Post/Author/DateTime	Post
sauce 01-12-08, 01:25 PM	Hi, for an upcoming campaign I'm building a Swashbuckler/Ninja who follows Invisible Blade to completion and then spends the rest in Dervish. It's pretty cool--the char adds 3 stats to AC and eventually will get to the point where he can group fake-out (Complete Scoundrel skill trick) everybody, then roll through the crowd striking for sneak attack dice with double kukris. All of this while unarmored, very amusing. Is it better than a straight up fighter? Probably not, but fun to play and with a couple of options/skills most fighters won't have, I'm guessing. But I'm having trouble finding the right race to use. At first I wanted to use the svirfneblin, found in MM1 and Faerun campaign stuff. But the race suffer a -4 Cha penalty that really hampers his Bluff skill. Otherwise, I'd totally be playing him. So my question is: Is there a race out there that is a good fit for such a build? The conditions are that I'd like it to not exceed a +3 lvl adjustment. Primarily, every stat is important except Strength, so if possible I'd like to have stats boosted rather than decreased. Beyond that, I'm open to any kind of ideas. The sky's the limit and such. If mixing templates arises, that's cool.
Howland Reed 01-12-08, 04:25 PM	That's kinda funny...I'm working on a very similar build, but using Swashbuckler/Swordsage/Inv.Blade/Duelist, with single dagger instead of paired kukris. I went Grey Elf, for Int & Dex boosts...Str doesn't hurt (thanks to Shadow Blade and Insightful Strike, plus others), but Con kinda does. Still, life is full of tradeoffs, neh? If you have ToB access, look into using Shadow Blade + Assassin's Stance. Perfect. Also, I'm a big fan of using Deadly Defense and optimizing defensive fighting...and I know Dervish gets Elaborate Parry (if not quite as good as the Duelist's version). War Devotion is nice for this, now that I have Comp Champion. Have you considered Tiefling? They get +2 Int/Dex (stuff you want), and while they take a hit to Cha, they get a +2 racial bonus on Bluff checks to make up for it. Only LA +1.
sauce 01-12-08, 10:25 PM	Thanks for the tiefling suggestion. I can't believe I'd forgotten them, they're definitely a possible choice for my build. However, I was perusing the Sandstorm book and found a template that might be perfect--the Half-Janni. Without even considering what creature to select as a base, I like that it adds +2 to all stats except Charisma. It is a +3 lvl adjustment though, and that makes me reconsider. Its other perks are okay, the real kicker being its stat buffs I think. As much as hate the -4 to Charisma, I think I might stick with the svirfneblin. It has so many things going for it: good spell resistance, great saving throw bonuses, a huge AC buff, a handful of innate spells. I think I have to remember that my real issue is having a good Bluff-to-feint roll against opponents in combat, opposed by their Sense Motive check (enhanced by BAB, admittedly). Otherwise, actual charismatic charm is not part of what I had in mind. So I guess I'll just bite the bullet, and look for other ways to increase the feinting part of the game (items, random buffs temporary or not, etc.). But I'm still open to suggestions! Alignment-related issues are not a problem, everything is open, but +3/+4 lvl adjustment is my limit. I was looking at the insectile template from Savage Species actually . . . insectile tiefling???
Howland Reed 01-13-08, 01:04 AM	What level are you starting at? I'm always leery of high LA races/templates...they can set you back in terms of ability, slow your advancement, and make it difficult to fit all the class levels you want into the typical 20 level build. What's your build plans right now? I was trying to go Swashbuckler3/Duelist7/InvBlade5/XYZ5 (at present, Fighter2/Warblade1/Swordsage2). As you can see, I don't have any spare space for squeezing in LA (as it is, I'm planning on flaws to meet my feat prereqs). I wouldn't go Svirneblin...not because of the Cha penalty, but because of the LA +3. What does the insectile template have to offer?
Contrast 01-13-08, 11:49 AM	I always suggest Neraph from the Planar Handbook when someone is making a sneak attack build. No ability score adjustments, but a great ability to automatically sneak attack each enemy in combat at least once and no level adjustment. Keep in mind that I cannot print any details about the Neraphim, they are not Open Game Liscense content.