Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Muaythaidaddy 05-09-05, 04:01 PM	I'm usually just a lurker, but I need some help with a character. I really wasn't sure where else to go online than here, which - in my experience - is the homeland for the masters of character tweaking. The character described below has been played weekly/twice-weekly for about two years, mostly in a dungeon environment. The DM is very open to prestige classes, templates and spells. This character was built with destroying undead in mind initially, but has since grown into a "champion of the faith" sort of mold. The character is a crusader against undead and - specifically - the clergy/cultists of Orcus. Please help me tweak this character and if you see anything wrong - which there most surely is - please point it out. When reading the character description, there are a few things to keep in mind: The Nimbus of Light feat was gained as a bonus feat after securing a powerful relic and does not count against the character's normal allotment of feats. Before gaining the Saint template, the DM reviewed the character and his history closely. The only thing that the character di not have was three exalted feats (he had two). The DM waived this restriction based on the character's history, deeds and sacrifices. While there is plenty of magic to go around in this campaign, the DM has put a cap on the buying of items "in town" of more than 2000 gold piece worth. If you want to try and buy something more than that, you have to get A) DM approval and B) locate that particular item in actual game time. Needless to say, we are spending more time adventuring than trying to buy magical items. THANK YOU ALL IN ADVANCE! Here we go.............. Saint Barach, Crusading Champion of Pelor Human Male 7th level Cleric 3rd level Radiant Servant of Pelor 4th level Sacred Exorcist Saint Template (+2 CL; Book of Exalted Deeds) Experience Points: 93,387 Neutral Good Strength: 16 (+3) Intelligence: 15 (+2) Wisdom: 30 (+10) (+1 at 4th, 8th, 12th level; +5 f/tome, +2 f/pearl, +2 f/saint template) Dexterity: 14 (+2) Constitution: 18 (+2 f/saint template) (+4) Charisma: 26 (+4 f/saint template, +4 f/cloak of pelor's splendor) (+8) Armor Class: 39 (full plate +2 (armor +10), holy blinding large shield +2 (shield +4), saint template (insight +10), protective aura (deflection +4), ability scores (dexterity +1; armor check penalty); armor class drops to a 35 if Barach is being attacked by a non-evil creature). Hit Points: 131 (7D8+4D8+3D6+56 HD) Initiative: +2 (dexterity) Speed: 30 feet (20 feet while in armor; armor check penalty) Base Attack Bonus: +10/+5 Melee Attack: +14/+9 (morningstar +1; 1D8+1+3; crit 20, X2) Ranged Attack: +12 (ranged attack spells) Grapple: +13/+8 Fortitude Save: +16 (base 9 + con 4 + cloak of pelor's splendor) Reflex Save: +8 (base 3 + dex 2 + cloak of pelor's splendor) Will Save: +27 (base 12 + wis 10 + aura of warding + cloak of pelor's splendor) Skills: Concentration +18, Diplomacy +10, Heal +23, Knowledge (arcana) +13, Knowledge (religion) +19, Ride +4, Spellcraft +11, Spot +14. Feats: Empowered Turning, Enhanced Turning, Exalted Turning, Extra Turning, Heightened Turning, Nimbus of Light (bonus feat), Quickened Turning. Special Abilities/Qualities: DR 10/evil, fast healing 7, immune to acid, cold, electricity and petrification attacks, resistance to fire 10, turn undead, spontaneous casting (healing spells), aura of good, can't cast evil spells, chosen foe +1 (undead), extra greater turning, bonus exorcism domain, resist possession, detect evil at will, divine health, aura of warding, dispel evil 1/week, holy power, holy touch, spell-like abilities, protective aura and holy vision. Explanation of Special Abilities/Qualities: Aura of Warding - Barach gains a +2 morale bonus on will saves, which also extends to all allies within 10 feet. Chosen Foe - Barach gains a +1 to all bluff, intimidate, listen, sense motive and spot checks against undead. He also gains a +1 to caster level checks to overcome the SR of undead creatures. Damage Reduction - Barach possesses DR 10/magic. Each time a foe hits Barach with a weapon that is not magical, the damage dealt by that attack is reduced by 10 points (to