the noobie hex

[Soul_Nomad17]

I am completely new to, well forums in general. I joined this specific one to learn more about character creation and dm tools for d&d 3.5 than what my books can teach me. I'm basically looking for feedback on my ideas, or new ideas in general.
So here goes, character build idea: fighter 4, paladin 4, fist of raziel 10, occult slayer 5. Wields a scythe, which is what the fighter levels are for, also the prereqs for the prestige classes. Feedback? It will be played in a campaign where we are basically combining 3.5 with pathfinder skills and feat acquisition. Also, we are using the gestalt system, but I won't get into that.

[GilesTheCleric]

Welcome to the playground! We don't bite; we make natural attacks that grapple on hit and are empowered by venomfire.

What sort of feedback did you want, exactly? Ways to improve on your build's abilities? Which classes to gestalt with?

In terms of your current build, I recommend looking at the mageslayer line of feats. Also, if you can get your DM to allow you to follow the PF rules for smite, you'll be in a much better situation.

[Urpriest]

Since you're using the Pathfinder system for feats you probably don't need the Fighter levels unless your build is really feat-intensive.

[Feilith]

I've always thought I was more of a Leap Attacking Shock Trooper Frenzied Berserker (5:1 power attack? i think ill take it:smallbiggrin:)

But in regards to your build, you're missing a few prerequisites. Fist of Raziel needs BaB +6 and Occult Slayer requires +5 so you're not going to get that with 4 levels.

Also since you're using gestalt I wouldn't suggest using 2 Full BaB, Fort save only classes. Gestalt is best used to cover bad saves for a class, So monk would complement well with fighter, and I'd use Cleric instead of paladin to qualify for Fist of Raziel. (It'll cover your will save and get you better casting)

Also, BoED is pretty restrictive in how you can act so I'm not a strong advocate for the PrC's in the book (there are a few that are better than the restrictions) But if you're set on it, its not bad for paladins.

Overall I'd suggest
1-4 Fighter/Monk
3-5 Fighter/ Cleric(If you really want to take paladin replace 3 levels of monk and this Cleric Level)
5-10 Occult Slayer/Fist of Raziel
10-15 Fist of Raziel/what ever you want really

This way you'll have good saves and can operate in heavy armor or no armor if you get captured. Plus monk gets some pretty good bonus feats, leaving your general feats open for what ever you want.

[Andezzar]

If you want the smiting improvements from Fist of Raziel, Start with cleric. You will get into the PrC later, but the character will be more powerful Improving Cleric casting is much better than getting improved Paladin casting. all you lose is 1 Smite/day. With Divine Power, you will also have full BAB (at least some times).

[Fouredged Sword]

I would go with Cleric / PRC paladin / fist of raziel 10 / occult slayer

Cleric 6 / PRC paladin 3 / Fist of Raziel 10

Domains - Inquisition and Exorcism Domain

You loose 2 cleric caster levels, but still get 9th level spells. Look into Surge of Fortune as a great auto hit with your auto confirm of critical hits on a smite as a great way to say - You -> die.

You also get 18 points of BAB, so you get all 4 attacks on a full attack.

Occult slayer does not advance casting, and everything you get out of it can be replaced by spells. Save your feats for mageslayer and it's line and focus on smiteing and being a combat cleric.

Look into the mageslayer line of feats. They are nice for this sort of build.

[Soul_Nomad17]

This has been very helpful, and exactly what I'm looking for. I don't quite fully understand how to make full use of the gestalt system, so I tried to leave it off for that build, but these cleric and monk ideas seem better than what I was originally thinking, and I don't HAVE to use a scythe (thats more for flavor). For me, the feel of a character is as important as how it's built. So I chose to use a scythe and find things that make me good at fighting most evil opponents, (especially casters). True I had overlooked a few things, but honestly I came up with the idea here at work, so I have no books with me for confirmation. Also this will be my first truly good-aligned character. Thanks all!

[Fouredged Sword]

A scythe is a fine weapon, especially if you are going to focus on crits through surge of fortune.

Gestalt is easy, but check with your DM to see if gestalt is being used. Generaly it is an all or nothing thing, ether all characters are gestalt, or nobody is.

If using gestalt, I would suggest

Cleric 6 / Fist of Razeil 10 / cleric 4
//
Paladin 20

Gestalt gives you the better number of each table and all class features at each level.