Help me outfit Kirito?

[Xaroth]

Prefacing this: I didn't know whether to put this as DM help or Player help since it's for a character, but I figured I'd put it as DM help just to clear up that I'm the DM.

So, for those of you who don't know, Kirito is the protagonist of Sword Art Online. Once upon a time I made a thread concerning video game characters and another concerning anime characters, and Dusk Eclipse made Kirito for the former (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=17503269&postcount=187). He's very powerful, and with what I've outfitted him in thus far, nobody in my party has been capable of killing him in mock battles.

So, I'm wondering...have I really outfitted him as much as I can? This is meant to be the true test of a player's strength: If they can defeat Kirito, things are very concerning, as I've given him unlimited pocket money and - up until now - I've been making him kinda...well, as balanced as he can be without it being completely and utterly unfair on the players he fights, while at the same time very much being unfair.

Boots of Levitation
Gauntlets of Ogre Power
Ring of Protection +5
Ring of Vengeance
Starmantle Cloak
Necklace of Adaptation
Belt of Magnificence +4
Vest of Ironskin
+5 Studded Leather (+3/+5/-2)
+5 Keen Collision Dragonsplits (1d6/(S)x3/(P)19-20/x2)
+2 Light Distance Brilliant Energy Crossbow (1d10/19-20/x2)

With this, I believe he can maneuver freely on difficult terrain, is immune to all non-magic attacks and has an easy reflex save to half all damage he takes anyway, a bit of damage reduction, a decent AC bonus (for level 10), a counter to being critted, can survive underwater and in space, and does a fair bit of damage.

Also, the crossbow's there because I realised he actually has no contingency against ranged attackers and people that can fly.

Does anyone have any thoughts for what I could give him to make him better? Something to maximize his potential at level 20?

This is in 3.5e, but 3e is allowed, as is PF, since I'm basically just looking for items in this. Dragon Mag is allowed, and I would rather not go nuts crafting magical items and use pre-existing items already.

[Deophaun]

You need some way for him to get Fast Healing: Yes.

He needs to have Iron Heart Surge, as he does just will things away like poison and paralysis as plot demands.

Keep in mind that he doesn't resort to TWFing until after he's watched 90% of his team die to a raid boss.

Edit: And his Charisma is wayyyy too low, seeing how effortlessly he collects waifu.

[Xaroth]

You need some way for him to get Fast Healing: Yes.

He needs to have Iron Heart Surge, as he does just will things away like poison and paralysis as plot demands.

Keep in mind that he doesn't resort to TWFing until after he's watched 90% of his team die to a raid boss.

Edit: And his Charisma is wayyyy too low, seeing how effortlessly he collects waifu.

His stats as they are currently are the following:

STR - 26
DEX - 22
CON - 22
INT - 20
WIS - 16
CHA - 14

After equipment. And this Kirito's TWF-ing from the get go since Einhanding is just bad.

[Zanos]

INT - 20
WIS - 16
These seem wrong.

[Xaroth]

These seem wrong.

Belt of Magnificence. Unfortunately I can't get rid of his mental bonuses otherwise I would, because he's a bloomin' idiot.

[Wizardfrog]

Profession: Gamer
Know: Programming

Have him hack his child back into existence while he beaters your party to death.

[Dagroth]

Anklet of Translocation. Stack the enchantment on to the existing boots. While you're add it, stack the Boots of the Battle Charger, Boots of Jumping & Boots of Landing on those bad boys!

Replace the leather with +5 Shadowed Medium Fortification Moon Ivy Armor (Moon Ivy comes from Arms & Equipment Manual. +4 AC, +6 Max Dex, 0 Armor Check, 5 lbs. Base Cost: 16,000 gp) For +500 gp, it can have Pheromones for +3 to Cha checks once per day. Throw some +3 Mithril Dastana on there too. (Dastana also come from the Arms & Equipment Manual... they're arm bracers that can be worn with certain light armors that add a stacking armor bonus!)


Edit: And his Charisma is wayyyy too low, seeing how effortlessly he collects waifu.

