and I realized something. there are two races i really want to play! a slaad and a illithid. please help me decide witch one to choose followed by some series optimazation. i've always been intrested as being a illithid savant or a slaad brooder. if this request is outragess our to high L.A. then just say the word and i'm sorry for wasting your time.
If you have; the tank, the healer, the skill monkey and the crowd control (ie, wizard) taken care of, it leaves you quite free to branch out and do some fun things. And, if you can make it to epic levels, an Illithid Savant can become quite a force on his own (depending on how 'free' your DM is with brains).
but now for the rest of the post i still need help deciding
all roles are solidly set! i just need to role up the charactor.
Well then. *rubs hands together* As long as you don't mind 'the spotlight' (ie, my term for having a set role in the group), you can really take off.
Just a few more questions.
Do you have any alignment restrictions / guidelines? I have found the best way to play an Illithid is to play one as True Neutral, as to avoid conflicting with Paladins or other goody-goody characters. If you lack one of those in the party, Lawful Evil has been my favorite. Neutral Evil is if you don't like following rules. Never go chaotic unless you can find a reason for following around in the group and not betray them.
What is the starting level? It can really determine your level progression. If you know you won't have to fend for yourself at every level, you can 'cherry-pick' the things you want.
What is the starting gold and what types of items do you have access to (ie, books allowed)? A big part. Many good builds dip into a lot of books.
And lastly, what do you want to do in the group? A fifth character (or w/e) usually serves as a backup in one or more situations and should be built with some sort of role to play.
starting level around 12 (I say around because dm won't mind a level shift of 1 or 2) i won't have to "fend for myself" what so ever, all books are aloud, and the starting gold is.... (what ever the starting gold is for a level 12 charictor i guess) and no real role to fill....... hope that gives enough detail
At lv16, you can enter illithid savant. Because its abilities ultimately depend on what foes your DM opts to throw your way (woe if you encounter too many undead or golems...;) ), you may want to sit down with your DM and work out what sort of special abilities you want him to have. This way, everyone is happy. You get the powers you agreed on, and your DM has a peace of mind that it will not upset the campaign (like tarrasque regeneration...)
For feats, you don't have that many to work with. So you will want to choose wisely, since this is pretty much your only avenue of customization.
Maybe ability focus on your SLAs, such as mindblast and maybe charm monster? Supernatural ability can be useful, because it allows your chosen SLA to ignore sr (which will stagnate at 8). Mindsight (Lords of madness) lets you detect foes within telepathy range, meaning that your party can never be surprised again, because you automatically pinpoint the location of everyone within a 100-ft radius...
You will pretty much be spamming your at-wills each combat. Seek to stun hordes of weak foes with mindblast, or command entire legions with your charm monster usable at-will. Astral projection can be broken depending on how you use it (it can even be used offensively on your foes if you are gutsy enough).