Red Fel
2013-09-05, 08:10 AM
... or is that Dragonforged?
Yes, another Warforged Dragonborn build thread, because dinobots. But seriously.
So, as some of you might recall from some other thread (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=300450), I like unusual builds which have solid flavor, even in the absence of optimization. I'm still working on that one, but everyone needs a hobby, so I thought, why not juggle two characters at once?
So here's the cheese.
First, concept: The character is a Warforged Dragonborn follower of Bahamut, CG or NG, (LG if I end up going Pally, but that's if). He's a generally Nice Guy, rather than a Boy Scout, and really doesn't hate anything except for slavery. Note of history, he was a slave prior to being Reborn, which allowed him a new life and freedom. He still has a pursuer a la Javert.
With regard to body type, I will likely take the Mithral Body at character creation for the bonus to AC without changing armor weight. Light armor is important for this character. With regard to the dragonborn feature, I will likely choose Wings, although Mind is also an option. The big benefits to Mind - the vision upgrades - can be replicated by the time they become truly valuable, while wings would either require expensive items or feats.
Classes: I'm aware that +4 Con, -2 Dex, -2 Wis, -2 Cha can be an awkward starting point. So here's what I'm looking at in terms of possible classes.
1: Fighter or similar: Yes. He has massive Con and no Strength penalty, and Fighter is the favored class for both racial ingredients.
2: Paladin or similar: Maybe. Although the inability to use an armor slot would likely hurt.
3: Monk: Maybe. Mostly just included for completeness' sake, although very few monk classes have impressed me.
4: Tome of Battle: Yes. Crusader has solid flavor for this, and Warblade/Bloodstorm Blade would be crazy fun. (Rapid-fire rocket punches? Yes please.) And Swordsage would help build a legitimate monk.
5: Psionics/Binders/Incarnum: Maybe. I'm open to the possibility, but not in a rush for them.
6: Artificer: No. I know, this is "the" class to make your Warforged crazy. But one, I'm not in this to optimize, and two, I don't have the breadth of knowledge/books needed to play one effectively.
7: Casters: Maybe. First off, spontaneous casters only. One of the really neat (and broken) things about Warforged is that they don't have to sleep. But replace "sleep" with "spend a bunch of time preparing spells" and it can lose a bit of its shine. I can handle "must spend an hour praying for spells," if I have to, or the like, but I'd rather have automatic recharge. Second thing, I'd like to avoid expansive, extensive spell-list classes. Having to hunt down books to find "the" spell is a massive pain and an opportunity I lack. Caster classes with limited, but effective, spell lists are preferred.
With regard to combat style:
Assuming a melee class, I will likely use a Glaive for reach and battlefield control. For obvious reasons, this makes ToB classes potentially very good and diverse. However, I'm also not opposed to unarmed attacks, augmented by a Necklace of Natural Weapons. Towards that end, I am considering several enhancements on weapons/necklace, which will likely arise in a later post, unless someone swordsages me to them.
Also, I really like the idea of enchanting the character's torso directly. That's just crazy fun.
Perhaps ironically, when I started to build this character, and realized the fun that could be had with rapid-fire rocket punches, and the utility of putting the Roaring enhancement on his armor, and having wings, I suddenly realized that I had created GaoGaiGar. That was not my intention, but once the image was in my head, I realized all of the damage I could do with a build like that.
So there we are. Stage 1, building a class that fits the concept. This is where I request help.
EDIT: Update. I've decided to go with an Incarnate/Crusader build. I've chosen Incarnate 10/Crusader 10, because 10th level of Incarnate gets me the extra Shaped/Essentia/Binds, but 11th doesn't get me as much as the extra level of Crusader does. I'm leaning heavily on White Raven and Stone Dragon, for WRT and AMH. This build probably needs an actual weapon, as opposed to Unarmed, and I'm leaning towards a morningstar or warhammer. Any advice is still welcome.
I'm still curious about several questions, as per my post below:
- The delayed damage pool from Crusader - can it be healed normally, before it goes into effect, or does it also suffer the Warforged half-healing-subschool limit?
- Chakra Binds on the Soul (armor) slot: Warforged plating prevents the wearing of armor/robes, and functions like armor/robes, but is it technically armor/robes such that it prevents Soulmelds from being bound on the Soul Chakra?
