Buildfest 2009

Post/Author/DateTimePost
#1

owls_and_more_owls

Apr 05, 2009 23:33:48		Let's face it, we all have Prestige Classes that we really like, but maybe they dont work as well as another PrC or maybe it doesn't offer enough spellcasting. Maybe there's a PrC that you really enjoy the fluff but it's difficult or inconvenient to qualify for. That's what this Thread is for. You can work on strange or interesting builds, or suggest builds that revolve around and underused, ignored, or unorthadox theme or PrC. Have fun!
#2

dr_rocktopus

Apr 06, 2009 0:55:31 		Okay, my single favorite class. You're going to be ill, and I'm really sorry.

But my single favorite class is probably walker in the waste, because it's like a huge reminder in big print that books apparently never get proof-read.

Cloistered Cleric 2 (I think that gets you in...)/Walker in the Waste 10
It eats your entire EWL but you can just barely get all the canopic jars made at 12\13.
Lich at... at 12?!
YES!
WOO!
;)

It lets you play a game called Mages and Mummies while they play DnD. Win and awesome.
#3

wings_of_peace

Apr 06, 2009 2:01:35 		Magical trickster for me. It's the class that makes an iaijutsu master that can use skill tricks for constant flat-foot attacks possible. Factotum 3/Beguiler 5/Iaijutsu Master 5/Bloodstorm Blade 4/Magical Trickster 1/ Rogue 1/Warblade 1 might seem erratic but give it a harpoon and its got some viscious damage potential. That and I like the idea of a man who uses ancient samurai techniues with a harpoon.
#4

dr_rocktopus

Apr 06, 2009 2:33:10 		Harpoons are my favorite weapon. I will use them in any situation. Any. Situation.
Little fork? Big fork? Harpoons are always the right utensil.

Saira Impalin
Rogue 5 (I am lazy, sorry)/bloodstorm blade 2/ teflammar shadow lord 4

Use bloodstorm blade to make your ranged attacks count as melee attacks for determining the viability of shadow pounce. Get a serious serious migraine. Tie your harpoons to immovable rods. You'll want four rods, and about... many harpoons. A blink shirt will help here, and I also recommend going punk-girl with multiple belts of battle that you just unbuckle\drop\pull up into bandoleers to move them out of your belt slot in succession. ;) (None of this should be considered serious. At all)

We're intentionally not taking BsB 4 so we don't get lightning ricochet because this already hurts my head enough. Free double damage is not okay with me. You may decide you like that more than making everyone stop wiggling around so much.

We will be using our full attacks at each bounce to pin the same people to different rods with 30 feet of play. This gets stupid as all get out fast. Really fast. And really painfully. It's almost impossible to pass the reflex save, because we'll be using shocktrooper+power attack to push our damage fairly but not perhaps exceptionally high.
#5

wings_of_peace

Apr 06, 2009 4:01:22 		Tel-Flammar Shadowlord was a close second to me for favorite class. But Im just really into skill tricks right now. I'd have to look up the post again but there was a telflammar shadowlord build someone posted in a thread I started that used a warblade/master of the nine/rogue/tellflammar showlord setup in order to get both a teleportation off as a maneuver with extra damage from craven and then another set of attacks from using leaping flame counter to get more attacks whenever an enemy attacks.
#6

Pramxnim

Apr 06, 2009 4:54:39 		For me, it'll have to be the Halfling Shuriken Death build that a friend and I came up with for a lvl 19 campaign (never actually got to use it, we scrapped it for fear of DM wrath).

I'm gonna quote myself from another thread (too lazy to retyp or reformat the thing, apologies)
Hmm, how about... a Strongheart Halfling build that goes:

Rogue 1/Monk 1/Fighter 2/Rogue 2/Master Thrower 1/Whisperknife 1/Master Thrower 4/Rogue 7/Whisperknife 1

This build assumes the use of Hafling Rogue substitution level 1 (Increase range sneak attack by 1d6, decrease melee sneak attack by 1d6) and the Rogue alternative class feature Penetrating strike.