That's an Edgelord racial ability. :sage nod:


Belt of Magnificence. Unfortunately I can't get rid of his mental bonuses otherwise I would, because he's a bloomin' idiot.

Sadly, you need his Int up there for Warblade abilities & skill points. If you re-fluff the class to use Cha instead of Int, then you can swap those two stats. It even makes sense, since the Warblade class description is all about getting attention from the crowd.

[Dragonexx]

You could probably have more fun if you based him off of abridged Kirito.

[Deophaun]

You could probably have more fun if you based him off of abridged Kirito.
Then the low Charisma makes sense.

"Woah, woah, woah. We can't just go around sacrificing NPCs! Some of my best friends have been NPCs!"

[Segev]

14 Cha isn't "low."

Also, non-abridged Kirito may have only average-ish wisdom, but he does demonstrate, in the second season, a fairly high Int. He's deep into programming and computer engineering, and keeping up with college-level research and development while being BEHIND (theoretically) in high school thanks to the time spent out of commission.

His stats overall seem way too high, though.

Also, why boots of levitation? In no incarnation have I seen him fly or come close to it. At best, a high Jump mod seems appropriate.

[Deophaun]

14 Cha isn't "low."

Ability Scores
32 Point Buy Spread: Str 16, Dex 16, Con 12, Int 16, Wis 7, Cha 7
36 Point Buy Spread: Str 16, Dex 16, Con 14, Int 16, Wis 8, Cha 8
54 Point Buy Spread: Str 18, Dex 18, Con 16, Int 16 Wis 10, Cha 8 (this one was arbitrarily assigned based on my own estimation of his stats based on the anime)

Levels +4 Str, +1 Dex by level 18.
This is Charisma as best as a human can dump stat Charisma. It's only above 10 because of magic. Yes, that's low.

[Xaroth]

14 Cha isn't "low."

Also, non-abridged Kirito may have only average-ish wisdom, but he does demonstrate, in the second season, a fairly high Int. He's deep into programming and computer engineering, and keeping up with college-level research and development while being BEHIND (theoretically) in high school thanks to the time spent out of commission.

His stats overall seem way too high, though.

Also, why boots of levitation? In no incarnation have I seen him fly or come close to it. At best, a high Jump mod seems appropriate.

Because while the build is true to what Dusk put down, I'm appropriating his equipment to D&D rather than to Sword Art Online. If I were keeping him truer to SAO, sure, a lot of that would be different.

Also, he flies in the second season, Alfheim Online.

So, I'm not trying to make his equipment accurate to SAO. I'm trying to make his equipment as good as it can be for his build, by the editions I listed above.

[Segev]

Also, he flies in the second season, Alfheim Online.

You are absolutely right. I can't believe I forgot that.

[Zanos]

You are absolutely right. I can't believe I forgot that.
Yeah, but it's totally for a limited amount of time, after which you have to land.

Except for when they forget about it in literally every scene.

[Tohsaka Rin]

Yeah, but it's totally for a limited amount of time, after which you have to land.

Except for when they forget about it in literally every scene.

They actually don't. The limits are several minutes of flight time (which you said, and they never really go very long without touching down), after which they just need to land for a moment to reset the timer, and altitude. After the second arc, the limitations are removed from the server.

And before you mention episode timestamps in relation to length of flight time, remember that Namek was going to explode in three minutes, for like, five episodes. Time is never 1-to-1 in anime.

[Zanos]

They actually don't. The limits are several minutes of flight time (which you said, and they never really go very long without touching down), after which they just need to land for a moment to reset the timer, and altitude. After the second arc, the limitations are removed from the server.

And before you mention episode timestamps in relation to length of flight time, remember that Namek was going to explode in three minutes, for like, five episodes. Time is never 1-to-1 in anime.
The Salamander army flies a pretty far distance to hover over a peninsula for some time and they all just then hover there for the entire duration of Kiritos fight with the commander. Or the entirety of the fight to break into the world tree.

