Pure Hexblade Build

[Grayson01]

Okay I am building a Hexblade I want him to be a Dark Hunter, scarred by dark magic and luck and now Hunts the evils of the world to rid the world of the dark taint that has infected him.
Here is what I have so far. The only things set in stone is straight Hexblade and the Stats are rolled but can be moved around.
Alignment: LN
Stats: STR: 18 Dex: 18 Con: 14 CHA: 16 INT: 14 WIS: 12
Weapons: Naganta (OA) reach weapon 1d10 x3, secondary: Maul "?" (CW) 1d10 x3 Light Weapon: "?" Ranged: Longbow 1d8 x3
Feats: 1: Power Attack B1: Educated (going to take knowledge Devotion & Arcane Disciple)
3: Knowledge Devotion
5: "?"
6: Arcane Disciple (Still deciding on domain)
9: "?"
10: "?"
12: "?"
15: "?"
18: "?"

Feats thinking about taking: Ability Focus (Hexblade Curse), Spell Focus (Enchantment or Illusion), Spell Penetration, Force of Penetration, Practiced Spell Caster, & any other suggestions?

Skills: Concentration Max 7 or 8 ranks, Spellcraft Max 5 ranks, Knowledge always maxed (Arcana, Religion & Planes) after I get Conc and Spell to the ranks above I might start taking Knowledges in other areas Dung. and Nat or Local.

I went through the Spell Comp. but never wrote down all the ones I wanted but quick Re-Glance at the Spell list: 1st: Charm Person, Tasha's, +3 more 2nd: Bull's Strength (unless I get it from a Domain), Blindness/deafness, Suggestion, Summon Swarm, Touch of Idiocy 3rd: Hound of Doom, Magic Weapon Greater, Charm Monster, Slow, Poison 4th: Dominate Person, Dimension Door, Enervation, fear.

I am also taking the ACF Dark Companion from the PHB2 instead of the familiar.

So any help Ideas on the build or character RP ideas.

[Flickerdart]

Take Obtain Familiar to get it back. Your high HD and good BAB make it actually useful, especially when you share some awesome buffs with it.

Check out the Hexbands item in the MIC. Reasonably cheap damage boost whether you attack with ranged or melee weapons.

[Grayson01]

Take Obtain Familiar to get it back. Your high HD and good BAB make it actually useful, especially when you share some awesome buffs with it.

Check out the Hexbands item in the MIC. Reasonably cheap damage boost whether you attack with ranged or melee weapons.

Okay Thanks Any Items or Familiars that jump out at you as good to take?

[Flickerdart]

You'll probably be getting a feat to make your familiar better at level 9 so I'll be suggesting them with this in mind:
Improved Familiar: Water and Earth elementals are solid beatsticks, Air is probably the best though thanks to its ridiculous flight speed. Jaculi are pretty solid. Howlers help you debuff. Winter Wolves are big enough to ride, have scent and Track, and can trip. The Beguiler from Shining South is nice (true seeing, loads of attacks) and Imps are also very good.
Planar Familiar: You're mostly in this for the Mephits. Check out Earth, Salt, and Glass Mephits.
Celestial Familiar: If you can get this (minimum 1 step away from alignment of familiars means you have to be at least Neutral) then Coure Eladrin make amazing skill monkeys and scouts. Musteval Guardinals can heal for their normal HP (which is half yours), so that's nice.
Dragon Familiar: Gold is obviously the best, but only comes in at CL14. Blue Dragon (CL10) is the earliest this feat will be good. Red, Bronze, and Silver are all good.

In general, a familiar having more HD is better because you can buy a psychic reformation for them to change their feats to whatever you want. Also don't forget to buy gear for them! Take Enspell Familiar to extend the range of your shared spells to 1 mile.

[DrDeth]

The Dev (Mearls) who wrote the hexblade published a unofficial “fix’ for the class, one that is badly needed.
http://community.wizards.com/go/thread/view/75882/19547530/Contacting_Wizards_of_the_Coast_about_Hex_Blades?p ost_id=332210466
From WotC_Mearls (D&D Lead Designer)
The hexblade suffers a little because he came on the scene relatively early in 3.5's life. As R&D pushes the boundaries of the game, we learn that some things we thought were risky or potentially broken aren't. Other times, we learn things that look fine don't actually work in play.
Armored mages fall into the first category. Them seem really powerful, but in the long run they aren't. Spells and magic items allow an unarmored mage to build great defenses. The spell mage armor is as good as medium armor, and its duration allows most mages to keep it active at all times. If you compare the hexblade to the duskblade from PH 2, you can see how the thinking has changed.
If you want to boost the hexblade, I'd try the following changes:
• Good Fortitude save
• Curse ability usable 1 + the hexblade's Cha modifier per day
• Curse ability usable as a swift action
• Curse ability does not count as used if the target makes his saving throw
• Ability to cast in light or medium armor and while carrying a light shield or buckler
• At 6th level, the hexblade can cast one hexblade spell per day as a swift action, as long as its original casting time is a standard action or faster. He gains an additional use of this power at levels 8, 11, 14, and 18.
The key to the hexblade is his curse ability, but it's a little un-fun to have it so limited in use. The hexblade also has trouble casting spells and using his melee attacks, so shifting spells to swift actions fits in with the idea of an armored mage.
(These are by no means official. They're just off the top of my head changes I'd consider making.)"

Now from me, there's a PHII feat which allows your familair to take a deadly hit for you (or the other way around). Given that your familiar will have scads of HP, this can be a real lifesaver.

[Nightraiderx]

if you grab the binding/ improved binding feats you can grab focalor which gives a nice debuff around you that has no saves, making your hex easier to use.

