3.5 Van Helsing type build help

[Xaragos]

I am trying to come up with some kind of anti Vampire, Werecreature, monster build. Playing 3.5 gestalt. Not really interested in an archer but Gish, melee, caster, caster hybrid is all good. Initial thoughts were to have Archivist in there because of the creature specific Dark knowledge but I am up for anything.

Appreciate the help.

[BWR]

Rudolf van Richten, D&D's van Helsing expy, was a Thief (rogue). Sneaky, lots of knowledge and various mundane abilities, stealthy. Rogue sounds good, especially if you can get the DM to allow you to switch some class skills for Knowledges.

[Diovid]

Rangers could make decent hunters with feats such as Wise to Your Ways (Ghostwalk), Unquenchable Flame of Life (Libris Mortis), Improved Favored Enemy (Complete Warrior), Favored Power Attack (Complete Warrior) and Nemesis (Book of Exalted Deeds).

Dragon Magazines have a few more feats which enhance your favored enemy ability and dragon magazine #347 has the Solitary Hunter ranger acf which replaces your animal companion with a stronger favored enemy ability.

If you don't like the Ranger's combat style options, look at Dragon Magazine #326 for alternative combat styles.

As for prcs, you could look at the Stalker of Kharash (Book of Exalted Deeds).

For a sample build see: http://www.minmaxboards.com/index.php?topic=5029.0

[Guyver87]

Shifter Ranger/Weretouched Master combo could work too.

Weretouched Master is basically a class, that let's Shifters enhance the powers gained through their lycantrope ancestry, and gain the abilities of the true Werecreature, so I think it fits the theme quite well.


Requirements are really easy to fulfill [Basically being a Shifter, and having BAB +4, 5 ranks in Knowledge (Nature), and 8 in Survival], and this PrC is only 5 levels, so I think it should be a very good choice, for someone who wants to play Werewolf-like character, but does not like the LA on the Lycantrope Template.

However do take note of the fact, that errata nerfed this Prestige Class quite a bit, so You probably would have to convince your GM to let You play the old version.

Few levels of Warshaper could be useful too, as this PrC not only gives enhancements to attributes, but also makes character's Natural Weapons better, makes him immune to critical hits, and stunning... Later levels also give the Fast Healing, and enhanced reach, so it can be used to create very powerful melee type character.

Sorry for bad English, and I hope that helps a bit.

[Firechanter]

Rogue sounds good, especially if you can get the DM to allow you to switch some class skills for Knowledges.

Isn't that rather a stupid idea for an _Undead_ hunter, when your main class feature does not apply against your chosen primary targets?

[Diovid]

Isn't that rather a stupid idea for an _Undead_ hunter, when your main class feature does not apply against your chosen primary targets?
Yes, unless you have one or more of the following acfs:

Death's Ruin (Complete Champion)
Holy Stalker (Complete Champion)
Penetrating Strike (Dungeonscape)
Penetrating Strike (Expedition to Castle Ravenloft)

[Telonius]

In a Gestalt? How about...

Fighter2/Paladin4/Hunter of the Dead10/(Archivist? Warblade?) 4 //
Cloistered Cleric1/Ranger4/Exorcist of the Silver Flame4/Ranger5-7/Horizon Walker8

It's a fairly martial build, since that seems to be where you want to focus. I've assumed that each PrC needs to have the prereqs fulfilled on its own side of the gestalt. If not, you could switch something out for one of those Paladin levels. (He'd need at least Paladin3 for Aura of Courage - being unafraid of anything is a pretty major part of the character, imo). Fighter to start gives you a couple of extra feats to play around with. Hunter of the Dead gives a bunch of goodies against undead foes, and useful immunities to the sorts of things you'll be fighting. After finishing out that PrC, you could take a couple levels in Archivist or Warblade (or something else entirely), depending on where you think the character's going.

On the other side, Cloistered Cleric does a few things for you: it gives you bunches of skill points at first level, Bardic Knowledge (which seems like something Van Helsing ought to have), is the prereq for Exorcist of the Silver Flame, and lets you make your own Holy Water. Ranger, for theme and skill points. Exorcist of the Silver Flame to get your weapon silverized and goodified, then Horizon Walker for flavor of the grizzled traveler who can go anywhere.

[Xaragos]

Really good ideas from everyone. Paladin seems sensible, it is just the Lawful Good thing while doable, doesn't seem to fit. Any other means of getting immunity to fear other than maybe having him cast Heroes Feast? Any MI's that would do that?

[Nettlekid]

Really good ideas from everyone. Paladin seems sensible, it is just the Lawful Good thing while doable, doesn't seem to fit. Any other means of getting immunity to fear other than maybe having him cast Heroes Feast? Any MI's that would do that?

Any immunity to mind-affecting also gives you immunity to fear, and you'll want that if you're hunting Vampires and stuff.

I want to second Stalker of Kharash, because a Ranger base seems perfect for this, and the fact that Stalker of Kharash grants FE: Evil is unbeatable for your purposes. Especially since you can then take Nemesis to instantly notice any Evil creature (not creature with the Evil subtype, but any creature who would *ping* Detect Evil) within 60 ft.

You might also like Argent Fist from Faiths of Eberron. It's designed to be sort of Monk/Paladinish, and allows you to do things to Lycanthropes, Undead, and Evil Outsiders (which is what you're after, right?) That might make a good gestalt with Stalker of Kharash.

