1st Level character questions [Archive] - Wizards Community

1st Level character questions [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
HolyRomanEmperor
01-20-07, 01:33 PM Hey all. I am new to the forum, and I have tried to find any threads that could answer this question for me, but I was unable to (so forgive me if this has already been discussed).

I have played D&D for many years, but version 3.5 is still fairly new to me. I've played it some, but I still am not intimately familiar with the rules.

Anyway, I am playing in a campaign where the DM wants us to roll up some first level characters (maybe 2nd level - not sure yet). I am looking for some good ideas for a "tank" type character that can deal out some serious damage.

I know all the stereotypical characters: half-orc barbarian, human fighter, etc. What I am more interested in (due to my unfamiliaritywith the new rules) are ways to combine feats/'races/classes, etc to maximize damage dealing potential.

Can anyone suggest some cool ways of handing out the pain? Multiple weapon weilding, oversized weapons, weapons used in conjunction with feat or class abilities, etc. Any advice is welcome.

I had a friend in a past campaign that had some type of character (Warlock maybe?) that used a two-handed sword AND got to add some sort of energy blast to the damage of the weapon. This meant he was dealing out very large amounts of damage at low level. What I'm looking for are things like that. I don't want to use his idea though, since it's already been done in our campaign.

I'm not really interested in characters that trip everything in sight, or stuff like that. I'm just looking for raw blunt force trauma. Horsepower. I'm talking about cast-iron pile driving attacks that will hurt so much it will rattle his ancestors. He has to feel like he tried kissing the express train.

I want to build some hurtin' bombs! (compliments of Duke from Rocky Balboa).

I want this to stick to the core rules as much as possible, but other sources will be considered.

Any advice? Thanks in advance.
GaffeR
01-20-07, 01:46 PM Orc barbarian - 18 str goes to 22. Rage, go to 26. +1 BAB, so:

+8 (+10) to hit, +9 (+12) damage with a 2 hander. Barb 1/Fighter 2 perhaps. Pick up power attack, cleave, extra rage (Comp War).
Xeraph
01-20-07, 01:49 PM First of, Welcome to the CO Boards.

Secondly, buy Tome of Battle, play a Warblade.

Take feats that complimet you "charge". Power Attack, Improved Bull Rush, Shocktrooper*, Leap Attack**.

* Complete Warrior
** Complete Adventurer

Start combat with a nice charge. Then continue with Maneuvers and destroy all.

There are certainly better ways of doing this, but as a newbie, no offense, the charge route is simple and very powerful. And Warblade will garanty power throughout all your levels.

For more optimization, look at the sticky threads for links to classes and browse around. There are tons of threads dedicated to melee damage.

Recently saw a Squid man being able to deal 20.000 points of damage in a round... So, look around and blow your mind.
Novabomb
01-20-07, 03:40 PM We need greater information. What books are available.
rilem
01-20-07, 04:04 PM Tome of Battle is wonderful -- but if you're really new, I might try something simpler before learning martial maneuvers.

Psychic Warrior 1 (not core but available online through the System Reference Document) with Psionic Weapon and Psionic Meditation will dealing early damage pretty much at the same level as your Warlock Friend (more if you can start at level 2 and be a half-giant). I'm not crazy about Psywar but they will suffice for this purpose.

A Half-Giant PsyWar 1 will be using a greataxe or greatsword dealing 3d6 damage + 2d6 from the Psionic Weapon, using your move action to gain focus each round. Figure 16 Str. base (18 with racial mods) and that's 23.5 avg. damage per hit, pretty respectable at ECL2.

BTW, your Warlock friend SHOULD have gone ranged attack and taken Psionic Shot.
HolyRomanEmperor
01-20-07, 07:54 PM We need greater information. What books are available.

Well, I personally only have the Players Handbook, DM's Guide, and Monster Manual.

One of my friends who IS playing with us has basically all the books. The problem is that our DM favors 2.0 rules, and only grudgingly accepts 3.5 rules because everyone else in our group wants to use them. This means that while he will almost certainly accept anything from the Players Handbook, it is a crapshoot on whether he will accept things from the other books. Sometimes he does, but sometimes he doesn't. That's why I said that core books are preferable, but the other books are a possibility.

