Post/Author/DateTime	Post
0gre 01-11-05, 09:33 PM	My gaming group is wanting to mess around with a couple of hack and slash min/max adventures. We're taking a break from our normally custom world and house rules for a core D&D experiment. The rules (I pasted from the group website) are as follows. Basic Character Concepts: You’re looking to create as powerful a character you can for the most part, as this is essentially a combat heavy campaign based around strategic combat that sticks with the core rules as closely as possible. Mostly anything goes so long as it is from the allowed books. The only exception is truly gamebreaking abuses of the rules. This includes stuff like the hulking hurler million damage attack, infinite wish tricks, and similar stuff. If something is outright insane, it won’t be allowed. Everything else, even if mechanically extremely powerful, such as the spikes spell and the frenzied berserker class, will be allowed. So break out the power min/max builds so long as they’re within the guidelines below. Ability Scores: All characters are built using a 28 point buy. Hit Points: You do not roll for hit points. Your hit points are maximum for level 1, and then fixed depending on hit dice for each level. D12- 7 hit points per level D10- 6 hit points per level D8- 5 hit points per level D6- 4 hit points per level D4- 3 hit points per level A 10th level fighter would have 10 + (9* 6) =64 hp. Level: All characters are starting level 10 with the starting experience of a level 10 character. If you have level adjustment and racial hit dice, then your starting level is reduced as according to the rules. Also experienced used to create magical items decreases your XP and level accordingly. Race: Only core races may be chosen or monster races out of the MM1, with level adjustment and all in place. Templates are not allowed. Alignment: All characters must be good in alignment. Religion: Deities are irrelevant for purposes of this campaign. Everyone will behave more or less like a godless cleric mechanically, though if you’d like a specific deity you’re free to choose one, though be aware that you don’t actually get anything out of it mechanically. Also, please don’t pick Forgotten Realms deities. Books Allowed: You may use any of the following books. Note that all official errata is in place, so make sure you also download the appropriate errata from the wizards site. 3.5 Core Rules (PHB, DMG, MM) Complete Warrior Complete Divine Complete Arcane Complete Adventurer Also make sure to check the banned list below as well. Skills: Social skills (Intimidate, Bluff, Diplomacy) generally are going to be disregarded, as it primarily a game of combat anyway, so don’t bother taking them unless you want them for combat uses, like feinting. Starting Equipment: All characters receive 49,000 gp to buy items. All items must be from the allowed books. If you have item creation feats you may create any of those items if you meet the prereqs. This will drop your starting exp and put you at 9th or lower level, though it will let you get away with paying half for items that you meet the prereqs to create. All items selected must be official. No custom items of any kind. Also, no relics may be chosen from complete divine. Banned Elements: · ‘Leadership’ Feat (core rules) · ‘Hulking Hurler’ PrC (Complete warrior) · ‘Thought Bottle’ Wondrous item- (Complete Arcane) · ‘Quill Blast’ Spell (Complete Divine) Rules Changes: -You may have only a single caster level increasing magic item active at a time. -Falling object damage capped at 10d6, regardless of the weight of the object. -The rules for social skills aren’t being used for social encounters. Combat uses of social skills still work however. -Contingent effects (from contingency spell as well as contingent spells crafted with the complete arcane feat) must be based on outside conditions that happen to you, not internal free actions like “When I snap my fingers” Ok, this really my first endeavor into such a game, but after browsing the forums here, it really seems like a Druid might be the best build in this scenario. I was thinking a wildshaping grappling type perhaps, or just a plain druid. Also there's the Barbarian/Bear Warrior, and the Frenzied Berserk, but I figured at this level ,the 'zerker isn't too tough. Though Deathless Frenzy is always nice, but no supreme power attack at this level sadly. Does anyone have any ideas? I'll post a build shortly.
neilthrun 01-11-05, 10:22 PM	I would highly suggest a shapeshifting form of some kind for a campaign like this. A Barbarian/Bear warrior/Warshaper would work well. Do you plan to level up, or is this a one shot adventure? A bear warrior/warshaper wouldnt be as good as a druid/warshaper if you plan to stay at 10th level. Heres a 10 level build, you could easily take this past that though, just take warshaper up to 3 and bearwarrior all the way to 10. Barb 1-Extra Rage,Power Attack Barb 2 Barb 3-Extend Rage Barb 4 Barb 5 Barb 5/Fighter 1-Improved Sunder,Improved Toughness Barb 5/Fighter 2-Combat Brute Barb 5/Fighter 2/Bear Warrior 1 Barb 5/Fighter 3/Bear Warrior 1/Warshaper 1-Instantaneos Rage Barb 5/Fighter 3/Bear Warrior 1/Warshaper 2 Can anyone think of a good way to mix reaping mauler, warshaper and bear warrior together?