a minimum of 0 points of damage). However, magical weapons deal normal damage. Detect Evil - Barach may detect evil at will, out to a range of sixty feet. See page 218 of the Player's Handbook. Dispel Evil - Once each week, Barach may cast dispel evil. See page 222 of the Player's Handbook. Divine Health - Barach is immune to all diseases, including supernatural and magical diseases (such as mummy rot or lycanthropy), in the same manner that a paladin is. See page 44 of the Player's Handbook. Fast Healing (Ex) - Barach regains 7 hit points at the beginning of each round. Fast healing cannot re-grow or reattach lost body parts and it does not restore hit points lost from starvation, thirst or suffocation. See page 309 of the Monster Manual. Greater Turning - Nine times each day, Barach can perform a greater turning against undead in place of regular turning. The greater turning is like a normal turning except that the undead creatures that would be turned are destroyed instead. See page 188 of the Player's Handbook. Holy Sight - Barach possesses darkvision, keen vision and low-light vision. Darkvision - This is an extraordinary ability that allows creatures to see in the dark. Darkvision is black and white only, but is otherwise like normal sight and no light is needed to function properly. Barach has darkvision out to sixty feet. Keen Vision - You know, I'm still not quite sure what keen vision does. Low-light Vision - This is the ability to see in conditions of dim illumination as if the illumination were actually as bright as daylight. Barach can see twice as far as normal in starlight, torchlight, moonlight and similar conditions. He retains the ability to distinguish color and detail under these conditions. Barach possesses low-light vision out to sixty feet. Holy Touch - Barach does an extra +1D6 damage to evil creatures or +1D8 damage against evil undead and outsiders with a touch attack in melee combat. Any evil creature that strikes Barach in melee combat with a natural weapon or touch attack takes 1D6 damage as well. Holy Power - Barach gains a +2 to all DCs for spells and special abilities. Immunities - Barach is immune to acid, cold, electricity and petrification attacks. Protective Aura - Barach is surrounded by a protective aura that acts as a double strength magic circle against evil and as a lesser globe of invulnerability. This gives Barach a +4 deflection bonus to AC, a +4 resistance bonus to saving throws, immunity to possession, enchantment (charm) effect and enchantment (compulsion) effects. Summoned creatures of non-good alignment must also make a successful SR check to touch Barach. Radiance - Any spell with the light descriptor that is cast by Barach has it's radius doubled and is treated as one level higher than normal. Resist Possession - Barach gains a +4 sacred bonus to keep from being possessed, a +2 sacred bonus to dispel such effects and a +2 sacred bonus to all saves versus charm and compulsion effects manifested by evil outsiders and undead. Resistances - Barach has fire resistance 10. He may ignore the first 10 points of damage inflicted by an attack that causes fire damage (to a minimum of 0 points of damage). Spell-like Abilities - Barach may cast bless, guidance, resistance, tounges and virtue at will. These spells can be found in the Player's Handbook and the Book of Exalted Deeds. Spontaneous Casting - Barach may channel stored spell energy into healing spells that he did not prepare ahead of time. He can "lose" any prepared spell that is not a domain spell in order to cast any cure spell of the same level or lower. Any spell with the word "cure" in it can be spontaneously cast. Turn Undead (Su) - Barach has the ability to turn or destroy undead creatures by channeling positive energy. He may use this ability up to 15 times each day. Barach's turning check is 1D20+14, which is modified by his charisma modifier, the glory domain and his 5 or more ranks in knowledge - religion. The number of hit dice of undead that are turned or destroyed with a particular turning check is determined by Barach's turning damage, which is 7D6(base, feats, domain)+14(level)+10(charisma). Barach's various feats can change this damage and the result of the turning