I can almost guarantee that he will not allow any races that aren't "normal" (i.e not in the players handbook), so half-giant, etc. is probably out.

I appreciate the feedback I've gotten so far. It is definitely helping give me some ideas. Please, keep them coming.
RoCkEtInToXiCaTe
01-20-07, 08:07 PM Well, it sucks that he won't allow you play non-published races, because two races of mine immediatly jumped into my head. I can send them to you anyway, if you really care, but I doubt you do. PM is you're interested, and otherwise, I would say Go with that first post about the regular Orc and barbarian.
jameswilliamogle
01-20-07, 11:08 PM I have nothing to add to the melee route, but if it falls and you aren't able to raise (due to too low of level or whatever), you should play a basic Rogue next. It'll do a lot to familiarize yourself w/ the new skill system, and will help capaitalize on your previous RP dnd experiences.
PhaedrusXY
01-20-07, 11:13 PM The easiest way to do insane damage using core only stuff (PHB, DMG, MM) at the low levels is to make a charger, and use a lance. Lance doubles the damage on a charge. The Spirited Charge feat does the same thing. Combine the two with Power Attack and a high strength, and you can dish out truly heinous damage at very low levels. (Do note that two doublings is a tripling, not a quadrupling, in "D&D math".)

Take 1-2 levels of wizard or sorcerer for the ability to use Enlarge Person on yourself for more Str and a bigger weapon, and also cast True Strike so you make sure your mega-swing actually connects, even when you dump your entire base attack bonus into power attack.

Another thing to note: make sure to weild the lance in two-hands to boost your Str bonus + damage from Power Attack. Both of those get multiplied.

So overall I'd say something like this:

Human Fighter1 with Mounted Combat, Ride-By-Attack, and Spirited Charge. You can charge every round with this feat combo for triple base damage, as long as the terrain doesn't prevent it.

At level 2, take a level of Sorcerer, and take True Strike as one of your spells known. True Strike has no somatic component, so you can use it while wearing full plate if you want. Enlarge Person does have a somatic component, however. So you might want to just go with potions for that, until you can afford a wand (750 gp).

At 3-5, take another sorcerer level, another fighter level, and a barbarian level. Also take Power Attack.

Above that, go into Dragon Disciple. :D
rilem
01-21-07, 12:21 AM One of my friends who IS playing with us has basically all the books. The problem is that our DM favors 2.0 rules, and only grudgingly accepts 3.5 rules because everyone else in our group wants to use them. ...

I can almost guarantee that he will not allow any races that aren't "normal" (i.e not in the players handbook), so half-giant, etc. is probably out.

Note that Half-Giant is also available in the online System Reference Document published by Wizards, so it's easily available. But if only PHB races are allowed -- i.e., not even Orcs -- then a Charging build into Dragon Disciple works great, as Phaedrus noted. Half-Orc Barbarian is also decent.

Now, was that a typo or is your DM actually mixing 2.0 (Second edition) and 3.5?
HolyRomanEmperor
01-21-07, 01:02 AM No typo there. He's not "mixing" the rules, he just prefers the 2nd edition rules over the new ones (long story). We play 3.5 rules because everyone else but him wants to.

The problem is that because he's not 100% enthusiastic about the 3.5 rules, he has a tendency to just outlaw anything he thinks is "stupid" from the 3.5 rules. That's why very odd or off-beat classes/races are a risky proposition. If it seems to foreign to the 2nd edition rules, then it could very well get outlawed by him. He has come to terms with the existence of feats and all that, but still generally likes the game to stay as close to 2nd edition rules as he can make it.

