PDA

View Full Version : Is there an Intimidate based build?



Frosty
2008-07-30, 02:56 PM
Nobodi I know ever pumps intimidate except for RP reasons. It's not useful in combat like...ever. Are there any builds out there that focus on Intimidation? Any 3.5 book is allowed. Well, I don't have Heroes of Horror, but if you can describe how things work fromt he book it's ok too.

arguskos
2008-07-30, 02:58 PM
Isn't Intimidate used for Feint? Or is that Bluff?

-argus

Shosuro Ishii
2008-07-30, 02:59 PM
Isn't Intimidate used for Feint? Or is that Bluff?

-argus

That's Bluff. But I would wager just about anything that there is a feat that lets you intimidate in the place of bluff for lots of things, feint included.

arguskos
2008-07-30, 03:01 PM
Ah. Ok then. Uh... I bet you could use Intimidate to shake your enemies in combat (ie. use Intim. to make them shaken for a round or two). Or something like that...

-argus

Shades of Gray
2008-07-30, 03:02 PM
In 4e you can use it to make a bloodied foe surrender, you could houserule it into 3.5

AstralFire
2008-07-30, 03:04 PM
ToB introduced a good use for Intimidate at the start of combat.

PHB II has a feat that lets you make an attack and intimidate someone for the rest of the encounter. You can subtract a number from your BAB and gain this as a bonus to your intimidate roll.

I recently made a Swordsage Half-Orc that uses Intimidate as a social skill. He does things like use Intimidate to make people afraid that if they send him to do this vitally important suicide job he's going to royally mess up the mission.

Epinephrine
2008-07-30, 03:07 PM
Nobodi I know ever pumps intimidate except for RP reasons.

Well, it is a role-playing game ;) Strangely, I haven't seen a Craft(insert skill) build for combat either.

That said, there are uses.

e.g. Intimidating Strike (PH2), Combat Panache (PH2) both allow combat use of Intimidate.

edit - beaten to the punch...

AstralFire
2008-07-30, 03:09 PM
As long as you treat Intimidate as "I know how fear works" and not "I am making them afraid of -me- specifically", Intimidate has a lot of uses.

de-trick
2008-07-30, 03:13 PM
well i guess you could use the CW samurai, for staredown, and greater staredown

ArmorArmadillo
2008-07-30, 03:14 PM
Drow of the Underdark has a feat called Imperious Command.

Whenever you successfully use intimidate to demoralize a foe, it is instead cowered for 1 round and shaken the next.

Cowering foes take no actions, compared ot the normal demoralizing effect of -2 on stuff for one round.


Furthermore, the Fearsome armor enhancement from DotU allows you to demoralize as a move action.


Also, top it off with the "Never Outnumbered" skill trick from Complete Scoundrel that lets you Demoralize all opponents you threaten.

I suppose you can see the benefit in this. It works best with a ToB character, who can close to melee and make good use of standard actions.

Innis Cabal
2008-07-30, 03:15 PM
The Samurai from CW...we see how that worked out

AstralFire
2008-07-30, 03:15 PM
well i guess you could use the CW samurai, for staredown, and greater staredown


i guess you could use the CW samurai, for staredown


use the CW samurai


CW samurai

http://i157.photobucket.com/albums/t64/Coyoteesharptongue/lex-luthor-wrong1.jpg

(No offense meant. Just an allergic reaction of mine. >.>)

EDIT: Also, is basically no one familiar with the additional use they added for Intimidate in Tome of Battle? The name for it is slipping my mind, it's like a Contest of Wills.

Jack Zander
2008-07-30, 03:19 PM
Intimidate doesn't help you much unless you find some feats to use it with. Really, the only thing it's good for in Core is lowering enemies saves so that the spell casters can have an easier time.

kamikasei
2008-07-30, 03:21 PM
EDIT: Also, is basically no one familiar with the additional use they added for Intimidate in Tome of Battle? The name for it is slipping my mind, it's like a Contest of Wills.

Duel of Wills, p27. The bonuses/penalties aren't huge, but it has the advantage of requiring no action.

AstralFire
2008-07-30, 03:24 PM
Duel of Wills, p27. The bonuses/penalties aren't huge, but it has the advantage of requiring no action.

That's it, thank you.

And any penalties you can inflict as a free action at basically no risk since no one ever pumps Intimidate is a good thing.