check. See page 159 of the Player's Handbook. Normal Possessions: Clerical vestments of Pelor, backpack, bedroll, 3 flasks of holy water, prayer beads, a small box of holy wafers, religious prayerbook of Pelor, 2 flasks of oil, tinderbox, a small stone enchanted with continual flame, 1 week's worth of dried food and 2 waterskins (1 contains water, the other contains fine wine), 4 wooden stakes, a steel hand held mirror, 2 holy candles (+2 to turn checks while standing within it's illumination), a detailed journal of all the things he has seen and encountered in Rappan Athuk. Magical Possessions: Morningstar +1, full plate +2, holy blinding large metal shield +2, cloak of pelor's splendor (acts as a cloak of charisma +4 and a cloak of resistance +3, modified through the use of a wish spell), amulet of life protection, mantle of spell resistance (SR 23), helm of comprehending languages and reading magic, phylactery of faithfulness, wand of cure light wounds (20 charges), ring of free action, periapt of wisdom +2, figurines of wondrous power (golden lions), potion of neutralize poison, potion of cure serious wounds and a scroll (blade barrier and stone to flesh; 16th level). Wealth: Barach commonly carries a coin pouch that contains 10 copper coins, 25 silver coins and 50 gold coins. He does, however, have 17,018 gold coins, 335 silver coins, 500 copper coins and a heavy mace +1 placed in a locked, warded depository at his temple for future endeavors. He has also acquired a ring of wishes (one wish left) for use in dire emergencies. Finally, Barach has a ring of protection from petrification and polymorph (+10 to saving throws) that he has been waiting to give to an ally. Spells: 6,9,9,7,7,6,6,4 (spell save DC base 22 + spell level; base DC 23 for spells with the good and light descriptor). Domains: Sun (greater turning against undead in the place of regular turning, as normal but any undead creature that would be turned is destroyed instead; up to 7/day with extra greater turning ability from Radiant Servant of Pelor prestige class); Glory (turn undead with a +2 bonus on the turning check and +1D6 to turning damage); Exorcism (force possessing spirits out of the hosts body by expending a turning check). 0 Level - Detect Poison, Detect Magic (X2), Light (X2), Purify Food and Drink. 1st Level - Bless (X2), Detect Undead, Divine Favor (X2), Divine Inspiration (boed), Nimbus of Light (boed), Protection from Evil, Ray of Hope (boed). 2nd Level - Aid, Bear's Endurance, Bull's Strength (X2), Calm Emotions, Consecrate, Ghost Touch Armor (lm), Luminous Armor (boed), Remove Paralysis. 3rd Level - Dispel Magic, Heart's Ease (boed), Prayer, Searing Light (X3), Sheltered Vitality (lm). 4th Level - Death Ward, Divination, Divine Power, Neutralize Poison, Restoration, Spell Immunity, Undead Bane Weapon (lm). 5th Level - Break Enchantment, Curtain of Light (boed), Dispel Evil, Flame Strike (X2), True Seeing. 6th Level - Banishment, Greater Dispel Magic, Heal (X2), Planar Ally, Word of Recall. 7th Level - Holy Word (X2), Righteous Smite (boed), Shield of the Archons (boed). Description: Barach is well over six feet tall, weighs around 225 pounds, has short black hair, brooding blue eyes and wears white-enameled platemail adorned with the symbol of Pelor (a shining, radiant sun), chased in mithril and gold, upon the breastplate. He wears a blue cloak with gold fringe, speaks in a deep voice and has a commanding presence. At times, Barach shines with a soft white light, which can be as dim as a torch or as brilliant as a light spell. Upon close observation, Barach has a thin, fine scar around his throat, the result of a previous decapitation by a vorpal sword. He is 32 years old. Languages: Common, Gnome, Abyssal.
Damien_Hiro 05-09-05, 04:17 PM	I think it is an all around good charcter. Could you post your Skills with ranks and such. I am not sure, but some of them defintely sound off, too low. I am surprised you never took a Craft wand or even Wondrous Item feat. I think that could save a lot of your having to find stuff to buy. You should defintely have a Wand of cure serious wounds with max caster level. I will have to get back to you on the rest of it after I look at the pretige classes.
