drawbacks) and usually a +2 to Dex.


edit-
FotF requires BAB +4 and 4 ranks in Survival and Handle Animal. This means you'll want Monk 2/Whatever 3/FotF 1. Then you'll need to confront the skill point costs of Survival and Handle Animal. As a human with 10 int, however, you should be able to easily achieve this.

If you want 50' movement speed instead of 40', Monk 3/Whatever 2/FotF 1

Fighter for two levels ain't bad. Feats in Epic 6 is all you have going for you. Ranger for a level, especially first, will give you pretty much all the skill points you need.


edit2-
I'd do something like this:
1: Ranger 1
2: Monk 1
3: Monk 2
4: Monk 3
5: Fighter 1
6: Fist of the Forest

Your base saves end up as: +9/+7/+3 with 50' movement speed. Not bad for E6.

If all you wanted to be was an AC-whore, then your stats would be:
STR: 14, DEX: 16, CON: 16, INT: 10, WIS: 15, CHA: 8
Put your 4th level stat point in WIS. This gives you +9 AC from stats. 19 touch AC while nekkid makes you damn close to invulnerable to ray spells. If your DM is going to throw stuff with ranged touch attacks at you all the time, this is great. You can't really compete with a tower shield setup for normal AC, however.

Finally, if ToB is on the table, Swordsage instead of Monk goes nearly without saying. I forget the pre-reqs on Snap Kick, but yeah.

[Biffoniacus_Furiou]

Mongrelfolk, Dragonborn (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/iw/20060105b) (Mind), alignment: any good.

Str 10 (8 base, +2 Enhancement)
Dex 6 (8 base, -2 race)
Con 24 (18 base, +4 race, +2 race)
Int 13 (14 base, -2 race, +1 level)
Wis 16 (14 base, +2 Ability Advancement)
Cha 8 (12 base, -4 race)

Wildshape variant (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/variant/classes/variantCharacterClasses.htm#ranger) Mystic Ranger 6
Magical Training (1st), Hidden Talent: Chameleon (flaw), Darkstalker (flaw), Track (R1), Improved Toughness (3rd), Endurance (R4), Sword of the Arcane Order (6th), Extra Wild Shape (b1), Natural Spell (b2), Ability Training: Wisdom (b3), Ability Advancement: Wisdom (b4), Step of the Wild Lands (b5)
Mongrelfolk are Humanoid (Human) and thus qualify for human regions when selecting regional feats such as Magical Training.
Skill Ranks: Listen 9, Spot 9, Hide 9, Move Silently 9, Spellcraft 9, Survival 9, Jump 9
You get one favored enemy at +2, I'd pick Magical Beasts or Monstrous Humanoids.

Spells/day: 3+3/4/3/2; DC 13 + spell level (Ranger list) or DC 11 + spell level (Wizard list*)
0- Detect Magic*, Mage Hand*, Message*, Mending, Create Water, Cure Minor Wounds
1st- Rhino's Rush, Longstrider, Snowsight, Shield*
2nd- Obscuring Snow x2, Web*
3rd- Greater Mage Armor* x2
Spellbook: Detect Magic, Mage Hand, Message, Shield, Web, Greater Mage Armor; more can be added as per Wizard.

Magic Items:
Wand of Camouflage (1st, 50 charges, 750 gp)
Dorje of Chameleon (1st, 50 charges, 750 gp)
three Lesser Metamagic Rods of Extend (3,000 gp each, 9,000 gp total)
Ring of Sustenance (2,500 gp) with Protection +1 (2,000 gp) and a Wilding Clasp (4,000 gp)
Belt of Priestly Might (6,000 gp) with a Wilding Clasp (4,000 gp)
Rod of Bodily Restoration (3,100 gp)
seven 1st level Pearls of Power (1,000 gp each, 7,000 gp total)
Spells at spell level x 50 gp to copy, plus 100 gp per page (900 gp)
Note that a mundane purpose of a belt is to hold other items, and it 'continues to function' when wild shaped due to the wilding clasp. The wands/dorje, rods, and pearls of power are all tucked into his belt and thus can be used when wild shaped. His spellbook melds into his form and cannot be stolen, lost, or destroyed as long as he is wild shaped.

Buffs: Every day he casts Extended Greater Mage Armor twice, for a total duration of 24 hours. He also casts Extended Snowsight and Extended Longstrider each twice, using a pearl to recover each once, for a total duration of 24 hours on both of them. At the start of his adventuring day he can cast Extended Obscuring Snow, for a completely unfair and game-breaking advantage. At the start of an encounter he can cast Shield, and he'll typically use his remaining pearls to have that and Rhino's Rush available again at the end of each encounter. If he needs to do any sneaking, he activates Camouflage and Chameleon for an extra +20 Hide for 10 minutes.

Each party member who also wants 24-hour Snowsight can buy two 1st level pearls of power and they can work together to each pitch in 2/3 on more lesser rods of extend, at a cost of 4,000 gp per party member (maybe 1k or 2k more total for metamagic rods and depending on the number of party members).

Wild Shaping: His Wild Shape ability lasts 6 hours per use, he has four uses per day, thus he will always be in the form of a Fleshraker dinosaur (MM3). In that form, his stats are modified as follows:
Str 19, Dex 19, Con 15 (HP unchanged)
HP 6d8+48 (max 96, average 78, 1d8=5 81)
Initiative +4
Speed 70 ft. (50 base, +10 Fast Movement, +10 Longstrider)
AC 28 (+4 Dex, +7 Natural, +1 Deflection, +6 Armor) or 32 (+4 Shield), Touch 15, Flat-Footed 23.
Base Attack/Grapple: +6/+10
Full Attack: 2 claws +10 melee (1d6+4 plus poison) and bite +5 melee (1d6+2) and tail +5 melee (1d6+1 plus poison), add one rake on a charge +5 melee (1d6+1); Poison DC 15, initial and secondary 1d6 Dex damage.
Special Attack: Leaping Pounce, Poison, Rake
Saves: Fort +7, Reflex +9, Will +5
Skills: +6 racial bonus on Jump checks, +8 racial bonus on Hide checks which improves to +10 in forested areas. Don't forget +16 Jump for land speed, for +35 total to the check.

[teslas]

And it's generally a good idea to mention sources your DM is going to allow. I try to suggest core+complete solutions unless otherwise informed.

As for the above method (nicely done, sir) some DMs would shoot down in a heartbeat--especially with Dragon Magazine material.

[Person_Man]

If you're looking for amazing E6 defense, I would actually suggest Incarnate 3 or 4/Crusader 2 or 3.

Incarnate can give you DR 8/magic (Astral Vembraces), 4d6 retributive Fire damage (Mantle of Flame), Spell Resistance 19 (Spellward Shirt), and other goodies.

Crusader can delay damage, heal on attacks, and gives you a variety of offensive maneuvers as well.

And both Incarnum and ToB material can be well augmented with feats.

[Lord Ruby34]

And go Mineral Warrior for DR 8/Adamantine, that's hard to beat in E6.

[Marthinwurer]

Thanks for all the advice. Sorry for forgetting to say what was banned: Any dragon Mag stuff, pretty much any race that isn't in the PHB except kobolds and no templates other than dragonborn.
For my build idea, I was thinking of going either knight, crusader or warblade and using +3 fullplate and a +3 tower shield. For race, I was thinking a Dwarven dragonborn for the extra boosts to my con score, and I was going to have a +3 item of con. I was basically trying to max out con and HP with the stats and relying on armor for the AC.