Author Topic: Hatchet Job Port Thread  (Read 54282 times)

Offline Toptomcat

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Re: Hatchet Job Port Thread
« Reply #60 on: April 11, 2013, 01:15:51 AM »
Making opponents flat-footed (Iaijutsu Strike resource)

by BruceLeeroy

I often see threads on Iaijutsu strike wherein someone asks for a list of the myriad ways of making an opponent flat-footed. I compiled this list on 339 a couple years ago for an Iaijutsu marrulurk build I had going at the time. I figured archiving it here would be a good way to get the list added to as well as making it an easy to find resource.

Please remember: Flat-footed is a different condition than Dex-denied. You are dex-denied when you are flat-footed.

Being denied your dex does NOT make you flat-footed.

This is an important distinction if you’re trying to stack Iaijutsu Focus with Sneak Attack or Sudden Strike damage.

Sneak attack requires an opponent to be denied their dexterity bonus, or for the sneak-attacker to be flanking. 
Sudden-Strike requires an opponent to be denied their dexterity bonus. It does not work with flanking.
If your opponent is flat-footed, they are almost always denied their dexterity bonus. Uncanny Dodge is an exception, there may be others. Note that Uncanny Dodge does nothing against Iaijutsu Strike.

So, generally, if you can Iaijutsu Strike an opponent, you can Sudden Strike and/or Sneak Attack them.

So, here they are.

An opponent is flat-footed when they:

Have not yet acted in the initiative order during the first round of combat.

Are paralyzed.

Are balancing, if they have less than 5 ranks in Balance. (Use the spell Grease (PH) or if you’re cheap, some Marbles from Arms and Equipment Guide to force balance checks.)

Cannot see you. (Invisibility, hide checks, ridiculous distance, total cover or concealment.) “If you’re successfully hidden with respect to another creature, that creature is flat-footed with respect to you. That creature treats you as if your were invisible.”(Rules Compendium, p. 92)


FEATS

Flick of the Wrist (Feat, CW) - FF vs. one attack after drawing weapon 1/round and 1 per opponent/encounter.

GiantBane (Tactical Feat, CW) - Tumble through an opponents square as a free action, make immediate attack, opponent FF.

Gloom Razor (Tactical Feat, ToB) - Injure enemy, move 10', next turn enemy FF vs. first melee attack.

Confound the Big Folk (Tactical Feat, RotW) Move into space of creature at least two sizes larger than you, next round that creature is flat-footed vs your attacks.

Surprising Riposte (Feat, DotU) - Renders a foe Flat-Footed for one round after you successfully feint against him and hit him with a melee attack.

Mercurial Strike (Feat, Dragon Compendium) - Anytime an opponent provokes an AoO from you and you are unarmed, you may draw a weapon and take your AoO with it. Your opponent is Flat-footed against this attack.


SKILL TRICKS

Hidden Blade (Skill Trick, CS) - FF vs. one attack after drawing weapon, 1 use/encounter.

Sudden Draw (Skill Trick, CS) - FF vs. one AoO after drawing a weapon, 1 use/encounter.

Acrobatic Backstab (Skill Trick, CS) - Tumble through opponent's space, FF vs. next melee attack that turn.


SPELLS

Distract Assailant (SpC, Assassin 1) - FF until beginning of next turn.


MANUEVERS

Sapphire Nightmare Blade (Lv. 1 Maneuver) - Concentration vs. enemy ac, treat enemy FF for one melee attack.

Strike of the Broken Shield (Lv.4 Maneuver) -  enemy must make reflex save or be FF until next turn, +4d6.

Ghost Blade (Lv. 6 Maneuver) - Enemy is FF vs one melee attack (that's it, really. for a lv. 6 maneuver.)

Shadow Garrote (lv. 3 Maneuver) - Ranged touch, +5d6, enemy must make fort save or be FF until next turn.

Death From Above (Lv. 4 Maneuver) - Jump check vs enemy AC, +4d6, enemy treated as FF.

Feral Death Blow (Lv. 9 maneuver) - Jump check vs ac, enemy treated as FF, Fort save vs death or +20d6.

White Raven Strike (Lv. 4 Maneuver) - Enemy treated as FF until next turn, +4d6.


CLASS FEATURES


Cloaked Dancer - Suprise Strike (Class ability, CS) - While dancing, melee attack with light weapon, enemy is FF.


ITEMS

Umbral Awn (Legacy Weapon, ToB) - If unarmed, draw Umbral Awn as immediate action for an AoO, enemy treated as FF.

Blurstrike (Weapon enhancement) - ten times per day, activate to make opponent FF vs first attack that round (+2 equivalent).

Offline Toptomcat

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Re: Hatchet Job Port Thread
« Reply #61 on: April 11, 2013, 01:16:49 AM »
How To Become Enormous (Meet Mr. Gigantic)
by Barbarossa
Hola, mi amigos. I've been trying to find easy ways to increase the size of characters and enemies in a campaign that I'm running (other than DM fiat), and since I thought the topic was interesting, I made a topic about it. In particular, I was trying to find ways of making a Warforged as large as possible without using magic, but that train of thought lead to this wider topic.

Now, there are many ways of becoming huge, but not all ways will work for a given build. Here are some that I've come up with.

Templates

Titanic Creature - MM2
Half-Minotaur - If you're smaller than Large sized, you gain one size category.

Feats

None
yet.

Spells

Giant Size - A nifty level 7 Wu Jen spell that allows you to become colossal with relative ease.
Enlarge Person is an easy way to increase one size category.

Powers

Expansion(XPH) - Grants one or two size category increases, depending on how many PP are spent.

Races

Centaurs start at Large.
Dragonkin start at Large.
Minotaurs start at Large.
Ogres, Trolls and Giants start at Large.

I don't have my full list with me to fill in right now, but I'd like to hear some of your favorite methods of becoming Large and in Charge.

Offline Toptomcat

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Re: Hatchet Job Port Thread
« Reply #62 on: April 11, 2013, 01:17:30 AM »
The Fail class guide to IP. Proofing For Classes below Tier 2

by lans

Now due to IP were  all going to fucking die. Lets make that happen a little bit less.
AC needs to be high to matter all the time. Might not matter to all the monsters you face, but it should matter to some of them, expecally if your facing monsters that are below your level. Like 4 ogres at level 7.

Ways to get AC outside of norms is kind of nice.

If 1 character can Turtle for the entire party then ACs should be good.

Combat Expertise+Improved Expertise+Allied Defense+Shield Block gives your  party an AC of your BAB + part of your shield bonus.
 


Saves
These should be high. Every body taking a level of mashal would do it if you all have good charisma.

Attacks
Also should be high. Buffer

Miss chances Lots of ways to get these. Learn to see in the dark.

Immunities
Sell your soul, worship the one who smites all.

Starting things at 1 am  in a very bad fashion and hoping to get back to it later... We've all been their.


Class independent IPing
For classes that are T6&T5 these are as important, or even more important, as your class abilities.
Race
Warforged Gives various immunities.
Any non humanoid- Shuts down X Person spells
Dragonborn- Negates lack of flying, or gives some immunities.

Feats
Shape Soulmeld provides a lot of protections. Miss chances, damage reduction, resistances, immunity to compulsions, teleportation, walk on water. Not to mention bonuses to hit, damage, skills, AC, and saves.
 If all feats were this good, the fighter would suck a little bit less.
Open X Chakra expands on the Shape Soulmeld option. If everybody takes Shape Soulmeld:Phase Cloak  and Open Lesser Chakra and you can run away.

Bind Vestige, Improved:Full Plate+1, immunity to transformation, a debuff,
Practiced Binder: Infinite supply of scouts, see invisibility, water breathing.

Wild Cohort- Disposable meat shield.

Word Given Form-Not really a feat, but close enough.


Skills
Balance 5 ranks to not be sneak attacked while balancing
Skill Tricks
Healing Hands Heals d6
Shrouded Dance Concealment
Spot the Weak Point
Twisted Charge

Mundane items
Magic Items

Offline Toptomcat

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Re: Hatchet Job Port Thread
« Reply #63 on: April 11, 2013, 01:18:53 AM »
The Spartan Handbook; or how to rock the phalanx!

by dark_samuari

The Spartan Handbook
or how to rock the phalanx!

[sexy image]

The old ones say we Spartans are descended from Hercules himself. Taught never to retreat, never to surrender. Taught that death in the battlefield, in service to Sparta, is the greatest glory he could achieve in his life. Spartans; The finest soldiers the world has ever known. – Dilios

Besieged by battle and engulfed in the fire of fury, this handbook presents the tactics to introduce a deadly & dangerous defense alongside one's allies. Collecting an assortment of resources from across the dusty realms, the tools of the trade are presented to give aid to any adventuring party who finds themselves suffering from the strongest of strikes. Focusing on the combat technique of phalanx fighting, you're traveling troupe can delve into the deepest darkness that awaits them.

Acknowledgments
Tome of Battle for Dummies by DaveTheMagicWeasel
Practical Optimization: The Fighter – Theory Practice/ a Practical Handbook by LogicNinja
The Fighter’s Handbook by Dictum Mortuum


Building the Phalanx

[sexy image]

In the end, a Spartan's true strength is the warrior next to him. So give respect and honor to him, and it will be returned to you. - King Leonidas

Team Work Benefits (As found in the Player's Handbook 2)
Found within the player's handbook 2 are a collection of free benefits should an adventuring party qualify for them. The benefit extends to only eight team members and limits one benefit per team for every four hit dice its weakest member possesses. This is the first ingredient in building a mighty defensive wall to smash your enemies against.
Like a Rock
Team Leader Prerequisite: Stability (the dwarven racial trait)
Team Member Prerequisite: Balance 1 rank.
Benefit: The team leader’s stability bonus extends outwards to all adjacent team members.
Massed Charge
Team Leader Prerequisite: Balance 5 ranks.
Team Member Prerequisite: Balance 1 rank.
Benefit: Acting as one unit, all team members charge a single opponent on the same initiative count and gain an attack bonus equal to the number of team members aiding.   
Team Shield Maneuver
Team Leader Prerequisite: Shield Specialization
Team Member Prerequisite: Shield Proficiency
Benefit: Whenever a team member would fall to -1 or below hit points they are instantly moved 10 feet away by an adjacent shielded team member before falling prone.
Wall of Steel
Team Leader Prerequisite: Tower Shield Proficiency and base attack bonus +8
Team Member Prerequisite: Shield Proficiency and base attack bonus +2
Benefit: Any team member may, as a swift action, lose his shield bonus to AC and instead give it to a single adjacent team member (the shield bonuses stack).   

Affiliations (as found in Player's Handbook 2)
Also located within the player's handbook 2 is the collection of rules for joining an association, to which an adventurer may gain rewards and acclaim through sacrifice towards the new found group. Free and without repercussion, affiliations grant players an extra oomph with little investment. When selected correctly, this can push your steely-footed soldiers a little bit above the mold.
Wintervein Dwarves
Bonuses: Bonuses based on character level, levels within the cleric, fighter or paladin classes & the dwarven defender prestige class in addition to how many successful missions had and mighty defenses held. 
Rewards: Rewards consist of attack bonuses against orcs & goblinoids, dodge bonuses against giants and melee bonus feats. 
The Land of Honor
Bonuses: Based on character level, levels within the fighter or monk class, ranks in diplomacy in addition to how many successful honorable duels and requested missions from your lord are completed.
Rewards: You are given a masterwork katana in addition to bonuses towards intimidation and influencing your citizens, the quick draw feat and aid in confirming critical hits with your katana as well as damage reduction when wielding it.

Commander Auras (as found in Heroes of Battle)
With the help of a courageous leader, your adventuring party can give it's self a much deserved bump be in attacking power or holding an opposing force at bay. 
Defensive Commander
Commander Prerequisite: Commander Rating 2 and Lawfully Good Alignment.
Benefit: Allies within 30ft. of the commander gain a +1 moral bonus to AC.
Dwarf Commander
Commander Prerequisite: Commander Rating 3, Dwarf and Lawfully Good Alignment.
Benefit: All Dwarven allies within 30ft. of the commander receive a +2 moral bonus to AC or a +4 bonus to AC against Giants.

Feats
Within focusing on the combat technique of initiating a phalanx movement there are ideally two sub-groups to dedicate one's self to, the first being defense and the second a focus on attacks of opportunity.
Allied Defense (Shining South pg. 19): [Combat Expertise] Allowing an individual to share their combat expertise bonus with another adjacent ally is an incredibly potent way in utilizing a phalanx movement. 
Combat Expertise (Player’s Handbook): [Int 13] The basis for a defensive-minded adventurer it stands as a wise decision in any form.
Combat Reflexes (Player’s Handbook): The basis for an opportunistic-minded adventurer in combat this is the foundation feat for any character who seeks to exploit his opponents weakness towards the phalanx.
Fearless (Player’s Guide to Faerun pg. 38): Demoralization is a terrific and powerful combat technique and can make quick work of any phalanx (no matter how defensive they are). For the cost of your 1st-level feat you can grant immunity towards it.
Formation Expert (Complete Warrior pg. 110): [Bab +5]: A tactical feat that brings along with it the strong 'Step into the Breach' technique which can help you continue holding a position should an ally fall. Save this feat for a little bit later in your adventurer's career.
Hold the Line (Complete Warrior pg. 100): [Bab +2 and Combat Reflexes]: Useful for quickly finishing off charging opponents.
Phalanx Fighting (Complete Warrior pg. 103): [Bab +1 and Shield Proficiency] Granting a bonus to AC and the ability to form a shield wall, this is a staple in forming a phalanx. 
Shieldmate (Miniature’s Handbook pg. 28): [Bab +1] Giving a small bonus to AC, this feat is better spent if you happen to find your defense lacking but in the end there are stronger feats.
Shield Specialization (Player’s Handbook 2 pg. 82): [Shield Proficiency] Needed for forming the 'Wall of Steel' team work benefit, this feat gives a small bonus to AC. If you are looking to utilize the 'Wall of Steel' this is a must for your team leader but beyond that there are stronger feats.
Shield Ward (Player’s Handbook 2 pg. 82): [Shield Specialization] A much better feat than Shieldmate as it applies your shield bonus to your touch AC as well as resists against bull rush, disarm, grapple, overrun and trip attempts made against you. 
Standstill (Expanded Psionic Handbook): [Str 13]: A classic in tanking, this allows you, should your opponent provoke an attack of opportunity by moving out of your threatened square, to trade your attack of opportunity for an attempt to simply stop them from moving (which wastes their move action). If you want your phalanx to be a slow wrecking machine across the battlefield this is a strong feat.
Tireless (Player’s Guide to Faerun pg. 46): Another 1st-level only feat, this allows your adventurer to become much more durable by shrugging off the effects of fatigue.


A Demonstration in the Phalanx

[sexy image]
Spartans! Ready your breakfast and eat hearty... For tonight, we dine in hell! - King Leonidas

Now that I have laid out the available tools in assembling a mighty phalanx I'll demonstrate an example of one used. Mind you before hand though, that the available defensive tactic is usable by any class or adventuring role, they just have to sacrifice towards obtaining & maintaining it. Now for the example...

Spartans
Spartan Soldier: Male Dwarven Crusader 3; Medium humanoid (dwarf); HD 3d10+12; hp 34; Init +1; Spd 10 ft.; AC 26 [47 when fighting defensively & 51 when fighting defensively against giants] (-16 ACP), touch 12 (26 when fighting defensively & 34 when fighting defensively against giants], flat-footed 25 [43 when fighting defensively & 51 when fighting defensively against giants]; Base Atk +3; Grp +5; Atk +5 [-6 when fighting defensively] melee (1d6+2/19-20x2; short sword) or +5 [-6 when fighting defensively] melee/ranged (1d6+2/x2, 20ft.; short spear) or +5 [-6 when fighting defensively] melee/ranged (1d6+2/x2; 10ft.; hand axe); SQ Darkvision (60ft.), Stonecunning, Weapon Familiarity, Stability, Misc. Dwarven Traits, Steely Resolve (5 hp), Furious Counterstrike (+1), Indomitable Soul, Zealous Surge (1/day); AL LG; SV Fort +7, Ref -1 [+0 during phalanx], Will +2; Str 14, Dex 12, Con 18, Int 14, Wis 10, Cha 12.
Skills and Feats: Balance +8, Craft (Weaponsmithing) +9 [+11 when involving metal], Diplomacy +8, Intimidate +8, Knowledge (History) +9, Knowledge (Religion) +9 and Speak (Common, Dwarven, Giant and Undercommon); Phalanx Fighting [1st], Combat Expertise [Flaw], Fearless [Flaw], Allied Defense [3rd]
Maneuvers & Stances (IL 3): Crusader’s Strike, Douse the Flames, Iron Guard’s Glare, Leading the Attack, Martial Spirit, Stone Bones, Tactical Strike and Vanguard Strike
Possessions: Full Plate with Armor Spikes (1,550 gp/50 lb.), Tower Shield with Shield Sheath and Shield Spikes (65 gp/45 lb.), Throwing Axe [within the shield sheath] (8 gp/2 lb.), 5 Short Spears (5 gp/15 lb.) and a Short Sword (10 gp./2 lb.)
Defensive Breakdown:

Standard AC: 10 + 1 Dex + 8 armor + 4 shield + 1 bonus (phalanx fighting) + 2 moral bonus (Dwarven Commander Aura) = 26 [14 touch/25 flat-footed]
Defensive AC: 10 + 1 Dex + 8 armor bonus + 4 shield bonus + 3  bonus (phalanx fighting) + 2 moral bonus (Dwarven Commander Aura) +2 dodge bonus (defensively fighting) + 5 dodge bonus (combat expertise) + 5 dodge bonus (allied defense) + 4 shield bonus (wall of steel)  = 44 (-11 attack penalty) [28 touch/43 flat-footed] 
Defensive AC against Giants: 10 + 1 Dex + 8 armor bonus + 4 shield bonus + 3 bonus (phalanx fighting) + 4 moral bonus (Dwarf Commander Aura) +2 dodge bonus (defensively fighting) + 5 dodge bonus (combat expertise) + 5 dodge bonus (allied defense) + 4 shield bonus (wall of steel)  +6 dodge bonus (dwarven racial trait & affiliation bonus) = 52 (-11 attack penalty) [36 touch/51 flat-footed]


Spartan Sergeant: Male Dwarven Crusader 8; Medium humanoid (dwarf); HD 8d10+32; hp 84; Init +1; Spd 10 ft.; AC 25 [44 when fighting defensively & 52 when fighting defensively against giants] (-16 ACP), touch 14 (28 when fighting defensively & 36 when fighting defensively against giants], flat-footed 24 [48 when fighting defensively & 50 when fighting defensively against giants]; Base Atk +8; Grp +11; Atk +11/+6 [+0/-5 when fighting defensively] melee (1d6+3/19-20x2; short sword) or +11/+6 [+0/-5 when fighting defensively] melee/ranged (1d6+3/x2, 20ft.; short spear) or +11/+6 [+0/-5 when fighting defensively] melee/ranged (1d6+3/x2; 10ft.; hand axe); SA Smite (1/day; +1 attack/+8 damage); SQ Darkvision (60ft.), Stonecunning, Weapon Familiarity, Stability, Misc. Dwarven Traits, Steely Resolve (15 hp), Furious Counterstrike (+3), Indomitable Soul, Zealous Surge (1/day); AL LG; SV Fort +10, Ref +0 [+1 during phalanx], Will +3; Str 16, Dex 12, Con 18, Int 14, Wis 10, Cha 12.
Skills, Skill Tricks and Feats: Balance +13, Craft (Weaponsmithing) +14 [+16 when involving metal], Diplomacy +13, Intimidate +13, Knowledge (History) +13, Knowledge (Religion) +11 and Speak (Common, Dwarven, Giant and Undercommon); Never Outnumbered; Phalanx Fighting [1st], Combat Expertise [Flaw], Fearless [Flaw], Allied Defense [3rd] and Shield Specialization [6th]
Maneuvers & Stances (IL 8): Divine Surge, Douse the Flames, Iron Guard’s Glare, Leading the Attack, Martial Spirit, Overwhelming Mountain Strike, Revitalizing Strike, Shield Block, Tactical Strike, Thicket of Blades, Vanguard Strike and White Raven Tactics.
Possessions: Full Plate with Armor Spikes (1,550 gp/50 lb.), Tower Shield with Shield Sheath and Shield Spikes (65 gp/45 lb.), Throwing Axe [within the shield sheath] (8 gp/2 lb.), 5 Short Spears (5 gp/15 lb.) and a Short Sword (10 gp./2 lb.)
Defensive Breakdown:

Standard AC: 10 + 1 Dex + 8 armor + 5 shield (+1 bonus from shield specialization) + 1 bonus (phalanx fighting) = 25 [12 touch/24 flat-footed]
Defensive AC: 10 + 1 Dex + 8 armor bonus + 5 shield bonus (+1 bonus from shield specialization) + 3 bonus (phalanx fighting) +2 dodge (fighting defensively) + 5 dodge bonus (combat expertise) + 5 dodge bonus (allied defense) + 4 shield bonus (wall of steel) = 47 (-11 attack penalty) [26 touch/48 flat-footed] 
Defensive AC against Giants: 10 + 1 Dex + 8 armor bonus + 5 shield bonus (+1 bonus from shield specialization) + 3 (phalanx fighting) +2 dodge (fighting defensively) + 5 dodge bonus (combat expertise) + 5 dodge bonus (allied defense) + 4 shield bonus (wall of steel) +1 shield bonus (shield specialization) + 8 dodge bonus (dwarven racial trait & affiliation bonus) = 51 (-11 attack penalty) [34 touch/50 flat-footed]

The above regiment of Spartans, when maintaining a phalanx, can perfectly defend (so can only be struck on a natural 20) by all giants in the Monster Manuel, the T-Rex, the Hydra (up to the 12-headed version), all golems (except the Greater Stone Golem) in the Monster Manuel, all greater & less elementals in the Monster Manuel, most lesser devils & demons as well as most young dragons found in the Monster Manuel. With this supreme security comes the sacrifice of attacking power but that can be boosted (and is severely aided by maneuvers). As for staying power, maneuvers can keep them consistently healed throughout battle. And as for the use of tower shields, well that's so they can fight in the shade (total cover against arrow swarms).

Conclusion
With no addition of class or role, the use of the phalanx technique can boost your adventuring party’s’ ability to defend themselves (when used in the right area/position on the battlefield). While biased towards melee characters, it can be used by nearly any adventurer should they choose to dedicate some resources towards it. 

Offline Toptomcat

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Re: Hatchet Job Port Thread
« Reply #64 on: April 11, 2013, 01:19:57 AM »
Sneak Attacking Spellcasters: God's Shifty-Eyed Cousins
by iconoplast

An Attempt at a Comprehensive Guide to Sneak Attacking Spellcasters

[sexy image]

This is a guide to building a character focused on maximizing the following four things: Spellcasting, Sneak Attack Damage, Skill Points, and Base Attack Bonus.  The order of priorities will depend on whether this character is going to be the party’s Arcanist, the party’s Skillmonkey, or if it isn’t constrained by party necessity. 

Note: I am editing the format of this Guide to reduce confusion between coloring due to HTML links and coloring due to standard CO rating systems.  As of this edit, the only thing in this guide rated blue is the Level 1 Wizard Variant from the Players Handbook II, Abrupt Jaunt.

I believe that a Sneak Attacking Spellcaster best serves the party in the role of the Skillmonkey.  If you get Trapfinding and max out your Rogue Skills (via able learner), you can continue to perform the duties of a Skillmonkey (dealing with traps, dealing direct damage via sneak attack) while inadvertently having a near-full Wizard casting progression on the side.  You know, like as a hobby.  If you're the primary Arcanist, then losing caster levels to pick up sneak attack dice is probably not the most optimal choice.

This guide is going to focus on the ‘Sneak Attack’ side.  For the ‘Caster’ side, I’m just going to assume you’re playing a Wizard.  Warlock and Warmage have arguments in their favor, but I don’t think either of them offer any compelling reason to not play a Wizard.  There are prestige classes (Temple Raider, Chameleon, Fatemaker) that grant but do not require spellcasting, and advance sneak attacks.  I'll list them, but in terms of getting maximal blast + sneak attack damage per round, they necessarily fall short.

Now that that’s decided, the only real choice is between ‘Ranged Sneak Attack’ or ‘Daggerspell Mage’.  If it’s the former, you are probably going to want a reserve feat.  If it’s the latter, you should probably be reading a Gish guide.  But, to save you the time of finding one, I'll let you in on some advice, courtesy of Operation Shoestring: "Daggerspell Mage is a trap.  Sane wizards keep their d4 hitdie the heck out of sword's reach."

The central image : you are invisible and flying, and sneak attacking *every round*.  A reserve feat can help; If you enter Arcane Trickster with a reserve feat, your per-round damage climbs by 2d6 every 2 levels.  Those are the kind of numbers we're aiming for. 

So the goal of this build is: you are invisible and flying, and sneak attacking every round for as close to 2d6 damage per level as we can get.

Skills: If you're the skillmonkey, be a Human and take Able Learner.  (I’m going to end up repeating this more than once.)  You’ll need the extra skill points to keep Search and Disable Device maximized during your stint as a 2+Int skill points Wizard.  If you don't have to be the trapfinder, then you've got some more options.

Base Attack Bonus: You’re going to be somewhere between a ¾ Rogue progression and a ½ Caster progression.   That’s the bad news.  The good news is, you’re going to be making touch attacks all the time.

I. Races:


•   Human (SRD) Able learner requires Human.  If you’re planning to be the Rogue of the party, be a human and take able learner, so you can keep those rogue skills maximized.  Favored class: any is nice, too, and who doesn’t love extra skills and a bonus feat?

•   Illumian: (Races of Destiny) Favored class: any.  You might be able to wheedle Able Learner out of your DM.   Benefits include: Uurkrau - +1 caster level, +2 to dex checks, and uses dexterity to determine bonus spells; Aeshuur - +2 to str and dex checks and a +2 dodge bonus vs. creatures hit with a SA; Uurnaen - +2 to dex and int checks and can sacrifice a 2nd level spell for +2 attack on all sneak attacks made that day; or Vauluur - +2 to dex and cha checks and can expend a spell slot to add 1d6 per spell level to sneak attack damage for one turn.

•   Changeling: (Eberron Campaign Setting)"Per the adaptation section near the end of the Chameleon PrC, it clearly states that in an Eberron campaign Changlings should also be allowed to take Able Learner and Chameleon.  They also get that sexy first level rogue sub level with 10 skill points, and their wizard levels (1 & 5) give 4 skill points per level, rather than two."

•   Halfling (SRD)The Halfling rogue substitution level (Races of the Wild) is great for an Arcane trickster, letting you pick up 2d6 ranged sneak attack at first level. gives you an extra 1d6 sneak attack with thrown weapons.  Not so great after all.  But, the size bonus to AC and the racial bonus to dexterity don’t hurt.  Base speed of 20’ is kind of limiting until you get access to Fly.  Favored Class: Rogue.

•    Water Halfling Gain: +2 Con, +1 vs fire subtypes, Swim Speed.  Lose: -2 saves vs fire.  Seems like a good deal to me.

•    Tallfellow Halflings swap the racial bonuses to Climb, Jump, Listen and Move Silently checks for the Elven ability to get a free check if within 5' of a Secret Door.

•   Strongheart Halfling: If you’re in Forgotten Realms, this is always a good choice.  You get +2 DEX, -2 STR as well as a bonus feat. Compared to a normal halfling, you only lose your +1 racial bonus to saves.

•   Elf +2 Dex.  Martial Weapon Proficiencies.  Search bonuses and that funky elf-sense.  Not bad. Favored Class: Wizard (And a great 1st level Wizard substitution, too)

•       Fire Elf +2 Dex, Int, -2 Cha, Con. Favored Class: Wizard (see above)

•       Air Goblin +4 Dex, -2 Str, -2 Con.  Darkvision, 30' base speed, smal size.  Not bad.  Favored Class: Rogue

•   Gnome If you’re going to go Illusionist -> Shadowcraft Mage -> Arcane Trickster, you’re probably going to need to be a Gnome.  The Gnome Illusionist Substitution Level is great.  However, Gnomes have Favored Class: Bard, so be careful.  Alternately, play a Whisper Gnome.

•   Whisper Gnome: (Races of Stone) Trade Speak with Animals, Dancing Lights, Ghost Sound and Prestidigitation for  Silence, Ghost Sound, Mage hand and Message.  -2 Charisma for +2 Dex is nice.  Favored Class: Rogue is great for this concept, too.

II. Base Classes that grant spellcasting:


•   Warlock (Guide)
   Your eldritch blast goes up by 1d6 every odd caster level.  While you can't qualify for a lot of arcane sneak attack prestige classes, you *can* get into Daggerspell Mage and Arcane Trickster (if you take that feat that gives you Mage Hand and do some other trickery to get a 3rd level spell).  With Hideous blow, you can deliver eldritch blasts in Melee.  Your invocations work well with this style of character, but you don't get invisibility until caster level 6, or greater invisibility until caster level 16, you you're going to be doing a lot of hiding in darkness.  You're also on a 3/4 BAB, which is always nice.

o  This thread talks about using the Nosomatic Chirurgeon PrC to qualify for classes that require spellcasting, rather than just caster level.  So your options are a bit broader, if you're playing in or with Eberron.

•   Beguiler
       You can cast in armor, you get bonuses to your DC when you're sneak attacking, and you get Trapfinding, which you're probably going to get from your Sneak Attack class.  On the other hand, you don't have the direct damage spells you'd need to sneak attack with, nor the [Energy] spells to fuel a Reserve feat.  Beguiler + Arcane Disciple + Reserve Feat might work, but it's pretty involved for a suboptimal class.

•   Warmage
   Heighten Spell means you always have an appropriate spell to fuel your Reserve feat.  You can cast in light armor, you're on a 3/4 BAB, and you add your intelligence bonus to your spell damage (but not your reserve feat damage).  You don't have the utility spells (like invisibility) to pull off sneak attacks again and again.   You're also a level behind wizard (and Warlock) in terms of reserve feat damage.

•   Wizard
   With a Reserve feat, a Wizard is doing as much damage as a Warlock without casting any spells.  A Wizard gets access to Invisibility, Blink, Greater Invisibility, and lots of other ways to get Sneak Attacks off.  They also have access to big direct damage spells, save-or-suck spells, and, eventually, save-or-die's.

              o Wizard Variants you may want to consider:


III. Base Classes that grant Sneak attack:


•   Rogue
o    Great skills.  Sneak Attack.  Evasion.  What's not to love?

•   (Halfling Rogue Substitution) (Races of the Wid)
o    +1d6 Thrown Sneak Attack, -1d6 Melee.

•   Spellthief  (Complete Adventurer)
o   Good skills, sneak attack, spell thievery is cool. 
o   The Master Spellthief feat turns this into maybe *the* optimal entry - your caster levels stack, you keep advancing the spells you can steal, and you get to cast in light armor.

•   Spellthief
o   Good skills, sneak attack, spell thievery is cool. 
o   The Master Spellthief feat turns this into maybe *the* optimal entry - your caster levels stack, you keep advancing the spells you can steal, and you get to cast in light armor.

•   Ninja** -
o   Good skills, good saves
o   Sudden strike’s not as cool as Sneak Attack, but for purposes of ranged sneak attack, it’s just as good.  Ghost Step's pretty good, but you're probably not going to take enough Ninja levels to make it worthwhile.

•   Scout** 
o   Good skills, skirmish is nice,  but I think Spellthief's better..

•   Sneak Attack Fighter
o   +1 BAB and +2 Fort Saves both shore up the weaker sides of this build.  Weapon and Armor proficiencies give you access to Spellsword. 

•   (Swordsage) –
o   A level of swordsage at the right time (CL 9) will let you spend a feat on Assassin’s Stance for +2d6 Sneak Attack, as well as six maneuvers. 
o   The Shadow Hand stuff, for the most part, works well with our concept, here. 
o    Diamond Mind’s concentration-check-for-saving-throws. 
o   You can also get Weapon Focus (dagger) to help qualify for Daggerspell.  However, you’re either losing a caster level or waiting too long to get into the sneak attacking caster PrCs.

•   (Binder) Binder + Improved Binding, or the feats Bind Vestige and Practised Binder may get you 2d6 Sneak Attack, I'm not positive about how the feat works, in terms of which ability it grants.
o   Malphus (2nd lv Vestige) grants Skirmish, Andromalius (3rd lv) grants Sneak Attack

**- Does not advance sneak sneak attack, advances something similar.

IV. Prestige Classes that advance Sneak Attack and Caster Level:


•   Unseen Seer*
o   CL: 10/10(see cons) Sneak Attack: 4/10 BAB: 3/4 Skills:6+int
o   Req: Skills, 1st level arcane spells
o   Benefits: Add 3 non-Sor/Wiz divination spells, free Silent Spell feat.
o   Cons: Lose 3 non-divination Caster Levels
o       The Practised Spellcaster feat negates the only downside of this class.  It lets you pick non-wizard divination spells, of this there are some awesome choices.  It's also 6+Int skills/level.

•   Arcane Trickster ((SRD)
o   CL: 10/10 Sneak Attack: 5/10 BAB: ½ Skills:4+Int
o   Req: 1 3rd level spell, Sneak Attack 2d6, Skills.
o   Benefits: Impromptu Sneak Attack - there's nothing better for this build.
o   Cons:   BAB, HP, Skills.
o       This is the benchmark Sneak Attacking Caster class, bumping your damage by 2d6 every 2 levels.  Arcane Trickster levels are to Sneak Attacking casters what Eldritch Knight levels are to Gishes - good to measure against, good to finish off a build with, but almost invariably suboptimal.


•   Daggerspell Mage
o   CL: 9/10 Sneak Attack: 3/10 BAB: ¾ Skills:
o   Req: Two Weapon Fighting, Weapon Focus (dagger), *caster level* 5th, Sneak Attack 1d6.
o   Benefits: Helps you cast spells and fight with daggers at the same time.  Good for a melee sneak attacking caster.  Not so good for a ranged one.  You can qualify at CL 5 with only 1 level of a spellcasting class and Practised Caster, though.
o   Cons: Lose a caster level, burn two feats, and you end up in melee.  Are you sure you're reading the right guide?


•   Spellwarp Sniper**
o   Req: Sneak Attack 1d6
o   CL:5/5 Sneak Attack:3/5 BAB 1/2 Skills:
o   Benefits: Turn spells into Rays, ignoring reflex saves and getting sneak attack damage on them.
o   Cons: Doesn’t *actually* advance sneak attack.


•   Magelord (Wizards.com)
o   Req:Improved Initiative, Weapon Focus (Ray), Spell Mastery, Signature Spell, 5th (!!!) lv Spells and Evasion (!!!)
o   CL:10/10 Sneak Attack:3/10 BAB:1/2
o   Benefits:Costless Metamagic for certain spells, Spontaneous Casting of certain spells.  Good for Arcane Thesis-centric casters who rely on certain spells (Scorching Ray, Enervation) and their metamagic'ed big siblings.
o   Cons: Pretty much requires Rogue 2 / Wiz 9.  Which is weird, what with it being a 10 level class and all.
o   Unofficial Errata says it should require 4th lv. Spells.  An Illumian Spellthief -> Wizard -> Lorekeeper -> Magelord could work.

•   Scar Enforcer
o   Req: Skills, Half-Elf
o   CL: 5/10 Sneak Attack: 3/10, BAB: ¾
o   Benefits: Favored Enemy (Elf, Human), Smite Elf/Human, Hide in Plain Sight
o   Cons: 5/10 CL, 3/10 Sneak Attack, Req: Half-Elf.


*- Only advances existing bonus damage, but can be Skirmish, Sudden strike, or Sneak Attack.
**- Does not advance sneak sneak attack, advances something similar.

V. Prestige Classes that grant spellcasting and advance Sneak Attack


•   Fatemaker
o   Req: Skills, Skill Focus(Bluff, Intimidate or Diplomacy)
o   CL: Special Sneak Attack: 3/10, BAB: ¾
o   Benefits: Eh.

•   Temple Raider of  Olidamarra
o   CL: Special. Sneak Attack: 3/10 BAB: ¾
o   Req: BAB +5, Skills
o   Benefits: Grants trapfinding and limited divine spellcasting

•   Assassin (SRD)
o   CL: Special. Sneak Attack: 5/10 BAB: ¾
o   Req: Evil, Skills
o   Benefits: Death Attack, Great spell list
o       Cons: 4th level casting, doesn't do anything you can't duplicate with better classes.
o       Note: There exists a non-evil Assassin variant, the Avenger.  (Wizards.com)


VI. Other useful Prestige Classes:


Archmage
 Arcane Reach lets you make Ranged Touch Attacks (and sneak attack) with touch spells.
 Arcane Fire lets you burn a spell to make a Ranged Touch Attack for Spell Level + Archmage Level in d6's.  Which is like a reserve feat, except you burn a spell and add your Archmage class levels.  And you're losing spell slots.

+1 BAB, +1 CL Compendium (Includes Dragonslayer, Spellsword, and others)

Shadowcraft Mage

Phoenix00 likes the Chameleon

Loremaster

Divine Oracle

Keeper of the Cerulean Sign

VII. Useful Feats:


Ocular Spell – So useful.  So incredibly useful.  Worth taking Easy (or Practical) Metamagic and/or Arcane Thesis to support this feat. 

Double Wand Wielder
   Lets you use two wands, and hence get 2 sneak attacks in a round.  Requires 2WF.  Would probably do well with Wand Modulation.

Master Spellthief
   Lets you steal spells, stack caster levels, and cast in light armor.  There is an interaction between 'stacking levels' and the Ultimate Magus class that produces caster Levels of over 30.  Which lends itself to exploitation of the uncapped CL/3 sneak attack offered by Hunter's Eye. 

Battle caster
         With Master Spellthief, it lets you cast in Medium Armor.

Practised Spellcaster
   This feat ranges from ‘useful’ to ‘invaluable’ in builds like these

Able Learner
   The reason that Human is the best class for the Sneak Attack Caster: she can take this feat and keep her Rogue skills maximized.

Acidic Splatter / Force Needles
   Reserve feats turn your Wizard into a Warlock-lite.  Acidic Splatter is a touch attack for d6’s of [acid], Force Needles is a ranged attack for d4’s of [force]

Craven > Sacred Strike: Sacred Strike turns Sneak attack dice into d8s vs. Evil.  This is an average gain of 1 damage per die.  Craven adds your Character Level to your sneak attack damage.  If you can squeeze both, groovy.  If not, take Craven.

Deadeye Shot: If you can work it in, it's great for pulling off a Sneak Attack against something that has somehow foiled your usual sneakiness routine.

PB Shot / Precise Shot: It's iffy.  If you're sure you will be making touch attacks, you may be able to avoid these.  I like them, though.

Razing Strike: Like casting Golemstrike, but not.  I'm not a fan.

Arcane Strike: If you're doing the Daggerspell Mage fight-and-cast thing, this is great.  For the ranged guy, it's useless.

Knowledge Devotion

Smiting Spell: Smiting Vampiric Touch + Cloud of Knives (for example).  There are lots of possibilities here.


VIII. Spells


Any spell that requires an attack roll and deals damage can be used in a sneak attack. In this case "damage" is normal damage, nonlethal damage, ability damage, or energy drain. You can sneak attack with a Melf's acid arrow spell, but not with a magic missile spell.

Ranged spells are effective as sneak attacks only at ranges of 30 feet or less (just like any other ranged sneak attack).

A successful sneak attack with a weaponlike spell inflicts extra damage according to the attacker's sneak attack ability, and the extra damage dealt is the same type as the spell deals. For example, a 10th-level rogue who makes a successful sneak attack with a Melf's acid arrow spell inflicts 2d4 points of acid damage, plus an extra 5d6 points of acid damage from the sneak attack (note that continuing damage from this spell is not part of the sneak attack). Spells that inflict energy drains or ability damage deal extra negative energy damage in a sneak attack, not extra negative levels or ability damage. For example, a 10th-level rogue who makes a successful sneak attack with an enervation spell deals 1d4 negative levels plus an extra 5d6 points of negative energy damage.(link)

Non-Wizard Divination Spells for the Unseen Seer


How to transform non-targetted spells so you can Sneak Attack with them:


Sorceror/Wizard spells for Sneak Attack Casters


IX. Gear


Bunko reccomends the Collar of Umbral Metamorphosis (ToM, 10,800 gp) gain the Dark Creature template for 10 min a day; +8 hide, +6 move silently, +10 ft move speed, cold resistance 10, superior low light vision and darkvision 60 ft.

A Guide to gear for Skillmonkeys (Gear that improves Search, Disable Device, &c...)[/url]
A Guide to gear for Warlocks (Some Warlock-specific stuff, some UMD stuff, most everything's useful)

 X. Sample Builds:

R3, W6, At10, Dragonslayer 1
Rogue 1/Wizard 3/Fighter 1/Daggerspell Mage 10/Spellsword 1/ Arcane Trickster 4
Shadowcraft Mage
ST 1 / Wiz 5 / DsM 4 / AT 10   
A discussion of various Rogue/Wizard/Unseen Seer/Arcane Trickster builds
Rogue Mage Builds

Rogue 1/Wizard 5/Unseen Seer 10/Arcane Trickster 4 - The Standard by Which SAS's are judged.



 XI. The Guides that have come before


Evaluating the Arcane Trickster
How to use Hide to guarantee sneak attacks: A Guide to Sniping
An Arcane trickster's Guide to:
Familiars
Sneak Attacks
Skills

TLN's guide to Being Batman, or, What Being a Wizard is All About
Mastering the Summoned Monster (For Conjurers and others who want flanked opponents)
Spells for a Spellwarp Sniper

Offline Toptomcat

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Re: Hatchet Job Port Thread
« Reply #65 on: April 11, 2013, 01:20:55 AM »
KSB Snow Owl's Archer Build Thread

Because I'm nostalgic, and can't let go, and to make an easily referred-to post here at Brilliant Gameologist, I represent my Archer Build Thread.

This thread started years ago on the WotC Optimization Boards, as a 3.0 ed handbook of sorts, but over time has grown to include 3.5 items as well.  Now there are soley-3.0 sections, 3.0/3.5 mix sections, and soley-3.5 sections, so it can still be useful to those playing any incarnation of 3rd edition.

The classes and prestige classes used in this post, and their locations, are thus:
Deepwood Sniper (Masters of the Wild)
Order of the Bow Initiate (Sword and Fist)
Peerless Archer (Silver Marches – a Forgotten Realms campaign accessory)
Order of the Bow Initiate (3.5 - Complete Warrior) - note, the 3.5 version is only used in the 3.5-compatible builds.
Pious Templar (Complete Divine)
Cragtop Archer (Races of Stone)
Justice of the Weald and Woe (Champions of Ruin - a Forgotten Realms campaign accessory)
Dread Commando (Heroes of Battle)
Shooting Star Ranger Substitution Level (Champions of Valor - a Forgotten Realms campaign accessory)
Fighter (Player's Handbook)
Ranger (Player's Handbook)
Scout (Complete Adventurer)

There is a list of the acronyms and abbreviations used in this thread at the end of this post.

First, the Combat Archer:
Code:
Human
Level   Class      Feats         Class Abilities
1   Ranger      PBShot, Precise Shot   Fav En (?), TWF*, Ambidex*,
.                  Track
2   Fighter      Rapid Shot      BF
3   Fighter      Far Shot, WF      BF
4   Fighter
5   Fighter      Weap Spec      BF/WS
6   OotBI      Quick Draw      RSA +1d6
7   OotBI               Close Combat Shot
8   Peer Arch            Expert Bowyer, RSA +2d6
9   Peer Arch   Imp. Crit.      Sharp Shooting 1, Fletching +1
10   Peer Arch            Power Shot
11   Peer Arch            RSA +3d6, Fletching +2
12   Peer Arch   Manyshot      Sharp Shooting 2
13   Peer Arch            Fletching +3
14   Peer Arch            RSA +4d6
15   Peer Arch   Combat Reflexes      Threaten, Fletching +4
16   OotBI               RSA +5d6   
17   OotBI                Sup. Weap Foc
18   OotBI      Zen Archery      RSA +6d6
19   OotBI               Free Attack, Zen Archery
20   OotBI               Sup. Weap Spec
Base Saves   Fort +14     Ref +8   Will +8
To use this exact progression, you must be either Human or Strongheart Halfling, because the early levels are very feat intensive to meet the prerequisites of OotBI and Peer Arch by 5th and 7th levels, respectively.   A similar build can be played by other races, but you must remove either Zen Archery, Manyshot, or Improved Crit, and move the first level of Peerless Archer back to 10th level, shifting levels 3 and 4 of OotBI up to character levels 8 and 9. Improved Crit is probably the best option for a 3.5 player, as they could stick a level of DWS into the build somewhere, only losing the Superior Weapon Specialization from the 7th level of OotBI.

This build provides some great combat abilities to an archer.  By 7th level he no longer suffers AoO’s from firing his bow in melee.  At 10th character level, he is able to make Power Attacks with his bow, helping him deal damage and break through lower degrees of DR. By the 5th level of Peer Arch (12th character lvl) he no longer suffers any chance of striking his friends in combat due to them providing cover to the enemies (not otherwise able to be achieved without an epic feat in 3.0). This also replicates a large portion of the 3.5 feat Improved Precise Shot.  At 15th level this combat archer gains a large measure of his power.  The threaten ability of the Peer Arch allows him to threaten at 10 feet as if he were wielding a melee reach weapon. This, in combination with Combat Reflexes, allows him to be just as effective at melee range as a fighter with a pole-arm; better, actually, since he’ll have a much higher dexterity, allowing him numerous AoO’s within each round. At 19th level, the addition of the Free Attack and stacking Zen Archery abilities of the OotBI makes this archer a combat god, especially if you have another party member who wields a reach weapon.

By 19th level, with a Dex score of 24 (easily obtainable by the higher levels), and under the effects of Haste, this archer is able to fire up to 18 arrows a round; 11 of them at one target.  Here’s the breakdown: 4 arrows from iterative attacks, 1 arrow from Rapid Shot, 4 arrows from Manyshot (during your hasted action), 1 arrow from an AoO, and 1 arrow from Free Attack.  You also have the possibility of 7 more AoO’s due to Combat Reflexes.

Now, the Sniper Archer:
Code:
Human
Level   Class      Feats         Class Abilities
1   Ranger      PBShot, Precise Shot   Fav En (?), TWF*, Ambidex*,
.                  Track
2   Fighter      Rapid Shot      BF
3   Fighter      Far Shot, WF      BF
4   Fighter
5   Fighter      Weap Spec      BF/WS
6   DWS      Quickdraw      Keen Arrows,
.                  Range Inc Bonus +10ft/lvl
7   DWS               Conc Reduc 10%, Magic Weap,
.                  Proj Imp Crit +1
8   Peer Arch            Expert Bowyer, RSA +1d6
9   Peer Arch   Manyshot      Sharp Shooting 1, Fletching +1
10   Peer Arch            Power Shot
11   DWS               Safe Poison Use
12   DWS      Craven         Take Aim +2
13   DWS               Consistent Aim 1/day
14   DWS               Conceal Reduc 20%
15   DWS      Imp Crit      Consistent Aim 2/day,
.                  Proj Imp Crit +2
16   OotBI               RSA +2d6
17   OotBI               Close Combat Shot
18   OotBI      ? Imp Init ?      RSA +3d6   
19   OotBI                Sup Weap Foc
20   OotBI               RSA +4d6
This is the be-all and end-all of snipers.  The following analyses are dependant upon a few different things.

First, a character with a single level of ranger is able to use wands of ranger spells. You do not have to be a 4th level ranger before you can use wands.  I will post the quoted rule at the bottom of this thread, so as to not clutter this section.

Secondly, Hunter’s Mercy (found in Magic of Faerun) causes your next bow shot to automatically hit and threaten a critical. Also note that HM affects you, not your weapon.

Thirdly, Bless Weapon causes your next critical threat against an evil creature to automatically confirm as a critical hit.  Apparently, BW is not a valid spell to be made into an oil (potion) under 3.0 rules; however, it is listed as a randomly generated oil in the 3.5 DMG.  For 3.0, you can obtain a wand of BW and have either the party Paladin or Rogue (through use of Use Magic Device) cast it for you.

Fourthly, it is debatable whether a weapon with the burst enhancement can produce damage higher than +3d10 (on a x4 critical), since it does not list it as going higher than that in the DMG; however, at the time the DMG was printed there was no way to get a critical multiplier of higher than x4.  I am of the opinion that it is obviously linear, and would increase to +4d10 at a x5 critical and +5d10 at a x6 critical.  As such, that is what is represented in this build.

Lastly, it is unlikely that BW can be used on an arrow fired from an Oathbow, so I will show at each level the values without using an Oathbow, but will also show the use of an advanced Oathbow at 20th level, along with the to-hit modifiers (assuming a Dex of 20). In that advancement of the Oathbow, I am treating the Oathbow property as a +3 modifier, as it is similar to Bane (a +2 modifier), but perhaps a little better.

   The last 5 levels of the build can really be composed of any +1 BAB class; however, I chose OotBI because of its sneak attack progression.  Here is an analysis of this build’s damage potential at character levels 10, 15, and 20.  If there are any mistakes that anyone notices, please point them out so that I may fix them.

The items used for this analysis are:
A wand of Hunter’s Mercy
A wand or oil of Bless Weapon
Bracers of Archery
Magic arrows obtainable at that level from a straight classed wizard or cleric of equal level
A Mighty Composite Longbow (+4 str mod) of magical enhancement relatively appropriate for the level (+2 shocking burst @ 10th, +5 Shocking Burst @ 15th, +5 Shocking Burst, Icy Burst or advanced +5 Shocking Burst Oathbow @ 20th).

The tactics employed by this sniper are composed of him being made invisible (either through the help of party spell-casters, Wondrous Items, or a Ring of Invisibility at higher levels), placing Bless Weapon upon an arrow (either with an oil or wand), sneaking to within 30 feet of the target, and casting Hunter’s Mercy from a wand.  He then uses Manyshot to fire the maximum number of arrows at the target.

