missmvicious
2012-02-01, 12:39 PM
Basics:
Lo-Op Play-By-Post game, WoTC published material only, L1 required. Also, RAW and no home-brews. No house-rules except a Heal fix, which I don't have any ranks in, so it's nothing important for this character.
I've got my build. She's a political activist oratory Bard on the early stages of a Diplomancer (not game-breaking Diplomancer... just Diplomacy based).
Here's her rough character sheet. I have to fix the layout and fill in some blanks, but that will happen when I'm finished with her:
Ellyjobel Ningel (http://dl.dropbox.com/u/50887717/Ellyjobel%20Ningel.pdf)
Anyway, I'm stuck on feats. I want a feat that compliments her back story, included in the character sheet for easy reference. However, I'm worried that shying away from good combat feats will make her kind of useless in any scenario that won't allow us to talk first. Here are my thoughts, copied and lightly modified from a conversation in the PbP forum, since I'm getting the advice of the other players in my group as well:
Improved Trip:
As for Improved Trip, you may have a point, but I have to take Combat Expertise to get it first. My DEX is pretty nice. I have a 15-19 (20?) to AC already depending on what I'm fighting, so Combat Expertise may be good at making me almost impossible to hit. However, I picked the whip because it has reach and therefore can be used up to 15' without provoking an AoO. I don't plan on getting in too close, so Improved Trip won't kick in much, because you have to be in melee range to perform that free melee attack (whip won't do damage to anything with +1 to AC from armor). And to burn 2 feats just to get better at a weapon that is only good at tripping and disarming seemed more wasteful than buffing Diplomacy.
Weapon Finesse:
The PHB suggests Weapon Finesse for the whip (which nabbing a +3 to attack sounds very tempting), but you have to have a BAB of +1, which makes me think: Weapon Focus. That would push me right into the BAB+1 scene and make me a pretty decent mid-range non-lethal puncher. (I say puncher, because Fighter and Warrior have special meanings in D&D, and I don't know what else to call non-casting combatants.) But once again, I'm burning 2 feats to gain talent in a whip, and at L1 I only get one feat.
Why the Whip:
Honestly, I don't have a good reason. I can't figure out what kind of weapon she would use. She's just an idealistic kid with lot's of passion in her blood. Her rage against the current political machine mixed with her youth-fueled idealism makes her eager for a fight, but I don't see her as so much a fighter as a... hm... subversive political commentator. Therefore a weapon would be something she keeps as a backup, the way I carry a can of pepper spray around. I don't have any real intention of using it, but it's there in a pinch. With the whip, I can disarm an opponent, trip them, and let one of the more skillful combatants point a sword at their throat while I try to get some information out of them. I figured I'd play to her strengths. I mean... I put ranks in Perform: Oratory. She's a chatty Cathy, not a... urm Punchy Paula. :smallconfused:
However, for better damage, and a weapon with a bright future in combat, the Gnome Hook Hammer caught my eye. It would make sense that her father would've given her a hand-me-down heritage weapon when I struck out into the big bad world, and Combat Feats would make more sense in that aspect.
What I'd Prefer:
Does anyone know of any feats that buff illusionist magic? As a Bard (and a Gnome) illusions make up the largest part of my arsenal. Using illusions to illustrate my points when I'm trying to motivate a crowd of suburbanites to write to their emperor about why we need change means that I probably would be quite proficient in the school's use. If anyone can think of a feat that gives me more Illusion power, then I can put that school to a world of good use.
Lo-Op Play-By-Post game, WoTC published material only, L1 required. Also, RAW and no home-brews. No house-rules except a Heal fix, which I don't have any ranks in, so it's nothing important for this character.
I've got my build. She's a political activist oratory Bard on the early stages of a Diplomancer (not game-breaking Diplomancer... just Diplomacy based).
Here's her rough character sheet. I have to fix the layout and fill in some blanks, but that will happen when I'm finished with her:
Ellyjobel Ningel (http://dl.dropbox.com/u/50887717/Ellyjobel%20Ningel.pdf)
Anyway, I'm stuck on feats. I want a feat that compliments her back story, included in the character sheet for easy reference. However, I'm worried that shying away from good combat feats will make her kind of useless in any scenario that won't allow us to talk first. Here are my thoughts, copied and lightly modified from a conversation in the PbP forum, since I'm getting the advice of the other players in my group as well:
Improved Trip:
As for Improved Trip, you may have a point, but I have to take Combat Expertise to get it first. My DEX is pretty nice. I have a 15-19 (20?) to AC already depending on what I'm fighting, so Combat Expertise may be good at making me almost impossible to hit. However, I picked the whip because it has reach and therefore can be used up to 15' without provoking an AoO. I don't plan on getting in too close, so Improved Trip won't kick in much, because you have to be in melee range to perform that free melee attack (whip won't do damage to anything with +1 to AC from armor). And to burn 2 feats just to get better at a weapon that is only good at tripping and disarming seemed more wasteful than buffing Diplomacy.
Weapon Finesse:
The PHB suggests Weapon Finesse for the whip (which nabbing a +3 to attack sounds very tempting), but you have to have a BAB of +1, which makes me think: Weapon Focus. That would push me right into the BAB+1 scene and make me a pretty decent mid-range non-lethal puncher. (I say puncher, because Fighter and Warrior have special meanings in D&D, and I don't know what else to call non-casting combatants.) But once again, I'm burning 2 feats to gain talent in a whip, and at L1 I only get one feat.
Why the Whip:
Honestly, I don't have a good reason. I can't figure out what kind of weapon she would use. She's just an idealistic kid with lot's of passion in her blood. Her rage against the current political machine mixed with her youth-fueled idealism makes her eager for a fight, but I don't see her as so much a fighter as a... hm... subversive political commentator. Therefore a weapon would be something she keeps as a backup, the way I carry a can of pepper spray around. I don't have any real intention of using it, but it's there in a pinch. With the whip, I can disarm an opponent, trip them, and let one of the more skillful combatants point a sword at their throat while I try to get some information out of them. I figured I'd play to her strengths. I mean... I put ranks in Perform: Oratory. She's a chatty Cathy, not a... urm Punchy Paula. :smallconfused:
However, for better damage, and a weapon with a bright future in combat, the Gnome Hook Hammer caught my eye. It would make sense that her father would've given her a hand-me-down heritage weapon when I struck out into the big bad world, and Combat Feats would make more sense in that aspect.
What I'd Prefer:
Does anyone know of any feats that buff illusionist magic? As a Bard (and a Gnome) illusions make up the largest part of my arsenal. Using illusions to illustrate my points when I'm trying to motivate a crowd of suburbanites to write to their emperor about why we need change means that I probably would be quite proficient in the school's use. If anyone can think of a feat that gives me more Illusion power, then I can put that school to a world of good use.