[3.5e] Character built help

[Mionelle]

Playing a D&D session this friday and no idea for a character build. I also don't have much experience in this system (just a bit lame, casual playing, nobody cared about the rules) so I need your help.

The only thing I'm certain of is race. DM made a homebrew race, which looks similar to the catfolks, but they're effect of humans' magical genetic experiments. Stats mods: +2 Dex, -2 Con, -2 Int. Free Dodge feat, darkvision (18m)

In this world there is a war between humans and other races. Especially catfolks (the Rakashan) are proud, arrogant and blame other races for their miserable existence of genetic experiments.

My general concept is a hunter or a mercenary sent to chase Rakashan assassin. He doesn't care about war and all that stuff, he simply hates almost everyone and works just for money. I'd rather prefer melee weapons (maybe two weapon combat?), but ranged also would be ok. Not sure if I should choose ranger, barbarian or fighter class. What would you recommend?

Character starts at 3rd level and have 900gp for equipment. My stats rolls: 10, 16, 15, 13, 15, 11.

[AWiz_Abroad]

Hmm. . . couple more things are needed. 1. How experienced are the rest of the players? A lot of the folks on here are liable to build you a Ferrari of a character, but if the party is more at the Corolla level, everyone's going to be frustrated.

2. Do you have any idea what any of the other folks are playing in the campaign? It's occasionally nice to balance, so that there's solutions to common problems. For instance, lacking a skill monkey might steer the build towards a roguish slant, while lack of a line holder may steer the builds a different direction

3. How long is the campaign going to likely last? I'm asking, because given the character concept you outline, Prestiging eventually into Bloodhound out of Complete Adventurer would seem to fit perfectly

[Biffoniacus_Furiou]

Use Swordsage, from Tome of Battle: Book of Nine Swords. It's an extremely fun class with interesting abilities, and it's extremely difficult to accidentally make a uselessly weak character with it.

You'll want the feats Adaptive Style (ToB), Shadow Blade (ToB), Two-Weapon Fighting, and Weapon Finesse for sure. You can also take Desert Wind Dodge (ToB) and get a different feat in place of Dodge if you want. That's a lot of feats, but you can get two flaws (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/variant/buildingCharacters/characterFlaws.htm) for two extra feats. There are also extra flaws in several issues of Dragon magazine which may be more fitting. For example, there's one from Dragon 333 called (former) Test Subject, which makes you take a -2 penalty on saves versus spells and spell-like abilities from three schools you pick (Conjuration, Enchantment, Evocation, Illusion, Necromancy, or Transmutation).

Your ability scores should probably go Str 10, Dex 16, Con 15, Int 13, Wis 15, Cha 11 before racial adjustments, which happens to be in the exact order you listed them. You'll need to use weapons preferred by the Shadow Hand discipline to benefit from your Shadow Blade feat, which probably means shortswords. Starting gear should just be masterwork weapons and light armor, along with maybe a 'masterwork tool (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/equipment/goodsAndServices.htm#toolMasterwork)' for each of Hide and Move Silently (a cloak that blends in well and soft shoes).

[AWiz_Abroad]

I'm going to try to stat out what I'd suggest. It's certainly not the most powerful build ever (as it's late here, and I rarely play martial characters). This build is more designed around flavor vs power. It should do the power trick decently well, but not amazingly. That being said, Here goes nothing.

Essentially this is a Rogue2/Ranger1 Multiclass, trying to set you up to enter Bloodhound eventually. Emphasize, Low Optimization (Literally drafting this on my couch with assistance from SRD). However, as OP is under a time crunch, here's a shot. Currently no equipment, due to it being late here, but I'm sure some other folks can help with that.


Name: Insert Here
Alignment: True Neutral

Abilities

STR: 10 +0 Modifier
CON: 13 (15-2) +1
DEX 18 (16+2) +4 Modifier
INT: 11 (13-2) +0
WIS: 11 +0
CHA: 15 +2

Saves
FORT +3 (1+2 class)
REFLEX +10 (3 +7 class)
WILL +0

Speed: Assuming 30 Ft
Initative: +3 (Dex)

Base Attack Bonus +2

Feats


Dodge (Racial)
Lvl 1 Endurance (I went back and forth over this selection. You do get it at Ranger 3. However. . . if you wanted to prestige at lvl 4 into Bloodhound, you need this feat here. You might want to talk to your DM about retraining feats).
Lvl 3 Class Feat: Track (Ranger)
Lvl 3 Weapon Finesse (You have to have some impact in melee)



Skills
(Add the relevant modifier above to the ranks listed here (use this to flavor your build, you only NEED 4 ranks in Gather Info, Move Silently and Survival. I'm fluffing this as a party skill monkey/face, but you have a total of 40 ranks of Rogue skills, and 6 of Ranger to play with).

