Vampire war blade. Prestige class?

[Fm0684]

Hello 👋 everyone. So my Dm and our other groups started a vampire campaign. We added the vampire template to a class. My class right now is warblade. Trying to figure out in what direction to go as far as prestige classes. Any tips? Thanks

[Urpriest]

There's an enchantment for weapons called Necrotic Focus in the Magic Item Compendium that lets you use your Energy Drain through weapon attacks. I'd try to get one of those, then maximize the number of attacks you can make with a single weapon. Tiger Claw and Diamond Mind will help with that.

[WhamBamSam]

There's an enchantment for weapons called Necrotic Focus in the Magic Item Compendium that lets you use your Energy Drain through weapon attacks. I'd try to get one of those, then maximize the number of attacks you can make with a single weapon. Tiger Claw and Diamond Mind will help with that.Also you may as well go Stormguard Warrior while you're at it. Pour on the negative levels with touch attacks, then bring the big smackdown on their weakened form in the following round.

You could also dip Invisible Fist Decisive Strike Monk or Unarmed Swordsage with your first two levels instead of using the Necrotic Focus. That'd give you an extra natural attack with iteratives to deliver negative levels with which wouldn't cost you any slams in your Full Attack routine. Maybe throw in Kung Fu Genius for the Int synergy if you use the Monk option.

[OldTrees1]

There's an enchantment for weapons called Necrotic Focus in the Magic Item Compendium that lets you use your Energy Drain through weapon attacks. I'd try to get one of those, then maximize the number of attacks you can make with a single weapon. Tiger Claw and Diamond Mind will help with that.

If you get a Necrotic Focus weapon and levels in the Bloodstorm Blade prestige class then you could drain at range.

[Troacctid]

Doesn't Energy Drain only work once per round?


Living creatures hit by a vampire’s slam attack (or any other natural weapon the vampire might possess) gain two negative levels. For each negative level bestowed, the vampire gains 5 temporary hit points. A vampire can use its energy drain ability once per round.

[Urpriest]

Doesn't Energy Drain only work once per round?

I had thought the phrasing for Necrotic Weapon would get around that, but you're right, it still counts as a use of Energy Drain. So that method won't fly.

Doing it at range via Bloodstorm Blade may be worthwhile, but it also might be better to just go Warblade 20 and do normal Warblade things.

[WhamBamSam]

Doesn't Energy Drain only work once per round?Huh, so it does. So then the best way to go might be to hang out in Dire Bat form and make Flyby Attacks with standard action maneuvers for 2 negative levels a pop. Use a Mouthpick Necrotic Focus Spiked Chain instead of your bite if you're feeling cheesy. I guess it does reduce your Str though, and the fly speed isn't all that great.

[ZamielVanWeber]

Diamond Mind still has maneuvers that make it easier to hit the enemy for one attack, so consistently nailing someone for a negative level is still spiffy; bring mostly defensive maneuvers and Emerald Razor and a Nightmare Blade.

[Sam K]

Diamond Mind still has maneuvers that make it easier to hit the enemy for one attack, so consistently nailing someone for a negative level is still spiffy; bring mostly defensive maneuvers and Emerald Razor and a Nightmare Blade.

This. Diamond mind is very good at single strikes (and, you know, time stands still). And with the defensive moves it gives you, you could get around some of the squishiness of being a leech.

[Fm0684]

Diamond Mind still has maneuvers that make it easier to hit the enemy for one attack, so consistently nailing someone for a negative level is still spiffy; bring mostly defensive maneuvers and Emerald Razor and a Nightmare Blade.

A defend mindset. I like. Thanks

[Fm0684]

Ok so what is the consensus? I. Kinda confused. Which energy drain?

[Fouredged Sword]

The energy drain is your standard one you get as a vampire. The weapon just lets you use it through your weapon attacks rather than your slam.

Diamond mind has a lot to offer a vampire. You can replace your poor fort save (no con) with a concentration check (far easier to buff).

That said, I remember a series of feats...

Ah, improved energy drain and the big one, Life drain.