Feats will go something like below:
L1: Craven, Point Blank Shot
L2 (Monk1): Improved Unarmed Strike, Stunning Fist
L3, Fighter 1: Weapon Focus (Shuriken), Two Weapon Fighting
L4 (Fighter 2): Far Shot
L6: Precise Shot
L7 (Master Thrower 1): Quick Draw
L8 (Whisperknife 1): Rapid Shot
L9: Underfoot Combat
L11 (Master Thrower 4): Snatch Arrows
L12, Master Thrower 5: Confound the Big Folk, Improved Critical (Shuriken)
L15: Improved TWF
L18: Savvy Rogue

Well, this should get us... 17 BAB and so a total of 8 attacks (4 Iterative, 1 Flurry, 2 TWF, 1 Rapid Shot), meaning 16 shurikens per round, dealing:

(8d6 + 20) x 16 = 128d6 + 320 = 372 + 320 = 692 damage

Also, 32 Str damage and 16 Con damage (assuming we made the shurikens Wounding)

The Master Thrower tricks to get are:
MT1: Palm Throw (throw 2 shurikens with 1 attack)
MT3: Defensive Throw (make concentration check DC = 10 + # of threatening throws to not provoke AoOs)
MT5: Weak Spot (All thrown weapons vs. creatures size Small or larger are touch attacks, not applying Str bonus to the attacks)

Now for the weapon enhancements that matter:

Shurikens are treated as ammunitions for the purpose of enhancements. So the price of enhancing 1 weapon applies to 50 shurikens. Very nice, since we will be chucking these babies out like mad.

Make 50 Adamantine Shurikens, which have the properties Wounding (1 Con damage per hit), Returning, Distance, Enfeebling (1d6+2 Str damage on a crit), Seeking (Ignores cover and concealment less than total)

These are effectively +7 weapons, which cost 98000gp. It is very important to get Returning, Distance and Wounding first, since those will come into effect earlier.

Why Underfoot Combat and Confound the Big Folk?
These are two wonderful feats from Races of the Wild. They allow you to enter the space of a creature at least two sizes larger than you are and gain +4 cover bonus against every attack as long as you remain in their space. They also count as flat-footed against your attacks the next round. Just sneak into their space while invisible, and next round... BAM!
You can also trip them with a Dex check and they don't get any bonuses due to size. Less useful, but funny nonetheless.

The attack sequence would be:

+26/+26/+26/+26/+21/+21/+16/+11

All targeting a creature's touch AC (assuming they're small or larger). This can be made as high as +30 due to Greater Magic Weapon, and more with morale bonuses (Inspire Courage) or other kinds of bonuses.

The breakdown:

17 BAB + 1 Weapon Focus + 1 Point Blank Shot + 1 Size + 1 Racial + 10 Dex (easier achievable at lvl 20 with your rolled up stats) + 1 Enhancement bonus = +32 on a single shot

On a full attack, we subtract -2 from Flurry of Blows (usable with shurikens, which are considered monk weapons), -2 from TWF and -2 from Rapid Shot


EDIT: Mind you, if you do take it this far, chances are the DM will hate you and not allow the character at all. I know my DM did the latter after a friend and I came up with this build and explained it to him . You might want to tone it down a little.

EDIT 2: In order to qualify for Whisperknife early, you WILL need to take a flaw to get Weapon Finesse (or dump Craven)

#7

keithio

Apr 06, 2009 6:15:35 		HumanParagon3/Wizard2/Barbarian1/UnseenSeer4/DaggerspellMage10

Because poor poor DaggerspellMage gets no love at all.

Feats(NoFlaws): TwoWeaponFighting, Improved Initiative, MartialStudy(ShadowBladeTechnique), WeaponFinesse, WeaponFocus(Dagger), PracticedCaster(Wizard), ImprovedTwoWeaponFighting, MartialStance(Assassin'sStance), ShadowBlade, GreaterTwo-WeaponFighting
#8

jameswilliamogle

Apr 06, 2009 9:10:20 		Spellthief 10 / Bloodhound 10. Tech.
#9

pithica

Apr 06, 2009 10:36:25
Because poor poor DaggerspellMage gets no love at all.

It didn't amongst my friends either, until I almost wiped an entire party with one, 3x (the same one, he kept killing all but one of them and then teleporting away).

