Bakkan
2015-02-05, 09:31 PM
My goal with this build is to create a character reminiscent of Marvel's Nightcrawler. I have three main goals: to teleport at will or nearly, to make teleporting in combat relevant, to contribute meaningfully in and out of combat, and to have a viable 1-20 build.
The main idea is to use an Idiot Crusader trick to refresh maneuvers every round, some of which will be the teleportation maneuvers from Shadow Hand (i.e., the level 2 Shadow Jaunt, the level 5 Shadow Stride, and the level 7 Shadow Blink). I use both versions of the Idiot Crusader, locking him out of selectable maneuvers at low levels and using Tome of Battle prestige classes to increase granted maneuvers without increasing maneuvers known. I take advantage of Master of Nine both for accessing the Shadow Hand maneuvers and for quick increases in readied maneuvers.
To make teleportation relevant, I use Shadow Pounce. This class feature is available to the Telflammar Shadowlord (Unapproachable East) and the Crinti Shadow Marauder (Shining South). I use the Crinti Shadow Marauder because it is easier to qualify for.
The strong Idiot Crusader trick works, that is, a single character cannot know a maneuver more than once and if a crusader would be granted as many (or more) maneuvers as he knows, he is granted his full complement of known maneuvers at the beginning of every round of combat.
Prestige classes only add to initiator level if they say they do (like Bloodclaw Master and Master of Nine, but not Crinti Shadow Marauder).
Since the Maneuvers Known and Maneuvers Readied granted by prestige classes are two separate features, each of which requiring a choice of matrial adept class to apply them to (ToB 96), one can apply the maneuvers known and maneuvers readied in a single prestige class level t otwo separate martial adept progressions.
Two flaws are allowed to be taken at first level.
Fractional BAB is in effect.
Nightcrawler, Master of Shadow, Human Swordsage 1/Cobra Strike Monk 1/Crusader 2/Feat Rogue 1/Crinti Shadow Marauder 5/Master of Nine 5/Bloodclaw Master 5
Level Class BAB C. Known C. Granted C. IL Feats
1 Swordsage 1 +0.75 0 0 0.5 Mounted Combat, Stealthy, Improved Initiative, Martial Study
2 Cobra Strike Monk 1 +1.5 0 0 1 Dodge, Improved Unarmed Strike
3 Crusader 1 +2.5 3 3 2 Extra Granted Maneuver
4 Crusader 2 +3.5 3 3 3
5 Feat Rogue 1 +4.25 3 3 3.5 Blind-Fight
6 Crinti Shadow Marauder 1+5 3 3 4 Adaptive Style
7 Crinti Shadow Marauder 2+5.75 3 3 4.5
8 Master of Nine 1 +6.5 3 4 5.5
9 Master of Nine 2 +7.25 4 (Jaunt) 5 6.5 Sun School
10 Crinti Shadow Marauder 3+8 4 5 7
11 Crinti Shadow Marauder 4+8.75 4 5 7.5
12 Crinti Shadow Marauder 5+9.5 4 5 8 Two-Weapon Fighting
13 Master of Nine 3 +10.25 6 (Stride) 6 9
14 Master of Nine 4 +11 6 7 10
15 Bloodclaw Master 1 +11.75 6 7 11 Free
16 Bloodclaw Master 2 +12.5 6 7 12
17 Master of Nine 5 +13.25 8 (Blink) 8 13
18 Bloodclaw Master 3 +14 9 9 14 Free
19 Bloodclaw Master 4 +14.75 9 9 15
20 Bloodclaw Master 5 +15.5 9 9 16
The "C. Known" column indicates the number of maneuvers Nightcrawler knows as a Crusader, while the "C. Granted" column indicates the number of maneuvers he is granted at the beginning of each combat or when he has no more withheld maneuvers. Since the value in the C. Granted column is always at least the value in the C. Known column, Nightcrawler refreshes all of his Crusader maneuvers at the beginning of every round. The "C. IL" column indicates Nightcrawler's Crusader Initiator Level.
Build-Defining Levels:
At level 3, Nightcrawler becomes a true Idiot Crusader. At level 1, he selected Martial Study(Iron Guard's Glare), and learned the two Stone Dragon strikes through Swordsage, so now he can only select Crusader's Strike, Douse the Flames, and Leading the Attack. However, since he can use any of these each round, he is an extremely valuable team member.
At level 9, Nightcrawler learns his first Shadow Hand teleportation maneuver, Shadow Jaunt. This maneuver is excellent as it is an [Ex] [Teleportation] effect that he can use every single round. He also picks up the Sun School feat, which allows him to make an attack after teleporting. Most of the time he'd be better off executing a maneuver or performing a full attack, but the move certainly has style.