I just found out tonight that he MIGHT step down as DM and let my other friend (who knows the rules backwards and forwards) take the reigns. This guy WILL allow any class from any legitimate source, and he makes full use of all the 3.5 rules. His only special rule (for this particular campaign) is that everybody has to be a Human. I can deal with that.
JanusJones
01-21-07, 03:19 PM This thread is what you need:

http://boards1.wizards.com/showthread.php?t=750056

It's all about 1st level optimization, or how to get the most bang out of your first dollar.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
HolyRomanEmperor 01-20-07, 01:33 PM	Hey all. I am new to the forum, and I have tried to find any threads that could answer this question for me, but I was unable to (so forgive me if this has already been discussed). I have played D&D for many years, but version 3.5 is still fairly new to me. I've played it some, but I still am not intimately familiar with the rules. Anyway, I am playing in a campaign where the DM wants us to roll up some first level characters (maybe 2nd level - not sure yet). I am looking for some good ideas for a "tank" type character that can deal out some serious damage. I know all the stereotypical characters: half-orc barbarian, human fighter, etc. What I am more interested in (due to my unfamiliaritywith the new rules) are ways to combine feats/'races/classes, etc to maximize damage dealing potential. Can anyone suggest some cool ways of handing out the pain? Multiple weapon weilding, oversized weapons, weapons used in conjunction with feat or class abilities, etc. Any advice is welcome. I had a friend in a past campaign that had some type of character (Warlock maybe?) that used a two-handed sword AND got to add some sort of energy blast to the damage of the weapon. This meant he was dealing out very large amounts of damage at low level. What I'm looking for are things like that. I don't want to use his idea though, since it's already been done in our campaign. I'm not really interested in characters that trip everything in sight, or stuff like that. I'm just looking for raw blunt force trauma. Horsepower. I'm talking about cast-iron pile driving attacks that will hurt so much it will rattle his ancestors. He has to feel like he tried kissing the express train. I want to build some hurtin' bombs! (compliments of Duke from Rocky Balboa). I want this to stick to the core rules as much as possible, but other sources will be considered. Any advice? Thanks in advance.
GaffeR 01-20-07, 01:46 PM	Orc barbarian - 18 str goes to 22. Rage, go to 26. +1 BAB, so: +8 (+10) to hit, +9 (+12) damage with a 2 hander. Barb 1/Fighter 2 perhaps. Pick up power attack, cleave, extra rage (Comp War).
Xeraph 01-20-07, 01:49 PM	First of, Welcome to the CO Boards. Secondly, buy Tome of Battle, play a Warblade. Take feats that complimet you "charge". Power Attack, Improved Bull Rush, Shocktrooper, Leap Attack. Complete Warrior ** Complete Adventurer Start combat with a nice charge. Then continue with Maneuvers and destroy all. There are certainly better ways of doing this, but as a newbie, no offense, the charge route is simple and very powerful. And Warblade will garanty power throughout all your levels. For more optimization, look at the sticky threads for links to classes and browse around. There are tons of threads dedicated to melee damage. Recently saw a Squid man being able to deal 20.000 points of damage in a round... So, look around and blow your mind.
Novabomb 01-20-07, 03:40 PM	We need greater information. What books are available.
rilem 01-20-07, 04:04 PM	Tome of Battle is wonderful -- but if you're really new, I might try something simpler before learning martial maneuvers. Psychic Warrior 1 (not core but available online through the System Reference Document) with Psionic Weapon and Psionic Meditation will dealing early damage pretty much at the same level as your Warlock Friend (more if you can start at level 2 and be a half-giant). I'm not crazy about Psywar but they will suffice for this purpose. A Half-Giant PsyWar 1 will be using a greataxe or greatsword dealing 3d6 damage + 2d6 from the Psionic Weapon, using your move action to gain focus each round. Figure 16 Str. base (18 with racial mods) and that's 23.5 avg. damage per hit, pretty respectable at ECL2. BTW, your Warlock friend SHOULD have gone ranged attack and taken Psionic Shot.
