Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Owl 02-06-05, 02:38 AM	Hi all, Our group is starting a new campaign, and we're rolling up new characters. I want to play a blind fighter with a quarterstaff. Two questions: - Does anybody know of a build or a prestigeclass somewhere for a blind character? - How does one specialize in double-handed weapons? All the feats I see are only for fighting with two weapons. I don't think they're allowed for double-handed weapons. Thanks,
Furry Rodent 02-06-05, 02:40 AM	One thing I'd suggest if you are voluntarily going blind is to see if your DM will give you Blindsight 30' or more. As there is no fast and easy way to get blindsight at low levels, you'd essentially be a useless fighter.
scrollreader 02-06-05, 02:54 AM	Look at the long staff in CAdv, and the Quickstaff fighting style, in CW. They work together, and are rather cool. I'd actually recommend Monk-age, if your DM will let you flurry it. Not much cooler than a blind monk, immune to being flanked, with a staff, kicking ass. But yes. You're going to need blindsight. Be it from Hidden Talent: Synthsete, a Blindfold of True Seeing, or a nice DM bennie (maybe a new spelltouched feat?) you're going to /need/ blindsight. Or, at the very least, blindfight and blindsense. Maybe your DM will be nice enough to start you with a listening lorecall item, modeled off the slippers in CAdv?
Tempest Stormwind 02-06-05, 03:51 AM	Hi all, Our group is starting a new campaign, and we're rolling up new characters. I want to play a blind fighter with a quarterstaff. Two questions: - Does anybody know of a build or a prestigeclass somewhere for a blind character? - How does one specialize in double-handed weapons? All the feats I see are only for fighting with two weapons. I don't think they're allowed for double-handed weapons. Thanks, 1) None I'm aware of, but there's always a Blindfold of Perfect Darkness, the Blindsight ability, Tremorsense, Scent, the Blind-Fight feat, the psionic powers Synesthete, Touchsight, Clairvoyant Sense and Sense Link (the first is your best option -- low level, flavorful, and not highly desired like Touchsight)... a lot of good stuff if you know where to look. I'd suggest talking to your DM to see if you can get some mitigating factor added in there -- say, at least a 10' blindsight or the like until you can afford something like a blindfold of perfect darkness. 2) Nearly every two-weapon feat and class you've seen applies equally to double weapons. The only cases that I know don't are the 3.0 version of the Tempest (The 3.5 one works fine with double weapons), and the Improved Buckler Defense feat (which is an ambiguous case that I assume was intended to work with double weapons just fine). I'd go with Scrollreader's suggestion. (By the way, CV explicitly says you can use it as a monk weapon, so flurry's IN). It's very cool and can be surprisingly nifty. I'm STILL not clear if TWF can mix with Flurry in 3.5, but I think it does. If that's the case, you may want to consider Tempest levels, both for the boost in AC and the complete removal of TWF penalties. You lose on some monk prowess, but it doesn't matter much in the long run. (In fact, a killer defensive combo with this is to fight defensively or Expertise for 2 or more (which SHOULD also trigger any "fight defensively" special abilities, not just the longstaff's...), with the TWD tree, a longstaff, the Quick Staff feat, and Tempest Defense. Your staff becomes a veritable wall of both attacks and defense -- which is very much like some styles of staff combat I've seen, particularily those of Chinese origin. Yes, it's VERY feat-intensive, but many of them overlap (Total requirements: EWP Longstaff, Combat Expertise, WF Longstaff, Dodge, Mobility, Spring Attack, TWF, ITWF, TWD, ITWD, Quick Staff, and possibly GTWF/GTWD), and the end result -- at least a +13 (+11 without GTWWD) nonmagical, unnamed bonus to AC and can't be flanked while making between 6 and 9 attacks per round (depending on build) without buffs -- is rather impressive. This is obviously best suited for a fighter base instead of a monk one, though, and if you're doing that, the Shou Disciple (UE) is your best friend. It may be worth considering that class anyway, even though it does require WF: Unarmed Strike on top of everything else. Off the top of my head, I'd say Monk 10 / Shou 4 / Fighter 2 / Tempest 4. This gets you enough feat slots for all the feats I list above except two (I'd suggest ditching ITWD and GTWD), and gets an all-10 character with a mundane longstaff a naked all-out defense (full Expertise) AC of 26, an attack routine of +12/+12/+12/+7/+2/-3 and +12/+7/+2/-3, and a cannot-be-flanked ability. Add Improved Trip and Combat Reflexes as your monk bonus feats and you've got a lotta attacks and a lotta defense. There's undoubtably a more optimal way to do this (yes, I know about Improved Buckler Defense. I choose TWD for the flavor of blocking everything with a staff instead of a shield), but I can't think of it right now. Of course, I'm very, very tired right now, so I've probably made a half-dozen errors in this. Its my own fault for staying up 20 hours after a long week without more than 2 hours sleep between days...