Bluff (Cha), 4
Diplomacy (Cha) 5
Disable Device (Int), 5
Disguise (Cha),
Escape Artist (Dex)
Gather Information (Cha): 5
Intimidate (Cha): 1 (not super strong)
Knowledge (local) (Int),
Move Silently (Dex): 5
Open Lock (Dex): 5
Spot (Wis): 5
Tumble (Dex): 5
Survival (Wis): 4 (Ranger Skill)
Knowledge (geography) (Int) 2 (Every Bounty hunter has to figure out where the prey is going)


Class Features

Class Features


Weapon and Armor Proficiency

Proficient with all simple and martial weapons, and with light armor and shields (except tower shields). Also proficient in the hand crossbow, rapier, sap, shortbow, and short sword.

Sneak Attack
If a rogue can catch an opponent when he is unable to defend himself effectively from her attack, she can strike a vital spot for extra damage.

The rogue’s attack deals extra damage any time her target would be denied a Dexterity bonus to AC (whether the target actually has a Dexterity bonus or not), or when the rogue flanks her target. This extra damage is 1d6 at 1st level, and it increases by 1d6 every two rogue levels thereafter. Should the rogue score a critical hit with a sneak attack, this extra damage is not multiplied.

Ranged attacks can count as sneak attacks only if the target is within 30 feet. (read SRD) http://www.d20srd.org/srd/classes/rogue.htm

Trapfinding
Rogues (and only rogues) can use the Search skill to locate traps when the task has a Difficulty Class higher than 20.

Finding a nonmagical trap has a DC of at least 20, or higher if it is well hidden. Finding a magic trap has a DC of 25 + the level of the spell used to create it.

Rogues (and only rogues) can use the Disable Device skill to disarm magic traps. A magic trap generally has a DC of 25 + the level of the spell used to create it.

A rogue who beats a trap’s DC by 10 or more with a Disable Device check can study a trap, figure out how it works, and bypass it (with her party) without disarming it.

Evasion (Ex)
At 2nd level and higher, a rogue can avoid even magical and unusual attacks with great agility. If she makes a successful Reflex saving throw against an attack that normally deals half damage on a successful save, she instead takes no damage. Evasion can be used only if the rogue is wearing light armor or no armor. A helpless rogue does not gain the benefit of evasion.



Favored Enemy (Ex)Humans I presume
At 1st level, a ranger may select a type of creature from among those given on Table: Ranger Favored Enemies. The ranger gains a +2 bonus on Bluff, Listen, Sense Motive, Spot, and Survival checks when using these skills against creatures of this type. Likewise, he gets a +2 bonus on weapon damage rolls against such creatures.

Track
A ranger gains Track as a bonus feat.

Wild Empathy (Ex)
A ranger can improve the attitude of an animal. This ability functions just like a Diplomacy check to improve the attitude of a person. The ranger rolls 1d20 and adds his ranger level and his Charisma modifier to determine the wild empathy check result. The typical domestic animal has a starting attitude of indifferent, while wild animals are usually unfriendly. Read SRD http://www.d20srd.org/srd/classes/ranger.htm

Equipment Notes:

I need to hit the sack, but what I'd suggest is a rapier, some light armor and a longbow. This gives you some decent damage at both range and melee. The AC is going to be on the low end vs a melee monster, but this I think gives you a very elementary build. Read the SRD segments on the class before the game so you know what your stuff can do.
_______________________________
I'm not as sure about the TOB stuff, mainly because it's complicated. The suggested build by Biff would be a lot more powerful undoubtedly.

EDIT: That being said, he's right on as far as the masterwork tools goes. I suggested a rapier for Weapons finesse, your mileage may vary.

[Kuulvheysoon]

AWiz, you're going to have to switch around Endurance and Weapon Finesse - WF has a BAB+1 requirement, which you're not meeting at Rogue 1.

Your BAB at 3rd (considering Rogue 2/Ranger 1) would be +2, not +3.

An 18 (Dexterity, in this case) is actually a +4 bonus, and I'd really advise the 15 in Constitution rather than Charisma; although the higher modifier in Charisma will make your UMD better, more hit points (especially for a melee character) are extremely important.

An alternative option (if UMD isn't important) would be an Urban Ranger (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/variant/classes/variantCharacterClasses.htm#rangerVariantUrbanRang er), as presented in Unearthed Arcana. You get Gather Information as a class skill, and you'll be able to net Endurance as a bonus feat at third. There may be some issue with Urban Tracking/Track, though most reasonable DMs should let it fly.

..and the fact that Urban Ranger loses Survival as a skill somehow managed to escape me. Maybe Apprentice (Woodsman) to add it back in?

[AWiz_Abroad]

AWiz, you're going to have to switch around Endurance and Weapon Finesse - WF has a BAB+1 requirement, which you're not meeting at Rogue 1.

Your BAB at 3rd (considering Rogue 2/Ranger 1) would be +2, not +3.

An 18 (Dexterity, in this case) is actually a +4 bonus, and I'd really advise the 15 in Constitution rather than Charisma; although the higher modifier in Charisma will make your UMD better, more hit points (especially for a melee character) are extremely important.


