Looking for character ideas for an Egyptian style campaign

[Crow_Nightfeath]

As the title states I'm trying to figure out a decent character idea for an Egyptian style campaign, both D&D and pathfinder classes are allowed.
The party
A half vampire dhampire dread necromancer
An elf scout using shortbow
An elf fighter using longbow
A monk (his character hasn't actually come in yet so not sure about race)
A catfolk sword sage
A human cleric
And a dwarf artificer

The whole world was turned into a desert. And much of the world is covered in what is known as deep sand which cuts land speed to 1/4, so people travel on sand boats. So a lot of stuff has been boat to boat battles or underground tombs. My character just died in previous session it was a hard who got stuck in a bad situation with mummies.

I'm just looking for some ideas on what to build next, I don't want to step on anyone's toes in the party, so looking to make something that no one else is using already. I also don't need the character builds, I'm looking mainly for ideas.

[MisterKaws]

You have two archers, one of which is also a sneak. Another sneak(Swordsage) and three casters who can potentially solve all magic-related problems. And a monk, the poor soul.

If the monk plays right, they might be able to handle melee damage alone. The only missing role I see in your party is the tank role. I guess you could try one of the melee classes described in Sandstorm.

Since you have that sand restriction, maybe you could make an Ashworm Dragoon ubermounter?

I don't know your level, but you could potentially get a Paladin/Beastmaster/Ashworm Dragoon/Halfling Outrider with Devoted Tracker going on for a massively strong Ashworm.

[Crow_Nightfeath]

The only problem with the paladin, is the necromancer is completely CE, and has no problems with just outright killing people, I would rather not have to actually fight another player..

[MisterKaws]

The only problem with the paladin, is the necromancer is completely CE, and has no problems with just outright killing people, I would rather not have to actually fight another player..

Get a Paladin of Slaughter and be done with it.

[flappeercraft]

"Ever watched JoJo Stardust Crusaders?"

In all seriousness, the Sandshaper PrC could fit in rather well.

[Climowitz]

I believe that in this forum there is a huge setting of Arabic / Egyptian classes spells monsters and etc.

Edit: http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?177072-Hourglass-of-Zihaja-Chapter-0-How-it-All-Began

[Uncle Pine]

Warforged with the Otherworldly feat, Adamantine/Mithral Body (pick one), and the divine minion template (http://archive.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/mb/20050209a) for an Egyptian-themed Transformer. Any class works, but it seems like tankier chassis like barbarian, warblade, or crusader could fit your party better. If you plan to tank, the following curse from the expanded table in Secrets of Xen'drik can also significantly improve your effectiveness in that role:

The character is surrounded by an unnerving aura of menace. Lower the starting attitude of NPCs and animals towards this PC by one step. If a creature is already hostile, it attacks this character in preference to any others.

A runesmith who inscribes his or her prepared spells on small stone tablets, maybe even fitting them inside a shield sheath (RoS 158) for easy access, and then unleashes a barrage of magical energy and summoned creatures by drawing tablets as needed.
https://i.pinimg.com/736x/3f/c9/e3/3fc9e3c4837dfd387864cd9f65fd94eb.jpg
A druid (potentially a MoMF) focused on wild shaping into desert-themed creatures.

I also second the suggestion for the Ashworm Dragoon.

[Thurbane]

With a large party, a Bard is probably a decent option. Maybe dip into Sandshaper, unless any of the others are already doing so...

[PoeticallyPsyco]

Bard and Crusader are both fun and powerful additions to just about any party. If you want to be more optimized, combine the two (Bardsader) with 3-4 levels of Bard and the rest Crusader, and take Dragonfire Inspiration and Song of the White Raven (and other things that boost Inspire Courage, like Words of Creation and inspirational boost). You'll be giving everyone (including yourself) several d6s of damage to all attacks, while still having all the offense and support maneuvers and stances from being a Crusader.

[ExLibrisMortis]

A mummified tibbit charioteer. The chariot is drawn by a pair of jackals.