Wiz 2/HP 3/Unseen Seer 5/Daggerspell Mage 10 is one of my favorite builds for rogue/wizards. Nondetection + Mindblank + Superior Invis + Ghostform + Shirt of Wraithstalking + Hide skill and there ain't nothing that can see you, assassinate anyone you want at your leisure.

I really like both Nightmare Spinner and Dreadwitch, I like combining the two with Shadowcraft mage for a lot of fun with illusions.
#10

saxis

Apr 06, 2009 14:03:37
Shurikens are treated as ammunitions for the purpose of enhancements. So the price of enhancing 1 weapon applies to 50 shurikens. Very nice, since we will be chucking these babies out like mad.

Make 50 Adamantine Shurikens, which have the properties Wounding (1 Con damage per hit), Returning, Distance, Enfeebling (1d6+2 Str damage on a crit), Seeking (Ignores cover and concealment less than total)

These are effectively +7 weapons, which cost 98000gp. It is very important to get Returning, Distance and Wounding first, since those will come into effect earlier.

You must've forgot about this little tidbit regarding ammunition:
Ammunition

Projectile weapons use ammunition: arrows (for bows), bolts (for crossbows), or sling bullets (for slings). When using a bow, a character can draw ammunition as a free action; crossbows and slings require an action for reloading. Generally speaking, ammunition that hits its target is destroyed or rendered useless, while normal ammunition that misses has a 50% chance of being destroyed or lost.

And this:
A shuriken is a special monk weapon. This designation gives a monk wielding shuriken special options. A shuriken can’t be used as a melee weapon.

Although they are thrown weapons, shuriken are treated as ammunition for the purposes of drawing them, crafting masterwork or otherwise special versions of them and what happens to them after they are thrown.

That's a huge waste of money...
#11

dr_rocktopus

Apr 06, 2009 14:07:41 		I... have long wondered what happens if you throw shurikens after getting the lightning ricochet ability of bloodstorm blade. Long. Wondered.
#12

owls_and_more_owls

Apr 06, 2009 14:52:47 		I suppose I should pitch in as well. This is a Build based around the Lasher, an overlooked and underloved PrC that somehow didn't make it from Sword and Fist to Complete Warrior. It didn't even have a picture. Some of you may remember seeing this, because I had a great deal of help with it from the very nice and handsome people on this board.

Swashbuckler 3 Rogue 3 Lasher 10 Exotic Weapon Master 3 Fighter 1

Basically it's Indiana Jones if he were a Ninja. Whip specialization and an emphasis on tricky movement and knowledge skills (thanks to the Education Feat at first level). It's a really fun build that I hope to use the next chance I get.
#13

carnivore

Apr 06, 2009 15:05:11 		try this for a Lasher build:

Elan
Swasbuckler 3/ Fighter 2/ Pious Templar 3/ Lasher 4/ Pyrokineticist 10

lots of Fun... with Whip of Fire(Ranged Touch attack)+ Lasher abilities.... also 10d6 at will Ranged Touch Attack(Fire Bolt)... and Heat Death(Save-or-Die)

:D
#14

true_shinken

Apr 06, 2009 15:43:43 		I really want to give this a try: Warlock 12/Human Paragon 3/Cyran Avenger 5 or the like, probably with less Warlock. Cyran Avenger plus Eldritch Glaive leads to some AMAZING novas. Heck, you could even do a half-elf (blergh) Warlock 7/Human Paragon 3/Cyran Avenger 5/Outcast Champion 5. You have less eldritch blast damage but look how many times a day you can use avenging strike... That's so sexy.
#15

Pramxnim

Apr 06, 2009 16:14:26 		Oops, I did forget about the little line. Damn you WoTC and your fine print!
Well, this just means you can throw monk right out the window and go with a more conventional weapon then :D
#16

owls_and_more_owls

Apr 06, 2009 23:33:30
try this for a Lasher build:

Elan
Swasbuckler 3/ Fighter 2/ Pious Templar 3/ Lasher 4/ Pyrokineticist 10

lots of Fun... with Whip of Fire(Ranged Touch attack)+ Lasher abilities.... also 10d6 at will Ranged Touch Attack(Fire Bolt)... and Heat Death(Save-or-Die)

:D

Pyrokineticist was suggested when I made the build, but I'd rather not stray into Psionics.