At level 12 things start ramping up. Nightcrawler gains the Shadow Pounce ability, allowing him to make a full attack (in addition to his Sun School attack) after teleporting next to an enemy. He can do this every round. He also gains the Two-weapon Fighting feat (qualifying with a +Dex item) and owns a pair of Gloves of the Balanced Hand for virtual Improved Two-Weapon Fighting. His full attack routine after teleporting next to an enemy is now +7/+7/+7/+2/+2 before Strength, enhancements, or his Swordsage Discipline focus. He will also be flanking essentially all the time unless none of his allies are near the enemy, since he can simply teleport into position.
At level 13 things get even sillier. Nightcrawler learns the Shadow Stride maneuver, allowing him to teleport as a move action, and another maneuver. If he selects Cloak of Deception, every one of his turns could be Swift: Initiate Cloak of Deception, becoming Greater Invisible; Move: Initiate Shadow Stride, teleporting next to an enemy and attacking with a +8/+8/+8/+3/+3 routine, not counting the bonus for being invisible; Standard: Initiate Shadow Jaunt, teleporting again and attacking with another +8/+8/+8/+3/+3 routine.
At level 17, Nightcrawler learns Shadow Blink, which allows him to teleport as a swift action. He can now execute three full attacks per round plus three attacks from Sun School. The Bloodclaw Master's Superior Two-Weapon Fighting feature eliminates the penalties for fighting with two weapons, so each of his three attack routines is +13/+13/+13/+8/+8/+3
Maneuvers
Nightcrawler learns a total of 9 maneuvers in his Crusader progression. Three of them are 1st-level maneuvers, two of which must be Douse the Flames and Leading the Attack and the last of which is either Crusader's Strike or Iron Guard's Glare. Three of his known maneuvers are the Shadow Hand teleportation maneuvers Shadow Jaunt, Shadow Stride, and Shadow Blink. His three additional maneuvers are as follows: one maneuver of any discipline of 5th level or lower (learned at level 13), one maneuver of any discipline of 7th level or lower (learned at level 17) and one Tiger Claw maneuver of 7th level or lower (learned at level 18). This last maneuver could be foregone in lieu of getting an 8th-level Tiger Claw maneuver at level 20.
Nightcrawler's Swordsage progression includes seven maneuvers of level 1, including either Crusader's Strike or Iron Guard's Glare (from Martial Study), Charging Minotaur, Stone Bones, and four more 1st-level Swordsage maneuvers. It also includes two maneuvers of any discipline of level 3 or lower (learned at level 8), one maneuver of any discipline of level 5 or lower (learned at level 14), one Tiger Claw maneuver of level 5 or lower (learned at level 15), and one Tiger Claw maneuver of level 8 or lower (learned at level 20).
Stances
Nightcrawler knows one 1st-level Swordsage stance and two 1st-level Crusader stances. He learns a level 3 or lower stance of any discipline at level 9 and a level 5 or lower stance of any discipline at level 14. Unfortunately Nightcrawler is 1 Initiator Level short of qualifying for the 8th-level stances when he earns his level 18 feat.
Skills
Qualifying for all of these prestige classes is a pain in the neck. Nightcrawler needs a +1 INT modifier to qualify for all of his classes on time. The following table shows Nightcrawler's skill rank purchases for levels 1 through 7. An asterisk indicates that the skill rank is being purchased cross-class.
Level BalanceHandle AnimalHideIntimidateJumpMove SilentlyRide
1 4 2* 4 4 4 4 4
2 1 0.5* 1 1 1 1
3 1 0.5* 1 1 2
4 1 0.5* 1 1 1
5 0.5* 3 1 3 1*
Level 5 Total 7 4 8 7 8 8 8
6 1 1 2 1*
7 2 1 1 1*
Level 7 Total 10 4 10 10 10 8 8
There's not a lot of wiggle room in this build. However, the last three levels of Bloodclaw Master could be replaced by anything (except Crusader). While Nightcrawler makes lots of attacks, his attack bonuses are not great due to having so many medium BAB classes. Also, he has few class features to improve his weapon damage, though this is where some of his maneuvers could help. For instance, at level 13 or 17 Nightcrawler could get Searing Blade or Inferno Blade, which will allow him to add 2d6 or 3d6 + initiator level fire damage to all his melee attacks.
I am not taking advantage of the Crinti Shadow Marauder's mounted abilities at all with this build, but there may be a good way to do so.
It is unclear to me how Snap Kick would interact with this build. Would Nightcrawler get just one extra attack in a round and take a -2 penalty to all attacks, would he get one extra attack per full attack and take a -2 penalty to all attacks, or would he get one extra attack per full attack and take a -2 penalty to all attacks for each Snap Kick attack in the round?