(Spirited Charge + Hurling Charge + Throw Anything (I'd suggest Bloodstorm Blade), throw a lance then strike with a second lance. Requires your DM to rule that your Throw Anything feat lets lances qualify for Hurling Charge, and a little fudging to make chariots work.)

(This build gets two triple-damage charge attacks at level 6, if it's all ruled to work, which it might not.)

[Biffoniacus_Furiou]

Depending on your starting level, you can make an amazing and thematically appropriate sneak attacker:

Marrulurk (Sandstorm) is 3 RHD and +1 LA, take only one level (http://archive.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/sp/20030824a) of the Half-Fiend template class (http://archive.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/sp/20031010a) for another +1 LA, which gives your racial HD 8 base skill points (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/monsters/halfFiend.htm) as an Outsider. Use this half-fiend variant (http://archive.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/we/20060630a) to say you're half-Babau (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/monsters/demon.htm#babau) (stats shouldn't change) to add all the skills listed in its entry as class skills for your racial HD.

Be sure you buy off those two points of level adjustment (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/variant/races/reducingLevelAdjustments.htm) asap. If you're starting 8th+ level you can say you went LA +1/ RHD 3/ [class] 3, bought off that +1 LA, gained Half-Fiend 1 (+1 LA), and after you gain three more class levels you can buy that one off as well. Half-Fiend retroactively increases the skill points of your racial HD as soon as you gain the outsider type, even if you took it later in the build.

Definitely take Darkstalker and Craven, along with TWF. I'd probably go Spellthief 1/ Psion or Ardent 1/ Psychic Assassin (http://archive.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/psm/20040723d) 6, then finish with Slayer or perhaps a psionic adaptation of Unseen Seer. Remember that text trumps table so Psychic Assassin only loses a manifester level at 1st, 3rd, 7th, and 9th. Take Mind Cripple so you do 2 Int damage per sneak attack, that automatically disables anything with animal intelligence in one hit and can take down most heavy bruisers in a single full attack. You'll need Practiced Manifester before 6th level, but if you go Ardent that gives you access to higher level powers. Be sure to use Substitute Powers (http://archive.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/psm/20070629a) if using Ardent.

Get Gloves of the Balanced Hand, add an enhancement bonus to Dex to those per MIC p234; ITWF and GTWF aren't really ever worth getting. You'll have Point-Blank Shot and Rapid Shot as racial bonus feats, be sure to get Precise Shot which is also good for rays and other ranged attack powers. You'll be proficient in all martial weapons due to your creature type, so use an Elvencraft Composite Longbow from Races of the Wild, which counts as both a quarterstaff and a bow. That needs to be made masterwork and magical three times as it's three separate weapons, but it should also be able to have three wand chambers. Put a Wand of Wraithstrike in that, your Spellthief level will enable you to use that without rolling UMD.

Try to get Subtlety (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/magicItems/magicWeapons.htm#swordofSubtlety) on both ends of the quarterstaff portion of your weapon, the standard version is 20k higher than a normal +1 shortsword so it should be a flat +20k markup to put it on a given magic weapon. Consider including Defending on all three, and get someone to Greater Magic Weapon each of those. When in melee you can put the bow portion toward your AC, and when making ranged attacks you can put both staff portions toward your AC since Defending stacks with all other bonuses, including other Defending bonuses. Edit: You can say you put Unguent of Timelessness (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/magicItems/wondrousItems.htm#unguentofTimelessness) on the bow/quarterstaff before it was made into a magical weapon, which should make spells cast on it last 365 times longer. Hiring an NPC spellcaster (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/equipment/goodsAndServices.htm#spell) to put Extended Greater Magic Weapon at a caster level of 20th on that should only cost 800 gp, so it's only 2,400 gp to get all three portions +5 for 608 days.

