Optimization nonsense: The Helicopter (cross-check+suggestion request)

[Nirhael]

Taking a break from writing a character's backstory to finish up on some silly shenanigans.

The Helicopter is a Lawful Evil Valenar Double Scimitar-wielding Valenar Elf, with 1-20 threat and Lightning Mace abuse (it's a crit build, what did you expect?).

Books required:

Eberron Campaign Setting
Eberron Player's Guide
AEG Mercenaries
Dwarven Blackrock (Godsteel) source book (must admit I can't quite find a legitimate source for this thing, anyone know?)
Tome of Battle
Rokugan, Oriental Adventures
Book of Vile Darkness

Good additions/alternative:

Complete Warrior
Complete Adventurer
Complete Scoundrel
Dungeonscape
Magic Item Compendium

Base weapon:

Masterwork Laminated, Serrated Dwarven Blackrock (Godsteel) Valenar Double Scimitar of Aptitude +1 (2d6/2d6 16-20 x4)

Costs:

300gp x2, Masterwork
900gp x2, Laminated
300gp x2, Serrated
24000gp, 15 lb of Dwarven Blackrock (Godsteel)
125gp, Valenar Double Scimitar
8000gp x2, enchants

So for the price of 43125gp you have a nifty 25% threat, x4 critical multiplier weapon base, not too shabby.

Level progression:

1 Warblade (Weapon Aptitude is a necessity, Blood in the Water is pretty great, I personally like Moment of the Perfect Mind, Steel Wind and Wolf Fang Strike, though none of these really matter, you just need Weapon Aptitude)
1 Ninja, Rokugan variant (not a necessity, you just want +5 BAB ASAP, but this class provides a good dip with +1d6 Sneak Attack and free Dodge, yes the text states that it actually counts as a pre-req for other Feats)
2 Fighter (BAB and extra Feats, good stuff)
1 anything with +1 BAB (pick a dip you like, plenty of good options)
1 Revenant Blade (this is starting to get good, you may need to pick up both Weapon Focus (Valenar Double Scimitar) and (Light Mace), depending on your DM, but it's still worth it, free Improved Critical (Valenar Double Scimitar), which you use your Warblade Weapon Aptitude on, for 11-20 threat)
8 Disciple of Dispater (Iron Power +2, triple threat, you now have 1-20, congratulations)
4 Revenant Blade (you now get two more free Feats, but that's just gravy, the capstone is the wonderful Legendary Force: Both blades now count as two-handed weapons and thus get 1.5x Str bonus and double Power Attack damage)

So whatever you're in range of, is likely going to die. Some good things to have would be a Demolition Crystal and a Truedeath Crystal, a Wand of Extended Wraith Strike+Wand Chamber or two in your weapon. Plenty of goodies to give you the versatility necessary to deal with most situations. Enlarge Person+Whirlwind Attack/Great Cleave would be amusing too.

Now the primary issue of this seems to be the Dwarven Blackrock/Godsteel, since I can't find any source at all for it, I had to use some rather... unorthodox material. If the thing's ruled out, there are still decent alternatives out there:

7 Weapon Master/Kensei from Oriental Adventures, they get Ki Critical, which stacks with Improved Critical and provides a +2 to threat, so you're still back up to 3-20 without the Dwarven Blackrock/Godsteel. (9 in it gets you Ki Whirlwind Attack, which is a standard action, good stuff)

You could take the Better Lucky than Good Feat, replaces your natural 1 with a natural 20, so that means the only roll you don't crit on will be a natural 2. Consider adding a Vorpal mod for the heck of it, but remember that it's just once per day and has a fairly steep Feat requirement.

Loose-ish ends:

So many classes, so many different places... you're an adventurer, you travel around, that'll explain things.
Where'd Dispater fish up a Valenar Elf? Well... Plane-wrecking, teleportation failures, etc. quite a few scenarios possible.
Iron Power +2, "When using an iron or steel weapon", that's straight from the book, Godsteel should qualify, if it doesn't, well, we're sunk. Demons have DR/Cold Iron though, would make sense if a Devil's disciples could use those well...
Dwarven Blackrock/Godsteel acquisition, Wish: "Create a nonmagical item of up to 25,000 gp in value", raw material should fit the bill, you need 24,000 gp's worth. If that's not allowed, well, might be a hook then.
I don't think the Serrated quality and Dwarven Blackrock/Godsteel properties classify as "effect", since they're mainly components for the base weapon. Which would normally make them "stack" with all the other threat expanding boosts.


So... I guess that's about it, this is all paperwork and done for amusement, I hope this never comes into play at anyone's table. Although considering how so many people consider melee to be useless/terrible, that may not be an issue.

I'd just like folks to cross-check this and see if there's any blatantly unacceptable thing done and suggestions, if any.

Oh and, the only reason I'm calling this The Helicopter is because I'm picturing an Elf running up to an opponent, spinning his Double Scimitar fast and hard enough to instantly kill anyone/anything within 6 seconds.

Time to watch this get dissected. :smalltongue:

P.S.: I intentionally left out weapon enchants, because there are just too many good ones to abuse, the only thing you must have is the Aptitude mod.

[Myou]

I'd never heard of godsteel before, and a quick googling suggests to me that it may be from this homebrew: http://www.ekkaia.org/rpg/dnd/ps/planarmetals.pdf
Either way, godsteel definitely doesn't qualify as 'steel' mechanically, any more than adamantine qualifies as diamonds for a Resurrection spell. Or as an 80's pop star.

I can't really comment on the other mechanics, I'm not much of a melee expert. But you really need to give him the ability to take off. :smalltongue:

[nedz]

Someone posted something similar a few weeks back. IIRC Laminated and Serrated don't stack ? You might want to check this.

[Chronos]

Eh, I'm not too impressed by tricks that rely on 3rd-party material. I could homebrew a feat that says "Every attack you make is automatically a hit and a critical hit", and it would be exactly as official as AEG's material.

[Captnq]

Why 1-20?

It's nice, but you forget you still need to hit.

For example, lets assume I make a guy with a 100 touch attack AC. How you going to hit him?

And before you complain, I'd like to point out that with buff spells, equipment, and various feats/class features, it's quite possible to have such an AC for 20 minutes at 20th level.

In play, the crit master in the group I run for discovered that a crit range of 11-20 is good enough, because either the target is so weak it doesn't matter, or so strong the AC is high enough that she'd never hit the NPC on a 1 to 10 anyways.

[dragonsamurai77]

Why 1-20?

It's nice, but you forget you still need to hit.

For example, lets assume I make a guy with a 100 touch attack AC. How you going to hit him?

And before you complain, I'd like to point out that with buff spells, equipment, and various feats/class features, it's quite possible to have such an AC for 20 minutes at 20th level.

In play, the crit master in the group I run for discovered that a crit range of 11-20 is good enough, because either the target is so weak it doesn't matter, or so strong the AC is high enough that she'd never hit the NPC on a 1 to 10 anyways.

If your crit range is 1-20, you autohit on anything other than 1. (and maybe even 1, I'm not sure what wins out there)

[iDesu]

If your crit range is 1-20, you autohit on anything other than 1. (and maybe even 1, I'm not sure what wins out there)

Nope, you only ever automatically hit on a 20, increased threat range only lets you roll to confirm crits if you actually hit their AC.