The Blender (3.5 Build) Reviews

[LordOfCain]

Thri-Keen Hit and Run Fighter 12/Rogue 3/Disciple of Dispater 4/Warblade 1
Feats:
1: Martial Stance (Any Shadow Hand) and Martial Study (retrained to Power Attack for Disciple of Dispater entry and then reretrained after)
2: Weapon Finesse
3: Multiweapon Fighting
4: Shadow Blade
6: Expertise:
9: Craven
12: Improved Critical
13: Improved Multiweapon Fighting
15: Greater Multiweapon Fighting and Combat Reflexes
17: Weapon Focus (Light Mace)
18: Lightning Mace
Ability Scores (Pre-Magic/Leveling Bonuses):
Str: 18
Dex: 22
Con: 14
Int: 6
Cha: 4
Wis: 10
BaB: 19/14/9/4
S.A.: 2d6+20
Weapons:
4x +1 Aptitude Metalline Kaorti Resin Kukris
Main Warblade Feature:
Death from Above Strike
It slices, it dices, it even blends!
Any reviews?

[LordOfCain]

Bump? Any experienced optimizers?

[DarkSoul]

You need a 13 Intelligence for Combat Expertise.

You need Martial Study for a Shadow Hand Maneuver before you can take Martial Stance, or you need a level in Swordsage.

You need a way to get sneak attack reliably for the rogue levels and Craven to be worth it. How do you plan to accomplish this?

How do you plan to ever make a will save, specifically one that prevents you from killing your allies, and especially a save vs. fear that will put you out of the fight altogether?

You're waiting until level 18 to get the feat that defines your build. Why?

[LordOfCain]

You need a 13 Intelligence for Combat Expertise.

You need Martial Study for a Shadow Hand Maneuver before you can take Martial Stance, or you need a level in Swordsage.

You need a way to get sneak attack reliably for the rogue levels and Craven to be worth it. How do you plan to accomplish this?

How do you plan to ever make a will save, specifically one that prevents you from killing your allies, and especially a save vs. fear that will put you out of the fight altogether?

You're waiting until level 18 to get the feat that defines your build. Why?

1. Magic items/leveling bonuses should fix that. Not all of the leveling bonuses though.... need a high dex....
2. Thanks, forgot about that. Proper (ab)use of retraining should fix that...
3. Death from Above makes my enemies flatfooted.
4. 'Allies', what are those?
5. Rather feat starved

[Troacctid]

You can't take Martial Study and Martial Stance at 1st level because you don't qualify for any maneuvers with an initiator level of 0.

Thri-kreen have a +2 level adjustment and two racial hit dice, which means a 20-level build has only 16 class levels.

Magic items and level bonuses aren't going to get you +7 Intelligence by 6th level. Even if you spend your entire WBL, it's not possible.

[LordOfCain]

You can't take Martial Study and Martial Stance at 1st level because you don't qualify for any maneuvers with an initiator level of 0.

Thri-kreen have a +2 level adjustment and two racial hit dice, which means a 20-level build has only 16 class levels.

Magic items and level bonuses aren't going to get you +7 Intelligence by 6th level. Even if you spend your entire WBL, it's not possible.

Okay. I though non-psionic had a LA of 1? And RHD drain via vampires makes it 1 RHD. The martial study/stance is a problem though. I thought you have an IL of 1 at level 1? You round down?

[MeeposFire]

It says you hit and run but what I am seeing is a character based around the full attack action and has little else going on (well critting a lot but that does not work as well if you are only making one attack if you move).

Personally I think you are falling into a common 3e trap of building a melee character based around full attack actions with no ways to ensure you get to make those. You might get lucky and have a DM that constantly allows you to make full attacks but a DM with any tactical acumen will leave you feeling quite useless as you lose full attacks when ever you move 10 feet or more. You don't even have a pounce like ability to allow charging to work.

Personally unless this is just a thinking exercise it would be better to make a character that has a good offense that is usable in more situations. That is what makes ToB so good. The pure damage isn't actually great as barbarians and fighters can actually be made to do more. What makes a ToB character more effective than those in combat is that they have strikes and abilities that can be used on the move with just a standard action which means you are always effective and then other abilities that boost the already formidable full attack action. You even have maneuvers that allow you to move as a swift action (take a look into tiger claw for instance or shadow) so you can move AND make full attacks. That would be far more powerful in actual play than building a character around just full attack critical hits.

If you are still interested in the current idea you need to consider your mobility so that you can make sure that you can get your full attacks.