Qaetar 02-06-05, 04:10 AM	Note: Using Expertise is not the same as Fighting Defensively. They have similar drawbacks and give a similar bonus, but are, in fact, different abilities. (Qaetar)
Owl 02-06-05, 10:59 AM	Hmmm..Good suggestions all. I must confess that we play 3.0; a lot of the feats you're all talking about don't sound familiar. Also; I'm not trying to get the strongest character possible. If I wanted that, I wouldn't make mine blind. That said; - I'm planning to go for the Blindfold of True Seeing, like you suggested. - Was in any case going to go for the two-weapon fighting feats, Blind-fight, expertise, superior expertise (from Oriental Adventures). - Also, I heard of a feat in Races of the Wild or one of those books which lets you get an animal companion even if you're not a ranger or a druid; was gonna get a dog. - Planned on keeping my character a fighter, or at least not multiclass it with monk; roleplaying-wise that really limits what you can do and how you do it, and how you approach life. My character would be a warrior trying to make the best of a bad situation and staying loyal to his duty. - Wanted to make him professional but friendly; I'm also planning on taking the feat improved disarm and getting the defending and merciful enchantments on my quarterstaff. I really like the idea of going for the tempest prestige-class. I didn't know that was possible in 3.5 (it isn't in 3.0, like you said). "Look at the long staff in CAdv, and the Quickstaff fighting style, in CW" Sounds great, but what do the abbreviations stand for? I guess I should really start digging into those 3.5 books, huh?
Nazzareth 02-06-05, 12:04 PM	You could play a 1/2 orc and take the scent feat pg 81 3.0 DMG and improved scent from Savage speices. This is the only way in know how gain some way to off set blindness at low levels, if you use the flaws system from UA you might be able to gain these feats for free as blindness could be considered a major flaw. You could build a story on how your character was blinded by orc's for turning his back on his orc orc heritage by a priest of grumish then taken in by a hermit monk or a monks order.
argorond 02-06-05, 01:14 PM	The eye of the gruumsh get some blind fighting things, check it out from compelte warrior.
rilem 02-06-05, 03:30 PM	Dromite and Nezumi also get the scent feat, or can take it. Scent is really your only option at low level without Psionics. With Psionics, your choices expand considerably. The synesthete power lets you "hear" light and specifically cancels blindness penalties. You can also get a psicrystal, which can see and tell you what it sees. A seeing eye rock, essentially. Together, they're great -- use the psicrystal for general purposes: The door is over there, and so on. In combat, activate the syensthete ability. Human Psywar6 Feats: Psicrystal Affinity, blind-fight, TWF, Dodge, Combat Expertise, Quick Staff Powers: Synesthete, Prescience (offensive), force screen, hustle, psionic lion's charge, vigor
Ander Spectacular 02-06-05, 04:15 PM	What level are you starting at? If 20, then a Scout 20. You would have blindsight 30'. Then you wouldn't have to depend on items or anything. Scouts get Blindsense 30' at 10th level, but that would still make life tough. -AS-
djinni 02-06-05, 08:48 PM	What level are you starting at? If 20, then a Scout 20. You would have blindsight 30'. Then you wouldn't have to depend on items or anything. Scouts get Blindsense 30' at 10th level, but that would still make life tough. -AS- if you aren't completely stuck on the blind monk thing druid can get blindsight...scent...tremorsense...echol ocation...and a lot of other cool sense abilities
Mommy was an Orc 02-07-05, 09:51 PM	I'd also check out the feats Quick Reconnoiter and Hear the Unseen(from Complete Adventurer). A 3rd level character could easily get all three(including Blindfight) by being human and having 5 ranks in Listen/Spot(sure, you're never going to use those Spot ranks, but...) - the use of the 3 feats essentially gets you Blindsense on a hard Listen check as a free action. Anyway, I'd recommend the Chameleon Zen Archer Monk build through the link at the bottom. This gives you access to casting your very own Persistent Blindsight via Listening Lorecall from Complete Adventurer by 7th level. You can also cast Spikes on the Quarterstaff and use the Quarterstaff as a Monk weapon.
Dishliquid 02-08-05, 03:54 AM	Also, don't forget being blind id a serious disadvantage, and deserves in the least, a bonus feat or two.