Good Dragonmark-based builds? [Archive] - Wizards Community

Good Dragonmark-based builds? [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
foxylady
07-21-04, 06:06 AM Anybody have good Dragonmark-based builds? Warforged Juggernauts and Artificers (though rather good) are a little too ... ordinary.
Rolapin
07-21-04, 07:54 AM I didn't understand anything...
Elendur
07-21-04, 11:46 AM Depends on your definition of 'good'. If you mean mechanically, combat orientied good, I'm not sure dragon marks are the way to go.
If you mean 'cool', I'd say pick the dragon marked house that seems the coolest to you and take the dragonmarked heir PrC. You can probably apply it to whatever base class you want. As usual, humans and/or fighters have more feats to burn than most.
Vapor IX
07-21-04, 01:15 PM I think he is looking for a build that makes effective use of Dragonmarks.

Personally, I don't believe you can really base a build around Dragonmarks unless you're working directly for one of the Houses. Otherwise they're more for flavor than anything else. Try a Sorceror / Dragonmark Heir.
Lord Arkhaven
07-21-04, 01:31 PM I think the way to look at it is what class or class combo can benefit from 5 levels of Dragonmarked Heir.

Fighters are the first that come to mind. After four or five levels of fighter you may have your fill of fighter feats. The Dragonmarked Heir will give a boost to Reflex and Will saves. The Mark of Sentinel or The Mark of Healing is good for a fighter.

To be honest most of the Least and Lesser powers of the other houses don't inspire me. They're too limited in use. They may assist an NPC in running a business but they aren't cast every day by an adventurer.
MrFilthyIke
07-21-04, 02:32 PM A Fighter or Ranger would benefit from Dragonmarked Heir
greatly, Jorasco is good but 1/2lings do less damage. *I* would
go Deneith for combat powers, Orien if you want to be a "mobile"
and elusive combatant, or a Kundarak Fighter/Heir/Dwarven Defender...the ultimate warding/defending character :)
Dauntless
07-21-04, 04:00 PM I wouldn't say any of the dragonmarks are useless. Just have to find a way to get use out of them.

Cannith - Human Artificer
Sure it may be boring, but it fits the character! All of the powers granted are useful, even moreso if you have a WF in your party.

Deneith - Human monk (or warrior)
Mage armor for the monk, or shield of faith for a warrior? For the cost of 1 feat? Sign me up!

Ghallanda - Halfling ranger/barbarian
Living out in the wilds for most of your life doesn't mean you have to worry about going with good food or shelter, or other niceties. Purify food and drink, create food and water, and the Magnificent Mansion are all useful on long wilderness treks.

Jorasco - Halfling Paladin
For the holy warrior who wants to be able to ease the suffering of others without dipping into levels of cleric. Especially useful in the restoration incarnation, since Paladins already can lay on hands for standard healing.

Kundarak - Dwarf rogue
The +2 to search will help out greatly. All the other abilities will be useful for setting up camp in unfriendly territory, or in dungeons. Alarm, Arcane lock prevent attacks in your sleep. Nondetection prevents people from tracking you after you purloin their goods.

Lyrandar - Half-Elf ranger
Professions sailor, and hit the high seas with this expert seaman! While his ship might not be an elemental bound one (but if it was, he could pilot it!), the various weather abilities will give him an edge over his competition. A must for any sea-going campaign!

Medani - Half-Elf Ranger
Who wouldn't want +2 spot? This is good for a party who is using a ranger and artificer to cover the rogue niche. The ranger would be the eyes and ears of a party, and those extra detect poison/magics, see invisibility, and eventually True Seeings will be a boon.

Orien - Human Rogue
Come on, what non-caster wouldn't want free dimensional leap, dimension door, or teleport? Very useful for the rogue who needs to get out of a sticky spot.

Phiarlan / Thuranni - Elven Rogue
This should be self explanatory. With no normal spellcasting, the disguise self alone is worth it. The more poweful ones are just gravy.