Johnny Cache 05-09-05, 09:13 PM	Very, very well done. :clap: If my Paladin of Tyr met your chara, she'd be all :bow::love::cheer:. He'd probably freak if he saw her, tho - she's a troll. :D One "oops" I noticed: you can cast Bless at will, why waste spell slots on it? IMHO, your chara should pray for Lantern Light and/or Vision of Heaven (both BoED) instead. Oh, and the Nimbus of Light spell is from Complete Divine, not BoED. With his Fast Healing, you might want to have him pick Shield Other as one of his second-level spells. For the future, I suggest you think about getting the Holy Radiance feat and the Intuitive Attack feat from BoEd, then take a look at any of several feats in CD which let you use Turnings for other cool effects. If you want him to get Exalted feats faster, then take Favored of the Companions as his next feat so he can take levels of Sword of Rightousness. That's what my Paladin will be doing soon. You also may want to find a way to get the spell Axiomatic Creature cast on your chara. That's all I can think of right now. Hope this helps.
Muaythaidaddy 05-09-05, 10:57 PM	Great suggestions........... keep them coming!
Muaythaidaddy 05-09-05, 10:57 PM	BTW, where can I find the spell "Axiomatic Creature" at?
Johnny Cache 05-10-05, 12:33 AM	BTW, where can I find the spell "Axiomatic Creature" at?BoED, page 91. ;) So, you want more? Here goes... Of course you know to put your next stat point into INT. After that, I'd say put them to STR. For new Items to save for: Definately get another wand or two of Cure Light. I've found them much more cost-effective than wands of Cure Moderate or Serious. Some potions of Enlarge and Reduce can come in handy. And don't forget the Holy Water - hurts the undead, but doesn't bother innocents! You'll need a Heward's Handy Haversack (cheap!) to keep all this stuff in. A Belt of Giant Strength would be nice, but then again, so would a Monk's Belt. If you go with the latter, you can always get Gauntlets of Ogre Power (Gloves of Dexterity won't help you much with that full plate armor he has). Btw - my Paladin has gotten some really good use out of her Slippers of Spider Climbing. :) As for feats, I think we've already covered enough to get you to epic levels. You might thinking about multiclassing to Paladin. There a feat in the Eberon book (I think) called Knightly Training which would let you freely multiclass between Paladin and one other class. One last piece of advice (for now): the WizOs don't like it when you double post. If you think of something after you submit a post, use the Edit function, m'kay? If you do it in the first couple of minutes after you post, it won't even show that you editted it.
fallabel 05-10-05, 07:44 AM	Another feat that you might want to check out is Holy Radiance. It increases the radius of your Nimbus of Light, and it deals 1d4 damage to any undead within that radiance every round, no save.
Johnny Cache 05-10-05, 08:01 AM	Another feat that you might want to check out is Holy Radiance.Great idea! Why didn't I think of that? :P Seriously, tho, that is a cool feat, and the next one I'd get for this chara.
fallabel 05-10-05, 08:06 AM	Oops, sorry bout that.
Muaythaidaddy 05-10-05, 01:09 PM	Awesome ideas............ how can I best boost his spell powers?
Johnny Cache 05-10-05, 04:02 PM	You want everything, don't you? :P (Just teasing.) Seriously, though, if you want to concentrate on spells the forget what I said about multiclassing to Paladin until after you hit effective Cleric level 20. Also forget about STR and continue adding level bonuses to WIS. He already has a +2 Pearl of Wisdom; maybe you can upgrade it. And there's always Tomes... Then again, his WIS score is already pretty :shocked: for a non-epic character.... Check out the feats in CD for more spell oomph. As I mentioned earlier, some of them burn turning attempts, but with Extra Turning and that CHA score, he has plenty of fuel. :) Last but not least, don't forget the magic item "Pearl of Power". A level 1 one is only 1000gp. Getting away from spells - one magic item I forgot to mention before is the Phylactery of Undead Turning. He couldn't wear it at the same time as his current magic helmet, but a Saint has a constant Tongues spell effect, so all it does for him is let him read magic. One last thing we didn't look at is skills. Could you post his, s'il vous plait? All I see right now are languages. (BTW - an exalted character really should know Celestial;))
Muaythaidaddy 05-11-05, 11:05 AM	His wisdom score comes from a combination of levels, reading a tome of understanding, his saint template and a pearl of wisdom. Sadly, I'm afraid that he's about topped out on wisdom here, realistically..... should I go for a charisma increase? You make a good point about the Helm of Comprehending Languages and Reading Magic - I think the time has come to pass that down to a follower of fellow party member. Sadly, it the character's very first magic item, so I hate to see it go! Since my skill points were too low, I added Celestial as a language. Great point, BTW. As far as feats go, the first epic feat I was going to take - at 21st level - was the one that gives you an extra domain. With that, i could take the domain that gives me divine grace (I forget which one at the moment), which - with my charisma - is going to give me a modified +8 to all of my saves. That's probably the only reason I haven't splashed paladin levels. As for the feats I get at 15th and 18th level, I was toying with Power of Aurifar from Sandstorm and a few recommended ones from the Complete Divine. I'd really like to be able to use all of those turn attempts on something when I'm not facing undead. I will DEFINITELY be on the look-out for a phylactery of undead turning. That would be a GREAT bonus to his abilities. As for skills....... I totally had the wrong configuration....... he should have 85 skill points, by my rough calculation. Here's his base skill point allotment: Skills: Concentration +17, Diplomacy +2, Heal +17, Language (Celestial), Knowledge (arcana) +11, Knowledge (religion) +17, Ride +2 (cc), Spellcraft +9, Spot +4. Thanks to everyone - this has been a most informative thread - please keep the suggestions coming.
