help with a duskblade assassin like

[Reanem]

(sorry for my future english grammar, I'm not a native english speaker)

Hi, I'm making a new character for playing d&d 3.5e with some friends. I don't know very well the books but finally I decided to make a duskblade. My DM allows me to put intimidate as a normal ability because I want to be a ghost-faced killer and in this way I'll be able to reach this goal at level 9.

The case is that at the end I want an hybrid character who can use both magic and melee combat, and it's stealthty and letal like an assassin but it's able to cast some spells and it's a good fighter with some survability. Because of that I chose the combination between duskblade and ghost-faced killer.

So my question is.... Is it a good idea? In this case which would be the best build? In case that this combination was awful what other one could be a good option for this kind of character?

Thank you so much I wait your answers :)

[mesc]

I feel like ghost faced killer does not mix well. What race is your character? If it is human, go chameleon duskblade. Able learner will make it so that you can get the skills easily with like a 1 level dip in factotum or rogue. Chameleon can make your character assassin like, but still be decent in melee, and at the same time giving you access to nice spells which can help in being an assassin, and can be used for arcane channeling also.

On another note if you just wish for the lethal aspect of assassin, duskblades can get very lethal with prepation, an example would be with poisons.

1. Get the poison spell through some means like recaster prc or wyrm wizard or if your DM allows the reading, extra spell. then use arcane channeling.
2. Get smiting spell feat and prepare a poison spell.
3. Cast the toxic weapon spell on your weapon.
4. Get poison spell feat
5. Poison your blade, if you have master of poisons, its a swoft action
6. Get a spellstoring blade, with poison spell on it.

Assuming the target isnt immune to poisons and does not have a very high fort save, this is a highly poisonous attack.

[zfs]

Well, I'm personally of the school that the question "should I play this build" is always predicated on the answer to the question "do you think this build will be fun to play." And if you do, then there's nothing wrong with this.

But if you want a build that really has abilities that have active synergy towards matching your character concept, then Duskblade isn't a very good choice for stealth. They only have 2+int skill points per level, their class features incentivize wearing at least medium armor, and they don't get either hide or move silently as a class skill. And they only get Swift Invisibility, so you better only need to hide for 6 seconds.

But as mesc said, you can get around that (Human + Able Learner + 1 Level Dip in a high skill class), and Duskblades are quite good at the assassinating part of being an assassin, since they have great damage output.

[Jack_McSnatch]

Yeah normally I'm the first to say Duskblade, but they really aren't stealth characters. If you DO want to use it, only take a few levels. 3 or 5, for the arcane channeling and secong level spell respectively. Everything else should be a rogue/rogue prestige class. If he's evil, or your dm doesn't care about alignment restrictions, rogue/duskblade/assassin could work.

[BowStreetRunner]

Daggerspell Mage (Complete Adventurer p 31) can be built on a Duskblade chassis with some Rogue thrown in. That might suit your build a bit better than staying in Duskblade very long.

[Reanem]

Thank you for your answers ^^.

I'll try to give you more details. First of all I was thinking to pick the drow race, because I like the concept of a drow assassin. In other role play I used to pick full melee character because of that in this one I want to have more spell but with a based melee character and if possible stealthy.

I don't want to be overpowered but I don't want to be useless and in this roleplay we are only two players plus the DM so probably sometimes enemies will focus me so I need some survival stuff.

It's not mandatory to pick a duskblade, I chose this one because I don't have to much experience with d&d and I saw in this clase a good combination between melee and magic abilities. The ghost-faced killer is not obligatory either but I like the concept, however if you tell me anothers good option I'd be glad to choose them instead.

I'll check the option that you told me and I wait more answers and combinations :)

[mesc]

I feel like duskblade is a good choice for your idea, but only for a few levels. Those few levels of duskblade can greatly help make an assassin be capable of melee.

What kind of drow are you playing? is it the LA +2 drow or lesser drow? If its the LA +2 Drow, you may want to consult with your DM to lessen it to LA +1 instead, as the drow is not worth a LA +2.

Also, here is another class recommendation, swordsage. The swordsage can be built to be a stealthy skillful assassin and deal high amounts of damage, while still being decent in melee skills.

[Reanem]

I feel like duskblade is a good choice for your idea, but only for a few levels. Those few levels of duskblade can greatly help make an assassin be capable of melee.

What kind of drow are you playing? is it the LA +2 drow or lesser drow? If its the LA +2 Drow, you may want to consult with your DM to lessen it to LA +1 instead, as the drow is not worth a LA +2.

Also, here is another class recommendation, swordsage. The swordsage can be built to be a stealthy skillful assassin and deal high amounts of damage, while still being decent in melee skills.


I'm playing LA +2 drow but if I choose to don't have some race spells or something like this probably my DM allows me to play LA +1.

I recently saw (yesterday) the swordblade and it seems really interesting. What build do you recommend me to make an assassin with the swordsage class?

[mesc]

I'm playing LA +2 drow but if I choose to don't have some race spells or something like this probably my DM allows me to play LA +1.

I recently saw (yesterday) the swordblade and it seems really interesting. What build do you recommend me to make an assassin with the swordsage class?

So swordsage is a good class and there are 2 ways to go about it, two weapon fighting swordsage, or two handed weapon swordsage. The TWF swordsage are dex based acts more like a rogue, relying on boosts and stances to do multiple attacks of decent damage, to do a high total amount of damage. The two handed weapon swordsage are more strength based and rely on strikes to do lots of damage with 1 attack. As you are going into a melee, I recommend going with a two handed swordsage build. It allows for high amounts of damage and accuracy, and provides more movement that lets you position yourself, hide, and etc. And oh you may want to look up iaijutsu focus.

[Grim Reader]

Swordsage is a good class.


(sorry for my future english grammar, I'm not a native english speaker)

Hi, I'm making a new character for playing d&d 3.5e with some friends. I don't know very well the books but finally I decided to make a duskblade. My DM allows me to put intimidate as a normal ability because I want to be a ghost-faced killer and in this way I'll be able to reach this goal at level 9.

The case is that at the end I want an hybrid character who can use both magic and melee combat, and it's stealthty and letal like an assassin but it's able to cast some spells and it's a good fighter with some survability. Because of that I chose the combination between duskblade and ghost-faced killer.

So my question is.... Is it a good idea? In this case which would be the best build? In case that this combination was awful what other one could be a good option for this kind of character?

Thank you so much I wait your answers :)

While you can be effective at more than one thing with a D&D character, it is easy to spread yourself too thin. You want melee, spellcasting, stealth, survivability (in melee) and "lethality". As for the last, Duskblades are generally quite good at dealing lots of damage. But you may need to prioritize the other three. Which is more imprtant to you?

In addition to the Swordsage suggestion, which is good, other options are: Duskblade with a level of Sand Shaper gets OK casting and retains good melee. Check if your DM will let you play the Pathfinder Magus class. Mystic Ranger is good if your DM allows it.