Supremely Confident Fear Build, Need Ideas

[ProfMoriarty]

Hello Playgrounders,

I'm looking for options and opinions on this build. The build tries to combine the basic debuffer with fear affects while utilizing the nifty Supremely Confident feat from Dragon 335. He uses Reach and Stand Still to hold mooks in place when they are frightened so that they cower.

Not sure where to take this build after level 8.

I considered trying to make this build force critical hits with Disciple of Dispater to increase threat range but DoD requires a lot of commitment in terms of class levels and feats.

Here's the build:

Spoiler

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Harmonious Paladin of Tyranny, Worships Milil, Lawful Evil
Paladin 3/Fighter 1/Hexblade 4/?

Cha: adds to Intimidate/Doomspeak/Paladin Saving Throws/Must be 15 for Imperious Command, great with Stunning Surge too.
Dex/Con/Str: Dex dependency for AoO reduced by bracers of opportunity, full platemail
Int: only for pre-requisite skills: Intimidate, Perform(Act)
Cha -> Dex -> Str/Con -> Int ->Wis

• Harmonious Paladin substitution level grants perform as class skill, inspire courage, and may not be allowed to work as a substitution level for Paladin of Tyranny
• Paladin of Tyranny, grants saving throw reducing aura
• Hexblade, saving throw reducing dark companion(PHB2 ACF) instead of familiar
• Fighter, allows build to receive Supremely Confident earlier and without postponing feats such as Imperious Command, Frightful Presence, Doomspeak

Useful Items Specific for Build:

• Sudden Stunning Weapon(DMG2, cheap Weapon Enhancement)
• Subjugating (?, +2 Weapon Enhancement)
• Fearsome (Drow of the Underdark, 2500gp Armor Enhancement)
• Bracers of Opportunity (2300, MIC)
• Flesh Ring of Scorn (8000gp, MIC)
• Serpent Armor (12,160gp, MIC)
• Amulet of Fearsome Might (11,000gp, Dragon Magic)

Weapon of Choice: Falchion for the threat range, rapier/scimitar with a shield if not using power attack.

Feats (Using Human with 2 flaws)
1. Dreadful Wrath (Regional Feat, Player's Guide to Faerun)
1. Combat Reflexes
1. Willing Deformity (Heroes of Horror et al.)
1. Deformity (Tall) (Heroes of Horror)
3. Stand Still (Expanded Psionics Handbook)
4. Fighter Bonus Feat: Supremely Confidant (Dragon 335)
6. Imperious Command (Drow of the Underdark)
9. Frightful Presence (Draconomicon)
12.???

Issues:
1. Fear immunities
2. Mind-affecting immunities
3. Critical Hit immunities
4. Paladin of Tyranny may not qualify for Harmonious

Options:
-1 level of bard will grant Perform as a class skill, will also qualify for DOOMSPEAK, will require more bard levels for more uses per day
-Haunting Melody (Heroes of Horror) offers an interesting synergy with Supremely Confident allowing you to add a 30ft fear effect with demoralize however the DC is based on bard level and supremely confident appears to require a standard action for a perform check
- Harmonious Paladin's Inspire Courage doesn't count as bardic music by RAW for DOOMSPEAK; although some crazy DMs might allow it
-May be possible to gain deformity as bonus vile feats for worshipping an elder evil
-Crusader levels for Thicket of Blades stance to force Stand Still


Fluff: He appreciates the beauty of song and poetry mostly in their strict use of verse forms and conventions. His training in acting is focused solely on rhetoric, effective use of words for creating fear and manipulating others.

Thanks.

[Fax Celestis]

Look in CScn at the Avenging Executioner PrC, and in Libris Mortis at the Daunting Presence chain of feats. A reasonable DM will remove the [Monstrous] qualification from the later feats, and those should help.

[Snake-Aes]

If you have access to Tormenta materials, Piratas&Pistoleiros has the Black Hat, a roguish character whose core feature is the ability to scare people, hard. he can fear even beings immunes to fear, like constructs and paladins.

[ProfMoriarty]

Look in CScn at the Avenging Executioner PrC, and in Libris Mortis at the Daunting Presence chain of feats. A reasonable DM will remove the [Monstrous] qualification from the later feats, and those should help.

Completely forgot about the Avenging Executioner, easy enough to qualify for too. The fear effects are all based on avenger levels though and doesn't really start dishing out fear effects until 4th level.
The extra fear effects don't require any extra actions though and I do like the extra skill points, as well the addition of sudden strike on any feared creatures gives options for damage, so I really like the class.

Love that duration on daunting presence, and it's a fighter feat too! Definitely need that. The rest of the chain seem to require being undead, which even if I can get the necropolitan template which I'm not too keen on. No save shaken on a critical hit is awesome though.

