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Messages - Piggy Knowles

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1
Min/Max 3.x / Re: SPEW!: A guide to spitting for fun and profit.
« on: September 04, 2013, 02:12:17 PM »
Several familiars have poisonous bites, so PsyRef their feats to give them Spit Poison and anything else they need.  Animal companions are even easier as they gain HD, so they can just take the necessary feats without reforming them.  I'm pretty sure the spitting dinosaur whose name I'm forgetting (swindlespitter?) is available as an animal companion at level four, also.

2
Min/Max 3.x / Re: SPEW!: A guide to spitting for fun and profit.
« on: August 29, 2013, 03:55:07 PM »
Count mentioned this, but before you came back on the scene, I'd been working on my own update to your old Flaming Loogie build.  Here's what I came up with:

Quote
On the GitP boards, Count posted an old JanusJones totemist build, the Flaming Loogie.  It involved using Spit Venom alongside the Phase Cloak's totem bind, plus skirmish damage and Dragonfire Strike, to spit flaming loogies at enemies.  However, I pointed out some issues with the build, and he asked how I would update it.

...

Basically, as the standard Flaming Loogie, it uses the Phase Cloak totem bind (giving a poisonous bite) and the Spit Venom feat.  Then it adds on Venomfire, Hunter's Sense, sneak and skirmish damage.  Here's what I've got so far:

1. Rogue1- Able Learner, Craven
2. Totemist1-
3. Totemist2- Spit Venom
4. Cloistered Cleric1- Extend Spell, Extra Turning
5. Scout1-
6. Chameleon1- Persistent Spell
7. Chameleon2-
8. Chameleon3-
9. Chameleon4- Divine Metamagic (Persistent Spell)
10. Chameleon5-
11. Chameleon6-
12. Chameleon7- Open Lesser Chakra (Shoulders)
13. Scout2-
14. Scout3-
15. Scout4- Swift Ambusher, Improved Skirmish
16. Chameleon8-
17. Chameleon9-
18. Chameleon10- Sickening Strike
19. Rogue2-
20. Rogue3- 

Persist Hunter's Eye, and cast Venomfire each morning while using a bead of karma. Bind the Phase Cloak to your totem chakra and the Shadow Mantle to your shoulders chakra.

Keep your essentia in Shadow Mantle maxed out (you may want to use your bonus feat for Bonus Essentia).

Each round, move and attack, hocking a loogie at your intended target. As vision is impossible inside your sphere of darkness, but you have blindsight within it, you should get both sneak and skirmish damage. That means 37d6+20 acid damage (24d6 venomfire +8d6 hunter's eye +1d6 sneak +2d6 skirmish +2d6 improved skirmish +20 craven), and they are automatically sickened. Plus they save for poison damage, too, but whatever.

ALTERNATE BUILD:
Cloistered Cleric 1/Psychic Warrior 2/Totemist 2/Martial Rogue 2/Chameleon 10/Assassin 3

1. Martial Rogue1- Point Blank Shot, Martial Study (any shadow hand), Able Learner
2. Totemist1-
3. Totemist2- Spit Venom
4. Cloistered Cleric1- Extend Spell, Travel Devotion
5. Psychic Warrior1- Psionic Shot
6. Psychic Warrior2- Psionic Meditation, Persistent Spell
7. Chameleon1-
8. Chameleon2-
9. Chameleon3- Divine Metamagic (Persistent Spell)
10. Chameleon4-
11. Chameleon5-
12. Chameleon6- Greater Psionic Shot
13. Chameleon7-
14. Martial Rogue2- Martial Stance (Assassin's Stance)
15. Chameleon8- Craven
16. Chameleon9-
17. Chameleon10-
18. Assassin1- Sickening Strike
19. Assassin2-
20. Assassin3-

So this one uses basically the same trick, except if it needs to move it does so as a swift via Travel Devotion, expends focus for GPS, and regains focus as a move action.  Moving isn't absolutely required, though, since it doesn't require skirmish damage.  Assassin can be replaced with anything that grants SA.