Sivis - Gnome Rogue [archeologist/explorer]
Comprehend Languages and Tongues are necessary for anyone who wants to explore ancient ruins or deal with strange new cultures deep in the jungles... (Drow, Giants, Lizardfolk)

Tharashk - Half-Orc Fighter
Free identify! yay! (and the fighter means more spare feats) No one in the group quite understood Thorgash's affinity for magic items. All they knew was that he was saving them from having to blow a hundred gold every time they needed something identified.

Vadalis - Human Druid
A druid who uses his dragonmark not to force animals to do his bidding, but instead as an extension of his normal powers. (secondary option: Human Paladin, using his powers on his warhorse)
dragontreeje
07-22-04, 01:13 AM that gave me some great ideas for dragonmarked characters, as I realy did think of them as much more there nobility with powers.....thanks.....
Lord Arkhaven
07-22-04, 03:45 PM The problem with a spellcasting class going into Dragonmarked Heir is that you use caster levels and that is death. A vadalis marked druid becomes redundant because their own spells more than cover what the various marks will give them. An artificer would never be Cannith marked. You'd stick with the core class.

Dauntless gave a half decent list. Rogues could do well by getting into the PrC too I see. I think the basic rule of thumb (from a min max point of view) is to find the classes that you feel you could pull away from for five levels and not feel like you've missed anything vital.

Fighters - Definately. Actually they need this option.
Paladins, Rangers, Barbarians, Rogues, Bards - you could with a bit of loss. The bonus equal the core bonuses lost.
Full Spellcasters - Why? What the marks give you would get better.
Monks - No way either. Higher level monk abilities kill the dragon marks.
Endless_Helix
07-22-04, 04:35 PM my friend is running a human rogue3/master inquisitive 3, with the least mark of finding. He so far has made 12,000 gp as a PI in sharn, with his party as body guards. The DM has tried to cater to party's tastes of intrigue with lots of assinations, sabotage, and of course, bribes coming their way. So this works well in that sort of campaign. He isn't brilliant in combat, but he can get into anything...

