Broken Character

[rupierto97]

Hello everyone,

in a week or so I'll be doing a one-shot campain with a few other people in 3.5e. However, my DM is well known for being unfair to the players and often using cheap tactics and unfair monsters just to kill us and piss us off. This time I wanted to pay him back with the most unexpectedly powerful and broken character I can manage to create. We're starting at lv9 and pretty much every manual is permitted (even some magazines too). I don't have much experience with overpowered character and I was wondering if some of our more knowledgeable players could help me.

Thanks a lot in advance.

[Jack_Simth]

Start with: talk to the DM. An arms race doesn't work, in part because the DM can simply add more resources to the BBEG at no cost.

Edit: Of course, if you want to do something counterproductive, look up archives for the WotC Theoretical Optimization forums.

[Palanan]

Building a “broken” character just to punish or irritate a DM is a bad way to approach a game. It doesn’t matter what the DM’s reputation is—designing a character out of spite will most likely antagonize the DM and make the session less enjoyable for everyone involved.

If this is just a one-shot, I would suggest you skip it. Whatever the DM’s style might be, bringing this kind of attitude to his table won’t help anyone.

[JNAProductions]

You don't have to play in this game, you know.

I'll echo the existing advice-talk to the DM about a playstyle to make sure EVERYONE has fun.

Or, you know, go Pun-Pun.

[Grod_The_Giant]

3.5 optimization is a scale that literally goes all the way up to infinity. Trying to go too far down that road will only end in tears.

Besides, from the sound of it, what you need is less raw cursing power and more self-sufficiency. A character who can deal with being dropped naked into a volcano, so to speak. An Incarnate/Ardent/Soul Manifester, maybe, using Practiced Manifester to keep your power progression at full speed and a recharge trick of some description. (I like the Azure Talent/Psicarnum Infusion one that lets you expend your focus to gain bonus pp for a round, since it really only works for out of combat stuff, but check with your DM).

[ExLibrisMortis]

You could do worse than Persistent delay death + beastland ferocity (Spell Compendium; one lets you survive at negative hit points, the other lets you act at negative hit points).

A more powerful version is the Troll-Blooded gheden with energy immunity, who is entirely immune to hit point damage.

Wizard 5/incantatrix 4 is very strong, pretty straightforward, has its core ability and doesn't need much more. Pick up Item Familiar for the Spellcraft bonus.

Illumian wizard 1/psion 3/cerebremancer 2/mind mage 3 is strong as well, and grows stronger over time, but it is a bit more complex. Pick up Improved Krau Sigil for your early entry; apply Krau sigil to ML (does not technically work, but fits the illumian's design perfectly, and you want to use dirty tricks, right?). Best combined with some form of psionic recharge; a quiverful of +1 manifester arrows is quite efficient. Synchronicity + Linked Power + Metapower + Midnight Augmentation + Midnight Metamagic + bestow power works without limit, restoring 1 pp per round (assuming you have Psionic Meditation; it's easier with a torc of power preservation), which works out to about five minutes of activity for a full charge of pp (50 pp @ level 9, 6th-level manifesting). With a decent half-hour buff routine, you can persist as many spells as you can cast.



It goes without saying that the posts above are entirely correct, and you shouldn't be passive-aggressive towards your DM (or anyone at your table).

[Goaty14]

Talk with your DM

Now, onto the fun stuff
Tainted Scholar - Get into this PrC with low taint, do it for a level, and then jump back out and become undead (such as the necropolitan from Libis Mortis) and then every time you cast a spell you gain +1 to your casting stat (taint). This gets out of hand very fast, so I'll drop the bonus spell calculator (http://rpgtools.awardspace.com/bonusspell.htm)

[Eldariel]

I agree with the other people: generally breaking the game will result in a brief spurt of fun for you and little for everyone else so cooperative playing where everyone is working together to make the game work the best it can is usually the key to enjoyable experiences.


That said...
Just a simple Cleric, Wizard, Druid, Archivist, Artificer, Erudite or Psion (or Sorcerer with Greater Draconic Rite of Passage) played to their potential would probably be more than passable with this information. Throw in some persistomancy if extra power is needed (Divine Metamagic, Incantatrix, Spelldancer or so) and walk around buffed to high heavens while killing things with glances. 5th level spells are the real deal. You could use something like Ultimate Magus advancing a single class to get even further but that's frankly probably unnecessary; you should be able to reach a point with level 5 spells where you can take on just about anything (Team Solar (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?188138-Team-Solars-(Archiving)) is a good reference point for various buffs to consider).

You could take Assume Supernatural Ability [Savage Species] or Metamorphic Transfer [Expanded Psionics Handbook] combined with shapechanging spells ([Draconic] Polymorph, Metamorphosis) to go the extra mile and gain access to all the monster Su abilities you could ever desire for all-day ridiculousness. Eggynack's Awesome Druid Guide (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?439991-Being-Everything-Eggynack-s-Comprehensive-Druid-Handbook) goes the extra mile in explaining how to do much the same with Aberration/Dragon Wildshape.


You could also just play a Hulking Hurler [Complete Warrior] stacking all the strength/size/carrying capacity increases to throw moons on people if your campaign is one where doing 10000 damage a turn on level 9 is passable; but casters can go above and beyond into the immediate/swift action turn stuff, damage immunity and all that.

[Bohandas]

For a spellcaster look up the locate city bomb trick.

For a melee character by multiclassing between enough fighting classes you could theoretically get a +18 base fortitude save by level 9 and still retain full BAB