Total damage on this one is 39d6+20 (24d6 venomfire +11d6 sneak +4d6 greater psionic shot +20), plus automatic sicken and save for Con damage, so it's a little better off.  I wouldn't mind trying to fit Psycarnum Infusion into this one as well, but that would mean too many ways to expend focus, and I'd need to also probably pick up Psicrystal Affinity and Psicrystal Containment to make up for it.

3
The guide has Goodbye Kiss (poison from Complete Scoundrel) listed as initial damage fatigue, secondary damage exhausted.  Unless there is an errata, this is incorrect - it's exhausted both times, and failing both saves makes you unconscious.  That's actually quite a bit better than fatigued -> exhausted.  Here's the text from CSco:

"A subject who fails either the initial or the secondary save becomes exhausted for 1 hour.  Failing both saves renders the target unconscious for 1 hour instead."

4
Pinpoint sadly doesn't ignore concealment.  Mindsight, blindsense, scent, etc., let you pinpoint enemies, but they still have concealment if you can't see them.

Shadowblade from ToM has unerring strike as an ability at level 1, which lets you ignore the miss chance from concealment or total concealment.  Still runs into the issues with pedantic DMs.

(One of my favorite entries to the Iron Chef competition, Jef Costello, used this alongside Flyby Attack, the shoulders bind from Phase Cloak, the ninja's level 8 ghost strike ability, Mindsight, a reach weapon, and Maiming Strike.  The net result was the ability to fly back and forth under an enemy, ethereal from Phase Cloak, finding enemies via Mindsight and eliminating concealment from unerring strike, striking upwards through the floor with his reach weapon to sneak attack/Maiming Strike them.)

5
Handbook Discussion / Re: The Chameleon Handbook Discussion Thread
« on: June 09, 2013, 01:33:54 PM »
Actually, after reading the mimic class feature text, I see how the first interpretation can be valid. I am still skeptical about it, tough. If you held that interpretation, you would have to argue that using Turn/Rebuk Undead cleric class feature is the same as possessing it as the text states that you can use it once per day.

Yeah, that's why I qualified it with a big "if."  I fully realize that either interpretation could be used.

Unfortunately, the actual text of the ability doesn't clarify.  It just says, "Once per day, you can use any of the class features described below."  Then, under Turn/Rebuke Undead, it just says you can turn, and refers to the rules for turning: "You can turn or rebuke undead creatures (your choice when activating the ability) by channeling the power of your faith through a holy symbol. See Turn or Rebuke Undead, page 159 of the Player's Handbook. Treat your cleric level as equal to your class level."

If you gain the actual turn undead class feature, the fact that you can only use it once per day doesn't matter much because you're not using it, you're fueling DMM.  If instead you just gain the ability to emulate a turn attempt, then it doesn't work.  That's why I'm saying it's worth finding out which way Mimic Class Feature works, because it makes a heck of a difference.  It's something that would definitely be worth discussing if you're planning on playing a Chameleon, especially a DMM Chameleon.

6
Handbook Discussion / Re: The Chameleon Handbook Discussion Thread
« on: June 09, 2013, 12:56:40 PM »
I am pretty sure that pool of turning/rebuking is jusy multiple uses. To be honest, I don't understand your interpretation. Could you elaborate?

Interpretation 1: You gain the turn undead class feature X times per day.  Per that class feature, you have a pool of 3+Cha turn attempts (more with Extra Turning).  This means potential huge numbers of turn attempts for DMM or similar.

Interpretation 2: You don't gain the actual cleric class feature.  Instead, you expend a use of Mimic Class Feature to emulate a turn attempt.  Usefulness for DMM and similar drops, because you don't actually have a pool of turn/rebuke attempts to expend.


I'm saying that with the first interpretation, MCF becomes your second most powerful class feature, as it can lead to a ridiculous number of turn attempts for, say, persisting spells.

7
Handbook Discussion / Re: The Chameleon Handbook Discussion Thread
« on: June 09, 2013, 11:02:58 AM »
No love for Mimic Class Feature?  Granted, most of it is pretty lame, but using it to pick up turning to fuel DMM or devotion feats is pretty nice:

"Mimic Class Feature: At 3rd level, you gain the ability to mimic a certain class feature possessed by other characters...

