Rhaegar14
2014-09-13, 03:53 AM
So I've been invited to join a 3.5 campaign set in the Forgotten Realms: more specifically, Icewind Dale. I have a number of characters I'm mulling over, and want some input from the Playground on one of them.
My party, from what I'm told, consists of an Assassin, a Ranger, a Bard, and a Druid. This is a fairly low-tier party on the whole, and I've inferred that the Druid is not being played anywhere near potential because I've also been told that the party needs either some battlefield control or a competent meatshield; these are both things a well-played Druid should have completely locked down. As such, I do not really want to bring a T1 character, though I may end up doing that and just making an effort to pull my punches (no save-or-lose control effects, for example). I will be joining the party at 6th level.
One of my character ideas was for an amoral man-witch that lives as a hermit in the frozen tundra. I thought a good way to portray such a character would be with a Dread Necromancer/Anima Mage build; lots of dark/forbidden magic from DN, plus the stigma that Tome of Magic suggests is usually applied to Binders. Dread Necromancer brings a couple solid control effects, along with undead summons and later persistent minions through Animate Dead, so I also feel this is an appropriate fit for what I'm told is needed without really being able to heavily overshadow the rest of the party (so long as I stay away from Divine Metamagic).
So, I have a couple questions that I would like opinions on:
1) Is a second level from Binder worth it? My gut instinct says no and it's probably right, but at the same time, resist cold 5 from Pact Augmentation will be useful in Icewind Dale (I won't have to make Fortitude checks to resist the weather), and not having Suppress Sign may cause problems with some vestiges when we enter more civilized areas, such as Ten Towns.
2) Is Corrupt Arcana worth a feat? If I bind Naberius I can essentially ignore the ability damage costs and there are a couple nice Corrupt spells, but I'm not sure there are enough really good ones to justify spending a precious feat (may be more worthwhile if flaws are allowed, but I was invited through a friend and haven't yet spoken to the DM about that).
3) In general, how do you think I should optimize my feats? Spellcasting? Minions? Binding?
4) Even more generally, am I picking a good build for what I'm told the party needs?
My party, from what I'm told, consists of an Assassin, a Ranger, a Bard, and a Druid. This is a fairly low-tier party on the whole, and I've inferred that the Druid is not being played anywhere near potential because I've also been told that the party needs either some battlefield control or a competent meatshield; these are both things a well-played Druid should have completely locked down. As such, I do not really want to bring a T1 character, though I may end up doing that and just making an effort to pull my punches (no save-or-lose control effects, for example). I will be joining the party at 6th level.
One of my character ideas was for an amoral man-witch that lives as a hermit in the frozen tundra. I thought a good way to portray such a character would be with a Dread Necromancer/Anima Mage build; lots of dark/forbidden magic from DN, plus the stigma that Tome of Magic suggests is usually applied to Binders. Dread Necromancer brings a couple solid control effects, along with undead summons and later persistent minions through Animate Dead, so I also feel this is an appropriate fit for what I'm told is needed without really being able to heavily overshadow the rest of the party (so long as I stay away from Divine Metamagic).
So, I have a couple questions that I would like opinions on:
1) Is a second level from Binder worth it? My gut instinct says no and it's probably right, but at the same time, resist cold 5 from Pact Augmentation will be useful in Icewind Dale (I won't have to make Fortitude checks to resist the weather), and not having Suppress Sign may cause problems with some vestiges when we enter more civilized areas, such as Ten Towns.
2) Is Corrupt Arcana worth a feat? If I bind Naberius I can essentially ignore the ability damage costs and there are a couple nice Corrupt spells, but I'm not sure there are enough really good ones to justify spending a precious feat (may be more worthwhile if flaws are allowed, but I was invited through a friend and haven't yet spoken to the DM about that).
3) In general, how do you think I should optimize my feats? Spellcasting? Minions? Binding?
4) Even more generally, am I picking a good build for what I'm told the party needs?