I'll correct the build, thank you! To the OP in case you need this before I can fix, I agree entirely with Kuulvheysoon about swapping around the abilities. Con is more important, as I am not seeing this as a UMD heavy build. I did like the boosts to gather info and such for the flavor, but hitpoints are also super valuable.

[Mionelle]

AWiz_Abroad, one girl is almost on the same level as I am and one guy is playing D&D for about 8 years. Girl's character is some kind of detective, half-elf rogue specialized in investigation and the guy plays a human sorceress, both are on 3rd level. There is also a dwarf ranger (detective's bodyguard) who fights with a crossbow and is good at trailing in the city area. So I think the team needs someone able to deal some damage with melee weapon.
Third question - dunno, it basically depends of our moods, but DM said he is planning something longer, maybe we'll even reach the epic levels.

Thank you all so much for help! You're awesome! ^^

[hoverfrog]

My preference would be for the classic druid\ranger or possibly an urban druid\rogue. Which depends on what sort of game it is. If it is largely city based then go for the rogue and use the skills to be the best bluffer out there. Otherwise the magical abilities of even a low level druid can bolster a ranger to be an amazing fighter. Shilleleighs spring to mind as an awesome melee combat boost if you opt for high Dex and two weapon fighting.

[Urpriest]

New player, wants to have a combat-focused character that fights in melee...I'm thinking Barbarian would be ideal for this.

Your penalty to Con is a bit of a setback, so remember to put one of your 15s in Con, if not your 16. Normally as a new player you might be a bit reluctant to use Rage if you feel like you might run out before an important fight, so get the feat Extra Rage (Complete Warrior) to get around that. Your other feat should be Power Attack, which at level 3 is just starting to get good. Most people will advise you to use alternate class features, including Spirit Lion Totem (Complete Champion) and Whirling Frenzy (here (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/variant/classes/classFeatureVariants.htm), also Unearthed Arcana). They're both good choices, though Spirit Lion Totem won't really be useful until sixth level.

At later levels, Streetfighter (here (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/we/20070228a)) is another useful alternate class feature. Good feats include Cleave (but not Great Cleave, since it won't come up very often), Leap Attack (Complete Adventurer), and Shock Trooper (Complete Warrior). Note that with this last your damage might be high enough to make it hard for the DM to balance encounters, so use at your own discretion.

Use one big two-handed weapon, like a greatsword, greataxe, or greatclub (this last goes well with Three Mountain Style from Complete Warrior). You'll get more damage and be more accurate than if you did two-weapon fighting.

[AWiz_Abroad]

Absolutely, a Barbarian is going to be a more effective melee tank. . . not as flavorful, given the "I'm a cash hungry bounty hunter who is stalking an assassin" vibe.

The -2 to Con HURTs for any of the melee centric builds.

If you want to fill the melee centric gap in the party, I do like the Urban Druid/Rogue general idea

[Mionelle]

DM made a change in racial traits. Now they're similar to PF catfolk's.

+2 Dexterity, –2 Wisdom

Low-Light Vision

Cat's Luck (Ex) Once per day when a catfolk makes a Reflex saving throw, it can roll the saving throw twice and take the better result. It must decide to use this ability before the saving throw is attempted.

Sprinter (Ex) A catfolk gains a 10-foot racial bonus to its speed when using the charge, run, or withdraw actions.

Natural Hunter: Catfolk receive a +2 racial bonus on Perception, Stealth, and Survival checks.

Now I think I will play ranger or ranger/rogue. Barbarian sounds good, but more agile character might fit better.

[AWiz_Abroad]

Yowch

Ok, well in that case, I'd swap the wisdom and the charisma scores above. Having negative modifiers stinks

That being said, 900 gp is a bit low for a Lvl 3 character.

However, working within it for equipment. Does your DM have a set adventurer's pack containing things like bedrolls, tents, torches, rope, travel rations that you can pick up for X amount?

I'm going to leave that up in the air. As much as a Bane weapon would fit amazingly well with your character concept, it's not in your WBL limit. Bare minimum non utility gear for this character in my humble opinion

Masterwork tool Move Silently 50gp
Masterwork Tool Hide 50gp
Thieves tools 30gp
Rapier, Masterwork 320 gp
Arrows, 40 2gp
Longbow, Masterwork 375 gp
827 gp (73 to play with for utility items like tents, torches, additional outfits besides wilderness garb, etc. Since you want more of a melee, I'd drop the masterwork 300gp off of the longbow if you need more gp to outfit your character.

[hoverfrog]

With the movement bonus Barbarian looks like a better choice. Even better the Scout from Complete Adventurer (http://community.wizards.com/go/thread/view/75882/19872250/The_Scouts_Handbook) takes advantage of fast movement to give you extra damage.

[Gwendol]

Why not combine them? Whirling frenzy barbarian/scout?

However, for damage it is generally better with fixed bonuses over extra dice.