I suggest actually rewatching that arc and counting all the times that it's pretty clear they've been flying for a long time. SAO has a very bad habit of introducing mechanics in the first few episodes and then either ignoring them or remembering them as it's convenient.

[Wizardfrog]

The Salamander army flies a pretty far distance to hover over a peninsula for some time and they all just then hover there for the entire duration of Kiritos fight with the commander. Or the entirety of the fight to break into the world tree.

I suggest actually rewatching that arc and counting all the times that it's pretty clear they've been flying for a long time. SAO has a very bad habit of introducing mechanics in the first few episodes and then either ignoring them or remembering them as it's convenient.

You are clearly wrong, they just use the teleport crystals to touch the ground then teleport into the air again after the timer resets-crap, my teleport crystal doesn't work because plot.

[Tohsaka Rin]

The Salamander army flies a pretty far distance to hover over a peninsula for some time and they all just then hover there for the entire duration of Kiritos fight with the commander. Or the entirety of the fight to break into the world tree.

I suggest actually rewatching that arc and counting all the times that it's pretty clear they've been flying for a long time. SAO has a very bad habit of introducing mechanics in the first few episodes and then either ignoring them or remembering them as it's convenient.

I suggest you read the entirety of my post that you quoted, I already addressed the issue you mentioned.

[Segev]

The plot-hole forgetfulness that always bugs me most is from the episode where Kirito relies on his combat regen to overawe some lowby thugs. Because that was an "okay, neat" moment, for me. I could buy that.

Then there are several times later in the story where he's at next-to-no hp...and the hp aren't regenerating. It's treated as critically important to get him some healing in case some little thing accidentally damages him. Not like something he just needs to be careful about until he recovers hp naturally.

[Tohsaka Rin]

The plot-hole forgetfulness that always bugs me most is from the episode where Kirito relies on his combat regen to overawe some lowby thugs. Because that was an "okay, neat" moment, for me. I could buy that.

Then there are several times later in the story where he's at next-to-no hp...and the hp aren't regenerating. It's treated as critically important to get him some healing in case some little thing accidentally damages him. Not like something he just needs to be careful about until he recovers hp naturally.

Rule of drama. For the huge things that take off your life in quarters (several thousand a hit), 600 HP every few seconds doesn't even buy you an extra hit.

...His Battle Healing skill might have just come from the particular gear he was wearing during the Titan's Hand encounter, mind.

[Dagroth]

The plot-hole forgetfulness that always bugs me most is from the episode where Kirito relies on his combat regen to overawe some lowby thugs. Because that was an "okay, neat" moment, for me. I could buy that.

Then there are several times later in the story where he's at next-to-no hp...and the hp aren't regenerating. It's treated as critically important to get him some healing in case some little thing accidentally damages him. Not like something he just needs to be careful about until he recovers hp naturally.

Actually, I see that as more of a DR mechanic than anything else. Kirito auto-heals from wounds lower than a certain threshold.

But, it's also possible that's the effect of a stance that is worthless in combat with the BBEG since it lowers the user's own ability to do damage too much. Which makes sense, because when he's doing that combat regen thing he's just standing there. It's a good "tanking" stance, but worthless if you're trying to kill tough opponents.

[Zanos]

I suggest you read the entirety of my post that you quoted, I already addressed the issue you mentioned.
You ignoring bad writing doesn't exactly address that the bad writing exists in the first place. If they were going to frequently mention that flight time is limited and make it a limiting mechanic of the story, they can't also have multiple 15 minute long fight scenes where everyone is flying the entire time. You shouldn't write that people can't do X and then proceed to do X every time you want to do so anyway with no justification. It's basically the definition of bad writing.

Also, 4 digit keypad locks in a video game where you're the admin/owner and can do whatever you want. Just why?

I don't give DBZ a pass, but blowing up a planet isn't exactly the same as writing game code that says you can fly for X time. It's still an offense, if a minor one. The fandom jokes about it pretty frequently, acknowledging that it's a goof.