Life drain is what I would grab first. How would you like to get 10+2xcha temp HP every time you hit something (1/round)? Lifedrain makes that happen. Improved energy drain just grants a flat +1 to a bunch of stuff, but it is untyped and applies to saves and all skills. Not a major boost, but it applies to almost everything.

Both bonuses last an hour, so get your charisma through the room and go to town.

[Dusk Eclipse]

One option to increase the number of Energy Drains per round is to to use the Savage Vampire variant (LM 170), it looses the Dominate special attack, but gains to claws and each hit with the claw drains one level, so if you get more than one attack per round, with say the Moongoose maneuvers you could drain up to 6 levels every other round. Furthermore it has some pretty sexy stat modifiers for melee characters, +10 Str, +4 Dex -2 Int (Boo, but not a deal breaker IMO) and +2 Wis,

[WhamBamSam]

The energy drain is your standard one you get as a vampire. The weapon just lets you use it through your weapon attacks rather than your slam.

Diamond mind has a lot to offer a vampire. You can replace your poor fort save (no con) with a concentration check (far easier to buff).

That said, I remember a series of feats...

Ah, improved energy drain and the big one, Life drain.

Life drain is what I would grab first. How would you like to get 10+2xcha temp HP every time you hit something (1/round)? Lifedrain makes that happen. Improved energy drain just grants a flat +1 to a bunch of stuff, but it is untyped and applies to saves and all skills. Not a major boost, but it applies to almost everything.

Both bonuses last an hour, so get your charisma through the room and go to town.A Cha based Concentration check too, which is sort of a nice thing with that big bonus from the template. It's not a priority stat on a Warblade, but it's a priority stat if you're using Life Drain.

Vampires have a caster level on their Dominate, so they probably qualify for Spell Drain as well. Not as much synergy with general Warblade stuff as Life Drain, but it's a good feat, and a fun one.

[Fouredged Sword]

If you really want to get silly with level draining, pick up this combo

Vampires with human heritage count are humanoid rather than undead. This qualifies you for Stoneblessed. Stoneblessed qualifies you for Soul-eater. Soul eater adds a bunch of level drain based abilities, adding another 2 levels to your drain and a bunch of self buffs whenever you drain levels.

On top of that, you can't be turned and are immune to all spells that target undead while maintaining all the nice undead immunities.

[Dusk Eclipse]

Soul Eater has the problem the sould drain is a Su ability without an activation action, so it defaults tu a standard action as per the SRD, however that trick could work for accessing rapidstrike and the improved version.

[Fouredged Sword]

Soul Eater has the problem the sould drain is a Su ability without an activation action, so it defaults tu a standard action as per the SRD, however that trick could work for accessing rapidstrike and the improved version.

I realize that there is a major disagreement of RAW vs RAI on this matter, but I am of the school that things this ability was intended to activate whenever the Soul Eater struck with a natural weapon.

[WhamBamSam]

I don't think that counting as a Goliath is the same as counting as a Monstrous Humanoid. After all, a Half-Dragon Goliath or what have your would still count as a Goliath.

The Soul Eater thing is a grey area, though even with the more restrictive reading it has a use in qualifying builds with other means of bestowing negative levels for Improved Energy Drain/Life Drain/Spell Drain (that's not relevant here of course). Also, even if you are a non-undead creature type (this might also be possible with a Dragonwrought Kobold with an undead-adding template, and is almost certainly possible via type changing class abilities (I'm partial to Knight of the Sacred Seal 5)), you might still be non-living and hence not qualify for the PrC.

[Fouredged Sword]

It's such a jumble of rules that I would never take it to a real game. I just threw it out to be funny.

[Fm0684]

The energy drain is your standard one you get as a vampire. The weapon just lets you use it through your weapon attacks rather than your slam.

Diamond mind has a lot to offer a vampire. You can replace your poor fort save (no con) with a concentration check (far easier to buff).

That said, I remember a series of feats...

Ah, improved energy drain and the big one, Life drain.

