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Chronicled
2008-06-26, 01:09 AM
I'm going to be running a short Eberron campaign in the future, and haven't settled down on specifics yet, but one of my players already has an idea of what they want to play: the main character from the Knights of Cydonia music video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jV1bRfLHA3A). The same player also just saw the the movie Quigley Down Under, and has been raving about it a bit (so something like that main character would probably be just as loved).

So... other than going with a homebrew class (I mentioned this but didn't get a stellar response), what classes or PrCs best fit the romanticized version of the cowboy? I'm probably going to recommend Factotum, or maybe something that heads into the Justicar PrC, the next time we talk. What else should I mention?

Tempest Fennac
2008-06-26, 01:11 AM
Rogue with a lot of ranks in movement-based skills and Use Rope would work well. I know Ride and Handle Animal aren't clas skills for Rogues, so the Wilderness Rogue would work well here (I'll get some information on them.)

EDIT: Page 101 of http://www.crystalkeep.com/d20/rules/DnD3.5Index-Classes-Base.pdf details the class.

Chronicled
2008-06-26, 01:12 AM
Rogue with a lot of ranks in movement-based skills and Use Rope would work well. I know Ride and Handle Animal aren't clas skills for Rogues, so the Wilderness Rogue would work well here (I'll get some information on them.)

I know where to find the Wilderness rogue, but thanks! I hadn't really considered rogue, but that might fit better than I thought.

Tempest Fennac
2008-06-26, 01:14 AM
What was your initial plan? My logic is that cowboys steriotypically had some combat ability while having a descent amount of skills.

Chronicled
2008-06-26, 01:35 AM
What was your initial plan? My logic is that cowboys steriotypically had some combat ability while having a descent amount of skills.

Well, Factotum was my initial idea, but I think Paladin has potential (although the intelligent horse part seems of dubious appeal to the player), as does Ranger (maybe swapping favored enemy for something else), Scout, Rogue, or maybe even unarmed Swordsage. Justicar seemed to fit a lot of cowboy stereotypes.

Rogue does get the hand crossbow free, though. With Quick Draw, there could be a traditional showdown...

Tempest Fennac
2008-06-26, 01:39 AM
Scout would work well if you gave them a couple of other skills (Handle Animal and Survival at the expance of a couple of Knowledge skills would work well). There is a Light Cavalry variant on page 160 of that Crystal Keep link as well which would fit well.

EDIT: In regards to he intelligent horse bit,you could use my "animals have average Int and Cha stats of 10" house rule (I mainly use that due to hating specisism, but it could be useful here).

Chronicled
2008-06-26, 01:46 AM
Scout would work well if you gave them a couple of other skills (Handle Animal and Survival at the expance of a couple of Knowledge skills would work well). There is a Light Cavalry variant on page 160 of that Crystal Keep link as well which would fit well.

Oh, that does look like a fine suggestion. If the player ends up wanting a horse after all, the Light Cavalry Scout fits the bill much better than a Paladin.

Tempest Fennac
2008-06-26, 01:48 AM
I know what you mean (I didn't think Paladins would work due to them being focussed around combat while lacking skill points. And Reiki didn't exist in the Wild West, so Lay on Hnads wouldn't work that well either for a Cowboy.:smalltongue:).

Chronicled
2008-06-26, 01:52 AM
I know what you mean (I didn't think Paladins would work due to them being focussed around combat while lacking skill points. And Reiki didn't exist in the Wild West, so Lay on Hnads wouldn't work that well either for a Cowboy.:smalltongue:).

Not to mention that wearing heavy armor doesn't really fit the cowboy either...

Tempest Fennac
2008-06-26, 01:54 AM
Good point (unless Ned Kelly could be classed as a Wild-West-style villian, and he was more of a Fighter with possibly 1 Rogue level). Just thinking about Scouts: do they get Disable Device as a class skill and 8 skill points/level? I know this sounds like a stupid question, but I remember someone saying a while back that they don't have DD asa class skill and that they only get 6 skill points/level.

