Synergizing PC's

[zoobob9]

So we're starting a new campaign, and my colleague and I would like to kinda of work together with our characters. Is there any PrC or build that works well with two PC's working together? What they're built around doing isn't that important, whether they're mages or tanks or whatever. They just need to be able to work together and whatnot. Preferably the same race as well.

Is this even possible?

[Biffoniacus_Furiou]

It sort of depends on what you want the characters to do, and what the rest of your party is playing. A starting level would also help, many builds are extremely strong in the mid-high levels but unplayable starting at 1st level.

Two (Savage (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/variant/classes/variantCharacterClasses.htm#bardVariantSavageBard) ) Bards would be good, use Silverbrow Human for your race (Dragon Magic) and optimize Inspire Courage. Both should use two flaws, and get Melodic Casting (CM), Lingering Song (CV), Dragonfire Inspiration (DM), Wild Cohort (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/re/20031118a) (Magebred Warbeast Riding Dog), Song of the Heart (ECS), and Words of Creation (BoED).

Plan to take at least eight Bard levels, and later go into Sublime Chord (CA) and use other prestige classes to advance it. One or both will need to dip a single level of Sorcerer, and use the Dragonblood Sorcerer substitution level (RotD) to get Draconic Heritage instead of a Familiar, the two characters must use different types of elements. Both characters should get a Badge of Valor (MIC) asap, and learn the spell Inspirational Boost (SC).

Both characters can use shortbows, which benefit from Inspire Courage. A given encounter should look like the following:

1st round: Whichever gets higher initiative (or has more of his daily Inspire Courage uses remaining) casts Inspirational Boost and begins Inspiring Courage for flat bonuses to attack/damage, with Words of Creation. The one with the lower initiative casts Inspirational Boost, begins Inspiring Courage with Dragonfire Inspiration, and activates his Badge of Valor to increase its bonus. Both spend a move-action to order their wild cohorts to attack.

2nd round: Higher initiative stops inspiring (it lasts 10 rounds from now due to Lingering Song), casts Inspirational Boost, begins Inspiring Courage with Dragonfire Inspiration (the different element types stack), and activates his Badge of Valor to increase its bonus. The one with a lower initiative probably casts a spell, Haste is preferable though Glitterdust on a group of opponents is extremely potent.

3rd+ round: Keep inspiring, attack with shortbows or cast more spells as needed. Melodic Casting allows them to cast without interrupting their music. They should try to alternate who uses two Inspire Courage and Inspirational Boost uses each fight so neither runs out early.

You can also give each of them Leadership, for two more (Savage) Bards with Wild Cohorts, Dragonfire Inspiration, and Draconic Heritage for yet two more energy types.

[Feralventas]

Well, if you're using Pathfinder, then it might be worth your time to look at the Teamwork feats. If you're going 3.5, you can still ask after them.

http://www.d20pfsrd.com/feats/teamwork-feats

Outside of that, I'd suggest working with team-mates on building characters that can Work synergisticly rather than being mechanically synergistic.

For example.
3-PC team.
1 is a Divination spec 'caster or Psionic Seer mixed with rogue into Unseen Seer. They handle the traps and major skill-checks for the team while providing a spotter and scout for PC2.
PC2 is a warlock who emphasizes their Eldritch Blast invocations along with Fell Flight and stealth/escape invocations. 250ft range single-target attacks with debuffs and damage like no one's business from NOBODY SAW IT. PC1 finds the targets, PC2 guns 'em down and bails out before anyone can figure out where it came from.
PC3 is a Tank/healer there for when things go wrong. A Paladin of Freedom (CG variant) or Crusader who understands the value of guerrilla tactics and won't make a fuss over it as long as the team's goals are good. PC3 is the one who's there for when things go wrong and a little brute force is needed, staying with PC1 to keep them safe while being ready to make a dash to meet PC2 at an arranged LZ for healing and extraction; put ranks in Ride and have a mount or cart or wild-cohort to get out of there fast if needed.


