Oriental-feel Assassin/Shadowpounce build?

[JW86]

Hi Playgrounders,

I spent pretty much all of yesterday excitedly building up NPCs for a campaign I'm planning. I'm at work at the moment so can't give it too much attention right now, so I'm turning to the playground for a bit of an assist. I'm seeking to build up a Division of troops, with an Oriental-feel, based around subterfuge, infiltration, stealth, information-gathering and assassination.

Low-level mooks I think I will give a couple of levels of either Ninja or Swordsage, simples.

What I would like is advice on creating their leader. As Captain of the Division, they are an epic character. They need to be because they are to be some of the more powerful entities in the entire cosmology of this homebrew setting. They have to be, with all the Shadow-creatures and Devils in the multiverse. This character is literally to be the *Avatar* of Stealth and Assassination incarnate.

The build can be anywhere between 20 and 30 character levels, although 20-25 is preferable.

Please help me to build. :smallbiggrin:

Character requirements are:
- Shadow Pounce - yep. This is one of the higher priorities of the class, and if I get good Shadow Pouncing, then the requirement on sneak/sudden strike lessens. :)
- Athletic, dexterous, fast and resourceful combatant. Good movement speed, jump, etc.
- Teleportation effects - whether this is from Flicker, Dimension Hop, Shadow Blink, whatever - must have some.
- Way of granting concealment to herself, e.g. Concealing Amorpha.
- Good source of melee damage - preferably a precision damage effect like Sudden Strike or Sneak Attack.

Maybe some kind of Swordsage/Assassin/Battle Dancer/Telflammar Shadow Lord? Please post in with any ideas if you feel like it. Thank you. :)

[HaikenEdge]

Telflammar Shadowlord requires too much to get into (ie, you need to be able to Dimension Door specifically, which means two feats for Dragonmarks, plus the four other feats to get in, taking enough levels to cast/manifest 4th level spells/powers, or grabbing multiple levels in a prestige class that grants Dimension Door as a SLA), so Crinti Shadow Marauder (which eats just two feats and some skill investment) is probably a better bet.

Changeling Rogue 2/Warblade 3/Crinti Shadow Marauder 5/Ninja Spy 5/Master of Nine 5, on top of which you can stack those outsider levels, might be an interesting build. To my understanding, getting concealment and speed increases are trivial in epic play due to how cheaply items can be manufactured. Your attacks per round probably won't be that great (+13 off the top of my head, so three swings per full attack), but the character will be able to do a full shadow pounce every other round with minimal resource expenditure, so there's that.

I might come up with something psionic later, but right now, that's my best idea.

[Piggy Knowles]

I like the following...


BUILD STUB: Human, Warblade 7/Monk 2/Crusader 2/Master of Nine 5/Telflammar Shadowlord 4

ACFs: Invisible Fist (replaces Evasion), Cobra Strike Monk (changes bonus feats)


1. Warblade1- Improved Initiative, Least Dragonmark (Mark of Passage – Dimension Leap)
Battle clarity (reflex saves), weapon aptitude
MANEUVERS: Wolf Fang Strike, Moment of Perfect Mind, Sudden Leap, Punishing Stance (s)
This is a fairly straightforward warblade opener - Sudden Leap for mobility, Wolf Fang Strike because it's the only Tiger Claw maneuver that doesn't have a pre-req, and Moment of Perfect Mind to boost your weakest (and most important) save.

The feats are mostly there to fulfill pre-reqs down the road, but an initiative boost and Dimension Leap certainly aren't going to hurt on a melee character.
2. Monk1- IUS, Dodge
Flurry of blows, unarmed strike
Flurry of Blows + Punishing Stance isn't a terrible option here, especially if you can pull of a flank (which shouldn't be a problem, between Sudden Leap and Dimension Leap).
3. Monk2- Mobility, Spring Attack
Invisible fist
Spring Attack will eventually be the least useful feat in the build, since you'll never, ever want to use it once the build really comes online, but it's a necessary evil. That said, at level 3 when iterative attacks are a distant dream, it really can come in handy to harry foes.