10th level:
+2 Mighty Comp (+4) Shocking Burst Longbow (19-20/ x4 crit)

Damage: 4d8(primary arrow) +8(+2 magical bow) +12(+3 magic arrow) +40(power shot) +8(Weap. Spec.) +16 (strength) +4 (PBS) +4(Bracers) + 1d6(sneak attack) + 1d6(shocking) + 3d10(burst) +1d8(2nd arrow) +2(2nd magical bow) +3(2nd magic arrow) +10(power shot) +2(Weap. Spec.) +4(strength) +1d6(shocking)
Total: 5d8 + 3d6 + 3d10 + 113
Avg Dmg: 162.5
Max Dmg: 201
Min Dmg: 124

Alternatively, one could take the Craven feat at 9th level and push Manyshot back to 12th level.  If this is done, it boosts the overall damage at 10th level thusly:

10th level:
+2 Mighty Comp (+4) Shocking Burst Longbow (19-20/ x4 crit)

Damage: 4d8(primary arrow) +8(+2 magical bow) +12(+3 magic arrow) +40(power shot) +8(Weap. Spec.) +16 (strength) +4 (PBS) +4(Bracers) + 40(Craven) + 1d6(sneak attack) + 1d6(shocking) + 3d10(burst)
Total: 4d8 + 2d6 + 3d10 + 132
Ave Dmg: 173.5
Max Dmg: 206
Min Dmg: 141

15th level:
+5 Mighty Comp (+4) Shocking Burst Longbow (18-20/ x5 crit)

Damage: 5d8(primary arrow) +25(+5 magical bow) +25(+5 magic arrow) +75(power shot) +10(Weap. Spec.) +20 (strength) +5 (PBS) +5(Bracers) + 75(Craven)+ 1d6(sneak attack) + 1d6(shocking) + 4d10(burst) +2d8(2nd&3rd arrows) +10(2&3 magical bow) +10(2&3 magic arrow) +30(2&3 power shot) +4(2&3 Weap. Spec.) +8(2&3 strength) +2d6(2&3 shocking)
Total: 7d8 + 4d6 + 4d10 + 327
Avg Dmg: 369.5
Max Dmg: 422
Min Dmg: 317

20th level:
+5 Mighty Comp (+4) Shocking Burst, Icy Burst Longbow (18-20/ x5 crit)

Damage: 5d8(primary arrow) +25(+5 magical bow) +25(+5 magic arrow) +100(power shot) +10(Weap. Spec.) +20 (strength) +5 (PBS) +5(Bracers) + 100(Craven) +4d6(sneak attack) +1d6(shocking) +4d10(burst) +1d6(icy) +4d10(burst) +3d8(2nd, 3rd, &4th arrows) +15(2nd, 3rd, &4th magical bow) +15(2nd, 3rd, &4th magic arrow) +60(2nd, 3rd, &4th power shot) +6(2nd, 3rd, &4th Weap. Spec.) +12(2nd, 3rd, &4th strength) +3d6(2nd, 3rd, &4th shocking) +3d6(2nd, 3rd, &4th icy)
Total: 8d8 + 12d6 + 8d10 + 398
Avg Dmg: 520
Max Dmg: 614
Min Dmg: 426

You could, at great expense (approximately 16,000 gp), obtain and use four +10 equivalent arrows in the above attack.  Actually, you could make that four +6 equivalent arrows that are +1 with +5-worth of abilities, and then subject them to a Greater Magic Weapon spell, so the four arrows would cost less than 6000 gp.  For example, you could obtain four +5 Holy, Acidic Burst, Screaming arrows (Acidic Burst and Screaming are found in MoF).  Using these would add 8d6 (Holy), 4d6 (Sonic), 4d6 (acid), and 4d10 (burst) damage to the above analysis.  This would increase the Average, Maximum, and Minimum damage from 520, 614, and 426 respectively, to:
Avg Dmg: 598
Max Dmg: 750
Min Dmg: 446

Although this is talking in extreme hypotheticals, it is also possible that you could obtain four arrows with the bane property against your target. For example, four +5 Holy, Bane, Screaming arrows.  Against the Bane target the arrows would function as +7 arrows.  This would add 16 (magical) + 8d6 (Bane) +8d6 (Holy) + 4d6 (sonic) damage, and would increase the 520, 614, and 426 values to:
Avg Dmg: 606
Max Dmg: 750
Min Dmg: 462

Now, with an oathbow, and simple +5 arrows.

20th level:
+5 Mighty Comp (+4) Shocking Burst Oathbow (18-20/ x5 crit)
(+7 Mighty Comp (+4) Shocking Burst Oathbow (18-20/ x6 crit) [versus a sworn enemy]

Bonuses to confirm the Critical Hit: +14 = +7(bow) +5(arrows) +1(Weap Foc) +1 (Grtr Weap Foc) +1(PBS) +2(bracers) +5(Dex) – 8(manyshot); Or +16(with an additonal +2 by taking a full-round to aim [DWS's Take Aim +2 ability])

Damage: 6d8(primary arrow) +42(+7 magical bow) +30(+5 magic arrow) +120(power shot) +12(Weap. Spec.) +24 (strength) +6 (PBS) +6(Bracers) +100 (Craven) +4d6(sneak attack) +1d6(shocking) +5d10(burst) +3d8(2nd, 3rd, &4th arrows) +21(2nd, 3rd, &4th magical bow) +21(2nd, 3rd, &4th magic arrow) +60(2nd, 3rd, &4th power shot) +6(2nd, 3rd, &4th Weap. Spec.) +12(2nd, 3rd, &4th strength) +3d6(2nd, 3rd, &4th shocking)
Total: 9d8 + 8d6 + 5d10 + 460
Avg Dmg: 556
Max Dmg: 630
Min Dmg: 482

20th level, but at a distance of greater than 30 feet:
+5 Mighty Comp (+4) Shocking Burst Oathbow (18-20/ x5 crit)
(+7 Mighty Comp (+4) Shocking Burst Oathbow (18-20/ x6 crit) [versus a sworn enemy]

Bonuses to confirm the Critical Hit: +21 = +7(bow) +5(arrow) +1(Weap Foc) +1 (Grtr Weap Foc) +2(bracers) +5(Dex); Or +23(with an additonal +2 by taking a full-round to aim [DWS's Take Aim +2 ability])

Damage: 6d8(primary arrow) +42(+7 magical bow) +30(+5 magic arrow) +120(power shot) +24 (strength) +1d6(shocking) +5d10(burst)
Total: 6d8 + 1d6 + 5d10 + 216
Avg Dmg: 274
Max Dmg: 320
Min Dmg: 2283.5 Updated Sniper Build
3.5 Sniper Archer update:
Code:
Human
Level   Class      Feats         Class Abilities
1   Ranger      PBShot, Precise Shot   Fav En (?), Track
2   Ranger      Rapid Shot      Combat Style
3   Ranger      Far Shot      
4   Ranger (Shooting Star Sub-Level)   Spells, Bonus Spell
5   Fighter      WF: Longbow      BF
6   Fighter      Quickdraw      BF
.         Sword of the Arc Order
7   DWS               Keen Arrows,
.                  Range Inc Bonus +10ft/lvl
8   DWS               Conc Reduc 10%, Magic Weap,
.                  Proj Imp Crit +1
9   Peer Arch   Manyshot      Expert Bowyer, RSA +1d6
10   Peer Arch            Sharp Shooting 1, Fletching +1
11   Peer Arch            Power Shot
12   DWS      Craven         Safe Poison Use
13   DWS               Take Aim +2
14   DWS               Consistent Aim 1/day
15   DWS      Imp Init      Conceal Reduc 20%
16   DWS               Consistent Aim 2/day,
.                  Proj Imp Crit +2
17   Peer Arch            RSA +2d6, Fletching +2
18   Peer Arch   ?         Sharp Shooting 2
19   Peer Arch            Fletching +3   
20   Peer Arch            RSA +3d6
This is an update to my Sniper Archer build, and was built using the assumption that all WotC Third Edition material is usable, but all 3.5 updates apply where applicable.

Part of the impetus for this revision is the inclusion of Hunter’s Mercy in the Spell Compendium.  The new incarnation of Hunter's Mercy makes your next hit an auto crit, removing the need for Bless Weapon.  The spell has all the same target line and duration information as its previous self, but it now functions such that if you successfully strike an opponent in the following round, HM causes that attack to auto-critical.

True Strike affects your next attack roll, and since all the arrows fired in a Manyshot attack use one attack roll, TS applies to all arrows in that Manyshot attack.

Again, I am of the opinion that the burst enhancement is obviously linear, and would increase to +4d10 at a x5 critical and +5d10 at a x6 critical.  As such, that is what is represented in this build.

The Shooting Star 4th level Ranger Substitution level from Champions of Valor drops the Ranger’s animal companion ability, but provides him with one extra ranger spell slot at each level of spells (once he gains access to them at levels 4, 8, etc.) as if he got the bonus spell from a high Wisdom score.  It also provides that the Ranger’s caster level for all Ranger spells is equal to ½ his Ranger level plus 2, plus any arcane caster level he also possesses.  In this instance, since he only has 4 levels of Ranger, his caster level is four ([1/2 * Ranger 4] +2 = 4).

The Sword of the Arcane Order feat (also from Champions of Valor) allows a Ranger (or Paladin) to use a Wizard spellbook (either borrowed from another caster, or one they scribe themselves) and prepare Wizard spells in his Ranger spell slots.  These spells are arcane, and require an appropriately high Intelligence score (Int 11 to cast 1st level Wizard spells, etc.)  The feat also allows your Wizard caster level, if you have levels as a Wizard, to equal the sum of all your Wizard, Paladin, and Ranger levels.  Note that the Shooting Star organization is one of three sub-orders that are a part of the Arcane Order, so there are no roleplay problems between these two feats.

So, now a 4th level Ranger with a mere 12 Wisdom can get two spell slots per day, and assuming he also has an 11 Intelligence, he can cast True Strike.

The last 4 levels of this build can really be composed of any +1 BAB class.  I think Dread Commando would be a good choice, but sadly our archer is a bit short of feats to complete its entry requirements.  Any easily obtainable PrC that grants either Dodge or Mobility at its first level would be helpful in this case.  I used Peerless Archer because it has Full BAB and grants +2d6 Sneak Attack in those 4 levels.

Due to the fact this Sniper Build comes into his power slightly later than the previous version (by one level), I am just going to do an analysis starting from level 12, then again at 16, and lastly at level 20.

The items used for this analysis are:
A spellbook with the spell True Strike
A lesser rod of extending – 3000 gp
Bracers of Archery, Lesser (@12th level) – 5000 gp
Bracers of Archer, Greater (@16th level+) – 25000 gp
Magic bow enhancement obtainable at that level from a straight classed wizard or cleric of equal level (thus granting the enhancement values below).
A Mighty Composite Longbow (+4 str mod) of magical enhancement relatively appropriate for the level (+3 Fierce @ 12th, +4 Fierce, Shocking Burst @ 16th, +5 Fierce, Shocking Burst, Acidic Burst @ 20th).
Assume the Sniper started with an 18 in dex, places all his increases into it, and has the highest Gloves of Dexterity available at his wealth level (+4 @ 12th, +6 @ 16th and 20th), granting scores of 25 @ 12th, 28 @ 16th, and 29 @ 20th.
Assume the Sniper has a14 Strength and has use of a Belt of Giant Strength +4.

The tactics employed by this sniper are composed of him being made invisible (either through the help of party spell-casters, Wondrous Items, or a Ring of Invisibility at higher levels), placing Bless Weapon upon an arrow (either with an oil or wand), sneaking to within 45 feet of the target, casting an extended True Strike, and sneaking to within 30 feet of the target and casting Hunter’s Mercy.  He then uses Manyshot to fire the maximum number of arrows at the target.

12th level:
+3 Mighty Comp (+4) Fierce Longbow (19-20/ x4 crit)

Attack Bonus = +24 = +20(True Strike) +3(bow) +1(Weap Foc) +1(bracers) +7(Dex) – 8(Manyshot)

Damage: 4d8(primary arrow) +12(+3 magical bow) +48(power shot) +16 (strength) +4 (PBS) +28(Fierce) +48(Craven) +1d6(sneak attack) +2d8(2nd&3rd arrows) +6(2nd&3rd magical bow) +24(2nd&3rd power shot) +8(2nd&3rd strength) +14(2nd&3rd Fierce)
Total: 6d8 + 1d6 + 208
Avg Dmg: 238.5
Max Dmg: 262
Min Dmg: 215

16th level:
+4 Mighty Comp (+4) Fierce, Shocking Burst Longbow (19-20/ x5 crit)

Attack Bonus = +26 = +20(True Strike) +4(bow) +1(Weap Foc) +2(bracers) +9(Dex) – 10(Manyshot)

Damage: 5d8(primary arrow) +20(+4 magical bow) +80(power shot) +20 (strength) +5(PBS) +5(Bracers) + 75(Craven) +45(Fierce) + 1d6(sneak attack) + 1d6(shocking) + 4d10(burst) +3d8(2nd,3rd,&4th arrows) +12(2,3,&4 magical bow) +48(2,3,&4 power shot) +12(2,3,&4 strength) + 27(2,3,&4 Fierce) +2d6(2&3 shocking)
Total: 8d8 + 4d6 + 4d10 + 349
Avg Dmg: 421
Max Dmg: 477
Min Dmg: 365

20th level:
+5 Mighty Comp (+4) Fierce, Shocking Burst, Acidic Burst Longbow (19-20/ x5 crit)

Attack Bonus = +27 = +20(True Strike) +5(bow) +1(Weap Foc) +2(bracers) +9(Dex) – 10(Manyshot)

Damage: 5d8(primary arrow) +25(+5 magical bow) +100(power shot) +20(strength) +5(PBS) +5(Bracers) + 100(Craven) + 45(Fierce) +3d6(sneak attack) +1d6(shocking) +4d10(burst) +1d6(acidic) +4d10(burst) +3d8(2nd, 3rd, &4th arrows) +15(2nd, 3rd, &4th magical bow) +60(2nd, 3rd, &4th power shot) +12(2nd, 3rd, &4th strength) +27(Fierce) +3d6(2nd, 3rd, &4th shocking) +3d6(2nd, 3rd, &4th acidic)
Total: 8d8 + 11d6 + 8d10 + 414
Avg Dmg: 532.5
Max Dmg: 624
Min Dmg: 441

3.5 Core and Complete series

Well, I’ve finally broken and succumb to the requests to add fully-3.5-compatible Archer builds.  My summer gaming group does play 3.5, and I took a look at my group members’ books this afternoon.  Here is what I’ve come up with; however, this is largely from memory, so if there are a few minor errors I apologize now, and ask that you point out any errors so I may fix them.  The following build works for those restricted to 3.5 Core and the Complete series.

Note, you need to worship a deity with a favored weapon of Longbow or Composite Longbow.

Code:
Human
Level   Class      Feats         Class Abilities
1   Ranger      PBShot, Precise Shot   Fav En (?), Track*, Wild Empathy
2   Ranger      Rapid Shot*      Combat Style
3   Fighter      Far Shot, WF      BF
4   Fighter      Imp. Init.      BF
5   Ranger      Endurance*
6   OotBI      True Believer      Precision Shot +1d8
7   OotBI               Close Combat Shot
8   Pious Temp            Mettle
9   Pious Temp   Manyshot      Smite 1/Day
10   Pious Temp   Weap Spec      WS, DR 1/-
11   Pious Temp   Imp Prec Shot      BF
12   OotBI      Imp Crit      Precision Shot +2d8
13   OotBI      Grt Weap Foc*      Greater WF
14   Pious Temp
15   Pious Temp   ?         Smite 2/Day
16   Pious Temp            DR 2/-
17   Pious Temp   ?         BF
18   ?      ?
Those last three feats could be filled with Dodge, Mobility, and Shot on the Run, or some of the ranged feats from Complete Warrior (Ranged-Disarm, -Pin, -Sunder, etc).

Also, remember that Pious Templar casts spells from either the Paladin or Black Guard spell lists.

I am unsure what would make a good end to this build.  You could continue in OotBI, but it doesn’t get anything great in the next few levels.  You could take a couple more levels of Ranger to get actual spellcasting ability, or even insert 3 Ranger levels starting at level 8, so as to get Manyshot for free, and thus opening up another feat slot.  You could add one level of Ranger and two of Fighter, gaining another Fighter Bonus Feat.  You could add levels of Dragonslayer from the Draconomicon, improving your Pious Templar spell casting along the way; or take three levels of Dragonstalker from the same book, gaining the ability to ignore Natural Armor once per day.

Now, you may wonder why I chose to go with the 3.5 version of OotBI to gain Close Combat Shot, rather than taking a level of Exotic Weapon Master and using a greatbow.  Well, I have a feeling that you will have a hard time finding a god with a greatbow as his favored weapon.  I know some FR gods do have bows as favored weapons, and in 3.5 Ehlonna now has the longbow as her favored weapon.

Swift Hunter

I know, I'm late in the game when it comes to scouts.  I didn't get Complete Adventurer until long after it came out, and didn't feel the need to rehash what others had done a hundred times.  However, with the fairly recent addition of the Swift Hunter feat from Complete Scoundrel, it is perhaps time to bring a skirmishing archer into the thread.

For those who do not know the feat, Swift Hunter allows Scout and Ranger levels to stack for Favored Enemies and Skirmish.  Here is a basic framework for a Swift Hunter archer:

Code:
Level   Class      Feats            Special

.   Human      Point Blank Shot
1.   Scout 1      Precise Shot         [Skirmish +1d6], {Favored Enemy 1}
2.   Ranger 1   Track*            [Favored Enemy]
3.   Ranger 2   Rapid Shot*, Open Feat      {Skirmish +1d6/+1 AC}
4.   Scout 2                  [Battle Fort +1], [uncanny dodge]
5.   Scout 3                  [Skirmish +1d6/+1 AC], [Trackless Step],
.                     [Fast Movement +10 ft.], {Skirmish
.                     +2d6/+1 AC}, {Favored Enemy 2}
6.   Scout 4      Swift Hunter, Improved Skirmish^
7.   Ranger 3   Endurance*         [Skirmish +2d6/+2 AC]
8.   Ranger 4               [1st level spells], [Animal Companion]
9.   Ranger 5   Open Feat         [Skirmish +3d6/+2 AC]
10.   Ranger 6   Manyshot         [Favored Enemy 3]
11.   Ranger 7               [Skirmish +3d6/+3 AC], [Woodland Stride]
12.   Ranger 8   Greater Manyshot      [2nd level spells], [Swift Tracker]
13.   Ranger 9               [Skirmish +4d6/+3 AC], [Evasion]
14.   Ranger 10   
15.   Ranger 11   Improved Pecise Shot*,      [Skirmish +4d6/+4 AC], [3rd level spells],
.         Open Feat         [Favored Enemy 4]
16.   Ranger 12
17.   Ranger 13               [Skirmish +5d6/+4 AC], [Camouflage]
18.   Ranger 14   Open Feat         [4th level spells]
19.   Ranger 15               [Skirmish +5d6/+5 AC]
20.   Ranger 16               [Favored Enemy 5]

For additional info on Swift Hunter, check out the Swift Hunter's Handbook.  Dictum Mortuum has done a good job of organizing and explaining ways to optimize this feat.

As I said, this is a bare-bones build, leaving several feat slots open.  Possible archery feats to gain in these slots include Woodland Archer (Races of the Wild), Improved Rapid Shot (Complete Warrior), Improved Critical, as well as Martial Study: Cloak of Deception, and Martial Stance: Assassin's Stance, both from Tome of Battle.

Many of the archer feats listed above have the problem of not synergizing well with skirmish.  Skirmish requires you to move 10 or more feat, while Rapid Shot requires you to move no more than 5 feet.  Improved Critical works to increase your critical damage, while much of your damage cannot be enhanced by criticals.  If you do take Improved Critical, it may be wise to look into the Telling Blow feat from the Player's Handbook II.  Combined with Hunter's Mercy from your Ranger spellcasting, it could lead to a nice combat-opening combo.

Martial Study: Cloak of Deception, and Martial Stance: Assassin's Stance from Tome of Battle open up a few interesting options for this or any other archer.  Cloak of Deception allows you to, once per encounter, make yourself invisible for your turn as a swift action.  Note, this is not Invisible, as the spell, this is the condition of being invisible.  In combat it is functionally equivalent to being affected by a Greater Invisiblity spell for one turn.  Thus it allows you easily activate Sneak Attack, if you have it.  That is where Assassin's Stance comes in.  Assassin's Stance grants you +2d6 sneak attack, so long as you remain in the stance.  Since you have no other stances, you will be in that stance virtually all the time.  Just a handy trick for boosting an archer's damage, especially on a full attack.  For a Swift Hunter it would be a nice companion to your Greater Manyshot feat.

Of the feats listed in this build, Swift Hunter is the most important, for obvious reasons.  Next is Greater Manyshot (from the XPH), which allows you to make separate attack rolls with your arrows from a Manyshot attack, aiming them at different targets, and applying precision-based damage, such as skirmish, to all arrows fired.  Thus, it will be the main method for moving and getting off multiple skirmish-inflicting attacks.

Third most important is Improved Skirmish from Complete Scoundrel.  If you move 20 ft, you get an additional +2d6/+2 AC skirmish on top of your normal skirmish.  Along with your Woodland Stride ability, it can make you into a great guerilla fighter.

Some may not agree with my choice to take Ranger 2 so early.  Others may wish to get to scout 3 and 4 as quickly as possible, so as to pick up Swift Hunter one level earlier.  However, in my play experience with archers, I've noticed that in the early levels, when you don't have very many bonuses to attack, it is often more advantageous to get more opportunities to hit, than to only attack once and pray that you roll high.  Thus, I chose to get Rapid Shot earlier, when it will actually make a difference in play, and thus hold off on emphasizing the bonus skirmish damage to a slightly later level, when your chances to hit with the one big shot have improved.

One possible alternate ending to the above build would be to sacrifice the last two levels of Ranger, and instead take two levels of Highland Stalker from Complete Adventurer.  You would be sacrificing your 5th Favored Enemy and a bonus spell slot or two, but you would gain Skirmish +6d6/+4 AC rather than Skirmish +5d6/+5 AC.  The class would require no extra expenditures on your part (BAB +5, Listen 8 ranks, Spot 8 Ranks, Survival 8 Ranks, Track, Skirmish class feature), and would actually compliment your Woodland Stride ability with Mountain Stride (like woodland stride, but functions through scree, dense rubble, and moving up steep slopes).

3.5 Core, Complete series, and Races series

Since there is a preview of the Cragtop Archer for me to work from, I figured I’d add in a build that incorporates it. As I do not own the book I don’t know what it has for good and bad saves (I would assume good Fort and Ref), but those of you who actually own Races of Stone can find that out for yourselves.  I’m also taking into account the fact that there are several new Ranger spells in Complete Adventurer that are pretty powerful.  So, without further eloquence, here are two different takes at a fully 3.5 compatible archer build for those restricted to Core, the Complete series, and the Races series.

I will readily admit that the second build may not work, due to the fact that there probably aren't a lot of deities that have a Greatbow as a favored weapon.

Code:
Human
Level   Class      Feats            Class Abilities
1   Ranger      PBShot, Precise Shot      Fav En (?), Track*, Wild Empathy
2   Ranger      Rapid Shot*         Combat Style
3   Fighter      Far Shot, Mountain Warrior   BF
4   Fighter      WF            BF
5   Ranger      Endurance*
6   OotBI      Manyshot         Precision Shot +1d8
7   OotBI                  Close Combat Shot
8   Crag Arch               Adept Climber, Farsight
9   Crag Arch   True Believer         Strike From Above
10   Crag Arch               Arching Shot
11   Crag Arch               Horizon Shot
12   Pious Temp   Imp Prec Shot         Mettle
13   Pious Temp               Smite 1/day
14   Pious Temp   Weap Spec*         WS, DR 1/-
15   Pious Temp   Imp Crit, Imp Init      BF
16   Ranger                  Animal Comp, First Level Spells
17   OotBI                  Precision Shot +2d8
18   OotBI      Grt Weap Foc*, ?      Greater Weapon Focus
Code:
Human
Level   Class      Feats            Class Abilities
1   Ranger      PBShot, Precise Shot      Fav En (?), Track*, Wild Empathy
2   Ranger      Rapid Shot*         Combat Style
3   Fighter      Far Shot, ExWeap Prof (Greatbow)BF
4   Fighter      WF            BF
5   Ranger      Endurance*
6   Ranger      Mountain Warrior      Animal Comp, First Level Spells
7   ExWM                  Close Combat Shot Trick
8   Ranger                  Fav En (?)         
9   Ranger      Manyshot*, True Believer   Improved Combat Style
10   Crag Arch               Adept Climber, Farsight
11   Crag Arch               Strike From Above
12   Crag Arch   Imp Prec Shot         Arching Shot
13   Crag Arch               Horizon Shot
14   Pious Temp               Mettle
15   Pious Temp   Imp Crit         Smite 1/day
16   Pious Temp   Weap Spec*         WS, DR 1/-
17   Pious Temp   Imp Init         BF
As with the previous build, I am unsure how to finish this character off in the top levels.  Many of the options listed above would be perfectly viable in either of these builds.

All 3.5 Sources

I've recently picked up both Champions of Ruin and Heroes of Battle, and I started fiddling in an attempt to make another fully-3.5-compliant archer build for my archer thread.  Here is what I came up with, using both the Justice of the Weald and Woe and Dread Commando PrC's, though I am certainly open to suggestions.  I did not choose a race for the build as of yet; making it Human would give you an additional feat.
Code:
Level   Class      Feats         Class Abilities
1   Ranger      PB Shot, Track      Fav En, Wild Emp
2   Ranger      Rapid Shot
3   Fighter      Precise Shot, Dodge   BF
4   Ranger      Endurance
5   Fighter      Mobility      BF
6   Dread Com   WF (Longbow)      Sud Strk +1d6, Team Init Bonus
7   Just W&W            Spells
8   Just W&W   Shot on the Run      BF, Woodland Stride
9   Just W&W   Weap Spec (Longbow)   Sneak Attack +1d6
10   Just W&W            Lucky Shot, Trackless Step
11   Dread Com            Armored Ease 2
12   Dread Com   Manyshot      Sud Strk +2d6
13   Dread Com            Armored Ease 4, Stealthy Movement
14   Just W&W            Poison Use
15   Just W&W   Imp Crit      Steady Hand
16   Just W&W            Sneak Attack +2d6
17   Just W&W   Far Shot      BF
18   Dread Com   Imp Precise Shot   Sud Strk +3d6
19   Just W&W            Hide in Plain Sight
20   Just W&W            Death Attack, Poison Immunity
Fort +14   Ref +14   Will +5

I've thought that perhaps Scout would be a good start for this build, though it would push the PrCs' starting levels back, and you're already taking a hit to BAB with Justice of the Weald and Woe (and I don't own Complete Adventurer...) However, overall I'd say the Ranger's bonus feats and full BAB outweigh the small ammount of Skirmish damage you'd get from Scout.

Oh yes, that rule about wand use.  Wands use the spell trigger activation method, and looking up spell trigger in the 3.5 SRD (or page 175 of the 3.0 DMG, and page 213 of the 3.5 DMG) we find that:
Quote
Spell Trigger: Spell trigger activation is similar to spell completion, but it’s even simpler. No gestures or spell finishing is needed, just a special knowledge of spellcasting that an appropriate character would know, and a single word that must be spoken. Anyone with a spell on his or her spell list knows how to use a spell trigger item that stores that spell. (This is the case even for a character who can’t actually cast spells, such as a 3rd-level paladin.) The user must still determine what spell is stored in the item before she can activate it. Activating a spell trigger item is a standard action and does not provoke attacks of opportunity.
Emphases mine.

And here are the acronyms and abbreviations that are used throughout this post:
Ambidex: Ambidexterity
AoO: Attack of Opportunity
BF: Bonus Feat
BW: Bless Weapon
Conc Reduc: Concealment Reduction
DR: Damage Reduction
DWS: Deepwood Sniper
Fav En: Favored Enemy
HM: Hunter’s Mercy
Imp. Crit: Improved Critical
Imp. Init: Improved Initiative
Inc: Increment
OotBI: Order of the Bow Initiate
PBS / PBShot: Point Blank Shot
Peer Arch: Peerless Archer
Proj Imp Crit: Projectile Improved Critical
RSA: Ranged Sneak Attack
Sup. Weap Foc: Superior Weapon Focus
Sup. Weap Spec: Superior Weapon Specialization
TWF: Two Weapon Fighting
WF: Weapon Focus
WS / Weap Spec: Weapon Specialization

Offline Toptomcat

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Re: Hatchet Job Port Thread
« Reply #66 on: April 11, 2013, 01:21:53 AM »
Caelic's Build Compendium

by Caelic

This isn't going to be anything particularly fancy or spectacular--just a collection of favorite builds I've come up with.  They're scattered all over the CO Board, and it might be nice to have them all in one place.

Guardian of the Weave

The Guardian of the Weave is an Ultimate Magus build I put together a while back.  The underlying philosophy was that, rather than trying to be great at two different types of magic, I would focus on my wizard spellcasting--see how many benefits I could get in exchange for a minimum of Wizard spellcasting lost.  A devotee of Mystra, he is dedicated to mastering the most subtle aspects of magic...a quest which takes him to study the theory of Mythals with the elves.  With knowledge comes the power to defend the Weave.


Human Wizard 6/Ruathar 3/Knight of the Weave 1/Ultimate Magus 10

1. Wizard 1: Scribe Scroll, Summon Familiar, Extend Spell, Improved Initiative
2. Wizard 2
3. Wizard 3: Craft Wondrous Item
4. Wizard 4
5. Wizard 5: Spell Mastery
6. Wizard 6: Empower Spell
7. Ruathar 1: Word of Friendship, Gift of the Elves
8. Ruathar 2: Low-light vision, Elfwise
9. Ruathar 3: Star Blessing, Arvandor's Grace, Quicken Spell
10. Knight of the Weave 1: Detect Magic, Read Magic
11. Ultimate Magus 1: Arcane Spell Power +1
12. Ultimate Magus 2: Expanded Spell Knowledge (1), Signature Spell (Rary's Arcane Conversion)
13. Ultimate Magus 3: Augmented Casting
14. Ultimate Magus 4: Arcane Spell Power +2, Expanded Spell Knowledge (2)
15. Ultimate Magus 5: Persistent Spell, Extraordinary Spell Aim
16. Ultimate Magus 6: Expanded Spell Knowledge (3)
17. Ultimate Magus 7: Arcane Spell Power +3
18. Ultimate Magus 8: Expanded Spell Knowledge (4). Twin Spell
19. Ultimate Magus 9: Craft Contingent Spell
20. Ultimate Magus 10: Arcane Spell Power +4, Expanded Spell Knowledge (5)

BAB: +10/+5
Fort: +8
Ref: +8
Will: +17



Pros:  The Guardian gets a lot of benefits in exchange for a single level of Wizard spellcasting.  He winds up with 10 feats (11 if human,) better saves than a straight wizard, the same BAB, a caster level of 23, and a second set of 1st-6th level spells to fuel his many metamagic feats through Augmented Casting.  His senses are better than a normal member of his race, and he will live half again as long, which means he'll be around to enjoy his power.

Cons:  Apart from having his wizard spellcasting delayed by a level, the Guardian really doesn't have any significant drawbacks.  He does, however, rely on some FR-specific material (the Knight of the Weave and Signature Spell,) and as such, may not be appropriate for some campaigns.


Bibliography:

Complete Mage: Ultimate Magus, Rary's Arcane Conversion
Champions of Valor: Knight of the Weave
Races of the Wild: Ruathar
Player's Guide to Faerun: Signature Spell
Complete Adventurer: Extraordinary Spell Aim
Complete Arcane: Craft Contingent Spell


Credit Where Credit is Due:
The idea for using Signature Spell in conjunction with Rary's Arcane Conversion was originally suggested, I believe, by Tleilaxu Ghola.

Jimmy Locke, Master Trapsmith

Jimmy Locke is an experiment in adding versatility to a rogue build without giving up on the rogue's core competencies.


1. Rogue 1: Sneak Attack +1d6, Able Learner, Feat
2. Rogue 2: Evasion
3. Rogue 3: Sneak Attack +2d6, Trap Sense +1, Feat
4. Rogue 4: Uncanny Dodge
5. Bard 1: Bardic Music, Bardic Knowledge, Countersong, Inspire Courage +1
6. Trapsmith 1: Booby Traps (simple,) Master Disarmer, Trap Sense +2, Brew Potion
7. Trapsmith 2: Arrow Proof, Quick Fingers
8. Trapsmith 3: Booby Traps (Advanced,) Unweave, Trap Sense +3
9. Trapsmith 4: Dance Through Danger, Spellproof, Craft Wand
10. Trapsmith 5: Avoid Disaster, Trap Sense +4
11. Sublime Chord 1
12. Sublime Chord 2: Song of Arcane Power, Extra Music
13. Unseen Seer 1: Sneak Attack +3d6
14. Unseen Seer 2: Advanced Learning, Silent Spell
15. Unseen Seer 3: Divination Spell Power +1, Practiced Spellcaster (Trapsmith)
16. Unseen Seer 4: Sneak Attack +4d6
17. Unseen Seer 5: Advanced Learning, Guarded Mind
18. Unseen Seer 6: Divination Spell Power +2, Feat
19. Unseen Seer 7: Sneak Attack +5d6
20. Unseen Seer 8: Advanced Learning

BAB: +13
Fort: +4
Reflex: +10
Will: +11
Base Skill Points: 144

Pros: Overall, the character doesn't give up a lot as compared to a base Rogue. He loses 2 BAB, 2 points of Fortitude save, and a total of 16 skill points from the Rogue's base 160.  In exchange, he gains quite a bit: a slew of Trapsmith abilities, minor bardic music capability, the oh-so-nifty Trapsmith spell list (taking Craft Wand and Brew Potion to take advantage of it,) and full Sublime Chord spellcasting.

Cons: Mr. Locke has a really abysmal Fortitude save which will need to be bolstered by magic.  He does give up a substantial amount of sneak attack--5d6--but that can be compensated for through the use of spells like Hunter's Eye, Polymorph, and Nightstalker's Transformation, if sneak attack is important.  A significant number of his skill points are spoken for as entry requirements into Sublime Chord.


Bibliography:

Complete Mage: Unseen Seer
Dungeonscape: Trapsmith
Complete Arcane: Sublime Chord

The Boogeyman
In all times, in all places, children have their stories of the dark figure who lurks in the shadows, ready to pounce on the unwary and drag them off. He goes by many names in many cultures, but is known to some simply as the Boogeyman. Parents, of course, always dismiss such stories with the same strengthless reassurances--there's no such thing as a Boogeyman, he's not hiding in the closet, and he's not going to eat you. The children know differently, though.

And in the city of Sharn, the children are right. There IS a Boogeyman, and he IS coming to eat your soul.

Nobody knows for sure who this creature is, or how he came to be...but he is undeniably more than childrens' stories. The dregs of the city speak of him in hushed whispers, and there are certain areas of the sewers and the low city which they avoid like the plague. These are the haunts of the Boogeyman, and those who go in do not come out again. He has worn a thousand faces, and will wear a thousand more--usually the faces of those most trusted by his victim. He lives not for the kill, but for the terror in the eyes of his chosen prey. The fear is what adds savor to his meat...and his meat is nothing less than the souls of living beings. The innocent and the wicked alike are his prey, and all who know of him fear him.

The Boogeyman is real. Pray that he's not hiding under your bed when you go to bed tonight.



Feral Changeling Rogue2/Hexblade3/Warshaper3/Soul Eater 9/Blackguard 2

1. Rogue 1: SA +1d6, Trapfinding, Alertness
2. Rogue 2: Evasion
3. Hexblade 1: Hexblade's Curse, 1/day, Power Attack
4. Hexblade 2: Arcane Resistance
5. Hexblade 3: Mettle
6. Warshaper 1: Morphic Weapons, Morphic Immunities, WF: Claw
7. Warshaper 2: Morphic Body
8. Soul Eater 1: Energy Drain 1
9. Warshaper 3: Morphic Reach, Cleave
10. Soul Eater 2: Soul Strength
11. Soul Eater 3: Soul Blast
12. Soul Eater 4: Soul Enhancement, Multiattack
13. Soul Eater 5: Soul Endurance
14. Soul Eater 6: Soul Radiance
15. Soul Eater 7: Energy Drain 2, Improved Sunder
16. Blackguard 1: Aura of Evil, Detect Good, Poison Use
17. Blackguard 2: Dark Blessing, Smite Good 1/day
18. Soul Eater 8: Soul Agility
19. Soul Eater 9: Soul Slave


STATS (28 pt buy)

STR: 10 +4 unnamed +4 enhancement=18
DEX: 10 +4 enhancement=14
CON: 16 +4 unnamed +4 enhancement=24
INT: 10
WIS: 10 +4 inherent +6 enhancement=20
CHA: 16 +5 level +5 inherent +6 enhancement=32


BAB: 18

SAVES:
FORT: 14+7+11=+32 (+43 vs. spells)
REF: 12+2+11=+25 (+36 vs. spells)
WILL: 11+5+11=+26 (+37 vs. spells)


KEY ITEMS: Tome of Charisma +5, Tome of Wisdom +4, Cloak of Charisma +6, Periapt of Wisdom +6

TACTICS: The Boogeyman has created an underground kingdom for himself in the sewers of Sharn, populated by his subjects...the husks of his former victims, now wights under his command. He sends these servants out at night to snatch the unwary, dragging them down to his underground domain to fill his menagerie. Always hungry, he is nonetheless a fussy eater, preferring to feed only upon souls in the uttermost states of terror. While the prisoners in his menagerie serve to slake his thirst for fear and misery on a day to day basis...and occasionally serve as his food in lean times...he prefers to hunt on the surface, selecting victim (preferrably an innocent) and then stalking them relentlessly. With his ability to shift forms, he is able to gather information on his prey with relative ease. When ready to strike, he comes to them in the forms of those they trust the most, terrorizing them before devouring their souls.

In combat, the Boogeyman sprouts claws, fangs, and horrific tentacles. While these weapons do little physical damage, they are nonetheless absolutely deadly, as each strike bestows two negative levels on the target.
Typically, the monster attacks with two claws, a bite, and two tentacles, possibly resulting in ten negative levels per round.

Offline Toptomcat

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Re: Hatchet Job Port Thread
« Reply #67 on: April 11, 2013, 01:24:13 AM »
PhaedrusXY's build compilation

by PhaedrusXY

I'm going to use this thread to copy some of the builds that I've made and liked over the years from the WotC boards to here, since they are rearranging everything. I just hope I can still find them...

The Shou Iaijutsu Swashmaster
Monk1/Samurai1/Swashbuckler3/ShouDisciple5/IaijutsuMaster10

Feats: Kung Fu Genius (1), Stunning Fist (m1), IUS (m1), Dodge (h), Weapon Focus: Unarmed (3), Weapon Finesse (Swash1), Improved Initiative (Shou2), Mobility (Shou4), Weapon Focus: Katana (6), Quickdraw (9), Freezing the Lifeblood (12), Combat Expertise (IM4), Raptor School (15), Spring Attack (18), Whirlwind Attack (IM8)

This is more of a "theme" build. This character is the genius Wuxia swordsman, who uses his quickness and intellect to guide his weapon, instead of brute strength. He's mastered the art of pressure points, and mixes in paralyzing touch attacks with his deadly sword strikes. Several people compared it to one of the "villains" from Firefly, and after I'd seen the movie, I saw why. It's also kind of an old build, and so doesn't incorporate alot of newer material.

Goodies: BAB +19, good saves, Int to AC twice, Cha to Initiative, Int to damage, 2d6 unarmed damage, Flurry with any weapon (unarmed strikes can be mixed in freely, as with normal Flurry), Finesse with a katana, Cha to all Iaijutsu Focus dice, automatically gets a surprize round if starts within striking distance.

Focus on Int, Dex, Con and Cha.

Could swap out Freezing the Lifeblood, Whirlwind Attack, Combat Expertise, Mobility, and Spring Attack for other feats. Power Attack (if you have the Str) and Elusive Target would be good choices, as would Combat Reflexes, Stand Still, and Hold the Line (especially if you can get turned into a large creature). Interesting feats to take for the Charisma synergy would be Frightful Presence, Resounding Blow, and (Greater) Kiai Shout. As suggested in a later post, the best feat to add to this build is probably Karmic Strike or Robilar's Gambit. If you can use Dragon material, Fairy Mysteries Initiate is a good feat to add.

Source books: Oriental Adventures (Iaijutsu Master, Samurai), Complete Warrior (Freezing the Lifeblood, Raptor School, (Greater) Kiai Shout, Elusive Target, Hold the Line), Unapproachable East (Shou Disciple), Dragon Mag 319 (Kung Fu Genius), Dragon Mag 318 (Updates Oriental Adventures to 3.5), Book of Exalted Deeds (Resounding Blow), Draconomicon (Frightful Presence).

Another version: http://boards1.wizards.com/showpost.php?p=8593236&postcount=4 (which isn't 100% legal...)

Here is an NPC that I made for a campaign that I started a while back, but never got to finish. The PCs never even encountered this guy. They briefly entered a town he'd captured and turned into his temporary headquarters, and the party wizard (using True Seeing) spotted Durak's succubus cohort spying on them ethereally. I'm sure they would have eventually made their way back to meet him (for good or ill), but they had more pressing issues at the time.

The game was set in the Unapproachable East region of the Forgotten Realms, and the description of Durak below mentions things related to that area and to specific campaign elements of my game. I also used a few houserules when making him, but I think I mentioned them all where they are listed. You can of course get rid of these, and he can be scaled back (or up) to suit your needs.

Durak the Black, Fallen Palladin, Blackguard Demonbinder

Fighter1/FallenPalladin1/Blackguard10/NarDemonbinder2/Spellsword1/Eldritch Knight 5
BAB+19, Caster level 10 BG (4th level spells), 17ND (8th level spells), -10% ASF

(Alternatively, FallenPalladin1/Blackguard10/NarDemonbinder2/Spellsword5/ArcaneTrickster2 might be better, but you need to get Mage Hand somehow. I think this is the same as SangDrax's build.)
     
Hit Dice:   12d10+7d6+1d8+100 (184) 224 raging     
Initiative:   +4     
Speed:   30 ft. (6 squares)     
Armor Class:   AC 23/21rage (10+8armor+1nat+4dex), touch 14, flat-footed 19   AC 27/25 w/Unholy Aura     
Base Attack/Grapple:   +19/+25(27rage)     
Attack:   Using Smite Good, Divine Might, Arcane Strike(8th), Spellstoring (Inflict Serious Wounds), and Power Attack(-19): +28 (17-20/x2)
Damage: 1d10+72+2d6unholy+2d6bane+8d4+3d8+10+1Con, Avg 135/145, +3d6 if they're flatfooted or flanked.       
Full Attack:   + 30/25/20/15 (17-20/x2)(1d10+15+2d6unholy+2d6bane+1Con, Avg 35/45) raging vs. good and bane     
Space/Reach:   5 ft./5 ft.     
Special Attacks:   +3d6 Sneak Attack, Succubus can use Sp abilities from inside sword, Demon Trap Will DC 26 & SR 30ft, Smite Good 4xday (+9att, +10dmg)     
Caster Levels:    BG 10, ND 17     
Saves:   Fort +30, Refl +15, Will +20; partial progression: Fort +25, Refl +17, Will +22; F34,Refl19,W24, SR 25 & 1d6 Str Defensive w/UnholyAura, SR spell 29     
Abilities:   Str 22/26, Dex 18, Con 20/24, Int 10, Wis 14, Cha 28     
Skills:   Concentration +20, Hide +8, Know(Rel) +2, Know(Planes)+10, Intimidate +5, Sense Motive +2, Ride +25     
Feats:   Education, Power Attack, Cleave, Improved Sunder, Iron Will, Spell Focus: Conj., Divine Might, Arcane Strike, Leadership, Alertness (familiar), Mounted Combat     
Challenge Rating:   20     
Alignment:   Lawful Evil   

Details, equipment, etc.

Progression
1 Education, Power Attack, Cleave
3 Improved Sunder
6 Iron Will
9 Spell Focus: Conjuration
12 Convert 10 Palladin levels to Blackguard levels, Take Divine Might
13 NarD1 Inimical Casting
14 Spellsword1
15 NarD2 Arcane Strike, Iron Sign
16 EK1 Mounted Combat
18 EK3 Leadership

Stats:
Str 22/26raging (17+1lvl+4item)
Dex 18 (12+4item+2inherent)
Con 20/24raging (14+4item+2inherent)
Int 10
Wis 14
cha 28 (18+4lvl+4item+2inherent)

Gear
Adamantium Katana is normally +1 Keen, Unholy, Wounding, Spellstoring,  Bane (vs. whatever he's fighting, if in doubt Magebane). If opponent's type is unknown, last ability will be some elemental damage.

+3 Glamored Twilight Mithril Chainmail (ASF10%, ACP-1, Max Dex +6, Price?), Belt of Giant Str +4 (16,000), Gloves of Dexterity +4 (16,000), Amulet of Health +4 (16,000), Cloak of Charisma +4 (16,000), Tome of Cha +2 (55,000), Gut Worm (+2inhCon, Rage at will, cure pois 1xday), Fiendish Skin (55k, +1NA, +2 inh Dex, Darkv 60ft., Poison 1xday DC27), Fiendish Familiar (source of spell knowledge, stats 2 higher for bonus spells), Hat of Disguise, Adamantium Katana, Silver Wakazashi

He has learned different spells that are not on the Nar Demonbinder list from his Fiendish Famliar. (and because of how I let sorcerers choose spells)
Nar Demonbinder Spells:
4th(6): Fly, Summon Undead IV, Dismissal, Haste
5th(6): Improved Blink, Flame Wave (see custom spells), Plane Shift, True Seeing
6th(5): Greater Dispelling, Heal, Fiendform (Horse->Deinoch, Imp-->Barbezu)
7th(3): Blasphemy, Power Word: Blind (200 HP, no save, SR applies)
8th(2): Unholy Aura (+4 Defl&Saves, SR 25vs. good, good take 1d6 Str dmg per attack on BG, 1rnd/lvl, 1creature/lvl)

Commonly prepared Blackguard Spells:
1st: (3) 3xCorrupt Weapon (1min/lvl, autocrit vs. good)
2nd: (3) 2xBull's Strength, Shatter
3rd: (2) Protection from Elements, Inflict Serious Wounds
4th: (1) Cure Critical Wounds

Cohort, Familiar, Mount, and Summoned

Elite Succubus/Fiend of Possesion 6   Medium Outsider (Chaotic, Extraplanar, Evil)     
Hit Dice:   6d8+6d6+24 (72)     
Initiative:   +3     
Speed:   30 ft. (6 squares), fly 50 ft. (average)     
Armor Class:   19 (+9 natural), touch 10, flat-footed 19 23 w/UhAura     
Base Attack/Grapple:   +9/+9     
Attack:   Claw +7 melee (1d6)     
Full Attack:   2 claws +9 melee (1d6)     
Space/Reach:   5 ft./5 ft.     
Special Attacks:   Energy drain, spell-like abilities, summon demon     
Special Qualities:   Damage reduction 10/cold iron or good, darkvision 60 ft., immunity to electricity and poison, resistance to acid 10, cold 10, and fire 10, spell resistance 18, telepathy 100 ft., tongues; vs Good: SR 25 +1d6 Str defense w/UnholyAura     
Saves:   Fort +11, Ref +10, Will +15; F15,R14,W19 w/UhAura     
Abilities:   Str 10, Dex 10, Con 12, Int 20, Wis 20, Cha 32     
Skills:   Bluff +28, Concentration +10, Diplomacy +15, Disguise +26* (+28 acting), Escape Artist +9, Hide +15(20), Intimidate +22, Knowledge (arcana) +14, Listen +22, Move Silently +9, Search +14, Spot +22, Sense Motive +20, Spellcraft +14, Survival +5 (+7 following tracks), Use Rope +0 (+2 with bindings)     
Feats:   Improved Toughness, Persuasive, Craft Magic Arms and Armor, Craft Wonderous Item, Forge Ring     
Environment:   A chaotic evil-aligned plane     
Organization:   Solitary     
Challenge Rating:   13     
Treasure:   Standard     
Alignment:   Always chaotic evil   

A succubus is 6 feet tall in its natural form and weighs about 125 pounds.
Combat
Succubi are not warriors. They flee combat whenever they can. If forced to fight, they can attack with their claws, but they prefer to turn foes against one another. Succubi use their polymorph ability to assume humanoid guise, and can maintain this deception indefinitely. Their preferred tactic when dealing with heroes is to feign friendship and create an opportunity to be alone with one of them, whereupon the succubus applies her life-draining kiss. Succubi are not above taking on the role of a damsel in distress when encountered within a dungeon.
A succubus’s natural weapons, as well as any weapons it wields, are treated as chaotic-aligned and evil-aligned for the purpose of overcoming damage reduction.
Energy Drain (Su): A succubus drains energy from a mortal it lures into some act of passion, or by simply planting a kiss on the victim. If the target is not willing to be kissed, the succubus must start a grapple, which provokes an attack of opportunity. The succubus’s kiss or embrace bestows one negative level. The kiss also has the effect of a suggestion spell, asking the victim to accept another kiss from the succubus. The victim must succeed on a DC 24 Will save to negate the effect of the suggestion. The DC is 24 for the Fortitude save to remove a negative level. These save DCs are Charisma-based.
Spell-Like Abilities: At will—charm monster (DC 25), detect good, detect thoughts (DC 23), ethereal jaunt (self plus 50 pounds of objects only), polymorph (humanoid form only, no limit on duration), suggestion (DC 24), greater teleport (self plus 50 pounds of objects only). Caster level 12th. The save DCs are Charisma-based.
Summon Demon (Sp): Once per day a succubus can attempt to summon 1 vrock with a 30% chance of success. This ability is the equivalent of a 3rd-level spell.
Tongues (Su): A succubus has a permanent tongues ability (as the spell, caster level 12th). Succubi usually use verbal communication with mortals.
Skills: Succubi have a +8 racial bonus on Listen and Spot checks.
*While using her alter self ability, a succubus gains a +10 circumstance bonus on Disguise checks.

Abilities added from Fiend of Possesion:
Ethereal Form (Su): At will, CL = HD
Hide Presence (Ex): Can "hide" magically from spells that affect evil outsiders or try to detect her presence inside a possessed creature or object. Use Int mod instead of Dex mod on this check (same for this char). Add +4 if the fiend is not controlling the object or creature at the time. DC is as normal for the spell.
Possess Object (Su): See FF pg. 205 for details. Will save DC 26. Can sense surroundings as normal up to 60 ft., or 120 ft. as a full round action. Can use any inate abilities that are purely mental (includes Spell-like). This includes non-continuous objects like a puddle of water, a wall, etc. The objects can be anywhere from Tiny to Collossal.
Curse (Su): Can make an object Cursed as the Bestow Curse spell. Will DC 26.
Magic Item (Su): Can enhance an item with a bonus equal to levels in FoP class. May be enhancements or special abilities. If the fiend tries possessing the item wielder, the DC increases for 1 per day the wielder has the item, to a max of +10.
Control Object, Animate Object (Su): See Fiend Folio pg. 206.
Possess Creature (Su): Will DC 26 to resist. Automatically knows surface thoughts and can probe memories (Will save DC 26). Can communicate telepathically with possessed creature.
Ally or Enemy (Su): Can grant +4 profane boost to an ability score or -4 profane penalty to an ability score of creature she is possessing as a free action.
Control Creature (Su): Can exert direct control on a possessed creature as a Standard Action. Will save DC 26. Fiend can do this at will. Control lasts 17rnds + 1per time the fiend has controlled this host, unless the fiend decides to relinquish control sooner. The fiend has access to all abilities of the host including spells, feats, skills, etc, but still uses it's own mental ability scores, and can choose whether the host remains aware of what's going on or blacks out.

 
   Fiendish Heavy Warhorse Companion     
     Large Magical Beast (Extraplanar, Evil)     
Hit Dice:   12d8+48 (145) 169 raging     
Initiative:   +1     
Speed:     50ft.     
Armor Class:   27/25rage (+4AC, –1 size, +3 Dex, +11 natural), touch 12, flat-footed 20 AC 31/29 w/UnholyAura     
Base Attack/Grapple:   +9/+19 (+21 grapple w/rage)     
Attack:   Hoof raging +18 melee (1d6+8) +20 if BG threatened     
Full Attack:   2 hooves +20 melee (1d6+10) and bite +20 melee (1d4+5)     
Space/Reach:   10 ft./5 ft.     
Special Attacks:   Smite good 1/day +12 damage     
Special Qualities:   Low-light vision, scent, Darkvision 60 ft., 10 Resist Cold&Fire, SR 25, Imp. Evasion, Share Spells, Empathic Link, Bloodbond, Speak with Master, Share Saves, DR 10/magic, Gutworm (+2 Con, Rage at will,NeutPois1xday)vs Good: SR 25 +1d6 Str defense w/UnholyAura     
Saves:   Fort +31/33, Ref +11, Will +14/16;
F35/37, R15,W18/20 UnholyAura     
Abilities:   Str 26/30, Dex 16, Con 22/24, Int 9, Wis 16, Cha 6     
Skills:   Spellcraft +2, Spot +5     
Feats:   Multiattack, Improved Multiattack, Combat Reflexes, Spellcasting Harrier, Improved Toughness     
Alignment:   Lawful Evil   


These animals are similar to heavy horses but are trained and bred for strength and aggression. A heavy warhorse can fight while carrying a rider, but the rider cannot also attack unless he or she succeeds on a Ride check.
Carrying Capacity: A light load for a heavy warhorse is up to 300 pounds; a medium load, 301–600 pounds; and a heavy load, 601–900 pounds. A heavy warhorse can drag 4,500 pounds. (Alot more for this one, especially if it's raging.)