Turn/Rebuke Undead (Su): You can turn or rebuke undead creatures (your choice when activating the ability) by channeling the power of your faith through a holy symbol. See Turn or Rebuke Undead, page 159 of the Player's Handbook. Treat your cleric level as equal to your class level."

The limitation on Mimic Class Feature still applies - you can only use the mimicked ability once per day for each use of Mimic.  The question I have is, do you gain an actual turning pool (that you can only use once), or do you just gain a single turn attempt?  It calls back to the actual cleric class feature, so if you get the former, that's potentially three extra pools of turning.  For a chameleon with a Charisma of 10 and Extra Turning, that's 21 bonus turn attempts.  You can only actually turn or rebuke undead once, but who cares?  You're just funneling the turn attempts into DMM.

If you only gain one specific turn attempt, that's a little less fun, but it is still pretty handy for fueling devotion feats and the like.

If you're looking for builds, over on another forum I have an archer build compendium, and four of the builds involve Chameleon (it's one of my favorite classes):

Quote
The Zen Chameleon

BUILD STUB: Human, Cloistered Cleric (Knowledge, Planning, Trickery) 1/Soulknife 2/Ranger 2/Soulbow 2/Chameleon 10/Swordsage 2/Warblade 1

PROGRESSION:
(click to show/hide)

This is my attempt at a solely Wis-centric zen archer.  Ends up with Wisdom to attack, damage and AC, in addition to powering Chameleon spellcasting.  I must say, I do like Chameleon alongside a splash of initiating classes, for the ability to pick up Martial Study for maneuvers on demand.  (I do similar things with the incarnate archer, picking up Totemist-only soulmelds or chakra binds when necessary).

If you can use items that grant feats to qualify for prestige classes, or you are playing with flaws, consider dropping the level of Warblade for a level of Shiba Protector.  You lose out on White Raven Tactics, but you gain double your Wisdom bonus to both attack and damage.  That gets nasty, especially when Owl's Insight is on board...

Quote
Soul Dreamer (Incarnum Archer + Earth Dreamer)

BUILD STUB: Azurin, Cloistered Cleric (Knowledge, Trickery, Planning) 1/Incarnate 2/Ranger 2/Chameleon 10/Earth Dreamer 5

PROGRESSION:
(click to show/hide)

This was actually an early draft for the TISP Sniper, a build that fires arrows through walls, but I liked it so much that I branched it off on its own.  In addition to the standard persist shenanigans, this also uses DMM (Chain) to apply Brilliant Energy Arrow to all her arrows as a swift action.  Earth Dreamer provides Earth Glide and Earth Sight to stalk enemies from afar, while Chameleon's floating feat can be used to nab higher level chakra binds or totemist soulmelds when necessary.

Quote
Ultimate Arcane Archer

BUILD STUB: Half-Elf, Half-Elf Paragon 3/Martial Wizard 1/Cloistered Cleric (Trickery, Planning) 1/Fighter 2/Chameleon 10/Death Delver 1

PROGRESSION:
(click to show/hide)

OK, I love Arcane Archer, and I love Chameleon, so it should be no big surprise that I tried to get them both into the same build.  Half-Elf Paragon lets me take both Human Heritage and Able Learner at first level, allowing me to qualify for both Arcane Archer and Chameleon down the road.

Depending on your reading of Mimic Class Feature, this should allow me to persist a ridiculous number of buffs - with five turning pools (cleric, death delver, mimic class feature x3), that's 75 + (5xCha) turn attempts before items.  In any case, as for spells to imbue, there are a huge number of options, since as a Chameleon you can cast just about any spell in the game of 6th-level or below.  The classic is AMF, of course, but I also enjoy using Imbue Arrow to cheat down the casting time of otherwise difficult spells.  You can also pick up Control Weather off the shugenja list as a 6th-level spell, for example. Guards and Wards is another fun one to imbue.

As an alternative, consider dropping two instances of Extra Turning for Spell Mastery and Uncanny Forethought, allowing you to swap out the arcane side of your Chameleon progression on demand.

Quote
The Sniper Assassin (inspired by ksbsnowowl's sniper archer)

BUILD STUB: Ranger (Arcane Hunter) 2/Wilderness Feat Rogue 4/Deepwood Sniper 7/Chameleon 7

(Dedicated to an Elder Evil of your choosing.)