HolyRomanEmperor 01-20-07, 07:54 PM	We need greater information. What books are available. Well, I personally only have the Players Handbook, DM's Guide, and Monster Manual. One of my friends who IS playing with us has basically all the books. The problem is that our DM favors 2.0 rules, and only grudgingly accepts 3.5 rules because everyone else in our group wants to use them. This means that while he will almost certainly accept anything from the Players Handbook, it is a crapshoot on whether he will accept things from the other books. Sometimes he does, but sometimes he doesn't. That's why I said that core books are preferable, but the other books are a possibility. I can almost guarantee that he will not allow any races that aren't "normal" (i.e not in the players handbook), so half-giant, etc. is probably out. I appreciate the feedback I've gotten so far. It is definitely helping give me some ideas. Please, keep them coming.
RoCkEtInToXiCaTe 01-20-07, 08:07 PM	Well, it sucks that he won't allow you play non-published races, because two races of mine immediatly jumped into my head. I can send them to you anyway, if you really care, but I doubt you do. PM is you're interested, and otherwise, I would say Go with that first post about the regular Orc and barbarian.
jameswilliamogle 01-20-07, 11:08 PM	I have nothing to add to the melee route, but if it falls and you aren't able to raise (due to too low of level or whatever), you should play a basic Rogue next. It'll do a lot to familiarize yourself w/ the new skill system, and will help capaitalize on your previous RP dnd experiences.
PhaedrusXY 01-20-07, 11:13 PM	The easiest way to do insane damage using core only stuff (PHB, DMG, MM) at the low levels is to make a charger, and use a lance. Lance doubles the damage on a charge. The Spirited Charge feat does the same thing. Combine the two with Power Attack and a high strength, and you can dish out truly heinous damage at very low levels. (Do note that two doublings is a tripling, not a quadrupling, in "D&D math".) Take 1-2 levels of wizard or sorcerer for the ability to use Enlarge Person on yourself for more Str and a bigger weapon, and also cast True Strike so you make sure your mega-swing actually connects, even when you dump your entire base attack bonus into power attack. Another thing to note: make sure to weild the lance in two-hands to boost your Str bonus + damage from Power Attack. Both of those get multiplied. So overall I'd say something like this: Human Fighter1 with Mounted Combat, Ride-By-Attack, and Spirited Charge. You can charge every round with this feat combo for triple base damage, as long as the terrain doesn't prevent it. At level 2, take a level of Sorcerer, and take True Strike as one of your spells known. True Strike has no somatic component, so you can use it while wearing full plate if you want. Enlarge Person does have a somatic component, however. So you might want to just go with potions for that, until you can afford a wand (750 gp). At 3-5, take another sorcerer level, another fighter level, and a barbarian level. Also take Power Attack. Above that, go into Dragon Disciple. :D
rilem 01-21-07, 12:21 AM	One of my friends who IS playing with us has basically all the books. The problem is that our DM favors 2.0 rules, and only grudgingly accepts 3.5 rules because everyone else in our group wants to use them. ... I can almost guarantee that he will not allow any races that aren't "normal" (i.e not in the players handbook), so half-giant, etc. is probably out. Note that Half-Giant is also available in the online System Reference Document published by Wizards, so it's easily available. But if only PHB races are allowed -- i.e., not even Orcs -- then a Charging build into Dragon Disciple works great, as Phaedrus noted. Half-Orc Barbarian is also decent. Now, was that a typo or is your DM actually mixing 2.0 (Second edition) and 3.5?
HolyRomanEmperor 01-21-07, 01:02 AM	No typo there. He's not "mixing" the rules, he just prefers the 2nd edition rules over the new ones (long story). We play 3.5 rules because everyone else but him wants to. The problem is that because he's not 100% enthusiastic about the 3.5 rules, he has a tendency to just outlaw anything he thinks is "stupid" from the 3.5 rules. That's why very odd or off-beat classes/races are a risky proposition. If it seems to foreign to the 2nd edition rules, then it could very well get outlawed by him. He has come to terms with the existence of feats and all that, but still generally likes the game to stay as close to 2nd edition rules as he can make it. I just found out tonight that he MIGHT step down as DM and let my other friend (who knows the rules backwards and forwards) take the reigns. This guy WILL allow any class from any legitimate source, and he makes full use of all the 3.5 rules. His only special rule (for this particular campaign) is that everybody has to be a Human. I can deal with that.
JanusJones 01-21-07, 03:19 PM	This thread is what you need: http://boards1.wizards.com/showthread.php?t=750056 It's all about 1st level optimization, or how to get the most bang out of your first dollar.