Fiendish Deinonychus form (buffed) (may redo for Nightmare form)
 
    Large Animal (Extraplanar)     
Hit Dice:   12d8+48 (145) 169 raging     
Initiative:   +2     
Speed:   60 ft. (12 squares) 90 hasted but Imp only 70 hasted     
Armor Class:   28/26 (+4AC, –1 size, +2 Dex, +13 natural), touch 11, flat-footed 27  AC 33/31 w/buffs     
Base Attack/Grapple:   +9/19 (21 raging)     
Attack:   Talons +18 raging (2d6+8) +20 w/BG threatened     
Full Attack:   Talons +20/20 melee (2d6+10, Avg 17) and 2 foreclaws +20 melee (1d3+5, Avg 7) and bite +20 melee (2d4+5, Avg 10)     
Space/Reach:   10 ft./5 ft.     
Special Attacks:   Pounce, Smite good 1/day +12 damage     
Special Qualities:   Low-light vision, scent, Darkvision 60 ft., 10 Resist Cold&Fire, SR 25, Imp. Evasion, Share Spells, Empathic Link, Bloodbond, Speak with Master, Share Saves, DR 10/magic, Gutworm (+2 Con, Rage at will,NeutPois1xday);vs Good: SR 25 +1d6 Str defense w/UnholyAura     
Saves:   Fort +30/32, Ref +10, Will +14/16;
F34/36,R14,W18/20 UnAura     
Abilities:   Str 27/31, Dex 15, Con 21/25, Int 9, Wis 16, Cha 8     
Skills:   Spellcraft +2, Spot +5     
Feats:   Multiattack, Improved Multiattack, Combat Reflexes, Spellcasting Harrier, Improved Toughness   

Empathic Link (Su): The blackguard has an empathic link with his servant out to a distance of up to 1 mile. The blackguard cannot see through the servant’s eyes, but they can communicate empathically. Because of the limited nature of the link, only general emotional content can be communicated.
Because of the empathic link between the servant and the blackguard, the blackguard has the same connection to a place or an item that the servant does.
Improved Evasion (Ex): If the servant is subjected to an attack that normally allows a Reflex saving throw for half damage, it takes no damage on a successful saving throw and only half damage on a failed saving throw. Improved evasion is an extraordinary ability.
Share Saving Throws: For each of its saving throws, the servant uses either its own base save bonus or the blackguard’s, whichever is higher. The servant applies its own ability modifiers to saves, and it doesn’t share any other bonuses on saves that the blackguard might have.
Share Spells: At the blackguard’s option, he may have any spell (but not any spell-like ability) he casts on himself also affect his servant. The servant must be within 5 feet at the time of casting to receive the benefit. If the spell has a duration other than instantaneous, it stops affecting the servant if it moves farther than 5 feet away and will not affect the servant again even if the servant returns to the blackguard before the duration expires. Additionally, the blackguard may cast a spell with a target of “You” on his servant (as a touch range spell) instead of on himself. A blackguard and his servant can share spells even if the spells normally do not affect creatures of the servant’s type (magical beast).
Speak with Blackguard (Ex): If the blackguard’s character level is 13th or higher, the blackguard and servant can communicate verbally as if they were using a common language. Other creatures do not understand the communication without magical help.
Blood Bond (Ex): If the blackguard’s character level is 16th or higher, the servant gains a +2 bonus on all attack rolls, checks, and saves if it witnesses the blackguard being threatened or harmed.
This bonus lasts as long as the threat is immediate and apparent.
Spell Resistance (Ex): If the blackguard’s character level is 19th or higher, the servant gains spell resistance equal to the blackguard’s level + 5. To affect the servant with a spell, another spellcaster must get a result on a caster level check (1d20 + caster level) that equals or exceeds the servant’s spell resistance.

IMP fiendish familiar
 
    Tiny Outsider (Evil, Extraplanar, Lawful)     
Hit Dice:   20d8 (92/112)     
Initiative:   +3     
Speed:   20 ft. (4 squares), fly 50 ft. (perfect)     
Armor Class:   24 (+2 size, +4AC, +3 Dex, +6 natural), touch 15, flat-footed 21     
Base Attack/Grapple:   +19/+11     
Attack:   Sting +24 melee (1d4 plus poison)     
Full Attack:   Sting +24 melee (1d4 plus poison)     
Space/Reach:   2-1/2 ft./0 ft.     
Special Attacks:   Poison, spell-like abilities     
Special Qualities:   Alternate form, damage reduction 5/good or silver, darkvision 60 ft., fast healing 2, immunity to poison, resistance to fire 5, Improved Evasion, Empathic Link, Share Spells     
Saves:   Fort +21, Ref +19, Will +10     
Abilities:   Str 10, Dex 17, Con 10, Int 10, Wis 12, Cha 16     
Skills:   Diplomacy +8, Hide +17, Knowledge (any one) +6, Listen +7, Move Silently +9, Search +6, Spellcraft +6, Spot +7, Survival +1 (+3 following tracks)     
Feats:   Dodge, Weapon Finesse   

In its natural form, an imp stands almost 2 feet tall and weighs about 8 pounds.
Combat
Imps are craven, but not so timid as to pass up an opportunity for a surprise attack using their invisibility and alternate form ability. In its natural form, an imp attacks with the wicked stinger on its tail. It quickly flies out of reach if a foe manages to strike back effectively.
An imp’s natural weapons, as well as any weapons it wields, are treated as evil-aligned and lawful-aligned for the purpose of overcoming damage reduction.
Poison (Ex): Injury, Fortitude DC 13, initial damage 1d4 Dex, secondary damage 2d4 Dex. The save DC is Constitution-based and includes a +2 racial bonus.
Spell-Like Abilities: At will—detect good, detect magic, invisibility (self only); 1/day—suggestion (DC 16). Caster level 6th. The save DC is Charisma-based.
Once per week an imp can use commune to ask six questions. The ability otherwise works as the spell (caster level 12th).
Alternate Form (Su): An imp can assume other forms at will as a standard action. This ability functions as a polymorph spell cast on itself (caster level 12th), except that an imp does not regain hit points for changing form, and an individual imp can assume only one or two forms no larger than Medium. Common forms include monstrous spider, raven, rat, and boar.

BEARDED DEVIL (BARBAZU) form (Imp via Fiendform)
 
    Medium Outsider (Evil, Extraplanar, Lawful)     
Hit Dice:   20d8 (92/112)     
Initiative:   +2     
Speed:   40 ft. (8 squares) 70 hasted     
Armor Class:   29/27 (+2 Dex, +4Defl, +4AC, +8 natural+1haste) touch 17, flat-footed 22     
Base Attack/Grapple:   +19/+21(23/25)     
Attack:   Glaive +23 raging or buffed (1d10+6 plus infernal wound) or claw +23 melee (1d6+4)     
Full Attack:   Glaive +23/23/18/13/8 raging&buffed (1d10+9 plus infernal wound, Avg 14) or 2 claws +23 melee (1d6+6, Avg 9)     
Space/Reach:   5 ft./5 ft. (10 ft. with glaive)     
Special Attacks:   Infernal wound, beard, battle frenzy, summon devil     
Special Qualities:   Damage reduction 5/silver or good, darkvision 60 ft., immunity to fire and poison, resistance to acid 10 and cold 10, see in darkness, fast healing 2, spell resistance 17, telepathy 100 ft.; vs Good: SR 25 +1d6 Str defense w/UnholyAura     
Saves:   Fort +24/26, Ref +19, Will +10; F28/30,R23,W14     
Abilities:   Str 15/23, Dex 15, Con 17/21, Int 10, Wis 12, Cha 16     
Skills:         
Feats:   Dodge, Weapon Finesse   

Every bearded devil carries a sawtoothed glaive.
A bearded devil stands 6 feet tall and weighs about 225 pounds.
Combat
Bearded devils are aggressive and love to fight. They revel in their battle frenzy, spreading mayhem among their foes.
A bearded devil’s natural weapons, as well as any weapons it wields, are treated as evil-aligned and lawful-aligned for the purpose of overcoming damage reduction.
Spell-Like Abilities: At will— greater teleport (self plus 50 pounds of objects only). Caster level 12th.
Infernal Wound (Su): The damage a bearded devil deals with its glaive causes a persistent wound. An injured creature loses 2 additional hit points each round. The wound does not heal naturally and resists healing spells. The continuing hit point loss can be stopped by a DC 16/18 Heal check, a cure spell, or a heal spell. However, a character attempting to cast a cure spell or a heal spell on a creature damaged by a bearded devil’s glaive must succeed on a DC 16/18 caster level check, or the spell has no effect on the injured character.
A successful Heal check automatically stops the continuing hit point loss as well as restoring hit points. The infernal wound is a supernatural ability of the bearded devil, not of the weapon. The check DC is Constitution-based.
Beard (Ex): If a bearded devil hits a single opponent with both claw attacks, it automatically hits with its beard. The affected creature takes 1d8+2 points of damage and must succeed on a DC 16/18 Fortitude save or be infected with a vile disease known as devil chills (incubation period 1d4 days, damage 1d4 Str). Damage is dealt each day until the afflicted creature succeeds on three consecutive Fortitude saves, the disease is cured magically, or the creature dies. The save DC is Constitution-based.
Battle Frenzy (Ex): Twice per day, a bearded devil can work itself into a battle frenzy similar to the barbarian’s rage (+4 Strength, +4 Constitution, +2 morale bonus on Will saves, –2 AC penalty). The frenzy lasts for 6 rounds, and the bearded devil suffers no ill effects afterward.
Summon Devil (Sp): Once per day a bearded devil can attempt to summon 2d10 lemures with a 50% chance of success, or another bearded devil with a 35% chance of success. This ability is the equivalent of a 3rd-level spell.

2 Cloud Giant Skeletons (there are better choices for summoning, but these are decent for core. 12 headed pyrohydra skeletons are nice too.)
 
   Huge Undead     
   17d12 (110 hp)     
   +6     
   50 ft. (10 squares)     
   13 (–2 size, +2 Dex, +3 natural), touch 10, flat-footed 11     
   +8/+28     
   Gargantuan morningstar +18 melee (4d6+18, Avg 32) or claw +18 melee (1d8+12, Avg 16) or rock +8 ranged (2d8+12, Avg 21)     
   Gargantuan morningstar +18/13 melee (4d6+18) or 2 claws +18 melee (1d8+12) or rock +8 ranged (2d8+12)     
   15 ft./15 ft.     
   Damage reduction 5/bludgeoning, darkvision 60 ft., immunity to cold, oversize weapon, undead traits     
   Fort +5, Ref +7, Will +10
Str 35, Dex 15, Con —, Int —, Wis 10, Cha 1   
Tactics, and Roleplay Background

Tactics
PreCombat Buffs: (s=shared w/mount&imp)
Fly (s), Improved Blink (s), True Seeing (s), Fiendform (Horse->Deinoch, Imp-->Barbezu), Freedom of Movement (s), Protection from Elements (s)-only if he has an idea of what element, Bull's Str on Imp&Horse, Haste (all), Unholy Aura (all)

1) Scout enemy. Imp may do this in alternate form. Succubus could also go Ethereal and scout very well.
2) Succubus possesses BG
3) Buff, except summoning spell
4) All teleport to enemy on surprize round
5) BG is on mount and flanks with Imp. They go after obvious spellcasters first, and try to stay within 5' of each other if at all possible. Imp & succubus have telepathy and use it to coordinate attacks. The Blackguard uses his massive super smite on the first round of combat, trying to thin the enemy numbers.
6) Succubus uses Suggestion every round to suggest an enemy to flee, unless she needs to change the weapon's enhancements around. She targets the enemy  that she thinks will have the weakest will save.
7) If Blackguard thinks they'll help, he summons skeletal cloud giants (casting Defensively), but not usually until they drop one enemy or it flees. They continue attacking the same enemy until it dies. Blackguard uses Heal via Share Spells if they need it.
8) Since they are all blinking, they attack as Invisible (deny Dex to AC, +2 to hit) and also get another +2 to hit from flanking.
9) If things go bad, succubus possesses BG and they all teleport away via Share Spells.

Personality
Driving Motivations and Personality Quirks- Pride, National Pride, Protectiveness, a bit of Shame, Revenge, extreme Discipline and respect for it, Impatience, Quick-tempered

A tall man, standing six foot two and powerfully built. He always stands erect, and walks as if marching at the head of a line of proud soldiers, even though his current crew is a motley thrown together band of humanoids not far removed from banditry. He has blond hair, blue eyes, and an attractive face, but for the ugly brand in the middle of his forehead. A perceptive individual will also notice a few dark scales on his neck and arms, normally barely hidden by his armor. He could have had the brand removed by now, but has chosen not to and makes no effort to conceal it. He still wears the armor of his old order, the Army of the Lion, a beautiful suit of mithril chainmail. The lionhead crest on the chestpiece is still visible. He wears a regal red cloak and keeps his equipment well polished and impecably maintained. His katana and wakizashi hang at his side in the style of a Daisho. If unclothed, the small evil face of his demonic familiar can be seen peering out where his navel should be. It is round and pudgy like that of a human infant, but covered in red scales, with serpentine eyes and a mouthful of needle-like teeth.

Lord Durak Tharanas (Durak the Black)  was once a proud and fierce champion of goodness and member of the Army of the Lion (centered in Emmech, Aglarond), but became disgusted with what he saw as the foolishness and lack of courage of the common folk, and even many of his fellow soldiers. He felt like many of the wrongs he helped to right could have been easily avoided, if the people had been stronger themselves, or had a firmer ruler to guide them. He dislikes the Symbul's methods and her long periods of absence, often leaving the actual ruling of the country in the hands of "lessers", and thinks the country should be more active about preparing for the inevitable war with Thay.

His methods became more callous and cruel, and eventually he was kicked out of his order and exiled after brutally beating a young soldier to death who'd abandoned his post in the middle of the night to sneak off with a lover. For his crimes, he was branded with the mark of a criminal and banished upon pain of death from his homeland. He wandered aimlessly for a while throughout Faerun, and eventually met a swordsmen from the east who impressed him greatly. This man taught him the Way of the sword, but his heart had already turned bitter and cruel. He came to see westerners as weak and unfit to govern themselves, and to see himself as a self-appointed conquerer who could govern them and keep them in check. In his quest for power and domination of others, he learned to summon and bind demons to his will using ancient secrets of the Nars. He sees them as tools to be used to further his own power and agendas. He is cruel and not opposed to grinding his enemies to dust, or even assassinating those he feels are not worthy of a direct fight. After all, if a man is not wise enough to be ready to defend himself at all times, then he is not worthy of keeping his life.

He has become convinced that the only way to "save" the people of his homeland is to conquer them himself and rule them with an iron fist. He is willing to use whatever means necessary to increase his personal power in order to realize this dream. He has become so corrupt that it is possible he might be convinced to ally with the undead, if he thinks he could use them to hasten his plan to place himself on the throne of Aglarond. It is also possible that he could be convinced to aid the heroes in saving the land from the undead, but he himself is as brutal and thorougly evil as the undead themselves are.


Offline Toptomcat

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Re: Hatchet Job Port Thread
« Reply #68 on: April 11, 2013, 01:24:24 AM »
continued...

A better build might be:

HumanParagon3/FallenPalladin1/Blackguard10/NarDemonbinder2/Spellsword1/EldritchKnight3

Levels 1-12: Palladin 1-11 with one level of Human Paragon stuck in there somewhere (probably at 2nd level). Then turn Blackguard.

Progression
1 Power Attack, Cleave
3 Improved Sunder
6 Iron Will
9 Spell Focus: Conjuration
12 Divine Might
13 NarD1
14 HP2 Arcane Disciple (or Mother Cyst) (b)
15 HP3 Arcane Strike* (or Practiced Spellcaster)
16 Spellsword1
17 EK1 Mounted Combat* (b)
18  NarD2 Leadership

The Human Paragon levels let you avoid taking the Education feat, and also net you another bonus feat, a +2 to one stat, and let you customize your skill list.

Apply Adaptive Learning to Use Magic Device, and give your Imp familiar some staves, and he can just stay out of combat and blast people, or heal you, or whatever else you need. Use staves to be more effective at buffing yourself and your allies, also. You can pick any domain you want for the Arcane Disciple feat. Its primary purpose is to grant the character 2nd and 3rd level Arcane spells so that it legally qualifies for Spellsword and Eldritch Knight.

If you go with Practiced Spellcaster, and get a Karma bead, and the DM lets it apply to your Arcane spells (according to RAW this works), then your Nar Demonbinder CL would be 24, making for some nasty Blasphemy spells. You lose a point of BAB with this build, but I think gaining a feat and UMD as a class skill make up for it. Your saves are a bit better overall, also.

*Good alternative feats would be Improved Buckler Defense, Resounding Blow, Improved Critical, and Combat Brute.

The Dwarven "Answerer"
Ranger3/PsychicWarrior2/Deepwarden2/Warmind10/DwarvenDefender3
(or Rng3/PW2/WM7/DW2/DD6)

Feats: Toughness (1), TWF (Rng2), Combat Reflexes (3), Endurance (Rng3), Dodge (PW1), Combat Expertise (PW2), Karmic Strike (6), Improved TWF, (9), Double Hit (12), the rest are open

Defensive Stance + Chain of Defensive Posture + Chain of Personal Superiority =+10 AC (including con boost)
Deepwarden = Con mod to AC
Karmic Strike = -4 AC

So... you should have a massive AC, even when using Karmic Strike, thanks to your defensive class abilities. When anyone hits you, you get to attack them twice thanks to Karmic Strike and Double Hit. Thanks to Sweeping Strike, every attack you makes hits all the enemies in two adjacent squares (including your "Reflexive" Karmic Strikes, and "Double Hits"). I'd suggest using an Urgosh, so you can use it as a 2-handed weapon for your normal attacks, but still benefit from Double Hit for Attacks of Opportunity.

Thanks to Lord Kiwi's great thread (http://boards1.wizards.com/showthread.php?t=416752) for the idea of combining Karmic Strike, Double Hit, and Sweeping Strike. There are more things that would certainly be of use to this build, and you have several feats left. One that comes to mind is Defensive Throw, so you get to make attacks on them even if they miss you...

The biggest weakness is that you'll need a high Dex so you can take advantage of all the potential Attacks of Opportunity you'll be getting. You could take the Prowess Psywarrior power to help with this somewhat. I'd also take some kind of Dimensional travel ability, like Dimension Swap, etc.

This build would work great when paired with some kind of "Uber-charger". Then, every round the Ubercharger would pile into the enemies dealing out massive damage, and before they could reply with their own attacks, this Dwarven "Answerer" would Dimension Swap with the charger, and dish out his own pain to them via Attacks of Opportunity.

The Answerer was the name of a build originally by Sisyfos (I think) that also used attacks generated via Karmic Strike. I don't remember the details, but I liked the name and concept. I think overall you're better off to finish Warmind rather than taking Dwarven Defender to 6th, but Improved Uncanny Dodge would be pretty handy for the build, since you want to be surrounded. Elusive Target would be a very good investment, also.

Half-orc Paragon Monks
Holy Raging Tactical Half-Orc

HalfOrcParagon3/Monk3/Ftr2/ShouDisciple5/ShintaoMonk4/?3

Racial Ability Mods: Str +4, Int&Cha-2

At 17th level, BAB +15, Saves: F17, R12, W9

Feats: Imp. Grapple (m1), Combat Reflexes (m2), Dodge (F1), Wpn Focus: Unarmed (F2), Power Attack (1), Extra Rage (3), Wolf Berzerker (6), Improved Trip (Shou2), Mobility (Shou4), Elusive Target (9), Improved Bull Rush (12), Shock Trooper (15), Close Quarters Fighting (18), Defensive Throw (ShinM1), Great Throw (ShinM3)

Special Benefits: Evasion; Still Mind; Rage 3/day; Greater Flurry with any weapon; immune to stunning, sleep, and slow effects; Detect Evil at will; Smite Evil 1/day; Detect Magic 1/day; Light 1/day (self); unarmed damage 2d6

Use a guisarme.

Psychic Raging Tactical Half-Orc
HalfOrcParagon3/Monk4/ShouDisciple5/PsionicFist8

Racial Ability Mods: Str +4, Int&Cha-2

BAB +17, Base Saves: F13, R15, W12, Movement 80

Str: 18+4race+5level+5inherent+6enh+4AugExpansion+4Rage = 46
Grapple: 17BAB+8size+4GripOfIron+4ImpGrapple+18Str = 51
Trip: 18Str+8size+8feats = 34
Unarmed Damage w/belt&FangedRing after Augmented Expansion = 8d8

Feats: Stunning Fist (m1), Combat Reflexes (m2), Dodge (1), Wpn Focus: Unarmed (3), Wolf Berzerker (6), Improved Trip (Shou2), Improved Grapple (Shou4), Wild Talent (9), Sun School (12), Extra Rage (15), Power Attack (18), Quicken Power (PF5)

Special Benefits: Evasion; Still Mind; Ki Strike: Magic, Slow Fall 10ft; Rage 3/day; Flurry with any weapon; unarmed damage 2d10 (w/monk's belt); Wis +3 to AC.

Powers: 1st: Expansion, Grip of Iron; 2nd: Strength of My Enemy, Psionic Lion's Charge; 3rd: Claws of the Vampire, Ubiquitous Vision; 4th: Dimension Door, True Venom

When he is fully buffed and hits someone, he does 8d8+18 +1 (or 2) Str drain (which he gets) + 1d8 Con damage. He is healed for half the base damage he does. He can Dimension Door to his target and make one attack via Sun School. His movement is 80 and he can full attack on a charge.


Shadowlord Assassin

I have an NPC based on this build (http://boards1.wizards.com/showpost.php?p=4078961) in a game I run. Even characters with good Fort saves are likely to die to her death attack, and even if they don't they are likely to die from the damage she dishes out unless they're immune to crits and/or have Uncanny Dodge. Against targets that are crit immune, or have Uncanny Dodge.... well with an Int of 36, she can afford to max alot of skills, including Use Magic Device.

Edit: Here's the actual stats for the NPC. She's the leader of the Teflemmar Shadowlords in the game I DM. The Death Attack is a bit lower, but overall it's a stronger build I think. Throw in some scrolls of Scry and whatever else she needs. She has a bit of money left over for a 20th level character. (But alot more than for a normal NPC, heh.)

Grandmaster of Shadows Keshna Finlothleer
Human Shadow Walker RokuganNinja4/Swashbuckler3/Assn8/TeflS6
Hit Dice: 18d6+3d10+147 (229)
Initiative: +19
Speed: 30 ft. (70 hasted Xill)
Armor Class: 29 (37 hasted Xill form) (10+7AC+2Defl+2Nat+8Dex), Touch 22, Immobilized 21
Base Attack/Grapple: +17/+19
Attack: +32 hasted Kusari-gama 1d6+16/15 (+6d6 Sneak Attack)
Full Attack: Hasted TWF Kusari-gama +30/30/30/25/25/20/20/15 (1d6+16/15) (+6d6 Sneak Attack) (Avg 18.5 or 39.5 Sneak Attack)
Space/Reach: 5 ft./5 ft. (10ft. as two-handed weapon)
Special Attacks: Death Attack: Fort DC 37
Special Qualities: Shadowvision 60 ft., light sensitivity
Saves: Fort +20, Refl +28, Will +15 (Hasted)
Abilities: Str 14, Dex 26, Con 24, Int 34, Wis 12, Cha 14
Skills: (325 skill points, factored using Int 26) Maxed Skills: Bluff26, Hide36, Move Silently32, Sense Motive25, Spot25, Listen25, Use Magic Device26, GatherInfo26, Disguise26, Disable Device36, Tumble32, Diplomacy30. Other Skills: Sleight of Hand20, Search*25, Appraise20, Spellcraft15.
Feats: Dodge (Ninja1), Weapon Finesse (bonus), Combat Reflexes (h), Mobility (1), Blindfight (3), Spring Attack (6), TWF (9), ITWF (12), GTWF (15), Spellcasting Harrier* (18), Quicken Spell-like Ability: Dimension Door (21)
Challenge Rating: 22
Alignment: neutral evil
Level Adjustment: +1

Benefits: Improved Uncanny Dodge, Int mod to damage and Initiative, Poison Use, HiPS, Shadow Pounce, Shadow Disincorporation, Shadow Jump (120ft), Shadow Blur, and +6d6 sneak attack. *Used a Wish to gain the ability to Search for traps like a rogue.

Death attack DC = 10+8+6+12+1 = 37

Items: +5 Int Tome, +6 Int Item, weapon, +1 Str Tome, +2 Str Item, +6 Dex Item, +4 Dex Tome, +6 Con Item, +4 Con Tome, +2 Nat Armor (8k), +2 Ring Prot (8k), Leather Armor +5 w/Max Dex +8 (25k+), +2 spellstoring ghost touch Kusari-gama (chain side) (32k), Assassin's Dagger* (18k), Boots of Speed (12k), 3 Clairvoyance/Clairaudience scrolls, Gem of Seeing (75k), Cloak of Resistance +5 (25k), lightproof belt pouch with 3 daggers with Deeper Darkness on them. Has or can gain access to any non-artifact item via her guild. Usually has either Vampiric Touch or Blindness in the spellstoring end of her weapon.
*Kama side functions as an Assassin's Dagger

Spent: Tomes 384.5k, Stat Items 112k, Other 205k. Total 706.5k.

Spell-like Abilities (CL 21): Shadow Mask 3/day, Dimension Door 3/day, Darkness 3/day, Shadow Spray 3/day, Displacement 2/day, Evard's Black Tentacles 1/day, Shadow Walk 4/day

Assassin Spells (DC 22+level):
1st(6)- Obscuring Mist, True Strike, Feather Fall, Ghost Sound
2nd(6)- Alter Self, Undetectable Alignment, Pass Without Trace, Invisibility
3rd(6)- Misdirection, Magic Circle vs. Good, Deeper Darkness, Nondetection
4th(4)- Modify Memory, Greater Invisibility, Dimension Door

TSL Spells (DC 22+level):
1st(5)- Knock, Blindness/Deafness
2nd(5)- Vampiric Touch, Air Walk
3rd(4)- Confusion

*House-ruled feat that I use instead of Mage Slayer.


HERE IS THE ECL 20 VERSION THAT USES ROGUE INSTEAD OF NINJA!!

Rogue3/Swashbuckler3/Assassin8/TeflemmarShadlowlord6. You get: BAB +15, +6d6 Sneak Attack, a death attack with a high save DC, Hide in Plain Sight, Int to damage, Int based spells from two PrCs, free Weapon Finesse, and all the cool TeflS abilities.

To maximize your Death Attack DC, be a grey elf (or sun elf) and put an 18 into your Int. Put all your leveling points into Int, and get a +5 Tome and a +6 Headband of Intellect. Also, take Ability Focus: Death Attack. In all, the Fort Save to survive your death attack comes out to:

Starting Int 20 +5 Tome +6 Item +5 leveling = 36 Int (+13 bonus). Could get more from aging

Death attack DC = 10+8+6+13+2 = 39

Not many wizards are going to have good odds of making a DC 39 Fort save. And even if they do, you should be able to get a full attack of all sneak attacks during the surprize round (via Shadow Pounce) and a second full attack of sneak attacks if you win initiative. And of course, all of these attacks will get your Int modifier added to their damage, thanks to Swashbuckler.

For feats: Dodge (free if you use Ninja1 instead of rogue3), Mobility, Spring Attack, Blindfight, Weapon Finesse (free w/Swashb3), Ability Focus: Death Attack, TWF, ITWF

Teflemmar Shadowlord is in the Unapproachable East book. Swashbuckler is in the Complete Warrior, and the Ninja I briefly mentioned is the Rokugan Ninja from the Rokugan Campaign Setting (the Ninja is available online for free).

The Hunter
Elan Rogue2/Ranger1/Ftr1/Psion(Egoist)2/Elocater7/Slayer7

Manifester Level 13 (17 w/PrM)
BAB +16Base Saves: Fort +8, Reflex +12, Will +13 (can also add: +2 Fort. psicrystal, +4 Elan Resistance)

Progression and feats
1 Rogue1    Dodge (1), [+1d6 SA]
2 Ftr1       Mobility (b)
3 Psion1    Point Blank Shot (Psicrystal Containment), Psionic Shot (Psicrystal Affinity) (b)
4 Psion2
5 Rogue2    [Evasion]
6 Ranger1    Track(b), Spring Attack
7 Elocater1    Sidestep Charge (b), [Scorn Earth]
9 El3       Practiced Manifester
12 El6       Craft Power Stone (Empower), [transporter]
13 El7       [Capricious Step]
14 Slayer1    [Favored Enemy, Enemy Sense]
15 Slayer2    Metamorphic Transfer, [Brain Nausea]
16       [Lucid Buffer]
17       [Favored Enemy +4]
18 Slayer5    Split Psionic Ray (or Overchannel)
19       [Cerebral Blind]
20 Slayer7(Feats in parenthesis are to be picked up later using Psychic Reformation.)
[Class abilities are in brackets]

Powers:
1st: Crystal Shard, Entangling Ectoplasm, Vigor, Energy Ray, Body Adjustment
2nd: Share Pain, Animal Affinity, Ego Whip, Energy Adaptation: Specified
3rd: Dispel Psionics, Touchsight, Time Hop, Body Adjustment, Plane Shift, Teleport
4th: Metamorphosis, Correspond, Divination, Wall of Ectoplasm (Psychic Reformation originally), Trace Teleport (or Intellect Fortress)
5th: Psionic Revivify, Power Resistance, Psychofeedback, (took 4th)
6th: Disintegrate, Temporal Acceleration, Contingency
7th: Fission

Items:
Gloves of Object Reading, Third Eye of Remote Viewing

Tactics: The psicrystal is there to use Share Pain on, to use Aid Another, and to make separate skill checks. If you start at low levels you're better off taking Psionic Shot instead, and then Psychic Reforming it away at 7th level, if you think you can get access to the power.

In the low levels, you're basically just the party "trapmonkey"/scout. You won't be doing alot of damage, and you'll be kind of vulnerable. With Psionic Shot + Sneak Attack on a Crystal Shard, you'll at least be able to do a bit of damage.

At level 7, you get access to 2nd level powers. If you can get your hands on it, use Psychic Reformation to exchange Point Blank Shot and Psionic Shot for Psicrystal Affinity and something else (Mage Slayer?). Use Share Pain on your Psicrystal, and you will become much more durable, and can start risking melee. Conveniently, you just got two feats to help you there, proficiency with all Martial Weapons, and the ability to "fly".

At level 12+, turn into a Hydra and use Capricious Step to move up, bite with all your heads, and move back again. Do this while hovering over your enemies head, and use your reach to stay out of theirs, if possible. You should be able to dish out quite alot of damage.

You can also share Metamorphosis with your Psicrystal, if you want. You'll be able to dish out even more damage, but will be more vulnerable defensively because your Psicrystal could easily die (and not be sharing your pain anymore).

At level 13, get Psychic Reformation and use it as discussed earlier, if you haven't already. Make yourself a Power Stone of it, then get rid of the feat and the power. Your feats should look like the ones in parenthesis at this point. This option is really only here for campaigns in which you couldn't do this at level 7.

At level 15+, you'll have alot more tools thanks to Metamorphic Transfer.

At level 20, you can use Fission to double all of this, if you want.

I've made several different cleric caster builds that focused on possessing powerful creatures and buffing up for combat. I had a thread called "The Possessor" based around that theme quite some time back, before 3.5 came out. Here is a link to the character sheet of a more up to date character based on that theme, a 14th level Ur-Priest that I would say is quite overpowered... I don't have a version typed up for the boards atm.

http://www.myth-weavers.com/sheets/view.php?id=46160

If you can use the Stranger with the Burning Eyes PrC, from Frank and K's Tome of Necromancy, it can be really fun. It is a fairly difficult PrC to qualify for as an Ur-Priest though.
http://www.myth-weavers.com/sheets/view.php?id=46916

Here is the PrC:

Stranger with the Burning Eyes
One of the greatest necromantic mysteries is the ability to move souls from one body to another, and to use this trick to inhabit the flesh of a stranger, gaining a twisted and parasitic form of immortality. Usually this art is as dangerous as it is powerful, but for the Stranger with the Burning Eyes the experience is a way of life. They have abandoned their true form and now only move from body to body like a virus, taking with them knowledge and power, working their way through the world using the bodies of others as proxies.
When they transfer to a new body, their eyes glow with the fires of their souls, as they have fanned the flames of their spirits until they can survive without a material form. They are the consummate strangers in strange land, and often acquire habits from the many unusual body forms they have inhabited. One thing is certain: they have little regard for the people they inhabit.

Prerequisites:
Feats: Still Spell, Silent Spell
Skills: Knowledge (Religion) 9 ranks, Concentration 9 ranks
Spellcasting: Must be able to spontaneously cast 5th level spells, and the spell magic jar.
Special: Your true body must have been destroyed.
Special You cannot be good.
Hit Die: d4
BAB/Saves: BAB: Good (as Fighter); Fort: Poor; Reflex: Poor; Will: Good
Class Skills: The Stranger with the Burning Eyes’ class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are Concentration (Con), Craft (Int), Hide(Dex), Intimidate (Cha), Knowledge (all skills, taken individually) (Int), Profession (Wis), and Spellcraft (Int).
Skills/Level: 2 + Intelligence Bonus

Level, Abilities:
1 Burning Soul, Consume, +1 Spellcaster Level
2 Token, +1 Spellcaster Level
3 Firewall of the Soul, +1 Spellcaster Level
4 Explosive Reaction, +1 Spellcaster Level
5 Inferno, +1 Spellcaster Level
6 Lore of the Burning Flame, +1 Spellcaster Level
7 Slow Burn, +1 Spellcaster Level
8 Wildfire, +1 Spellcaster Level
9 Conflagration, +1 Spellcaster Level
10 Hellfire, +1 Spellcaster Level

Burning Soul (Su):At 1st level, the Stranger with the Burning Eyes has mastered the ability to move between bodies. He may use magic jar at will as a Supernatural ability with an indefinite duration. For the purposes of this spell, any body he is possessing also counts as a receptacle, so he may use the senses granted by being in a magic jar receptacle and possess new bodies from this form, and he returns to the last body he possessed if his current body is killed, if it is within range(it gets a save as usual). If it is not within range, he is killed. Since bodies count as receptacles for this effect, the Stranger does not need line of effect to possess a new body.
The Stranger with the Burning Eyes no longer ages, though bodies he is possessing will age.

Token: At 1st level, the Stranger with the Burning Eyes is magically followed by a token whenever he changes bodies. This is a simple piece of jewelry worth at least 1,000 gp, and it can be enchanted with any enchantment suitable for rings, rods, wonderous items, and armor (but it cannot be intelligent). This item is a tiny object with hardness 20 and 20 hp, and if removed from a body the Stranger with the Burning eyes is possessing he is immediately forced to possess a new body (he cannot possess that body ever again). If he cannot possess a new body, he dies. (Note: if the victim of the Stranger’s possession attack is ever given a second Will save to resist his possession from an effect like Slippery Mind, a successful save means the victim removes the token).
The token is magically recreated or moved each time the Stranger possesses a new body, so as long as he lives it continues to exist.

Consume(Su) At second level, the Stranger with the Burning Eyes may “lose” a prepared spell or spell slot to perform a Wisdom draining touch attack as a standard action. The touch attack does as much Wisdom drain as the spell level that is lost, and a successful Will save halves this drain.

Firewall of the Soul: At 3rd level, the Stranger with the burning Eyes is immune to any effect that moves his soul or would end his possession of a body (other than removing his token). Any effect that traps his soul in his current body still works, and he will die if such an effect is cast on him and the body he is possessing dies. The Stranger may also remain in a body if he is in an antimagic field or other magic destroying effect, though he is effectively trapped in that body until he can leave that effect.

Explosive Reaction(Su): At 4th level, when the Stranger with a Burning Soul is in a body that is killed, he may take an immediate action to possess a new body (or return to his last body, as usual).

Inferno(Su): While in a possessed body, the Stranger may use any of its feats once he has attained 5th level.

Lore of the Burning Flame: While in a possessed body, the Stranger may use any of its skills or personal knowledge once he has attained 6th level.

Slow Burn(Su): Once the Stranger with the Burning Eyes has achieved 7th level, if he is in a body that is killed, and he cannot successfully possess any body, his soul is instead transferred into his Token and it counts as a receptacle. Should the Token be destroyed while it holds the soul of the Stranger, he immediately dies without a chance to possess new bodies.

Wildfire(Su): At 8th level, the Stranger with the Burning Eyes may use his magic jar ability a number of times a round equal to his Charisma modifier as a full round action. This enable to make possession attempts very quickly and even travel large distances in heavily populated areas.

Conflagration(Su): As a standard action, a 9th level Stranger with the Burning Eyes can combine a use of his Consume ability with his magic jar ability. The person he attempts to possess is affected by the Consume ability as if he had been successfully touched. The Consume effect uses spells or spell slots as normal.

Hellfire: Should the Stranger with the Burning Eyes ever he killed once he has achieved 10th level, he returns to life with his soul in his Token one year later (it is recreated 1d4 miles from the location of his death). He does not lose a level from this return from the dead.

This was originally for this contest, hence all the specific tactical suggestions, and also why the build is only level 11. I am also playing an ECL 12 half-fey version of it in a PbP game. Here is a level 3 entry version that can emulate level 9 spells by ECL 6.


Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men?
The Shadow Gnome

Forest Gnome Cloistered Cleric 5/Shadowcrafter2/Shadowcraft Mage 4
(Alignment NG, worships Baravar Cloakshadow, or could worship Cyric if you want to be evil)
Code:
Level Class Level Feat(s)
1 Cloistered Cleric 1 Spell Focus (illusion), Heighten Spell, Divine Metamagic (Heighten Spell)
[Illusion, Knowledge, and Trickery domains; Domain Spontaneity (Illusion) PHB2]
2 Cloistered Cleric 2
3 Cloistered Cleric 3 Greater Spell Focus (illusion)
4 Cloistered Cleric 4
5 Cloistered Cleric 5
6 Shadowcrafter 1 Earth Sense
7 Shadowcrafter 2 [+10% reality to Shadow Conjurations]
8 Shadowcraft Mage 1
9 Shadowcraft Mage 2  Earth Spell [Silent Illusion]
10 Shadowcraft Mage 3 [Shadow Illusion]
11 Shadowcraft Mage 4 [Extended Illusion]

Ability scores
Str 5 [8-3 (0)]
Dex 16 [15-1+2 (8)]
Con 18 [15-1+2+2 (8)]
Int 12 [11+1 (3)]
Wis 20 [15+1+2+2 (8)]
Cha 18 [15+1+2 (8)]

Middle aged (+1 mental, -1 physical stats), gnome +2 con -2 str, +2 wis from leveling. +2 enhancement bonuses to con, dex, wis and cha

Items (total less than 52,000 gp): Collar of Umbral Metamorphosis (10,800, Tome of Magic), Scroll of Planar Bubble (11,375, Spell Compendium), Ring of Darkhidden (2,000, MiC), a Reliquary Holy Symbol (1,000 gp, gives you 1-3 more Turns per day, MiC), Nightstick (Libris Mortis, +4 Turn Attempts, ~10,000 gp), items to grant +2 bonuses to Con, Dex, Wis, and Cha (16,000). MW chain shirt, darkwood heavy shield, light x-bow and a club. Buff these with Magic Vestment and Greater Magic Weapon (you shouldn't need them, but just to make it a complete character)

Flaws: You need two. Pick whatever.

The tricks:
0: Heighten the spell Dark Way (SC) to 4th level to qualify for Shadowcraft Mage.

1a You can spend Turn attempts to Heighten spells, up to 10th level (thanks to Earth Spell).
1b You can turn a Heightened Silent Image (which you can cast spontaneously from the Illusion domain) into any Conjuration (Creation or Summoning) or Evocation spell on the wizard spell list of one level lower.
1c Therefore, you can spend 9 Turn attempts to turn a Silent Image into any 9th level wizard Evocation or Conjuration spell... A good choice is Summon Elemental Monolith from CArc. The Air Monolith is nasty.

2a Turn on your Collar. Now you're a native of the Shadow Plane*.
2b Use your scroll of Planar Bubble. Now you're in the Shadow Plane.
2c Shadow magic is powered up there, as follows:

Quote from: SCM handbook
Enhanced magic. Spells with the shadow descriptor are enhanced on the Plane of Shadow. Such spells are cast as though they were prepared with the Maximize Spell feat, though they don't require the higher spell slots.

Furthermore, specific spells become more powerful on the Plane of Shadow. Shadow Conjuration and Shadow Evocation spells are 30% as powerful as the conjurations and evocations they mimic (as opposed to 20%). Greater Shadow Conjuration and Greater Shadow Evocation are 70% as powerful (not 60%), and a Shades spell conjures at 90% of the power of the original (not 80%).

Light spells are also impeded, but you don't care.

*Along with all this stuff:
+8 Hide, +6 Move Silently, +10 ft move speed (all unnamed), cold resistance 10, superior low light vision, and Darkvision 60ft, and the ex. ability to Hide In Plain Sight.

Spells: Precast a Contingency (via trick 1). I'd suggest using Trick 1 to emulate an Otiluke's Resilient Sphere, and have it trigger to appear around you as soon as the Elemental Monolith is summoned. Earth Spell boosts your CL also, so getting the Contingency to a high CL is easy. Just concentrate from within your bubble while the monolith smashes everyone to bits. Look through this and this for more ideas. You can use the cantrip No Light (BoVD) + the Ring of Darkhidden to be invisible to anyone who doesn't have True Seeing.

Other decent spells this guy can cast spontaneously even without the DMM cheese:


Books required: Underdark for Shadowcrafter. Tome of Magic for the Collar of Umbral Metamorphosis. Races of Stone for Shadowcraft Mage. Unearthed Arcana (and hypertext SRD) for Cloistered Cleric. PGtF for Illusion domain (I think). Magic Item Compendium and Spell Compendium. Libris Mortis for Consumptive Field is nice, but not necessary (you'll need to use a lower level spell in your Contingency, though).

If the DM says a 2nd level spell Heightened to 4th won't qualify for SCM, you'll need to exchange the Trickery domain for the Shadow domain from the Eberron Campaign Setting book. There is also a 4th level Shadow spell called Skull of Secrets that is listed in the Player's Guide to Faerun as an Initiate of Cyric spell. So you could take the feat and get that if you're restricted to Faerun material. Cyric also has both the Illusion and Trickery domains, conveniently.

You should have a great Hide check (+4 race, +4 size, +4 more racial if in wooded areas, +8 template, and its a class skill for everything), and HiPS from the Collar, so start out hiding if possible. If all you do is summon a monolith and hide in a contingent Resilient Sphere, trick 2 isn't necessary at all. You won't be casting any other spells.

Here is a link to a similiar character (minus the DMM cheese) that you can use to add more details if you want.

Here is one I'm playing in Alastar's PbP "Way of the Wizard" on this board: http://brilliantgameologists.com/boards/index.php?topic=4524.msg186556#msg186556

Copied and pasted from here: Low level warforged shaper fun. Will touch it up later. I'm not playing this character at the moment. Just adding the build to this.

I'm playing another Warforged Shaper, and having fun with it. He is currently only level 2, and I'm thinking about how to progress him in the future.

The party is fairly large, but not very optimized. In the last game, we had two snow elves: a rogue/swashbuckler, and a druid; a human cleric of pelor, a half-elven ranger (archer), and a human monk. The monk and rogue both have low strength, and the monk's con is even worse, and the cleric had to spend her time running around healing people last time. So we don't really have a "tank", except for an NPC currently with us. There is also a bard that will show up occasionally, but he is our "benefactor", and is really only good for Inspire Courage. They are all level 2 or 3.

It is a homebrew world, and warforged are quite rare. They are basically expensive wizard toys, much like other golems/constructs. My 'forged spent the first 50 years of his life guarding a tomb/prison. However, he has now been freed from that, and due to the "progressive thinking" master that inherited him, freed of his indentured servitude. He still disguises himself to avoid stirring up trouble from ignorant "fleshies" while he is in civilized areas (He basically just wears a hooded cloak).

My character looks like this at the moment:

Warforged Psion (Shaper) 2

AL: LN

Str 14 (6)
Dex 14 (6)
Con 16 (6)
Int 16 (10)
Wis 8  (2)
Cha 8  (2)

AC: 20 (10+8armor+1shield+1dex)
HP: 14
Move: 20
Attacks: +3 slam (1d4+2), +3 dagger (1d4+2), +2 light x-bow (1d8), +4 MW shortspear (1d6+2)
Saves: F +3, R -1, W +2

Feats: Adamantine Body (1), Overchannel (Psion1), Talented (flaw1), Psicrystal Affinity (flaw2)
Flaws: Inattentive, Poor Reflexes
Trait: Focused (+1 Conc, -1 Spot and Listen)

Skills: Craft (Sculpting) +13, Knowledge (Architecture and Engineering) +8, Craft (Poison) +13, Concentration +11, Disguise +6, Spot & Listen -6
Languages: Common, Elven, Celestial, Infernal

Equipment: MW shortspear, MW buckler, MW sculpting tool, MW Concentration tool, MW Craft Poison tool, lots of Caltrops, disguise kit, weapons listed under attacks.

Power Points: 9
Powers Known: Astral Construct, Psionic Minor Creation, Vigor, Entangling Ectoplasm, Crystal Shard

Psicrystal (Artiste, +3 Craft)
Str 1*, Dex 15*, Con Ø, Int 6, Wis 10, Cha 10
HP 6
AC 16
Attack: -1 melee
Saves: F +0, R +2, W +2
Init: +2
Skills: Climb +14*, Listen +6, Move Silently +6, Search +2, Spot +6, Hide +18, Move Silently +2
Feats: Alertness
Special Abilities: Alertness (owner), improved evasion, personality, self-propulsion, share powers, sighted, telepathic link, Hardness 8

Tricks/Tactics: Use Minor Creation to make chains of "poison grenades": thin, hollow spheres of amber filled with contact poison (Sassone Leaf Residue is a good low level one). Coat his weapons, fists, and his psicrystal in poison, also. The DM has already ok'd the use of Psionic Minor Creation to make poisons.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

In the first game, we were ambushed by four Dracotaurs (CR 3 draconic centaurs, with two natural attacks and spears). I summoned a couple of Overchanneled Astral Constructs (I messed up, and made them both level 2, forgetting I'd already blown my focus), and hit a couple of enemies with Entangling Ectoplasm. The Constructs could take a ton of punishment, but had a hard time hitting. The Entangling Ectoplasm was a huge help, causing the enemies to miss several times with what could have been lethal attacks, and causing several potential misses by the party to become hits. For a single power point, this is a fantastic ability.

Since we don't have a real "tank", I am thinking of taking Share Pain and Psionic Repair Damage, so I can soak up some damage when needed. Last game, the monk got dropped to below 0 twice, and the druid once, and the druid's animal companion was killed. The DM seems quite willing to kill PCs. Share Pain might also be useful to mitigate damage from the other PCs to their horses.

Alternate future progressions I'm considering:
Alt Prog1 (Constructor): Psion 6/Constructor 10/Psion +4
Feats: Psionic Body (3), Extend Power (5), Boost Construct (6), Psicrystal Containment (9), Expanded Knowledge: Schism (12), (3 more)?

Alt Prog2 (Tank): Psion 10/Slayer 10
Feats: Psionic Body (3), Extend Power (5), Track (6), Expanded Knowledge: Metamorphosis (9), Expanded Knowledge: Schism (10), Quicken Power (12), Psicrystal Containment (15), ?

Alt Prog3 (Crafter): Psion 20 (assumes DM will let me craft normal, non-psionic constructs)
Feats: Craft Universal Item (3), Craft Arms and Armor (5), Craft Construct (6), Boost Construct (9), Expanded Knowledge: Schism (10), Psicrystal Containment (12), Quicken Power (15), ?

Alt Prog4 (Tattoo Master): Psion 20
Feats: Craft Dorje (3), Craft Psionic Tattoo (5), Tattoo Mastery (6), Dorje Mastery (9), Boost Construct (10), ?
For this one, I think I'd "abuse" Psychic Reformation and Expanded Knowledge. I'd take Expanded Knowledge, craft a reusable tattoo of the new power, and then Psychic Reform it to something else. Rinse and repeat. I'd also use this to make some reusable tatoos for my partymates. I'm leaning strongly towards this one. The DM has encouraged me to go this route, also.

Alt Prog5: If the online alternative class features will be allowed, I think I will take this: I'll probably take Scribe Tattoo at 3rd, and Tattoo Mastery at 6th with this, and drop Craft Dorje, even though Craft Dorje would probably be more useful.



A later post about how the character was performing and developing:


I just made 5th level last night. The most useful powers so far have been Entangling Ectoplasm and Psionic Minor Creation. The DM has been fairly lenient on what he lets me make with Minor Creation, and as a result, it is insanely useful when I have time to manifest it.

I usually make a bunch of "grenades" of Sassone Leaf Residue. This is just the plant poison encased in a thin shell of amber, so that it breaks if you throw it on someone. At the low levels, these things are very lethal, doing 2d12 damage on a failed save (DC 16). We've also been coating everyone's weapons with the poison by breaking one or two of these "grenades" into our quivers, and dipping our other weapons into it. However, I'm starting to see the power of this dropping off a bit, since the really tough enemies Fort saves are getting higher. I might need to "upgrade" the type of poison I make with this in the future.

In one game, we knew we were going to be facing trolls, so I made a bunch of "grenades" of flamable plant oil encased in amber instead. Yes, that's right, our party of level 4s and 5s fought 4 trolls and won. Most of the party climbed trees. Our cleric did die in this fight, though. The player made another cleric for the next game, very similiar in theme, but more optimized.  We decided next time that I'd include cotton fuses on them, so we wouldn't have to bother lighting the oil after it hits.

I've also been making liberal use of caltrops, ringing our campsite with them every night, and having my psicrystal collect them while we're breaking camp and preparing spells in the morning.

The DM has house-ruled away the XP cost for crafting magic items, and is pretty liberal on what kind of items he lets us create. We've also had decent cash. So I took Craft Universal Item at 3rd, and have worked with the other spellcasters to craft one time per day items of several buff spells.

I took Craft Arms and Armor at 5th, and plan to take Craft Construct at 6th.
Our party has formed a company that does crafting for people, and retrieves items for commissions. My guy is basically the party crafter, and I plan to make a bunch of minor constructs that can continue making things while I'm out adventuring.