PROGRESSION:
(click to show/hide)

This is my take on ksbsnowowl's classic Deepwood Sniper archer.

Basically, this relies on Hunter's Mercy plus Murderous Intent to fire off arrows guaranteed to crit with a x6 multiplier (kaorti resin arrows plus Deepwood Sniper's ability).  Arcane Hunter means Murderous Intent works against a pretty broad range of enemies, and it can use the Chameleon floating feat to pick up Extra Favored Enemy, for new favored enemies when necessary.

It gets all the relevant stealth goodies, Poison Use, and Chameleon can nab Minor Creation to make poisons on demand.  Maiming Strike means that you can sacrifice your sneak attack damage for static Charisma damage which will multiply on a crit.  With Hunter's Eye we're looking at 4 points of Charisma damage, which translates to 24 points of Charisma damage with the auto-crit.  (Ego Whip, eat your heart out.)  Make sure to use Sniper's Shot to extend your range.

As far as damage goes, assuming a +2 collision energy bow with GMW cast on it, and a +4 strength bonus, we can look at something like...

1d8 +2 FE +20 craven +1 Blood War Conscript +5 enhancement +5 collision +4 strength +17 power shot +5 knowledge devotion = 1d8+59 base damage.  So with a single arrow, we're looking at a MINIMUM of 360 points of damage, plus poison and 24 points of Charisma damage.

Honestly I'm a little disappointed with the damage, because that means that its "headshots" do less damage than the expected CR 20 HP (~448), although the bonus effects are nice.  That being said, while only the first attack will auto-crit, there's nothing in the world stopping you from making a full attack, so the subsequent shots should do the trick.

8
Min/Max 3.x / Re: Sources of Non-Spell-Based Mindfuckery
« on: December 25, 2012, 11:20:25 AM »
It's +50 to your bluff check to instill a suggestion in your target.  Still mind-affecting, but it's (Ex) and does not allow a save.

The Silvertongue Mask soulmeld's throat chakra bind gives you suggestion at will.  Available with two feats, although Open Greater Chakra isn't available until level 18.  Also, someone who makes their save is immune for 24 hours, so it can't really be spammed.

I know you said race is locked in, but if you want gaze-based domination, a necropolitan could pick up a dominating gaze via alter self into a vampire spawn plus Metamorphic Transfer or Assume Supernatural Ability.

The Ocular Adept from Faiths and Pantheons gets some gaze-based eyeball attacks.  I don't remember all of them offhand, but it definitely at least gets charm person and charm monster, and might get a dominate effect as well.  The class doesn't require spellcasting to enter (although it does grant a little bit of spellcasting), and the eye rays are all (Su) abilities.

I know there are a ton of other options, but these come to mind right off the bat.

9
Min/Max 3.x / Re: Battle: Angel Summoner vs BMX Bandit
« on: December 22, 2012, 12:14:19 PM »
1.  Start with a nightmare via LPB, for Astral Projection and Etherealness at will.  Sure, you can cast those, but why bother, when you can get your cool fiery mount to do it for you with a much lower level spell?  Make an astral projection duplicate and keep both your original body and the silver cord well protected via Craft Contingent Spell.

2.  Get all the usual buff spells and contingencies necessary.  Layer what you can.  Go ahead and start by surrounding yourself with a Wind Wall, inside of which is a Prismatic Sphere, inside of which is an AMF (excluding you via Extraordinary Spell Aim), inside of which is an ethereal you, protected by every contingency and defensive spell you can think of.  (Some nice ones from Complete Mage include Energy Absorption, in case he finds a way to nuke you with his spell traps, and Karmic Retribution, so that he has to save or be stunned just for trying to attack you.)

3.  If you don't want to use Gate, then go ahead and Summon Elemental Monolith.  Direct it to sunder your enemy's bow or arrow quiver.  Then stand inside your Rainbow Magic Shell and laugh.

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Min/Max 3.x / Re: The perfect rogue Prestige Class (and sample build)
« on: December 13, 2012, 01:46:01 PM »
It is trolling when you purposefully ignore clearly presented information to spur a discussion. Relevant example: I said in my post above that you gain 3 point buy by not having to pump CHA to 11. Did you include this information in your comparison? Of course not.