Thanks for reading!
The main idea is to use an Idiot Crusader trick to refresh maneuvers every round, some of which will be the teleportation maneuvers from Shadow Hand (i.e., the level 2 Shadow Jaunt, the level 5 Shadow Stride, and the level 7 Shadow Blink). I use both versions of the Idiot Crusader, locking him out of selectable maneuvers at low levels and using Tome of Battle prestige classes to increase granted maneuvers without increasing maneuvers known. I take advantage of Master of Nine both for accessing the Shadow Hand maneuvers and for quick increases in readied maneuvers.
To make teleportation relevant, I use Shadow Pounce. This class feature is available to the Telflammar Shadowlord (Unapproachable East) and the Crinti Shadow Marauder (Shining South). I use the Crinti Shadow Marauder because it is easier to qualify for.
The strong Idiot Crusader trick works, that is, a single character cannot know a maneuver more than once and if a crusader would be granted as many (or more) maneuvers as he knows, he is granted his full complement of known maneuvers at the beginning of every round of combat.
Prestige classes only add to initiator level if they say they do (like Bloodclaw Master and Master of Nine, but not Crinti Shadow Marauder).
Since the Maneuvers Known and Maneuvers Readied granted by prestige classes are two separate features, each of which requiring a choice of matrial adept class to apply them to (ToB 96), one can apply the maneuvers known and maneuvers readied in a single prestige class level t otwo separate martial adept progressions.
Two flaws are allowed to be taken at first level.
Fractional BAB is in effect.
Nightcrawler, Master of Shadow, Human Swordsage 1/Cobra Strike Monk 1/Crusader 2/Feat Rogue 1/Crinti Shadow Marauder 5/Master of Nine 5/Bloodclaw Master 5
Level Class BAB C. Known C. Granted C. IL Feats
1 Swordsage 1 +0.75 0 0 0.5 Mounted Combat, Stealthy, Improved Initiative, Martial Study
2 Cobra Strike Monk 1 +1.5 0 0 1 Dodge, Improved Unarmed Strike
3 Crusader 1 +2.5 3 3 2 Extra Granted Maneuver
4 Crusader 2 +3.5 3 3 3
5 Feat Rogue 1 +4.25 3 3 3.5 Blind-Fight
6 Crinti Shadow Marauder 1+5 3 3 4 Adaptive Style
7 Crinti Shadow Marauder 2+5.75 3 3 4.5
8 Master of Nine 1 +6.5 3 4 5.5
9 Master of Nine 2 +7.25 4 (Jaunt) 5 6.5 Sun School
10 Crinti Shadow Marauder 3+8 4 5 7
11 Crinti Shadow Marauder 4+8.75 4 5 7.5
12 Crinti Shadow Marauder 5+9.5 4 5 8 Two-Weapon Fighting
13 Master of Nine 3 +10.25 6 (Stride) 6 9
14 Master of Nine 4 +11 6 7 10
15 Bloodclaw Master 1 +11.75 6 7 11 Free
16 Bloodclaw Master 2 +12.5 6 7 12
17 Master of Nine 5 +13.25 8 (Blink) 8 13
18 Bloodclaw Master 3 +14 9 9 14 Free
19 Bloodclaw Master 4 +14.75 9 9 15
20 Bloodclaw Master 5 +15.5 9 9 16
The "C. Known" column indicates the number of maneuvers Nightcrawler knows as a Crusader, while the "C. Granted" column indicates the number of maneuvers he is granted at the beginning of each combat or when he has no more withheld maneuvers. Since the value in the C. Granted column is always at least the value in the C. Known column, Nightcrawler refreshes all of his Crusader maneuvers at the beginning of every round. The "C. IL" column indicates Nightcrawler's Crusader Initiator Level.
Build-Defining Levels:
At level 3, Nightcrawler becomes a true Idiot Crusader. At level 1, he selected Martial Study(Iron Guard's Glare), and learned the two Stone Dragon strikes through Swordsage, so now he can only select Crusader's Strike, Douse the Flames, and Leading the Attack. However, since he can use any of these each round, he is an extremely valuable team member.
At level 9, Nightcrawler learns his first Shadow Hand teleportation maneuver, Shadow Jaunt. This maneuver is excellent as it is an [Ex] [Teleportation] effect that he can use every single round. He also picks up the Sun School feat, which allows him to make an attack after teleporting. Most of the time he'd be better off executing a maneuver or performing a full attack, but the move certainly has style.