That and The race was already set as a Changeling, so Psionics just wouldnt be convenient.
#17

SIKBUZ

Apr 06, 2009 23:58:03 		My favourite MOST unloved PrC..

The Reaping Mauler

There are plenty of builds out there but that size requirement of M or smaller absolutely S.U.C.K.S.. And the abilities gained should be a little more impressive but lets not go there.
#18

gorfnad_the_shiznit

Apr 07, 2009 0:21:59 		Some of my favorite odd builds
Ranger 2/ Swashbuckler 3/ Dread Commando 5/ Shadowblade 10
Lurk 9/ Ebon Saint 5/ Telfammar Shadowlord 6
Rogue 3/ Shadowcaster 4/ Assassin 3/ Noctumancer 4/ Telfammar Shadowlord 6
Rogue 3/ Shadowcaster 17
Rogue 3/ Shadowcaster 11/ Telfammar Shadowlord 6
Bard 6/ Crusader 2/ Jade Phoenix Mage 2/ Sublime Chord 2/ Jade Phoenix Mage 8
Warlock 4/ Binder 1/ Ur-Priest 2/ Eldritch Disciple 10/ Hellfire Warlock 3
VoP Human Paragon or Expert 1/ Swordsage 4/ Jordain Vizier 5/ Occult Slayer 5/ Witch Slayer 5
#19

hijaxx

Apr 07, 2009 8:02:14 		reaping mauler can be pretty cool if you use illithid extraction from complete psionic. Only disadvantage: you need to take 5 feats to qualifi. but a psiwar/flayerspawn psychic arent as affected by that.
#20

carnivore

Apr 07, 2009 8:25:59 		Reaping Mauler builds can work very well .... if you use a Medium Race with Powerful Build....Goliath, Halfgiant, Human(with Jotunbrud Feat)

:D
#21

Senevri

Apr 07, 2009 10:18:57 		Is there anything preventing the use of Reaping Mauler's bonus abilities with TK grapple?
#22

ninjarabbit

Apr 07, 2009 10:40:36 		hexblade9/paladin of tyranny4/mindbender7

The debuffs from hexblade and PoT make it much easier to land the mindbender's dominate ability and you don't lose much anyways since you don't care about your hexblade casting as much.
#23

saxis

Apr 07, 2009 10:49:15 		Always been a big fan of plain old Duelist from the DMG. I finally came up with a build I like for it...

Human LN
Cobra Strike Monk 2/Swashbuckler 3/Fighter 4/Exotic Weapon Master 1/Duelist 8/Fighter 2

Carmendine Monk, Dodge, Mobility, Spring Attack, Exotic Weap Prof (spiked chain), Weapon Finesse, Weapon Focus, Combat Reflexes, Combat Expertise, Improved Trip, Elusive Target, Robilar's Gambit, Bounding Assault, Rapid Blitz.

With a huge AC while moving, he Spring Attacks, provoking as many AoO's as he can along the way. When they attack, he gets an AoO from Robilar's. When they miss, he gets free trip attempt from Elusive Target. So far my DM hates it...
#24

psorowman

Apr 07, 2009 12:39:32 		There's a archer build i've been working on for a while that's not quite ready yet. Pretty much he's using a combination of cragtop archer, deepwood sniper, ranger, and artificer to hit things 2 miles away. The best thing is that he never took precise shot... (i'll have to remedy that)
#25

feloniousela

Apr 07, 2009 16:39:59 		Illumian
Duskblade 3/Fighter 2/Barbarian 1/Suel Arcanamach 4/Abjurant Champion 5/Spellsword 1/Dragon Disciple 4

Lion Totem for pounce, cityscape variants for Tumble, Strength based bonus spells