So to me, you're trading 20 SP and a superior skill list UMD, +2d6 SA, and 2-3 special abilities for 10 HP, a Will boost, and a class feature that provides a damage boost akin to the Sacred Strike featslightly higher SA damage, two free feats (the capstone is effectively darkstalker and dragonfire strike), 3 point buy and some minor abilities.

Edited to correct misinformation

Now, considering that you can use your 3 point buy to buy +2 extra INT (likely, depends on point buy) and that you can use the rogue special abilities for a feat this reduces to:

UMD + maybe 1 extra special ability vs 10hp, much higher WILL, a few minor abilities and a few SA damage

I call that clearly superior

I didn't respond to the 3 PB issue because it makes a lot of assumptions that are not necessarily true - that I would otherwise be starting with a Charisma of 8, that I definitely want Dragonfire Strike in a build, that there is no way to boost Cha beyond PB - and you seem to be assuming that those are all givens.  The implication that 3 points is worth +2 Int is even more misleading, as it is straight up not true for anyone with an Int of 14 or higher.

And True Stealth is NOT effectively Darkstalker.  It comes way too late in the game to be useful, and has a sizable (-10!) penalty to the check.  Darkstalker is in many ways much better as an early game ability than a late one - there are actually more low CR creatures with alternate senses than high CR.  (When I'm not posting from my phone, I'll link you to a spreadsheet I put together that breaks down monster senses from the SRD by level.). I guess if retraining is allowed you could take Darkstalker at low levels and retrain it when you would get True Stealth, but then you've still got to eat that -10 penalty.  I'd much rather just skip out at level 9 and keep Darkstalker.

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Min/Max 3.x / Re: The perfect rogue Prestige Class (and sample build)
« on: December 13, 2012, 11:54:24 AM »
Sorry, didn't realize it was trolling to disagree with you. And I addressed the "craven-like ability" in both my posts - in fact, I called it the only really worthwhile ability HotWM gets.  But I also said (and stand by) the fact that it just barely makes up for the loss of +2d6 SA the class gets.

The arcane spell extension is theoretically nice if you've got someone willing to work with you, but it's somewhat marginalized by the fact that it is limited to spells that grant a save, rather than spells that affect willing allies. There are still some useful choices - invisibility, the resist XXX spell line, etc. - but it's not a free extend to all their buffs.

An extra 10 HP on a rogue is nice but not huge - I'd much rather have the better skills.  The Will boost is nice, though, and a more compelling reason to take the class than most of what it offers.

So to me, you're trading 20 SP and a superior skill list, +2d6 SA, and 2-3 special abilities for 10 HP, a Will boost, and a class feature that provides a damage boost akin to the Sacred Strike feat.  I'd say that is at best a wash. If you want to argue that it's a win for HotWM I guess I won't keep arguing, but I don't think it's as clear cut as you're making it out to be.  Stick it on a Scout instead.

12
Min/Max 3.x / Re: The perfect rogue Prestige Class (and sample build)
« on: December 13, 2012, 08:42:09 AM »
No, I think you're missing the point.

You lose 2d6 SA.  You gain an ability that adds one point of damage per SA die.  If your build ends up with +7d6 sneak or less, that's a net loss.  Even if not, it's still not an incredible damage boost - you'll end up at most maybe three points of damage ahead of a straight rogue.  And that's the ONLY worthwhile class feature HotWM gets.

All of the other great features you're touting about damage?  They don't come from the PrC, but rather from feats. There's no reason any SA focused build couldn't take Dragonfire Strike and Draconic Heritage (Howling) for the same benefits.  Yes, you gain one of those two feats as a bonus feat when you take the class, but as you pointed out yourself, with a little dipping, feats are easy to come by. (Oh, hey, straight rogue gets bonus feats too if it wants.)

My point isn't that straight rogue is amazing. It's that HotWM is mediocre enough that 10 levels of rogue can potentially outclass it.

13
Min/Max 3.x / Re: The perfect rogue Prestige Class (and sample build)
« on: December 12, 2012, 12:12:48 PM »
 First off, your sample build is missing the +4 BAB to qualify for HotWM.