So far for powers I have:

1st: Entangling Ectoplasm, Astral Construct, Crystal Shard, Vigor, Psionic Minor Creation
2nd: Share Pain, Psionic Repair Damage, Levitate, Identify
3rd: Ectoplasmic Cocoon, Energy Bolt

My feats, flaws, and trait are:
Feats: Adamantine Body (1), Overchannel (Psion1), Talented (flaw1), Psicrystal Affinity (flaw2), Craft Universal Item (3), Craft Arms and Armor (5)
Flaws: Inattentive, Poor Reflexes
Trait: Focused (+1 Conc, -1 Spot and Listen)

I'm debating on choosing Energy Bolt power. We don't have a party wizard or sorcerer, and noone really has a decent area affect spell. And we also have been in several fights where we encountered fairly large numbers of creatures that were all bunched together. I was screaming inside for a Fireball-like power, but didn't have one.  However, I think Telekinetic Thrust, or something else, might be more useful, since Energy Bolt is a line, and will be harder to catch multiple enemies at once with. We also travel with a wagon, so I could fill it up with a bunch of greatswords (covered in poison) to thrust at enemies with no problem.

Another guy made a warforged fighter, and I helped him with his feat choices. He is using a guisarme, and has Adamantine Body, Improved Trip, Combat Reflexes, Power Attack, and Cleave. Last night I put Share Pain on him, and was using my Psicrystal to deliver Psionic Repair Damage to him during a tough fight, which worked quite well, but costs alot of power points. Overall, I think it was more efficient than buffing myself and cranking out Astral Constructs that couldn't hit anything, though.

We have a bard and cleric who casts bless at the beginning of the fight, and the DM lets Bless stack with Inspire Courage. So the party "fighters" have signifigantly higher to-hit bonuses than my constructs do. The constructs are still very handy in some fights, but for high AC enemies, I'm better off just buffing and healing the warforged fighter, and tossing out Entangling Ectoplasms, I think.


Another update. This was unfortunately as far as I got. The campaign fell apart due to RL reasons.

Made it to 6th level. Added Time Hop and Touchsight to his powers known. I took the feat Craft (Psionic) Construct. I plan to make some Dedicated Wrights, and set them to crafting Effigies and other things. The DM is fine with using Transparency like this (I don't know, maybe it is totally legal. I don't own the MiC).

I tried using Crystal Shard for the first time... and missed... with an overchanneled 7 power point shard.  Our party of 5 took out about 15 orcs which seemed to have about 4-5 class levels each last game, and I didn't have any poison made before the fight. They ambushed us, also. It was quite tough.

I plan to make poison first thing in the morning with an Extended Minor Creation, and then make some more when that runs out. That will keep me supplied 24/7 for 4 power points, which is less than 10% of my max now. Well worth it. I can throw a bunch of them at once with Telekinetic Thrust in tough fights, too.

I might swap out Touchsight for Damp Power. I forgot about Damp Power, and I haven't used Touchsight yet. We don't fight spellcasters that often, though. Or at least, we haven't so far.

I had played another character similiar to this at 9th level. The original thread has since been archived. The DM wound up banning Polymorph, so the build I went with wound up being pretty different from the original idea posted below.

You, Me, and Everyone We Know (aka The Toolkit)

Warforged Shaper 10

Feats: Psicrystal Affinity (Psi1), Overchannel (1), Talented (3), Metamorphic Transfer (Psi5), Boost Construct (or EK: Dimension Swap) (6), EK: Metamorphosis (9), EK: Schism (Psi10)

Skills: max Use Psionic Device
Equipment: an item that gives a bonus on Use Psionic Device, if allowed, and an Orange Ioun Stone (if you can afford it).

Benefits:

Via Metamorphosis and Metamorphic Transfer, you can turn into just about anything (including inanimate objects, like wrenches :rofl:) and gain whatever ability that you need. This would be alot of fun to roleplay as the "sidekick" to a rogue or artificer. "Bob, wrench now!" "Yessir!"
You can heal yourself and your psicrystal.
You can disguise yourself as one of your summoned astral constructs.
Your constructs are quite powerful (7th level, if you can get the Ioun Stone, and they have an extra ability).
You can effectively summon two per round (via your psicrystal using UPD). Of course, this isn't free...
You're a full psion, so you can have plenty of "other" powers.



Fun stuff: Manifest Metamorphosis and share it with your Psicrystal to turn both of you into an Astral Constructs. Give your Psicrystal some power stones (or a Dorje) of Astral Construct. Manifest Schism, and both of you start using your standard actions every round to manifest Astral Construct. Use your Schism action every round to ready an action to escape any attackers that come after you via Dimension Swap (with a summoned construct) or Dimension Door (if you can afford the Ioun Stone). Share this with your Psicrystal.

This is what I actually wound up playing:

Warforged Shaper 9
Ability Scores: (28 pt. buy) Str 8 (0), Dex 16 (14+2enh) (6), Con 20 (16+2enh+2race) (6), Int 20 (16+2enh+2levels) (10), Wis 12 (6), Cha 6 (0)
Hit Points: 86
AC: 25 (10+8armor+4shield+2dex+1defl) (+1-3insight and/or +4 defl. sometimes), Touch 12, Flat-footed 25
Saves: Fort +10, Refl +8, Will +8 (+1-3insight sometimes)
Initiative: +3
Movement: 30'
Attack: +8 MW Light Crossbow (1d8), +7 Ranged Touch, +3 Slam (1d4-1)
Feats: Psionic Body (1), Psicrystal Affinity (Psi1), Quicken Power (3), Overchannel (Psi5), Expanded Knowledge: Empathic Transfer (6), EK: Schism (9).
Extra Feats: Empower Power, EK: Control Body
Skills: Craft: Sculpting 10, Psicraft 8, Knowledge: Psionics 10, Concentration 12, Use Psionic Device 12, Knowledge: Architecture and Engineering 10

Powers Known: [Level (number known)] +2 free powers
1st (5): Vigor, Energy Ray, Precognition: Defensive, Grease, Crystal Shard, Astral Construct
2nd (4): Empathic Transfer, Share Pain, Ego Whip, Levitate, Energy Adaptation: Specified, Psionic Repair Damage
3rd (4): Energy Wall, Dispel Psionics, Ectoplasmic Cocoon, Solicit Psicrystal, Mental Barrier
4th (4): Fabricate, Dimension Door, Intellect Fortress, Schism, Control Body
5th (2): Hail of Crystal, True Seeing
Power Points: 94

Equipment: Power Stones of Psychic Reformation (950 gp, contains 50 XP), Trace Teleport (700 gp), Body Purification (2 stones, 150 gp each (PsiW), ML4), Object Reading (2 stones, 150 gp each, ML3), Clairvoyant Sense (3 stones, 150 gp each, ML3), and Psionic Revivify (1,125 gp, did not include XP since both pay it, ML9); Psicrystal (Single-Minded, +3 Concentration), +2 Darkwood Heavy Shield (+4 AC, 0 ACP, 15% ASF, 4,257 gp), Amulet of Health +2 (4,000 gp), Headband of Intellect +2 (4,000 gp), Heward's Handy Haversack (2000 gp), Dagger (2 gp), Gloves of Dexterity +2 (worn, 4,000 gp), Warforged Component: equivalent of Skin Ectoplasmic of Armor (3,000), Cloak of Resistance +2 (4,000 gp), Ring of Protection +1 (2,000 gp), MW Crossbow (335 gp), Circlet of Persuasion (4,500 gp, on Psicrystal), Stone of Alarm (2,700 gp). 39,567 used.

My comments on the build, and why it is the way it is.

The DM asked me not to take Metamorphosis, but let me have a couple of extra powers and extra feats (all the PCs have stuff like this). He had an NPC that is a psiwarrior, and he asked me not to take a couple of things that duplicated some of that guys abilities and items. (Ectoplasmic Cocoon, Entangling Ectoplasm and a Psychosomatic Skin... Spiderman/Venom inspired...). He let me take the Skin of Ectoplasmic Armor as a Warforged component, though, which was nice.

First, the character is alot of fun. He has quite alot of hit points, and by using Share Pain, he can actually take quite a bit more damage than the "tank" of the party (a Knight, has 120 max hit points), and his AC is actually better by 1 point (party isn't all that optimized). And it is ridiculously easy to heal himself by sharing the minimum 3 power point Psionic Repair Damage with his Psicrytal. 3 power points heals each of them on average 21 points, so basically the Psion can heal himself for 42 damage with 3 power points. I think dropping Talented was a good decision. The 3d8 damage for Overchanneling is inconsequential, really.

On the taking damage front, the main thing you have to be careful about is getting your Psicrystal (with Share Pain on it) caught in an area affect spell that also hits the main character. It would be really easy to lose a Psicrystal like this. The Improved Evasion + Hardness helps moderate this alot, however.

The other thing that was obvious was that it is REALLY easy to just blow all of your power points and be left useless. I started out kind of gung-ho and fired off a couple of Overchanneled Augmented Empowered powers (Energy Ray and Crystal Shard), and failed Power Resistance on the first, and rolled a 1 on the Ranged Touch Attack for the other. Then I had to heal myself for the Overchannel damage... Made me feel kind of silly and ineffective... In what seemed no time, I was down to 1/3 of my power points, and I didn't even use any of my power point intensive strategies to increase my actions per round (Shared Quickened Schism + Astral Construct, then firing off a bunch of Control Body powers, and passing their control off via Solicit Psicrystal).

I realize that with the setup I have, it would be extremely easy to blow pretty much all of my power points on one encounter. It would also be very silly... and might not even be that effective. All it would take is a few bad rolls, and alot of those power points could be entirely wasted. Playing a psion is all about learning to restrain yourself, it seems. Overall, I enjoy the character, but it plays quite a bit differently than any other I've had before.

Dwarf Ftr1/Wiz4/Runesmith2/Loremaster2/Spellsword1/Archmage 2/Eldritch Knight 8
CL 18, BAB 15

Variants: Martial Wizard (Improved Initiative instead of Scribe Scroll)
Feats: Improved Familiar (Imp), Power Attack, Combat Expertise, Improved Trip, Combat Reflexes, Improved Initiative
Skills: Maxed Use Magic Device
Class abilities: Mastery of Shaping
Gear: A large guisarme
Permanent effects: Arcane Sight, See Invisible, ?

Shapes an AMF on himself with a 5' hole in the middle.
His familiar uses wands/staves/etc.

Per the Rules Compendium, AMF does not block Line of Effect. So he can actually cast spells on his opponent through the AMF. He doesn't need to though.

He precasts Contingency (via Greater Shadow Evocation) to trigger X if the fighter actually goes before him.

If he wins initiative (likely), he casts a Maximized (via MM Rod) Time Stop, and shares it with his familiar.
He uses a scroll of Divine Power on himself, Polymorphs into a Firbolg, casts a bunch of other buffs (Ironguard, etc, and his familiar can buff him via wands/staves/etc), and walks over to the fighter. He then proceeds to cast Wraith Strike and Power Attack the hell out of him every round until he is dead. If the fighter tries to flee, he trips him. The familiar readies an action to Disintegrate (with a staff) any obstacles that appear to block Line of Effect between the "fighter" and the wizard's Antimagic Field.

If the "fighter" has a spellcasting cohort, the wizard kills him first.


Alternate strategy:
Use the Time Stop to make a bunch of Walls of Force (via Greater Shadow Evocation), and fill the resulting "cage" with lava (I am pretty sure there is a spell that turns rocks to lava). The wizard makes himself immune to the damage via a buff, and stands next to the fighter and pounds him while he burns.

Offline Toptomcat

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Re: Hatchet Job Port Thread
« Reply #69 on: April 11, 2013, 01:27:40 AM »
The Tsuyo RegionalDex: A Ported Selection of the CO Works of Tsuyoshikentsu

by tsuyoshikentsu

Wow, that took a while. >.>

As you may have noticed, this thread is a repository for the threads I made that I feel deserve preservation.  Some are broken builds, some are broken rules; a few are just funny.  All I felt like bringing over here.

And most have formatting problems, and more than a few are outdated.  My first project is to do tinkering of all kinds, when I can.  Any suggestions would be much appreciated.

This is a brilliant way to get a LOT of power. I'm assuming that Tyrany works the same as Leadership, since I don't have 7th Sea. I'm also assuming that you're not using hte Wealth system, and are instead using the good-old GP/credits system. (I'll be calling them GP for simplicity's sake.) For the sake of SOME balance, Extra Followers will only apply to ONE Leadership. And finally, I don't think Competence bonuses stack, but that's okay. I am, however, assuming your DM will see the sense in letting your sidekick and your cohort's bonuses stack, sinse it's sharing of expertise and by definition they have different expertise.

THE CHARACTER AND HIS HELPERS

The Character

First, you are any evil human -- probably lawful evil. Max out INT and CHA. At the expense of EVERYTHING. CHA needs to provide as close to +9 as you can get, and INT needs to go as high as it can.

Classes:

Smart 10/Exemplar 1/UA Expert 4/UA Warrior 4/X 1//Cleric 1/Marshall 1/Wizard 17

Your domains are Artifice and Craft, and your Skill Mastery is Craft (Mechanical). For Warrior and Expert, your skills include Craft (Mechanical) and Diplomacy. Aura is Motivate Intelligence.

Feats:

Level 1: Artistic Crafter (Craft [Mechanical]), Engineer

In whatever order you prefer, barring prerequisites

Skill Focus (Craft [Mechanical])
Master Crafter
Leadership
Undead Leadership
Tyrant
Minions
Sidekick
Extra Followers
Skill Emphasis (Craft [Mechanical])
Handy
Mercantile Background (Craft [Mechanical])
Ordinary Past
Student of the Arts (Craft [Mechanical])

This leaves you with an outrageous number of bonus feats from Smart. Take whatever you think would be helpful.

The Cohort

Classes:

Human UA Expert 4/UA Warrior 8/UA Spellcaster 1/Field Marshall 5//Marshall 1/Wizard 17.

Background is Dillente, or whatever that +6 to Rep one is. Skills are Diplomacy and Knowledge (Tactics). Aura is Motivate Intelligence.

Feats:

Skill Focus (Craft)
Personal Firearms Proficiency
Fame x 14

EDIT #2A: The Sidekick

Classes:

Human UA Expert 4/UA Warrior 8/UA Spellcaster 1/Field Marshall 5//Marshall 1/Wizard 17.

Background is Dillente, or whatever that +6 to Rep one is. Skills are Diplomacy and Knowledge (Tactics). Aura is Motivate Intelligence.

Feats:

Skill Focus (Craft)
Personal Firearms Proficiency
Fame x 14

EDIT 2B: Followers/Minions

Your followers are all Human. In the case of your undead followers, they all have the Corpse template.

Classes:

Their classes, depending on their levels, are below. In parentheses is the number of each you get, assuming a Leadership score in each of 25.

Level 1: UA Expert 1 (540)
Level 2: UA Expert 2 (52)
Level 3: Dedicated 3 (28)
Level 4: Dedicated 3/UA Expert 1 (16)
Level 5: Dedicated 3/UA Expert 2 (8)
Level 6: Dedicated 5/UA Expert 1 (8)

In the case of Dedicated, they all take Empathy, then Improved Aid Another, then Improved Aid Another. Skills always include Craft (Mechanical). All skill points are spent on bringing it up to highest rank for that level. Obviously, this means the Expert levels are taken last.

Feats:

Feats in parentheses are to be taken after the first two.

Mercantile Background (Craft [Mechanical])
Skill Emphasis (Craft [Mechanical])

(Skill Focus [Craft (Mechanical)])
(Master Crafter)
(Builder)

If the follower is a Dedicated 3, substitute Cosmipolitan (Craft [Mechanical]) for Mercantile Background.

PROCEDURE, PART ONE

Every second of your and your lackeys' spare time is dedicated to making money. A good way to do this, once you, your cohort and your sidekick can cast flesh to salt (and later mass flesh to salt) is to get cows, change them into salt, and sell the salt for the going price. Your lower-downs can make wind-up toys or something.

The point of this is to get...

Brace yourself...

19 million GP.

Yes, THAT much. Please pick up your jaw; with enough lackeys working around the clock, it's doable. And trust me, you have enough lackeys

Besides, you're never gonna really be buying any, you know, EQUIPMENT or anything, aside from stat-boosting items. Just tell your party to wait and see, and have good faith.

Or just show them this build, whichever.

PROCEDURE, PART TWO

Now, you have 19 million GP. But what to DO with it? The answer:

Spend every copper of it on raw materials.

Once you've done that, here's what you do: go to a plane where time goes very, very fast in comparison to the Material Plane.

EDIT #2: I have found a way to cut down on this time even MORE by adding the Minions and Sidekick feats from d20 Past. I am assuming that Field Marshall bonuses from two sources stack, because it makes sense game-wise. Your DM results will vary.

Every day, this is your procedure:

--You, your cohort and your sidekick cast fabricate until both of you run out of spells.

--All three of you activate your Motivate Intelligence auras.

--You announce your Craft (Mechanical) check.

--Your cohort and your sidekick use their August Leadership ability to add 48+CHA (Rep+CHA) to your check. (They don't fail this because he's got at least 9 ranks in Diplomacy.)

--All of your first and second level followers Aid Another you, for (assuming your Leadership, Tyrant, Minions and Undead Leadership scores are all at least 25) a +1480 bonus on the check. (Note: None of your follower's checks fail, because their feat bonus is at least +5, plus at least four ranks in Craft [Mechanical]. Add in the 1 from the lowest possible roll, and they get a 10.)

--All of your third and fourth level followers Improved Aid Another you, for (again, assuming scores of 25) another +165.

--All of your fifth and sixth level followers Improved Aid Another x2 you, for another +80.

--You take 20, thanks to Artistic Crafter.

Your check total is:

23 Ranks
Taking 20, Artistic Crafter
+1d4, Handy
+2, Skill Focus (Craft [Mechanical])
+2, Master Crafter
+3, Skill Emphasis (Craft [Mechanical])
+2, Mercantile Background (Craft [Mechanical])
+2, Ordinary Past
+2, Student of the Arts (Craft [Mechanical])
+CHA mod, your aura
+Cohort's CHA mod, cohort's aura
+Cohort's CHA mod, cohort's August Leadership
+48, cohort's August Leadership
+Sidekick's CHA mod, sidekick's aura
+Sidekick's CHA mod, sidekick's August Leadership
+48, sidekick's August Leadership
+80, followers' Improved Aid Another x2
+165, followers' Improved Aid Another
+1480, followers' Aid Another
=
+1917 total check result.

Now, the difference in Craft DC between a wooden spoon and a jet engine is 25. As such, me and a fellow player/DM decided that the magnitude of complexity from a wooden spoon to a jet engine (DC 30) is about the same as from a jet engine to our target object. The conversation is funny enough to be repeated below.

Quote from: tsuyoshikentsu+Julie
Me: Would you say that the difference in magnitude between crafting a spoon and crafting a jet engine is abut the same difference in magnitude between crafting a jet engine and crafting, say, a __________?

Me: A wooden spoon, mind.

(pause)

Me: Yes, I know it's stupid, shut up.

Me: Just answer it.

Her: hm.

Her: i would say not quite as magnificent.

Me: ...

Her: at least the jet engine and the _________ have the same basic mechanics involved.

Her: A WOODEN SPOON, TUCKER.

Me: No, no, no, we're talking degrees of complexity here.

Her: oh.

Her: then yes.

Me: Okay.

Anyway, we decided that an acceptable Craft DC was 55. If your DM says it's higher, hey, even better; it just means the work gets done faster.

So. 1524 times 55 equals 83,820. Not counting fabrication, you'll get 8,382 GP worth of work done in a week. Of course, this will still take 130 years not counting fabricate. Nihility found the solution to the problem: voluntarily increase the DC of the target item until it equals 1515. That's an increase of 1460, if you care. Anyway, that means you get 230,886 GP done in a week -- so this'll take you about 4 and 3/4s of a year.

EDIT #2: But then, that's the OLD number. Since our NEW check is +1917 (or 1917-48-sidekick's CHa mod, if the field marshall bonuses don't stack) we can crank that DC up to 1915. So, 1917 times 1915 is 3,671,055, which adjusted and rounded down is 367,105 GP per week, cutting your time down to JUST under three years. HUZZAH!

So anyway, let's assume you do all that. What do you get?

WHAT YOU GET




That's right. A Vicstar. (Victory-class Star Destroyer.)

Have fun with your new implement of destruction. And remember: it looks real good with a planeshifting helm on it.

SOURCES

Feats: Crystalkeep d20 Feat list (it's listed under 3.0, but has an "everything from d20" option.)
Minion and Sidekick Feats: d20 Past
Expert, Spellcaster and Warrior: Unearthed Arcana
Marshall: Miniatures Handbook
Smart, Dedicated, Dillente background: d20 Modern Core Rulebook
Field Marshall: d20 Future
Flesh to Salt: Sandstorm
Victory-class Star Destroyer: Starships of the Galaxy

Right, I was making this build for a social campaign, and... well, things just escalated from there. I think the impressive thing about this build is that it does this without VoP, spells, or temporary effects. (Although the build has the POTENTIAL to use all of these things.)

This assumes the same 25 point buy as the old thead, although it's allocated a bit differently so as to qualify for some feats and to be able to cast spells:

STR 8 (0 points)
DEX 12 (4 points)
CON 9 (1 point)
INT 12 (4 points)
WIS 14 (6 points)
CHA 16 (10 points)

You'll probably have to make a deity up to fit the domains below, but making up a pleasure deity that has all those won't be too hard. (This also has the side benefit of letting you run wild with the Contemplative prerequisite of having "encountered" your deity...)

Code:
Half-Elf Marshall 4/Fighter 1/Evangelist 5/Half-Elf Bard 1/Cleric 2/Exempler 1/Contemplative 6

ALIGNMENT: Any nonlawful.
DEITY: See above
HIT DIE: Lvls 1-4 and 12-13 d8, lvl 5 d10, lvls 6-11 and 14-20 d6
SKILLS: Lvls 1-4 4+INT, lvls 5, 12-13 and 15-20 2+INT, lvl 6-11 6+INT, lvl 14 8+INT

LEVEL BAB FOR REF WILL ABILITIES
Mar01 +00 +02 +00 +02 Feat (Negociator), Marshall Bonus Feat (Skill Focus [Diplomacy]), minor aura
Mar02 +01 +03 +00 +03 Major Aura +1
Mar03 +02 +03 +01 +03 Feat (Ecclesiarch)
Mar04 +03 +04 +01 +04 Ability Score Increase (DEX), Grant Move Action 1/day
Fgt01 +04 +06 +01 +04 Bonus feat (Dodge)
HEB01 +04 +06 +03 +06 Feat (Crowd Tactics) Bardic Music, Bardic Knowledge, fascinate, inspire courage +1, soothing voice
Evn01 +04 +06 +03 +08 Great Orator (Inspire Dread/Hope)
Evn02 +05 +06 +03 +09 Ability Score Increase (CHA), Fast Talk
Evn03 +06 +07 +04 +09 Feat (Complementary Insight), Great Orator (Inflame the Righteous)
Evn04 +07 +07 +04 +10 Skill Mastery
Evn05 +07 +07 +04 +10 Great Orator (Convert the Unfaithful)
Clr01 +07 +09 +04 +12 Ability Score Increase (CHA), Feat (Inside Connection), Domains (Joy, Pleasure), Turn/Rebuke Undead
Clr02 +08 +10 +04 +13
Exm01 +08 +10 +04 +15 Skill Artistry (Diplomacy), Skill Mastery
Cnt01 +08 +10 +04 +17 Feat (Smatterings), Bonus Domain (Community), Divine Health
Cnt02 +09 +10 +04 +18 Ability Score Increase (CHA), Slippery Mind
Cnt03 +09 +11 +05 +18 Divine Wholeness
Cnt04 +10 +11 +05 +19 Feat (Inside Connections)
Cnt05 +10 +11 +05 +19 Divine Body
Cnt06 +11 +12 +06 +20 Ability Score Increase (CHA), Bonus Domain (Mind)


Also, here's the skill progression:

KEY:

LV= Level
BL= Bluff
DI= Diplomacy
HI= Hide
GI= Gather Information
KN= Knowledge (Nobility and Royalty)
KR= Knowledge (Religion)
PO= Perform (Oratory)
SM= Sense Motive
--= Skill

LV BL DI HI GI KN KR PO SM
01 04 04 00 00 00 04 04 00
02 04 04 00 00 00 04 04 04
03 05 04 00 00 00 05 05 05
04 06 04 00 02 00 05 06 --
05 07 04 00 04 00 05 06 --
06 08 04 05 05 00 05 06 --
07 -- 10 -- -- 00 05 07 --
08 -- 10 -- -- 00 11 08 --
09 -- 12 -- -- 01 12 12 --
10 -- 13 -- -- 05 13 13 --
+1 -- +1 -- -- -- +1 +1 --

So, either Knowledge (Religion) or Perform (Oratory) can qualify you for Exempler.

Now, let's do the math:

23 Ranks

+9 Synergy = 32

+5 Ability = 37

+4 Skill Artistry = 41

+4 Joy Domain = 45

+3 Skill Focus = 48

+2 Community Domain = 50

+2 Mind Domain = 52

+2 Negotiator = 54 (the old record..)

and...

+2 Racial = +56: The new no item, no buff, no magic, no Vow, no item Diplomacy record.

If you're talking to a crowd, add +4. If you're talking to members of your Inside Connection group, add another +4. If you're using an aura, add another +5.

The awesome part is that no matter what happens, you can ALWAYS make a rushed diplomacy check to improve from Hostile to Helpful.

Thank you, and good night.

UPDATE: Well, Tome of Magic came out and changed things. See, a first-level Binder can bind Naberius, who has the wonderful ability of letting you make a rushed Diplomacy check as a standard action with no penalty. This is much better than the Evangelist, which requires a lot of monkeying to get into anyway. With Evangelist gone, we open up not only the five Evangelist levels from my original build, but a few more that were wasted in qualifying for it.

So, the NEW build:

(Those who hate dips may want to cover their eyes.)

Venerable Magic-Blooded Half-Fey Half-Elf Half-Elf Bard 1/Marshall 1/Binder 1/Warlock 1/Telepath 1/Cleric 1/Half-Elf Paragon 3/Human Paragon 3/Exemplar 1/Contemplative 1/Chaos Monk 1/Fighter 1/Shadow Thief of Amn 1/Tatooed Monk 1


Stats: (25 Point Buy)

STR 05 (base 11, -6 age)
DEX 07 (base 11, -6 age, +2 template)
CON 03 (base 11, -6 age, -2 template)
INT 11 (base 08, +3 age)
WIS 11 (base 08, +3 age, -2 template, +2 template)
CHA 36 (base 18, +2 template, +4 template, +3 age, +2 Half-Elf Paragon, +2 Human Paragon, +5 levels)


Feats:

01: Cool Head
MB: Skill Focus (Diplomacy)
03: Flexible Mind (Diplomacy, Knowledge [Religion])
TB: Psicrystal Affinity
06: Complementary Insight
09: Negociator
HE: Persuasive
HU: Sacred Vow
12: Trustworthy
15: Alluring
18: Vow of Nonviolence

Domains:

06: Joy, Community
15: Mind


At first level, max out Diplomacy, Knowledge (Religion), Search, and the Diplomacy synergies. Increase them all next level, get at least five into Gather Information and eight into Search, then just dump everything into Diplomacy and Knowledge (Religion) from then on. You need to stay with K(R) until at least level 10, but I'd recommend keeping up with it, because it'll let you know whether or not you can Diplomize any undead you're facing.

You're still probably going to have to make up a god, but it's still pretty easy. Try to avoid combat if at all possible; your base attack bonus doesn't even hit +1 until 6th level. On the plus side, your saves are scary-high.


Ze math!

23 Ranks

+13 ability

+3 racial (Half-Elf Paragon)

+9 Synergy (Complementary Insight)

+3 Cool Head

+3 Skill Focus (Diplomacy)

+1 Flexible Mind

+3 Psycrystal

+2 Negociator

+2 Trustworthy

+2 Alluring

+4 Joy Domain (Sacred)

+2 Community Domain

+2 Mind Domain

+4 Skill Mastery (Competance)

+2 Doublespeak

+2 Sacred Vow (Perfection)

+4 Vow of Nonviolence (Exalted)

= +84

Now, the character can get this even higher with the buffs it itself can use. You can activate the Marshall's aura to get an additional +13, and then use the Warlock's Beguiling Influence invocation to get an extra +6. That's +19 more right there. And we all know about the Bellflower tatoo.

You could probably tweak this a little to make it beat the with items/buffs Diplomacy record, but I am far too lazy to be Interested. (Ooh! Terrible pun!)

EDIT: And, because the progression wasn't silly enough, let's do away with Contemplative 2-6 entirely and add two MORE classes! Ranger nets you Track for Watch Detective, which'll let you add Gather Information as a Diplomacy synergizer. Also, the number of domains get knocked down to 3, and Mind was sort of the odd man out anyway.

EDIT: Found out about Shadow Thief of Amn, and noticed that with two feats free there was abosolutely no reason to take Ranger for Track as a bonus. Hence, Ranger goes bye-bye. Also noticed that with less than four levels of Cleric, Mind > Lust. Bye-bye Lust.

EDIT: Well, well, well. Tevin's come up with some rather good ideas, but it turns out they work better in *my* build.

First off, we're gonna eliminate Track, because we're getting rid of Watch Detective. That leaves us with two empty fets and four levels. A level of Chaos Monk and a level of fighter get rid of prerequisites for Tatooed Monk, a very nice idea which I'll be stealing. The two empty feats are nicely traded for Sacred vow and Vow of Nonviolence, which gives us a +6 total bonus over and above the +3 we lose from the Watch Detective levels. This gives us one more free level to play with, but there really aren't any classes left.

So let's use a template, shall we? Half-Fey has a nice appealing aspect to it.

That brings our CHA to 36. We also get charm person at will, which is a nice bonus that won't be factored in.

Since I coount Belflower as a buff, the current record (WITHOUT Vow of Poverty, which I specifically mentioned I wasn't using) is +84. Since Tevin's build isn't actually legal -- he doesn't qualify for Tatooed Monk, and he is a Bard nad a Monk at the same time -- this record stands.

You can have no idea how long I've been working on this.

After creating my "without items, etc." Diplomacy record and getting it as high as I did, I began to realize: I could go for the whole thing. Thus, many months' time were spent starin at my list of bonuses, trying to figure out how to make it higher. I'll be the first to admit, practically every time on my list is taken from Interested's build, and a lot of feats were at least struck upon while staring at his post. However, the final breakthorough came about this way:

I was looking at Interested's list of bonuses, when I realized that one of them didn't synergize -- specifically, the circlet of persuasion and breastplate of command; they both provide a Competance bonus. So I looked through his list, and I noticed a big part of his bonus for both him and his cohort was moment of prescience. I looked the spell up, as I thought it might be useful, and I noticed:

Moment of prescience is a Personal-range spell!

That, along with the loss of the non-stacking Competance bonuses, put me just over the edge; without them, Interested's record is actually at +191 -- six points lower than mine.

Venerable Magic-Blooded Half-Elf Half-Elf Bard 1/Marshall 1/Binder 1/Warlock 1/Telepath 1/Cleric 1/Half-Elf Paragon 3/Human Paragon 3/Incarnate 1/Contemplative 1/Watch Detective 4/Shadow Thief of Amn 1

01: Cool Head
Item Familiar (Flaw: Quarter Elf)
Sacred Vow (Flaw: City Slicker)
MB: Skill Focus (Diplomacy)
03: Flexible Mind (Diplomacy, Knowledge [Religion])
TB: Psicrystal Affinity
06: Vow of Nonviolence
09: Vow of Peace
HE: Bonus Essentia
HU: Negociator
12: Track
15: Bonus Essentia
18: Complementary Insight
Polite trait
Honest trait

Wednesday's Left Eye (6,000 GP)
Cloak of Charisma +6 (36,000 GP)
+30 Diplomacy Item (90,000 GP)
Tome of Leadership and Influence +4 (137,500 GP)
Masterwork Tool (50 GP)
Admiral's Bicorne (51,000 GP)
Medal of Gallantry (1,200) [Thanks Sigma!]

Your domains are Herald, Mind, and Community. You've got Naberius bound every day. Your soulmeld is Silvertongue Mask, an it's got 5 points always in it.


THE MATH:

Charisma:

18 Base
+2 Template
+3 Age
+5 Levels
+2 HE Paragon
+2 Human Paragon
+4 Tome
+6 Cloak
+4 Charm Domain
=46 (+18)


023 Ranks:

+18 Ability, Charisma
+02 Unnamed, Traits
+03 Unnamed, Cool Head
+02 Perfection, Sacred Vow
+03 Unnamed, Skill Focus (Diplomacy)
+18 Circumstance, Marshall Aura (Motivate Charisma)
+01 Unnamed, Flexible Mind
+03 Unnamed, Psicrystal
+04 Unnamed, Telempathic Projection
+02 Unnamed, Community Domain
+03 Racial, Half-Elf Paragon
+02 Unnamed, Negociator
+12 Insight, Silvertongue Mask Soulmeld
+04 Sacred, Herald Domain
+04 Exalted, Vow of Peace
+12 Synergy, Complementary Insight/Watch Detective
+02 Unnamed, Doublespeak
+06 Unnamed, Beguiling Influence
+23 Unnamed, Item Familiar
+04 Unnamed, Wednesday's Left Eye
+02 Masterwork Tool
+30 Competance, Custom Item
+05 Circumstance, Friendly Face
+05 Morale, Pendant of Joy
+02 Unnamed, Fleeting Fame
+01 Luck, Luckstone
+05 Unnamed, Admiral's Bicorne
+02 Unnamed, Medal of Gallantry

Equals +205. You can take 10 on this at any time, and rush it as a standard action at no penalty. (Over 200! Thanks, Sigma!)

Now, outside of the higher check, there are two reasons why this build is superior to the old record. Number one, it can rush as a standard action. Number two, IT DOESN'T USE LEADERSHIP.

Leadership and the Aid Another rules, as I partially proved in my Supercrafter build (see my sig,) are stupid and broken. If I wanted to make a record build for a skill check using Leadership, I would abuse it that way. (I'm going to actually go into detail on this in a seperate thread, because the trick is stupid enough that it deserves its own.) The point is, though, that Leadership should not be allowed into any discussion about optimizing skill checks.

Besides -- even without it, I have a higher bonus anyway.

Crack your Monster Manual V.  Turn to page 148.  Meet the Shaedling!  These nasty little buggers, no pun intended, are fairies that worship Lolth.  (Seriously.)  These fun little suckers, with 4 HD and a +3 LA, are stupidly broken.  Why?  Read their Shadow Gossamer ability.  Notice anything missing?

There is no limit to what can be created, nor is there a duration as long as you hold onto it.

Need a potion?  Bam, it's there.  Feel like a ring?  It'll never leave your hand, I promise.  Wanna copy a scroll into a spellbook?  How about a prayerbook?  Jsut make sure you don't drop it while copying!

Candle of Invocation?  Easy.  Tomes and Manuals?  Well under 15 pounds!  Belt of Magnificence?  Depending on your definition of "hands," you might be able to create and keep one.

The freaking Ruby Rod of Asmodeus?  An easy FIVE POUNDS!!!

Okay, this is pretty amazing.

As we all know, Monks gain bonus feats at 1, 2, and 6. The Martial Monk variant from Dragon allows Monks to choose their bonus feats from the Fighter list.

Monks don't have to meet their bonus feat's prerequisites.

Weapon Supremacy at level 1? Yes, please.
« Last Edit: May 17, 2008, 01:18:05 AM by tsuyoshikentsu »   

This, ladies and gentlemen, is a Dervish's wet dream: a finessable weapon that deals 1d4 slashing damage, crits at 18-20/x2, and gives you an extra attack.  And the best part?

The only limit on the number you can wield is the amount of hair on your head.

I invite you to turn to page 35 of your local copy of Dungeon #120.  You will find within a weapon known as the Braid Blade, a light exotic weapon.  Do you hold it?  Certainly not!  You tie it to a braid of hair!  And each one grants you an additional attack at -5 -- -2 if you have five ranks in Tumble -- with no mention of stacking or bonuses.

Need I say more?


Now, I am a great admirer of Caelic's Supermount build, but I've always wondered if we could do better. I consider the Holy Grail of Supermounting to be a maxed-out Companion/Familiar/Mount. (For those wondering, Caelic's will only give you a maxed-out Companion/Mount.) For months, I've tried various gestalt formulae to get it all to come together.

And then I read through Dragon #325, looking for flaws, and found the Theurge article.

Anarch 5/Druid 3/Wizard 3/Arcane Hierophant 2/Fleshwarper 7

Feats:

Track
Theurgic Bond
Devoted Tracker
Graft Flesh
Holy Mount
Theurgic Mount
Natural Bond

This will give you a Companion 23/Familiar 20/Mount 20... er, friend thing.

EDIT: And then I remembered Fleshwarper.

EDIT: And then I read the web enhancement for Champions of Valor.

See, the thing is, Arcane Hierophant is a really awkward class. Rereading its familiar companion ability, it's entirely possible that it wouldn't stack with Devoted Tracker, and it doesn't actually give you the statistical increases of the familiar.

High One Warrior-Wizard, however, does.

Paladin of Freedom 5/Wizard 5 (High One Warrior-Wizard sub at 5)/Beastmaster 1/Fleshwarper 9

Feats:

01: Skill Focus (Handle Animal)
03: Track
06: Theurgic Mount
09: Graft Flesh
12: Devoted Tracker
15: Theurgic Bond
18: Natural Bond


HUMANS, FLAWS, AND THE FREE FEATS

The skill requirements for this are a little messy, and, if you're in a low point buy game and actually care about character stats, the INT requirement my be prohibitive -- unless you're Human. Flaws will also give you a number of spare feats -- Animal Affinity wouldn't be too out of character here. There are therefore a number of feats that you could take to make this character better. Here are some of them.

Heretic of the Faith: CoC getting you down? Do whatever you want as a paladin of freedom with no CoC!

Sacred Vow/Vow of Poverty/Celestial Mount: If you can take a flaw and don't mind not having a saddle, you can throw the Celestial template on your mount.

(Ideas appreciated!)

irst off, World Champion is a weapon from Final Fantasy X. I like the visual, and the Final Fantasy reference is sort of a tie-in to the fact that this is basically a lancer build. It gets nowhere near the record on charge attacks, but on the other hand, it's much more well-rounded.

Half-Minotaur Orc Orc Paragon 3/Barbarian 1/Fighter 2/War Hulk 10/X 3

Feats:

01: Power Attack
03: Cleave
F1: Weapon Focus (Spiked Armor)
F2: Weapon Focus (Spiked Shield)
06: Blood-Spiked Charger
09: Snow-Tiger Berserker
12: Two-Weapon Fighting
15: Endurance
18: Steadfast Determination

Sure, your BAB will be +8/+3 at level 20, assuming a BAB +1 class at the end -- but since you'll be pretty much dumping every mental stat, you can afford to put a 17 in STR.

So, here's some math:

17 STR
+8 Racial
+12 Size increase (woohoo!)
+5 Levels
+24 classes (WOOHOO!)
+6 Belt of Giant Strength

=72 STR

When you charge, double your STR mod (+31, I think) and add that to damage. So, 1d8+67, incluing various enhancement bonuses. I'm not absolutely sure, but I think if you have a Spiked or Horned Helmet in there, you can hit with that too -- if not, replace Snow-Tige Berserker with Improved Shield Bash or something.

Now, there are two reasons why I prefer this over the typical lancer. The first is that this thing's AC doesn't end up in the tank so much. You'll be wearing +5 mithral heavy plate and carrying a +5 heavy steel shield -- both with +5 defending spikes. You'll also be fighting defensively all the time past your initial charge. Why?

The second reason: you can make a large attack every round. The third part of BSC allows you to move into your opponent's space and perform a shield bash, doubling your Strength and adding it to damage. This does provoke an AoO, but 1) you'll be fighting defensively, 2) your spikes will be set to AC mode, and 3) if you have a 32 point buy, there's no reason your CON should be below 20 and your Hit Dice are large anyway. Plus, you'll be dealing 2d8 + 175 damage on these attacks. The attack bonus is at +36, though -- but that's still good enough to hit most things. (It'll be at +38 if the second part of BSC went off -- likely if they miss, since the shield is +12's worth of your AC!)

To finish it, you could probably take Berserk or something -- but it's 1:11 AM here and I don't want to figure two sets of equations. (That's an implied invitation to check my math, by the way.) This build suffers the inability to take mental-based skills and just asking for Sunder attempts.

So: thoughts?

EDIT #1: I just realized that Orc is pretty much strictly superior, and I hate half-orcs anyway.

EDIT #2: Thanks for helping me to not look stupid, Surreal.


Note: You don't HAVE to be a Gnome.  You just need to be Small.  I couldn't resist the title, though.)

So Iry pointed out Reduce Person.  Which makes me feel very silly.

Basically, the idea is you use 7 levels of Elemental Scion, combined with the Summon Elemental reserve feat, to ride around in an elemental all day.  It only takes you a standard plus a move to reform one with the feat and move into it, which also resets the duration you can spend inside.

The OP, below, is the way to do this without Reduce Person.


So since I obviously haven't abused Ur-Priest enough, let's return to it for a sec.

Let's make a Gnome.  Let's add one of those odd five-level Ur-Priest entires.  Then let's add eight levels of Ur-Priest.  So we're at 13 so far.

Now let's add seven levels of Elemental Scion, from Magic of Eberron.  This lets you ride around in an elemental and be immune to everything while you're in it.

Now let's add the Summon Elemental reserve feat.  See where we're going here?

First off, thanks to ksbsnowowl for proving to the world that archers rock. Also, I apoligize if I repeat anything he's said.

Now, I happen to be a big fan of the archer archetype, and I have immense respect for ksbsnowowl. However, I have my own archer builds that I recommend that aren't covered by his oft-referenced post, so I'd like to post them both in an easy-to-find place, along with a little additional advice about archers in general. Mostly, the two builds I'm initially posting below showcase the Targeteer, a great fighter variant from Dragon available on CrystalKeep.

----------

ADVICE
"Now listen here, sonny..."

There are two types of archery builds: damage builds and range builds. Damage builds want to do as much damage as they can, while range builds want to be hitting from an obscene distance. Sniper builds usually want as much of both as possible, and aren't covered here because they're a tricy subject that really has more to with your campaign than optimizing.

Every great archer build begins with a Greatbow. A Composite Greatbow, in fact. Why?

For damage builds, they get the best bang for your buck. For distance builds, it's got the highest range increment in the game.

Now, you'll obviously want a custom one, because as we all know magic > mundane. Good advice on what to slap on a damage archer is readily available, but I'd like to recommend Elvencraft; it's often overlooked that you theaten with an Elvencraft bow even when you're using it as a bow. It should go without saying that your distance build should have Distance on it, and Dragonbone is also nice for ranged builds. (Thanks, Deathson!) And, plus, there's nothing quite like being able to describe your bow as "a massive bow six feet long, crafted by elves out of the bone of a dragon, and burning with magical energy." ;-)

----------

DAMAGE BUILDS
Twangtwangtwangtwangsplat.

Human Ranger 5 (4th Shooting Star sublevel)/Targeteer 2/Peerless Archer 3/Deepwood Sniper 10

Feats:
Level 1: Point Blank Shot
Human: Zen Archery
Ranger 2: Rapid Shot
Level 3: Far Shot
Targeteer 1: Precise Shot
Level 6: Quick Draw
Level 9: Weapon Focus (Composite Greatbow)
Level 12: Sword of the Arcane Order
Level 15: Manyshot
Level 18: Greater Manyshot


EDIT: It has been pointed out to me that Targeteer's Sniper increases threat range, not multipiler. This is the case, but all is not yet lost! Remember that Deepwood Sniper grants all your arrows the keen ability, which may or may not stack with Targeteer. If it doesn't, you still get a threat range of 16-20, and if it does, you get 15-20. You can then use Greater Manyshot to get as many attacks as you need.

Your primary stats are STR, DEX and WIS. If your WIS is lower than your DEX, you can drop Zen Archery to move all the feats to an earlier slot, but remember you'll still need a good WIS to cast HM effectively.

----------

DISTANCE BUILDS
"Go, and get each of you a bow and arrow, and repair to the great plain outside the city, where the horses are exercised. I will soon come to you, and I declare I will give the Princess Nouronnihar to him that shoots the farthest." -- The Arabian Nights

Human Ranger 4 (4th Shooting Star sublevel)/Targeteer 2/Deepwood Sniper 3/Cragtop Archer 4/Deepwood Sniper 4-10

Feats:
Level 1: Point Blank Shot
Human: Zen Archery
Ranger 2: Rapid Shot
Level 3: Mountain Warrior
Targeteer 1: Far Shot
Targeteer 2: Precise Shot
Level 6: Sword of the Arcane Order
Level 9: Weapon Focus (Composite Greatbow)
Level 12 on: As you will

This one also casts true strike, but it's mostly because it can. The real point of this is that you can get over a mile, with no range penalty if you have 40 feet of vertical clearance and are using a +1 composite evencraft dragonbone greabow of distance/ -- 7,800 feet in fact, assuming that in D&D math x2 + x1.5 + x1.5 = x3, and that the dragonbone modifier is added after multiplication like Deepwood's.

Other spells you want to have are hawkeye and wind tunnel, which if added together on top of the rest of this would increase your range increment to 715 feet, and your max range to 10,735 feet -- over two miles in six seconds. (By the way, these arrows are going at a speed of 1,218.75 miles per hour, or 1787.5 feet a second -- about 450 MPH faster than the speed of sound. Maybe there should be some sonic damage attached? )

Again, you want STR and WIS. The lovely thing about this build is that the range is mostly dependant on class ailities, leaving a lot of feat slots open.
« Last Edit: May 17, 2008, 01:26:04 AM by tsuyoshikentsu »   

kay, we all know the charger builds that are designed to do ridiculous amounts of damage on a charge.  We also know that in-game, they're pretty weak; sort of first-round wonders.  This is an attempt to take the principle and turn it into a more general-play build, trading sheer damage potential for long-term effectiveness, based on a character I'm playing.  In essence, it's a much less "theoretical" charger.

One of the main principles of this build is a synergy that, to my knowledge, has not yet been observed: the synergy between a mounted charger and the feat Great Cleave.  A properly optimized mounted charger -- that is, one that has Spirited Charge and a lance to say the least -- has a very good chance of dropping something of his own level on a charge.  Now, one of the major differences between Spring Attack and Ride-By Attack is that Ride-By Attack counts as a charge, and most times you are going to be using Ride-By Attack.  And, to my knowledge, there is nothing that's stopping you from using Great Cleave on a charge attack.  The lance's reach... is just a bonus.

What gets really absurd is when you realize that the charging bonuses last until the end of your turn.

Human Fighter 8/Cavalier 10/X 2

Feats, 1-8:

Mounted Combat
Ride-By Attack
Spirited Charge
Weapon Focus (Lance)
Power Attack
Cleave
Improved Sunder
Combat Brute
Great Cleave


The basic strategy here is to Ride-By back and forth -- with the character I'm using them with, I call them "strafing runs."  Even if Spirited Charge is the only multiplier you have (and it shouldn't be) you'll be doing 18x whatever Power Attack penalty you took in the last round, plus 6x whatever penalty you're taking in this one.  (D&D math, I'm pretty sure, doesn't work here because you're not stacking things.  You're applying them all in different steps.  I know it doesn't apply to the 6 since Power Attack never mentions a multiplier; it's the 18x that's in question.  If D&D math applies, drop that to 10x.)

And these bonuses will be applying also to all the Great cleave attempts you're going to be getting.  And this is WITHOUT the Cavalier abilities.


Now, on the note of items, there are two that bear mentioning.  The first -- the valorous enhancement (UE) -- just adds an additional multiplier to charge damage with a lance.  (Which isn't to knock it; any multiplier is worth having!)  However, if you can get ahold of the second, the build gets much more powerful.

That item is the lance of the unending charge, from the Arms & Equipment Guide.

This lance makes the build much, MUCH more powerful: it allows us a charge for every Cleave we get, up to our mounts maximum movement.  Here's the other thing; it's optional. You can Cleave everything in reach and THEN move on.

Last of all, mounts.  Get a fast one, and get a flying one if you can.  If you have a flying one, fly ten feet above your enemies' heads and abuse the hell out of reach, Ride-By Attack and Great Cleave.  (I call this "multipoking.)


Here are some advantages of the class over the traditional "ubercharger:"

--No Spells

Nothing's really dependent on not getting dispelled here except your magic items, and those are just gravy.

--No Psionics

Not everyone likes 'em, plus the same as above.

--No Frenzied Berserker

...Which is a class almost everyone hates and a lot of DMs ban.

--No Ambiguous Mount/Leap Attack Interactions

Leap Attack would be an okay addition to this build, but the main source of damage here is the multiplied Shock Trooper bonus... which doesn't get higher with Leap Attack.  (Or Frenzied Berserker.)  Plus, a lot of people (including me, although I go back and forth on this) don't think you can use it while mounted.

--Repeatable in An Encounter

This is the big one.  Assuming you have some space, you can do this over and over again.  No triggered magical effects that only work once, no crucial buffs wearing off.  Plus, it's a lot easier to set up your charge again.


...And Now...?

I need your help:  What are some good feats to finish off the build?  What should my last two levels be?  Are there any other items I should know about?

Any other thoughts?
« Last Edit: May 17, 2008, 01:26:18 AM by tsuyoshikentsu »

Okay, so I'm sick of seeing NAW's Entertainment column being empty.  Am I trying too hard here?  Maybe.  But there's also a good deal of demand for low-CR things that are not goblins or kobolds.

As such, I have made you a kobold.  Well, not exactly.

[sblock=CR 1/2]
AGLUGLAGLAGLAGLAG!!!!


Murloc Warrior (1st-level Aquatic Kobold Whirling Frenzy Barbarian)

Size/Type: Small Humanoid (Aquatic, Reptilian)
Hit Dice: 1d12 (6 hp)
Initiative: +1
Speed: 40 ft. (8 squares), swim 40 ft.
Armor Class: 15 (+1 size, +1 Dex, +1 natural, +2 leather), touch 12, flat-footed 14
Base Attack/Grapple: +1/-4
Attack: Spear +1 melee (1d6-1/×3) or sling +3 ranged (1d3-1)
Full Attack: Spear +1 melee (1d6-1/×3) or sling +3 ranged (1d3-1)
Space/Reach:    5 ft./5 ft.
Special Attacks: —
Special Qualities: Darkvision 60 ft., light sensitivity, rage, fast movement, illiteracy
Saves:    Fort +2, Ref +1, Will +0
Abilities: Str 9, Dex 17, Con 12, Int 12, Wis 10, Cha 8
Skills: Craft (trapmaking) +2, Hide +6, Listen +2, Move Silently +2, Profession (miner) +2, Search +2, Spot +2
Feats:    Swarmfighting
Environment: Coast
Organization:    Gang (4-9), band (10-100 plus 100% noncombatants plus 1 3rd-level sergeant per 20 adults and 1 leader of 4th-6th level), warband (10-24 plus 2-4 Medium sharks), tribe (40-400 plus 1 3rd-level sergeant per 20 adults, 1 or 2 lieutenants of 4th or 5th level, 1 leader of 6th-8th level, and 5-8 Medium sharks)
Challenge Rating: 1/2
Treasure: Standard
Alignment: Usually lawful evil
Advancement: By character class
Level Adjustment: +0

The idea here is actually for about a CR 2 encounter -- get a bunch of these suckers together and suddenly you're facing a lot of attacks that aren't as inaccurate as normal.  Plus, this fills a gap in a DM's campaign checklist: low-level aquatic mooks.

And if anyone has any ideas on how to optimize further, I'm all ears.[/sblock]

Seduction, as presented here, is a powerful in interesting ability.  As such, it falls to us to break it until it cries.

