Need help finding a build

[Ozzie831]

Hey everyone.

Im in a game with a few friends and my character that I recently made is suuuuuuuuuuper boring (basically a raptoran charger) so Im looking to make a new one.

Im trying to make one that will help the team. I was either eyeballing a build like the Captain Constitution build (warforged Warblade/Bear warrior) or some skill monkey build that just has maxed ranks in all knowledges and knows everything (just pretend to be some annoying nerd. Maybe be a whisper gnome for the funsies...and the darkvision. My dm loves dark areas). Since everyone in my game is too busy putting ranks in other things or they just dont get a lot of skill points in general.

My group, level 7:

Monk going towards Drunken master.
Some Fighter who went towards Abjurant champion.
Wizard who has a thing for undead, conjuring centipedes and tossing fireballs.
And a dude that can transform into raptors or whatever he feels like.

I just dont know what to do.
My first character died. He was a lot of fun. He was a Changeling bard with super high disguise and bluff, he was basically our Face. Our first ever encounter, we got jumped by orcs. I shape shifted into an orc and pretended to be one for a couple rounds XD. But around level 5 or so he died after being 1 shot by a crit from a Werebear... Then I made my current character, who is basically a charger. But he is just super boring with no personality compared to my first guy. So im going to ask my dm if i can just switch to something else.

So my question is, what would work well with my group. Im pretty new to D&D in general so I kinda stay away from mages or anything tooooo complicated.

Thanks!!

[DeTess]

Maybe take a look at either dragonfire adept (found in the book 'dragon magic')? It falls kinda in between the two archetypes you talked about. They get a decent set of skills, and several tricks they can sue to significantly increase the use of those skills, but one of their main features is constitution-based, so you'd generally end up with decent CON, and with a bit of dipping for armor skills you could become a fairly tough tank.

This one's even available from Wizard's website, though it lacks the details of what the various invocations actually do: http://archive.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/ex/20060912a&page=2

[bean illus]

It sounds like you enjoyed bard, and the fun of face, etc. Why not bard again?

If you like high skills and easy spells, i see your party has no cleric. A cloistered cleric has high skills, and domain choice can help you play it different ways. God of rogues? Trickery domain has disguise ...

[mabriss lethe]

Beguiler might also be a good skillful choice for you. You have a canned spell list for ease of reference and simplicity and some very nice class features for a tricksy mage type. They don't get a big list of knowledge skills to throw around as a "know it all" but it's a very tight class.

[Ozzie831]

Oooh i remember looking up the dragonfire adepts a while ago. They look like a pretty fun class. Ill have to do some more research.

I actually didnt like being a bard. I just liked my character haha. He was based off of one of my favorite characters in a book. Very charismatic, fun to roll play.

Hmmm id have to do some research on the beguiler. I looked them up a looong time ago when i was learning about the game but ive seen them mentioned as ive been looking for skill monkey builds

[bean illus]

Beguiler is lots of role play, and some minionmancy, Int focus adds to great skill access. But it can lack punch.

What do you hope to do? Do you enjoy swinging a sword? What didn't you enjoy about the bard?

[Ozzie831]

I never wanted to play a bard but it was my first game and they seemed simple enough. But it also fit my character. The character my guy was based on was an actor in a Renaissance like era. He was pretty useless besides in the Face department. All i could do is give a tiny buff and I did like 0 damage vs everyone else in my party.

[bean illus]

Well bards give small bonuses at low levels, but have big bonuses at high levels.

Your party has no rogue? That can be fun. They have several ways to be built. Make a smart one for mega skills, or a cha rogue for max umd, or dump mentals and rough it up a bit with 2 Fighter levels.

We could build a 7th level tripper. Maybe some spells.

[Ozzie831]

Yea I know that. But this is a loooong campaign that we started at level 1. We meet every saturday and weve been at it for like 6+ months and we are only just hit level 7 last saturday. Id like to be more useful now haha.

Thats what I was thinking for my "know it all". I was thinking the changeling Rogue variant. 56 skill points at level 1 and 14 Skill points per level is pretty nice haha.

I have a few builds made up. 1 including a tripper. But I dont really want to play him.

[bean illus]

You may get farther with a 16-14 int. You will make most of the loss up with ability bonuses to more skills in a MAD build.

12, 14, 14 - 16, 12, 10

[Ozzie831]

I appreciate the help but I am looking for more input from some more people before i make a decision

[bean illus]

I appreciate the help but I am looking for more input from some more people before i make a decision

Well of course you are. With good reason. One reason being that nearly every person here is a better optimizer than i. lol

[PunBlake]

With this party make-up, I think a Cloistered Cleric would do really well (and give access to a missing spell list), while making it easy to be a knowledge monkey; Unseen Seer, Divine Oracle, and Paragnostic Apostle are good PrCs for this. However, Dragonfire Adept is really fun with no PrCs required.