Second, I just don't see the love you're giving to a thoroughly mediocre PrC.

Even compared to straight rogue, you get fewer SP and a worse list (no UMD or Sleight of Hand).  You get Dragonfire Strike as a bonus feat, but you burn a feat on entry, so it's a wash.  The other abilities range from mostly useless to outright terrible, like the awful capstone.  You get two fewer sneak die than a straight rogue, and the only remotely redeeming feature is the improved Dragonfire Strike.  That's a damage boost that is the functional equivalent of switching your sneak die to d8s, but it only works when you use your Dragonfire Strike feat - so you're dealing significantly less damage against enemies who resist whatever element you're using.

Compare that to a regular rogue with no PrCs, and you're missing out on all the rogue special abilities, like crippling strike, camouflage, HiPS, skill mastery and more. Plus, you've got 20 additional skill points off a superior list, two additional dice of SA to bridge the damage gap left by improved Dragonfire Strike, etc.

It's got more potential use for scouts, thanks to how the damage dice advance, but I'd much rather stay straight rogue or hop into Chameleon or Assassin for some casting if I was using a rogue base.

14
Min/Max 3.x / Re: Making the Mark of Storm more powerful
« on: December 09, 2012, 04:14:54 PM »
Here's a pretty awesome Storm Sentry build.  The final build stub is Warblade 4/Fighter 1/Storm Sentry 5/Eternal Blade 10.  Worth looking into.  (And while it does not have Windwright Captain levels, it CAN steer an airship without a Charisma check, so that's still an option on the table.)

15
Handbook Discussion / Re: The 3.5 Assassin's Handbook discussion thread
« on: December 08, 2012, 01:14:48 PM »
Very nice!  Just a few thoughts after reading over this...

  • You mention changelings in your class section, recommending the changeling rogue sub levels if you take rogue, but changeling is not listed in your race section.  Considering that I think they're right up there with whisper gnome and human as the top possible assassin race, I would say they're worth inclusion.  (And yes, I consider human a better choice than strongheart halfling.  Small size is nice, but the reduced speed just isn't worth it, IMO.)

  • Also, since you include some human sub-races but not others, azurin are probably worth a mention as well.  Losing the extra skill rank hurts, but an assassin with a dip into totemist or incarnate will almost certainly appreciate the extra essentia more.

  • I might include Ultimate Magus in the class section.  As the assassin is a spontaneous Int-based class, it can make an interesting choice for the other side of a wizard/ultimate magus build.  If nothing else, it's an easy way to pick up a lot of free metamagic effects - persistent Hunter's Eye and Wraithstrike is easily worth the hammering you'll take to your BAB.

  • I'd probably bump Maiming Strike up to blue.  While four die of SA for one point of Charisma damage seems low, an assassin with multiple attacks can easily completely disable many common enemies in a single round.  Worth noting that undead are NOT immune to all ability damage, only ability damage to the physical stats, so if you can SA undead, you can use Maiming Strike on them.  Considering that zombies and skeletons have a Charisma of 1, that's pretty much an auto-kill against an otherwise difficult target.

    Also, if you can eke out more attacks, it gets even more ridiculous.  Picture a daelkyr half-blood assassin who Alter Self's into a grell.  With 8d6 sneak damage funneled into Maiming Strike, you're talking about dealing a potential 22 points of Charisma damage with a single attack routine.  Toss in wraithstrike and that's enough to easily fell a great wyrm black dragon in a single round.

    (And, being fixed damage rather than variable, it multiplies with things like Battle Jump, valorous weapons, Spirited Charge, etc. - but that's not as easy to take advantage of for an assassin.)

  • I think Spymaster is worth inclusion on the prestige class section.  A bunch of ways to beat divinations, Magic Aura at will (Darkstalker isn't worth much when you glow like a Christmas tree whenever someone casts the 0-level Detect Magic), martial weapon proficiency, some cool defensive abilities and it somewhat advances SA, plus excellent skills.  Even just a three level dip gives you a cover identity, Undetectable Alignment and Magic Aura at will, +1d6 sneak and big bonuses against scrying - although going all seven levels for Deep Cover certainly isn't a bad idea for the more socially inclined.