Thanks!

If you have access to Tormenta materials, Piratas&Pistoleiros has the Black Hat, a roguish character whose core feature is the ability to scare people, hard. he can fear even beings immunes to fear, like constructs and paladins.

Wow that would be useful, but it seems highly unlikely I could get this approved by any of my DMs. Non-WOTC books tend to bend the rules too much, too often.

Thanks anyways.

[Keld Denar]

Could you paraphrase what Supremely Confident does, since it seems to be a major lynchpin in your build?

Also, looking over Milil's portfolio, I think you'd be hard pressed to swing an evil ANYTHING. Her will seems to extend toward the defense and protection of poetry and music. Unless you are hatefully oppressing those who hatefully oppress creative expression in a rigidly disestablishmentarianist way, I think you'd be pretty hard pressed to splice Doomspeak in there that way. I'm not terribly impressed with Doomspeak anyway, considering it takes a standard action and only lasts one round. This makes it beneficial for setting up a 1-2 punch with a friendly casters Baleful Polymorph or Phantasmal Killer, but not terribly great for pushing your own agenda of scaring the pants off someone.

That said, I'm a huge fan of Cha centric builds, especially those that utilize Sudden Stunning weapons. Sooooooo good.

[Snake-Aes]

Could you paraphrase what Supremely Confident does, since it seems to be a major lynchpin in your build?

Also, looking over Milil's portfolio, I think you'd be hard pressed to swing an evil ANYTHING. Her will seems to extend toward the defense and protection of poetry and music. Unless you are hatefully oppressing those who hatefully oppress creative expression in a rigidly disestablishmentarianist way, I think you'd be pretty hard pressed to splice Doomspeak in there that way. I'm not terribly impressed with Doomspeak anyway, considering it takes a standard action and only lasts one round. This makes it beneficial for setting up a 1-2 punch with a friendly casters Baleful Polymorph or Phantasmal Killer, but not terribly great for pushing your own agenda of scaring the pants off someone.

That said, I'm a huge fan of Cha centric builds, especially those that utilize Sudden Stunning weapons. Sooooooo good.

It lets you intimidate with a perform check and freebie demoralization on crits

[Keld Denar]

If you do take Avenging Executioner, you get Sudden Strike, which, due to transparencies, counts as Sneak Attack for feats. This lets you pick up Staggering Strike (CWarrior IIRC). Now your attacks will "snare" a foe, on top of pushing them (hopefully) into panic. Once they are paniced and forced to flea, they won't be able to flee far due to the single action limit, allowing you to move and attack or charge them, refreshing the fear and renewing the snare. In effect, you are "fear kiting" your foe, to use MMO terminology.

Very nice, IMO, assuming your DM doesn't bone you with nothing but undead, constructs, and paladins.

[ProfMoriarty]

Also, looking over Milil's portfolio, I think you'd be hard pressed to swing an evil ANYTHING. Her will seems to extend toward the defense and protection of poetry and music. Unless you are hatefully oppressing those who hatefully oppress creative expression in a rigidly disestablishmentarianist way, I think you'd be pretty hard pressed to splice Doomspeak in there that way. I'm not terribly impressed with Doomspeak anyway, considering it takes a standard action and only lasts one round. This makes it beneficial for setting up a 1-2 punch with a friendly casters Baleful Polymorph or Phantasmal Killer, but not terribly great for pushing your own agenda of scaring the pants off someone.

The best evil personalities are the ones that don't actually believe their actions are inherently evil.
A harmonious paladin of tyranny might consider certain types of art pure and others as impure and an insult to his favorite artist, himself. He might take bad poetry as a personal insult or an insult to art itself and even seek out and punish bards for their crimes.
He might believe that manipulating and oppressing people is for their own good, he could also be a sociopath and not care.

As for Doomspeak, it is definitely meant to be used with allies, it is a team game after all. Though I could use it and get a full attack off of a belt of battle or something, and get a Sudden Stunning attack in.

If you do take Avenging Executioner, you get Sudden Strike, which, due to transparencies, counts as Sneak Attack for feats. This lets you pick up Staggering Strike (CWarrior IIRC). Now your attacks will "snare" a foe, on top of pushing them (hopefully) into panic. Once they are paniced and forced to flea, they won't be able to flee far due to the single action limit, allowing you to move and attack or charge them, refreshing the fear and renewing the snare. In effect, you are "fear kiting" your foe, to use MMO terminology.

Very nice, IMO, assuming your DM doesn't bone you with nothing but undead, constructs, and paladins.

That's exactly the kind of thing I was thinking about when I was looking at Avenging Executioner.

Thanks.

As for immune creatures, Stand Still is always useful. I'd probably pull out a reach weapon and keep them occupied until my allies can deal with them.