Stacking attack effects (3.5)

[Rethmar]

I'm thinking up a character who will have a high attack bonus and many attacks. Instead of doing a lot of damage with each hit, I'm trying to build a character that stacks something on the enemy with each hit. I haven't come up with something strong enough or that I like enough.

So far, I've thought of wounding weapons, which isn't a bad idea. Dealing 4+ Con damage per turn wouldn't be too bad. Bit expensive though. 18k per weapon minimum, and likely I'll TWF to get as many attacks as possible.

Vampiric weapon enchant is something I looked at. Same minimum cost as wounding, and not really all that much damage, but I could be healing myself 1d6 per hit. I could make a build to just sustain myself with that, partially.

I've also found bleeding effects, such as the ability granted by Invisible Blade. It makes the target bleed 1 damage every turn, and stacks with every hit. There is a weapon enchant in the MIC that does the same thing, but 2 damage per hit. The enchantment is a +3, however, and that isn't nearly useful enough.

I found a weapon enchant that decreases an enemy's spell resistance by 2 for the rest of the round per hit, stacking, but that is very situational.

You guys have any ideas on feats/classes/enchants/etc that I can do to apply stacking something to an enemy instead of just doing a lot of damage with each hit? Debuffs, bleeds, anything you can think of.

Thanks.:smallsmile:

[OldTrees1]

The Staggering Strike feat is quite nice since it causes Staggered.
Dire Flail Smash and Three Mountain Hammer work every 2 hits but Daze/Nausea is nice

I also like prone(Improved Trip + maybe Knock-down)

[Extra Anchovies]

For a different approach, consider Stormguard Warrior, specifically Combat Rhythm, which sort of builds up stacks on you. You can make any of your normal melee attacks as touch attacks to deal zero damage but grant +5 damage per successful touch attack on all of your damage rolls for the next round. If you have, say, 12 attacks (possible for Totemists and such), that's +60 damage per hit on the next turn.

[J-H]

I think this is from BOVD, but I could be wrong. It's on a character sheet and is legit but I didn't note the book:
Souldrinking (+3 weapon property)
On-hit: Negative level, no save; on crit, 2 neg levels, wielder gets +2 enh str, +1d8 temp hp
Negative levels last 1 hour.

[Darrin]

Not a full build but good for ideas:

Not called GREAT club for nothing (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?49522)

[Menzath]

Okay we have the feats
Lightning mace. When attacking with two light maces, if you crit you get a free extra attack.
Pulverize foe. When you hit with a bludging weapon(s) in a turn, every attack after the first gains a cumunulitive 1d6.
Crushing strike. When you hit with bludging weapon(s) in a single turn, each attack after the first gets a cumunilitive +1 on attack rolls.

And a neat spell for BoVD,
Sadisim. Every time you deal 10+ damage.in a round you get a +1 bonus to attack and damage rolls for every 10 full points of damage you did in the following round.

So get some of that on a warblade and you are golden.

[martixy]

Well the other classic stacking technique is Blood in the Water - a L1 stance from Tiger Claw in Tome of Battle(TWF warblade 3 is perfect if you have the intelligence).
Kukris are light, martial with 18-20/15-20 threat range. Lightning Maces gets you bonus attacks on threats. Wb3 gets you a int bonus to confirms. Solarian Truesteel is another +1 to confirm special material.
Technically there is one incredibly horrific way to get it even to 13-20, but that would only really work in any decent fashion in gestalt.

[Extra Anchovies]

Well the other classic stacking technique is Blood in the Water - a L1 stance from Tiger Claw in Tome of Battle(TWF warblade 3 is perfect if you have the intelligence).
Kukris are light, martial with 18-20/15-20 threat range. Lightning Maces gets you bonus attacks on threats. Wb3 gets you a int bonus to confirms. Solarian Truesteel is another +1 to confirm special material.
Technically there is one incredibly horrific way to get it even to 13-20, but that would only really work in any decent fashion in gestalt.

There is? You have my attention.

Also, yeah. Lightning Mace + Adaptive Kukris is brutal. Lightning Mace was one of the items on the very short Test of Spite banlist; that's how you know something is breakable.