Life drain is what I would grab first. How would you like to get 10+2xcha temp HP every time you hit something (1/round)? Lifedrain makes that happen. Improved energy drain just grants a flat +1 to a bunch of stuff, but it is untyped and applies to saves and all skills. Not a major boost, but it applies to almost everything.

Both bonuses last an hour, so get your charisma through the room and go to town.

OK. So what weapon let's me use energy drain? and knowing my Dm brother he will spot a broken too powerful mix a mile away. So what is the not game breaking combination we are going with?

[Fm0684]

I also asked for prestige class recommendations. Any tips? I want one more warblade centered. A defensive mindset. Knowing the sun will probably be used against us in this vampao7,any defensive mind feats?

[WhamBamSam]

Unless you're using Bloodstorm Blade+Necrotic Focus Weapon, I probably wouldn't bother with PrCs. Straight Warblade for maneuver progression is probably better.

Here's a feat progression for my idea of Flyby Attacking in Dire Bat form.
1 - Power Attack, Combat Expertise
3 - Improved Trip
5 - Combat Reflexes (Bonus)
6 - Flyby Attack
9 - Life Drain, Blind-Fight (Bonus)
12 - Knock-down

Wield a Necrotic Focus Mouthpick Spiked Chain or just use your Bite and make flyby attacks with standard action maneuvers. Since you're not staying close enough, people have to move to get at you, so they open themselves to AoO tripping, and even if they do get a swing, it'll probably be just the one, and you can hopefully block it with Wall of Blades (though your attack bonus might be a bit low due to the template, and your default form having only 17 Str). I thought about working Hover in to get concealment from the cloud of dust that you'll kick up, but I decided that since it doesn't seem to block out sunlight and you'd lose the cloud whenever you started moving again, I decided against it. Since your Physical stats will come from the Dire Bat form, and you'll have Con --, you'll want to pump your mentals, especially Int and Cha. Consider using a higher age category in addition to the usual point buy stuff.

While I'm at it, I'll do a Bloodstorm Blade build as well.
Warblade 5/Bloodstorm Blade 2/Warblade +5
1 - Power Attack, Point Blank Shot
3 - Precise Shot
5 - Quick Draw (Bonus)
6 - Life Drain, Throw Anything (Bonus)
9 - Improved Energy Drain
11 - Combat Reflexes (Bonus)
12 - Spell Drain

[Fm0684]

Unless you're using Bloodstorm Blade+Necrotic Focus Weapon, I probably wouldn't bother with PrCs. Straight Warblade for maneuver progression is probably better.

Here's a feat progression for my idea of Flyby Attacking in Dire Bat form.
1 - Power Attack, Combat Expertise
3 - Improved Trip
5 - Combat Reflexes (Bonus)
6 - Flyby Attack
9 - Life Drain, Blind-Fight (Bonus)
12 - Knock-down

Wield a Necrotic Focus Mouthpick Spiked Chain or just use your Bite and make flyby attacks with standard action maneuvers. Since you're not staying close enough, people have to move to get at you, so they open themselves to AoO tripping, and even if they do get a swing, it'll probably be just the one, and you can hopefully block it with Wall of Blades (though your attack bonus might be a bit low due to the template, and your default form having only 17 Str). I thought about working Hover in to get concealment from the cloud of dust that you'll kick up, but I decided that since it doesn't seem to block out sunlight and you'd lose the cloud whenever you started moving again, I decided against it. Since your Physical stats will come from the Dire Bat form, and you'll have Con --, you'll want to pump your mentals, especially Int and Cha. Consider using a higher age category in addition to the usual point buy stuff.

While I'm at it, I'll do a Bloodstorm Blade build as well.
Warblade 5/Bloodstorm Blade 2/Warblade +5
1 - Power Attack, Point Blank Shot
3 - Precise Shot
5 - Quick Draw (Bonus)
6 - Life Drain, Throw Anything (Bonus)
9 - Improved Energy Drain
11 - Combat Reflexes (Bonus)
12 - Spell Drain

Thanks a lot. I especially like the feat selections. I don't want to do dire bats attacks, I know my Dm would eventually make me pay for the cheesiness. I love all the other ideas. You think a warblade could ever trump a wizard?