Chronicled
2008-06-26, 02:00 AM
Good point (unless Ned Kelly could be classed as a Wild-West-style villian, and he was more of a Fighter with possibly 1 Rogue level). Just thinking about Scouts: do they get Disable Device as a class skill and 8 skill points/level? I know this sounds like a stupid question, but I remember someone saying a while back that they don't have DD asa class skill and that they only get 6 skill points/level.

Scouts get Disable Device, and 8 skill points/level. Anything that says otherwise was errata'd, or is a misprint.

Tempest Fennac
2008-06-26, 02:02 AM
Thanks for the clarification (in that case, I would agree that Scout would be better here with my changes). I guess you could give them Hand Crossbow proficiency as well to fit the Showdown prequisite (it wouldn't exactly be gamebreaking).

Person_Man
2008-06-26, 09:31 AM
Factotum (http://forums.gleemax.com/showthread.php?t=791436) X/Marshal (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/ex/20030906b) 1/Justicar Y/Exemplar 1.

The usefulness of Factotum Skills and powers are self evident. Remember that EVERY Skill is a class Skill for you, so look into Iaijutsu Focus, Autohypnosis, Use Magic Device, and Use Psionic Device.

Marshal gives you Motivate Dexterity, which adds your Cha bonus to Initiative, Use Rope (for Justicar Grappling), and all your other Dex Skills (Hide, Move Silently, Ride, etc) for you and your entire party.

Justicar gives you the ability to Grapple with Use Rope, which is ridiculously easy to boost. Remember, you can grapple once for every attack you have (as clarified in the Rules Compendium) assuming you can make a Full Attack.

Exemplar gives you +4 to one Skill (Use Rope), and it gives you the ability to Take 10 on Int bonus # of Skills.

Buy wands and dorjes and use them like guns with UMD and UPD.

Buying numerous cheap stat boosting items (for Dex, Int, and Cha) are a lot cheaper and more effective for this build then trying to boost a single stat. Also remember to pick up wands of Fox's Cunning, Eagle's Splendor, Cat's Grace, and other spells that boost your stats. Also remember that Reduce Person or Compression increases your Dex. And you can get Hustle from a Psicrown (http://www.dandwiki.com/wiki/SRD:Psicrown_of_the_Evader).

Chronicled
2008-06-26, 07:07 PM
Factotum (http://forums.gleemax.com/showthread.php?t=791436) X/Marshal (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/ex/20030906b) 1/Justicar Y/Exemplar 1.

The usefulness of Factotum Skills and powers are self evident. Remember that EVERY Skill is a class Skill for you, so look into Iaijutsu Focus, Autohypnosis, Use Magic Device, and Use Psionic Device.

Marshal gives you Motivate Dexterity, which adds your Cha bonus to Initiative, Use Rope (for Justicar Grappling), and all your other Dex Skills (Hide, Move Silently, Ride, etc) for you and your entire party.

Justicar gives you the ability to Grapple with Use Rope, which is ridiculously easy to boost. Remember, you can grapple once for every attack you have (as clarified in the Rules Compendium) assuming you can make a Full Attack.

Exemplar gives you +4 to one Skill (Use Rope), and it gives you the ability to Take 10 on Int bonus # of Skills.

Buy wands and dorjes and use them like guns with UMD and UPD.

Buying numerous cheap stat boosting items (for Dex, Int, and Cha) are a lot cheaper and more effective for this build then trying to boost a single stat. Also remember to pick up wands of Fox's Cunning, Eagle's Splendor, Cat's Grace, and other spells that boost your stats. Also remember that Reduce Person or Compression increases your Dex. And you can get Hustle from a Psicrown (http://www.dandwiki.com/wiki/SRD:Psicrown_of_the_Evader).

I've shown this to the player, and they love it. It fits exceptionally well; thanks a lot!