Psionic powers should give you plenty of tools for the environment, like Skate for moving across the sand. Get a psicrystal (hero) and keep it in a compartment on your person so opponents never have line of sight/effect to it and can't target it directly or hit it with area effects. Give it a Healing Belt to use on you during combat when needed. Keep Share Pain active on it, its Hardness 8 reduces every instance of damage it takes from Share Pain by as much. Buff yourself with Vigor and share it with your psicrystal for a huge temporary hp cushion. Get a few super useful powers like Time Hop (which can be used on doors and traps), Energy Missile (which can destroy weapons, shields, spell component pouches, divine focus, enemy boats, the pillar holding up the ceiling, etc.), and one of the telekinetic powers. Get something for ranged sneak attacks like Crystal Shard or Energy Ray, and plenty of personal buffs.

Take Item Familiar (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/variant/magic/itemFamiliars.htm), say it started as a Ring of Protection +1 and you upgraded it to a Ring of Invisibility with a +1 Deflection bonus to AC added per MIC p234 for half the price of a Ring of Invisibility. Wear a glove or gauntlet over it so opponents never have line of sight/effect to it and can't attack it directly or slight of hand it. As an intelligent item it's considered a construct, and constructs can't be destroyed by disjunction. It gets actions in combat and can activate its own abilities, so it can turn you invisible at the end of each of your turns. Use invest skill ranks to get absurd bonuses to all of the skills you use the most, and the 10% xp bonus should help out with buying off your level adjustment.

[PoeticallyPsyco]

Be sure you buy off those two points of level adjustment (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/variant/races/reducingLevelAdjustments.htm) asap. If you're starting 8th+ level you can say you went LA +1/ RHD 3/ [class] 3, bought off that +1 LA, gained Half-Fiend 1 (+1 LA), and after you gain three more class levels you can buy that one off as well. Half-Fiend retroactively increases the skill points of your racial HD as soon as you gain the outsider type, even if you took it later in the build.


IIRC racial HD don't count as class levels for when you can buy off LA, so you'd have to wait until you have 6 class levels (ECL 11) to buy off that first point of LA.

EDIT: But that's prime territory for a house-rule, as I don't think the RAW is particularly fair in this case.

[Biffoniacus_Furiou]

IIRC racial HD don't count as class levels for when you can buy off LA, so you'd have to wait until you have 6 class levels (ECL 11) to buy off that first point of LA.

EDIT: But that's prime territory for a house-rule, as I don't think the RAW is particularly fair in this case.

I did say LA +1/ RHD 3/ [class] 3 prior to buying off the +1 LA, it's right there in what you quoted. After that you can gain Half-Fiend 1 (+1 LA), then after three more class levels buy off that one.

[PoeticallyPsyco]

I did say LA +1/ RHD 3/ [class] 3 prior to buying off the +1 LA, it's right there in what you quoted. After that you can gain Half-Fiend 1 (+1 LA), then after three more class levels buy off that one.

Ah I see, you're taking the level of Half-Fiend after buying off the first LA. My bad.

[Maat Mons]

Your group's casters are a Cleric, a Dread Necromancer, and an Artificer. While the Artificer can scribe scrolls of any spell, I wouldn't consider it to be stepping on his toes if you played a spellcaster. A Sorcerer or Wizard would be fairly different from a Cleric, and could easily be fairly different from a Dread Necromancer, as long as you don't build the Sorcerer or Wizard around necromancy.

Your mundanes are a Scout, a Fighter, a Monk, and a Swordsage. With the Scout and Fighter being ranged, and the Monk and Swordsage presumably being melee. I'm not sure there are all that many different ways to play a ranged mundane, so adding a third one of those probably isn't the best idea. On the melee side, you don't seem to have anyone geared towards brute force or lockdown tactics.



A random fun idea would be to play as a Warforged that the party unearths amongst long-forgotten ruins.

Or maybe a Necropolitain who wraps himself in bandages and tells everyone that he's a mummy. The players awaken him from his ancient slumber, and he finds out that someone else made off with all his treasure long before the player's got there. So he sets out on a quest to get his stuff back.

[SirNibbles]

Dragon Magazine #321, pages 84-90 have an article on some Al-Qadim PRCs for 3.5. They're not great but they fit the desert/Egypt theme. I think trying to build a Barber could be fun, though the crafting aspect might overlap a bit too much with your artificer. The Corsair would fit the theme as well, but again it's not exactly a great class.

