Melee Character Fun

[Thrawn183]

So a recent thread brought up numerous ways for a character to have fun with an extremely lawful "boring" society. Points were awarded for originality and style.

But all the suggestions were magical! I have a new challenge. Come up with ways for non-magical characters to screw around with a boring city. What kind of hell-raising hair-brained schemes do you have up your sleeves? How does a simple fighter get his groove on?

Note* Answers involving UMD checks will be taken only if they really knock my socks off!

Note** Class specific strategies are fine as I'd like this thread to of use to anyone, rather than just me. General strategies just get extra points I guess.

[Keld Denar]

Fun? Does not compute!
I full attack
I full attack again
I full attack again
I full attack again
I full attack again

[Frosty]

Does it have to be fighter? You can have a lot more fun with bluff, diplomacy sneak and hide as class skills.

[Frosty]

Fun? Does not compute!
I full attack
I full attack again
I full attack again
I full attack again
I full attack again

Well it could go like this...

"What, you have the old and infirm needing medicinal help? Bring them over to the jail."

I smack a prisoner
*the sick gets healed*
I smack a prisoner
*the sick gets healed*
I wait for the right divine inspiration
*brings over the next prisoner*
I smack a prisoner
*the sick gets healed*

[Mr. Friendly]

Craft (X)
Skill Focus: Craft (X)

OR for even more fun.....

Handle Animal (max)
Animal Affinity
Skill Focus (Handle Animal)

Charge people to train animals. At high enough levels, you buy (as an example) Spider Eater Eggs for 2k, then raise and train them for a several weeks earning a total of 6k (4k net profit)

[Tempest Fennac]

Frosty, how would smacking prisoners around heal sick people?

[Frosty]

You have Crusader levels. Crusaders are primary melee.

[Tempest Fennac]

Thanks (I haven't read ToB). Assuming you only dealt non-lethal damage to the prisoners, that would be a really effiecient way of healing people.

[streakster]

*Makes his Bluff check*
Ahem. People on the left? We hate the people on the right.

[Tokiko Mima]

Poisoning the well with the BoED poisons that only work on people or creatures with an evil alignment could be fun, and technically not an evil act. :smalltongue:

[Draz74]

Combat Trapsmith.

Traps are always fun ... on the "giving" end, not the "receiving" end. (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0037.html)

[ocato]

Destructive Rage and Leap Attack. Just jump from window to fruit/stand to carriage to old person. Ranks in Perform (sing).

Don't necessarily hurt or kill people, just have fun with it.

[TempusCCK]

Spiked Chain fighter running around, leaping from buildingtops into crowded areas and whacking people while screaming inane things. Get a grease spell cast on you and run around non-fatally assaulting people as you slip away from the guards who try and pin you down. Don't a murderer, just a jerk. I mean, that can be funny depending on the situation.

[Xefas]

I always liked the idea of taking a rank in Craft (Quarterstaff) and then instantaneously submerging the entire city in an avalanche of pointy wooden sticks.

And then, when they manage to clear them all out, do it again! It doesn't cost a dime.

[Artanis]

There's always the "curing those near death by sticking their head in a bucket trick", of course. Just beware of angry walruses*.

You can release a bagful of kittens, then start throwing balls of yarn at people.

If Changelings are allowed, one can frame prominent politicians for adultery.

Challenging Commoners to drinking contests (or anything else involving CON checks and/or nonlethal damage, for that matter).



*I am TOTALLY going to Hell for this one :smallbiggrin:

[Solo]

So a recent thread brought up numerous ways for a character to have fun with an extremely lawful "boring" society. Points were awarded for originality and style.

But all the suggestions were magical! I have a new challenge. Come up with ways for non-magical characters to screw around with a boring city. What kind of hell-raising hair-brained schemes do you have up your sleeves? How does a simple fighter get his groove on?

Note* Answers involving UMD checks will be taken only if they really knock my socks off!

Barbarian with Craft: Poetry!

Have him read his (deliberately) bad poetry, Intimidateing people into not leaving until he is done.

[Thrawn183]

Hmmm, I like what I hear. I have a goliath barbarian I'm going to start playing and I'm trying to think of ways to spice things up a bit in town. (I admit, this is a self-serving thread.)

Are there any mundane items that if used at the wrong time, or just in prodigious quantities, that would really cause havoc?

My friend has a sorceror with earthbound spell and mindrape, so we'll probably end up pulling off a lot of the things mentioned in the first thread, I'm just trying to hold up my end of the bargain as a duo of hilarious, almost-destruction.