[Grayson01]

if you grab the binding/ improved binding feats you can grab focalor which gives a nice debuff around you that has no saves, making your hex easier to use.

Oh That sounds good where might I locate these feats?

[Flickerdart]

Oh That sounds good where might I locate these feats?
Tome of Magic page 73. You're after Bind Vestige and Bind Vestige, Improved. Do note that you don't get all of the vestiges' abilities - look at table 1-9 on the next page to see what you get.

[Fouredged Sword]

One could pick up a soulmeld to help you out. Necrocarnate Circlet will give you an undead assistant to boss around.

[Grayson01]

if you grab the binding/ improved binding feats you can grab focalor which gives a nice debuff around you that has no saves, making your hex easier to use.
Thanks a lot Nightraiderx and Drake, those two feats and Focalor will work great for the Character concept and mechanically well. the -2 from the Bind and -2 from my Dark Companion will really help to debuff enemies. Any ideas on what Domain to take?

[Person_Man]

One could pick up a soulmeld to help you out. Necrocarnate Circlet will give you an undead assistant to boss around.

Note that it's two feats to get that - Shape Soulmeld (Necrocarnate Circlet) and Open Least Chakra (Crown) (minimum 6 HD level as a pre-req). And then your Necrocarnate Zombie has max hit dice equal to your Meldshaper level, which is 1/2 your hit dice for a non-Incarnate. Still extremely handy though.

IMO, the key to the Hexblade is getting an Improved Familiar, and then using Alter Self and Polymorph (both on your spell list) with the familiar's Share Spell ability (so it effects both of you). There are plenty of useful combat forms that should help you out.

Or if homebrew is on the table, I have a Hexblade fix (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=218093) I'm rather fond of. At-will Curse, Curse gets very nasty at higher levels,

[gorfnab]

Feats: Dreadful Wrath, Imperious Command
The Hexblade Handbook (http://brilliantgameologists.com/boards/index.php?topic=7412) has some other options.

[Bonzai]

1. Dreadful Wrath (PgtF): When you charge, cast a spell that targets an enemy, or full attack, all enemies within 20ft of you must make a will save or be shaken for 1 minute.

Shaken ='s -2 to saves and a bunch of other things.

2. Power Attack (PH): Pre-req and you frankly want it anyways.

3. Brutal Strike (PH2): Can activate this by power attacking. Opponent makes a fort save, or become sickened for a round.

Sickened ='s -2 to saves and a bunch of other things.

4. Bind Vestige (ToM): Pre-req.

5. Improved Bind Vestige (ToM): Get this for Focalor's aura of sadness. -2 to saves and a bunch of other things within 5ft.

6. Netherese Battle Curse (LEoF): As part of an attack, sacrifice a spell. You gain an attack bonus equal to the spell sacrificed. If it hits, opponent must make a will save or take a -2 to saves and a bunch of other things for 1 minute.

Add on your Dark companion and Dire Hexblade curse, and you will potentially debuff something by -16 to saves, -14 to attack rolls, -12 to damage rolls, -14 to skill checks, -12 to ability checks, and -2 to ac on a charge.

If Dragon magazine is allowed, check out the unseelie fey template. It allows you to debuff all living, non-fey creatures within 5ft equal to their wisdom modifier.

[Fates]

I'd have to advise against Arcane Disciple. I'm not sure how it is you're interpreting it, but it only adds the spells to your class' spell list, not to your spells known, and your wisdom's not good enough to even cast the third and fourth levels. The Hexblade is feat-starved as it is- I'd choose one of the other feats presented here instead.

Seconded on the unofficial hexblade fix. The class is practically unplayable without it.

[Grayson01]

I know only adds them to my class list but the Hexblade is also Spell Starved so they are worth taking depending on the Domain. Thinking about taking the Suffering Domain Bane and Bestow Curse. I wont need a 13 or 14 Wis until 11th and 14th level. By then I should ether have a +2 Wis item by then or I can use my 4th & 8th ability boost most likely the Item.


I'd have to advise against Arcane Disciple. I'm not sure how it is you're interpreting it, but it only adds the spells to your class' spell list, not to your spells known, and your wisdom's not good enough to even cast the third and fourth levels. The Hexblade is feat-starved as it is- I'd choose one of the other feats presented here instead.

Seconded on the unofficial hexblade fix. The class is practically unplayable without it.

[Fates]

I know only adds them to my class list but the Hexblade is also Spell Starved so they are worth taking depending on the Domain. Thinking about taking the Suffering Domain Bane and Bestow Curse. I wont need a 13 or 14 Wis until 11th and 14th level. By then I should ether have a +2 Wis item by then or I can use my 4th & 8th ability boost most likely the Item.

Err...

N-n-n-n-n-n-n-no.

Hexblades are not built for spells with saving throws. The last thing you want is to waste a feat on two new spells that not only both require saves, but use a c-list ability to determine the DC. By the time you reach 11th level, your bestow curse will have a DC of 14, or 15 if you're lucky. That's really low. Given your minuscule number of spells/day, you'd likely be wasting what few spells you get, as most enemies will succeed on their save against that half of the time at the very least. Some of them will only fail on a natural 1.

If you must take arcane disciple, choose a domain that grants you buffs, or some other manner of spell that doesn't require saving throws, or preferably SR either. Domains like Undeath (Detect Undead, Desecrate, Animate Dead, Death Ward) and Time (True Strike, Gental Repose, Haste, Freedom of Movement, and Improved Init as granted power) are much better options for you. A fairly comprehensive list of domains can be found here. (http://home.comcast.net/~ftm3/JHtB/domains.html)