Stats: Considering that Gather Info and Bluff are the only skills you care about, put it all in CHA.  Past that, go with the physicals for what little fighting you're gonna be doing.

Races:  At LA +0, changelings are your #1 choice.  You need to be physically attractive, and the best way to do that is to be everything at the same time.  Past that, anything with a high +CHA is also good; doppelgangers are an expensive upgrade of changelings.  (An alternative option is also presented below.)

Classes: Bard is pretty good; Warlock's 1-level dip is better.  A lot of this can be taken from Diplomancer builds.  However, a really big one is Master of Many forms, in which you can become attractive to ANYTHING.  Also good is the Tatooed Monk; as shown by a link I've misplaced, you can get really high CHA skill checks with it.  An odd but viable choice is Ranger; if you know what you're going to be seeing a lot of, Favored Enemy gives you a Bluff bonus -- plus, Urban Tracking is a variant bonus feat.

Oh, by the way, ChristopherGroves points out below that Marshall is obvious.  Which it is.  If you don't take a level of it, you're either avoiding EXP penalties or I'm coming to your house to kill you.

Feats: For bluff, there isn't much.  You might actually want to take the reprinted Cosmopolitan, although some may want the calm animals effect of Born Under a Gibbous Moon.  (If you're human, take both!)  Outside of that, you're looking at High Society and the Core 2/2 feats.  Gather Info has even less, though you really, really want to take Urban Tracking to find the guy (or girl!) you want.

Human Monk 5/Shou Disciple 5/Exemplar 1/Drunken Master 9

Feats:

Human 1: Dodge
Level 1: Skill Focus (Basketweaving)
Level 3: Weapon Focus (Unarmed Strike)
Level 6: Great Fortitude

And what you will from there.

That's right,m this is a serious attempt to optimize basketweaving. obviously, I could go Artificer wih Mercantile Background for making loads of cash, but the idea of using baskets to kill things caught my fancy.

So... this'll let you Flurry with baskets, and you get d12 extra damage on each hit with one. Two-weapon basketweaving is a good idea, but there's also the option of taking Shield Proficiency (Tower) and making a large basket to use as a tower shield to go sword and board, too. Or you could just be a two-handed basketwielder.

Basicly, screw all the mental stats; WIS and INT are going down the drain once you start drinking, and CHA gets you nothing. DEX really only needs to be 13 for Dodge, so throw most of what You've got into STR and CON.

Exemplar is there for Skill Artisty (Craft [Basketweaving]).

As soon as you can, get yourself a potion belt (and, depending on your DM, a masterwork bandoleer) and fill it with bottles of alcohol.

Any ideas?


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Re: Hatchet Job Port Thread
« Reply #70 on: April 11, 2013, 01:28:41 AM »
Getting the most out of your familiar

by PhaedrusXY

Quote from: Wyrd;2737292
Original Message:

Spells that specifically target familiars:
- Animate Dead Familiar: instant duration; makes your dead familiar undead ... it has to die first, so there might be xp-loss  (SB)
- Augment Familiar: +4 to Str, Dex, Con, 5/magic DR, and +2 to saving throws (CW)
- Elemental Familiar: instant duration; turns your familiar into a tiny elemental (SB)
- Enhance Familiar: can be permanency'd; +2 competence to attack/saves/damage, +2 dodge AC (T&B)
- Familiar Pocket: can be permanency'd; creates an extradimensional pocket on your clothing that the familiar can enter/leave as a free action (T&B)
- Fortify Familiar: can be permanency'd; +2 enhancement to natural armor, 25% fortification, 2d8 temporary HP (T&B)
- Imbue Familiar with Spell Ability: transfers some of the casters daily spells (T&B)
- Planar Familiar: instant duration; turns your familiar into a Celestial/Fiendish/Axiomatic/Anarchic creature, depending on the alignment of your god (SB)
- Dragon 280 also has the following spells: Familiar's Sense, Familiar's Touch, Share Life, Familiar's Form, Call Familiar

Feats:
- Bonded Familiar (PH2)
- Celestial Familiar (BoED)
- Combat Familiar (PH2)
- Construct Familiar (Drag 280) ... change type
- Dragon Familiar (Drac)
- Enspell Familiar (Drag 280) shared spell works up to 1 mile
- Extra Familiar (Drag 280)
- Familiar Concentration (LEoF) familiar can maintain concentration for caster
- Familiar Spell (DMG:epic, Und:general) - familiar can cast spells
- Improved Familiar (CW: Guardian Familiars) (FRCS) (RoF) (SK) (T&B)


check out the nice list further on in this thread:
http://boards1.wizards.com/showpost.php?p=8838824&postcount=167

- Lurking Familiar (PH2)
- Obtain Familiar (CA) gives you a familiar, with the familiar abilities depending on your total arcane caster class levels
- Planar Familiar (Plan)
- Shadowform Familiar (CoR) familiar gains incorporeal subtype (you have to be a Krinth)
- Spell-Linked Familiar (PH2)
- Stitched Flesh Familiar (LM) get an undead version of a normal familiar and control more undead
- Token Familiar (Drag 280) familiar can assume statue-like form
- Undead Familiar (Drag 280) ... start with an undead familiar, without xp-loss

(Prestige) Classes:
- Alienist PrC lvl 5: adds pseudonatural template to your familiar (CA)
- Bonded Summoner PrC: turns your familiar into a powerfull elemental (MH)
- Changeling wizard 5 substitution level: "Morphic Familiar" lets your familiar change between it's possible forms at will. Very cool for a standard familiar, but once you add in Improved Familiar ... (RoE)
- Elf wizard 3 substitution level: doubles the bonus you gain from your familiar (RotW)
- Fleshwarper increases your familiar's size
- Raptorian wizard 1 substitution level: gives you a small air elemental as familiar (RotW)


alternative familiars
- Dragon 277 page 65: badger, chipmunk, dog, eagle, groundhog, lizard, monkey, otter, small constrictor snake
- Dragon 280 page 60: bird, dog, fox, hare, lizard, mouse, otter, raccoon, skunk, squirrel
- Dragon 323 has two good familiar options. The Moth/Butterfly gives +3 to spellcraft checks. The Hummingbird, quite possibly the best basic familiar (although the raven can be better), grants +4 initiative.

the "casting" familiar
- max out use magic device and give him your wands / staffs
- imbue familiar with spell ability (T&B) / contingency / improved contingency (T&B) / symbul's spell matrix/sequencer (MaF/PgtF) ... all allow your familiar to cast spells
- cast a spell and let your familiar "hold the charge" untill you really need the spell ... works just like a quickened spell

tips & tricks
- the raven and some of the "improved familiars" can speak, so can use command word items
- alter self (this thread by PhaedusXY), polymorph and shapechange can also change your familiar into something more suited to combat/survival/whatever ... the alter self/polymorph bit works best when your familiar already is an outsider
- familiars use the masters skills, so use the aid another action to get +2 on the masters checks
- for "Clever uses of the Share Spells ability", check out this thread by PhaedusXY


BoED: Book of Exalted Deeds
CA: Complete Arcana
CoR: Champions of Ruin
CW: Complete Warrior
Drac: Draconomicon
Drag: Dragon Magazine
FRCS: Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting
LEoF: Lost Empire of Faerun
LM: Libris Mortis
MaF: Magic of Faerun
MH: Miniatures Handbook
PgtF: Players Guide to Faerun
Plan: Planar Handbook
RoE: Races of Eberron
RoF: Races of Faerun
RotW: Races of the Wild
SB: WotC - Spellbook Archive
SK: Serpent Kingdoms
T&B: Tome and Blood
Und: Underdark

You can also check:  WotC's Rules of the Game: Familiars ... although sometimes it brings only more obscurity.

And another trick: If you take Improved Familiar to get a Pseudodragon, and find a way to trade out its Alertness feat (Dark Chaos Feat Shuffle, Psychic Reformation, retraining, etc), you can give it Mindsight from Lords of Madness.
« Last Edit: May 27, 2009, 04:55:16 PM by PhaedrusXY »    Logged

Clever Uses of Shared Spells

Quote from: PhaedrusXY;4779132
Edit: I don't think the original idea I had about using share spells to double the capacity of the transportation spells is legal myself anymore. So I deleted that part and pruned my list of useful spells to use with the ability. Please feel free to add ideas to this thread, and check out the How to get the maximum out of your familiar thread in the Character Optimization forum for more ideas on how to get more use out of your familiar.

Any "buff" type spell that you normally would use to make yourself tougher or a better fighter is great to share with your familiar, if you don't mind the risk of getting it into combat with it's lower hit points. There are tons of these spells, and I'm not going to list them all, as they are pretty obvious. One of the best ones is Polymorph (and Shapechange later).

Imbue with Spell Ability (cleric) + Rary's Mnemonic Enhancer or Mordenkainen's Lubrication seems like it would work to give your familiar a few spells to cast. I'm not sure if the Mnemonic Enhancer would actually do anything, because it says "You prepare and cast these spells normally." That might invalidate it, as the familiar can't prepare spells "normally". So again, it's more fishy than Mordenkainen's Lubrication, which would definitely work.

Legend Lore seems like it might work, also. You could use it to learn about two things at the same time. One your familiar learns about, and one you learn about. It seems weird... but I think it's legal, heh. Of course, the DM might rule that you both learn about the same thing. Several other Divination spells would work also, like Locate Object, Detect Evil, Discern Location, etc.

Here is a wierd one, and I'm not sure if it's technically legal, but I've been pondering it for an NPC: Magic Jar. The Target line in the spell says "one creature", but that's not really describing what the spell does at all. The target is really the caster, who puts himself inside a gem and then tries to possess other creatures. And you're not limited to possessing just one creature, either, so the target line is totally misleading and incorrect I think. I was considering doing something crazy like Magic Jarring the caster into one body and the familiar into another body that the caster would use as a mount. Then you could share all of your buff spells, as a palladin does with his mount. You'd probably need two focuses though, unless you try to put both souls into the same one... which would be weird.

One thing that definitely seems legal is sharing Wishes to increase both your attributes and your familiar's, for no extra cost. And if you combine this with Magic Jar, you can get some strange things going on. What happens if you Magic Jar your familiar into your friend's body, and then share a Wish to increase your Constitution with your familiar. Does it increase the Constitution of the body the familiar is in at the present, or it's real body? If it is the former, does the inherent bonus go with the familiar when the spell ends (an entirely different debate I realize), or stay with the body it was in at the time of casting? If it's the latter, you could double up on increasing your group's inherent bonuses to stats. And alot of DMs like to rule this way to "cheat" players out of their inherent bonuses if they do alot of body swapping.

So if your DM is "cheating" you out of your inherent bonuses when you Magic Jar, then you can cash in on it, heh. I think the bond between familiar and master is definitely between their souls, not their bodies. So you should be able to share spells just fine if either your familiar or you are in a different body. And if inherent bonuses to physical stats are ruled to stay with whatever body got them, then combining these two rulings means clearly that you can get 2 for 1 inherent bonuses for your party with a little body swapping via Magic Jar.

Moment of Prescience could be useful to share and use the +25 to a skill check, since your familiar has the same ranks in skills as you have.

Most spells which gives you some kind of attack you can use repeatedly, like Eyebite, Produce Flame (druid) and Chill Touch, work. These are nice if you share a bunch of buffs with your familiar beforehand.

All the Repel So-and-so spells could be shared to get two lines of effect out of them instead of one (which might make these otherwise subpar spells somewhat useful). Sharing Repulsion would force them to make two Will saves to approach you. Sharing Antilife Shell (druid, cleric) and other spells like it would make creatures make two Spell Resistance saves.

Sharing many spells like Antimagic Field, Antilife Shell and others like them might seem pointless at first. But if someone tries to bring down your defenses with a Dispel Magic (or MDJ for AMF), they will have to beat both the spell on yourself and the one on your familiar.

I just looked through the Player's Handbook to get these. There are others in other books I'm sure.

Edit: Depending on how the DM rules on the manifester level for the Familiar, Mental Pinnacle could be an insanely good spell to cast on your familiar via Share Spells. In this case, you have it affect only your familiar, and not you. In this way, you turn your familiar into a powerful psion for a few rounds.
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Re: Hatchet Job Port Thread
« Reply #71 on: April 11, 2013, 01:34:46 AM »
Little Red Raiding Hood: My Tale of & Guide to the 3.5 Dragoon
by LittleRedRaidingHood

Little Red Raiding Hood
A Tale of the Many-Classed Dragoon
dragoon2.jpg

Change Log and Version History

2.4: Build #9, Stabby McTankerson, is up. Now you can be a very physical front-liner who rains death from above and can stand in melee for a round or few. (8 20 9)

I rearranged Shoppin' so it uses 2 posts. All items of a type (rings, wondrous items) are in a separate SBlock.

2.3: After many hours of combing through the guide, I now declare all sections free of bugs, be they mechanical, grammatical, or formatting.

I changed the ratings on some items and feats and referenced Magic Item Compendium 233-234's rules on adding common effects to existing items. I fixed all builds so their maneuvers are fully legal.

Build #7, Eternal Daughter, was missing its last stance. Build #4, The Twilight Lancer, and Build #8, The Trancer, had titles mismatch their level progressions.

I added an SBlock in Feats for Travel Devotion (Complete Champion 62) on how to use it to mimic Spring Attack.

2.2: Build #8, the Trancer, is up. This build could pass for a backup arcanist much of the time.

Further proofreading revealed many now-squashed minor bugs. (7 28 9)

2.1: I fixed minor typos and tweaked the format of some things more to my liking. (7 23 9)

2.0: Build #7, Eternal Daughter, is up. I advise against playing it unless you start at or near level 20 as Island in Time, your level 20 ability, is the only redeeming feature compared to other builds!

In other news, I turned 25 last week. Happy birthday. (6 28 9)

1.9: I added my thought process to the Administrative Q&A section and fixed minor bugs. (5 16 9)

1.8: Build #6 is up for the charismatic, party-boosting dragoons. (2 6 9)

1.7: I added build #5 for those dragoons suck without Tome of Battle or Unearthed Arcana. (1 30 9)

1.6: I expanded the build section with The Blade Lancer and will soon expand it further. (11 26 8)

1.5: The maneuver progression for all builds is legal now. I also fixed minor typos and bugs. (11 11 8)

1.4: I fixed the Powertool build since it had Shock Trooper (Complete Warrior 112) listed twice. I also rearranged its feats to get Shock Trooper at level 9 for more accurate power attackin'! (10 26 8)

1.3: I added the section Your Role as a Dragoon as well as some other minor additions like spider climb.

The folks of the Brilliant Gameologists board added their comments to this thread about the Hood handbook. Thank you! (10 22 8)

1.2: I added a link in the administrative FAQ to Tempest Stormwind's revised dragoon and added the masterwork tool. (10 20 8)

1.1: I changed The Stilldancer's race from Raptoran (Races of the Wild 68) to half-orc and changed its feats to improve its effectiveness. (10 18 8)

1.0: Initial public release. Man, this thing is big! (10 17 8)

Periodically: I will edit minor things like to fix broken links or correct typos or formatting errors. Typically, I won't list periodic changes.

Credits

These people were especially helpful in the completion of this project.

-God: For with Him, all things are possible!
-Surreal: Lists of Stuff AND Some handy links for CO work
-Tempest Stormwind: His work on the old dragoon thread and the UberERcharger inspired me to make this one.

Preliminary Details

FAQ of Administrative Stuff

Administrative Q&A
Q: What is a dragoon? What is a dragon knight? What is a lancer?
A: A dragoon or 'dragon knight' is a high-jumping, heavy armor-wearing spear-wielding unit from the Final Fantasy series. Some dragoons, especially from Final Fantasy Tactics, are called lancers. This is the main definition. This guide is mostly about unmounted dragoons, though with certain modifications you can also handle mounted combat fairly well.

Historically, dragoons were mounted cavalry who also fought on foot. Let us discuss historical dragoons no more in this post.

For more info regarding all types of dragoons, see Wikipedia. If you want to see how a dragoon looks in action at mid levels, see General Greivous The Animated.

Q: What happened to the old dragoon threads?
A: Tempest Stormwind's dragoon builds were from this thread, now archived. I reformatted it and placed the spiffifications in a post below.

Q: Where'd you get that picture? What is it?
A: I found it on the above dragoon thread. It's a picture of the female lancer from Final Fantasy Tactics.

Q: Why write this?
A: I intended to play a dragoon and decided to share my findings with the world in a spectacular fashion. Second, I wanted to get more attention to the 3.5 boards. Also, I had a burning desire that bordered on obsession to build this character, which is awkward considering I ususally prefer wizards.

Q: What are some helpful relevant links?
A: See the links section in a below Spoiler.

Q: How long did this take?
A: 1.0 probably took at least 50 hours over 3 weeks.

Q: What do your color codes mean?
A: Blue is critical or almost critical for your build. Alternatively, an item, spell, or feat may be so worthy that it's a gimme for almost everyone. If necessary, plead with your DM to allow you this.
Navy is of high priority for most dragoons. An item may be a wonderful bargain, a spell may be more potent with your build, or a feat that normally is dubious works wonders for you.
Black is nice to have for most dragoons. Maybe an effect is awesome but can only be used once per day. Perhaps a spell is excellent, but a continuous item of that spell isn't worth the price. Some things' usefulness varies so widely that I can't adequately gauge how much it will help, and if in doubt I make it black.
Red is either extremely niche or utter crap for you. Many spells with saves work well when cast by a high INT wizard, but you aren't a primary caster. Something may seem appealing and may even be thematically appropriate, but you should only take a red item if your heart begs you to take it or there's no better choice.

I do not attempt to list every option. While I wish to provide a comprehensive list, I present only the most popular, optimal, or thematically appropriate materials.

Q: Must I wear red? Must I be female?
A: No and no, though you'd probably get more laughs than cheers if as a man you called yourself Little Red Raiding Hood.

Q: Why is this build called Little Red Raiding Hood?
A: Because she's an air raider! Let the sirens blare when you move 50 feet, jump onto your foe, full attack, and spring away via Travel Devotion (Complete Champion 62) as if nothing ever happened. (Spring Attack, eat your heart out!)

Game Mechanics Q&A

Q: What is partial BAB stacking?
A: A rogue gets 3 points of base attack bonus every 4 levels. A wizard gets 1 point of BAB every 2 levels. A rogue1/wizard1 by default rules has a BAB of 0 but with partial BAB stacking, he instead has a BAB of 1.25 which is rounded down to 1. (Unearthed Arcana 73 lists the table.)

Q: Do I need partial BAB stacking?
A: No, but if you start below level 5ish, plead with your DM to allow it. Expect to have a hard time hitting otherwise. Even if you start later, hitting them more often is better.

Q: What if my DM enforces alignment, like saying lawful barbarians can't rage?
A: Talk to your DM. Blade dancers (Oriental Adventures 37) by their flavor text seem more unlawful because of their drinking habits. They're more roguish or bardic than paladinic. If your DM uses Oriental Adventures errata, blade dancers are nonchaotic instead of just lawful. Regardless, if you can't enter and you want in, you'll need to adapt.

Failing that, seriously consider if you want blade dancer. You need three icky feats, Dodge, Mobility, and Spring Attack, to qualify.

By extrapolation, this applies to other alignment-based abilities and classes as well.

Q: What if I can't use Eberron material?
A: You lose Powerful Charge (Eberron Campaign Setting 57) and Greater Powerful Charge (Eberron Campaign Setting 54). Eberron has the least useful material available for dragoons.

Q: What if I can't use Faerun material?
A: You lose Battle Jump (Unapproachable East 42), the Valorous enchant (Unapproachable East 54), and anything else from Faerun books. You can withstand losing Valorous, but Battle Jump is key to the dragoon's style. Plead with your DM to allow it if you want to be a dragoon!

Q: What if I can't use Oriental Adventures?
A: Unless you greatly wanted to be a blade dancer (Oriental Adventures 37), you lose nothing of note.

Q: What if I can't use psionics?
A: No Up the Walls or hustle for you then. You can achieve similar stylistic results by magical flight or wings, or a Transmuter's Sudden Shift (Player's Handbook II 68), but Battle Jump (Unapproachable East 42) requires you hurl yourself at your opponents, not fly down at them. Also, the Travel Devotion (Complete Champion 62) becomes more important.

Complete Scoundrel's skill tricks help slightly, but they do little to compensate.

Q: What if I can't use the Tome of Battle?
A: If you still want to be a dragoon, see the prettily formatted version in a post below. Alternatively, investigate Tempest Stormwind's old version. Finally, see the build posts below. (Post 1, Post 2)

Q: What if I'm stuck with core only?
A: You're on your own. Good luck.

Q: What if need a deity?
A: See the Spoiler below for Domains, Devotions, and Deities.

Q: What if my DM enforces favored classes and multiclass penalties?
A: Then I'm glad I ain't playin' in that game. Seriously, if you must, take Additional Favored Class (Unearthed Arcana 100). Alternatively, try talking to your DM to let warblade or a class of your choice be your favored class. This works especially well if your race's normal favored class is ranger, fighter, or barbarian.

Failing that, find a new build.

Q: What stats do I need to make each build work?
A: Check in each build's SBlock. (Post 1, Post 2)

Some aspects apply to all builds, however.

You need 14 WIS to get the bonus power point needed to psionically focus with 1 psychic warrior level. You need only 13 WIS otherwise.

I also recommend AT LEAST a 14 CON because you're a melee person. Over the long term, you need CON about as much as the party's tank because a giant flying, wall-running menace that impales foes with one hit and clears rooms in one round will draw aggro, if any foes remain that is.

If you wish to focus on casting, you'll need a higher INT, WIS, or CHA. Travel Devotion (Complete Champion 62) requires 2 turning attempts per use, and if you don't want to blow feats or buy items, bump your CHA.

Q: Do Tome of Battle prestige classes add their initiator level bonus to crusader, swordsage, and warblade?
A: By the rules as written, yes! I consider this fair considering a full caster has far more tricks than a multiclassed martial adept.

Q: Does Evasion work with abilities that replace Reflex saves with skill checks, like Action Before Thought?
A: By the rules as written, no. Evasion applies to Reflex saves, and Action Before Thought uses a skill check instead of a save. Allowing Evasion to work is a reasonable interpretation.

Q: How should I allocate my stat points from levels?
A: Boost your stats to fill prereqs first. Casters should boost their primary casting stat. Other dragoons should boost stats according to preference.

STR: Melee accuracy & damage, Climb & Jump checks
DEX: AC, reflex saves, Tumble checks, more attacks from Combat Reflexes
CON: HP, fortitude saves, Concentration checks
INT: Skill points, Knowledge & Search checks
WIS: Will saves, Spot & Listen checks
CHA: More turn/rebuke undead attempts for Travel Devotion (Complete Champion 62), social skills

Q: What about Complete Scoundrel's skill tricks?
A: As skydragonknight mentioned in this dragoon thread, there are some especially useful skill tricks like Wall Leaper. See the Spoiler below.

Q: Does becoming a Dragonborn (Races of the Dragon 8) remove my previous race's Climb or Jump bonuses since these skills determine distance I can jump or climb per turn and I keep the movement modes of my original race? Normally I'd lose skill bonuses and a bunch of other stuff.
A: I'd like to think so, but in this guide I assume not. See the Dragonborn template below and ask your DM!

Q: If I can take traits or/and flaws, which are best?
A: [http://brilliantgameologists.com/boards/index.php?topic=7200.msg236679#msg236679]See the Spoiler below[/url].

Q: What about a certain house rule, feat, variant, item, class, or...?
A: Remember, the dragoon concept is a template and able to change a bit to suit your needs. I'm open to suggestions for its improvement, though the core concept of a high-jumping acrobatic polearm-wielding "OMGWTFBBQ" martial character, not necessarily a martial adept, won't change.

Relevant Links for Aspiring Dragoons

Builds
-A little Lock build for you... AKA Locke Downe (aelryinth): A build centered around preventing enemies from moving
-Chuck E. Cheese (skydragonknight): Attaining light speed in D&D! [Complete Champion errata killed the trick by preventing the persisting of footsteps of the divine, but it was interesting while it lasted.]
-Circle Mower (17flyingaxes): Use Battle Jump and maneuvers to achieve ludicrous charge damage without magic items!
-Jumplomancer by Caedrus: Jump to make people your fanatical followers!

Caster Resources
-Cleric Domain List (Henry Perkins): Has most 3.5 domains listed along with their Greyhawk and Faerun deities. Also, domain spells from non-cleric lists are marked! NOTE: This list is less comprehensive and less official than ImarvinTPA's.
-Cleric Handbook (ClericHandbook)
-Complete 3.5 Polymorph Thread (MegaPlex): Get your buff forms here!
-Forms for Alter Self (PhaedrusXY)
-List of the Best Buff Spells (MegaPlex)
-Tempest Stormwind's old dragoon thread
-Treantmonk's Guide to Abjuration: God's Tools
-Treantmonk's Guide to Conjuration: God's Tools
-Tsuyoshi's Guide to Divination Spells: G-d's Eyes
-Treantmonk's Guide to Enchantment: God's Tools
-Treantmonk's Guide to Evocation: God's Tools
-Treantmonk's Guide to Illusion: God's Tools
-Treantmonk's Guide to Necromancy: God's Tools
-CantripN's Guide to Transmutation Spells: God's Gifts

Databases
-d20 SRD: The Hyperlinked Version
-IMarvinTPA's Spell, Deity, Domain, Feat, and Item Database (Andrew Bay)
-Lists of Stuff (Surreal)
-"Some handy links for CO work" AKA The Surrealdex (Surreal)

Handy Resources
-A guide to free D&D (Dictum Mortuum) - WotC gave away some of the best parts of their books. No wonder D&D 4E came out so soon.
-All About Mounts (Part Five) - Skip Williams explains the difference between [Long] and [Tall] creatures.
-Brilliant Gameologists Boards: All the cool kids are doing it!
-Cityscape Web Enhancement - Urban class features, such as losing Ride as a class skill and gaining Tumble
-Items that Grant Feats (thugsb)
-Maneuver Cards: Official cards from the WotC site
-Official D&D Errata AKA Official D&D Updates
-Why cleric 1 is an awesome option to consider for dipping (ChristopherGroves)

Misc
-Eternal Daughter (Derek Yu & Jon Perry)
-Pricegrabber.com: A place to compare prices on real world items

Source Material Acronymns (Product Key)

This list is mostly for repliers who use acronymns instead of full names.

An      Anauroch: The Empire of Shade
AEG      Arms and Equipment Guide
BFK       Barrow of the Forgotten King
BB       Bastion of Broken Souls
BC       Book of Challenges: Dungeon Rooms, Puzzles, and Traps
BE       Book of Exalted Deeds
BV       Book of Vile Darkness
CoR       Champions of Ruin
CoV       Champions of Valor
CiP      City of Peril
CSW       City of Splendors: Waterdeep
CSQ       City of the Spider Queen
Ci       Cityscape
CV       Complete Adventurer
CA       Complete Arcane
CC       Complete Champion
CD       Complete Divine
CM       Complete Mage
CP       Complete Psionic
CS       Complete Scoundrel
CW       Complete Warrior
Co       Cormyr: The Tearing of the Weave
DG       D&D Gazetteer
DH       Deep Horizon
DotF       Defenders of the Faith: A Guidebook to Clerics and Paladins
DD       Deities and Demigods
Dr       Draconomicon
DM       Dragon Magic
DCS       Dragonlance Campaign Setting
Dra       Dragonmarked
DE       Dragons of Eberron
DrF       Dragons of Faerûn
DrU       Drow of the Underdark
DMG       Dungeon Master's Guide v.3.5
DMG2       Dungeon Master's Guide II
Du       Dungeonscape
ECS       Eberron Campaign Setting
ElE       Elder Evils
EA       Enemies and Allies
ELH       Epic Level Handbook
EE       Exemplars of Evil
XPH       Expanded Psionics Handbook
Rav       Expedition to Castle Ravenloft
EDP       Expedition to the Demonweb Pits
ERG       Expedition to the Ruins of Greyhawk
EU       Expedition to Undermountain
EH       Explorer's Handbook
ELQ       Eyes of the Lich Queen
F&P       Faiths & Pantheons
FoE       Faiths of Eberron
FLFD       Fantastic Locations: Fane of the Drow
FLFR       Fantastic Locations: Fields of Ruin
FLHP       Fantastic Locations: Hellspike Prison
FF       Fiend Folio
FC1       Fiendish Codex I: Hordes of the Abyss
FC2       Fiendish Codex II: Tyrants of the Nine Hells
5N       Five Nations
Fo       Forge of Fury, The
FW       Forge of War, The
FRCS       Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting
FY       Fortress of the Yuan-Ti
FB       Frostburn
Gh       Ghostwalk
GHR       Grand History of the Realms
GC       Grasp of the Emerald Claw
HN       Heart of Nightfang Spire
HBG       Hero Builder's Guidebook
HoB       Heroes of Battle
HoH       Heroes of Horror
LM       Libris Mortis: The Book of the Dead
LG       Living Greyhawk Gazetteer
LF       Lord of the Iron Fortress
LoD       Lords of Darkness
LoM       Lords of Madness
LEOF       Lost Empires of Faerûn
MIC       Magic Item Compendium
MoE       Magic of Eberron
MoF       Magic of Faerûn
MoI       Magic of Incarnum
MP       Manual of the Planes
MW       Masters of the Wild: A Guidebook to Barbarians, Druids, and Rangers
MH       Miniatures Handbook
Mon       Monster Compendium: Monsters of Faerûn
MM5       Monster Manual V
MM4       Monster Manual IV
MM3       Monster Manual III
MM2       Monster Manual II
MM       Monster Manual v.3.5
Mys       Mysteries of the Moonsea
OA       Oriental Adventures
PlH       Planar Handbook
PE       Player's Guide to Eberron
PG       Player's Guide to Faerûn
PH       Player's Handbook v.3.5
PH2       Player's Handbook II
PF       Power of Faerûn
RD       Races of Destiny
RE       Races of Eberron
Rac       Races of Faerûn
RS       Races of Stone
RDr       Races of the Dragon
RW       Races of the Wild
RH       Red Hand of Doom
RT       Return to the Temple of Elemental Evil
RC       Rules Compendium
Sa       Sandstorm
SS       Savage Species
SoS       Secrets of Sarlona
SX       Secrets of Xen'drik
SK       Serpent Kingdoms
SSL       Shadowdale: The Scouring of the Land
SL       Shadows of the Last War
Sh       Sharn: City of Towers
ShG       The Shattered Gates of Slaughtergarde
ShS       Shining South
SM       Silver Marches
SiS       Sinister Spire, The
SaS       Song and Silence: A Guidebook to Bards and Rogues
SG       Sons of Gruumsh
SD       Speaker in Dreams, The
SC       Spell Compendium
StS       Standing Stone, The
Sto       Stormwrack
SB       Stronghold Builder's Guidebook
SuC       Sunless Citadel, The
SF       Sword and Fist: A Guidebook to Monks and Fighters
TB       Tome and Blood: A Guidebook to Wizards and Sorcerers
ToB       Tome of Battle: The Book of Nine Swords
ToM       Tome of Magic
Una       Unapproachable East
Und       Underdark
UA       Unearthed Arcana
VGD       Voyage of the Golden Dragon
WB       Whispers of the Vampire's Blade

A Dragoon's Role and By-Level Breakdown

Overall, your job is to do lots of damage in melee via your polearm. At mid to late levels, this will be enough to kill nearly anything in one full attack, assuming all your attacks hit. (In MMO terms, you're mad melee DPS.) While you're frequently on the front lines, if you are the main target, you should remain just ouf of reach of things wishing to harm you. Leave 'tanking' to the Big Stupid Fighter™ or Locke Downe. With your polearm, you should be able to stand far enough away to poke at anyone entering your threat range, hopefully stopping them from touching you.

You also have much more mobility than the average creature of your size category. Your second job is to get out of attack range of foes you can't kill, either by breaking line of effect or being so far away they can't hit you with their best attacks. ("Run, run as fast as you can! You can't catch me, I'm the ninja bread man!") Spells like teleport and invisibility and abilities like Abrupt Jaunt (Player's Handbook II 68) also qualify.

You should be far enough away from the fight to warn your party of impending reinforcements and to guard your wizards, archers, and other backliners.

* Stilldancer Sample Build *
Phase I: Levels 1-5 - Gritty Medieval Fantasy
Level 1: Feat Rogue1
(You gain a fighter bonus feat instead of sneak attack.)

Initially, you're one of the party's scouts. You can sneak and Spot better than the average character, though many will wonder why as a stealther you rely on a longspear. Answer: You're proficient with it and it's the best simple reach weapon available at level 1.

You may also need a bow because of your low HP, 0 BAB, and meager Fortitude save. Play it safe and you should level in a month.

You can occasionally trigger Battle Jump (Unapproachable East 42), but you most likely need to climb somewhere high to do it.

If you aren't a Raptoran (Races of the Wild 68) or Dragonborn (Races of the Dragon 8), becoming a Dragonborn ) is an immediate goal and one you may be able to attain at level 1 in your backstory. Even if you must take out a loan or promise someone or something service, it's most likely worthwhile. (Talk to your DM about this.)

Level 2: Cleric1
After gaining your first cleric level, you're still the stealthy, scouting type with a longspear, but now you can heal yourself should you get in trouble. Hopefully you snagged the Travel Devotion (Complete Champion 62) so you can move as a swift action instead of a move action.

You can also heal your allies between fights and buff slightly before fights, but you should still try to remain out of view. Remember you can use clerical wands and staves if the spell is on your cleric list or granted to you by your domains!

Level 3: Psychic Warrior1
Up The Walls, baby! Now you can trigger Battle Jump (Unapproachable East 42) by backflipping from a wall onto some poor sap's head. You can also run along walls and surprise most people who don't think in 3D.

You also become proficient with lances and halberds, increasing your damage capacity slightly.

Level 4: Barbarian1
Little changes from last level, but now you're guaranteed to have a positive base attack bonus, thereby allowing Power Attack bonus damage. You can hopefully also use Whirling Frenzy to gain an extra attack for one fight per day.

While you don't benefit from it immediately, Pounce gained from the Lion Totem (Complete Champion 46) also works when hasted. Better to have it sooner than later.

You should also have the HP to take a blow or 3 in melee and not worry about falling over. Things probably only get more intense from here!

Level 5: Warblade1 (Tome of Battle 21)
Bring on the maneuvers! This is the last time your power level will increase so greatly with one level gained. You should have Moment of Perfect Mind (Tome of Battle 64) to protect against mind control, Sudden Leap (Tome of Battle 89) to allow you to jump as a swift action when your Travel Devotion (Complete Champion 162) power is depleted, and Punishing Stance (Tome of Battle 69) to do d6 more damage and be out of harm's way so the -2 AC from this stance doesn't affect you. If you're paranoid of being mind controlled, instead take the stance Bolstering Voice (Tome of Battle 90) so all allies within 60' that can hear you get +2 Will.

Now you'll need to manage your swift and immediate actions. Remember, using an immediate action when it isn't your turn steals your next turn's swift action!

Around level 5 is when you can take a few more risks around enemies and not risk death from one stab or full attack. Enemy melee characters get multiple attacks on a full attack starting around this time; beware!

Finally, if you're a Raptoran (Races of the Wild 68), you can fly for brief periods. While flying, you can perform a diving charge with a piercing weapon for double damage. Woot!

Phase II: Levels 6-10 - Heroic Medieval Fantasy
You've survived the growing pains of gaining your first point of BAB by acting smart and staying out of harm's way as much as practical. Keep up the good work and you'll be jumping even higher soon!

From now on, you won't be hiding frequently to great effect: A mere 4 ranks in Hide got you here, but it filled its purpose. (If you have more ranks, you're probably trying to be sneaky in which case, sneak on!)

I won't do a by-level breakdown for every level from now on, but instead give notes on important levels and a general feel for how I expect things to be.

Level 6: Warblade2
If you're a Dragonborn (Races of the Dragon 8), you can fly for brief periods. While flying, you can perform a diving charge with a piercing weapon for double damage. Woot!

Level 7: Warblade3
If you're consistently near the back ranks, you can help your wizard tremendously via White Raven Tactics (Tome of Battle 94). Spend a swift action to give him another round immediately following your turn. (WRT has a 10' range, mind you.) Have him buff you or take out an important target.

Level 8: Warblade4
You gain Leaping Dragon Stance (Tome of Battle 88), allowing you to make running jumps as standing jumps and giving you jump 10 more feet per jump.. From now on, jumping should be no problem!

Level 10: Warblade5
By now you should have White Raven Tactics (Tome of Battle 94) to allow your allies extra turns, and Iron Heart Surge (Tome of Battle 68) to ensure most status effects are a thing of the past.

Also, if you're a Raptoran (Races of the Wild 68), you can fly indefinitely with a base speed of 40' (average maneuverability). Yee haw!

Phase III: Levels 11-15 - Wuxia
To the typical commoner or low-level person, you're effectively a god. Your base land speed doubles from blade dancer (Oriental Adventures 37), you can jump tremendous heights by taking 10, withstand blow after blow that would kill commoners, and kill many if not most things with one attack or a full attack. With the aid of your party, you can do even more!

Things may get easier from here. Your cleric should be able to raise the dead. Your wizard should be able to turn you into unspeakably powerful horrors, and you two should be buddy buddy from all the extra turns you give him. Play style doesn't much change from here on unless you take levels in a different casting or manifesting class.

If you can get a turn, Moment of Alacrity (Tome of Battle 64) almost ensures you go first. Combine with other initiative boosters to improve your odds. If you can do hundreds of damage by jumping on someone by this point, more than enough to kill them, you're nearly invincible. Beware forced share pain and other effects that damage you based on damage you deal, and of course, falling rocks!

Level 12
If you're a Dragonborn (Races of the Dragon 8), you can fly indefinitely with a base speed of 30' (average maneuverability). Yee haw!

Phase IV: Levels 16-20 - Superheroes
You're effectively a superhero or supervillain by this point, able to make lesser gods cringe at the thought of losing initiative to you. You may be able to jump into the atmosphere with your leet skillz and come down with the force of a meteor. By level 20, you should be able to down any creature vulnerable to stabbity death with one full attack. More likely, you can do over 1000 damage per turn far before level 20, much to the ire of your DM.

Play style throughout these levels is mostly the same as Phase III: Jump to epic heights onto your foe, trigger Battle Jump (Unapproachable East 42), watch problems explode, and repeat as prudent.

You also get Raging Mongoose (Tome of Battle 89) in this phase for 2 extra attacks. By the time you get it, each additional attack should add hundreds of damage if it hits. This is probably overkill, but better to do an extra thousand damage and ensure something dies than to die to it because it still had 3 HP. Like the saying goes, "There's no kill like overkill!"


Index
Title Page and Credits
Under The Hood I
Under The Hood II
Under The Hood III
Under The Hood IV
Under The Hood V
Shoppin' In The Hood I
Shoppin' In The Hood II
Hood Ornaments I
Hood Ornaments II
Hooded Pupils
Tempest Stormwind's Dragoon
Donning The Hood
Under the Hood I
Math and Sample Builds

Attack Math For Any Build

NOTE: All numbers assume you hold a weapon in exactly 2 hands. Also, see this section on D&D multipliers and how D&D handles math. It's logical once you get the feel for it, but D&D attack math has its quirks.

Charge Damage Multipliers
-Battle Jump (2x)
-Diving Charge (2x): Requires a you wield a piercing weapon and that you be either a 5HD Raptoran or 6HD Dragonborn
-Halberd of Vaulting (2x)
-Headlong Rush (2x)
-Spirited Charge (2x while mounted)
-Valorous Weapon (2x) OR Valorous Lance (3x while mounted)

Power Attack Multipliers
NOTE: Power Attack normally gives double your accuracy penalty to damage when wielding a weapon two-handed. Leap Attack has errata to instead give quadruple your accuracy penalty as bonus damage for 2 handed weapons and is thus listed as (4x PA).
-Combat Brute (2x PA)
-Leap Attack (4x PA)

STR Bonus Multipliers
-Power Lunge (2x STR): Normally you'd get 1.5x your STR mod, meaning Power Lunge instead gives you 2.5x.
-More arms (+.5x STR per arm)

Bring on the Pain! Let's assume near-ideal conditions: You're wielding a Halberd of Vaulting (Arms & Equipment Guide 109) that's been modified to instead act as a lance. It has the Valorous enchant (Unapproachable East 54), and you're able to trigger Battle Jump and Leap Attack, but not Combat Brute, Headlong Rush, or Diving Charge. Since you apparently have no choice, Power Lunge also triggers.

Not including Power Attack or criticals, your charge does quadruple (4x) damage! Suddenly, a meager d8+14 damage does 4d8+56, per attack! (+6 from STR, +4 from Power Lunge, +4 from a +4 weapon - all quadrupled)

Wanna see how Power Attack beefs this up? If not, stop reading and spare your delicate eyes.

Using the same d8+14 damage (+6 is from STR), let's Power Attack for 5. You deal 4d8+136 per hit! (+20 from Power Attack, +6 from STR, +4 from Power Lunge, +4 from a +4 weapon - all quadrupled)

These are modest numbers which may be slightly inaccurate. If you wanna get fancy, read on!

Let's assume all bonuses listed above apply and you're level 20. Someone changed you into a firbolg from Monster Manual II 101 and you have +5 STR from levels (assuming stat increases every 4 levels are unnamed bonuses and not ability score replacements), +5 STR from tomes, and an item of +6 STR for a total of 52 STR for a +21 STR bonus. You're wielding a +5 weapon in 4 arms via girallon's blessing from Spell Compendium 106. You could arm wrestle lesser gods and have a chance at winning.

You're using your trusty Valorous Lance of Vaulting in an ideal unmounted case; Diving Charge, Battle Jump, Combat Brute, full Power Attack - the works. You do d8+57 damage base - before Power Attack, Power Lunge, etc.- but let's tack on s'more options. Power Lunge increases this by 21, Power Attacking for 16 by 80, and your other charge damage multipiers make this full attack do septuple (7x) damage.

Each of your 7 attacks (4 base, +1 haste, +2 Raging Mongoose) does an impressive 7d8+1118 WITHOUT a critical hit! You can do this every other round, conditions permitting as you need a turn to refresh Raging Mongoose. If everything hits for full, you'll down a great wyrn prismatic dragon in one round. To put this damage in perspective, there is no officially published creature that has more than about 3000 HP. To quote Tempest Stormwind, "Line up the deities!"

If your DM insists stat boosts from levels don't transfer to polymorph forms, you "only" have a 47 STR or "only" a +18 STR bonus. You do d8+50 base damage instead of d8+57. If your DM also says stat bonuses from tomes don't work either, you have "merely" 42 STR or "merely" a +16 STR bonus. You do d8+45 base damage. Regardless, the damage difference is practically unnoticeable when you do so much.

(I'm well aware this isn't the highest melee damage build available, but I find it respectable. See the Hulking Hurler for astronomical damage or the Circle Mower for super high damage without magic items.)

Build #1: The Powertool (Power Attack Craziness)

The Summary
Nonlawful Nonevil Dragonborn Half-Orc Feat Rogue1/Cleric1/Psychic Warrior1/Barbarian1/Warblade4 (Tome of Battle 21)/Psychic Warrior+1/Fighter1/Warblade+9/Fighter+1
The Necessities
Stats 13 STR (Power Attack) 14 INT or +2 skill points/level if you want to get everything at the earliest opportunity. If you can wait, 10 INT is the bare minimum, but you'll miss out. 14 WIS (Up the Walls)
Skills -Max Jump and Tumble. -Maxing Concentration is wise so you can use Diamond Mind maneuvers to greatest effect.
Alignment -You need a nonlawful alignment to enter barbarian and retain raging. -You need a nonevil alignment to become and stay Dragonborn (Races of the Dragon 15).
The Breakdown
This build should be playable from level 1 on, though you need time to grow into it. Any race will do, but I recommend half-orc for Headlong Rush and Dragonborn (Races of the Dragon 8) or some method like gliding to negate falling damage.
Ability Key
CRAPPY PREREQUISITE FEAT
[Class Feature or Class Bonus Feat]
-General Feat-

Level                  Abilities                                    Normal/Partial BAB       
01 Feat Rogue1         -Battle Jump-, [Power Attack]                 0/0
02 Cleric1             [Domain: Time, Devotion: Travel]              0/1
                       [Spontaneous Domain Casting: Time]           
03 Psychic Warrior1    -Additional Favored Class: Warblade!-,        0/2
                       [Up the Walls]
04 Barbarian1          [Lion Totem: Pounce], [Whirling Frenzy]       1/3                       
05 Warblade1                                                         2/4
06 Warblade2           -Leap Attack-                                 3/5
07 Warblade3                                                         4/6
08 Warblade4                                                         5/7
09 Psychic Warrior2    [IMPROVED BULL RUSH], -Shock Trooper-         6/8
10 Fighter1            [Headlong Rush]                               7/9
11 Warblade5           [Combat Reflexes]                             8/10
12 Warblade6           -Power Lunge-                                 9/11
13 Warblade7                                                        10/12
14 Warblade8                                                        11/13
15 Warblade9           -IMPROVED SUNDER-, [Tiger-Blooded]           12/14
16 Warblade10                                                       13/15
17 Warblade11                                                       14/16
18 Warblade12          -Combat Brute-                               15/17
19 Warblade13          [Iron Will]                                  16/18
20 Fighter2            -Cleave-                                     17/19


!If entering warblade would NOT give you an experience penalty, instead take
another feat. While Leap of the Heavens (Player's Handbook II 80) effectively
allows you to treat standing jumps as running jumps, Leaping Dragon Stance
(Tome of Battle 88) gives you the same thing at level 8.

References for Material
-Additional Favored Class (Unearthed Arcana 100)
-Battle Jump (Unapproachable East 42)
-Cleave
-Combat Brute (Complete Warrior 110)
-Combat Reflexes
-Feat Rogue
-Iron Will
-Leap Attack, Errata
-Leap of the Heavens (Player's Handbook II 80)
-Lion Totem alternative class feature (Complete Champion 46)
-Power Attack
-Power Lunge (Sword and Fist 8)
-Shock Trooper (Complete Warrior 112)
-Time Domain (Spell Compendium 281)
-Tiger-Blooded (Tome of Battle 33)
-Travel Devotion (Complete Champion 62)
-Warblade (Tome of Battle 21)
-Up The Walls
-Whirling Frenzy

Maneuvers and Stances
(School & Page): DM62 is a Diamond Mind maneuver on Tome of Battle page 62.

Level     Maneuvers Gained/Swapped               Stance Gained                 
W01/I03   Claw at the Moon [2] (TC86),           Punishing Stance [1] (IH69)
          Moment of Perfect Mind [1] (DM64),     
          Wall of Blades [2] (IH70)
W02/I04   Leading the Attack [1] (WR92)
W03/I05   White Raven Tactics [3] (WR94),
W04/I06   SWAP Leading the Attack [1] for        Leaping Dragon Stance [3] (TC88)
               Iron Heart Surge [3] (IH68)                                       
W05/I08   Bounding Assault [4] (DM62),
W06/I09   SWAP Wall of Blades [2] for
               Soaring Raptor Strike [3] (TC86)
W07/I10   Dancing Mongoose [5] (TC86)
W08/I11                                             
W09/I12   Moment of Alacrity [6] (DM64)
W10/I13   SWAP Soaring Raptor Strike [3] for     Hearing the Air [5] (DM63)
               Swooping Dragon Strike [7] (TC89)                                       
W11/I14   Quicksilver Motion [7] (DM65)
W12/I15   
W13/I16   Raging Mongoose [8] (TC89)

Build #2: The Stilldancer (Time Stands Still maneuver and Blade Dancer)

The Summary
Neutral Good OR True Neutral Dragonborn Half-Orc Feat Rogue1/Cleric1/Psychic Warrior1/Barbarian1/Warblade4 (Tome of Battle 21)/Psychic Warrior+1/Blade Dancer1 (Oriental Adventures 37)/Warblade+8/Bloodclaw Master1 (Tome of Battle 96)/Warblade+1
The Necessities

Stats
13 STR (Power Attack)
15 DEX (Dodge [13] and Two-Weapon Fighting [15])
14 INT or +2 skill points/level if you want to get everything at the earliest opportunity. If you can wait, 10 INT is the bare minimum, but you'll miss out.
14 WIS (Up the Walls)

Skills
-Max Jump and Tumble.
-Maxing Concentration is wise so you can use Diamond Mind maneuvers to greatest effect.

Alignment
-You need a nonlawful alignment to enter barbarian and retain raging.
-You need a nonchaotic alignment to enter blade dancer at level 11.
-You need a nonevil alignment to become and stay Dragonborn..

The Breakdown
This build should be playable from level 1 on, though you need time to grow into it. Any race will do, but I recommend half-orc for Headlong Rush and Dragonborn (Races of the Dragon 8) or some method like gliding to negate falling damage.

Ability Key
CRAPPY PREREQUISITE FEAT
[Class Feature or Class Bonus Feat]
-General Feat-

Level                  Abilities                                    Normal/Partial BAB       
01 Feat Rogue1         -Battle Jump-, [Power Attack]                 0/0
02 Cleric1             [Domain: Time, Devotion: Travel]              0/1
                       [Spontaneous Domain Casting: Time]           
03 Psychic Warrior1    -*DODGE!-, [Up the Walls]                     0/2
04 Barbarian1          [Lion Totem: Pounce], [Whirling Frenzy]       1/3     
05 Warblade1                                                         2/4
06 Warblade2           -Leap Attack-                                 3/5
07 Warblade3                                                         4/6
08 Warblade4                                                         5/7
09 Psychic Warrior2    -*MOBILITY-, [*SPRING ATTACK]                 6/8
10 Warblade5          [Combat Reflexes]                             7/9
11 Blade Dancer1       [Acrobatics (+10)],                           8/10
                       [Fast Movement: Base Land Speed x2]
12 Warblade6           -Headlong Rush-                               9/11
13 Warblade7                                                        10/12
14 Warblade8                                                        11/13
15 Warblade9           [Iron Will], -Power Lunge-                   12/14
16 Warblade10                                                       13/15
17 Warblade11                                                       14/16
18 Warblade12          -TWO-WEAPON FIGHTING-                        15/17
19 Bloodclaw Master1                                                15/18
20 Warblade13          [Lightning Reflexes]                         16/19


*This feat is solely to qualify you for blade dancer (Oriental Adventures 37).
I advise against taking this feat if you aren't aiming for blade dancer.

!If entering warblade would give you an experience penalty, instead take
Additional Favored Class: Warblade (Unearthed Arcana 100) here and
adjust your remaining feats accordingly.

References for Material
-Battle Jump (Unapproachable East 42)
-Blade Dancer (Oriental Adventures 37)
-Bloodclaw Master (Tome of Battle 96)
-Combat Reflexes
-Dodge
-Feat Rogue
-Headlong Rush
-Iron Will
-Leap Attack, Errata
-Lightning Reflexes
-Lion Totem alternative class feature (Complete Champion 46)
-Mobility
-Power Attack
-Power Lunge (Sword and Fist 8)
-Spring Attack
-Time Domain (Spell Compendium 281)
-Tiger-Blooded (Tome of Battle 33)
-Travel Devotion (Complete Champion 62)
-Two-Weapon Fighting
-Warblade (Tome of Battle 21)
-Up The Walls
-Whirling Frenzy

Maneuvers and Stances
(School & Page): DM62 is a Diamond Mind maneuver on Tome of Battle page 62.