Yes, another Warforged Dragonborn build thread, because dinobots. But seriously.
So, as some of you might recall from some other thread (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=300450), I like unusual builds which have solid flavor, even in the absence of optimization. I'm still working on that one, but everyone needs a hobby, so I thought, why not juggle two characters at once?
So here's the cheese.
First, concept: The character is a Warforged Dragonborn follower of Bahamut, CG or NG, (LG if I end up going Pally, but that's if). He's a generally Nice Guy, rather than a Boy Scout, and really doesn't hate anything except for slavery. Note of history, he was a slave prior to being Reborn, which allowed him a new life and freedom. He still has a pursuer a la Javert.
With regard to body type, I will likely take the Mithral Body at character creation for the bonus to AC without changing armor weight. Light armor is important for this character. With regard to the dragonborn feature, I will likely choose Wings, although Mind is also an option. The big benefits to Mind - the vision upgrades - can be replicated by the time they become truly valuable, while wings would either require expensive items or feats.
Classes: I'm aware that +4 Con, -2 Dex, -2 Wis, -2 Cha can be an awkward starting point. So here's what I'm looking at in terms of possible classes.
1: Fighter or similar: Yes. He has massive Con and no Strength penalty, and Fighter is the favored class for both racial ingredients.
2: Paladin or similar: Maybe. Although the inability to use an armor slot would likely hurt.
3: Monk: Maybe. Mostly just included for completeness' sake, although very few monk classes have impressed me.
4: Tome of Battle: Yes. Crusader has solid flavor for this, and Warblade/Bloodstorm Blade would be crazy fun. (Rapid-fire rocket punches? Yes please.) And Swordsage would help build a legitimate monk.
5: Psionics/Binders/Incarnum: Maybe. I'm open to the possibility, but not in a rush for them.
6: Artificer: No. I know, this is "the" class to make your Warforged crazy. But one, I'm not in this to optimize, and two, I don't have the breadth of knowledge/books needed to play one effectively.
7: Casters: Maybe. First off, spontaneous casters only. One of the really neat (and broken) things about Warforged is that they don't have to sleep. But replace "sleep" with "spend a bunch of time preparing spells" and it can lose a bit of its shine. I can handle "must spend an hour praying for spells," if I have to, or the like, but I'd rather have automatic recharge. Second thing, I'd like to avoid expansive, extensive spell-list classes. Having to hunt down books to find "the" spell is a massive pain and an opportunity I lack. Caster classes with limited, but effective, spell lists are preferred.
With regard to combat style:
Assuming a melee class, I will likely use a Glaive for reach and battlefield control. For obvious reasons, this makes ToB classes potentially very good and diverse. However, I'm also not opposed to unarmed attacks, augmented by a Necklace of Natural Weapons. Towards that end, I am considering several enhancements on weapons/necklace, which will likely arise in a later post, unless someone swordsages me to them.
Also, I really like the idea of enchanting the character's torso directly. That's just crazy fun.
Perhaps ironically, when I started to build this character, and realized the fun that could be had with rapid-fire rocket punches, and the utility of putting the Roaring enhancement on his armor, and having wings, I suddenly realized that I had created GaoGaiGar. That was not my intention, but once the image was in my head, I realized all of the damage I could do with a build like that.
So there we are. Stage 1, building a class that fits the concept. This is where I request help.
EDIT: Update. I've decided to go with an Incarnate/Crusader build. I've chosen Incarnate 10/Crusader 10, because 10th level of Incarnate gets me the extra Shaped/Essentia/Binds, but 11th doesn't get me as much as the extra level of Crusader does. I'm leaning heavily on White Raven and Stone Dragon, for WRT and AMH. This build probably needs an actual weapon, as opposed to Unarmed, and I'm leaning towards a morningstar or warhammer. Any advice is still welcome.
I'm still curious about several questions, as per my post below:
- The delayed damage pool from Crusader - can it be healed normally, before it goes into effect, or does it also suffer the Warforged half-healing-subschool limit?
- Chakra Binds on the Soul (armor) slot: Warforged plating prevents the wearing of armor/robes, and functions like armor/robes, but is it technically armor/robes such that it prevents Soulmelds from being bound on the Soul Chakra?