Full Suel casting, CL 20, 18 BAB

My favorite thing to do is use two weapon fighting if possible with a fully beefed up quarterstaff (GMW, GMiWa) and the weapon style feat from Drow of the Underdark that lets you break off spells as swift actions when you hit with both ends of the staff. OR use a Runestaff of Power and sacrifice your Duskblade spells to deal double damage on all of your attacks for a full round.
#26

gorfnad_the_shiznit

Apr 07, 2009 16:47:14 		Has anyone tried Defiant (Athar, Planar Handbook) 10/ Ur-Priest 10? It looks like a build that would just to really tick off deities and be very amusing at the same time.
#27

SIKBUZ

Apr 07, 2009 17:05:40
Reaping Mauler builds can work very well .... if you use a Medium Race with Powerful Build....Goliath, Halfgiant, Human(with Jotunbrud Feat)

:D

Yep.. But your whole purpose gets nerfed by anything Huge or bigger.. My group has a house rule for the RM that allows you to get bigger and not lose the class abilities (I believe this was the intention of the creator of the class).
#28

bahamut920

Apr 07, 2009 17:26:06 		I have a couple of Iaijutsu Focus ideas:

The first one is the iaijutsu master. A warblade gains access to the Iaijutsu Focus skill - either through the Cosmopolitan feat or through OA samurai/human paragon, then takes iaijutsu master. After the PrC is finished, it's back to warblade to get as many high-level maneuvers as possible. Warblade maneuvers should be mostly strikes and boosts, dealing a lot of damage with one attack. Sapphire nightmare blade is a must. If you can Martial Study for the Shadow Hand maneuvers which catch opponents flat-footed, do so.

The second is a bit more offbeat. Start with levels of factotum, then proceed to exemplar. You get a better skill bonus, and more skills, at the cost of some base attack (not that you'll really need it; the focus of these builds is to deal a lot of damage with one attack per round, for which a 3/4 BAB is just fine) and a few warblade tricks to catch your opponent flat-footed. You can afford the skill tricks more easily, though, especially since you have all skills as class skills for both classes. And your arcane dilettante will come in handy as well. Grease is especially useful, because a balancing opponent without five or more ranks in Balance is flat-footed. Just make sure you have ranks in Balance, yourself.

The catch here, is that IF requires your opponent to be flat-footed, which is a significantly rarer occurrence than being denied their Dexterity bonus. Flick of the Wrist from Complete Warrior allows you to catch an opponent flat-footed once per combat, as does Einhander from Tome of Battle (IIRC), the latter requiring a Sleight of Hand check. There are several skill tricks from Complete Scoundrel which help; one tied to Tumble and at least one tied to Sleight of Hand. Some support from an arcane spellcaster (or becoming one yourself, at least for one level) helps, because there are several spells which catch opponents flat-footed, grease being not least aong them.
#29

carnivore

Apr 08, 2009 4:38:53 		with Iaijutsu Master... all you need is 5 levels IIRC.... thus the build would be as follows:

Warblade 15/ Iaijutsu Master 5

BAB +20
9th lvl Manuvers


if 6th lvl Iaijutsu Master is needed ... then:

Warblade 14/ Iaijutsu Master 6 .... gives basicly the same thing

:D
#30

ramaloke

Apr 08, 2009 7:39:21 		Super Elf Caster
Sun Elf Abjurer 4/Elf Paragon 3/Ruathar 3/Olin Gisir 10

Demonologist
Wizard 7/Malconvoker 7/Fiendbinder 6

Ultimate Magus
Illumian (Naen Krau) Beguiler 1\Focused Diviner 4\Ultimate Magus 10\Archmage 5

Cleric Vampire
Vampire (+08) Cleric 09/Master Vampire 03

Werewolf Ranger
Werewolf (+03) Ranger 10/Wolf HD 02/Warshaper 05

Gestalt Builds

Uber Druid
Druid 20||Monk 3/Fighter 2/Master of Many Forms 10/Hierophant 5

Master Vampire
Paladin of Tyranny 5/Hexblade 5/Blackguard 7/Master Vampire 3||Vampire 08/Evolved Undead 2/Vampire Lord 10

Master of Disguise
Changeling Factotum 20||Rogue 10/Chameleon 10
#31

true_shinken

Apr 08, 2009 11:32:27 		Einhander is from PHB2.
#32

owls_and_more_owls

Apr 08, 2009 14:43:00 		How about Alienist from Complete Arcane? Who want's to tackle that one?
#33

bahamut920

Apr 08, 2009 14:57:35 		Ramaloke - It seems that fist of the forest is perfect for that uber druid build... Especially since you'll be transforming into forms with a much higher Constitution than a human.
#34

innabinder

Apr 08, 2009 16:32:00
How about Alienist from Complete Arcane? Who want's to tackle that one?