Edit: Actually, considering that I'm going to be playing a dungeoncrasher, can you use knockback without activating dungeoncrasher and killing the poor widdle commoners? I'm working on some ideas that are reminiscent of flinging people all over the place that are nonlethal. What if you used a merciful weapon?

Also, does merciful work with unholy?

[droyer]

In the middle of the night, when everyone is sleeping, set up goofy traps all over town, find a high spot and a telescope and watch.

[Thrawn183]

- Use an adamantine pick to dig a channel from a river into the center of the town, flooding it.

- Rig all the wheels on all the wagons to fall off once they are moved.

- Convince all beasts of labor to stop working.

- Spread honey all over the entire place, getting vermin swarms out the yazoo.

- Pound iron stakes in infront of everyone's doors, preventing them from opening them. Everyone has to go in through the windows.

[Lord Tataraus]

Play a barbarian with horrendous cha and int who is convinced he is a bard. Convince your DM that you can use strength for intimidate. Have your barb sing in the town square. When someone heckles immediately grab him by the throat and yell in his face "You not know good sing!! You listen, good sing!!" and force him to sing with you, maybe enlist him into a band. Get upset in the same manner if people don't cheer. Eventually, you can tour the taverns with your band.

[nobodylovesyou4]

Play a barbarian with horrendous cha and int who is convinced he is a bard. Convince your DM that you can use strength for intimidate. Have your barb sing in the town square. When someone heckles immediately grab him by the throat and yell in his face "You not know good sing!! You listen, good sing!!" and force him to sing with you, maybe enlist him into a band. Get upset in the same manner if people don't cheer. Eventually, you can tour the taverns with your band.

heh, tataraus, remember that city campaign you wanted to do...? i think i just found my character...

[Person_Man]

Flaming Homer, the Bowling Ball of DOOM!!!

Goliath
Barbarian 1/Fighter 6/Psychic Warrior 2/Pyrokineticist 1/Warmind 5/Full BAB class X

or

Half-Giant
Barbarian 1/Fighter 6/Pyrokineticist 1/Warmind 5/Full BAB class X

If your DM cares about experience penalties for multi-classing, you'll want to use Goliath Barbarian 6/Fighter 6/Pyrokineticist 1/Warmind 5/full BAB class. Or if you're willing to give up all day Pounce, the quickest method to get the combo working is Half Giant Fighter 6/Pyrokineticist 1/Warmind 5/Full BAB class X.

Feats: Power Attack, Improved Bull Rush, Knockback, Leap Attack, Shock Trooper, Combat Reflexes, Cleave, Hold the Line, Combat Expertise, Improved Trip, Dodge, Karmic Strike.

Other Feats for Consideration: Improved Unarmed Strike, Battle Jump, Mage Slayer, Extra Rage.

Books: SRD, Complete Warrior, Races of Stone (Knockback), Unapproachable East (Battle Jump), Dungeonscape (Dungeon Crasher ability), Complete Champion (Barbarian Pounce variant).

Before combat, use the Expansion power on yourself to increase your reach. Also, you should also note that all whips, including fire lashes, don’t threaten the area into which you can make an attack. So you'll need Improved Unarmed Strike, armor spikes, or a natural weapon to make AoO. My preference is Claws of the Beast. Note that the FAQ specifically clarifies that you can switch between a two handed weapon and a natural weapon for in the same round. If your DM doesn't agree with the FAQ, you can use Bite of the Wolf or dip into a one level of Monk instead.

There are also a variety of spells, feats, items, and special abilities that improve your natural reach, and I suggest you use whatever you can.

Charge 10 feet into your enemy. Make a touch attack with your Fire Lash as a two-handed weapon (as it explicitly says you can in the FAQ). Transfer your full BAB to Leap Attack to increase your damage. Make sure that your initial enemy is close to you when you attack him if possible, as you want to keep your enemies in your threatened area each time you knock him back.

If your enemy is standing next to another enemy, each attack also applies to them (Warmind Sweeping Strike). Since Sweeping Strike requires that you move no more then 10 feet during your turn, you can use Hustle+Psionic Dimension Door to move around the battlefield. But your reach is pretty huge, so you shouldn't have to do that very often. You can also just wait for your enemies to come to you, and ready an action to smack them when they come near you.

Each enemy that you hit gets a free Bull Rush attempt (Knockback) on each attack, applying your damage and Leap Attack bonus to the opposed Str check.

This should allow you to push your enemy several spaces backwards. For each space you move your enemy backwards, you may also shift him one hex to the left or the right (Shock Trooper). If this pushes your enemy into the same hex as another enemy, you get a free Trip Attempt on each of them (Shock Trooper, again).