Level     Maneuvers Gained/Swapped               Stance Gained                 
W01/I03   Claw at the Moon [2] (TC86),           Punishing Stance [1] (IH69)
          Moment of Perfect Mind [1] (DM64),     
          Wall of Blades [2] (IH70)
W02/I04   Leading the Attack [1] (WR92)
W03/I05   White Raven Tactics [3] (WR94)
W04/I06   SWAP Leading the Attack [1] for        Leaping Dragon Stance [3] (TC88)
               Iron Heart Surge [3] (IH68)                                       
W05/I08   Bounding Assault [4] (DM62)
W06/I09   SWAP Wall of Blades [2] for
               Soaring Raptor Strike [3] (TC86)
W07/I10   Dancing Mongoose [5] (TC86)
W08/I11                                             
W09/I12   Moment of Alacrity [6] (DM64)
W10/I13   SWAP Soaring Raptor Strike [3] for     Hearing the Air [5] (DM63)
               Swooping Dragon Strike [7] (TC89)
W11/I14   Quicksilver Motion (DM65) [7]
W12/I15   SWAP Quicksilver Motion [7] for
               Diamond Defense [8] (DM62)
B01/I16   Raging Mongoose [8] (TC89)
W13/I17   Time Stands Still [9] (DM66)

Build #3: The Blade Lancer (Full Blade Dancer, Power Attack Emphasis, and no Tome of Battle)

The Summary
Neutral Good OR True Neutral Dragonborn Half-Orc  Feat Rogue1/Cleric1/Psychic Warrior1/Barbarian1/Psychic Warrior+1/Fighter2/Feat Rogue+1/Ranger1/Blade Dancer10 (Oriental Adventures 37)/Martial Wizard1

The Necessities
Stats
13 STR (Power Attack)
13 DEX (Dodge)
14 INT or +2 skill points/level if you want to get everything at the earliest opportunity.  If you can wait, 10 INT is the bare minimum, but you'll miss out.
14 WIS (Up the Walls)

Skills
-Max Jump and Tumble.

Alignment
-You need a nonlawful alignment to enter barbarian and retain raging.
-You need a nonchaotic alignment to become a blade dancer.
-You need a nonevil alignment to become and stay Dragonborn..

Alignment
-You need a nonlawful alignment to enter barbarian and retain raging.
-You need a nonchaotic alignment to enter blade dancer at level 10.

The Breakdown
This build should be playable from level 1 on, though you need time to grow into it.  Any race will do, but I recommend half-orc for Headlong Rush and Dragonborn (Races of the Dragon 8) or some method like gliding to negate falling damage.  Nezumi (Oriental Adventures 13) is also spiffy because you get +2 CON, -2 CHA, and a 40' base land speed as a Medium creature for no level adjustment.

Your role with this build is speed at the top end, able to leap tall buildings in a single bound!  (Really!  Blade Dancer doubles your base speed at its first level and triples it at level 10!)

Ability Key
CRAPPY PREREQUISITE FEAT
[Class Feature or Class Bonus Feat]
-Specific Feat-
                                                               
Level                  Abilities                                    Normal/Partial BAB       
01 Feat Rogue1         -Battle Jump-, [Power Attack]                 0/0
02 Cleric1             [Domain: Time, Devotion: Travel]              0/1
                       [Spontaneous Domain Casting: Time]           
03 Psychic Warrior1    -*DODGE-, [Up the Walls]                      0/2
04 Barbarian1          [Lion Totem: Pounce], [Whirling Frenzy]       1/3     
05 Psychic Warrior2    [*MOBILITY]                                   2/4
06 Fighter1            -Leap Attack-, [*SPRING ATTACK]               3/5
07 Fighter2            [Headlong Rush]                               4/6
08 Feat Rogue2         [Evasion]                                     5/6
09 Ranger1             [Favored Enemy], -Power Lunge-, [Track]       6/7
10 Blade Dancer1       [Acrobatics (+10)],                           7/8
                       [Fast Movement: Base Land Speed x2]
11 Blade Dancer2       [Enchanted Blade I]                           8/9
12 Blade Dancer3       -IMPROVED BULL RUSH-                          9/10
13 Blade Dancer4       [Fast Movement: Base Land Speed x2.5],       10/11
                       [Ride the Wind]
14 Blade Dancer5       [Acrobatics (+20)], [Acrobatic Attack]       11/12
15 Blade Dancer6       [Enchanted Blade II], -Shock Trooper-        12/13
16 Blade Dancer7       [Fast Movement: Base Land Speed x2.75]       13/14
17 Blade Dancer8                                                    14/15
18 Blade Dancer9       -IMPROVED SUNDER-                            15/16
19 Blade Dancer10      [Acrobatics (+30)], [Enchanted Blade III],   16/17
                       [Fast Movement: Base Land Speed x3]
20 Martial Wizard1     [Combat Brute]                               16/18

*This feat is solely to qualify you for Blade Dancer (Oriental Adventures 37).
 I advise against taking this feat if you aren't aiming for Blade Dancer.

References for Material
-Battle Jump (Unapproachable East 42)
-Blade Dancer (Oriental Adventures 37)
-Combat Brute (Complete Warrior 110)
-Dodge
-Feat Rogue
-Headlong Rush
-Improved Bull Rush
-Improved Sunder
-Leap Attack, Errata
-Lion Totem alternative class feature (Complete Champion 46)
-Martial Wizard
-Mobility
-Power Attack
-Power Lunge (Sword and Fist 8)
-Shock Trooper (Complete Warrior 112)
-Spring Attack
-Time Domain (Spell Compendium 281)
-Travel Devotion (Complete Champion 62)
-Up The Walls
-Whirling Frenzy

Build #4: The Twilight Lancer (Power Attack Emphasis, Wizard Gish, Tertiary Arcane Caster, and no Tome of Battle)

The Summary
Nonlawful Nonevil Dragonborn Half-Orc  Feat Rogue1/Cleric1/Psychic Warrior1/Barbarian1/Martial Wizard1/Psychic Warrior+1/Ruathar3 (Races of the Wild 122)/Spellsword1 (Complete Warrior 79)/Abjurant Champion5 (Complete Mage 51)/Eldritch Knight5

The Necessities
Stats
13 STR (Power Attack)
17 INT+ for wizard spells.  You also need 14 base INT at level 1 to fill all skill prerequisites in time.
14 WIS (Up the Walls)

Skills
-Max Jump and Tumble.
-Max Concentration if you intend to cast in melee range often.
-You need enough Spellcraft so you can take 10 on Spellcraft checks to copy spells to your spellbook.  Start with 2 ranks at level 1 and add points sparingly over the levels, only getting what you need.  A masterwork tool for Spellcraft costs only 50 gold and gives +2.

Alignment
-You need a nonlawful alignment to enter barbarian and retain raging.
-You need a nonevil alignment to become and stay Dragonborn (Races of the Dragon 15).

The Breakdown
While this build can be played from level 1 on, I advise this build only if you start around level 8 because of the setup.  Unfortunately, this build's arcane power comes in quite late as it's a mishmash of classes for the first 6 to 8 levels and achieves only 15 BAB and wizard base CL 13, or 18 BAB with partial BAB stacking.  If you use partial BAB stacking, you can rearrange some things to enter Spellsword sooner.  If you're good, you can take sacred exorcist (Complete Divine 57) instead of eldritch knight.  I emphasized wizard caster level in this build, neglecting things such as a rogue's Evasion.

Any race will do, but I recommend half-orc for Headlong Rush and Dragonborn (Races of the Dragon 8) or some method like gliding to negate falling damage.

Your role with this build is gargantuan burst damage.  Arcane Strike (Complete Warrior 96) and wraithstrike (Complete Adventurer 158) combine for spectacular synergy!

Ability Key
CRAPPY PREREQUISITE FEAT
[Class Feature or Class Bonus Feat]
-Specific Feat-
                                                               
Level                  Abilities                                    Normal/Partial BAB       
01 Feat Rogue1         -Battle Jump-, [Power Attack]                 0/0
02 Cleric1             [Domain: Time, Devotion: Travel]              0/1
                       [Spontaneous Domain Casting: Time]           
03 Psychic Warrior1    -Practiced Spellcaster: Wizard-,              0/2
                       [Up the Walls]
04 Barbarian1          [Lion Totem: Pounce], [Whirling Frenzy]       1/3     
05 Martial Wizard1     [Immediate Magic], [IMPROVED BULL RUSH]       1/3
06 Psychic Warrior2    -Combat Reflexes-, [IMPROVED SUNDER]          2/4
07 Ruathar1            [Gift of the Elves], [Word of

Offline Toptomcat

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Re: Hatchet Job Port Thread
« Reply #72 on: April 11, 2013, 01:35:37 AM »
continued...

Ability Key
CRAPPY PREREQUISITE FEAT
[Class Feature or Class Bonus Feat]
-Specific Feat-
                                                               
Level                  Abilities                                    Normal/Partial BAB       
01 Rogue1              -Battle Jump-, [Sneak Attack +1d6],           0/0
02 Cleric1             [Domain: Time, Devotion: Travel]              0/1
                       [Spontaneous Domain Casting: Time]           
03 Barbarian1          -Leap of the Heavens-, [Lion Totem: Pounce],  1/2
                       [Rage]     
04 Psychic Warrior1    [Up the Walls]                                1/3
05 Psychic Warrior2    [Power Attack]                                2/4
06 Fighter1            [Cleave], -Leap Attack-                       3/5
07 Fighter2            [Headlong Rush]                               4/6
08 Fighter3                                                          5/7
09 Fighter4            [IMPROVED BULL RUSH], -Shock Trooper-         6/8
10 Fighter5                                                          7/9
11 Fighter6            [Combat Reflexes]                             8/10
12 Fighter7            -Power Lunge-                                 9/11
13 Fighter8            [IMPROVED BULL RUSH]                         10/12
14 Fighter9                                                         11/13
15 Fighter10           [Combat Brute], WEAPON FOCUS: ANY            12/14
16 Occult Slayer1      [Weapon Bond]                                13/15
17 Occult Slayer2      [Spell Turning 1/day]                        14/16
18 Occult Slayer3      [Auravision], -Great Cleave-                 15/17
19 Occult Slayer4      [Nondetection Cloak, Spell Turning 2/day]    16/18
20 Occult Slayer5      [Blank Thoughts]                             17/19

References for Material
-Battle Jump (Unapproachable East 42)
-Abjurant Champion (Complete Mage 51)
-Cleave
-Combat Brute (Complete Warrior 110)
-Great Cleave
-Headlong Rush
-Improved Bull Rush
-Improved Sunder
-Leap Attack, Errata
-Lion Totem alternative class feature (Complete Champion 46)
-Occult Slayer (Complete Warrior 67)
-Power Attack
-Rogue
-Shock Trooper (Complete Warrior 112)
-Time Domain (Spell Compendium 281)
-Travel Devotion (Complete Champion 62)
-Up The Walls
« Last Edit: March 29, 2010, 09:29:53 PM by LittleRedRaidingHood »
Under the Hood II
More Builds

Build #6: The Broadcaster (Charismatic, Party-Boosting Face Man & Warblade)

The Summary
Nonlawful Human Bard1/Marshal2/Cleric1/Barbarian1/Warblade15 (Tome of Battle 21)

The Necessities
Stats
13 STR (Power Attack)
16 INT for skills, assuming human.  If you aren't human with Able Learner (Races of Destiny 150), you need a much higher INT for the skill points.
12 WIS (cleric spells)

Skills
-Able Learner is there so you can max Concentration, Diplomacy, Jump, Perform, Sense Motive, and Tumble.
-Maxing Concentration is wise so you can use Diamond Mind maneuvers to greatest effect.

Alignment
-You need a nonlawful alignment to enter bard and barbarian and to retain raging.

Race
-Human for skills and Able Learner (Races of Destiny 150)
-If you need Able Learner, DON'T go Dragonborn (Races of the Dragon 8) because you need everything humanity offers!

The Breakdown
Your first priority is commanding your teammates and acting as the charismatic and hopefully fearless leader.  With them in place, you can proceed to go to town with dragoon smackdown.

This build should be playable from level 1 on, though you need time to grow into it.  You focus your pre-Warblade abilities on boosting allies, though Battle Jump (Unapproachable East 42), Leap of the Heavens (Player's Handbook II 80), and Pounce allow you to hold your own much of the time

I highly recommend human for the bonus feat and skill points and a favored class of any.  This build is MAD (multi-ability dependent), requiring physical stats for damage and survival, 12 INT for skill points (14 for nonhumans), 12 WIS for Cleric spells (recommended), and a high CHA to power your auras.  Able Learner (Races of Destiny 150) keeps you sane by allowing you to max Bluff, Diplomacy, Jump, Sense Motive, and Tumble, and if desired, Perform.  While you're charismatic, you're focused on being a warrior, not a Diplomancer or Jumplomancer.

If you take Snowflake Wardance (Frostburn 50), you need a slashing weapon you can hold in 1 hand and a way to easily negate or remove fatigue.  Ray of resurgence (Lost Empires of Faerun 33) is a handy cleric1 spell that, conveniently, you can cast.

Unlike most dragoon builds, I advise AGAINST being a Dragonborn (Races of the Dragon 8) since you need everything a human has to offer!

Ability Key
CRAPPY PREREQUISITE FEAT
[Class Feature or Class Bonus Feat]
-Specific Feat-
                                                               
Level                  Abilities                                    Normal/Partial BAB       
01 Bard1               -Able Learner-, [Bard Song 1/day],            0/0
                       -Battle Jump-                                 
02 Marshal1            [Minor Aura: Motivate Dexterity]              0/1
03 Marshal2            -Leap of the Heavens-,                        1/2
                       [Major Aura: Resilient Troops]
04 Cleric1             [Devotion: Travel], [Domain: Time]            1/3
05 Barbarian1          [Lion Totem: Pounce], [Whirling Frenzy]       2/4     
06 Warblade1           -Song of the White Raven-                     3/5
07 Warblade2                                                         4/6
08 Warblade3                                                         5/7
09 Warblade4           -Snowflake Wardance-                          6/8
10 Warblade5           [Combat Reflexes]                             7/9
11 Warblade6                                                         8/10
12 Warblade7           -Power Attack-                                9/11
13 Warblade8                                                        10/12
14 Warblade9           [Iron Will]                                  11/13
15 Warblade10          -Leap Attack-                                12/14
16 Warblade11                                                       13/15
17 Warblade12                                                       14/16
18 Warblade13          -Cleave-                                     15/17
19 Warblade14          [Lightning Reflexes]                         16/18
20 Warblade15                                                       17/19

References for Material
-Able Learner (Races of Destiny 150)
-Battle Jump (Unapproachable East 42)
-Combat Reflexes
-Iron Will
-Leap Attack, Errata
-Lightning Reflexes
-Lion Totem alternative class feature (Complete Champion 46)
-Marshal
-Power Attack
-Song of the White Raven (Tome of Battle 32)
-Snowflake Wardance (Frostburn 50)
-Time Domain (Spell Compendium 281)
-Travel Devotion (Complete Champion 62)
-Warblade (Tome of Battle 21)
-Whirling Frenzy

Maneuvers & Stances
(School & Page): DM62 is a Diamond Mind maneuver on Tome of Battle page 62.

Level     Maneuvers Gained/Swapped               Stance Gained                 
W01/I03   Leading the Attack [1] (WR92)          Bolstering Voice [1] (WR90)
          Moment of Perfect Mind [1] (DM64),     
          Wall of Blades [2] (IH70)
W02/I04   Claw at the Moon [2] (TC86)
W03/I05   White Raven Tactics [3] (WR94),
W04/I06   SWAP Leading the Attack [1] for        Leaping Dragon Stance [3] (TC88)
               Iron Heart Surge [3] (IH68)                                       
W05/I08   Bounding Assault [4] (DM62),
W06/I09   SWAP Wall of Blades [2] for
               Soaring Raptor Strike [3] (TC86)
W07/I10   Dancing Mongoose [5] (TC86)
W08/I11                                             
W09/I12   Moment of Alacrity [6] (DM64)
W10/I13   SWAP Soaring Raptor Strike [3] for     Hearing the Air [5] (DM63)
               Swooping Dragon Strike [7] (TC89)   
W11/I14   Quicksilver Motion [7] (DM65)
W12/I15   SWAP Quicksilver Motion [7] for
               Diamond Defense [8] (DM62)
W13/I16   Raging Mongoose [8] (TC89)
W14/I17   SWAP Diamond Defense [8] for
               Time Stands Still [9] (DM66)
W15/I18   Diamond Defense [8] (DM62)

Build #7: Eternal Daughter (Time Stands Still, Eternal Blade's Island in Time)

The Summary
Nonlawful Nonevil Dragonborn Half-Elf  Warblade1/Barbarian1/Fighter2/Warblade+6/Eternal Blade10 (Tome of Battle 109)

The Necessities
Stats
13 STR (Power Attack)
12 INT for skills.  Jump, and Tumble occupy your skill points during fighter levels, and you can make up your Concentration ranks later with warblade levels.

Skills
-Max Jump and Tumble.
-Maxing Concentration is wise so you can use Diamond Mind maneuvers to greatest effect.

Alignment
-You need a nonlawful alignment to enter barbarian and retain raging.
-You need a nonevil alignment to become and stay Dragonborn (Races of the Dragon 15).

Race
-You need elven blood.  If favored class is a concern, half-elf is your best bet since half-elves are considered elves for all race-dependent effects.
-If your DM doesn't enforce favored class penalties, go fire elf for +2 INT and a negligible -2 CHA.

The Breakdown
This build should be playable from level 1 on.  Unlike most other builds, you start as a strong melee force and continue this way through your career, but you miss out on many options from other builds, like a cleric dip, because you must have a full BAB.  Also unlike at least most other builds presented, I only advise you play this build if you start at or near level 20!  Island in Time is the only redeeming feature about this build compared to other Hoods!

This build is feat-starved, but requires fewer sources and less multiclassing than a typical Hood build.  Taking flaws for extra feats is well-advised.

This build name references the game Eternal Daughter by Derek Yu and Jon Perry.

Ability Key
CRAPPY PREREQUISITE FEAT
[Class Feature or Class Bonus Feat]
-General Feat-
                                                               
Level                  Abilities                                    Normal/Partial BAB       
01 Warblade1           -Battle Jump-                                 1/1
02 Barbarian1          [Lion Totem: Pounce], [Whirling Frenzy]       2/2
03 Fighter1            [Improved Initiative], -Travel Devotion-      3/3
04 Fighter2            [Power Attack]                                4/4                       
05 Warblade2           [Uncanny Dodge]                               5/5
06 Warblade3           -Cleave-                                      6/6
07 Warblade4                                                         7/7
08 Warblade5           [Combat Reflexes]                             8/8
09 Warblade6           -WEAPON FOCUS: ANY-                           9/9
10 Warblade7           [Improved Uncanny Dodge]                     10/10
11 Eternal Blade1                                                   11/11
12 Eternal Blade2      -Martial Study: Dancing Mongoose-            12/12
13 Eternal Blade3                                                   13/13
14 Eternal Blade4                                                   14/14
15 Eternal Blade5      -Leap Attack-                                15/15
16 Eternal Blade6                                                   16/16
17 Eternal Blade7                                                   17/17
18 Eternal Blade8      -Martial Study: Raging Mongoose-             18/18
19 Eternal Blade9                                                   19/19
20 Eternal Blade10     [Island in Time]                             20/20

While Leap of the Heavens (Player's Handbook II 80) effectively
allows you to treat standing jumps as running jumps, Leaping Dragon Stance
(Tome of Battle 88) gives you the same thing at level 7.

References for Material
-Battle Jump (Unapproachable East 42)
-Cleave
-Combat Reflexes
-Eternal Blade (Tome of Battle 109)
-Improved Initiative
-Leap Attack, Errata
-Lion Totem alternative class feature (Complete Champion 46)
-Martial Study feat (Tome of Battle 31)
-Power Attack
-Travel Devotion (Complete Champion 62)
-Warblade (Tome of Battle 21)
-Weapon Focus
-Whirling Frenzy

Maneuvers & Stances
(School & Page): DM62 is a Diamond Mind maneuver on Tome of Battle page 62.

Level     Maneuvers Gained/Swapped               Stance Gained                 
W01/I01   Steel Wind [1] (IH69),                 Punishing Stance [1] (IH69)
          Sudden Leap [1] (TC89),
          Wolf Fang Strike [1] (TC90)
W02/I03   Moment of Perfect Mind [1] (DM64)
W03/I04   Leading the Attack [1] (WR91)
W04/I05   SWAP Leading the Attack [1] for        Leaping Dragon Stance [3] (TC88)
               White Raven Tactics [3] (WR94)                                       
W05/I06   Iron Heart Surge [3] (IH68)
W06/I07   SWAP Wolf Fang Strike [1] for
               Bounding Assault [4] (DM62)
W07/I08   Action Before Thought [2] (DM62)
E01/I09   Rapid Counter [5] (DM65)
E02/I10   Dancing Mongoose [5] (TC86)
E03/I11   Moment of Alacrity [6] (DM64)
E04/I12   
E05/I13   Mind Over Body [3] (DM64)              Hearing the Air [5] (DM63)
E07/I15   Quicksilver Motion [7] (DM65)
E08/I18   Raging Mongoose [8] (TC89)
E09/I17   Time Stands Still [9] (DM66)           Stance of Alacrity [8] (DM65)
E10/I18

Build #8: The Trancer (Backup Arcanist, Wizard Gish, Arcane Strike Craziness, and no Tome of Battle)

The Summary
Nonlawful Nonevil Dragonborn Fire Elf  Barbarian1/Cleric1/Martial Transmuter4/Ruathar3 (Races of the Wild 122)/Abjurant Champion5 (Complete Mage 51)/Spellsword1 (Complete Warrior 79)/Eldritch Knight5

The Necessities
Stats
13 STR (Power Attack)
19 INT+ for wizard spells.  You need 16 base INT at level 1 to fill all skill prerequisites in time.  Using Urban Class Features, you can start with Tumble as a class skill.
12 WIS (cleric spells)

Skills
-Max Jump and Tumble.
-I assume you put 2 ranks in Concentration and Spellcraft at level 1 then put only 1 point per level in each afterward.
-Use your extra skill points from Ruathar to get the 6 needed Knowledge (arcana) ranks for Spellsword.

Alignment
-You need a nonlawful alignment to enter barbarian and retain raging.
-You need a nonevil alignment to become and stay Dragonborn (Races of the Dragon 15).

Race
-I most strongly recommend Dragonborn fire elf as listed above or Dragonborn nezumi (Oriental Adventures 13).  Nezumi gives +2 CON, -2 CHA and has a 40' base land speed as a Medium creature.  Only go nezumi if you won't suffer favored class penalties and you need CON more than INT!


Alternate Levels
-Taking wizard5 gives an extra fighter feat but slows your BAB progression.  You'd need partial BAB stacking to get 16 BAB by level 20.

The Breakdown
You are a glass cannon with lots of buffs to boost your AC and give enemies a flat miss chance against you.  You can fill the role of backup arcanist assuming your armor has no arcane spell failure and you have the cash to spend on armor, weapons, and spells.  Most the time you're better off leaving the heavy wizardry- especially spells with saves and metamagic- to full-time wizards.

You rely on magic to the point of being nearly useless in an antimagic field, but oh the damage you can deal!  Oh the spells you can cast!  Oh the options you have!

If you don't like your physical stats, change them!  Polymorph into a girallon for 4 arms and 22 base STR.  Alter self into a troglodyte for +6 natural AC.  Check the links in the first post for spell recommendations and delicious forms for polymorph and such.  Just be careful about changing your form because you'll lose your Dragonborn (Races of the Dragon 8) gliding ability and +10 racial Jump bonus!

You can also rely on heroics (Spell Compendium 113) to borrow fighter feats for 10 minutes per level.  Cleave, Combat Reflexes, Power Attack, and many more are all legal.  There are even items that grant feats!

Because you are so wizardly, you can use offensive spells as well as buffs.  Don't just stab the night away!  Instead, cast Evard's black tentacles to occupy most the foes in a fight, then pick off the foes with your epic dragoon leaps.  You'll have spell slots to burn:  Arcane Strike (Complete Warrior 96) and wraithstrike (Complete Adventurer 158) combine for spectacular synergy, especially since Arcane Strike's damage's only upper limit is the spell slots you invest!

If you absolutely, positively have to reach that dragon who's flying away at full speed, teleport above him, high enough to trigger Battle Jump, then subdue him for all you're worth!  Alternatively, teleport your party onto his back and let them help.  First, however, ensure everyone has mass fly (Spell Compendium 96).

You aren't a typical wizard who needs to hide in back because of your frailty, the type whose skin may dissolve if someone poured a bit too much chlorine in the pool.  Instead, you can use Sudden Shift (Player's Handbook II 68) to fly to a convenient height then thrust downward onto foes with moves that would make Toon Link cry.  For most your career, you gain spells 1 character level behind a full wizard.  Smart foes may wonder if the blurry, displaced, many-imaged, 6-armed menace they see that just impaled their heads cast those spells himself.

Ability Key
CRAPPY PREREQUISITE FEAT
[Class Feature or Class Bonus Feat]
-Specific Feat-
                                                               
Level                  Abilities                                    Normal/Partial BAB       
01 Barbarian1          -Battle Jump-, [Lion Totem: Pounce]           1/1
                       [Whirling Frenzy]
02 Cleric1             [Devotion: Travel], [Domain: Time],           1/1
03 Martial Wizard1     [Power Attack],                               1/2
                       -Practiced Spellcaster: Wizard-,
                       [Sudden Shift],
                       [Specialization: Transmutation]           
04 Martial Wizard2                                                   2/2
05 Martial Wizard3                                                   2/3
06 Martial Wizard4     -Leap of the Heavens-                         3/3
07 Ruathar1            [Gift of the Elves], [Word of Friendship]     3/4
08 Ruathar2            [Elfwise], [Low-Light Vision]                 4/5
09 Ruathar3            -COMBAT CASTING-, [Arvandor's Grace]          5/6
10 Abjurant Champion1  [Abjurant Armor], [Extended Abjuration]       6/7
11 Abjurant Champion2  [Swift Abjuration]                            7/8
12 Abjurant Champion3  -Arcane Strike-                               8/9
13 Abjurant Champion4  [Arcane Boost]                                9/10
14 Abjurant Champion5  [Martial Arcanist]                           10/11
15 Spellsword1         -Cleave-, [Ignore 10% ASF]                   11/12
16 Eldritch Knight1    [Combat Reflexes]                            12/13
17 Eldritch Knight2                                                 13/14
18 Eldritch Knight3    -Leap Attack-                                14/15
19 Eldritch Knight4                                                 15/16
20 Eldritch Knight5                                                 16/17

References for Material
-Battle Jump (Unapproachable East 42)
-Abjurant Champion (Complete Mage 51)
-Combat Reflexes
-Combat Casting
-Eldritch Knight
-Leap Attack, Errata
-Lion Totem alternative class feature (Complete Champion 46)
-Martial Wizard
-Power Attack
-Practiced Spellcaster (Complete Arcane 82)
-Ruathar (Races of the Wild 122)
-Shock Trooper (Complete Warrior 112)
-Spellsword (Complete Warrior 79)
-Sudden Shift (Player's Handbook II 68)
-Time Domain (Spell Compendium 281)
-Travel Devotion (Complete Champion 62)
-Whirling Frenzy

Build #9: Stabby McTankerson (High-Mobility/High-Damage 'Tank,' Level 9 Maneuvers, Level 4 Cleric Spells, Uses Flaws & Traits)

The Summary
Nonlawful Nonevil Dragonborn Fire Elf  Warblade1/Cleric1/Barbarian1/1/Crusader1 (Tome of Battle 9)/Ruby Knight Vindicator7 (Tome of Battle)/Eternal Blade3 (Tome of Battle 109)/Ruby Knight Vindicator+2/Eternal Blade+2

The Necessities
Stats
13 STR for Power Attack.
14 INT for skills.  Jump, and Tumble occupy your skill points during cleric levels, and you can make up your Concentration ranks later.
14 WIS for Up the Walls and level 4 cleric spells.

Skills
-Max Jump and Tumble.
-Maxing Concentration is wise so you can use Diamond Mind maneuvers to greatest effect.
-To qualify for Practiced Spellcaster, you need 4 Spellcraft ranks no later than level 3
-To qualify for Ruby Knight Vindicator, you need 8 Knowledge (religion) ranks, 4 Hide ranks, and 4 Intimidate ranks no later than level 5.

Alignment
-You need a nonlawful alignment to enter barbarian and retain raging.
-You need a nonevil alignment to become and stay Dragonborn (Races of the Dragon 15).

Race
-You need elven blood for eternal blade.  If favored class is a concern, half-elf is your best bet since half-elves are considered elves for all race-dependent effects.
-If your DM doesn't enforce favored class penalties, go fire elf for +2 INT and a negligible -2 CHA.

Deity
-I assume you can adapt Ruby Knight Vindicator to any deity with little trouble.  If you can't, your domain choices and feat allocations change.

Misc
-I hope you're an expert at keeping your abilities straight!  You have 3 initiator classes and a spell list!  Adaptive Style in thie build is for your sanity, but you don't need it like a full swordsage.

The Breakdown
You start as a bruiser, begging to be hit.  With your trusty halberd, you can probably one-shot foes at level 1 from d10 halberd + d6 Punishing Stance damage.  You continue as a front-liner, never getting less than d8 HP per level.  Eventually, you're effective at noticing foes via blindsense from Hearing the Air, and if you cast blindsight or greater blindsight (Spell Compendium 32), you're even better at finding foes.

You're a front-liner who can stand there and take it, or do amazing acrobatics and down foes faster than you can say, "Hey DM, do I get a free Intimidate check against the minions in the room since I did 400 damage to something with 20 HP?"

You have many options for your swift actions.  Defensive Rebuke tells boss mobs, "Attack me or you provoke.  If I don't roll a 1, I kill you."  Later, you can kill things faster with Dancing or Raging Mongoose.  If you can get into convenient position, Time Stands Still allows you to attack 8 times, +2 attacks from Whirling Frenzy, +4 attacks from Raging Mongoose.  If it ain't dead by then, you're probably in tremendous trouble.  You can move as a swift action from Travel Devotion.

You could take the Planning domain (Spell Compendium 278) for Extend spell, nab Persistent Spell (Complete Arcane 81) and Divine Metamagic: Persistent (Complete Divine 80) to make (mass) lesser vigor (Spell Compendium 229) last all day, possibly healing you fully between fights.

As a judgment call, I chose Time Stands Still at level 20 instead of Strike of Righteous Vitality, though you can get either for short periods with Eternal Training.  Time Stands Still is more generally useful, and you should have a cleric or someone to heal you between fights.

Stance-wise, I chose Stance of Alacrity instead of Immortal Fortitude since being able to use an immediate action as an instantaneous action (a free action when it isn't your turn) rocketh.  Immortal Fortitude, however, ensures you just can't die from HP damage.  I leave the choice to you, however, and you could take Martial Stance at level 15 for both stances, but you'd lose Raging Mongoose.  Ah, the possibilities.

Class-wise, ask your DM if you can take the unarmed swordsage variant (Tome of Battle 20) to get you Improved Unarmed Strike as a bonus feat, just in case you're disarmed or somsone breaks your polearm, then you can go psycho, just like Roy.

Keeping your blade guide in your line of effect may be troublesome, considering your awesome leaps and that a wall of force blocks line of effect.  (By the rules as written, an antimagic field doesn't block line of effect.)  You'll probably only have your guide for the first round of combat, but considering your awesome damage output, how much more do you need?

You can rearrange things for different goals.  This assumes your DM interprets initiator level as I do, that prestige classes add their full class level to your IL for Crusader, Swordsage, and Warblade, even if you haven't taken a level in that class yet.  I consider this balanced since level 9 maneuvers are about equal in power to level 6 spells.

You gain clerical spellcasting ability.  By level 20, you can cast up to level 4 cleric spells with a caster level of 12.  Chosen properly, these are modest boons that make you more self-reliant.

I wanted to take rogue2 for Evasion, but a ]Ring of Evasion is 25,000 gold.  Buy one if you need it.

I wanted to include Mettle in this build, but maneuvers kept calling to me.  With the meh feats True Believer (Complete Divine 81) and Weapon Focus, you can get Mettle from pious templar1 (Complete Divine 50).  Considering spells with "Fortitude half," "Will partial," or the like are so rare, it's a minor loss.  Ask your DM if you could get a Ring of Mettle for 5,000 gold or.  Ask your DM if you could safely use a wish to get permanent, extraordinary Mettle.

If you really wanted Mettle without using money, you could get it, but you'd need to devote yourself to a deity and take Weapon Focus in your deity's favored weapon.  Here's a list of deities, alignments, and favored weapons.  Click the deity's name to find the source.

Ability Key
CRAPPY PREREQUISITE FEAT, [Class Feature or Class Bonus Feat], -General Feat-
{Trait or Flaw}
                                                               
Level                  Abilities                                    Normal/Partial BAB       
01 Warblade1           {Aggressive}, -Battle Jump-,                  1/1
                       -Combat Reflexes-, -Leap of the Heavens-,
                       {Murky-Eyed], {Quick}, {Shaky}
02 Cleric1             [Improved Initiative], [Travel Devotion]      1/1
03 Psychic Warrior1    -Practiced Spellcaster: Cleric-,              1/2
                       [Up the Walls]
04 Barbarian1          [Lion Totem: Pounce], [Whirling Frenzy]       2/3                       
05 Crusader1           [Delayed Damage: 5]                           3/4
06 Ruby Knight1        -Power Attack-                                4/5
07 Ruby Knight2        [Divine Recovery]                             5/6
08 Ruby Knight3                                                      6/7
09 Ruby Knight4        -Cleave-                                      7/8
10 Ruby Knight5        [Armored Stealth]                             8/9
11 Ruby Knight6                                                      9/10
12 Ruby Knight7        [Divine Impetus],                            10/11
                       -Martial Stance: Hearing the Air-
13 Swordsage1          [Quick to Act +1], [Weapon Focus]            10/12
14 Eternal Blade1      [Eternal Training 1/day]                     11/13
15 Eternal Blade2      [Guided Strike],                             12/14
                       -Martial Stance: Hearing the Air-
16 Eternal Blade3      [Armored Uncanny Dodge],                     13/15
                       [Eternal Training 2/day]
17 Ruby Knight8                                                     14/16
18 Ruby Knight9        -Martial Study: Raging Mongoose-             15/17
19 Eternal Blade4      [Eternal Knowledge]                          16/18
20 Eternal Blade5      [Eternal Training 3/day]                     17/19

References for Material
-Adaptive Style feat (Tome of Battle 28)
-Aggressive
-Battle Jump (Unapproachable East 42)
-Cleave
-Combat Reflexes
-Eternal Blade (Tome of Battle 109)
-Improved Initiative
-Leap Attack, Errata
-Leap of the Heavens feat (Player's Handbook II 80)
-Lion Totem alternative class feature (Complete Champion 46)
-Martial Stance feat (Tome of Battle 31)
-Martial Study feat (Tome of Battle 31)
-Murky-Eyed
-Power Attack
-Practiced Spellcaster feat (Complete Divine 82)
-Quick
-Shaky
-Travel Devotion (Complete Champion 62)
-Up the Walls
-Warblade (Tome of Battle 21)
-Weapon Focus
-Whirling Frenzy

Maneuvers & Stances
(School & Page): DM62 is a Diamond Mind maneuver on Tome of Battle page 62.

Level     Maneuvers Gained/Swapped               Stance Gained                 
W01/I01   Moment of Perfect Mind [1] (DM64)      Punishing Stance [1] (IH69)
          Sapphire Nightmare Blade [1] (DM65)
          Steel Wind [1] (IH69)
C01/I03   Crusader's Strike [1] (DS58)           Martial Spirit [1] (DS60)
          Foehammer [2] (DS59)
          Leading the Attack [1] (WR91)
          Stone Bones [1] (SD84)
          Vanguard Strike [1] (DS62)
R01/I04                                          Bolstering Voice [1] (WR90)
R02/I05   White Raven Tactics [3] (WR94)                                       
R03/I06   
R04/I07   Defensive Rebuke [3] (DS58)
R05/I08   
R06/I09   Shadow Stride [5] (SH80)               Thicket of Blades [3] (DS60)
R07/I10                                          Hearing the Air [5] (DM63)
S01/I10   Action Before Thought [2] (DM62)       Flame's Blessing [1] (DW53)
          Dancing Mongoose [5] (TC86)
          Distracting Ember [1] (DW52)
          Mind Over Body [3] (DM64)
          Rabid Wolf Strike [2] (TC88)
          Sudden Leap [1] (TC89)
E01/I11   Iron Heart Surge [3] (IH68)
E02/I12   
E03/I13   Moment of Alacrity [6] (DM64)         
R08/I14   
R09/I15   Raging Mongoose [8] (TC89)
          Shadow Blink [7] (SH78)
E04/I16   
E05/I17   Time Stands Still [9] (DM66)           Stance of Alacrity [8] (DM65)

All maneuvers from items, feats, and prestige classes add to Warblade.

Build #10: The Neo-Trancer (Gish on Steroids, Work-in-Progress)

Under the Hood III
Feats

General Feats for the Everyday Hood

General Feats
*This feat can be retaken.
**This feat can be retaken with stacking effects.

Battle Jump (Unapproachable East 42) [Fighter]: Requires you be from Taer, ONLY available at level 1; May require 2 Knowledge (local: Rashemen) ranks
<If you drop 5'-30' from above your foe you can treat the attack as a charge; +2 accuracy, -2 AC, and a bunch of charge-related goodies.  For purposes of triggering this feat, you require 5' + the creature's size in squares per side.  (A Medium creature is 1 square, a Large creature is 2 squares, a Huge creature is 3 squares, and so on.)>

While this feat doesn't entirely make you a dragoon, it gives you significant progress.  Plead with your DM if necessary to allow this for your dragoon!
Battle Jump Fine Print :

This feat is only available to level 1 characters from the Taer region.  In Player's Guide to Faerun 31, the Taer region was condensed into the Icerim Mountains, and characters from Icerim are typically only creatures of the Taer race.  (The Taer/Icerim Mountain region's local knowledge is Rashemen for some reason.)  Player's Guide to Faerun 7-8 says races and subraces are typically restricted to a specific region, like humans from human lands.  Being from another region may require DM approval, though by the rules as written don't need it.  Unapproachable East 40 states characters with 2 ranks of Knowledge (local) in the appropriate region may select regional feats from that region.

In short, take 2 ranks of Knowledge (local: Rashemen) and ask your DM to be safe.
The 'Boing Boing' Battle Jump Trick:

Note how Battle Jump states, "You can execute a charge simply by dropping from a height of at least 5 feet above your opponent" (Unapproachable East 42).  It doesn't specify that you must use a specific action, like a standard action to do so.  By my interpretation of the rules as written, you can, with a high enough movement speed and Jump check, repeatedly hurl yourself at your foes every turn until they die, using only movement speed to execute charges.  Your DM will probably smack you or otherwise limit you if you try this, but the thought reminds me of Mario pogo-jumping around the battlefield!

Cleave [Fighter]: Requires Power Attack
<Once per round when you down a foe, you get an extra attack with all applicable accuracy and damage modifiers of the attack that downed the foe.>

This helps none against single big baddies, but in most cases against small groups, the extra attack matters just enough.

Combat Brute (Complete Warrior 110) [Fighter, Tactical]: Requires Improved Sunder, Power Attack, 6 BAB
<You can perform one noteworthy maneuver, Momentum Swing.  Charge your opponent and Power Attack him for at least 5 the round after.  On the round after you charge, the Power Attack damage bonus from wielding your polearm two-handed is 3x the penalty instead of 2x.  (Taking a penalty of 6 gives you a damage bonus of 18 if you hit.)>

You'll probably do this anyway, meaning you should get extra damage while you're at it.  Power Attack damage bonuses escalate quickly if you have more than 2 arms, such as being polymorphed into a girallon.  Unfortunately, Combat Brute requires the icky Improved Sunder feat.

Combat Reflexes [Fighter]
<You can make attacks of opportunity while flat-footed, and each round make one additional AoO per point of DEX bonus.>

You shouldn't be flat-footed, but your armor spikes and polearm mean you threaten at 5' and 10' away as a Medium creature.  Contemplate how spiffy this feat can be.

Dodge [Fighter]: Requires 13 DEX
<Each round, designate one foe.  You get +1 dodge AC against that foe 'til the start of your next turn.>

It's +1 dodge AC against one opponent.  It may make a difference, but Dodge is mostly a prereq for blade dancer (Oriental Adventures 37) and Spring Attack.  If you can, instead take Expeditious Dodge from Races of the Wild 150.

Expeditious Dodge (Races of the Wild 150) [Fighter]: Requires 13 DEX
<If you move at least 40' in a round, you get +2 dodge AC until the start of your next turn.>

Considering your mobility, it's significantly better than Dodge and it counts as Dodge in terms of prerequisites!  I still normally wouldn't take Expeditious Dodge, but it's better than the original.

Great Cleave [Fighter]: Requires Cleave, Power Attack
<So long as you continue dropping creatures, there's no limit to the number of times you can cleave per round.>

Great Cleave's usefulness comes only with hordes of small baddies, and if your DM or local necromancer is smart, he'll order his minions out of convenient Great Cleave formation.

As a dragoon, however, you should have long reach and high damage output.  If you happen to wield a 20' lance and have a 10' reach with your armor spikes, suddenly most of the enemy horde is fair game.  Regardless, Great Cleave is highly DM-dependent.

Greater Powerful Charge [Fighter] (Eberron Campaign Setting 54): Requires Medium or bigger size, Powerful Charge (Eberron Campaign Setting 57), 4 BAB
<You are treated as one size category larger for Powerful Charge.  When you hit on a charge attack, you do +2d6 damage if Medium, +3d6 if Large, +4d6 if Huge, and +6d6 if Gargantuan or bigger.>

This feat is of dubious worth because it's mostly an early-game damage buff.  Ask your DM if this feat's damage bonus applies to every attack of a pouncing charge.  (I believe it should.)

Headlong Rush [Fighter] (Races of Faerun 164): Requires orcishness, 4 BAB
<When you charge, you can choose to provoke attacks of opportunity from everyone along the way, including your target, to get double damage on the charge.>

Only orcs and half-orcs get this, but this is a major perk for orcish dragoons.  (The picture on this page is the stupidest I've seen for D&D.)

Improved Critical [Fighter]: Requires weapon proficiency, 8 BAB
<Your natural threat range with one weapon doubles, such as from 20 to 19 or 18 to 15.  This typically doesn't stack with other threat range increases.>

It's like the keen edge spell on your polearm in permanent feat form.  If you rely on crits, and many mid- and late-game critters are resistant or immune, and you have a spare feat, this may be worthwhile.  As a dragoon, you're probably better off with keen edge and saving a feat.

Improved Initiative [Fighter]
<+4 initiative>

If you can't get this lovely +4 initiative from the Time domain (Spell Compendium 281) or warblade bonus feats, it's still worth getting eventually.

Improved Toughness (Complete Warrior 101) [Fighter]: Requires a base Fortitude save of 2
<You get 1 HP per HD, current and future.>

This is somewhat attractive considering your low HP and is typically better than Diehard.

Knockback (Races of Stone 142) [Fighter]: Requires Improved Bull Rush, Power Attack, size Medium with Powerful Build OR at least size Large
<If you hit someone while power attacking, you may start a bull rush immediately after you hit, adding your power attack damage as a bonus on your bull rush check.  This bull rush doesn't provoke attacks of opportunity.>

It's thematically appropriate to want to knock someone back so they provoke attacks of opportunity by moving through your threatened area, but someone with pounce, such as via Lion Totem Barbarian (Complete Champion 46), can already start a bull rush as part of a charge, also getting a full attack.  There's synergy with Combat Brute (Complete Warrior 110) since you get +1 accuracy and damage for each 5' you knock a foe back with bull rush, but by the time you get the 4 requisite feats, the synergy will be minor.

The only way to qualify for this feat is with magic (polymorph, permanent enlarge person), taking a level adjustment.  The level 1-only feat Jotunbrud from Races of Faerun 166 may also qualify you, but it requires you be human.  Knockback's trick is nifty, but it's especially niche, hence the red rating.

Knowledge Devotion (Complete Champion 60): Requires 5 ranks in any Knowledge
<Make a Knowledge check and gain an insight bonus on accuracy and damage against all foes of that type for one combat.  Even if you bomb the check, you still get a bonus of at least 1.>

As a feat, the Knowledge Devotion is slightly better than Weapon Focus, though it requires being trained in the appropriate Knowledge skill and more at-table tracking.  You're better off taking a cloistered cleric and getting this instead of the Knowledge domain.

You need 5 ranks in Knowledge (planes) for Neraph Charge (Planar Handbook 40) and 5 ranks in Knowledge (religion) for a bonus turning attempt with a Relinquary Holy Symbol (Magic Item Compendium 120).  Dragoons with their first level in rogue find 5 ranks of Knowledge (local) convenient, and dragoons beginning as warblades find 5 ranks in Knowledge (history) convenient.

Leap Attack (Complete Adventurer 110): Requires 8 Jump ranks, Power Attack
<According to Complete Adventurer errata, wielding a weapon in 2 hands gives you quadruple (4x) Power Attack damage.>

You may already deal loads of damage.  If your accuracy is high enough to regularly spare some for Power Attack, go right ahead.  If you're facing creatures with stats straight from a Monster Manual, you most likely won't need the damage boost.

Leap of the Heavens (Player's Handbook II 80): Requires 4 Jump ranks
<You don't double the Jump DCs for standing jumps, effectively turning standing jumps into running jumps, and get a +5 Competence bonus on Jump checks on jumps with at least a 20' running start.>

This feat is excellent if you play in games where items granting massive Jump bonuses are rare or impractical.  The Leaping Dragon stance (Tome of Battle 88, Tiger Claw3) lets you to treat standing jumps as running jumps and gives you a continual +10 enhancement Jump.  If you can retrain feats and intend to take Leaping Dragon, Leap of the Heavens is almost a no-brainer!

From my understanding, this feat is the same as the goliath's Mountain Movement.  It sure kicks the crap odda the epic feat Legendary Leaper!

Leap of the Heavens's usefulness probably diminishes as the game progresses because eventually your Jump check will be so high that an extra 10, 20, or 40 to the DC won't matter much, especially if you can glide from being a raptoran ([i}Races of the Wild[/i] 68) or Dragonborn (Races of the Dragon 8).  It still may be viable for the Boing Boing trick.  (See the Battle Jump feat description.)

Martial Stance (Tome of Battle 31) [Fighter]: Requires 1 martial maneuver, otherwise qualifying for the stance
<You gain one martial stance for which you meet all prereqs.  You must also know at least one maneuver from this discipline.>

Stance usefulness varies greatly, hence the black rating.

Martial Study (Tome of Battle 31) [Fighter]
<You gain one martial maneuver for which you meet all prereqs.>

Martial maneuver usefulness varies greatly.  Choose well, grasshoppah.

Mental Leap [Psionic]: Requires 13 STR, 5 Jump ranks
<You must expend your psionic focus for +10 on one Jump check.>

It's a weak effect for a feat.  You're typically better saving your focus and feat for Up The Walls.

Mobility [Fighter]: Requires 13 DEX, Dodge
<You get +4 AC against all attacks of opportunity.>

Considering your mobile nature, this may be valuable as something more than a prereq for blade dancer (Oriental Adventures 37) and Spring Attack, but there are far better feats.

Neraph Charge (Planar Handbook 40): Requires 15 WIS, 5 Knowledge (planes) ranks
<You can charge like a neraph (Planar Handbook 13), denying a foe his DEX bonus to AC for your attack.>

This works only once per foe per encounter and your opponent must see you, making it a low priority feat.  I wanted to rate this blue, but its high requirements and use limits make this a merely OK feat for most dragoons.

Neraphim (Planar Handbook 13) can take this feat and seemingly use their racial charge and the Neraph Charge feat once each per foe per encounter.

Power Attack [Fighter]: Requires 13 STR
<At the beginning of your turn when wielding a melee weapon in 2 hands, you may a take a penalty to your melee accuracy of up to your base attack bonus and add double that penalty as a bonus to damage should you hit.  The bonuses and penalties last until the start of your next turn.>

For many, this is a key to your build and a way to squeeze more damage from well-planned attacks.  With a proper setup, you can get amazing returns on Power Attack, at least 10 damage for each point of accuracy you lose!  You also need it for Leap Attack and certain other feats.

With a high enough damage output, however, Power Attack becomes merely a placeholder feat.  Its viability varies greatly, hence its black rating.

Ordered Chaos (Fiendish Codex I 86): Requires nonchaotic alignment, base Will save of 4
<You're considered chaotic as well as your normal alignment.>

If for some reason you want to be considered chaotic and nonchaotic simultaneously, this is your feat.  For almost everyone, this is a waste.

If you desperately want this effect as your level 3 feat, ask your DM if you can remove the base will save requirement or have psychic warrior have a strong will save instead.

Powerful Charge [Fighter] (Eberron Campaign Setting 57): Requires Medium or bigger size, 1 BAB
<When you hit on a charge attack, you do +d8 damage if Medium, +2d6 if Large, +3d6 if Huge, +4d6 if Gargantuan, and +6d6 if Colossal.>

Though the majority your attacks will be charges, this is mostly useful early-game.  If you intend to play a dragoon no higher than about level 10, Powerful Charge may be worthwhile.  Ask your DM if this damage applies to every attack made with a pouncing charge.  (I believe it should.)

Power Lunge (Ghostwalk 37 and Sword and Fist 8) [Fighter]: Requires BAB 3, Power Attack
<When you hit a foe with a charge, add double your STR bonus to damage.  (For two-handed weapons like most polearms, this is 2.5x your STR bonus.)  Conversely, your foe gets an attack of opportunity on you before you can attack it.

The Ghostwalk version is identical to Sword and Fist's except it also a [Fighter] feat.>

This is a cheap, easy way to get extra damage, especially when your reach is greater than your opponent's!  Seemingly, you can choose to deal extra damage on a charge in exchange for provoking an attack of opportunity.

Practiced Manifester (Complete Psionic 57): Requires 4 Psicraft ranks
<Your manifester level in one class increases by up to 4, but no more than your hit dice.  A rogue1/cleric1/psywar1/barbarian1 with this feat has a psywar manifester level of 4.>

Take this to extend your buffs.

Practiced Spellcaster (Complete Arcane 82 or Complete Divine 82): Requires 4 Spellcraft ranks
<Your caster level in one class increases by up to 4, but no more than your hit dice.  A rogue1/cleric1/psywar1/barbarian1 with this feat has a cleric caster level of 4.>

Take this to extend your buffs and let your cure spells heal a bit more.

Psionic Charge [Psionic]: Requires 13 DEX, Speed of Thought
<You must expend your focus to be able to make one turn of up to 90 degrees while charging.>

This doesn't fit the dragoon style; you're meant to jump off walls, mounts, and orbital satelites to inflict massive stabbity death, not turn corners!

Shock Trooper (Complete Warrior 112) [Fighter, Tactical]: Requires Improved Bull Rush, Power Attack, 6 BAB
<You can perform one noteworthy maneuver, Heedless Charge.  Charge your opponent and Power Attack him for at least 5.  Instead of taking the accuracy penalty from Power Attack, you can instead take the penalty to your AC.  This effect lasts one round.>

You can reliably hit with Power Attack! (Holy cathedrals, Batman!)  You should also be far enough away that the AC penalty won't matter much.  Remember that this penalty also applies to touch AC!