[Biffoniacus_Furiou]

A Warforged Psion (Shaper) with Adamantine Body who was an ancient tomb guardian would be amazing. You can use both 3.5 and Pathfinder material, so use the Pathfinder Psion's base class progression, but get Personal Construct (http://archive.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/psm/20070411a) instead of your 5th level bonus feat. Get the Quick trait (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/variant/buildingCharacters/characterTraits.htm#quick) so you'll still have a 30 ft. land speed, your Con bonus and d6 HD from PF Psion should easily make up for that.

Get a Psicrystal (Nimble) and keep it in a compartment on your person so opponents never have line of sight/effect to it and cannot target it directly or hit it with area effects. Give it a Healing Belt that it can use on you during combat when needed. Keep Share Pain on it, its Hardness 8 reduces every instance of damage it takes from Share Pain by as much. Use Vigor and share it with your psicrystal to get a huge temporary hp cushion.

Take Boost Construct and possibly even Ectopic Form: Emerald Gyre if starting at a low level. The Emerald Gyre gets a Menu B ability even at 1st level, so Boost Construct would give it a second Menu B ability, and the PF Psion 2 class feature would give it yet another Menu B ability. Once you get higher level you can Psychic Reformation the Ectopic Form into another feat.

[Malphegor]

Sha'ir is the right setting (Desert) but is more Persian than Egyptian, being more or less Jafar from Disney's Aladdin in class form. (it also has some weird mechanics to it that I really don't recommend unless you're really keen to be the genie-master wizard of the group.)

From Sandstorm, aka what I sometimes dub The Book of Just Deserts, there's the following:

Scion of Tem-Et-Nu: Okay, paring this Prc into its most basic, ignoring the specific god, it's more or less a paladin who controls the Nile river and other rivers. Of note in particular is that you get less penalties when in water, and also rivers heal you with fast healing 5. (Is kinda SUPER specific in that it's a river paladin, but I'm sure any DM who knows you'll play one will have rivers around.) Oh, and you get infinite Divine Power so long as you're waist deep in a river. So that's awesome, like being a Kryptonian Moses. Kryptomoses.

Lord of Tides: okay, dramatic title aside ("BEHOLD! GAVIN! LORD OF THE TIIIIDES!"), this is a weird Prc where you start off dowsing for water, then after a bit you can drain others of water, then you can hop to elemental planes at a very low level, then you can create portals to any elemental plane you've been into for a fairly low price.
This is a weird prc for me as it fits the desert theme at first (can always find water, very useful), but then goes off the deep end (hah) and suddenly is plane shifting very easily and freely to bring water from other planes.

Walker in the Waste- might want to show this one to your Dread Necro. 10 levels, at the end of it you become a variant of a lich built in the style of egyptian mummies with multiple canoptic jars acting as their phylactery.

[DrMotives]

Walker in the Waste- might want to show this one to your Dread Necro. 10 levels, at the end of it you become a variant of a lich built in the style of egyptian mummies with multiple canoptic jars acting as their phylactery.

Can't do that, Walker stacks onto a divine caster base only. Thematically it makes sense though, so a Rule of Cool exemption might be given. I did a divine nightmare spinner for that before.

[RedMage125]

There's a 3rd party supplement out there called Hamunaptra. It's a great representation of a Fantasy Egypt. Even has each player race tied to one of the deities (and includes non evil LA 0 gnolls as the ones tied to Anubis).

[Uncle Pine]

Speaking about Scions of Tem-Et-Nu, there has been an Iron Chef Challenge based on it (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?217441-Iron-Chef-Optimization-Challenge-in-the-Playground-XXV) a few years ago.

[Efrate]

If you can use DSP stuff for pathfinder, you can be a vizier. It is desert wise man who does a bunch of wizardesque stuff. Very Jaffar from Aladin.

Also from DSP if you use Path of War a warder possibly with a focus into golden lion for some party buffing and eternal guardian and iron tortoise for tanking.