Post/Author/DateTime	Post
James_Nostack 01-19-06, 08:38 PM	Hi, I'm getting into D&D 3.5 for the first time, and fooling around with builds, just to see what works. I only have access to the SRD. The campaign is based around medieval Europe (which is very different than Tolkein-style fantasy). I'd like a Half-Fiend Blackguard of approximately ECL 12. I'm wondering particularly about things like skills, feats, and equipment. ---Races in this Campaign--- Duergar Human Pixie Ogre ... using the Elite Array, or 25 point buy, whatever--plus the Half-Fiend template. ---Core Classes in this Campaign--- Bard Cleric Fighter Ranger Rogue Wizard ---Prestige Classes in this Campaign--- Assassin Blackguard Mystic Theurge Shadowdancer
neilthrun 01-19-06, 09:57 PM	Ranger3/Fighter2/Assasin1/Blackguard2 is pretty decent. Power attack, Improved Sunder, Improved Iniative, Iron Will, maybe an exotic weapon proficency. As a side note, you might want to convice your DM to allow Duelist, Horizion Walker(limit the terrians to those the HW has been too), and Loremaster. They easily fit a traditional medivial europe style.
Balthanon 01-19-06, 10:17 PM	Ranger3/Fighter2/Assasin1/Blackguard2 is pretty decent. Also illegal--blackguard requires a base attack bonus of +6. You'll have to drop a level of assassin or a level of blackguard if you go that path. Ranger 4/Fighter 2/Blackguard 2 seems like it would be the most effective--you definitely want dark blessing and with a +4 level adjustment from the half-fiend template, you won't want additional level adjustments from the other races, so I would suggest a human. I would suggest going with the archery combat path, as you'll have your claw and bite as secondary weapons when you want a lot of attacks. Wield a weapon in your primary hand and you should have four attacks at your level--weapon full/weapon -5/claw -5/bite -5. (Multiattack might be a good investment to up the attack bonus on the last two attacks.) Moving forward, after you get that third level of blackguard, I would suggest dipping back into ranger to renew your primary skills and pick up a second favored enemy, then doing it again after two more levels of blackguard and acquiring your fiendish servant.
James_Nostack 01-19-06, 10:50 PM	Actually, I'm a DM--I'm building a villain. But I'll take a closer look at the Horizon Walker and Loremaster classes. I'm curious -- I would have gone with Fighter 6 for the extra feats. What's so great about taking the levels in Ranger, aside from snagging more skill points?
runestar 01-19-06, 11:03 PM	If you are using it as an NPC, you will use cr, not LA. A half-fiend template has cr+3, which you should use rather than its LA of +4. If you go with a race with no increase to cr, you get 9 class lvs to play around. I'm curious -- I would have gone with Fighter 6 for the extra feats. What's so great about taking the levels in Ranger, aside from snagging more skill points? You will need fighter7 to get 5 ranks in hide. The 7th lv of fighter is generally considered taboo since it grants no bonus feat or save increment. Ranger has hide as a class skill, thus letting you qualify for blackguard asap. I think a rogue3/fighter4/blackguard2 is not too bad.
Balthanon 01-19-06, 11:21 PM	Actually, I'm a DM--I'm building a villain. But I'll take a closer look at the Horizon Walker and Loremaster classes. I'm curious -- I would have gone with Fighter 6 for the extra feats. What's so great about taking the levels in Ranger, aside from snagging more skill points? Ranger is primarily for the skill points, but the tracking, endurance, and other abilities are nice supplements to a fighter, and the extra reflex save is worthwhile as well. The favored enemy, assuming it is targeted towards your PCs will be a nice damage supplement as well. If you're just looking for a pure combat brute, fighter might have a slight edge though, in versatility at least. (It's really only one feat up on a ranger due to combat mastery.) If this is a one shot villain for a fight, then you probably don't really need to worry about the skills and abilities that the Ranger levels bring to the table, if it's the evil mastermind though...
James_Nostack 01-19-06, 11:32 PM	Oooh - I really like the idea of using "Humans (Christians)" as the villain's Favored Enemy in this campaign! Thanks! (No real-world offense meant, of course!) Are there particularly good magical items & such for this kind of character? I'm familiar with D&D mainly from 2nd Ed., so I don't really know the best way to optimize a character given the new rules.