You can do this pretty easily if the party is speaking to one another during or before character creation. Just figure out if there's a specific type of playstyle that each player wants to emphasize and figure out how they can work in the context of each other rather than having everyone coming to the table without referring to the other players.

[Cespenar]

A White Raven Crusader and a Rogue. The former creates opportunities, and the latter takes advantage of them.

[Aeryr]

http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?p=13059527

This is an interesting spin.

[gbprime]

You could be a necromancer and his pet bone golem... (Dread Necromancer PC and melee type Warforged with Tomb Tainted Soul feat...)

I've also done the knight and squire routine in a game before. Paladin or other warrior type for one and a skill monkey build for the other.

[Andorax]

I've also done the knight and squire routine in a game before. Paladin or other warrior type for one and a skill monkey build for the other.

Been there, done that, with a Paladin/Bard combo. Was quite entertaining and fairly effective. Both characters were capable in combat and in social situations, and either was able to heal the other.

[gbprime]

Ours was a Paladin and Factotum team. My factotum was a farmer who seemed to have a knack to pick up absolutely any skill... except social ones. :smallbiggrin:

[Namfuak]

You could both go with this build:

http://community.wizards.com/go/thread/view/75882/19872846/I_May_Be_Tiny,_But_Youre_Dead:_the_other,_melee_Ki ller_Gnome,_for_your_pleasure.

And just run circles around your foes (in their squares, of course) stabbing their kneecaps. Alternatively, one of you could be this guy, and the other a half orc hulking hurler who tosses the little one at the enemy.

[danzibr]

There are two prestige classes in one of the complete books, adventurer probably, whose fluff is working together. I forgot their names and am afb. They're both kind of roguish iirc but one's more melee. Nightsomething Enforcer? Yeah can't remember. I'll get back later unless someone beats me to it.

[Emperor Tippy]

Multiple Incantatrix's work together extremely well. The power level is a bit high for most campaigns though.

[danzibr]

Well, I was quite off with the name. Shadowbane Inquisitor and Shadowbane Stalker, Complete Adventurer, starts at page 68. One is a roguish melee person, the other a roguish cleric person.

[Kuulvheysoon]

There are two prestige classes in one of the complete books, adventurer probably, whose fluff is working together. I forgot their names and am afb. They're both kind of roguish iirc but one's more melee. Nightsomething Enforcer? Yeah can't remember. I'll get back later unless someone beats me to it.

Well, I was quite off with the name. Shadowbane Inquisitor and Shadowbane Stalker, Complete Adventurer, starts at page 68. One is a roguish melee person, the other a roguish cleric person.

You're thinking of the Nightsong Guild (composed of the Nightsong Enforcers and the Nightsong Infiltrators). They're both rogue-y classes, but one has a greater focus on melee, while the other emphasizes stealth.

[danzibr]

You're thinking of the Nightsong Guild (composed of the Nightsong Enforcers and the Nightsong Infiltrators). They're both rogue-y classes, but one has a greater focus on melee, while the other emphasizes stealth.
Oh cool, I was right on both accounts (at least halfway). My other post gave the Shadowbane peeps too.

[Fyermind]

Danzibr you actually weren't wrong. Nightsong Enforcer and Nightsong Infiltrator are another pair from CAdv.

I like leadership roles a lot. A warforged Dragonfire adept with endure elements ability and entangling exhalation can lock down a battlefield without affecting allies at all. A psiforged Psion (shaper) can pull off some pretty silly poisons and alchemy stuff using psionic minor creation, and works as a medic with repair construct.