[Deophaun]

And before you mention episode timestamps in relation to length of flight time, remember that Namek was going to explode in three minutes, for like, five episodes. Time is never 1-to-1 in anime.
Nah, Freiza just doesn't know what a minute is. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2YkEDGD_sDs&t=7m50s)

[Tohsaka Rin]

You ignoring bad writing doesn't exactly address that the bad writing exists in the first place. If they were going to frequently mention that flight time is limited and make it a limiting mechanic of the story, they can't also have multiple 15 minute long fight scenes where everyone is flying the entire time. You shouldn't write that people can't do X and then proceed to do X every time you want to do so anyway with no justification. It's basically the definition of bad writing.

Emphasis mine. The stated amount of time being able to spend constantly flying is 'about ten minutes'. Considering episodes are about 20 minutes long, your use of hyperbole is a bit much, don't you think?

Though if you want to persist on this insistence, please, give me an episode number, and I'll go through it with a stopwatch, if you're so confident in your accuracy over anime, which has almost always historically played fast and loose with time, at best.

[Xaroth]

I don't mean to be rude, but this thread wasn't really meant for discussing the perception of time in anime and the use of plot drama. Would it be alright if we got back on track?

Dagroth, what exactly do all those enchantments do, with the moon ivy armor? And where do I find the anklet of translocation?

Also, please read up in the post, I want to use pre-existing items as much as possible rather than just creating magic items by stacking different pre-existing items on top of each other like you suggested. I'm referring to the boots stacking, btw.

[Tohsaka Rin]

I don't mean to be rude, but this thread wasn't really meant for discussing the perception of time in anime and the use of plot drama. Would it be alright if we got back on track?

Dagroth, what exactly do all those enchantments do, with the moon ivy armor? And where do I find the anklet of translocation?

Also, please read up in the post, I want to use pre-existing items as much as possible rather than just creating magic items by stacking different pre-existing items on top of each other like you suggested. I'm referring to the boots stacking, btw.

Ah, no no, you're right. I get carried away sometimes, I really should've taken it to a PM, my bad.

Shadowed gives you bonuses to hide checks, and medium fortification makes you immune to crits part of the time, on a certain percentage on a d100 roll, I don't remember the specific numbers, sorry.

Moon Ivy and Dastana is a good combo, especially on a character who isn't online part of the time to be attacked when his armor isn't there. Suits Kirito, too. Very light armor, but not metal.

[Dagroth]

I don't mean to be rude, but this thread wasn't really meant for discussing the perception of time in anime and the use of plot drama. Would it be alright if we got back on track?

Dagroth, what exactly do all those enchantments do, with the moon ivy armor? And where do I find the anklet of translocation?

Also, please read up in the post, I want to use pre-existing items as much as possible rather than just creating magic items by stacking different pre-existing items on top of each other like you suggested. I'm referring to the boots stacking, btw.

Moon Ivy is just cool (but expensive base cost) armor. Suits the character.


This armor is jet black and blurs the wearer whenever she tries to hide, granting a +5 competence bonus on Hide checks. (The armor’s armor check penalty still applies normally.)
Faint illusion; CL 5th; Craft Magic Arms and Armor, invisibility; Price +3,750 gp.


This suit of armor or shield produces a magical force that protects vital areas of the wearer more effectively. When a critical hit or sneak attack is scored on the wearer, there is a chance that the critical hit or sneak attack is negated and damage is instead rolled normally.
Base Price
Fortification Type: Moderate, Chance for Normal Damage: 75%, Modifier +3 bonus

Throw an Armor Crystal of Mind Cloaking, Greater on there (10,000 gp):

This augment crystal grants you a +5 competence bonus on saving throws against mind-affecting spells and
abilities. In addition, if you fail a save against a mind-affecting spell or ability, you can choose to reroll the save as an immediate (mental) action. This ability functions once per day.

While we're at it, we should put Ghost Ward (+1 bonus equivalent) on his Dastana to improve his AC vs. Incorporeal.