Assuming you still threaten their spaces, each successful Trip gets a free follow up attack (Improved Trip), and each successful melee attack gets a free Bull Rush, which can start another Shock Trooper+Improved Trip combo. And every melee attack can also apply to someone standing next to your enemy using Sweeping Strike.

If you kill someone (you will) you get a Cleave attack, which will also apply to whoever is standing next to them, and start the Attack+Bull Rush+Trip+Attack... combo, again.

And at any time you can Bull Rush an enemy into a wall or other inanimate object, you get to use the Dungeon Crasher ability to deal an extra 8d6 + (3 x Str mod) damage, in addition to your insane Leap Attack damage. This is really easy to pull off, since with Shock Trooper and your uber Bull Rush multiplier, you should be able to fling enemies pretty far. Alternatively, you can have a friend summon a wall in the middle of the battlefield, forcing your enemies to walk around it, and giving you something to Bull Rush them into.
Also note that dead bodies are considered objects, and not allies or enemies. So once you kill something, you should be able to fling enemies into their dead comrades (though your DM will probably rule that they need to be Large size or bigger in order for this to work).

In addition, a whip provokes an AoO from your enemy whenever you use it while adjacent to it. This is a great opportunity for you, because thanks to Karmic Strike it essentially gives you another chance to start up your chain of attacks if by some odd chance you miss on your first touch attack. Though obviously if you're more defense oriented, you'll want to keep your enemies 10 feet away from you when you hit them with the lash.

Using the Complete Champion Barbarian variant, you get Pounce. So you get a full attack virtually every round.

Or if you'd prefer better Expansion and less Pounce, you can dump your Barbarian levels and invest in more Warmind levels earlier instead, depending on Psionic Lion's Charge or Hustle when you need a full attack.

If someone charges you (they pretty much have to in order reach you) you get a free AoO from Hold the Line, resolved immediately before the charge attack, in addition to the normal AoO you'd get for them moving through your threatened area. Which AGAIN, can trigger your combo.

Be sure to buy a backup reach weapon that doesn't deal fire damage. Your DM is most definitely going to throw fire immune enemies at you. See Invisibility or something similar will also help a lot, as will flight.

Also, I'm well aware that this requires an obscene number of feats for the full combo to work. If you think its too many, just drop feats from the end of the list. All you really need is Improved Bull Rush, Power Attack, Knockback, Shock Trooper, and Dungeoncrasher. Everything else is just gravy.

[Smiley_]

Two words

Improved Disarm

With a heavy flail, you can have all sorts of fun. You can remove doorknobs, hats, clothes, toiletries from windowsills, tonsils and loose teeth all while dealing no damage at all and upsetting the local athorities!

Ok, maybe dentistry with a heavy flail is stretching it a bit.

[Smiley_]

Two words

Improved Disarm

With a heavy flail, you can have all sorts of fun. You can remove doorknobs, hats, clothes, toiletries from windowsills, tonsils and loose teeth all while dealing no damage at all and upsetting the local athorities!

Ok, maybe dentistry with a heavy flail is stretching it a bit.

[bugsysservant]

Assuming you only dealt non-lethal damage to the prisoners, that would be a really effiecient way of healing people.

Yeah, or stricter laws. Whichever comes first...


If Changelings are allowed, one can frame prominent politicians for adultery.

Or, if changelings are allowed, you can adulter, and blame them. Stupid changelings.

[FlyMolo]

Yeah, Flaming Homer is simply the most amazing build ever.

Get some kind of non-lethal sub feat from BoED, and just run wild in town. Throwing people through walls and into each other and mad crazy. I love it. Best use of Sweeping Strike I've seen in a while. You can propel a number of pairs of people equal to your iterative attacks backwards per turn. Craziness.

[Zocelot]

Enchant your head with the returning ability. Flaming for extra points.

[senrath]

Enchant your head with the returning ability. Flaming for extra points.

Isn't there something you have to do first, before you can start throwing your head around?

And you could always have your character run around, dumping marbles left and right. They're always amusing :P

[GammaPaladin]

Start a crime syndicate.

[Dryad]

"Do not walk on the grass."

Profession: Gardener. Tools: Hoe, shovel, wheelbarrow.

Nobody said anything about removing the lawn...

Next, place the lawn on a market square...

[Thrawn183]

Maybe my funny bone is broken, but I just don't get what you mean about removing the lawn. Explain, please?

[nobodylovesyou4]

the joke is, the sign says dont walk on the grass. so you take the grass and put it in the market place. you never technically walked on it, and now no one can walk in the marketplace because the grass is there.

[Thrawn183]

Wow, can't believe I didn't get that.