Post/Author/DateTime	Post
steamsoldier 05-22-07, 07:09 AM	Our new epic campaign is starting in a few weeks and I am struggling to make my character as optimized as possible. The DM has been adamant that he plans on really challenging us so he advised us to make our characters as powerful as possible. My initial character build was a thri-kreen with levels of fighter, rogue, assassin, and ninja of the crescent moon (this is a 3.5 game he just allowed the notcm prc). I was searching for weapons when I came across the rogue blade in the savage species that bestows blink upon the wielder (denying targets their dex bonus) whenever it is held. I thought this would be a great way to really bring out the damage since I have the potential to be doing 12 sneak attacks in a full round (albeit with a 20% miss chance). So my question is this: I feel that the blink ability makes a lot of the ninja and assassin abilities moot. Thinks like Ethereal Jaunt, gaseous form, and even invisibility won't really be doing much for me since I will be blinking the entire time. What should I do to optimize my character? Should I rework my classes to better suit blinking? Should I keep my original character design and not use the rogue blade? Any suggestions at all on how to make this character more powerful are welcome. At the moment I fear my character is the weakest one in the group. Thanks. EDIT: Forgot to mention that we're starting out at level 26.
Augustus1 05-23-07, 09:45 PM	Well, for one you can use the Ring of Blinking instead of that sword. Once active you can blink as long as you want. That way you can put Ghost Touch in your weapon (even a bow if you want) and get rid of the 20% miss chance when you attack. Alternatively if you are a thri-kreen you can keep the sword and just have all your other weapons have Ghost Touch, that way you free up the ring slot. Keep in mind also that your role in the party is more than just combat: you should be able to scout ahead, observe the enemies then report back so that the party may better prepare. In that sense many of your class abilities might still be useful. And don't forget about Use Magic Device. Staves, wands and scrolls are your friends.
steamsoldier 05-25-07, 06:16 AM	Where does it say that Ghost Touch negates the 20% miss chance? A few more things I could use a little help on. Right now I have all 10 levels of NotCM, 5 levels of Assassin, 3 Rogue, and 2 Fighter. Along with my +3 LA for being Thri-Kreen I still have 3 levels to use. Any suggestions?
rob_douglas 05-25-07, 04:13 PM	It doesn't. Augustus was confusing etherealness with incorporeality. Ghost Touch allows you to ignore the latter, not the former and has no effect on Blinking or Etherealness. If it did, a better strategy would be to use a cloak of etherealness and attack from there with no miss chance and no real chance of being attacked back. ROB
IceFractal 06-01-07, 01:08 AM	Get a Ring of Greater Blinking instead (Ring of Blinking with Greater Blink substituted for Blink, 81,000 gp). No miss chance on your own attacks, and you can ready an action to automatically blink away from an attack. A bit more pricey, but at level 26 you can afford it. And as far as beefing up your character, a primary concern is that at Epic levels, many creatures are immune to Sneak Attack, and Heavy Fortification armor is easily affordable. So first off, make sure you have easy access to the spells that let you Sneak Attack undead and constructs, or similar effects. Then, you need a way to either beat Fortification or be effective without Sneak Attack. And don't neglect the skills either - now is the time when certain skills really shine - a high enough Spot check makes invisibility ineffective, a high enough Escape Artist check will let you slip through a wall of force, and a high enough Diplomacy check will turn your foes into minions who will sacrifice their life for you. One more thing - buy wands - lots and lots of wands, staves, and scrolls. With Epic wealth, you can afford quite a few of them, and with Epic-strength Use Magic Device, you can activate them with no chance of failure. You may not match a pure-caster in potency, but you can still have a wide variety of options and potent boosts (Wraithstrike, for instance, will help you deal with epic-level AC).
Yodasatomicweed 06-01-07, 01:29 AM	Remember to make Wraithstrike stuff extended, because technically it always takes a standard action to use the UMD skill, and the spell doesn't last long enough for you to wait a round and attack someone. An item with Extended Wraithstrike will give you that extra time. Or just put it on an item and don't worry about time constraints.
Argo 06-01-07, 01:34 AM	A high enough Balance check will let you run across water.
Astron the Wizard 06-05-07, 10:58 AM	Alright, this might be a topic kick, but I have no idea what day it is. Sorry. If you're a thri-kreen, get boots of striding and springing. And a ring of jumping. You must realize that as a thri-kreen, you have a +30 racial bonus to jump checks and an above average land speed. With those magic items, you could actually jump so high that you'd take damage on the way down! Not that you have to come down, you could just jump onto a building or something.Just my two cents. Can you use Savage Species? I've heard the Feral template is really good. No LA at all!