Total Armor Cost: 110,600gp Total AC bonus: +13

The Anklet & Boots I mentioned (and the Armor Crystal, above) all come from the Magic Item Compendium. It allows 2 10' dimensional hops per day. Not amazing, but you can always Dimension Hop from the high point of your jump, since it's a swift action to activate.

Rather than list everything they do, I'll just say that the boots are on pages 76-78 of the Magic Item Compendium.

[Xaroth]

Moon Ivy is just cool (but expensive base cost) armor. Suits the character.





Throw an Armor Crystal of Mind Cloaking, Greater on there (10,000 gp):


While we're at it, we should put Ghost Ward (+1 bonus equivalent) on his Dastana to improve his AC vs. Incorporeal.

Total Armor Cost: 110,600gp Total AC bonus: +13

The Anklet & Boots I mentioned (and the Armor Crystal, above) all come from the Magic Item Compendium. It allows 2 10' dimensional hops per day. Not amazing, but you can always Dimension Hop from the high point of your jump, since it's a swift action to activate.

Rather than list everything they do, I'll just say that the boots are on pages 76-78 of the Magic Item Compendium.

Do the Dastana take up a slot that's already being occupied by anything?

[Deophaun]

Do the Dastana take up a slot that's already being occupied by anything?
They're bracers, so they should take up the arms slot.

[Dagroth]

Do the Dastana take up a slot that's already being occupied by anything?

I think they're just armor... if anything, they would be on the Arm slot, which you're not using.

Edit: I just re-read the character build post, and you need Bracers of Striking, so that enchantment would have to be put on the Dastana.

Also, the Mobility enchantment on said Dastana.

[Fizban]

If you're sticking to a cash limit and want suggestions you should probably put up the math so people don't have to look up and do the list themselves.

Gauntlets of Ogre Power don't stack with the belt, no reason to have them at all. Presumably that's the MiC Ring of Vengeance. Starmantle Cloak is only slightly more fair than the original Retributive Amulet, unless your players are also expected to be wearing them. If you want fast healing you can give him a Healing Blood graft from Lords of Madness for a paltry 182,000gp, or juggle a feat for True Believer and upgrade him to Millenial Chainmail for about 8,000. At least use Celestial Armor for the same upgrade to base armor stats (+5/+8/-2) and a fly 1/day. If you want to emulate the limited/repeatable flight aspect, a Cloak of the Bat swapped to day instead of night works mechanically but may or may not stop you from wielding anything, otherwise just Phoenix Cloak or Cloudwalker Anklets because 20th level. Presumably you're missing your natural armor enhancement effect for cost reasons but Kirito is a powergamer who wouldn't go around buying as few max bonuses as possible, he'd juggle the numbers for maximum AC bonus. MiC makes no-markup combinations with standard flat bonuses standard and custom gear is a thing in both sources.

Not sure why that build doesn't seem to have Blood in the Water, even with 19-20 base that many attacks will rack up the flat attack and damage boosters and just ruin things if you can bother to track it. Even crit-immune foes take it since they're only immune to the critical hit damage, not the confirmation or the flat bonuses of Blood in the Water. There's little reason not to have weapon crystals for the extra d6's, or at least the Least Return crystal to make up for not having Quick Draw, and get some Acrobat Boots on there for fast standing.

Edit: oh, forgot a couple. Belt of Many Pockets for quick storage and an assortment of consumables. Skull Talismans from Frostburn will let you get any spell in one-shot form, spendy but a way to make Teleport potions and otherwise just put unfair spells on people who can't cast them.

Also, stat books are a staple of every top level character.

And while I'm at it, the build given doesn't even work. Uncanny Blow explicitly says you have to be wielding the weapon in two hands to get the effect, which yes has always made it effectively useless. And even if you've got 2:1 Power Attack who cares? You're using GTWF, you should never be taking an attack penalty for any reason. Instead of wasting effort on dragonsplits and worshipping power attack, just take Weapon Mastery line and use a pair of straightblades (or even better, kukris, for even more Blood in the Water). Same damage as power attack (-2) with 25% more accuracy (+3 instead of -2) and it actually works.