Need Ideas for a different Sneaky Shield user

[Talionis]

The party consists of an unoptimized Druid more focused on making his wolf animal companion better, a Spellthief that went into Alchemical Savant and Arcane Archer and two more yet to be determined.

This playgroup doesn't have to be super optimized, but I'd like this character to bring something to the table that has a lot of options and does something pretty novel. If it has cheese, I'd want it to be treated more like an Oh S$%^ button than the mechanic the character is built around.

Shield we were thinking about would look like a Gauntlet with a Buckler. Possibly built with the Gauntlet and buckler as one item. Maybe two items. He wants to see the character be sneaky and not the Tank, not that D&D has tanks per se.

I was just trying to think of ideas and places I should look. I've already read over http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=123630. I like guides so suggestions on good reads are appreciated.

I'm looking for fluff ideas too. People here are so creative and my players sometimes need help.

[HalfQuart]

Maybe go Rogue? Here's a pretty good Rogue Handbook (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?p=8711233).

Optimized Rogues generally use TWF, so with a buckler you'd need Improved Buckler Defense (CW).. which requires Shield proficiency, which Rogue doesn't get. So you'd probably have to dip a level into Fighter or maybe the Sneak Attack Fighter variant?

My favorite sneaky base is the Whisper Gnome (RoS) which between size and race gets +8 Hide +4 Move Silently. If LA is allowed, and you're playing with LA buyoff and likely to go high enough level for it to matter (or perhaps even without buyoff), the Dark Creature template (ToM 161) is great: stacking +8 Hide, +6 MS, +10' speed, resistance to cold, HiPS, etc. At that point you pretty much have to take the Darkstalker (LoM 179) feat.

[Callin]

Shield Gauntlet from Races of Stone.

edit: Use a Chain Shirt, Dastana, and Chahar-Aina and you got a killer AC. Maybe add some as you go along so you can get masterwork to negate the penalty.

As far as stealth goes there are a few options. What books are being used at the table?

[ericgrau]

Optimized Rogues generally use TWF, so with a buckler you'd need Improved Buckler Defense (CW).. which requires Shield proficiency, which Rogue doesn't get. So you'd probably have to dip a level into Fighter or maybe the Sneak Attack Fighter variant?
TWF is popular... but not very good without auto-hit cheese and some kind of super optimized defense trick as well. Typically it goes rogue sets up flank with single attack. Major fight: rogue drops before full attack. Moderate fight: rogue gets 1 full attack, only half of his attacks hit, then he drops. Though I suppose hide in plain sight + +20 hide + darkstalker would fix all that.

A whisper gnome is strong though, as good as a lot of LA 1s.

OP: We could use more detail. I mean a rapier + buckler + skills is all you need to fulfill your basic requirements.

Bards get invisibility, silence and zone of silence, plus skills. Then you replace the rapier with other spells, and with songs. For your other spells the standard spells are good like haste and glitterdust. As you rise in level you can zone of silence (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/zoneOfSilence.htm) for 24 hours + buff spam the party before fights, without any enemies noticing you. The 24 hour zone of silence is also superb for stealthy purposes.

A stealthy bard could be a sort of comic book superhero. I'm referring to a vigilante that fights villains more than someone who was bitten by a radioactive were-badger. In addition to stealth you might pick up gather information, scrying, nightmare, etc.

[Talionis]

OP: We could use more detail. I mean a rapier + buckler + skills is all you need to fulfill your basic requirements.

Bards get invisibility, silence and zone of silence, plus skills. Then you replace the rapier with other spells, and with songs. For your other spells the standard spells are good like haste and glitterdust. As you rise in level you can zone of silence (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/zoneOfSilence.htm) for 24 hours + buff spam the party before fights, without any enemies noticing you. The 24 hour zone of silence is also superb for stealthy purposes.

A stealthy bard could be a sort of comic book superhero. I'm referring to a vigilante that fights villains more than someone who was bitten by a radioactive were-badger. In addition to stealth you might pick up gather information, scrying, nightmare, etc.


I actually like the idea of a Stealthy Bard. That's a good suggestion, not my first thought so it would be pretty different. Could throw a level of crusader or Warblade to get the shield proficiency.

Books: All 3.5, I have access to most books. I have Dragon Compendium, but it's hard to get access to the other Dragon Magazine material.

I'm not fixated on a rapier, so the weapon is up in the air. I'm actually really happy to look at pretty much any idea the more unusual the better.

[avr]

Artificers get access to the armor enhancement infusions, which could be used to give a shield any kind of special properties. 3 or 5 levels in the class should be sufficient to your purposes.

[ericgrau]

I actually like the idea of a Stealthy Bard. That's a good suggestion, not my first thought so it would be pretty different. Could throw a level of crusader or Warblade to get the shield proficiency.

Books: All 3.5, I have access to most books. I have Dragon Compendium, but it's hard to get access to the other Dragon Magazine material.

I'm not fixated on a rapier, so the weapon is up in the air. I'm actually really happy to look at pretty much any idea the more unusual the better.

Well the nonproficiency penalty is equal to the armor check penalty, so if you get a masterwork buckler or light shield for -0 ACP you don't need a dip.