The real beauty of this is that relatively untrained warforged (for immunity to poisons) protected from the dragonfire adpet's entangling breath can make touch attacks with poisons and alchemical materials reliably. They can also use their natural slam for injury poisons and bomb the battlefield with inhaled poisons. Since nobody really relies on attack rolls, you can smoke out everything as long as the concealment is less than total

Level 1 warforged warriors look like this:
HD: 1d8+2 (6 HP)
AC: 22 (10 base +8 armor, +1 dex, +2 heavy steel shield, +1 phalanx fighting)
BAB/grpl: +1/+1
Attacks: Slam +1 melee (1d6+injury poison of choice) or Contact poison of choice +2 ranged touch (poison)
SA: Inhaled poison of choice, splash weapons
SQs: Living constructs stuff, DR2/adamantine
Abilities: 11, 13, 14, 9, 8, 6
Feats: Adamantine Body (Grenadier, phalanx fighting)
(Flaws: Murky eyed, Inattentive)

Grenadier and phalanx fighting can be replaced by Master of Poisons for swift applications and iterations of toughness (level 1 characters that won't level up may seriously benefit) or iterations of thick skinned from savage species which increases DR by 2 (better than toughness most of the time)

Of course now that I have revealed to the internet my robot unit composition I will have to find a better more versatile one. Anyone with suggestions?

[zoobob9]

We've decided on Mailman like dual Incantatrix. Trust me, for my DM and the other players, this is nowhere near too high power. We'll actually probably be weak in comparison.

The way that my DM does this is kind of weird. Long story short: We'll each have 4 levels of Sorcerer, probably, and 10 levels of Incantatrix. We have yet to decide upon races, but we're twins, so we need to be the same race. We considered Silverbrow Humans, but if there is a less than +2 LA race that adds to both INT and CHA that I don't know about (non kobold though, we have teammates that would kill kobolds on sight) then that would be better.

The idea is basically this: Combine Metamagic and have complimenting Metamagic. We'll probably both be conjuration based, and if not one conjuration one transmutation.

So...any suggestions?

[Biffoniacus_Furiou]

For your race, there's the +0 LA Aasimar (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/sp/20040213a), for which you can wait forever to spend a level (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/sp/20030824a) on the +1 LA and other racial traits.

There's also the Magic-Blooded template from a 3.0 issue of Dragon magazine, it gives Wis -2, Cha +2, +0 LA; I just found the full stats on the first page of a Google search for it. Throw that onto whatever you use, if possible.

If you want something broken-powerful, the Unseelie Fey template from Dragon Compendium is what you're looking for. It's technically +0 LA given the example creature, you should both get the Winter Chill aspect, and definitely pick usable wings, though I think you have to roll for the type of vision you'll have.

If questionable combinations will work at your table, a Phrenic Incarnate Construct Warforged Primordial Giant is probably what you're after. You can apply Magic-Blooded to that for good measure.


Your spell tricks should include Persistent Twinned Repeated Fell Drain Cloud of Knives (PH2), with Arcane Thesis and cast as many times as humanly possible. You should each have a familiar (preferably via Obtain Familiar) to share those with, for twice as many level-draining force-knives every round. You should each have a custom Runestaff (MIC) which enables 1/day uses of all your daily buffs, so you don't have to waste spells known on them. Take Item Familiar (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/variant/magic/itemFamiliars.htm) (probably the Runestaves) and invest every skill point you get from 4th level up into it to dump as large a bonus into Spellcraft as you possibly can. Eternal Wands (MIC) of Wieldskill (PGtF) are also going to be useful if the Item Familiars and taking ten won't be enough to Persist your highest level spells.

(Fell Drain Twinned Repeated) Wings of Flurry (RotD) should be what you cast in combat, preferably adjacent to your foes if you went with Unseelie Fey. I'd get Arcane Thesis for both that and Cloud of Knives. Between nobody being able to affect your characters due to buffs, all the free-action negative levels inflicted every round from the Cloud of Knives spells, and every opponent getting dazed by Wings of Flurry, nothing should be much of a challenge at all. Get Command Undead if you think you'll run into a lot of undead opponents, even against non-mindless undead your Unseelie Fey auras should debuff their saves enough to make them yours.