More importantly, this level grants you Invisible Fist. Greater Invisibility every three rounds by level 3 is pretty nice, especially when you eventually pick up sneak attack.
4. Warblade2-
Uncanny dodge
MANEUVERS: Wall of Blades
Counters are actually less useful for you than most because you'll have a lot of uses for your swift actions, but for now it's handy, and it helps you qualify for Iron Heart Surge in a couple of levels.
5. Crusader1-
Furious counterstrike, steely resolve 5
MANEUVERS: Mountain Hammer, Douse the Flames, Crusader's Strike, Tactical Strike, Charging Minotaur, Martial Spirit (s)
Crusader comes online to give you some extra maneuvers to help qualify for Mo9. If you're playing with fractional BAB then swordsage might be a better choice, but otherwise you need something full BAB here to hit +16. Anyhow, Mountain Hammer and some healing from Crusader's Strike/Martial Spirit certainly don't go amiss.
6. Crusader2- Lesser Dragonmark (Mark of Passage - Dimension Door)
Indomitable soul
MANEUVERS: Bolstering Voice (s)
The dragonmark here will qualify you for Telflammar Shadowlord, since Shadow Jaunt/Blink/Stride don't do it on their own. This is actually a fairly dead level, and you could easily replace it with anything full BAB (fighter for an extra feat won't go amiss).
7. Warblade3-
Battle ardor (critical confirmation)
MANEUVERS: Iron Heart Surge
I probably don't need to mention why this one is good.
8. Warblade4-
MANEUVERS: Tactics of the Wolf (s), Sudden Leap -> White Raven Tactics
We've got enough mobility by now that we can drop Sudden Leap. However, if your DM allows you to keep maneuvers even after trading out their pre-reqs, definitely drop Wolf Fang Strike instead. Feel free to replace Tactics of the Wolf with Hunters Sense or any other utility stance.
9. Warblade5- Adaptive Style, Blind-Fight
MANEUVERS: Lightning Recovery
Adaptive Style is less useful for you than for a swordsage, but you're going to eventually have such a massive number of maneuvers known that it really will come in handy. This level also qualifies you for....
10. Master of Nine1-
MANEUVERS: Shadow Jaunt, Mithral Tornado
...Master of Nine! This lets you add some nice swordsage maneuvers to your warblade base, giving you the far better recovery method. Shadow Jaunt overlaps a bit with your dragonmark abilities but still comes in handy, as you can eventually use it to make three full attacks in a round.
11. Master of Nine2-
Dual stance
MANEUVERS: Shadow Stride, Assassin’s Stance (S)
And now we have the far superior Shadow Stride as well, and Assassin's Stance. That +2d6 sneak attack is necessary, you'll see why next level.

Dual Stance is a bit limited but still nice, since it lets you benefit from other stances temporarily while still keeping Assassin's Stance up.
12. Telflammar Shadowlord1- Snap Kick
Shadowsight, shadow jump
Ah, the quintessential shadow pouncing PrC. You also nab Snap Kick here, handy for an extra attack, and especially fun when you start pouncing.
13. Telflammar Shadowlord2-
Shadow blur
Free blur anytime I'm near shadows? I'll take it.
14. Telflammar Shadowlord3-
Shadow walk
Shadow walk's no teleport, but it's the next best thing, adding some more out of combat utility to the build.
15. Telflammar Shadowlord4- Craven
Shadow pounce
And the real reason we bothered with this class. This is a pretty fantastic level for you, giving you both shadow pounce and Craven for a very nice damage boost. You can now make two full attacks in a round, by using Shadow Jaunt and Shadow Stride, and still have a swift action to spare. Alternatively, you can do something like Mithral Tornado all your adjacent foes, then, Shadow Stride and full attack anyone who was weakened.
16. Warblade6-
Improved uncanny dodge
MANEUVERS: Wall of Blades -> Manticore Parry
Taking the warblade level here is just a matter of timing, getting your IL up a bit before your next level of Mo9. Manticore Parry is a solid upgrade from Wall of Blades.
17. Master of Nine3-
Perfect form
MANEUVERS: Shadow Blink, Clarion Call
And now everything has more or less come together. You can *bamf* all over the battlefield making a whopping three full attacks per round by using Shadow Jaunt (standard), Shadow Stride (move) and Shadow Blink (swift), plus extra attacks on each from flurry and Snap Kick, and damage from sneak attack/Craven. The next round, recover your maneuvers and attack, then do it all over again on round 3.
18. Warblade7- Superior Unarmed Strike
Battle cunning (damage)
MANEUVERS: Swarming Assault
Once again, we're staggering our Mo9 levels to get the most benefit from them. Swarming Assault and Clarion Call are very nice boosts for the party, although honestly you could replace them without hurting too much.
19. Master of Nine4-
Counter stance
MANEUVERS: Adamantine Hurricane, Balance on the Sky (s)
Balance on the Sky is just to add some utility; you're obviously going to spend most of your time in Assassin's Stance. Feel free to swap it with something else, if you'd like. Adamantine Hurricane is a very nice addition to this. Picture it: swift action *bamf* + full attack, move action *bamf* to an area where you're totally surrounded + full attack, then follow it up with Adamantine Hurricane as a standard to finish off the crowd.
20. Master of Nine5-
Mastery of nine
MANEUVERS: White Raven Hammer, Lightning Throw/One with Shadow
I'm a sucker for things like Lightning Throw, so I couldn't help but include it here since you already qualify for it. It's an AoE attack that actually manages to have relevant damage even at high levels, so that's pretty nice. However, you could replace it with One with Shadow if you'd prefer having incorporealness up your sleeve for when you need it.