Say Hello To My Li'l Friend
Urg
Strongheart Halfling Wizard 6/Alienist 10/Wild Soul 4
STR 6 DEX 16 CON 16 INT 21 WIS 8 CHA 8

Augment Summoning, SF(Conjuration), GSF(Conjuration), Scribe Scroll, Empower Spell, Improved Familiar (Winter Wolf), Bonded Familiar, Imbued Summoning, Spontaneous Summoner, Rapid Spell, Repeat Spell, Cloudy Conjuration

Concentration 23, Decipher Script 9, K(Arcana) 23, K(Dungeoneering) 5, K(History) 5, K(Nature) 17, K(The Planes) 23, Spellcraft 23, Swim 0.5
#35

naanomi

Apr 08, 2009 16:59:32 		I liked Wizard 3/Master Specialist 2/Alienist 10/Mystic Theurge 5
Really fun, in the very end, binding that Pseudonatural cohort.

A class I always wanted to work good, but couldn't, was Fortune's Friend (Complete Scoundrel). I always wanted to have it with the Luck domain, and be a spontaneous caster (I was just born lucky!)... but the only way I could make it work was 'Strongheart Halfling Battle Sorcerer 5/Fortune's Friend 5/Luckstealer 10', and the lack of caster levels and spells was... oppressive.
#36

ramaloke

Apr 08, 2009 17:15:22 		Crazy Evil

Human Wizard 10 (Planar Substitution Levels)/Alienist 10
Feats: Spell Focus (Conjuration), Augment Summoning, Scribe Scroll, Willing Deformity, Spell Focus (Evil), Willing Deformity (Madness), Corrupt Spell, Twin Spell, Greater Spell Focus (Conjuration), Spell Focus (Malign), Dark Speech, Vile Whispers, Quicken Spell, Filthy Outburst

Stats (No Magic Items)
STR: 10, Dex: 11, Con: 13, Int: 25, Wis: 10, Cha: 15

Stats (Magic Items)
STR: 10, Dex: 22, Con: 24, Int: 36, Wis: 21, Cha: 26

This build uses the effects of Corruption from the Heroes of Horrors book (2 extra feats), there are no flaws (though Im sure the build could benefit from them). Get ahold of both a Soul Tick and a Fiendish Familiar from Fiend Folio. The Familiar will become a pseudonatural fiendish familiar (which would look really creepy on your character since its a "graft" familiar of sorts). Also go ahead and use the Ritual of Alignment from Savage Species to get the Evil Subtype (not necessary but thematically cool).

If you do all that you basically get a +5 (+6 if target is good) bonus to your save DC's for all of your spells by applying the Corrupt Spell Metamagic to your spells, and all of your spells that have a variable effect are automatically empowered. Your conjuration spells will be particularly wicked at a +9-+10 DC bonus.

You should also use the Steal Life Spell to allow you to be venerable in a young body (+3 to Mentals for Free!).

Also you can spend an immediate action to deafen everybody within 60 feet (Save DC: 10+1/2 HD+Cha), and make everybody save at -4 vs evil spells for 1d6 Charisma damage.

I suggest use of Bestow Curse and Bestow Greater Curse to get the ball rolling and screw up their saves, then you can use the Filthy Outburst and Vile Whispers feats to Deafen and Stagger your enemies (taking 1d6+1 Charisma Damage in the process). If you manage to land both Bestow Greater Curse and Filthy Outburst on a target, that target has a -12 to all saves, and remember, your spells are getting anywhere from a 5-10 bonus on the save DC.
#37

jameswilliamogle

Apr 08, 2009 21:10:00 		Combat Trapsmith / Bloodhound.
#38

true_shinken

Apr 08, 2009 21:13:35 		I like Scout 4/Paladin 4/Dragon Devotee 5/Unseen Seer 9 or something like that.