[Greenish]

You might also like Argent Fist from Faiths of Eberron. It's designed to be sort of Monk/Paladinish, and allows you to do things to Lycanthropes, Undead, and Evil Outsiders (which is what you're after, right?) That might make a good gestalt with Stalker of Kharash.Argent Fist isn very good, though, even in gestalt it eats feats.

Though if you want to be SAD, it's a nice stop after Serenity, and it does grant decent defenses (combined with monk/paladin entry, you get Wis to AC even in armour, Wis to saves, Evasion, Mettle, and some self-healing). Also Stunning Smite is pretty cool.

[Psyren]

If you want rogue, Skullclan Hunter can sneak attack undead.

[Yogibear41]

What kind of setting are you in? Does gunpowder exist? Or are we looking at strictly crossbows with silver tipped bolts for your hunting weapon of choice?

[Waker]

I like nice simple builds, so how about Warblade/Factotum? Warblade would give you plenty of combat options with your maneuvers, Factotum grants you plenty of Knowledge to use with Knowledge Devotion not to mention your SLAs and Turn/Lay on Hands options. And since both classes benefit from high Intelligence, you've got some synergy there. If you plan on being a monster hunter, you might find the Supernatural Crusader/Opportunist feats useful since so many undead and other sorts have Su attacks.

[Xaragos]

No gunpowder in this campaign. Also, typically for this group's gestalt one base class has to go 1-20, while the other side can consist of a base class and 1 PRC. Small prestige classes <5 levels are allowed as add ons (like Exotic Weapon Master).

Not against ranged weapons for this char, but prefer a Gish type.

How do you all deal with the numerous save vs pwned spells and abilities from the monster types? Things like level drain, ability drain, etc?

Are there any abilities/spells that can help with the Vampire 0 HP turn into gaseous form to get away?

Protection from lycanthropy?

[Xaragos]

If you want rogue, Skullclan Hunter can sneak attack undead.

Very interesting class and it is pretty much designed to combat undead which is pretty cool. How would you recommend to efficiently gain both turn undead and sneak attack requirements?

It would be awesome if allowed to gestalt this PRC with Stalker of Kharash but alas that cant happen.

[techpriest35]

i had a similar idea. i want to play a vampire hunter/werewolf hunter that uses black powder guns,stakes crossbows, daggers and various tricks. the character should only be one class. i know iin one of the books i have i saw either a prestige class or a base class that was basically built for this. i just can't remeber the source or the class name.maybe its in one of the complete slayer's guides? the character is a mix of religious power of a sun deity, crafty/luckiness/preparedness of the rogue, arcane casting similar to a sorcerer and favored enemy of the ranger. the book that had the base/prestige class mixed all those elements into one and had things like vampire hunting kits.any suggestions would be nice
i am playing in an ebberon campagin setting and we have a shifter barbarian from the eldeen reaches.
i already have gear picked out i just need to find the class

[Maat Mons]

For resisting the abilities of vampires and werewolves, I think Paladin of Freedom (Unearthed Arcana, p53) works well. It’s a Chaotic Good variant of Paladin, which is probably more fitting for an independent monster hunter anyway. At 3rd level, you gain immunity to Compulsion effects instead of immunity to Fear effects. This means you don’t have to worry about a vampire’s Dominate SLA. If you want immunity to Fear effects, you can take the Fearless feat (Player’s Guide to Faerun, p38) at 1st level. Paladin of Freedom, just like regular Paladin, gets immunity to Disease at 3rd level, which protects you from contracting lycanthropy.

If you have access to Dragon magazine, you can gain immunity to all Mind-Affecting effects, including Compulsion, using the 11th level Moon-Warded Ranger substitution level for Ranger (Dragon 340, p55). The 2nd level substitution level gives you Wisdom to AC when wearing light or no armor. This pairs well with, e.g., Cleric, which is convenient because you can get immunity to Fear effects from the Dream domain and immunity to the effects of Disease from the Pestilence domain.

A lot of the methods of gaining immunity to Energy Drain have kind of a pro-undead vibe. I guess there’s nothing wrong with Deadgrim (Magic of Eberron, p57) though.

Interestingly, the 4th level Crescent Moon Knight substitution level for Paladin (Champions of Valor, p37) can give you Favored Enemy (Lycanthropes). Unfortunately, this sacrifices the Turn Undead Paladins normally get at this level. If you want Turn Undead, perhaps to qualify for Deadgrim, you’ll probably need the other side to be Cleric. That kind of works out though, if you have access to Dragon Magazine Compendium, because Serenity, already mentioned above, is great for Paladin // Cleric gestalts. If you do go Deadgrim, that also gives you Favored Enemy (Undead). Then you could take the previously-mentioned Nemesis feat twice to auto-detect all the creatures you care about.

[rel]

The cleric is the traditional Van Helsing archetype, introduced into the game specifically to eliminate vampires, it remains a powerful anti-undead option to this day.

Add factotum for improved action economy and skills, and you have a very potent monster hunting gish.

[FactualArcher]

There’s a feat in Libris Morris literally called Vampire Hunter. It’s kind of underwhelming, but for a dedicated vampire hunter it’s probably okay.

[loky1109]

For Hunter PrC.

[truemane]

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