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
foxylady 07-21-04, 06:06 AM	Anybody have good Dragonmark-based builds? Warforged Juggernauts and Artificers (though rather good) are a little too ... ordinary.
Rolapin 07-21-04, 07:54 AM	I didn't understand anything...
Elendur 07-21-04, 11:46 AM	Depends on your definition of 'good'. If you mean mechanically, combat orientied good, I'm not sure dragon marks are the way to go. If you mean 'cool', I'd say pick the dragon marked house that seems the coolest to you and take the dragonmarked heir PrC. You can probably apply it to whatever base class you want. As usual, humans and/or fighters have more feats to burn than most.
Vapor IX 07-21-04, 01:15 PM	I think he is looking for a build that makes effective use of Dragonmarks. Personally, I don't believe you can really base a build around Dragonmarks unless you're working directly for one of the Houses. Otherwise they're more for flavor than anything else. Try a Sorceror / Dragonmark Heir.
Lord Arkhaven 07-21-04, 01:31 PM	I think the way to look at it is what class or class combo can benefit from 5 levels of Dragonmarked Heir. Fighters are the first that come to mind. After four or five levels of fighter you may have your fill of fighter feats. The Dragonmarked Heir will give a boost to Reflex and Will saves. The Mark of Sentinel or The Mark of Healing is good for a fighter. To be honest most of the Least and Lesser powers of the other houses don't inspire me. They're too limited in use. They may assist an NPC in running a business but they aren't cast every day by an adventurer.
MrFilthyIke 07-21-04, 02:32 PM	A Fighter or Ranger would benefit from Dragonmarked Heir greatly, Jorasco is good but 1/2lings do less damage. I would go Deneith for combat powers, Orien if you want to be a "mobile" and elusive combatant, or a Kundarak Fighter/Heir/Dwarven Defender...the ultimate warding/defending character :)
Dauntless 07-21-04, 04:00 PM	I wouldn't say any of the dragonmarks are useless. Just have to find a way to get use out of them. Cannith - Human Artificer Sure it may be boring, but it fits the character! All of the powers granted are useful, even moreso if you have a WF in your party. Deneith - Human monk (or warrior) Mage armor for the monk, or shield of faith for a warrior? For the cost of 1 feat? Sign me up! Ghallanda - Halfling ranger/barbarian Living out in the wilds for most of your life doesn't mean you have to worry about going with good food or shelter, or other niceties. Purify food and drink, create food and water, and the Magnificent Mansion are all useful on long wilderness treks. Jorasco - Halfling Paladin For the holy warrior who wants to be able to ease the suffering of others without dipping into levels of cleric. Especially useful in the restoration incarnation, since Paladins already can lay on hands for standard healing. Kundarak - Dwarf rogue The +2 to search will help out greatly. All the other abilities will be useful for setting up camp in unfriendly territory, or in dungeons. Alarm, Arcane lock prevent attacks in your sleep. Nondetection prevents people from tracking you after you purloin their goods. Lyrandar - Half-Elf ranger Professions sailor, and hit the high seas with this expert seaman! While his ship might not be an elemental bound one (but if it was, he could pilot it!), the various weather abilities will give him an edge over his competition. A must for any sea-going campaign! Medani - Half-Elf Ranger Who wouldn't want +2 spot? This is good for a party who is using a ranger and artificer to cover the rogue niche. The ranger would be the eyes and ears of a party, and those extra detect poison/magics, see invisibility, and eventually True Seeings will be a boon. Orien - Human Rogue Come on, what non-caster wouldn't want free dimensional leap, dimension door, or teleport? Very useful for the rogue who needs to get out of a sticky spot. Phiarlan / Thuranni - Elven Rogue This should be self explanatory. With no normal spellcasting, the disguise self alone is worth it. The more poweful ones are just gravy. Sivis - Gnome Rogue [archeologist/explorer] Comprehend Languages and Tongues are necessary for anyone who wants to explore ancient ruins or deal with strange new cultures deep in the jungles... (Drow, Giants, Lizardfolk) Tharashk - Half-Orc Fighter Free identify! yay! (and the fighter means more spare feats) No one in the group quite understood Thorgash's affinity for magic items. All they knew was that he was saving them from having to blow a hundred gold every time they needed something identified. Vadalis - Human Druid A druid who uses his dragonmark not to force animals to do his bidding, but instead as an extension of his normal powers. (secondary option: Human Paladin, using his powers on his warhorse)
dragontreeje 07-22-04, 01:13 AM	that gave me some great ideas for dragonmarked characters, as I realy did think of them as much more there nobility with powers.....thanks.....
Lord Arkhaven 07-22-04, 03:45 PM	The problem with a spellcasting class going into Dragonmarked Heir is that you use caster levels and that is death. A vadalis marked druid becomes redundant because their own spells more than cover what the various marks will give them. An artificer would never be Cannith marked. You'd stick with the core class. Dauntless gave a half decent list. Rogues could do well by getting into the PrC too I see. I think the basic rule of thumb (from a min max point of view) is to find the classes that you feel you could pull away from for five levels and not feel like you've missed anything vital. Fighters - Definately. Actually they need this option. Paladins, Rangers, Barbarians, Rogues, Bards - you could with a bit of loss. The bonus equal the core bonuses lost. Full Spellcasters - Why? What the marks give you would get better. Monks - No way either. Higher level monk abilities kill the dragon marks.
Endless_Helix 07-22-04, 04:35 PM	my friend is running a human rogue3/master inquisitive 3, with the least mark of finding. He so far has made 12,000 gp as a PI in sharn, with his party as body guards. The DM has tried to cater to party's tastes of intrigue with lots of assinations, sabotage, and of course, bribes coming their way. So this works well in that sort of campaign. He isn't brilliant in combat, but he can get into anything...