Author Topic: Helping by standing around and looking tough / Damage Aura possible?  (Read 2635 times)

Offline Summerstorm

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Hoi Dudes and Dudettes...

So i had an character idea a while back, but had troubles finding fitting rules/systems in the books. So let me ask this: What are the ways to be effective (in fights) by not using actions and not doing anything flashy (Bonus points for just standing there, staring intendly, arms crossed)

I was wondering for something like Dragon Shaman and Marshall Auras - maybe something to tack on damage onto an aura or onto Bardic Music or anything like that. Just something so your people are better and foes have constant damage/debuffs/morale damage etc.

I would like to avoid spells, psionics and spell-likes and rather have it at at-will or always-on.

Binder and Warlock have a few options to do something like it... but waste too much to not use more of their abilities.

So anyone have some interesting ideas for just helping by "being there"?

Offline Hades

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Re: Helping by standing around and looking tough / Damage Aura possible?
« Reply #1 on: March 28, 2014, 06:38:03 AM »
1-hour/level spells can be treated as "always on" at middle-high levels.

Greater anticipate teleportation can ruin any "scry and die" and shadowpouncing tactics.

The famous 1 dip in mindbender + mindsight feat can prevent almost any surprise attack in a 100 ft. radius.

The radius is quite small, but even things like aura of deapair, fear aura, etc., can give "free debuffs".

Wow of peace gives a 20.ft "aura of calm emotions".

At epic levels, there's the feat "positive energy aura", that can be devastating against legions of lesser undead.

Offline kitep

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Re: Helping by standing around and looking tough / Damage Aura possible?
« Reply #2 on: March 28, 2014, 11:54:22 AM »
I had a character who liked to brag/taunt the enemy with how good his team was.  He'd walk around and provoke AOOs so his teammates could move about freely (opponents usually only get 1 AOO/round).  He'd also provide flanking for the rogue.

Not quite "stand there", but maybe it'll help.

Offline kitep

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Re: Helping by standing around and looking tough / Damage Aura possible?
« Reply #3 on: March 28, 2014, 11:56:04 AM »
There's also various "teamwork benefits" that require a leader to have certain abilities.  But once trained, it's a just-be-there situation.

Offline Waazraath

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Re: Helping by standing around and looking tough / Damage Aura possible?
« Reply #4 on: March 29, 2014, 07:10:24 AM »
- draconic aura's: take 'em by feat and make sure you have the dragonblood subtype; you won't need dragon shaman; don't forget double aura
- marshall 1 is great for the minor aura, maybe marshall 2 for one major aura
- dread commando 5 for a +5 initiative bonus
- saint template for minor globe of invunarability & magic circle against evil
- paladin 4 for aura of courage & turn undead for protection devotion feat
- some levels in martial adept classes for leading the charge and tactics of the wolf stances (damage bonusses on charge / when flanking)

If you just want to stand around and do nothing, you might optimize intimidate to shout at people to make them shaken / cowering (imperious command). Or use white raven tactics to give somebody an extra turn.

A build like silverbrow human paladin 4 / marshal 2 / saint template +2 / monk 2 / fighter 1 / dread commando 5 / warblade 2 / crusader 2 should get you quite far
(monk and fighter needed for dread commando prereqs). At least +7 ac for everybody, +5 initiative, up to +/- +15 with the right minor aura and draconic aura, quite some damage bonusses and immunities.

Offline StreamOfTheSky

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Re: Helping by standing around and looking tough / Damage Aura possible?
« Reply #5 on: March 29, 2014, 11:17:56 AM »
Try looking at Binder in Tome of Magic.  All his stuff is Su and either always on or at will spammable (sometimes with a 5 round recharge time between uses).  He has a few vestiges that give debuffing or damaging auras, Like Focalor or Geyron.

If "doing nothing" can include some sort of performance (mime?), there are Bard variants that get debuffing performances instead of inspire courage and such.

If you're cool with merely appearing to do nothing but actually being quite active, you could do a Changeling Mindspy Cabinet Trickster build.  The annoying thing is due to each PrC's pre-reqs for min. level entry and the need to max out both (they're short PrC's, though) to really get the useful stuff... you won't actually finish the combo until very high level.
Here's an incomplete build I had for such a character, just a thought experiment.  I'm sure the feats could be better ordered (like sacred vow and vow of nonviolence coming closer together O_O):
(click to show/hide)
« Last Edit: March 29, 2014, 11:28:01 AM by StreamOfTheSky »

Offline Summerstorm

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Re: Helping by standing around and looking tough / Damage Aura possible?
« Reply #6 on: March 30, 2014, 05:46:53 AM »
Hm hm... yeah, that's pretty much what i found. Was going through the books again. It really seems there is no way to have a selective damage Aura without casting spells.

I am furthermore handicapped by our character creation rules: Only 2 Sources (Books) per Character to avoid stupid synergies and heavy optimization. With this character is would be NEEDED though, to have many classes/feat combinations (Always wary of multiclassing penalties though).

So i went a different way (Aasimar Bard 5/Stormsinger 5) - Even though i am underwhelmed by Bard. Always wanted to play one, but the standard Bardic Music is mostly "meh" and i can't cherry pick alternate ones from all sources - Now i just need to somehow get immune to Storms (Getting somehow Storm Walk of the PrC Stormlord on it would be nice) I mean seriously +1 CL in Storms etc. is cool... but if you weren't busy screaming and flying around and getting smashed by debris it would be nicer. 

Also: I t would be cool to be able to drop Bardic Spells for better/more music options. Maybe i can get my DM to let me homebrew a new class...

Thanks anyway though.