[martixy]

There is? You have my attention.

Also, yeah. Lightning Mace + Adaptive Kukris is brutal. Lightning Mace was one of the items on the very short Test of Spite banlist; that's how you know something is breakable.

Technically, by the reading of Warblade's class feature - Weapon Aptitude, LM counts as a feat affecting a single weapon type, so eligible to be retrained to a different weapon type.

Each morning, you can spend 1 hour in weapon practice
to change the designated weapon for any feat you have that
applies only to a single weapon (such as Weapon Focus).
Though I'm not sure how you'd deal with the prerequisites, since it's not WF(with selected weapon), but an explicitly specific type. Though even having the WF(Light Mace) acting just as a prereq shouldn't be that big a deal.

As far as that other 3.5 legal way to boost threat range:
Psychic Weapon Master (http://archive.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/psm/20040827d)
That single stacking extra threat range IS the only redeeming feature of the class.

In case you're wondering why it's horrible despite that unique feature, just take a look at the prereqs.

@Rethmar:
Dispater is 3.0 material.
Crit mechanics were updated since then.

[Rethmar]

I've played a swordsage that did that whole thing. Blood in the Water with lightning maces/aptitude kukris. Swift action dimension door(shadow jaunt or whatever its called), and then a nice full attack. Super fun to stack up the BitW, although most of our fights didn't last long enough for the number to get too high.

For the crit range, did you mean Disciple of Dispater? Wait that's 3.0 I think. And I see you've responded with the real answer now.

Edit: double edit: this guy is quick.

[Andezzar]

Okay we have the feats
Lightning mace. When attacking with two light maces, if you crit you get a free extra attack.
Get two aptitude kukris for a better threat range.


Technically, by the reading of Warblade's class feature - Weapon Aptitude, LM counts as a feat affecting a single weapon type, so eligible to be retrained to a different weapon type.

Though I'm not sure how you'd deal with the prerequisites, since it's not WF(with selected weapon), but an explicitly specific type. Though even having the WF(Light Mace) acting just as a prereq shouldn't be that big a deal.Weapon Aptitude does not say that you can change the designated weapon to a weapon impossible for the feat.

[ZamielVanWeber]

@Rethmar:
Dispater is 3.0 material.
Crit mechanics were updated since then.

Dispater was not, so his abilities stand as written and are 3.5 legal. This does cause a rules hiccup between Iron Power (which explicitly states it stack with Improved Critical) and Improved Critical (which explicitly states nothing stacks with it). Ask your DM but don't be surprised if they say no. Tripling the threat range of a weapon is hot already, especially since DoD provides a lot of static boosts that are multiplied by a crit.

[martixy]

Get two aptitude kukris for a better threat range.

Weapon Aptitude does not say that you can change the designated weapon to a weapon impossible for the feat.

Doesn't say can't either.
And honestly, I'm rather fond of the idea that a +1 item property shouldn't overshadow the class feature it's based upon.


Dispater was not, so his abilities stand as written and are 3.5 legal. This does cause a rules hiccup between Iron Power (which explicitly states it stack with Improved Critical) and Improved Critical (which explicitly states nothing stacks with it). Ask your DM but don't be surprised if they say no. Tripling the threat range of a weapon is hot already, especially since DoD provides a lot of static boosts that are multiplied by a crit.

I'd just remove the explicit "doubles/tripples range" stipulation and make it apply its bonus to threat range. In line with the only other class that does that.

[ZamielVanWeber]

Doesn't say can't either.
And honestly, I'm rather fond of the idea that a +1 item property shouldn't overshadow the class feature it's based upon.

In DnD if it doesn't say "can" than you can't. The rules describe what you are permitted to do, not when you are exempted from.

[jiriku]

Complete Scoundrel includes any number of feats allowing you to trade sneak attack damage to inflict conditions on the target. They're not powerful feats, but they could be another spice in the stew as you think about the build. If you're open to homebrew, my extended sig links a thread where I post suggested changes to those feats to make them more competitive with other good feat choices.