Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Alpha_Nerd 01-25-07, 11:50 AM	Ok, so if you haven't noticed I've been having problems finding a character I want to play, and that coupled with too much spare time at work ends up with me posting a lot of character concepts I've come up with. Well, too bad for you guys because I've come up with another one and this might be the keeper. Bard 4/Fighter 1/War Chanter 5/Exotic Weapon Master 1/Dragon Disciple 4 STR 14 DEX 12 CON 14 INT 14 WIS 8 CHA 14 1 Bard: Combat Expertise, Improved Trip 2 Fighter: EWP: Spiked Chain 3 Bard: Weapon Focus: Spiked Chain 4 Bard: 5 Bard: 6 War Chanter: Combat Reflexes 7 War Chanter: 8 War Chanter: 9 Exotic Weapon Master: Hold the Line, Flurry of Strikes 10 Dragon Disciple 11 Dragon Disciple 12 Dragon Disciple: Feat 13 Dragon Disciple 14 Warchanter 15 Warchanter Feat
jstorrie 01-25-07, 01:31 PM	Why not Bard 3 / Fighter 2? I'd suggest getting Warchanter 3 before starting your Dragon Disciple levels, if not Warchanter 5. Dragon Disciple is nice, but at the low to mid levels you'll likely still be most effective buffing at bardsong, and Inspire Recklessness totally kills at any table with a full BAB class.
Alpha_Nerd 01-25-07, 01:40 PM	Bard 4 gives me Alter Self and one other second level spell. Being able to alter into a Troglodyte and get a natural armor of +6 (+8 after dragon disciple) allows this guy to get a pretty hefty AC. I'm still on the fence about taking Warchanter before Dragon Disciple. They both have great benefits. Dragon Disciple seems to more of a personal benefit, while Warchanter seems to be more of a group benefit. I don't know, I'll have to spend some more time thinking about it.
jstorrie 01-25-07, 02:12 PM	Mm, I misread the spells per day table. Yes, do keep Bard 4. If you're going to be using Alter Self or similar buff spells, you ought to take Practiced Spellcaster at some point.
Alpha_Nerd 01-25-07, 02:17 PM	Alter Self caps out at 5HD, 1 below my caster level, and Troglodyte is only 2HD anyways. I can't think of any other 0-2 spells for bard that caster level would affect. Also, what do you think about a level of marshal?
gomeztoo 01-25-07, 02:48 PM	My personal view with dragon disciple is that if you take that Prestige Class you should go all the way. No point fgoing DrDisc imo if you do not actually get to become a dragon. The stat boosts/natural armor are nice, but I think it is better to take more fighter levels and thus gain more feats (weapon specialization) and better BAB, which is imo more important as it gives you better opporunity for Power Attack and more attacks. Btw if you want to save a feat, you could take Master's Touch to gain 'proficiency' with the chain.
Alpha_Nerd 01-25-07, 02:56 PM	The problem with master's touch is it doesn't qualify me for Exotic Weapon Master, and I think Dragon Disciple is a great 4 level dip, especially since it helps my trip bonus which you can't raise through fighter levels.
gomeztoo 01-25-07, 03:21 PM	Why not just go all the way drdisc? More strength boosts later on, blindsense, and flight. And at least it would do justice to the prestige class...
Alpha_Nerd 01-25-07, 03:31 PM	Because I don't want to?
jstorrie 01-25-07, 04:32 PM	Practiced Spellcaster isn't for the level cap on Alter Self, it's for the duration on Alter Self (and your other buffs, especially the 1hr/level ones.) Do you really want to only be a Troglodyte for half an hour?
Alpha_Nerd 01-25-07, 04:36 PM	I was planning on using Alter Self the first round of every battle. Even if I did get practiced spellcaster I'd only be up to 80 minutes, hardly enough time for a precast. As far as hour/level buffs I don't think I'll have any on my spell list.
Japangirl 01-25-07, 05:54 PM	Good bard 2 spells are silence, glitterdust, blur, invisibility, mirror image, and tongues. Note that your Cha won't be that high, so those are ones without saves, and glitterdust will show up invisible people even if they do make the save so it's worth including on the list but probably not the best spell to pick.
Alpha_Nerd 01-26-07, 11:08 AM	Bump for Build alteration.
Reylance 01-26-07, 11:49 AM	Your build works well. One feat recommendation is the one that lets you cast spells in medium armor without penalty... battle caster or armored caster or something like that. You are building a tank, and between +8 armor of mithral full plate and +8 natural armor of a draconic troglodyte (both of which can be enhanced), you're largely there. You'll want to buy some gloves of dexterity, in order to make best use of combat reflexes while enlarged. While I like ten levels of dragon disciple, that's only if you're building a character to embrace his draconic heritage. For characters with other focuses, four levels of dragon disciple is a good investment.
Alpha_Nerd 01-26-07, 03:01 PM	Yeah, Battle Caster would be a nice feat for 12. Unfortunately, if I want Exotic Weapon master before 12 I have to take focus at 9 because all the feats from 1-6 are necessary.
Morgen 01-27-07, 11:54 PM	I'd skip the levels of Marshal. People will just ***** that you took them! HEHE!! ;-)