The real question is how you'd like to contribute. Apparently, large charging damage is repetitive/boring. Cloistered Cleric is mostly a buffer until later in the game. Dragonfire Adept is positional area damage with secondary buffs / battlefield control. You kinda already have some of that with your Wizard as described, but more is not bad.

[Darrin]

Factotum 8/Chameleon 10/Master of Masks 2.

Every day, you wake up with a completely different profession. Yesterday you were a healbot cleric. Today you're a blaster wizard. Tomorrow you'll be a ninja interior decorator. Or maybe a chartered accountant working for the Permanent Mutual Assurance.

[daremetoidareyo]

Kiloren from races of the wild is a LA 0 medium fey that has a choice of one of three manifestations per day. The ancient aspect has a feat that allows them to make any knowledge check as if trained at a +4 insight bonus.

If you follow my sig, there is a massive guide to the knowledge skills. Religion packs the most punch of any of the knowledges.

[bean illus]

Level 7 would be a great level to go Chameleon. May i suggest ..

Rogue x, ?x, Chameleon 2
10, 12, 14 - 16, 12, 10 = 28 points

Rapid spell advancement in Chameleon will keep you about one level behind the primary caster, but you'll always have something to do with your changeling.

Rogue 2, Facto 3, Cham 10 is an Int build.

[Ozzie831]

Punblake: Thanks for the suggestion. I have no idea how a cloistered cleric works but Ill go look it up and try and wrap my head around it.

Im not sure what I want to contribute. At first I just wanted to do a lot of damage, thus me making my charger, but its boring to basically 1 shot things. Its also boring doing the same charge crap all the time. Another crap thing about my charger is that as soon as I made him, we hit an area that is filled with undead.... HOORAY HALF DAMAGE........

My group already has some tanky-ish people with the monk, the dude that can transform into a raptor with like 23 AC and can do wayyyy to much damage (which is stupid...) and the Abjurant champion.

I just want to be useful and be goofy with it. The things that I can really think of that we are lacking is a:
Face, no one has very good people skills.

Something that heals, we almost die every encounter. All we have is like 1 wand of cure light wounds to heal 5 people.

Some one that knows a lot of stuff. Our DM likes to throw creatures/religious stuff/ super random stuff at us that no ones character would know.

Darrin: Thanks for the build idea. I think ive seen a build similar around before. But again we are in a super low level game and it isnt going to get even to level 10 any time soon, let alone level 20.

Daremetoidareyo: When I first read that races name, i thought you were messing with me. I was like "isnt that a starwars dude?" haha. But the Killoren do seem unique.

That is a loooot of info you just plopped in my lap haha. Thats going to be quite the long read.

Bean: thanks again for the suggestion. Ill give it a look. But again Im trying to stay clear of anything magey. They hurt my brain for some reason haha.

[Darrin]

I just want to be useful and be goofy with it. The things that I can really think of that we are lacking is a:
Face, no one has very good people skills.

Something that heals, we almost die every encounter. All we have is like 1 wand of cure light wounds to heal 5 people.


Favored Soul is a charisma-based divine caster than can cover healbot and face duties (well... Diplomacy, mostly.) Water Shugenja could also be a healbot/face. Bards make the best party faces, and have access to cure spells on their list. A Bard 5/Chameleon 10 would be an *interesting* character to play.



Some one that knows a lot of stuff. Our DM likes to throw creatures/religious stuff/ super random stuff at us that no ones character would know.


That's what Bardic Knowledge is for. "Hey... has my character heard something about that?"

[daremetoidareyo]

Warlock with hideous blow/ranger/healer

Spend some Feats pimping out your Lance which does double damage on a charge, ride yourself a dog or something by being a halfling, I think you are only one level away from getting your own unicorn.

[bean illus]

... I have no idea how a cloistered cleric works but ..

Im not sure what I want to contribute. At first I just wanted to do a lot of damage, ... , but its boring ...

My group already has some tanky- ... the monk, the ... raptor with like .. wayyyy to much damage ... the Abjurant champion.

I just want to be useful and be goofy with it. The things that ... we are lacking is a:

Face, no one has very good people skills.

Something that heals ...

Some one that knows a lot of stuff. ...


Cloistered cleric is the first thing i suggested, in about the 3rd post. It has all the things you're talking about, easy to play, and easy to customize.

It's literally a face that heals and knows everything. Never boring.

Many cleric spells are largely buffs and debuffs. Easy to grasp. Check it out.