[Troacctid]

Okay. I though non-psionic had a LA of 1? And RHD drain via vampires makes it 1 RHD. The martial study/stance is a problem though. I thought you have an IL of 1 at level 1? You round down?
The 3.5 update made all thri-kreen psionic.

You always round down.

[Calthropstu]

that's not how you get a blender in D&D.

A blender in D&D/PF involves create pit, a bunch of soldiers a druid shapeshifting into an air elemental and taking its whirlwind form.

[LordOfCain]

The 3.5 update made all thri-kreen psionic.

You always round down.

Okay. LA buy off is still good though.

[Calthropstu]

It says you hit and run but what I am seeing is a character based around the full attack action and has little else going on (well critting a lot but that does not work as well if you are only making one attack if you move).

Personally I think you are falling into a common 3e trap of building a melee character based around full attack actions with no ways to ensure you get to make those. You might get lucky and have a DM that constantly allows you to make full attacks but a DM with any tactical acumen will leave you feeling quite useless as you lose full attacks when ever you move 10 feet or more. You don't even have a pounce like ability to allow charging to work.

Personally unless this is just a thinking exercise it would be better to make a character that has a good offense that is usable in more situations. That is what makes ToB so good. The pure damage isn't actually great as barbarians and fighters can actually be made to do more. What makes a ToB character more effective than those in combat is that they have strikes and abilities that can be used on the move with just a standard action which means you are always effective and then other abilities that boost the already formidable full attack action. You even have maneuvers that allow you to move as a swift action (take a look into tiger claw for instance or shadow) so you can move AND make full attacks. That would be far more powerful in actual play than building a character around just full attack critical hits.

If you are still interested in the current idea you need to consider your mobility so that you can make sure that you can get your full attacks.

Yeah, this is not a hit and run character, this is a run into combat and hit. No spring attack, no pounce, no major special maneuvers... just run into combat and hit. Or, because thri-kreen, jump into combat and hit.

Personally, if I were playing a thri-kreen, I would go range build. Its ability to jump makes it ideal for finding perches in hard to reach places. With a good bow setup, you could perch on top of a building, shot the crap out of someone, and when they finally reached you, jump to another ledge nearby and continue your ranged assault. Properly built, it would be almost immune to melee combat.

[MeeposFire]

Yeah, this is not a hit and run character, this is a run into combat and hit. No spring attack, no pounce, no major special maneuvers... just run into combat and hit. Or, because thri-kreen, jump into combat and hit.

Personally, if I were playing a thri-kreen, I would go range build. Its ability to jump makes it ideal for finding perches in hard to reach places. With a good bow setup, you could perch on top of a building, shot the crap out of someone, and when they finally reached you, jump to another ledge nearby and continue your ranged assault. Properly built, it would be almost immune to melee combat.

Ranged does have a fair core option to allow decent damage on a standard action with the many shot and then imp many shot feats. These can allow you to keep decent damage anytime someone makes you move and then you can use abilities based on full attacks on rounds where movement is not forced to really ramp up the damage.


Sadly the biggest boost to archery damage (the splitting enchantment) is also the most annoying to use in play (even if effective). Doubling your attacks is certainly powerful but you will roll so much it might annoy the other players.

[Calthropstu]

Ranged does have a fair core option to allow decent damage on a standard action with the many shot and then imp many shot feats. These can allow you to keep decent damage anytime someone makes you move and then you can use abilities based on full attacks on rounds where movement is not forced to really ramp up the damage.


Sadly the biggest boost to archery damage (the splitting enchantment) is also the most annoying to use in play (even if effective). Doubling your attacks is certainly powerful but you will roll so much it might annoy the other players.

Do what I do with my summon monster in pathfinder. Get a bunch of color coded dice sets, roll all of the dice during the other players turns, making sure someone else sees the rolls, and when the gm announces your turn, give him the totals. Using this method, I have been able to shorten my turns so much that I can control as many as 30 creatures in the time it takes most others to perform a single action.

[MeeposFire]

Do what I do with my summon monster in pathfinder. Get a bunch of color coded dice sets, roll all of the dice during the other players turns, making sure someone else sees the rolls, and when the gm announces your turn, give him the totals. Using this method, I have been able to shorten my turns so much that I can control as many as 30 creatures in the time it takes most others to perform a single action.

Certainly an option though I would say for most players buying large amounts of d20s and then the dice for all of the arrows (though you could roll once I suppose and apply it to all the hits) would not be something they would actually do. Granted getting to actual high enough levels where it gets that ugly are also fairly rare so I guess it equals out.

For me I considered just running it as doubling damage and apply DR twice. Have not needed to try it yet but it is an idea to cut down rolls for us who do not have the really fun option of rolling a metric ton of d20s.