I think most people ignore a lot of the not-broken useful things you can do with skills. I'm the only person I ever know who's used the Duel of Wills (Intimidate), Hunch, Detect Enchantment or Assess Threat (Sense Motive) skill options, and the only person to ever use Forgery that I can recall. They're hardly "all created equal", but Intimidate isn't as bad as it's made out to be.

Frosty
2008-07-30, 03:30 PM
well i guess you could use the CW samurai, for staredown, and greater staredown

Maybe I should've qualified my request. Real, *workable* builds that people actually play and find effective.

MammonAzrael
2008-07-30, 03:31 PM
No, don't use the CW Samurai, use my ToB Samurai! (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?p=4274953#post4274953) It's very friendly with Intimidate! :smallbiggrin::smallbiggrin::smallbiggrin:

In fact, I'm trying to get it into a campaign right now, and get some actual miles on it.

artaxerxes
2008-07-30, 03:41 PM
http://forums.gleemax.com/showthread.php?t=911167

Its a wonderful aim - and thankfully the full path has been detailed! Fear states stack...

It makes no mention of Frightful Presence from a variety of d20 sources, Star Wars, Modern and Game of Thrones, which would be the cherry on top.#

There is another thread for fear itself, rather than optimising Intimidate.

http://forums.gleemax.com/wotc_archive/index.php/t-298091

Which is a doozy

Kiara LeSabre
2008-07-30, 03:45 PM
There's one good thing about Intimidate strictly as a social skill, actually:

Whereas Diplomacy is technically, RAW, a powerful form of nonmagical mind-control, most DMs probably aren't actually going to allow you to use it that way ... which means you're going to end up having to give plausible reasons for someone to go along with what you're saying. Worse, if they have every reason to be against your position and no reason to be for it (i.e., you're an elf trying to convince Llothite drow to "be cool"), many DMs probably won't feel badly about hitting you with an automatic failure.

Bluff can be even worse, because lying is a tricky, tangly art that can easily backfire on you even if you initially do well with it. Once again, you're dependent on your ability to make your reasoning plausible to the target ... and to keep it that way (i.e., you're an elf trying to convince Llothite drow that you're really one of their high priestesses, only polymorphed).

Intimidate, though, is different -- not because the rules say it is (they don't, really), but because it just works out that way in actual practice, simply by definition of what intimidation is. If I intimidate someone into submission, I don't have to have any other reason for that person to want to go along with my demands. Likewise, I'm not necessarily required to try to come up with or maintain the believability of any kind of lie, elaborate or otherwise. Basically, I just say "jump," and the NPC says, "How high??" (This would be the same elf from above simply having so much overpowering presence, projected confidence and strength of personality that the drow, regardless of their feelings, are simply afraid to oppose her.)

Person_Man
2008-07-30, 04:18 PM
This builds directly on ArmorArmadillo's post:

Zhentarim Soldier (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/we/20060327a) 9/Scarlet Corsair 5

OR

Any Psionic Class (or class with Use Psionc Device) X/Scarlet Corsair 5


Zhentarim Soldier (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/we/20060327a), a Fighter dead level add-on, gives you the ability to use Intimidate to Demoralize as a Swift Action.

Alternatively, you can get access to Hustle (http://www.dandwiki.com/wiki/SRD:Hustle) however you like. Then pick up 2 levels of Avenging Executioner (Complete Scoundrel), or Fearsome armor (Drow of the Underdark). Either will grant you the ability to Demoralize as a Move action. You should also use Expansion (http://www.dandwiki.com/wiki/Expansion), since you gain a +4 bonus on your Intimidate check for every size category that you are larger than your target, and it increases the size of your miniature base, further increasing your range.

Scarlet Corsair (Stormwrack) requires 8 ranks in a couple Skills, +5 BAB, and +1d6 Sneak Attack. So your best bet for entry is combing the Zhentarim Soldier add-on with the Thug (http://www.dandwiki.com/wiki/Thug) Unearthed Arcana Fighter variant, or Psychic Rogue (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/psm/20040723b), or Psychic Assassin (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/psm/20040723d), or get access to Assassin's Stance (Tome of Battle), or just dip as needed. The Scarlet Corsair's key power is the ability to use Intimidate to Demoralize all foes within 30 feet. It also has full BAB, but otherwise its a lousy PrC.