At level 12 things start ramping up. Nightcrawler gains the Shadow Pounce ability, allowing him to make a full attack (in addition to his Sun School attack) after teleporting next to an enemy. He can do this every round. He also gains the Two-weapon Fighting feat (qualifying with a +Dex item) and owns a pair of Gloves of the Balanced Hand for virtual Improved Two-Weapon Fighting. His full attack routine after teleporting next to an enemy is now +7/+7/+7/+2/+2 before Strength, enhancements, or his Swordsage Discipline focus. He will also be flanking essentially all the time unless none of his allies are near the enemy, since he can simply teleport into position.
At level 13 things get even sillier. Nightcrawler learns the Shadow Stride maneuver, allowing him to teleport as a move action, and another maneuver. If he selects Cloak of Deception, every one of his turns could be Swift: Initiate Cloak of Deception, becoming Greater Invisible; Move: Initiate Shadow Stride, teleporting next to an enemy and attacking with a +8/+8/+8/+3/+3 routine, not counting the bonus for being invisible; Standard: Initiate Shadow Jaunt, teleporting again and attacking with another +8/+8/+8/+3/+3 routine.
At level 17, Nightcrawler learns Shadow Blink, which allows him to teleport as a swift action. He can now execute three full attacks per round plus three attacks from Sun School. The Bloodclaw Master's Superior Two-Weapon Fighting feature eliminates the penalties for fighting with two weapons, so each of his three attack routines is +13/+13/+13/+8/+8/+3
Maneuvers
Nightcrawler learns a total of 9 maneuvers in his Crusader progression. Three of them are 1st-level maneuvers, two of which must be Douse the Flames and Leading the Attack and the last of which is either Crusader's Strike or Iron Guard's Glare. Three of his known maneuvers are the Shadow Hand teleportation maneuvers Shadow Jaunt, Shadow Stride, and Shadow Blink. His three additional maneuvers are as follows: one maneuver of any discipline of 5th level or lower (learned at level 13), one maneuver of any discipline of 7th level or lower (learned at level 17) and one Tiger Claw maneuver of 7th level or lower (learned at level 18). This last maneuver could be foregone in lieu of getting an 8th-level Tiger Claw maneuver at level 20.
Nightcrawler's Swordsage progression includes seven maneuvers of level 1, including either Crusader's Strike or Iron Guard's Glare (from Martial Study), Charging Minotaur, Stone Bones, and four more 1st-level Swordsage maneuvers. It also includes two maneuvers of any discipline of level 3 or lower (learned at level 8), one maneuver of any discipline of level 5 or lower (learned at level 14), one Tiger Claw maneuver of level 5 or lower (learned at level 15), and one Tiger Claw maneuver of level 8 or lower (learned at level 20).
Stances
Nightcrawler knows one 1st-level Swordsage stance and two 1st-level Crusader stances. He learns a level 3 or lower stance of any discipline at level 9 and a level 5 or lower stance of any discipline at level 14. Unfortunately Nightcrawler is 1 Initiator Level short of qualifying for the 8th-level stances when he earns his level 18 feat.
Skills
Qualifying for all of these prestige classes is a pain in the neck. Nightcrawler needs a +1 INT modifier to qualify for all of his classes on time. The following table shows Nightcrawler's skill rank purchases for levels 1 through 7. An asterisk indicates that the skill rank is being purchased cross-class.
Level BalanceHandle AnimalHideIntimidateJumpMove SilentlyRide
1 4 2* 4 4 4 4 4
2 1 0.5* 1 1 1 1
3 1 0.5* 1 1 2
4 1 0.5* 1 1 1
5 0.5* 3 1 3 1*
Level 5 Total 7 4 8 7 8 8 8
6 1 1 2 1*
7 2 1 1 1*
Level 7 Total 10 4 10 10 10 8 8
There's not a lot of wiggle room in this build. However, the last three levels of Bloodclaw Master could be replaced by anything (except Crusader). While Nightcrawler makes lots of attacks, his attack bonuses are not great due to having so many medium BAB classes. Also, he has few class features to improve his weapon damage, though this is where some of his maneuvers could help. For instance, at level 13 or 17 Nightcrawler could get Searing Blade or Inferno Blade, which will allow him to add 2d6 or 3d6 + initiator level fire damage to all his melee attacks.
I am not taking advantage of the Crinti Shadow Marauder's mounted abilities at all with this build, but there may be a good way to do so.
It is unclear to me how Snap Kick would interact with this build. Would Nightcrawler get just one extra attack in a round and take a -2 penalty to all attacks, would he get one extra attack per full attack and take a -2 penalty to all attacks, or would he get one extra attack per full attack and take a -2 penalty to all attacks for each Snap Kick attack in the round?
Thanks for reading!