The real winner here, though, is the no-save stun of White Raven Hammer. It can also be used to trigger sneak attack against a solo enemy (White Raven Hammer to stun them, then Shadow Stride and Shadow Blink for two full attacks with sneak/Craven damage).

Oh yeah, and you finish with BAB +16, which is nice.

FINAL MANEUVERS/STANCES:

Crusader:

1- Douse the Flames, Crusader's Strike, Douse the Flames
2- Mountain Hammer, Tactical Strike
STANCES- Martial Spirit, Bolstering Voice


Warblade:

1- Wolf Fang Strike, Sudden Leap, Moment of Perfect Mind
2- Wall of Blades, Shadow Jaunt
3- Iron Heart Surge, White Raven Tactics
4- Lightning Recovery, Mithral Tornado
5- Shadow Stride
6- Manticore Parry
7- Shadow Blink, Clarion Call, Swarming Assault
8- Adamantine Hurricane, White Raven Hammer, Lightning Throw/One with Shadow
STANCES- Punishing Stance, Tactics of the Wolf, Assassin's Stance, Balance on the Sky


SAMPLE ATTACK ROUTINE:

ROUND 1:
Against a solo enemy, White Raven Hammer to stun, then Shadow Blink and Shadow Stride for two full attacks. Against a large group, Shadow Blink and Shadow Stride for two full attacks, ending in the middle of the biggest cluster of foes, then Adamantine Hurricane to finish them. Otherwise, make three full attacks (Shadow Jaunt/Stride/Blink).

ROUND 2:
Recover maneuvers followed by a full attack.

Repeat as needed.


For a version without Telflammar Shadowlord or Crinti Shadow Marauder, you can make a mini-shadowpouncer via the Sun School feat. Here's a Shadow Sun Ninja shadowpouncer I've tossed together using that method:

Human, Warblade 15/Monk 2/Shadow Sun Ninja 3
1. Warblade1- Darkstalker, Martial Study (Counter Charge)
2. Warblade2-
3. Warblade3- Martial Study (Shadow Jaunt)
4. Overwhelming Attack Monk1- Power Attack, IUS
5. Monk2- Combat Reflexes
6. Warblade4- Sun School
7. Warblade5- Ironheart Aura
8. Warblade6-
9. Warblade7- Snap Kick
10. Shadow Sun Ninja1-
11. Shadow Sun Ninja2-
12. Warblade8- Stormguard Warrior
13. Warblade9- Blind-Fight
14. Shadow Sun Ninja3-
15. Warblade10- Robilar’s Gambit
16. Warblade11-
17. Warblade12-
18. Warblade13- Planar Touchstone (Oxyrhynchus)
19. Warblade14- Improved Initiative
20. Warblade15-

Every time you teleport, you get three attacks versus flat-footed enemies (regular unarmed attack, snap kick attack and Oxyrhynchus attack), so with three such teleports per round, that's nine attacks - not half bad, all things considered. Wield a reach weapon and between that and Robilar's, you'll generate some solid off-turn bonus damage by feeding your AoOs into Channel the Storm.