You might also want to mix in one level of Marshal (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/ex/20030906b), for Motivate Charisma. Alternatively, Skill Focus (Intimidate) and one level of Exemplar will give you a +7 bonus and the ability to Take 10.

Take Imperious Command from Drow of the Underdark. Buy the Crystal Mask of Dread from the Magic Item Compendium.

Put these together, and every turn you can potentially make every enemy within 30 feet Cower, and all you give up is your Swift action.

Chronicled
2008-07-30, 04:33 PM
Doing it as a swift action is nice, but how about as an immediate? Then you get to act like a Celerity-using caster!

Barbarian with Instantaneous Rage or the Ferocity (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/we/20070228a) variant + Intimidating Rage + Imperious Command + Never Outnumbered. Now you can cut off the actions of the entire enemy team, then charge (ideally, with Pounce) + Leap Attack into them and destroy them.

Only 1 Barbarian level is actually needed (just take Extra Rage), too.

RTGoodman
2008-07-30, 07:56 PM
In 4e you can use it to make a bloodied foe surrender, you could houserule it into 3.5
Ahem...

Intimidate (Cha)
[...]
Demoralize Opponent
You can also use Intimidate to weaken an opponent’s resolve in combat. To do so, make an Intimidate check opposed by the target’s modified level check (see above). If you win, the target becomes shaken for 1 round. A shaken character takes a -2 penalty on attack rolls, ability checks, and saving throws. You can intimidate only an opponent that you threaten in melee combat and that can see you.

Why houserule when it's, you know, in the RAW? :smallwink:

For an optimized Combat Intimidate build, the links artaxerxes posted work well. There was another somewhere I saw a while back that used draconic grafts, flight, and a bunch of stuff to fly over enemies and inspire enough fear into all of them at once to leave them cowering.

Rei_Jin
2008-07-30, 08:26 PM
If you wanted to make it really interesting, you could always take intimidate into an Exemplar build, so that you can intimidate people into liking you...

Yanno, cos that makes SOO much sense and all. Go Wizards of the Coast!

AstralFire
2008-07-30, 08:40 PM
If you wanted to make it really interesting, you could always take intimidate into an Exemplar build, so that you can intimidate people into liking you...

Yanno, cos that makes SOO much sense and all. Go Wizards of the Coast!

Uh... You're afraid of the guy so much you admire him, which can get boosted by the fact that he might actually be nice to you afterwards?

Mafia?

Stockholm Syndrome?

Rei_Jin
2008-07-30, 08:42 PM
Of course, you couldn't Intimidate the person you want to like you. It does specifically say that the performance has to be non-threatening.

So you intimidate the hell out of someone else. Who cares who it is, as long as it's not the person that you wish to Diplomacise. (Is that even a real word?)

So, perhaps it's that they've seen how Intimidating you are, and they love it because you didn't do it to them?

It's the same way that pain is funny when it happens to someone else, I guess.

de-trick
2008-07-30, 09:08 PM
http://i157.photobucket.com/albums/t64/Coyoteesharptongue/lex-luthor-wrong1.jpg

(No offense meant. Just an allergic reaction of mine. >.>)

EDIT: Also, is basically no one familiar with the additional use they added for Intimidate in Tome of Battle? The name for it is slipping my mind, it's like a Contest of Wills.

sorry i know that its the weakest class and all, but i thought with a intimidating build it would maybe just maybe be handy, but most of the staredown abilities can be duplicated. If he did take samurai he could get a +4 to intimidate

Mewtarthio
2008-07-30, 09:25 PM
So you intimidate the hell out of someone else. Who cares who it is, as long as it's not the person that you wish to Diplomacise. (Is that even a real word?)

So, perhaps it's that they've seen how Intimidating you are, and they love it because you didn't do it to them?

It's the same way that pain is funny when it happens to someone else, I guess.

All you really have to do is prove how utterly badass you are.

Emperor Tippy
2008-07-30, 10:12 PM
Hmm, well my warblade is going to be pumping his intimidate. Taking Imperious Command and Fearsome armor is very nice.

namo
2008-07-31, 06:05 AM
A fear-based party. (http://forums.gleemax.com/showthread.php?p=14278490)
You probably shouldn't specialize as much as the builds presented there, but they do offer some good ideas.