Unfortunately, Shock Trooper requires the crap feat Improved Bull Rush,

Speed of Thought [Psionic]: Requires 13 WIS
<While psionically focused, you get +10' insight speed.>

You're already feat tight and an extra 10' matters much more in the early game.  If you want to try setting land speed records at level 6, this is a better investment.  Overall, you're probably better saving your feats for damage boosters.

Spirited Charge [Fighter]: Requires Mounted Combat, Ride-By Attack, 1 Ride rank
<When charging while mounted, you do double damage (triple damage with a lance) should you hit.>

If you're a mounted dragoon, this is rightfully blue for its awesomeness and it's still a navy for unmounted dragoons with a knack for riding, a flying mount, and the proper gear.  Double charge damage while mounted or triple if using a lance?  Prereq feats that don't suck for a mounted dragoon?

This is especially useful for combining mounted and unmounted dragoon styles.  See the Limit Lancer trick below.
The Limit Lancer Trick-Combining Mounted

Offline Toptomcat

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Re: Hatchet Job Port Thread
« Reply #73 on: April 11, 2013, 01:36:15 AM »
continued...


Athletic
<+2 Climb and Swim>

You can do much better for a bonus feat.

Blade Meditation (Tome of Battle 29): Requires 1 Concentration rank, 4 BAB, 1 martial maneuver
<+1 damage with preferred weapons when using martial strikes of that discipline, +1 DC on maneuvers from chosen discipline, +2 on key discipline skill>

Normally this feat is at least average, but you'll probably have no White Raven strikes by the time you qualify.  Even then, the bonus is negligible.

Blind-Fight
<When you miss a melee attack because of concealment, you can reroll percentile.  Also, invisible attackers get no bonuses to melee accuracy against you.>

You shouldn't need this, but it's somewhat helpful for emergencies.

Combat Reflexes
<You can make attacks of opportunity while flat-footed and each round make one more AoO per point of DEX bonus you have.>

You should have higher than average DEX and longer than typical reach, making this an obvious choice.

Diehard: Requires Endurance
<You automatically stabilize at negative HP and can take a move action each round without penalty.  Most other actions cause you to lose 1 HP, and you still die at -10 HP.>

Surely you can find better!

Endurance
<You can sleep in medium or heavy armor without being fatigued and you get minor bonuses to rarely-used checks.>

Skip this!

Great Fortitude
<+2 Fortitude>

It's +2 Fortitude to your already massive Fortitude save, but it's still better than many feats here.

Improved Initiative
<+4 Initiative>

If you can't get this lovely +4 initiative from the Time domain (Spell Compendium 281), take it ASAP from Warblade feats!

Iron Will
<+2 Will>

The +2 will probably help prevent you from becoming mind controlled and slaughtering the party.  Even if it doesn't, you can tell your fellow players you at least tried to prevent it.

Ironheart Aura (Tome of Battle 31): Requires 1 Iron Heart stance
<When in an Iron Heart stance, all adjacent allies within 5' get +2 morale saves.>

Giving allies +2 morale to their saves is handy, but you will be away from them action most of the time, making this feat's worth dubious.

Lightning Reflexes
<+2 Reflex>

Failing a Reflex save typically means HP damage- no big whoop- but here's to living that much longer.  Cheers!

Quick Draw: Requires 1 BAB
<You may draw a weapon as a free action or a weapon hidden via Sleight of Hand as a move action.>

You should never need this as a dragoon.  Never.  Drawing a weapon as part of a move is possible with at least 1 BAB, and most the time you should have your polearm drawn.

Run
<You get +4 Jump on running jumps, keep your DEX to AC while running, and can run at 5x your normal speed instead of 4x.>

It's a prereq for the epic feat Epic Speed, but that's about it.  The most useful part of Run is +4 Jump on running jumps, which should be all jumps by this point.

Stone Power (Tome of Battle 32): Requires 13 STR, 1 Stone Dragon maneuver
<When you attack or use a Stone Dragon maneuver, you can subtract up to 5 from your BAB and add double that penalty as temporary HP for one round.>

Yay for a short-term HP boost!  Boo that Stone Dragon maneuvers must be used on the ground!

Tiger Blooded (Tome of Battle 33): Requires raging/shifting/wild shaping, 1 Tiger Claw maneuver
<When raging, shifted, or wild shaped into an animal form, you can use a Tiger Claw maneuver to also knock a foe 5' if they fail a Fortitude save of 10 + your STR mod + 1/2 your character level.  This foe can't be of a larger size category than you.>

It's mostly useful for knocking someone out of your threat range then forcing them to reenter your threat range, but Tiger Blooded requires a.high STR and massive size to reliably work.

Unnerving Calm (Tome of Battle 33): Requires 1 Concentration rank, 1 Diamond Mind maneuver
<You can use Concentration instead of Intimidate in a duel of wills.>

Dragoons don't do this; they kill people.

White Raven Defense (Tome of Battle 33): Requires 1 White Raven stance
<When in a White Raven stance, each adjacent ally gets +1 AC.  When wielding your halberd or another White Raven weapon, regardless of stance, each adjacent ally gets +1 AC, and I assume these bonuses stack.  (You give no AC when flat-footed.)>

This feat requires you to be next to your allies and provides a minor AC boost.  Pass.

Under the Hood IV
Skills, Important Jump & Tumble Numbers, and Skill Tricks

Skills You Didn't Know You Wished You Had

Skills
All synergy bonuses are from 5 ranks in the appropriate skill.

Balance Synergy: +2 from Tumble
Chances are you'll charge over uneven or slick terrain and falling foolishly, however comical, is no remedy for killing your opponent.  I've rarely encountered Balance checks, but Balance's usefulness is DM-dependent.

One significant bonus is having 5 Balance ranks prevents you from being flat-footed while balancing, such as on slippery floors or grease patches.

Climb Synergy: +2 from Use Rope
Early in your career at least you'll need to climb to higher ground to jump onto your foes.  Late-game, you may need to climb riduculous heights in areas magic won't function.  It probably isn't worth maxing- check the skill tricks section below first- but you should have some ranks in Climb.

Concentration
Gaining a psionic focus is a DC20 Concentration check.  Moment of Perfect Mind (Tome of Battle 64) replaces your Will save with a Concentration check.  Max this!

Also, you may need to roll Concentration to manifest or cast within an enemy's threat range.

Remember, if you lose all your power points, you lose your psionic focus!

Escape Artist Synergy: +2 vs ropes from Use Rope
You need ranks for a skill trick, but you shouldn't get entangled or grappled.  Escape Artist is purely for backup.

Hide
In early to mid game, staying undetected means staying alive.  If you start with Hide as a class skill, invest at least 4 ranks in this.

Intimidate Synergy: +2 from Bluff
Aside from meeting prereqs, you shouldn't be near enough long enough to opponents to make them tremble.  Cause them to flee because you impaled their leader with one jump, not because you're charismatic.

Jump Synergy: +2 from Tumble
You're a dragoon.

Knowledge (local: Rashemen)
If you want Battle Jump (Unapproachable East 42), you may need 2 ranks of this to qualify as any race.  (See the SBlock Battle Jump Fine Print above for details.)  If you intend to get the feat Knowledge Devotion (Complete Champion 60), this is an easy way to get 5 ranks to qualify since rogues have Knowledge (local) as class.

Knowledge (religion)
If you prefer a more useful knowledge than local, try religion; almost every campaign involves NPC/enemy clerics, gods, and undead.  Also, 5 ranks lets you to get 1 additional turn attempt from a Relinquary Holy Symbol (Magic Item Compendium 120).

Listen
Listen is normally good to have and may save your life, but you should only max it if you have spare skill points.

Move Silently
In early to mid game, staying undetected means staying alive.  If you start with Move Silently as a class skill, invest at least 4 ranks in this.

Ride Synergy: +2 from Handle Animal
This skill is merely OK for nonmounted dragoons but vital (blue) for mounted dragoons.  As a primarly melee character, you may need to resort to something faster than you (perish the thought!) to arrive at your target in time to inflict stabbity death, or use a flying mount as an orbital platform from which to use  Spirited Charge to activate the Limit Lancer trick.  (See the Spirited Charge feat description for details.)

Search
If you start with Search as a class skill and have Trapfinding, you can at least find traps at early levels.

While generally handy to have, save it for the true skill monkeys.

Spellcraft Synergy: +2 from Knowledge (arcana)
You can identify spells being cast by your allies and enemies.  It's helpful to have so you know whether to go all out on someone about to cast, but generally leave this for the true casters.

Spot
See Spot.  See Spot run.  Run, Spot, run!

Seriously, Spot is useful and may save your life, but max it only if you have points to spare.

Tumble Synergy: +2 from Jump
Non-winged dragoons need this so they don't kill themselves jumping.  Winged dragoons have less need for this, but still require 12 ranks to enter Blade Dancer (Oriental Adventures 37).

Those pursuing the Flame's Blessing stance (Tome of Battle 53, Desert Wind1) need 9 ranks for 10 fire resist, 14 ranks for 15 fire resist, and 19 ranks for fire immunity.

Finally, a high enough Tumble negates attacks of opportunity garnered from Headlong Rush (Races of Faerun 164).

Important Jump & Tumble Ranks & DCs

Jump
Jump Ranks
1 Rank: If you pass a Jump check, you can choose to land on your feet.
4 Ranks: You qualify for the feat Leap of the Heavens (Player's Handbook II 80).
5 Ranks: You get +2 on Tumble checks.
5 Ranks: You qualify for the skill trick Extreme Leap (Complete Scoundrel 86).
5 Ranks: If you also have 5 Climb ranks, you qualify for the skill trick Leaping Climber (Complete Scoundrel 87).
5 Ranks: If you also have 5 Balance ranks, you qualify for the skill trick Up the Hill (Complete Scoundrel 90).
5 Ranks: If you also have 5 Climb ranks, you qualify for the skill trick Wall Jumper (Complete Scoundrel 90).
20 Ranks: You qualify for the epic feat Epic Skill Focus.
24 Ranks: You qualify for the epic feat Legendary Leaper.

Jump Results
10 Result: You can make a 10' long jump with a 20' running start, enough to trigger Leap Attack (Complete Adventurer 110).
20 Result: You can make a 10' long jump without a running start, enough to trigger Leap Attack (Complete Adventurer 110).
20 Result: With a Halberd of Vaulting (Arms & Equipment Guide 109), you can make a vaulting charge with a running start.
40 Result: You can trigger Battle Jump (Unapproachable East 42) on a 5' tall or shorter target with a running start.  If you also move at least 10' horizontally, you also trigger Leap Attack (Complete Adventurer 110).
40 Result: With a Halberd of Vaulting (Arms & Equipment Guide 109), you can make a vaulting charge without a running start.
80 Result: You can trigger Battle Jump (Unapproachable East 42) on a 5' tall or shorter target without a running start.  If you also move at least 10' horizontally, you also trigger Leap Attack (Complete Adventurer 110).

Tumble, Epic Tumble
Tumble Ranks
1 Rank: You can use the Tumble skill.
4 Ranks: In Flame's Blessing stance (Tome of Battle 53), you have 5 fire resistance.
5 Ranks: You get +2 on Jump checks.
5 Ranks: You qualify for the skill trick Tumbling Crawl (Complete Scoundrel 90).
5 Ranks: If you also have 5 Escape Artist ranks, you qualify for the skill trick Slipping Past (Complete Soundrel 89).
5 Ranks: If you also have 5 Balance ranks, you qualify for the skill trick Up the Hill (Complete Soundrel 90).
5 Ranks: If you also have 12 Climb ranks, you qualify for the skill trick Walk the Walls (Complete Soundrel 90).
8 Ranks: If you also have Power Attack, you qualify for Leap Attack (Complete Adventurer 110).
9 Ranks: In Flame's Blessing stance (Tome of Battle 53), you have 10 fire resistance.
12 Ranks: You qualify for the skill tricks Acrobatic Backstab (Complete Scoundrel 85) and Back on Your Feet (Complete Scoundrel 86).
14 Ranks: In Flame's Blessing stance (Tome of Battle 53), you have 15 fire resistance.
19 Ranks: In Flame's Blessing stance (Tome of Battle 53), you are immune to fire damage.
20 Ranks: You qualify for the epic feat Epic Skill Focus.

Tumble Results
15 Result: You don't provoke attacks of opportunity for moving at half speed past one opponent.
15 Result: You take 1d6 less falling damage.
25 Result: You don't provoke attacks of opportunity for moving at half speed through one opponent's square.
25 Result: You don't provoke attacks of opportunity for moving at full speed past one opponent.
30 Result: You take 2d6 less falling damage.
40 Result: You can take a 10' step instead of a 5' step.  Bring on the full attacking scouts!  (See Complete Adventurer 11 for more details.)
45 Result: You take 3d6 less falling damage.  For each 15 additional points of result, you take 1d6 less falling damage.

Trickin' it Out in the Hood:  Skill Tricks for Dragoons

Skill Tricks
NOTE: You can only learn 1 skill trick at each level and may know 1 skill trick per 2 levels rounded up.  (You can know up to one trick at L1, up to 2 at L3, up to 3 at L5, and so on.)  Each skill trick costs 2 skill points.

Also, you can only use each trick once per encounter or once per minute for noncombat situations unless otherwise specified!

Acrobatic Backstab (Complete Scoundrel 84): Requires 12 Tumble ranks (L9)
<If you pass a Tumble check to move through an enemy's area, you can treat that foe as flat-footed for the next melee attack on your current turn.  Your foe must be standing on a solid surface for you to use this trick.>

It sounds good, but requires level 9 and careful positioning for your enemy.  Most the time, creatures and you will be airborne too often for this to be viable.

Back on your Feet (Complete Scoundrel 85): Requires 12 Tumble ranks (L9)
<You can stand from prone without provoking attacks of opportunity as an immediate action.>

This is a useful panic button against trippers.  You probably won't need this, but it's quite helpful when you do.

Extreme Leap (Complete Scoundrel 86): Requires 5 Jump ranks (L2)
<A horizontal jump of at least 10 feet allows 10 extra feet of movement that round as a swift action.>

You will be jumping often, but if you have the Travel Devotion (Complete Champion 62) or otherwise frequently use swift actions, this is of little use.  Talk to your DM about whether you get a bonus on your Jump check because you can move 10 more feet the round you use Extreme Leap.  I believe the extra move speed should give +4 Jump.

Leaping Climber (Complete Scoundrel 87): Requires 5 Climb ranks, 5 Jump ranks (L2)
<Add your jump distance to the start of a climb.>

Don't get this unless you often start your climbs with jumps.  It's slightly better with Speedy Ascent (Complete Scoundrel 89), but even then, it's probably the worst dragoonish skill trick.

Nimble Stand (Complete Scoundrel 88): Requires 8 Tumble ranks (L5)
<You can stand from prone without provoking attacks of opportunity.>

If you often land off your feet or find yourself wanting to stand in enemy threat ranges often, take this.  This is mostly useful at low levels since with a DC35 Tumble check, you can stand from prone as a free action.

Shrouded Dance (Complete Scoundrel 89): Requires 8 Hide ranks, 5 Perform (dance) ranks (L5)
<As a move action, make a DC 20 Hide check.  If you pass, you have concealment (20% miss chance) 'til the start of your next turn.>

This is a borderline red because while its benefit is somewhat spiffy, it requires a move action to use and skill points in Perform which you're unlikely to have.

Slipping Past (Complete Scoundrel 89): Requires 5 Escape Artist ranks, 5 Tumble ranks (L2)
<As a swift action, you can ignore movement and AC penalties for squeezing through a tight space 'til the start of your next turn.>

I have never needed to worry about being in a space too small for me.  If that happens often to you, consider this trick.

Speedy Ascent (Complete Scoundrel 89): Requires 5 Climb ranks (L2)
<If you pass a Climb check to move at least 10 feet, you can move an additional 10 feet as part of that action.>

Climbing is rarely a factor and climbing quickly even rarer.  Speedy Ascent is slightly more useful with Leaping Climber (Complete Scoundrel 87), but I'd only take this if I had nowhere better to put my skill points.

Spot the Weak Point (Complete Scoundrel 89): Requires 12 Spot ranks (L9)
<As a standard action, make a Spot check with a DC equal to one foe's AC.  If you pass, your next attack made this or next turn is considered a touch attack.>

You need to invest heavily in Spot then you must spend a standard action and pass a Spot check.  It's only viable in emergencies.

Twisted Charge (Complete Scoundrel 90): Requires 5 Balance ranks, 5 Tumble ranks (L2)
<When charging, you can make one turn of up to 90 degrees.  Remember that running from the floor to a wall or vice versa typically requires a 45 degree turn.>

This is only viable for charging when spaces are too cramped to Battle Jump (Unapproachable East 42).

Walk the Walls (Complete Scoundrel 90): Requires 12 Climb ranks, 5 Tumble ranks (L9)
<You can move up a wall without making a Climb check.  Each 5 feet of vertical movement costs you 4 squares (20 feet) of movement and you must begin and end your turn on a horizontal surface.>

This is a poor man's Up The Walls.  If you can't get Up The Walls, this may be worthwhile, but even then I rate it low.

Wall Jumper (Complete Scoundrel 90): Requires 5 Climb ranks, 5 Jump ranks (L2)
<If you pass a Climb check to ascend or descend a wall this turn or last turn, you can leap horizontally from that wall as if you had a running start.>

Joy!  From my understanding, you can use this with Up The Walls to leap further up walls and descend more painfully on foes.  Even if you can't, this is still excellent for a dragoon!

Under the Hood V
Races and Templates

Races of the Hood

Races
The most important aspects of a dragoon's race are, in this approximate order:

-Gliding/Wings
-Large or bigger size
-Medium or bigger size
-STR bonuses
-Jump/Tumble bonuses
-CON bonuses
-DEX/INT/WIS bonuses
-Darkvision
-Low-light vision
-Racial bonuses, such as racial traits and race-only feats

Dwarf: Humanoid, +2 CON, -2 CHA, Medium, 20' Walk, Favored: Fighter, No LA
Even with the Quick trait, these are suboptimal as dragoons.  If you're stuck with core races, play a human instead.

Elf [Dragonborn High Elf]: Humanoid (dragonblood), Medium, 30' Walk, Favored: Fighter & Wizard, No LA
See my spiel near in the templates secion about the Dragonborn template (Races of the Dragon 8).  Most often, this race setup is a step down from a Raptoran (Races of the Wild 68) but will do in a pinch if Raptorans are banned.  At least you have no stat penalties.

Goliath (Races of Stone 84): Monstrous Humanoid, +4 STR, -2 DEX, +2 CON, Medium (Powerful Build), 30' Walk, Favored: Barbarian, 1 LA
Scroll down on this page to Mountain Movement.  You can make running jumps without running, an ability even better than Legendary Leaper!  (The feat Leap of the Heavens in Player's Handbook II 80 does effectively the same thing as Mountain Movement.)  Powerful Build allows you to use Large weapons, though with the reach of a Medium creature.  Unfortunately, the goliath level adjustment and racial traits make it a merely OK race.

You may be within redemption, however.  If you want to wield Huge weapons for 1 more LA (though with Large reach) and your DM won't hurt you for it, take Half-Minotaur (Dragon 313 94).  From Half-Minotaur alone, you get +12 STR/-2 DEX/+6 CON, some from the template and some from the size increase.  See the templates section below for more details.

Half-Giant: Giant (psionic), +2 STR, -2 DEX, +2 CON, Medium (Powerful Build), 30' Walk, Favored: Psychic Warrior, 1 LA
Half-giants are second-rate goliaths for dragoons; Powerful Build but no Mountain Movement.  Half-giants are psionic, allowing them to get Up the Walls at level 1, though I still recommend a level or 2 of psychic warrior.

Half-Orc: Humanoid, +2 STR, -2 INT, -2 CHA, Medium, 30' Walk, Favored: Barbarian, No LA
Half-orcs over the long-term don't get entirely shafted.  As a half-orc, you can get the feat Headlong Rush and nab Half-Orc Paragon2 for the ability to rage while lawful, though doing so is rarely worthwhile in non-gestalt games.

I admit though, there isn't much more reason to take an untemplated half-orc.  Humans are probably the best race in the early game because of the feat crunch, and as a half-orc your skill progression is slowed from -2 INT.  If Headlong Rush is available, however, half-orcs outpace humans, and if the Dragonborn template (Races of the Dragon 8) is available, you have one of the best races for a dragoon.

However, with some slight modifications, you can become...

Half-Orc, Uberfied [Quick Dragonborn Half-Minotaur Water Half-Orc]: Humanoid (dragonblood), +14 STR, -4 DEX, +8 CON, -4 INT, -2 CHA, 2 NA, Large, 50' Walk, 50' Swim, Favored: Barbarian & Fighter, 1 LA
I don't say it often, but OMGWTFBBQ!  Even without Half-Minotaur (Dragon 313 94) you're still better than a Raptoran (Races of the Wild 68):  You glide, you have a slightly higher Fortitude save, and you qualify for Headlong Rush.   Booyah!

Human: Humanoid, Medium, 30' Walk, Favored: Any, No LA
Humans make spiffy dragoons because of the extra feat, skill points, and a favored class of any.  Unfortunately, they get no spiffy dragoon-specific bonuses, but the extra feat helps the early game feat crunch.  Going human is probably your best bet if you're stuck with core races.

Alternatively, investigate silverbrow humans from Dragon Magic 6.  They trade their bonus skill points for feather fall as a spell-like ability once per day plus once per day per 5 HD.  Additionally, they get +2 Disguise and Disguise is always a class skill.  Normal humans are better lest reducing falling damage is critical and you want to be human.

Interestingly, humans make the worst Dragonborn (Races of the Dragon 8).  They lose their bonus feat and bonus skill points while keeping their favored class (any).  With the wealth of D&D 3.5 material available, humans get sidelined this build.

Neraph (Planar Handbook 13): Outsider, Medium, 30' Walk, Favored: Ranger, No LA
Despite being outsiders for delicious polymorph cheese, like in this thread, they don't suit dragoons well considering the variety of better races.  Even the feat Neraph Charge (Planar Handbook 40) feels slightly weak compared to Headlong Rush (Races of Faerun 164), though maybe it's because Neraph Charge is available to all races.

Neraph get +5 to Jump, +2 natural armor, and the ability to deny each foe his DEX bonus to AC for one charge or thrown attack per encounter.

Beware!  As an outsider, not a native outsider, neraphim require revive outsider (Spell Compendium 175) or true resurrection to resurrect!  With a Dragonborn Neraph, however, you're considered an outsider and for some purposes, a dragon, meaning whether you need to eat, sleep, or breathe, as well as what spells will revive you, are up to your DM.  Ask him nicely.

Nezumi AKA Ratling (Oriental Adventures 13): Humanoid, +2 CON, -2 CHA, Medium, 40' Walk, Favored: Rogue, No LA
The only official LA0 Medium race I've found with 40' base speed, the nezumi are just plain excellent dragoons.  They're fast, hearty, and have mild stealth-related abilities.  A nezumi with 11+ WIS- and that's you!- qualifies to take Scent as a feat.  Taking Quick is more of a no-brainer.  Slap Dragonborn (Races of the Dragon 10) on this baby and you're ready to go!

The main negatives are rogue as a favored class and the lack of Common as an automatic language.  (Most dragoons won't take more than 2 Rogue levels and you get Rokugan and Nezumi as automatic languages which are effectively gibberish in a non-Oriental campaign.)  You can't get Headlong Rush since you lack orcish blood, but the feat's double damage on a charge is probably overkill anyway.

However, if you go all-out, you can become...

Nezumi, Uberfied [Quick Dragonborn Water Half-Minotaur Nezumi]: Humanoid (dragonblood), +12 STR, -4 DEX, +10 CON, -4 INT, -2 CHA, 2 NA, Large, 60' Walk, 60' Swim, Favored: Fighter & Rogue, 1 LA
This extrapolates elemental race stats unofficially, but all races of water that aren't half-breeds get +2 CON, besides various penalties negated by being Dragonborn.  If your DM allows you to be a Half-Minotaur (Dragon 313 94), he'll probably allow the extrapolation, but an extra 2 CON at this point is minor either way. 

Even without Half-Minotaur, you're fast.  You're as fast as a standard heavy horse or heavy warhorse.  If I could, I'd usually take nezumi over half-orc, especially water nezumi.  Another perk is that you can still take Scent as a feat if you feel inclined.

For any DMs in the audience thinking of terrorizing low-level groups with a couple creatures which even savvy players won't expect, here you go.  The look on your players' faces when they realize two very big, draconic, telephone pole-wielding, under-CRed creatures are swooping down from the shadows to impale all of them will be priceless.  Give these guys a class level or few and you may even start a panic.

Dragoons:  For when the crab just isn't that scary.

Raptoran (Races of the Wild 68): Humanoid [?], Medium, 30' Walk, Favored: Cleric, No LA
HALLE... lujah?  Starting at low levels, raptorans can make a strong contender for the ideal dragoon race.  They can glide, giving them +10 on Jump checks and preventing them from taking falling damage while conscious.  Even if a raptoran is knocked out in the air, he only takes 1d6 falling damage, which effects like feather fall negate.  (Few things ruin an epic leap more than going splat at the end.)  At 5HD, raptorans can fly for a number of successive rounds equal to their CON bonus, to a minimum of 1, and at 10 HD, they can fly indefinitely.  A raptoran with at least 5 HD can make a diving charge with a piercing weapon that does double damage if it hits.

The Dragonborn template (Races of the Dragon 8) grants the same abilities, but a level or 2 later with 10' less speed and stat mods.  I recommend a Dragonborn (Races of the Dragon 8) half-orc or Dragonborn nezumi (Oriental Adventures 13) for most builds, but raptorans shine in campaigns with Faerun and Oriental material banned or when you want no stat penalties and no LA.  The raptoran's best niche then is for evil characters because a Dragonborn that turns evil loses the Dragonborn template by the rules as written.

So where's the downside?  Raptorans have the icky favored class of cleric.  The Dragonborn can be attached to many if not most races, allowing a Quick Dragonborn half-orc to qualify for Headlong Rush (Races of Faerun 164), and compared to a raptoran, have +10 land speed, +1 Fortitude, and the same amount of HP, though -2 DEX.

Also, assumedly, raptorans are humanoid, but Races of the Wild lists no type for them.

Shifter (Eberron Campaign Setting 18): Humanoid (shapechanger), +2 DEX, -2 INT, -2 CHA, Medium, 30' Walk, Favored: Ranger, No LA
Originally, I included shifters as a means of qualifying for bloodclaw master (Tome of Battle 96) with no special class levels while meeting blade dancer's alignment requirement (Oriental Adventures 37).  I realized soon after that bloodclaw master doesn't require raging or shifting, thus demoting shifters.  At least you can become a Dragonborn (Races of the Dragon 8) from the start!

Thri-Kreen (Shining South 72): Monstrous Humanoid +2 STR, +4 DEX, -2 INT, +2 WIS, -4 CHA, Medium, 40' Walk, Favored: Ranger, 1 LA (Nonpsionic), 2 HD
Thri-kreen are the original D&D high jumpers, but with various reprints and stat changes, Wizards of the Coast can't make up their mind.  Expanded Psionics Handbook 15 and lists their Jump bonus as racial (woo!) instead of competence (boo!).  Monster Manual II 196 and [i}Savage Species[/i] 222 again list their Jump bonus as competence instead of racial.  The header uses Shining South's version since it's from the most recent publication.

Dragoon-wise, thri-kreen aren't worth the price.  Admittedly, they have 40' base speed for a Medium creature, +30 competence Jump, and 4 usable arms with which to hold their polearms, but the bonus to Jump doesn't stack with blade dancer (Oriental Adventures 37) or most items that boost Jump.

Girallon's blessing (Spell Compendium 106) on a 2-armed creature can reproduce the extra arms, and high jumping will make you go splat unless you can stop the damage.  Also, going Dragonborn (Races of the Dragon 8) removes the Jump bonus.

Finally, Thri-Kreen have short lifespans.  They reach middle age at 16, old age at 20, venerable at 25, and are expected dead by 29.  In the case of campaigns that stretch over a year or five, I don't want to risk losing physical stats or dying of old age!  Somewhat fortunately, Dragonborn returns you to the normal adult category with none your aging bonuses or penalties and with a middle age of 200 years, but, again, you lose the Jump bonus.

Warforged, Uberfied [Quick Incarnate Construct Shadow Dragonborn Warforged]: Humanoid (dragonblood), -2 DEX, +4 CON, -2 WIS, -2 CHA, Medium, 60' Walk, Favored: Fighter, No LA
A plain warforged (Eberron Campaign Setting 20 or Monster Manual III 190) makes for a bland, suboptimal dragoon.  Even the Quick trait does a little on its own.  To make a noteworthy warforged dragoon, I suggest applying the templates Incarnate Construct (Savage Species 120), Dragonborn (Races of the Dragon 8), and Shadow Creature (Lords of Madness 168) in that order.  You move 50% faster, meaning Quick is more appealing, though you lose composite plating and some other construct traits.   Dragonborn, like Red Bull, gives you wings!

A warforged without these templates decreases the rating to red because of the favored class of fighter, -2 WIS and CHA, and permanent 5% arcane spell failure.

Water Orc: Humanoid, +4 STR, +2 CON, -2 INT, -2 WIS, -2 CHA, Medium, 30' Walk, 30' Swim, Favored: Barbarian, No LA
With no LA but a WIS penalty, water orcs are slightly worse than half-orcs.  A Dragonborn (Races of the Dragon 8) water orc gets -2 DEX and +2 CON as well, and removes light sensitivity and the modifiers against creatures of the fire subtype, but you need 15 base WIS for  Up The Walls.

Even without Dragonborn, the Quick trait becomes a serious consideration.

Overall, if you have enough INT, WIS, and CHA for your build and you were about to go Dragonborn half-orc regardless, be a Dragonborn water orc instead.

Whisper Gnome (Races of Stone 94): Humanoid, -2 STR, +2 DEX, +2 CON, -2  CHA, Small, 30' Walk, Favored: Rogue, No LA
Sometimes, you want to play something different.  Sometimes, being Medium or larger is a hindrance more than a help.  Sometimes, you want to threaten beings with the line, "I may be small."  (Those are separate links.)  Sometimes, you want to be a Small race with a 30' land speed besides a goblin or kobold subrace with no level adjustment.

On the down side, you lose all those misc. bonuses when you go Dragonborn (Races of the Dragon 8).  Your weapon damage diminishes slightly compared to a Medium creature- 1d8 with a halberd (less if smaller) versus 1d10.  Your STR is also lower compared to a Medium creature, but .hopefully your massive mobility makes up for it.

On the plus side, you have the same reach and land speed as a typical Medium creature.  Your favored class of rogue allows you to sneak.  Whisper gnomes are especially sneaky, getting darkvision and skill bonuses to make people cry, "Level adjustment!"  Small items tend to weigh half as much as Medium ones, but you have 75% the carrying capacity of a Medium creature of equal STR.  You qualify for Underfoot Combat (Races of the Wild 152), and Confound the Big Folk (Races of the Wild 153), allowing you to enter your victim's square without attacks of opportunity against you, and get accuracy or AC bonuses against creatures 2+ size categories larger.  You probably won't need these feats due to your expected damage, but they're options.

If you go Dragonborn as I expect, you have +4 CON and -2 CHA.  If you also squeeze the water variant past your DM, that's 2 more CON!

Templates to Make Dragoons Drool

Templates
Dark Creature (Tome of Magic 161): +1 LA
The most important reason to take this is for +10' to all movement speeds.  You also gain +8 Hide and Move Silently, 10 cold resistance, superior low-light vision, and hide in plain sight.

If you're willing to spare the LA and enjoy being especially sneaky, this is for you.  If you have the Shadow Creature template available (Lords of Madness 168), consider taking that instead.

Dragonborn (Races of the Dragon 8): Must be Non-Evil, No LA
If you become a Dragonborn, the wings are the best feature:  You initially can glide indefinitely, though at 30' (average maneuverability), and you get +10 on Jump checks!  At 6HD, you can fly for a number of successive rounds equal to your CON bonus to a minimum of 1.  (Even as a dragoon, you should be able to fly for at least 2 rounds at a time.)  While flying, you can make a diving charge with a piercing weapon that does double damage if it hits.  The biggest bonus is that a winged Dragonborn never takes falling damage while conscious, and even if you are knocked out in the air, you take only 1d6 falling damage which feather fall and similar effects negate!

I believe the best race to become a Dragonborn dragoon is a nezumi (Oriental Adventures 13).  They get +2 CON, -2 CHA, and 40' base movement as a Medium creature for no LA.  If your DM is willing, instead get +2 more CON from extrapolating the stats and take water nezumi. 

A strong contender more likely to be approved is Dragonborn half-orc because of significant physical bonuses and Headlong Rush.  If you can swing it, a water half-orc is obviously better.

Raptoran (Races of the Wild 68) is still viable- Dragonborn template aside- since they get flight at 5HD and improved flight at 10HD, but their favored class is cleric.  The only significant Dragonborn drawback compared to a Raptoran is that Raptorans can fly 10' faster and Dragonborn can't be evil.

With that stated, becoming a Dragonborn costs 100 gold and it isn't right for everyone:  Humans lose their valuable skill points and bonus feat, but keep their favored class (any).  Half-elves lose less and keep their favored class (any).  Goliaths lose their delicious Mountain Movement though they keep Powerful Build.  Most other races benefit, however.

Dragonborn have a critical clause on page 10 of Races of the Dragon which made me reread: "You lose all other racial traits of your original race, including bonus feats, skill bonuses, attack bonuses, save bonuses, and so forth."  Also, Races of the Dragon 15 states a Dragonborn who becomes evil loses the template and takes 2d6 damage per round for a number of rounds equal to his HD.

It bears emphasizing so strongly:  You can lose a feat and your delicious racial bonuses like a goliath's Mountain Movement (but not Powerful Build) are gone!  At least you gain fighter as an additional favored class, and you can make a reasonable case to your DM to change this additional favored class to warblade.

Contrary to my initial opinion, you lose all aging bonuses and penalties when you become a Dragonborn, though your age changes to a young adult!  Beware!
Dragonblood Subtype Details

What's so special about being a (dragonblood)?  Page 4 of Races of the Dragon lists these factors.

-You can use items requiring the dragon type or dragonblood subtype.
-You are vulnerable to "harmful" effects that only affect dragons.  This makes you Favored Enemy #1.
-You AREN'T a dragon in any other regard.
-If you somehow become a dragon, you lose the dragonblood subtype!  It bears mentioning.  Ahem.

Movement Modes, a Controversy

As a Dragonborn you "retain your original base land speed, as well as any other modes of movement possessed by your original race.  Other racial traits related to speed or movement, such as the dwarf’s ability to move at full speed in medium or heavy armor, are lost."

Futhermore, "You lose all other racial traits of your original race, including bonus feats, skill bonuses, attack bonuses, save bonuses, spell-like abilities, and so forth." -Races of the Dragon 10

It seems straightforward, but should I keep my race's skill bonuses to Jump or Climb since these skills determine distance I can jump or climb per turn?  I'd like to think so, but in this guide I assume not.  Where that true, I'd more heavily advise a Dragonborn raptoran for raptoran wings, gliding,and skill bonuses, and the Dragonborn's breath weapon or darkvision.  Ask your DM.

Half-Minotaur (Dragon 313 94): +1 LA (!)
This is a viable template for those who want massive STR and CON bonuses and a tremendous size more than all else.  (Being an inherited template, you must be born as a Half-Minotaur.)  Start with a nezumi (Oriental Adventures 13), half-orc, or goliath, embrance your Half-Minotaur heritage, then add Dragonborn (Races of the Dragon 8) if desired.  You must start as a giant, humanoid, or monstrous humanoid to gain Half-Minotaur, but that should be no problem!

You end with Large size and possibly Powerful Build so you can wield Large or Huge weapons.  You get +8 STR/-2 DEX/+4 CON because you grew from Meduim to Large.  You get an additional +4 STR/+2 CON/-2 INT from the Half-Minotaur template but none of the other misc. bonuses like the Track feat.  Assuming you start as a Medium creature, your total stat mods from Half-Minotaur are +12 STR/-2 DEX/+6 CON/-2 INT.  Groovy.

At low levels, you can tell the full casters to sit down and shut up while you earn the titles 'Bulldozer,' 'Meat Grinder,' and 'Rain Maker.'  Close range spells (25' + 5' per 2 caster levels) mean little when you can jump 30 feet without making a skill check, glide 30 feet, and kill everything in a 20 foot radius in the same turn at level 2!  Watch out for falling rocks.

DMs considering allowing a Half-Minotaur into their games should make the LA +2 instead of +1.  Half-Minotaur is a strong +2:  The size, STR, and CON bonuses alone are just that uber, but the other minor bonuses don't put it over the top to +3.

Incarnate Construct (Savage Species 120): -2 LA (!)
If you prefer to be a warforged (Eberron Campaign Setting 20 or Monster Manual III 190), this is the template for you!  You lose your construct traits and composite plating, but have -2 level adjustment, and conveniently, Shadow Creature (Lords of Madness 168) is +2 LA.  Happy trails!

Shadow Creature (Lords of Madness 168): +2 LA
The most important reason to take this is for its 50% speed boost!  You also get +6 Move Silently, full concealment in anything less than full daylight or the daylight spell, and one special ability per 4 HD.  Some of these abilities are fast healing 2, evasion, and DR 5/magic.

If you're willing to spare the LA, enjoy being sneaky, and want to set land speed records, this is one major way to go.  Only take this if you're comfortable with your other stats, however.

Shoppin' in the Hood
The Non-Wondrous
Armor & Enchants

Armor & Enchants
Chahar-aina (Oriental Adventures 75): 75G, 10lb, 1ACP, 5% ASF
You can only wear this with padded armor, leather armor, or a chain shirt, and since I assume you're the good little Hood you are, you're wearing a chain shirt.  You need Medium Armor Proficiency to "wear a chahar-aina without penalty," which I'm fairly certain means no armor check penalty if you're proficient. If you make this item masterwork, there should be no armor check penalty.

Chain Shirt, Mithral: 1100G, 12.5lb, 0ACP, 10% ASF
Some recommend a breastplate instead, but the shirt is cheaper and has no armor check penalty.  Just watch out for arcane spell failure should you go that route.  Ultimately, this shirt offers the most options and is very cost effective!

Chain Shirt, Casterfied [Mithral, Feycraft, Githcraft]: 2200G, 11.25lb, 0ACP, 0% ASF
No armor check penalty?  Check.  No arcane spell failure?  Check.  Fully nonmagical?  Check.  Costs less than a +1 Twilight Mithril Chain Shirt?  Check.  Requires DM to avoid thinking too hard about how it was made?  Double check.

Feycraft is from Dungeon Master's Guide II 275.  Githcraft is from Dungeon Master's Guide II 276.

Dastana (Oriental Adventures 75): 25G, 5lb, 1ACP, 5% ASF
You can only wear this with padded armor, leather armor, or a chain shirt.  You need Light Armor Proficiency to "wear a dastana without penalty," which I'm fairly certain means no armor check penalty if you're proficient.  If you make this item masterwork, there should be no armor check penalty.

Landing Enchant [Psionic]: +4000G
You treat falls as 60' less for damage.  You shouldn't need this as a raptoran (Races of the Wild 68) or a Dragonborn (Races of the Dragon 8), or if you have an item of catfall; however, your DM may insist.  Boots of Landing (Magic Item Compendium 77) provide a cheap continuous version of this enchant.

Masterwork Tool: 50G, 1lb
You get +2 circumstance to any skill.  Jump and Tumble are obvious choices here.  While this bonus won't stack with other tools for the same skill, there's no specification in the rules as written requiring you hold or wear the tool to gain the bonus.  Most DMs would require you wear or wield the tool to gain its benefits, but lenient DMs would allow you to get this bonus with the tool in your Heward's Handy Haversack.

Fortification Enchant: +1 (Light), +3 (Medium), +5 (Heavy)
Negate 25%, 75% or all critical hits and sneak attacks with this.  I recommend heavy fortification despite its cost because I'm less likely to be killed by a critical I could have negated.  Medium Fortification will suffice for those on a much smaller budget.

Freedom Enchant (Magic Item Compendium 11): +5
You have continual freedom of movement.  The effect is often wonderful, but you can probably save money by instead getting a ring of freedom of movement.  If you can stick this on a +1 Dastana (Oriental Adventures 75), you get a bargain even compared to the ring!

Greater Healing Enchant (Magic Item Compendium 12): +24,000G, Requires Healing Enchant
Twice daily, you can heal 3d8+15 as a swift action and you're healed automatically for this if you fall unconscious from HP damage.  Unless I had enough money to swim comfortably in, Uncle Scrooge style, I wouldn't get this.  There are more efficient ways to heal, like a wand of cure light wounds for 750G.

Halfweight & Illithidwrought Enchants (Underdark 70): +3 or +4 Combined; see text and ask your DM
Halfweight armor is always treated as light and weighs half as much and is intended for those of you who insist on using full plate.

Seemingly, you can get Halfweight for +2 instead of +3 if your armor is Illithidwrought (Underdark 70).  Based on the chart from page 69, Illithidwrought (+1 insight AC), which normally costs +2, seemingly also gets a discount if you have Halfweight.  Ask your DM if you can get both for a total of +3.

If you want the full plate experience while maximizing your effectiveness, first get Feycraft (Dungeon Master's Guide II 275) +1 Mithral Full Plate, add Illithidwrought (Underdark 70), Halfweight, then Nimbleness (Magic Item Compendium 13).

Healing Enchant (Magic Item Compendium 12): +8000G
Once per day as a swift action, you can heal 2d8+5 HP damage.  If you're unconscious with negative HP, this healing effect triggers automatically as a free action.  It's a minor boost, but there are times when dropping unconscious saved my life and healing would have killed me.  I leave the choice to you.

Nimbleness Enchant (Magic Item Compendium 13): +1
Nimbleness reduces the armor check penalty by 2 and increases the max DEX bonus by 1.  It's intended for dragoons in mithral breastplates or full plate, but I prefer a mithral chain shirt.

Proof against Transmutation Enchant (Complete Arcane 142): +5
You become immune to petrification, involuntary shape changes, and turning to ash from disintegrate[/i] upon hitting -10 HP.  This enchant is NOT worth +5- it's maybe worth +2- but this enchant provides a bit of solace against baleful polymorph.


Offline Toptomcat

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Re: Hatchet Job Port Thread
« Reply #74 on: April 11, 2013, 01:36:27 AM »
continued...
Quickness Enchant [Psionic]: +1
Your speed increases by 5'.  This is an unnamed bonus.  If it's prudent for your character, get this on your chain shirt, dastana (Oriental Adventures 75), chahar-aina (Oriental Adventures 75), and Animated heavy shield.

This enchantment was reprinted in Magic Item Compendium on page 13 where the bonus is now enhancement and there's no mention of psionics.  (I rate that version red.)  Ask your DM which version you're using.

Soulfire Enchant (Book of Exalted Deeds 112): +4
You become immune to death and negative energy effects, such a enervation, inflict spells, and slay living.  It's probably too cheap for a +4 enchant, but if your DM lets you, even at +5, take this!

Twilight Enchant (Magic Item Compendium 15): +1
Your arcane spell failure from this item is reduced by 10% to a minimum of 0%.  If you routinely cast wizard spells in armor and you can't get the casterfied chain shirt (above), a +1 Twilight Mithral Chain Shirt becomes a gimme.  For normal dragoons, this is worthless.

Rings

Rings
Ring of Adamantine (Magic Item Compendium 121): 6000G
Your melee attacks bypass DR/adamantine.  This is only useful against armies of constructs or weird creatures that have DR/adamantine.  This is mostly for backup purposes.

Ring of feather fall: 2200G
Battle Jump (Unapproachable East 42) should trigger if you feather fall down by the rules as intended as there's no specific prohibition.  (Fly and levitate specifically won't work with Battle Jump by the rules as written, but as DM, I would allow Battle Jump to work with feather fall.)  If this ring won't interfere with Battle Jump, take the ring and love it as your precious.  If the ring interferes or you consistently don't land on your feet after jumping, get Boots of Landing (Magic Item Compendium 77).

If you're a raptoran (Races of the Wild 68) or Dragonborn (Races of the Dragon 8), you shouldn't need this since you never take falling damage unless you fall unconscious in the air, and even then no more than d6.  Your DM may say otherwise, however.

Ring of freedom of movement: 40,000G
This is a bargain compared to the price given by the formulas.  You'll need freedom of movement eventually considering the great number of grappling creatures and movement impairing spells and effects available; however, this is a mid to late game purchase.

Ring of Evasion: 25,000G
If you have the money, the Reflex save, and a ring slot available, this may be a worthy purchase.  You're probably better off spending money on items that improve movement or provide cover or concealment so you're out of the blast radius instead.

Ring of Sustenance: 2500G
If your DM enforces food and drink rules, this may be a worthy investment just so you no longer need to track personal nourishment.  The bonus of only needing 2 hours of sleep instead of 8 may allow you to regain spells more often than normal; check with your DM.

Rods

Rods
-Only one metamagic rod can be used with each spell at a time and the rod functions 3 times per day.  From what I understand, you need only have the rod in your possession, not your hand.  You may be able to use a metamagic rod thrice a day and pass it along since the text says, "The wielder can cast up to three spells per day that are [affected by a certain metamagic feat]."
-Spontaneous casters still must normally spend at least a full round action to use a metamagic rod on a spell.
-Lesser metamagic rods work on spells of level 3 and below, normal rods on level 6 and below, and greater rods on level 9 and below.
-Technically, aside from Heigthen Spell, a metamagicked spell changes only the spell slot needed to cast it, not the spell level.  Thus, an Extended haste cast by a typical wizard is a level 3 spell occupying a level 4 slot and a legal candidate for a Lesser Rod of Quicken.  Your DM may disagree, however.

Lesser Rod of Extend: 3000G
Your buffs like wraithstrike (Complete Adventurer 158) and haste last twice as long.  Woo!

Lesser Rod of Quicken: 35,000G
You can cast a spell as a swift instead of a standard action thirce per day.  Unfortunately, the rod is expensive and you'll often use swift actions for other things, but if you have this rod to spare, you can heal or buff yourself mid-fight.

Nightstick (Libris Mortis 78): 7500G
Even if you can only use one Nightstick per day, that's Divine Metamagic (Complete Divine 80) fuel or two more daily uses of your Travel Devotion (Complete Champion 62)

Weapons & Enchants

Weapons & Enchants
Bloodfeeding Enchant (Magic Item Compendium 29): +1
Each time you damage a living creature, you gain a blood point, and you can spend 5 blood points to do 2 extra damage when you hit a target.  You can hold up to 10 blood points and the points last 1 hour, enough for a fight or two overland or part of a dungeon crawl.  I'm staying away from this, however great it sounds, because it does low damage and it's more to track.

Collision Enchant [Psionic]: +2
You do 5 extra damage per hit for a +2 enchant.  You can probably find better ways to reliably get more damage per strike, but this is simple.

Charging Enchant (Magic Item Compendium 31): +1
When charging while mounted, you do an extra 2d6 if you hit.  Mounted dragoons should take this; others should avoid it because of its specificity.

Eager Enchant (Magic Item Compendium 34): +1
You get +2 initiative, +2 damage with the weapon during combat's first round, and the ability to draw this weapon as a free action at any time on your turn.  Take Eager for its initiative bonus once you're out of better options.

Ghost Touch Enchant: +1
This is mostly for backup since there seems to be a batch of incorporeal creatures in every game I play.  If you become incorporeal with spells or other abilities, this ensures you can wield your weapon.  Either you need this greatly or you don't need it, and if you need it, try to instead get a Truedeath Crystal (Magic Item Compendium 66).

Halberd of Vaulting (Arms & Equipment Guide 109): 20,310G, 12lb
OMGWTFBBQ!  Whenever you charge and jump at least 5' into the air, you deal double damage!  Mind you, this is also a +2 halberd that gives a +30 unnamed bonus to Jump for the bargain price of about 20K!  Seriously, who made this and how soon can I hug him?

(Price-wise, this costs 310 for the masterwork halberd, 8K for +2, 9K for +30 to Jump under 3.0 rules, and about 3K for double damage on a charge.  Going by the numbers, this seems purposely bargain priced like a ring of invisibility.  If you manage to get one of these and want to upgrade it, a simple way would be to treat +3 as another 10K, or 15K if you wish to account for the nonstandard bonuses.  If you feel especially bold, ask your DM if you can make this a +1 Valorous Halberd (Unapproachable East 54) since it should cost the same by the rules.  Beware smackage.)

Holy Enchant: +2
Most campaigns have the goody PCs against the Evil baddies.  (Emphasis on the capital E.)  If you frequently fight demons, devils, dragons, deities, and dark casters, Holy offers 2d6 extra damage each attack.  If this is you, Holy makes for a worthy enchant at +2.  If you're the villains killing off heroes or you frequently kill nonevil foes, skip this.

Illusion Bane Enchant (Magic Item Compendium 36): +1
You automatically ignore any miss chance from illusions like blur or mirror image.  If you hit, you can use a swift action to attempt to dispel an illusion effect like silent image or all illusions on a target a la a targeted dispel magic, either at +10.  This is quite handy against casters, but it's quite niche.

Impaling Enchant (Magic Item Compendium 37): +1
As a swift action thrice per day, you can turn your next attack roll into a touch attack.  This enchant is a miniature wraithstrike (Complete Adventurer 158) that doesn't interfere with the spell.  Impaling also requires a piercing weapon, but that's a given!

Initiative Enchant (Oriental Adventures 126): +20,000G
You get +2 luck initiative for 20K.  This seems overly expensive, but initiative maniacs will find it valuable.

Keen Enchant: +1
You double your weapon's natural threat range.  A pity this doesn't stack with most other critical multipliers.  Even if it did, crits are unreliable and plenty of foes are immune.

If you're in a situation to capitalize on crits, seriously consider this and Maiming (Miniatures Handbook 40).

The Keen enchantment is a permanent version of the keen edge spell.

Lucky Enchant [Psionic]: +1
You can reroll one failed accuracy roll per day.  This may be comparable in price to the Luck Blade's luck power, 9,750 when reverse engineered, though the blade's reroll applies to any roll and it's an extraordinary ability.  Either reroll is better on ammo if each piece of ammo lets you reroll.

(My Luck Blade calculations, assuming no wishes: 9,750 = 22,060 base - 8K for +2 - 310 for a masterwork shortsword - 4K for the +1 luck bonus to saves on an unslotted item)

Magebane Enchant (Magic Item Compendium 38): +1
Against creatures capable of using arcane spells or warlock invocations (Complete Arcane 7), you get +2 accuracy and +2d6+2 damage.  This is a niche weapon, but there are plenty of creatures who can use arcane spells but aren't considered primary casters, like the rakshasa.  (Spell-like abilities drawn from the sorcerer/wizard list are seemingly arcane.  Ask your DM.)

Maiming Enchant (Miniatures Handbook 40): +1
This enchant is an oddity, turning your critical multiplier into a die roll.  A x2 weapon becomes a x1d4 weapon.  A x3 weapon is x1d6.  A x4 is x1d8.  (Assumedly, continue the pattern for higher numbers.)  Unfortunately, it's random and it requires the target be crittable.

If you're in a situation to capitalize on crits, seriously consider this and either Keen or a friendly caster who will spare the spell slots for keen edge..

A revised version is on page 38 of Magic Item Compendium, dealing d6 extra damage on a crit with a x2 weapon, 2d6 with a x3 weapon, and 3d6 with a x4 weapon.  Ask your DM which version you're using.

Parrying Enchant [Psionic]: +8000G
You get +1 insight AC and +1 insight saves while you hold the weapon, even when flat-footed.  This seems quite worthwhile.