Johnny Cache 05-11-05, 06:38 PM	If you can't up WIS any more, by all means go for more CHA. Now, as for his skills.... Heal+17?!? :confused: What a waste! With his +10 for WIS, you can take 10 and treat a DC 37 poison or disease! I don't think there are any such, at least non-epic. And the other uses for it are only DC 15. Given his spontaneous access to healing spells, how often foes he use the heal skill, anyway? If you can move any of those skill points, I'd strongly suggest you do so. Leave Heal at about +5 or so. Anyhoo, for a skill shopping list: Definately buy up your Diplomacy to at least +5, to get the synergy bonuses. Other good things to get are Gather Information, Sense Motive, and any Knowlege skill (but especially Royalty/Nobility and History). Tumble is a fun skill to get, but with his armor, he'd need quite a few ranks to use it effectively. Finally, if you're still using a horse, you might consider improving Ride. I'm not familiar with Sandstorm. What does Power of Aurifar do?
Muaythaidaddy 05-12-05, 06:37 PM	Power of Aurifar does 2D6 fire damage to any undead successfuly turned. It's kind of cool, i thought, especially with the whole "radiance" thing going on with him and his mucho-undead-turning capabilities. I don't think my DM will have much of a problem with me moving skill points around. Thanks for the advice on that one! The suggestions here have been really, really good and quite the eye-opener. Good stuff!
Johnny Cache 05-12-05, 07:36 PM	Glad to be of help. :) Hm, Exalted Turning already does 3D6 damage to turned undead, would the Power of Aurifar's effects stack? Better ask your DM. One last thing: If you're sure that you campaign is going to continue into epic levels, you might want to take Paladin now, rather than later. Past 20th level, all classes use "Epic Progression" for BAB and saves. If you take Paladin now, you'll get the better BAB bonuses. It's at the expense of a good Will save, but I think you can afford that. ;) Good luck!
Muaythaidaddy 05-12-05, 09:35 PM	I was going to take paladin earlier on, but I discovered the epic feat that lets you take an extra domain. There's a domain out there that has a granted power that gives you the divine favor or whatever it is that paladins get that lets them add their charisma bonus to saving throws. Really, that's what I wanted out of the paladin class the most, so I figured I would take that at 21st level as my first epic feat. This character will definitely be going into epic levels. Right now we are still going through Necromancer Games' "Rappan Athuk" series (which ends with a huge showdown with Orcus, much like the old TSR "Bloodstone" modules) and we expect to be pushing levels 22-23 by the time we reach that finale - if we can survive long enough to get there. That's one of the main reasons for this thread. My DM is notoriously crafty and somewhat bloodthirsty, but fair, so I want to make sure that the beloved PC I have spent so much time developing can at least make it to that finale.
FireHeart 05-13-05, 08:07 PM	Since my skill points were too low, I added Celestial as a language. Great point, BTW. Actually, with the saint template, I'm fairly certain you pick up Tongues as a supernatural ability so you shouldn't have to burn points on languages. Maybe increase Knowlege levels? ~Fireheart