[Emperor Tippy]

Rogue 1/ Invisible Fist Decisive Strike Martial Monk 2/ Factotum 8/ Ardent 1/ Psionic Mindbender 1/ Telflammar Shadowlord 4/ Swordsage 2/ Factotum X


Gray Elf Martial Monk 2 (even if flaws are allowed, because then you pick up Weapon Supremacy instead of one of the Spring Attack line)/ Jaunter 4/ Factotum 3/ Telflamer Shadowlord 4/ Factotum 5/ Ardent 2

Once you take Ardent (which you can move earlier if you want 9th level powers before 20th level) get access to Embrace and Shun the Dark Chaos then shuffle off Dodge for Midnight Dodge and pick up Midnight Augmentation: Bestow Power as with both of your essentia invested in it you have unlimited daily power points.

Pick up the various psionic teleport type powers (the Planes Mantle has a lot of them) and perhaps some relevant spells as powers thanks to Psychic Chiguery and a Spell to Power Erudite.

Bind the Strongheart Vest (gained from Shape Soulmeld feat) and use the Ritual of Shadow Walking (Lords of Darkness page 125) for 100 foot at will standard action teleport at no cost as the Strongheart Vest negates the Con damage.

Telflammar Shadowlord 4 + Factotum 8 + Ritual of Shadow Walking + Strongheart Vest with one essentia invested in it is pretty much Nightcrawler. And it can pull off 12 plus full attacks in the surprise round potentially.

For extra hilarious fun combine with Decisive Strike monk variant, Snap Kick, and Two Weapon Fighting. How would you like 70 attack rolls in one round? Sure most of them only hit on a natural 20 thanks to Snap Kick and its stacking penalty (you might want to drop it, numbers wise you are usually better off doing so) but you get to roll all the dice.

Combine with Shadowblade, Craven, a Collision Weapon, and Burning Blade. You can pretty much outdamage an ubercharger and you actually get to make use of your abilities more often. Note that this only works if your DM rules that the Ritual of Shadow Walking has the teleport descriptor. If he rules otherwise then you need something like Dimension Hop but that can be handled through Ardent.

[Crazysaneman]

I really like the Ghost Faced Killer (http://dndtools.eu/classes/ghost-faced-killer/). Seems like it would fluff really well with your character concept.

[Darrin]

Ruby Knight Shadowpouncer:

Race: Half-Drow (must be Crinti or have official sanction of Dambrath nobility)
1) Crusader 1. Feat: Mounted Combat. Knowledge: Religion 4, Ride 4, Hide 2, Move Silently 2.
2) Crusader 2. Intimidate 3, Knowledge: Religion 5.
3) Crusader 3. Feat: Stealthy. Intimidate 4, Knowledge: Religion 6, Hide 3.
4) Crusader 4. Ride 6, Move Silently 3.
5) Cloistered Cleric 1. Knowledge: Religion 8, Hide 4, Move Silently 4.
6) Ruby Knight Vindicator 1. Feat: Extra Turning. Ride 8, Handle Animal 1. Thicket of Blades.
7) Ruby Knight Vindicator 2. Hide 5, Move Silently 5. Shadow Jaunt.
8) Ruby Knight Vindicator 3. Handle Animal 3.
9) Ruby Knight Vindicator 4. Feat: Extra Turning. Hide 6, Move Silently 6.
10) Ruby Knight Vindicator 5. Handle Animal 4.
11) Ruby Knight Vindicator 6. Hide 7, Move Silently 7. Shadow Stride.
12) Ruby Knight Vindicator 7. Feat: Martial Stance -> Aura of Chaos.
13) Ruby Knight Vindicator 8. Hide 8, Move Silently 8.
14) Crinti Shadow Marauder 1.
15) Crinti Shadow Marauder 2. Feat: Martial Study -> Shadow Blink.
16) Crinti Shadow Marauder 3.
17) Crinti Shadow Marauder 4.
18) Crinti Shadow Marauder 5. Feat: Martial Stance -> Immortal Fortitude. Shadow Pounce.
19) Ruby Knight Vindicator 9.
20) Ruby Knight Vindicator 10. Strike of Rightious Vitality.

[JW86]

These answers are practical and straight to the point. Thank you so much.

[Venom3053000]

does Blinkshirt work for Telflammar Shadowlord?

[HaikenEdge]

does Blinkshirt work for Telflammar Shadowlord?

As a prereq, no. Soulmelds aren't defined as SLAs, and Telflammar Shadowlord explicitly require Dimension Door as a spell or SLA, so unless the DM rules Soulmelds are SLAs, it won't work as a prereq.

Should work as part of a shadow pounce chain, though, since it otherwise mimics Dimension Door.