Unfortunately, Magic Item Compendium 40 changed the price to +2 which I believe to be too much.  (My rating changes to red in that case.) Ask your DM which version you're using.

Ribbon [Kaorti] Weapons (Fiend Folio 110): See text.
If you're into crits, ribbon weapons are the way to go.  By extrapolation, ribbon weapons cost 50 times that of normal nonmasterwork weapons and require an exotic weapon proficiency to wield properly.  They allow trip attacks at +2 and their crit multiplier is x4.  If you're about to spend a feat, get an already exotic weapon and make it a ribbon weapon, though normally I don't consider spending a feat to wield a weapon worthwhile.

Shadowstrike Enchant (Magic Item Compendium 43): +5000G
Once a day, you gain +5' of reach on a melee attack and this attack denies your target his DEX bonus to AC.  It's an interesting concept that I'd like to be usable more often.

Sizing Enchant (Magic Item Compendium 43): +5000G
You can change your weapon's size category to be anything you want.  This is almost useless lest you can make your spear Colossal, maybe Colossal+++++++, to crush your opponents.

Speed Enchant: +3
This is the weapon enchant for people who can't reliably get haste.  I advise against this in most situations since your party buffer should gladly buff you and haste should be common by the time you can expect to get Speed.

The main bonus of Speed weapons over haste is Speed weapons each give +1 attack, meaning if you wielded 3 +1 Halberds of Speed with your 6 arms, you'd get 3 more attacks per full attack instead of 1.

Spellblade Enchant (Player's Guide to Faerun 120): +6000G
You're immune to a spell that targets you, chosen at the item's creation, like baleful polymorph, slow, or a targeted dispel magic.  Even better, you can cast it at another target- like the original caster- with the same DC, caster level, etc. as the original caster as a free action on your next turn.

While this enchant only works when on weapons you wield, armor spikes, gauntlets, and possibly even a horned helm count.  Make them +1 items first!

Spell Storing Enchant/Power Storing Enchant [Psionic]: +1
How I love thee; let me count the ways!  Nothin' says lovin' to a frost giant like releasing from your polearm a 12d6 scorching ray as a free action (Spell Storing) or a swift action (Power Storing) as part of a charge that does, double, quadruple, or even more damage!  Nevermind that the spell damage isn't multiplied for a crit; that sucker's goin' down!

The major drawback is its third level spell limit (Spell Storing) or 5 power point manifestation limit (Power Storing), but remember that spells cast into this weapon use the caster's caster level and DC.  Slow against a major villain as part of a full attack, anyone?

Valorous Enchant (Unapproachable East 54): +1
You do double damage on a charge, triple damage if this is a Valorous lance and you're mounted, quadruple if this is a Valorous lance and you're mounted with Spirited Charge, and perhaps more if you have other damage multipliers.  If you're a dragoon and your DM allows you Valorous, take it!

Vampiric Enchant (Magic Item Compendium 45): +2
Against living creatures, you do +d6 per hit and heal yourself for that much of the d6.  If you have low HP as I expect, this is probably OK, but only get this if your DM bans Wrathful Healing (Enemies & Allies 20).

Warning Enchant (Magic Item Compendium 46): +1
It's a +5 insight bonus to initiative, though probably more expensive than an item of nerveskitter (Spell Compendium 146).  Regardless, it will probably still save your life.

Wrathful Healing Enchant (Enemies & Allies 20): +3
This beautiful enchant is hidden in an otherwise crappy 3.0 book in a sidebar.  Wrathful Healing heals you for half the damage you deal with it, not to exceed your max HP.  Ho.  Lee.  Crap.

Note that this healing is positive energy.  A living wielder is healed, an undead wielder is harmed, and a construct is probably unaffected.

Creating a Wrathful Healing weapon requires caster level 15, regenerate, and Craft Magic Arms and Armor.  Good luck getting a DM to allow one.

Weapon Augment Crystals

Weapon Augment Crystals
Least crystals require weapon of masterwork or magic quality.  Lesser crystals require at least a +1 weapon.  Greater crystals require at least a +3 weapon, meaning apply greater magic weapon before use.  A straight +3 weapon is rarely worthwhile.

Typically, a lesser crystal also grants the benefit of the associated least crystal and a greater crystal also grants the benefits of the associated lesser and least crystals.

Each weapon can have only one augment crystal active at a time.

Crystal of Life Drinking (Magic Item Compendium 64): +400G (Least), +1500G (Lesser), +6000G (Greater)
Deal lethal damage to a living creature and heal 1 HP (least), 3 HP (lesser), or 6 HP (greater) per hit, up to 10 hits per day.

Fiendslayer Crystal (Magic Item Compendium 65): +1000G (Least), +3000G (Lesser), +5000G (Greater)
You do +d6 damage to evil outsiders (least) and penetrate DR/good of evil outsiders (lesser).  On a critical hit, you prevent evil outsiders from using teleportation abilities for 1 round (greater).  Evil outsiders are fairly common, making a lesser a worthwhile purchase for most campaigns.

Truedeath Crystal (Magic Item Compendium 66): +400G (Least), +5000G (Lesser), +10,000G (Greater)
You do +d6 damage against undead (least), gain Ghost Touch (lesser), and can crit and sneak attack undead (greater).  Undead seem to be foes in every campaign, making a lesser crystal the best value, though if you rely on sneak attack/skirmish/etc. or crits, get a greater.

Shoppin' in the Hood
Wondrous Items
Wondrous Items

Wondrous Items
Unless otherwise stated, all items in this section are made at the lowest possible caster level without using optimization tricks to be able to cast spells early.

If you can choose the body slot and your DM enforces body slot affinities, see this chart on body slot affinities so you don't overspend.  Note that robes and rings can have any single effect at no extra charge!  Also, ask your DM if the 'quickness' affinity for gloves applies to movement speed and if the 'movement' affinity for boots applies to initiative.

Finally, pages 233-234 of Magic Item Compendium state many common effects that can be added to items without paying 50% more per slot.  Adding stat (enhancement bonus), save (resistance bonus), or AC (armor, deflection, or enhancement to natural) boosters only costs normal price.  For example, adding +6 STR to a Belt of Battle (Magic Item Compendium 73) costs only 36,000 gold for +6 STR and 12,000 gold for the Belt of Battle.  Prior to these rules, the cost would have been 36,000 for +6 STR and 18,000 for the Belt of Battle.

By the rules as written, however, this doesn't work in reverse.  Starting with a belt of +6 STR (36,000) and adding the effects of the Belt of Battle (12,000) would cause the Belt of Battle's effects to cost 50% more, for a total of 54,000 gold instead of 48,000.

animal affinity Item: 4500G (Dorje), 10,800G (Use-Activated), 24,000G (Continuous)
Each time you use this, you get +4 enhancement to a stat of your choice.  This is quite handy to have on a ring or robe for body slot affinity reasons.

Activate this item to boost CHA, get another daily use of Travel Devotion (Complete Champion 62), then use this item again to boost DEX and get 2 more attacks of opportunity that round with Combat Reflexes.  Considering this item gives +4 enhancement to one stat, though potentially any stat, a continuous version is cheaper than a +2 Belt of Magnificence (Miniatures Handbook 42).  This item is cool!

Unfortunately, the enhancement bonus becomes obsolete, and this item's usefulness depends on how many stats benefit, hence the black rating.  Regardless, it can be fun while it lasts!

Belt of Battle (Magic Item Compendium 73): 12,000G
You always get a +2 competence bonus to initiative and this belt has 3 charges per day.  As a swift action, you can gain a move action (1 charge), a standard action (2 charges), or a full round action (3 charges).  Buy a bunch and swap them out as needed so you have even more actions per day.  This belt is awesome!

Belt of Dwarvenkind: 14,900G
If you want continuous darkvision, this is a bargain.  If you get an item of dwarvenkind, try to make it a cloak, robe, or bracers so you can also wear the magnificent Belt of Battle (Magic Item Compendium 73).

Belt of Magnificence (Miniatures Handbook 42): 25,000G (+2), 100,000G (+4), 200,000G (+6)
The typical dragoon needs STR, DEX, and CON.  Casting and manifesting-focused dragoons also need INT, WIS, or/and CHA.  This belt provides a boost to 6 stats for the price of 5 and requires only one slot.  While you probably will only need boosts to 3 to 5 stats, you may be better off with this belt because of the slots it frees.  Besides, you're able to cast higher level spells, get more daily spell slots, and have more power points from boosted mental stats.

Boots of Agile Leaping (Magic Item Compendium 76): 600G
You can use your DEX modifier instead of your STR modifier on Jump checks.  Also, if you have at least 5 ranks in Balance, you can stand from prone as a swift action.  These boots are for the DEX inclined and slightly reduce multi-ability dependency for your dragoon.

Boots of Landing (Magic Item Compendium 77): 500G
You always land on your feet and take 2d6 less falling damage.  If you're a race besides a raptoran (Races of the Wild 68) or Dragonborn (Races of the Dragon 8), you'll probably need an item like this to reduce falling damage.

If your DM interprets Battle Jump (Unapproachable East 42) to work with a ring of feather fall- as I believe it should- or he says you can't take Battle Jump, get the ring instead.

These boots are worthwhile even with the ring but only if you consistently don't land on your feet.

If you get these boots, try paying 50% more to put their effects on another item, like a robe or cloak, so you free the boot slot.

cure light wounds Item: 750G (Wand), 1800 (Use-Activated)
d8+1 healing per application, anyone?  Wands are cheap enough to keep one or three or six handy at mid to high levels for the whole party to share, and if you're a cleric, you can use them safely!

In a game I DMed, I made an item called the Hand of Right, a use-activated glove of cure light wounds that worked 5 times per day.  (The thumb and each finger held a charge.)  If your DM is more permissive, get an item that lets you use cure light wounds every round as a standard action.

Everfull Mug (Magic Item Compendium 160): 200G
If you're Medium, you have enough water to last you the rest of your natural life.  This is cheaper than a ring of sustenance if you don't care about the ring's  sleep reduction.

Everlasting Rations (Magic Item Compendium 160): 350G
If your DM enforces food & drink rules, this is a perpetual personal pan pizza.  Like the Everfull Mug (Magic Item Compendium 160), these rations are personal only.

expeditious retreat or swift expeditious retreat Item (Spell Compendium 85): 750G (Wand), 1800G (Use-Activated), or 8000G (Continuous)
The enhancement bonus to speed won't stack with levels of monk or scout (Complete Adventurer 11), but this is one of the best first level wizard spells for a dragoon.  It's +30' to your land speed and +12 to Jump checks for 1 minute per level.  A continuous version is cheap enough to be gotten by level 6 to 8.  If this item is allowed, it's a gimme!

Field Provisions Box (Magic Item Compendium 160): 2000G
This will feed your party and you'll probably have supplies to spare.  Sell the extras and make a small profit each day.  Only buy this if your party pays for their portion.

girallon's blessing Item (Spell Compendium 106): 11,250G (Wand), 27,000G (Use-Activated), or 45,000G (Continuous)
The point of this spell is to wield your polearm in more hands.  By extrapolation, wielding a 1-handed spear with 1 hand gives your STR bonus to damage, wielding it with 2 hands gives you 1.5x your STR bonus to damage, wielding it in 3 hands gives 2x, and wielding it in 4 hands gives you 2.5x.  If you're mounted and hold your lance with 4 arms, that's 3x your STR bonus to damage and at least double your total damage from hitting with a lance while mounted.

I find it amusing that someone can polymorph you into a girallon with 22 base STR then have someone cast girallon's blessing on you for a total of 6 arms.  That's +21 damage from 6-handing your weapon with a base 22 STR!

Gloves of the Balanced Hand (Magic Item Compendium 105): 8000G
You fight as though you had Two-Weapon Fighting.  If you have the TWF feat, you instead fight as though you had Improved Two-Weapon Fighting.

This may qualify you for Bloodclaw Master (Tome of Battle 97) by saving you a feat, but ask your DM.  Dragoons benefit little otherwise.

greater mirror image Item (Player's Handbook II 120): 21,000G (Wand), 50,400G (Use-Activated), or 112,000G (Continuous)
The greater version is usable as an immediate action and creates 1 extra image every round the spell is active, to a maximum of 8 images.  The spell can also end if no images remain.  This is probably too expensive to get as a continuous effect and it often isn't cost-efficient considering normal mirror image is so much cheaper, but this is a toy for rich kids who need every image.

haste Item: 11,250G (Wand), 54,000G (Use-Activated), or 135,000G (Continuous)
Swift haste (Spell Compendium 110) is cheaper on an item but is generally less available.  Regardless, this rocketh if you have the round to spend buffing and the money to blow.  Never underestimate the power of an additional attack!

Healing Belt (Magic Item Compendium 73): 750G
Each belt has 3 daily charges.  As a standard action, you can use 1 charge to heal 2d8 damage, 2 charges to heal 3d8, or 3 charges to heal 4d8.  This healing is positive energy, meaning it hurts undead as well.

This belt provides lots of healing in small daily increments.  I advise getting one- even ten- of these to keep yourself healthy.  Even if you have a Belt of Battle (Magic Item Compendium 73), you can swap it out for healing between fights.  At low levels, this can save your life!

Heward's Handy Haversack: 2000G, 5lb
This is probably your first magical container since it's the cheapest in the DMG.  I adore this because it's cheap at 2K, weighs only 5 pounds, and holds 120 pounds of gear, probably more than you need.  The sack won't automatically puncture if something sharp is put in it, and you can safely place other magical containers in it.  Finally, retrieving what you want from it is a move action that doesn't provoke attacks of opportunity.  (Normally grabbing something from your pack provokes, but is still a move action.)

A bag of holding is a larger scale version of the haversack, but only buy it if you plan to haul castles.

hustle Item: 6000G (Dorge), 14,400G (Use-Activated), 64,000G (Continuous)
With a continuous version, you no longer need your Travel Devotion (Complete Champion 62) and you have less demand on your swift actions.  Cool!

If I had to choose between a use-activated item of hustle and swift haste (Spell Compendium 110), I'd be hard-pressed.  The choice depends greatly on which items and effects I could currently do, but I'd generally take swift haste.

Lightstone [Dull Grey Ioun Stone (3.0 Dungeon Master's Guide 220) of continual flame]: 75G (PC caster) OR 135G (NPC caster)
It's a hands-free concealable light source available from low levels.  The 3.5 DMG mentions dull grey ioun stones, but lists no price.  Continual flame has 50G of ruby dust as a material component, and a typical caster will charge 60G for the service.  This is money well-spent!

Liquid sunlight (Complete Scoundrel 110) is a cheaper hands-free light at 20 gold that requires a safe storage place on your body, such as shoulder pads.

Liquid Sunlight AKA Liquid Light AKA Sunstone (Complete Scoundrel 110): 20G
It's meant to be shot at drow and vampires and other creatures afraid of the light, but it's a cheap means of lighting your way without involving your hands.  This nonmagical item "[sheds] light like a torch", illuminating a 20' radius fully and providing shadowy illumination for 20' beyond that.  When the liquid's container strikes a firm surface, the glowy juice spills out, making a bright mess.  Ask your DM if this item is worth your time, since accidentally jostling it around when it's attached to your armor or in your pack may break it.

A lightstone (see above) is less vulnerable to destruction and may persuade people that you are a wizard who will do nasty things to them if they bother you, but its lighting is magical.  Carry a lightstone and liquid light to be even more crazy prepared.

Mask of true seeing (Unapproachable East 57): 75,000G
It's expensive and not for everyone, but someone in the party, probably a caster, should have continual true seeing and this is the most efficient way to do it, and even more fortunately, masks occupy the rarely-used face slot!

The effect is powerful, but as a purchase I'd normally hesitate because of its price.

mirror image Item: 4500G (Wand) or 10,800G (Use-Activated)
Mirror image is one of those spells many wizards would be screwed without.  For a dragoon, it means that, at worst, you have a 1 in 2 chance of being hit.  With a use-activated item, you could keep using it until you rolled a 4 for 5 images so foes would have a 1 in 6 chance of hitting you.  These images last 1 minute per level or 'til they're hit with a targeted attack.

There are counters, of course.  Blindsense, blindsight, and true seeing negate this and a damaging area effect like fireball may remove the images if your DM is having a bad day, but mirror image is one of the best defensive spells for anyone at low to mid level!

nerveskitter Item (Spell Compendium 146): 750G (Wand), 1800G (Use-Activated), or 8000G (Continuous)
It's +5 initiative as an immediate action for one combat.  Booyah.

Pearl of Power: 1000G (L1), 4000G (L2), 9000G (L3)
Pearls are cheap ways for prepared casters to recast low level spells like expeditious retreat or cure light wounds.  You need a standard action to use each pearl to recall the spell, but after that the spell is ready to use as if it hadn't been cast.  Also, each prepared caster in your party can use the same pearl once per day!

Change my rating to navy if you frequently use level 1 spells and pearls.

psionic lion's charge Item: 6000G (Dorge), 14,400G (Use-Activated), 64,000G (Continuous)
If you can't get the lion totem barbarian alternative class feature (Complete Champion 45), this is a viable though expensive way to obtain continuous pounce.

Relinquary Holy Symbol (Magic Item Compendium 120): 1000G
This neck slot item acts as a holy symbol and gives an extra turning attempt per day for each of these:

-5 ranks of Knowledge (Religion)
-Improved Turning
-At least 1 divine feat such as from Complete Divine

Most likely, you'll get only 1 extra turning attempt from the Knowledge ranks.  Remember that Divine Metamagic (Complete Divine 80) gives you an extra turning attempt and DMM was errataed to only work with divine spells.

shield Item: 750G (Wand), 1800G (Use-Activated), or 4000G (Continuous)
Shield gives you +4 shield AC even against incorporeal creatures as well as making you immune to magic missile.  Since you probablly won't use a shield, this is an excellent way to cheaply boost your AC, DM permitting.  If your DM insists on using a ring of force shield instead, ponder whether the ring is worthwhile.  (In my opinion, it isn't.)

synesthete Item: 750G (Dorge), 1800G (Use-Activated), 3000G (Continuous)
If you wear nothing on your face, you can become immune to gaze attacks, see normally except for darkvision, and get +4 circumstance Search and Spot checks.  Alternatively, you can get +4 circumstance Listen.  It's cheap and kinda freaky, but I'd take it!

swift haste Item (Spell Compendium 110): 6000G (Wand), 14,400G (Use-Activated), or 64,000G (Continuous)
It's a cheaper version of an always-on haste and a swift action to activate.  Swift haste only lasts d4 rounds normally, making a continuous item so very worthwhile!

Tiger Claw Bracers (Tome of Battle 150): 3000G (Novice), 15,000G (Scholar), or 45,000G (Master)
These bracers allow you to use a Tiger Claw maneuver of up to level 3 (novice), level 6 (scholar), or level 9 (master) for which you meet all prerequisites, including initiator level.  (Items for the other 8 disciplines exist, such as a Crown of White Ravens.)  Assumedly, you can refresh this maneuver if you are a martial adept, like a warblade.

After equipping these bracers, you need 24 hours before you can use the maneuver granted by this item.  From my understanding of the wording, you choose which maneuver to gain after you attune to the bracers.

I rate this item black because of its variability.  Even if the bracers grant a specific single maneuver, like Raging Mongoose, Tiger Claw's maneuvers' usefulness varies.

wraithstrike Item (Complete Adventurer 158, Spell Compendium 243): 6000G (Wand), 10,800G (Use-Activated), 48,000G (Continuous)
For one round, all attacks become touch attacks.  A wand is the only guaranteed way to get a swift action casting time since normally use-activated and continuous items require at least a standard action to activate.  If you can get a swift use-activated or, better yet, a continuous version of this, prepare to make your party's ray mages cry and have your DM break something on you.

Winged Mask (Magic of Faerun 168): 13,000G
Fly at will with 60' speed and good maneuverability, though you emit a continual white light while doing so.  This mask is mostly for backup purposes or flight in polymorph forms since Battle Jump (Unapproachable East 42) won't work with fly or levitate.

Personal Thoughts And Experiences
by Endarire

My Thought Process

For those curious about how I assembled the various pieces for writing this guide, here y' go! This list is not necessarily in the order it happened in my head but is a rough organization of the dragoon's aspects I wanted to include.

-Dragoons are acrobatic fighters that typically use polearms.
-A rogue level would help fill this archetype with Jump and Tumble.
-Conveniently, rogues are proficient with all simple weapons and longspears are simple polearms.
-Rogues have a variant to trade Sneak Attack for a fighter feat.
-Battle Jump is a fighter feat.

-Battle Jump allows me to charge by attacking someone from above but doesn't function with magical flight or levitation.
-Lion Totem barbarian allows me to make a full attack on a charge.
-Vertical Jump checks get ridiculously high for Large and larger creatures.
-Boosting my land speed also increases my Jump checks.
-Expeditious retreat is a level 1 wizard spell and I can get longstrider as a level 1 domain spell.
-The feat Leap of the Heavens treats all standing jumps as running jumps.
-Up the Walls is a psionic feat that allows me to run up and along walls and fall on foes, but it requires 13 WIS.
-Psychic warrior1 gives a psionic or fighter feat, but I need 14 WIS to get a power point.

-Jump checks alone don't negate most falling damage.
-Tumble checks help, but the DCs ramp up quickly.
-Raptorans and Dragonborn negate falling damage, eventually fly, and get +10 racial Jump.
-A Dragonborn water half-orc gets a STR boost and swim speed but a Dragonborn fire elf gets +2 INT and a negligible -2 CHA. A Dragonborn nezumi gets +4 CON, -2 CHA, and a spiffy 40' base move speed as a medium creature for no LA.

-Each round I get a standard, move, and swift action.
-Charging is a full round (standard & move) action.
-Most the time I'm not using my swift action.
-The Travel Devotion allows me to move as a swift action a certain number of times per day.
-Taking 1 cleric level can get me the Travel Devotion and another domain, plus a bunch of other stuff.

-Battle Jump when properly set up allows me to down most foes in one hit.
-Valorous weapons, the feat Headlong Rush, and a Halberd of Vaulting increase my charge damage and thus my Battle Jump damage multiplier.
-If I had more attacks each round, I could down more foes.
-Combat Reflexes, Cleave, Great Cleave, haste, and Whirling Frenzy grant more attacks.

-I need some means of boosting my Will and Reflex saves.
-Moment of Perfect Mind is a level 1 warblade maneuver and Action Before Thought is a level 2 Warblade maneuver.
-I can get those maneuvers with 1 warblade level if I take Warblade at 5 or later.
-Evasion is handy to have for negating area damaging effects.
-I already have a rogue level.
-Rogue2 provides spiffy synergy.

-I want my allies to contribute as well.
-They can only contribute if they get a turn.
-White Raven Tactics is a level 3 warblade maneuver that gives an ally within 10' another turn.

My D&D Dragoon Experience

In my experience playing the Red Hand of Doom module with my Dragonborn half-minotaur water half-orc cohort, only bosses have a reasonable chance to avoid being one-shot, and when I attack more than once per round such as via haste and Cleave, rooms clear quickly.

This cohort started 2 levels behind the party, 3 with her level adjustment, but can hit about as accurately as a casually optimized fighter, and definitely much harder. Fortunately, Red Hand of Doom has many open outdoor areas and outposts, allowing Ebony to climb or run up the sides of buildings and Battle Jump onto her victims below. My DM said that my main character and her cohort could solo or duo this module, and while it could happen, I'd need to start at level 6 or higher for Leadership.

My main character is a Conjurer5/Incantatrix4/Hathran1 who I call the special effects crew. She fortifies the party with 24 to 48 hour buffs via Metamagic Effect and her massive Spellcraft bonus. During fights, she sprinkles on the crowd control spells judiciously. A single Evard's black tentacles can shut down most the fight, while glitterdust nullifies one- or two-target threats. Ebony then acrobatic leaps, wall runs, and impalings to clear rooms in a turn or three that would make fellow dragoons proud.

Offline Toptomcat

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Re: Hatchet Job Port Thread
« Reply #75 on: April 11, 2013, 01:39:06 AM »
Breaking and Entering: a Thief's Guide
by snakeman830

First off, I want to give credit to the original thread on the WotC forums here.  Unfortunately, the shown name of the thread starter has been changed, so I cannot give proper credit.  This thread was sorely in need of an update.

So, without further adu...

Breaking and Entering: A Theif's Guide

[pretty picture]

Image credits go to D. Rook Lavelle

If you are intrested in stabbing things in the back or rewriting reality, this handbook is not for you.  This handbook is for getting an item that you want and getting out again, preferably without detection.  It is largely a non-combat role, although you ought to be prepared for it if a raid goes bad.

Table of Contents:

Post 1: Introduction & Abilities
Post 2: Races & Templates
Post 3: Classes & Prestige Classes
Post 4: Skills & Feats
Post 5: Equipment & Spells
Post 5: Tactics & Tricks

Abilities

Every character build is concerned about ability scores.  Theifs in particular are effectively Dual-Atttribute-Dependant.

Strength: You want to keep it high enough you can carry your equipment and whatever you're stealing without going into medium loads, but that's about it.

Dexterity: A thief's bread and butter.  So many of the necessary skills are Dexterity-based, you need to have this high.  Add in the fact that two of them are opposed checks and you have reason to boost this through the roof.

Constitution: The importance of this stat is lessened when your nature is to avoid combat, but it still helps with infiltration in ways such as holding your breath, dealing with traps you failed to disarm, and some other situations that might come up.  It's handy, but you don't need it to be too high.

Intelligence: The other ability thiefs need to keep rather high, this governs skill points and Search/Disable Device.  It also covers Appraise if you're into that.  Factotum thiefs reverse the importance of Dexterity and Intelligence, especially when they hit level 3.

Wisdom: Necessary for the rare Will save you need to make, but far more important for Spot/Listen checks.  You don't want to be surprised on the job.

Charisma: Unless you prefer disguise and bluffing (such as a Changeling might), this is a dump.

As with most builds, the right race can be vital to your success.  Here I will rate many races and templates with the classic Navy-> Perfect, Blue-> Great, Black-> Neutral, Red-> Bad, Maroon-> Never consider this.

Races

Player's Handbook Races

Humans: As almost always, a great choice for race.  Since theiving is almost entirely skill-based, the extra skill points are a huge boon.  The extra bonus feat is nice too as it can help you meet prerequisites for some nice Prestige Classes.

Dwarf: Dwarfs have only one real advantage in this archtype: Stonecunning.  Even then, chances are most traps you're worried about aren't built into or out of stone.  The save bonuses are nice, but if you're doing your job right, you aren't too worried about those.  Darkvision is also a boon, but it's easy to get.  The special bonuses for movement don't matter as you will never be wearing medium or heavy armor anyway.

Elf: normally a poor race choice, Elves have several things going for them as thieves.  First off is the Dexterity bonus.  This is kind of a big deal as Dexterity is the most important stat for thieves (followed by Intelligence).  The free weapon prficiencies aren't anything to be ashamed of since most of the classes good for this archtype aren't proficient with the Longbow, but they're generally not that useful.  The real kicker here is the often overlooked keen senses.  You want those Spot/Listen/Search bonuses and the ability to auto-search secret doors can prove invaluable on the job.

Gnome: The spell-like abilities could come in handy for causing a distraction (Ghost Sound), lighting something when nobody is around (Dancing Lights), or making sure nobody sees your muddy bootprints (Prestidigitation).  Other than that, there's Small size and a listen bonus, but there are much better options available.

Half-Elf: Nothing here that the Elf doesn't do better.  Skip it.

Halfling: Bonus to Dexterity, small size, and bonuses to a bunch of important skills in addition to a bonus on all saving throws if something goes awry.  The only downside is the low speed and no Darkvision.  They also have racial substitution levels.

Half-Orc: A penalty to an important stat and a bonus to a dump stat.  Darkvision just ain't enough to save these guys.  Skip them.

Monster Manual Races

This section will be a little different as I will only list the PHB subraces and others good for the deal.  Races that get attention in other books will be covered there instead.



Races books

Destiny

Illumians: The power sigils are great and it really does add a lot to a thief, but one thing gets in the way: the power sigils.  Yes, I just listed the same ability as their greatest boon and their greatest weakness.  Here's why: many people forget the power sigils GLOW and emit light.  If you're breaking an entering, having the hands-free light source is useful, but it also makes you much easier to detect.  You can supress them, but then you lose their benefits.  They do have a unique method of intereacting with Symbols and Glyph traps, though.  So long as you make good decisions with suppression and keeping them up, you should be fine.

Aasimar: On the strong side of a Black rating, this comes from the Darkvision, the Wisdom boost (remember, it's useful), and the bonuses on Listen and Spot, two of your more important skills.  Outsider type is interesting too, but doesn't add much in this case.

Doppleganger: Master infiltrators, these guys have a lot of tools at their disposal for a different method of getting in and getting out without being detected.  The high racial HD and LA is painful though as it severely limits your skill points.

Half Ogre: No, no, no, no, NO!!!.  Large size plus penalties to your two most important abilities.  You really are better off playing as a Half-Orc thief, and that's saying something.

Mongrelfolk: Not your best choice as they have a penalty to Intelligence.  However, they do make up for it with numerous racial skill bonuses and the fact they can easily emulate other races for magic items.  The Sound Imitation ability could be handy in some situations as well.  This is a solid choice, but there are better options.

Sea Kin:If you're doing an aquatic game, these guys may work out decently.  As is, it's not a good choice overall.

Sharakim: a penalty to Dex, but a bonus to Int.  If it wasn't for the LA, these would be black, since they do have some bonuses for night time.

Skulk: Can you say yes please?  A good bonus to Dex plus massive Hide and Move Silently bonuses (and the ability to move at full speed while taking no penalties on Hide), a constant Nondetection, and more difficult to be tracked means Skulks are very, very good thiefs.  The only reason this isn't Navy is the fact it costs you 3 levels.

Tiefling: Bonus to Dex and Int, small racial bonus to Hide checks, Darkvision, and a spell-like ability to cover your escape if all goes to Hell.  Navy if you're playing with LA buyoff.

Underfolk: Extra skill points, Darkvision, and racial bonuses on Hide and Listen make this a solid choice.  Still on the weaker end of Blue, though, especially as True Seeing negates the Hide bonus (odd for racial).

Dragon

Dragonborn: Yeah, penalty to your most important stat and  bonus to an unimportant one.  The Wings and Senses aspects are useful, but there are much, much better options out there.

Kobolds: These guys have a lot going for them.  Small size + Slight Build have them count as Tiny for squeezing and for Hide checks.  They have a racial Dex bonus, and bonuses when dealing with traps in addition to Darkvision and a 30ft speed.  The rest is just gravy, although their bonuses with Profession (Miner) means you could concievably manage to do a Bank Job-style break in.  They also have racial substitution levels.

SpellscaleOnly low-light vision to contribute to a life of thieving and a bonus to a dump stat.  Just no.

Eberron

Warforged: although they have no skill bonuses, no Dex or Int bonus, nor any special movement modes or senses, Warforged can make great thiefs.  They have built-in armor with no armor check penalty nor maximum Dexterity bonus, a slew of immunities in case they screw up, and they can be incredibly paitient because they have no need to break to eat, sleep, or breathe.  They also have access to Warforged components, some of which are quite good.  Of note is the Warforged Scout which has all of this, a Dex bonus, and small size.  This is one of the few situations where being a Warforged Scout instead of a normal Warforged is a good idea.

Changeling: These guys aren't navy for the normal route of stealth and stealing.  They're Navy because they can get in, get what they want, and get back out again without being detected while being seen by almost everyone.  It's a sweet trick that only the Doppleganger can do better, but Changelings get away with 0 LA.  Also, they have some nice substitution levels (if you use them, Rogue WILL be your first class level).

Shifter: The Dex bonus is nice, but the Intelligence takes a hit.  Overall, this is probably a good trade.  Some of the Shifter Traits (Cliffwalk, Swiftwing, Longstride) are amazing ways to get some extra movement when you need it.  Shifters are on of two races capable of true flight at level 1, so this can be an extremely good move.  It's worthwhile boosting your Con score for the longer shifting.

Kalashtar: Nothing much to say here.  These guys get no penalties, nor any bonuses.  The power points do, however, open up some psionic feats that might be worth your while.  Mindlink can be useful to keep in contact with others during a multi-member raid.

Faerun

Artic Dwarves: Small size, but a Dex penalty and +2 LA.  Other than that, same benefits and drawbacks as normal Dwarves.  Immune to Cold, though.

Urdinnir Dwarf: Wow.  Although the normal benefits make these guys no better than dwarves, the ability to pass right through stone and earth is amazing.  That combined with the ability to shape metal and stone at will makes these guys incredible at getting into places where they shouldn't be.  Falls flat when you're dealing with wood, but most of the time, they do exactly what you want.  One of the few races worth the high LA for this task.

Wild Dwarf: Wild Dwarfs are small-sized and have automatic proficiency with a couple of useful weapons (handaxe especially).  They lose Stonecunning, though, so it's a tradeoff.  Poison Use might be handy, especially if you use that Blowgun proficiency to send out knockout poison.

Avariel: +4 Dex, +2 Int, +2 Wis, a fly speed, +4 bonus on Spot and Jump, plus the other elven skill bonuses and senses.  Yeah, I would say this is probably worth the +3 LA, especially if you're playing with buyoff.

Any Orc variety: penalties to important attributes, and bonuses that don't matter. Skip them all.

Strongheart Halflings: Yes, yes, a thousand times yes.  These guys take everything that's great about halflings and give you a free bonus feat to play with.

Fey'ri: Bonus to both Dex and Int, a fly speed, Darkvision, low-light vision, Alter Self at will (humanoid forms, not Outsider), and a list of abilities you get to choose from.  Be careful though as some of the ablities boost the LA.  As if this wasn't enough, you get a +2 bonus on numerous important skills.  LA+2(or 3) keeps them from being navy.

Tanarrukk: Although a variety of Orc, this one does better in that it has no Int penalty, a Dex bonus, and it's an Outsider.  The LA hurts, but at least the racial HD give you rogue skill points.  Not a bad race for this job, but not great either.

Aarakocra: +4 Dex, an insane fly speed (90 ft!) and a +2 bonus on Listen & Spot.  Why is this red?  They're clausterphobic.  The -4 penalty on attack rolls and skill checks whenever they're in an enclosed space is incredibly painful for a thief who spends the most crucial momens in such situations.

Dekanter goblins: +2 Dex, +2 Int, +2 Wis and Darkvision is NOT worth 6 class levels.  Don't look again.

Kir-lanan: +2 Dex is good.  Fly speed of 90 feet is good.  +4 racial bonus on Hide is good.  Spell-like abilities and Rebuke Undead are interesteing, but I'm not sure I'm willing to pay 8 class levels for it.  It's better than a lot of ECL8 options, though.

Wemic: As centaur, but worse.  Lower Dex bonus, lower speed, more HD and LA.

Stone

Goliath: These guys have Darkvision going for them as theifs and that's about it.  They also have small bonuses with Climb and Jump.  The Dex penalty makes me shy away from them.

Chaos Gnome: A little better than the Rock Gnome due to a Dex bonus and a luck re-roll, but this is canceled out by a +1 LA.  Still not my first choice.

Dream Dwarf: A penalty to Dexterity, but the unique ability to see ehtereal creatures as easily as material ones.  They also have longer-range Darkvision than normal dwarfs, but both of these benefits are situational and minor compared to the Dex penalty.

Feral Gargun: Appear better than the Goliath due to having a Dex bonus, but they are really, in all ways, inferior for thieving.

Stonechild: All right, even a thief would be impressed with those racial ability modifiers.  This would be a pretty good choice if it wasn't for that +4 LA as you get Rogue skill points for the racial HD.  Overall, not worth it.

Whisper Gnome: THE thief race.  +2 Dex, small size, 30ft speed, Darkvision & low-light vision, +4 racial bonus on Hide and Move Silently (not counting the size bonus), +2 bonus on Listen and Spot, and some AMAZING spell-like abilities for the theif.  Even Kender are hard-pressed to match these guys for stealing ability.

Wild

Raptoran: low-light vision is always useful, but the ability to jump out of a window for a quick escape is great.  Later on, you get true flight.  Also has a racial bonus on Spot and Climb checks and always knows which direction is North; a handy ability to keep you from getting turned around.

Catfolk: High speed and a good Dex bonus plus a racial bonus on Listen and Move Silently.  Low-light vision too.  This is an excellent race to use and gives a new meaning to the term "cat-burglar".  I've seen this one in action and it's impressive.

Centaur: No!  Large size = Bad!  This is better than a lot of the Large races, though, because of the high speed and Dex bonus.  This is partially cancelled out by an Int penalty, but it isn't nearly as much as most Large races.

Gnoll: They only have Darkvision going for them and an Int penalty, 2 racial HD, and +1LA against.

Killoren: These are decent for thieves, especially if you use the Aspect of the Hunter.  A +2 racial bonus on 4 of the most important skills is nothing to sneer at.

Other

Still to do: MM

Templates

All templates here are only going to be those that would probably be chosen by a thief.  Source will be listed.

Dark (Tome of Magic): Major, major awesome for a thief.  +8 to Hide, +6 Move Silently, a speed boost for all movement forms, Superior low-light vision, Darkvision, and Hide in Plain Sight as an Extraordinary ability.  Absolutely amazing for +1 LA, and you even get some Cold resistance for the heck of it.

Dragonborn (Races of the Dragon): See Races above.

Insectile (Savage Species): Pretty impressive.  It gives a decent bonus to Dex and gives you a good spot bonus, but the extra arms and climb speed are the real goodies here.  Tremorsense is great for detecting patrols before they detect you and Darkvision, of course, goes without saying.  Worth the +2 LA

Lycantrope (Monster Manual): This depends on your animal as to whether it's a good idea or not.  You want low HD and high racial skill/Dex bonuses.  Wererat works pretty well for this, but a lot of the felines are good too.  Phinxkins from Dragon Magic are decent as they only have 1 HD and have a couple of nice features.

Shade (Races of Faerun): As a thief, darkness is your friend.  As a Dark thief, darkness is your best friend.  As a Shade thief, darkness might as well be the rest of the party.  The template provides insane benefits, but only while you're in shadows or darkness and for a hefty +4 LA.

Shadow (Lords of Madness, Manual of the Planes): Movement boost (1.5 times prior speed for all movement forms), more abilities as you level up, and total concealment while not in full daylight.  Awesome.  Also gives you a +6 bonus to Move Silently and the night-vision benefits that Dark gives.  Strangely, no Hide bonus, but you can make do.  Worth the +2 LA.

Tauric (MM2, Savage Species): This one is really a grab bag.  It depends what you grab for the lower half as to how good it is.  I suggest forms with high Dex, other movement modes and/or high speed, and low HD.  Leapord is a good choice as it keeps you medium, has good racial skill bonuses, and has a climb speed in addition to a decent land speed.  Phynxkin (mentioned above) have fewer HD and the same speeds, but worse skill and ability bonuses.

Winged (Savage Species): possibly weaker than most of the other templates, this gives you flight with perfect manuverability (let's face it, you WILL have the 17 Dex for that).  it also gives a good Dex boost and some extra Wisdom.

Incorporeal templates (varies): Being Incorporeal has many benefits and drawbacks for a thief.  The benefits are that you cannot be detected via Touchsight, cannot be heard if you don't want to be, and can literally walk though solid objects.  The downside is that you need to have the Ghostly Grasp feat if you expect to steal anything and you can't enter antimagic fields.  The Phantom template from MMV is unique in that you are only incorporeal when you want to be.  Very, very handy if you can get it past your DM.

Undead templates (varies): Being Undead has noteable benefits.  For example, you can wait underwater indefinitely for the perfect opportunity to sneak in or away.  You have no worry of poison, and undead/deathless/constructs with the Life Sense feat don't pick you up.  Note that several templates for Undead and Incorporeal are the same.

Classes

There are a few classes that are well-suited to thieving.  Two out of the top 3 are Core.  Unlike the other places in this guide, I will not be rating the classes with colors.

Bard: This is probably class #3 for thieving.  6+Int skill points is pretty good, and all of the importants skills are on the Bard list.  They also have spells to boost their ability.  The weakness, however, is the dependance on Charisma, usually a dump stat for thieves.  This isn't necessarily a bad thing, as you could easily swap from using Hide/Move Silently as your main method of bypassing defenses to Disguise and Bluff.  They also lack Trapfinding, which can be problematic depending on the DM.

Factotum: My #2 pick for thieving, Factotums have every skill on their class list and 6+Int modifier skill points.  They also have a ton of class features based on Int, including the ability to add it to Str and Dex-based checks and skill checks.  Factotum thiefs can swap importance of Intelligence and Dexterity and are, in fact, encouraged to do so.

Rogue: This is the #1 pick for thieving.  It has been since it's first appearance in AD&D as "Thief".  Not only are all of the relevant skills on their list, they also get 8+Int skill points per level (and Changeling Rogue substitution levels get the best in the game of 10+Int!)  The only reason why this is rated higher than Factotum is the special abilities.  Skill Mastery is amazing on thiefs, especially once you're taking 12 thanks to Savvy Rogue.

Totemist: Probably the only Incarnum class that will show up here, Totemist has some very useful soulmelds.  Many give bonuses on important skills and the Blink Shirt allows you to teleport short distances, an incredibly useful ability.  However, it lacks a few important class skills and trapfinding.  It also forces you to boost Con for Meldshaping and Essentia.

Warlock: An interesting choice that's probably best used for a dip, Warlock brings some interesting invocations to the table.  At level 1, you have Eldritch Blast for whenever you need to attack and more importantly 24-hour Spider Climb as an option.  level 2 gives you a second invocation and at-will Detect Magic.  Detect Magic doesn't let you disable magic traps, but you will know if they're there, so it can prove invaluable.  It also alerts you to Alarm spells and magically invisible obstacles.  There are great invocations at most grades for the stealthy character, but the first 2 levels really are great.

Prestige Classes

Hellbreaker (Fiendish Codex II): The only way I know of (other than AMF) to defeat Mindsight.  The first level negates Telepathy within 20 feet of you, which can be helpful if your DM uses Lords of Madness.  Also has a few other useful abilities.

Offline Toptomcat

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Re: Hatchet Job Port Thread
« Reply #76 on: April 11, 2013, 01:39:57 AM »
    Optimization Resource: Trap-Finding
    by Akalsaris
    Optimization resource: How to get Trap-Finding as an ability

    This is intended to serve as a brief list of the various ways to gain trap-finding as an ability.  Since many games require a trap-finder as a role within the party, it seems worthwhile to compile the various sources for the ability so that players can easily choose a class that best suits their other roles within the game. 

    To my surprise, there is a class with trap-finding for nearly every character archetype, including arcane caster, divine caster, psionic character, full BAB, and of course high skills characters. 

    BASE CLASSES
    Artificer EBCS (Trapfinding name  is different, effect is the same)
    Beguiler PHB II
    Cleric Web enhancement (Kobold domain)
    Factotum Dungeonscape
    Ninja C. Adv
    Psionic Rogue Web enhancement
    Ranger Dungeonscape ACF (Loses Track, gains trapfinding and disable device)
    Rogue
    Scout C. Adv
    Spellthief C. Adv


    BASE CLASSES with a similar ability
    Lurk1st Minds Eye True Thief(See online): Lose Lurk augments, gain trapfinding as long as you are psionically focused, and other rogue-like abilities.
    Barbarian 3rd Dungeonscape Trapkiller (DS, page eight): Lose trapsense, gain trapfinding. Use survival to find traps, attack rolls to disable.
    Incarnate 4th Magic of Incarnum (Gains Trapfinding when binding Theft gloves)

    PRESTIGE CLASSES
    Disciple of Dispater 2, ecl 8, Book of Vile Darkness,  metal only
    Geometer 3, ecl 9, Complete Arcane, Traps based on writing only
    Hoardstealer 1, ecl 6, Draconomicon
    Stoneblessed(Dwarf) 3, ecl 5, Races of Stone, stone traps only
    Stonedeath Assassin 1, ecl 6, Races of Stone
    Nightsong Infiltrator (C. Adventurer)
    Silver Key (Dragonmarked, called "ward sense")
    Temple Raider of Olidammara (C. Divine)


    FEATS
    Shape Soulmeld (Thieves' Gloves) + Open Least Chakra Magic of Incarnum: requires two feats and at least 6th level
    Planar Touchstone (Catalogues of Enlightenment), feat, Planar Handbook, gain the ability of a chosen doman (pick Kobold, see above)


    SPELLS
    Find Traps (Cleric 2 - still need to take Search cross-class).  Does not provide any ability to disarm traps found.


    ITEMS
    Wand/Eternal Wand of Find Traps (Cleric 2).  Does not provide any ability to disarm traps found.
    Keeper's Guide (DMC/DR#325) is a ring which gives you Trapfinding and some minor effect
    [/list]
    RACES

    Offline Agita

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    Re: Hatchet Job Port Thread
    « Reply #77 on: April 11, 2013, 11:23:30 AM »
    As explained here, to post in the Handbooks board, all you need to do is apply to the Handbook Writer group.
    Please send private messages regarding board matters to Forum Staff instead.

    Offline Toptomcat

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    Re: Hatchet Job Port Thread
    « Reply #78 on: April 11, 2013, 03:15:27 PM »
    Ah, OK. I thought it would be something simple like that. I'll do that, and should I ever polish up any of this and post it properly, I'll do it there.

    I'll try to finish up what I'm doing here before I seek to port it to the proper board, but if you so desire and moderators have the power to do so, feel free to move the thread yourself.
    « Last Edit: April 11, 2013, 03:49:12 PM by Toptomcat »

    Offline Toptomcat

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    Re: Hatchet Job Port Thread
    « Reply #79 on: April 11, 2013, 03:16:43 PM »
    dragon PC races

    by Surreal

    Copied over from my thread on 339...

    ********************

    I was browsing through Dragons of Faerun earlier today and noticed that the Mercury/Steel/Mist wyrmlings all have low hd (3 or 4) and LA+2. They also have some nice movement modes (Mercury is insane for speed with a 200' perfect flight), good stats, and a few good special abilities (Steel gets alternate form, Mist gets gaseous form). I think this actually puts them into the realm of playable races, even starting at ecl 5-6.

    Looking around briefly, the White wyrmling and Sapphire wyrmling have near the same hd/LA, but their stats and abilities are not as good. The pseudodragon gets mention for blindsense and telepathy and reasonably good stats, but unfortunately has 2hd and LA+3 (why couldn't it be the other way?).

    Are there any other good dragons out there? And what can be done with them?

    --------------------------
    will update list later with more info...
    DoF - Dragons of Faerun
    Dcn - Draconomicon
    MoF - Monsters of Faerun
    MoI - Magic of Incarnum

    Ambush Drake (online; MM3) 7HD/0LA medium - debatable about the LA

    Brass (MM) 4HD/2LA tiny - breath weapon: sleep

    Brown (MoF) 6HD/2LA medium - tremorsense 500' (it's a bit high for ECL, but yikes that's a powerful tremorsense)

    Copper (MM) 5HD/2LA tiny - immune acid, spider climb, breath weapon: slow

    Crested Felldrake (MM2) 2HD/2LA small - scent, no flight

    Deep (Drow of the Underdark) 6HD/3LA tiny - burrow, detect magic, true seeing, immune to charms

    Faerie (Dcn) 8HD/2LA small - decent SLAs, breath weapon: daze, can be advanced in HD/size without changing LA

    Fang (Dcn) 3HD/3LA tiny - bite: ability drain, increased damage, trip, sound imitation, detect/read magic

    Incarnum (MoI) 4HD/2LA tiny - Meldshaping (Soulborn list)

    Mercury (DoF) 3HD/2LA tiny - high speed (200' perfect flight!), apply the Shadow template for 300'

    Mist (DoF) 3HD/2LA tiny - gaseous form

    Pseudodragon (MM) 2HD/3LA tiny - telepathy, blindsense, spell resistance

    Rattelyr (Shining South) 2HD/2LA tiny - immune to fire, resist elec 20, no flight, burrow 60', no breath weapon, strong fear ability, tremorsense 60'

    Sand (Sandstorm) 3HD/2LA tiny - Immunity to Fire, 20' burrow, Tremorsense 60 ft.

    Sapphire (MM2) 5HD/2LA tiny - breath weapon: sonic & causes panic (not listed as mind or fear effect), all four movement modes, the only psionic dragon with low LA on this list

    Shadow (Dcn) 4HD/3LA tiny - breath weapon: energy drain

    Silver (MM) 7HD/4LA small - alternate form, breath weapon: paralyze

    Spiked Felldrake (Dcn) 6HD/2LA large - very good mount (at Paladin -6), can be advanced in HD/size without changing LA

    Spire (Sharn: City of Towers) 2HD/2LA tiny - evasion, blindsense 60', flight, breath weapon = fog cloud, high dex

    Steel (DoF) 4HD/2LA small - alternate form, 1st level arcane casting (with access to divine plus a couple domains)

    Tome (Dragon Magazine #343) 3HD/5LA - 3rd level arcane casting (knows all sorcerer divination/conjuration spells and knowledge domain)

    White (MM) 3HD/2LA tiny - has all four movement modes

    Other stuff
    Feats from Dragons of Eberron (p.15)
    - Alternate Form: gain alternate form Su ability
    - Half-Dragon Form: use alternate form to become a humanoid with the half-dragon template applied
    - Hidden Strength: higher stats while in alternate form

    Spells from Dragons of Eberron (p.15)
    - Strength of the True Form (Sor 1, transmutation) : gain NA, DR and stats of your original form while in an alternate/polymorph form

    Alternate dragon features from Dragons of Eberron (p.30) - most trade away clerical spells
    - Child of Eberron: learn Druidic, class skills: survival, cast druid spells
    - Flame of the Forge: CL+2 for crafting, class skills: craft & UMD, a few more spells known, retain essense like an artificer
    - Fortune's Fang: spells from cleric and feast, luck and trickery domains, class skills: bluff & disguise
    - Guide of the Weak: spells from cleric and community and protection domain, class skills: diplomacy & intimidate
    - Lightkeeper: divine aura as a cleric, take Extra Turning to gain turning as a cleric 4/day, spells from cleric and glory, law, sun and war
    - Loredrake: effective sorcerer level +2, reduces hit dice to d10s
    - Master of the Hoard: spells from cleric and charm, commerce and travel domains, class skills: appraise, diplomacy, sense motive
    - Passion's Flame: gain rage, spells from cleric and madness and passion, class skills: perform
    - Stalking Wyrm: gain favored enemies, bonus feat Track, spells from Cleric and air, animal and earth domains, class skills: hide, move silently, survival
    - Wyrm of War: proficient with all simple & martial weapon, and all armor and shields, bonus feat every 4 hd, treat sorcerer level as initiator level and trade spell slots for maneuvers/stances from Tiger Claw

    Races of the Dragon - see this quote from p.4
    Quote
    Dragons automatically qualify for any classes, prestige classes, racial substitution levels, feats, powers or spells that require the dragonblood subtype.
    - depending how you read that, this could mean you automatically qualify for anything requiring the dragonblood subtype simply by virtue of being a true dragon, allowing you to ignore other prereqs
    - Singer of Concordance (RotD, p.91) - any true dragon can enter immediately, and it progresses casting fully

    edit: just for fun (assuming no LA buyback) - Steel 6/Crusader or Warblade 1/Abjurant Champion 3/Jade Phoenix Mage 10
    - BAB 18, initiator 14, sorcerer 12 (14 with loredrake), nothing even remotely game breaking but it could be fun
    - AbjCh is strictly unnecessary, but you need full arcane advancement there to qualify for JPM (a touch of mindbender is ever so popular)
    - using the Wyrm of War archetype, initiator level is... 26? I have no idea how that'll stack