Reticent 01-11-05, 11:30 PM	Complete Adventurer already had me considering this one: Human: Druid5/Rogue1/Dagger Spell Shaper2/Master of Many Forms 2 1 Druid, Endurance, Alertness 2 Druid 3 Druid, Weapon Focus (dagger) 4 Druid 5 Druid 6 Rogue, Two Weapon Fighting 7 DSS 8 DSS 9 MMF, Natural Spell or your choice 10 MMF The 2nd level of DSS grants an ability where-by any magical properties of daggers you wield are carried over to the corresponding natural attacks of any shape you assume. Every level of MMF improves your wildshape ability. Just find the nastiest daggers you can acquire, assume the best form available at the time, self buff if you've got a moment, and enjoy. Natural spell might not even be all that usefull as MMF gives the ability to speak normally regardless of form, including verbal spellcasting. The feat choices and rogue level are to meet PrC requirement, for those who might not have CV yet.
0gre 01-11-05, 11:53 PM	Do you plan to level up, or is this a one shot adventure? A bear warrior/warshaper wouldnt be as good as a druid/warshaper if you plan to stay at 10th level. It's pretty much a one shot mini-series like event. I asked the DM and he says its possible we might level up, but thats not for sure, and even so it would only be 1-3 levels at most. So I'd put my money on whatever is most effective at 10th lvl, if there is anything decent to add with 1 or 2 levels, thats icing on the cake. I was tinkering around with 2 builds exactly whats been posted so far. It seems the Druid and Bear Warrior are almost too good to pass up at this level. However, I do think one PC is planning the druid route. With the druid's overwhelming power at this level, I wouldn't be surprised if we end up with a whole group of just druids.
PhaedrusXY 01-12-05, 03:08 AM	There was a thread on here a good while ago about how to get the most average damage at level 10. This was before any of the Complete books came out, and I can't remember exactly what books were allowed. I know the first thing I thought of was a frenzied berzerker. But then I made a rogue9/barbarian 1 and his damage was quite signifigantly higher than the zerker's, if he used a scroll of Improved Invisibility or could flank reliably all the time, and the opponent wasn't immune to sneak attacks. So, what I'm basically saying is: don't discount the damage capacity of a rogue. If you think someone else will be playing a grappler in the group, then a rogue could take great advantage of that, as grapplers lose their Dex mod to AC. Here is the build I worked up using the rules of that contest. Notice that the strength is very high, and that you could carry around a big maul to use on opponents that are immune to sneak attack and still do good damage. Human Barbarian1/rogue9 Max UMD Skill Feats: TWF, ITWF, Wpn Focus: Short sword, Combat Reflexes, Expert Tactician (not sure if this has been updated in Complete Warrior) Stats Str 18 (26 with rage, items, and level ups) +8 mod Dex 17 Int 11 the rest: 8 Level up points go into Str Equipment Scroll of Greater Invisibility at caster level 10 (1000 gold) Weapons: 2 viscious frost short swords (16,000 gold each) (Don't actually get viscious weapons, I only used them here because this was a theoretical exorcise) Boots of Speed (10,000 gold) Guantlets of Ogre Power +2(4,000) round 1: Activate Boots (free), read the scroll (standard), rage (free), move to slaad round 2-10: 4 attacks per round at +15 attack bonus and 2 more at +10 attack bonus, all for 9d6+9 damage each (average 40.5 each) or 10d6+18 on a crit (53 average). The average damage output for the contest (10 rounds vs. an AC 18 slaad with infinite hit points): Vs. AC 18: Hit chance on +15 attacks is 90% Hit chance on +10 attacks is 65% Crit chance on +15 attacks is 9% Crit chance on +10 attacks is 6.5% So 81% of the +15 attacks will be normal hits, and 9% will be crits and 58.5% of the +10 attacks will be normal hits, and 6.5% will be crits. In 9 rounds of swinging, that is 54 attacks at +15 and 18 attacks at +10. 81% of 54 is about 44. 44 times 40.5 is 1782. 9% of 54 is about 5. 5 times 53 is 265. 58.5% of 18 is 10.5. 10.5 times 40.5 is 425.5. 6.5% of 18 is about 1. 1 times 53 is 53. Total damage is 1782+ 265 +425 +53 =2525
0gre 01-12-05, 03:54 AM	That looks interesting Phaedrus, Expert Tactician has been update in Complete Adventurer. It nows grants a +2 comp bonus to attacks/dmg to you and your allies against any foe you've damaged with an AoO that round.
PhaedrusXY 01-12-05, 04:00 AM	That looks interesting Phaedrus, Expert Tactician has been update in Complete Adventurer. It nows grants a +2 comp bonus to attacks/dmg to you and your allies against any foe you've damaged with an AoO that round.Ah, so it doesn't grant at extra attack vs. foes who are denied their Dex mod anymore. That's quite a big change. So the build I posted would lose one of it's attacks at it's highest base attack bonus every round, which would hurt it alot.