  • A couple of others that I feel are worth inclusion on the soulmeld front - the Shedu Crown grants 100' telepathy, and opens up access to Mindsight.  The Enigma Helm is Nondetection + Will save booster + immunity to charms.   Both of these rely only on the Crown chakra bind, which can be picked up with just two levels in Incarnate or Open Least Chakra, and can do a lot for the low-level assassin.

  • The Hellbreaker from Fiendish Codex II is another nice choice for prestige classes.  It progresses SA (albeit slowly), allows you to steal SLAs like a spellthief, stow away alongside enemies that try to teleport from you, and most importantly, grants a nice version of HiPS and a static field that impedes divination spells and suppresses telepathy right at level 1.  It is one of the only RAW ways to beat Mindsight.  (Widen Supernatural Ability helps with this, by the way, since it is of limited range.)  Three entry feats, including Combat Expertise and Improved Feint, so it's probably best as a dip for a Surprising Riposte build.

  • One last prestige class and I'm done, I promise.  Alchemist Savant from MoE allows you to combine alchemical items with poisons, potions, etc, and lets you craft them much quicker.  You can qualify with assassin casting, then use this to create things like acid + contact or injury poison.  Now you can attack with a thrown vial, dealing SA damage and possibly death attack on your initial target, and also hit both your initial target and anyone within splash range with poison.  It also lets you create spellvials, which can contain any targeted spell and be delivered with a ranged touch attack.  So now any assassin spell that was a little lackluster because of touch range can instead by delivered as a ranged touch.

    Easy entry requirements for an assassin, too - third level spells and a single feat requirement (the Mark of Making is a super useful feat for anyone who likes to play with poison regardless), plus 8 ranks in craft (alchemy).  I'd take this over Black Dog almost any day.[/i]

That's all I've got right now - the handbook is great, by the way!

16
Min/Max 3.x / Re: Need touch spells for Duskblade multiclass
« on: November 27, 2012, 12:04:58 AM »
Chain of Eyes is a lot of fun to channel.

There are easier ways to kill, but Plane Shift and Mummify both do it with style.  And Addiction is always a particularly mean thing to hit someone with if your goal is to leave them alive...

17
Min/Max 3.x / Re: Teleport Murdering
« on: November 26, 2012, 11:02:57 PM »
What about a heavily metamagic'd Lightning Leap? It's not the best in the damage dealing department, but add on Sculpt Spell and Fell Drain and it's not so bad. It is, in my opinion, one of the thematically coolest spells around...

18
Min/Max 3.x / Re: [3.5] monk spineweld warrior..
« on: November 13, 2012, 08:53:21 AM »
IIRC, Spinemeld Warrior lets you TWF and rend with your spines, which leads to the everpresent question of whether that stacks with flurry.  I'd allow it in this case.

Honestly Spinemeld Warrior isn't terrible, though, as far as melee classes go - the soulborn melds it gets access to really aren't bad, especially when you don't have to suffer through the soulborn class to get them.  And the rend is fun.  It's a step up from straight monk, at least, even if that's not saying much...

19
Min/Max 3.x / Re: [3.5] monk spineweld warrior..
« on: November 12, 2012, 10:42:03 PM »
Wait, how are you using the spine with Flurry? Natural weapons aren't Monk weapons.

From the entry on skarn monk racial sub levels, Magic of Incarnum p48:

Spine Strike (Ex): For all purposes related to monk class features, a skarn monk can treat his arm-spine attack as if it were an unarmed strike.  This includes using it as part of a flurry of blows, ki strike, and the increased damage dealt by arm spines as the skarn monk gains levels (1d8 at 4th level, 1d10 at 8th level, and so on).

(Emphasis mine.)

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Min/Max 3.x / Re: Ki Strike
« on: February 22, 2012, 10:39:24 PM »
Wonderworker from BoED gives you bonus Exalted feats and doesn't specify that you have to actually QUALIFY for said feats... might be a bit cheesy for your tastes if this is for IC, but it could work.

Of course, if you really want to get cheesy, you could play an Illithid Savant and eat the brain of a 10th-level monk.  You might even still be able to maintain your exalted status, if it's a really evil monk.

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