I'm trying to make a Lightning Fury, Javelin wielding Amazon (from Diablo II) in D&D. I know that there is a DII-campaign setting, but we don't have acces to it. All books are allowed, including Dragon Magazines.
Currently, I'm thinking of a Human Barbarian 2/Cleric 3(Animal & Weather Domains)/Prestigious Ranger 15.
I took the Barbarian level to get the fast movement and uncanny dodge, which represent the Dodge, Evade & Avoid skills.
The Cleric is there to provide some spellcasting, which emulates the various Lightning, Passive & Poison skills.
Prestigious Ranger offers a compromise between spellcasting, woodswoman-feeling and ranged fighter that I feel the Amazon represents.
Her feats would be Power Attack, Brutal Throw, Power Throw, Endurance, Track, Point Blank Shot, Rapid Shot, Precise Shot.
Her Favoured Enemies will be Undead, Evil Outsiders, Aberrations and Animals.
My DM has ruled that throwing weapons can be enchanted by putting them in a special quiver/holding them in a special glove. The quiver/glove acts as a weapon for purpose of enhancements. For example, I could have a +3 Shocking Holy Quiver, which would grant every throwing weapon stored in it for 1 round these bonuses for 1 round.
So, do you have any suggestions? The character should play like and Amazon, and she should be able to hold her own in D&D terms.
Thanks in advance!
Oh, and you can pick up Trickery Devotion from Complete Champion to get a copy of yourself.
Otherwise, Arcane Archer is probably the most appropriate. If you are allowed to switch it to "Arcane Javelin Thrower," Imbue Arrow(er Imbue Javelin), could be used to throw Chain Lightnings.
Wow, hey, another idea. What about Warlock? You could use your Eldritch Blasts to represent an endless supply of Javelins, and then Eldritch Chain the hits. Its a little weird and abstract, but it works.
Oh a diablo 2 amazon, not a classic mythology one... never mind then...
That Arcane Archer stuff sounded nice, but the loss of increased spellcasting would make Imbue Javelin fairly useless, since there wouldn't be a lot of spells to imbue them with. Maybe the bare minimum for Imbue Javelins would work.
The Warlock is simply out, even with reflavouring. Too weak, too many abilities focused on the arcane, and the whole standard action-EB and lack of shields doesn't suit me.
Thanks for the suggestions, though.
Otherwise, maybe Bloodstorm Blade?
The Stormlord seems silly, since enchanting the Javalins isn't a problem at all. It would also detract from the more Woodsland-like abilities the prest. Ranger offers.
I'm not really understanding what you're basing "woodsland-likeness" on. The Amazon from Diablo was a soldier for hire.
This powerful woman warrior belongs to nomadic bands who roam the plains near the South Sea. The wandering of these groups often brings them into conflict with other peoples, so the Amazon is accustomed to fighting to defend her own. This lifestyle has made her fiercely independent and able to weather severe hardship and travel. While her skill with the bow rivals that of the Rogues, the Amazon is also adept in the use of spears and other throwing weapons, as well as in hand to hand combat. The Amazon is much sought after as a mercenary, in which type of service she will be loyal as long as her own ends are also served.
Where's the woodsy stuff? They're nomads from plains. Thats like, what, Track and a high survival skill, at best? Maybe Endurance? You definitely don't need all of Prestige Ranger (and I don't actually think you need any of it). And I'm not seeing anything about Prestige Ranger givine you access to new spells. It just advances your Cleric casting.
But yeah, obviously, its your character though, so I don't want to sound contentious here.
Ok, so anyway, feel free to ignore this. ;)
Remember, the Javelins are +3 Thundering Shocking Burst in addition to whatever they normally are. +5 Splitting Thundering Shocking Burst Javelins sound pretty amazing to me.
Convince the GM to let you do something like "Divine Spear Maiden" or something instead of Arcane Archer. Take 2 levels to get Imbue Javelin, then get the Air Domain (which has Chain Lightning on it). Profit.
I envision something more like this:
Start with Barbarian 2, just like you had, except use the UA variant on page 58 to trade Rage for Favored Enemy and combat styles (for a truly optimized build, ignore Barbarian and just do Cleric so you don't lose casting).
Go Cleric and take the Travel domain (now Survival is a class skill and the travel domain helps represent Dodge/Avoid/etc.). Air is also a good choice for Chain lightning. I don't understand Animal at all.
When you can qualify, take Stormlord 8-10. It really makes no difference when you stop. If you can convince the GM, grab Arcane Archer/Divine Spear Maiden. If not, get Smiting Spell from PHB2.
Here's how a lot of Amazon skills translate to D&D:
Inner Sight = Guiding Light (Spell Compendium)
Critical Strike = Improved Critical/Keen
Dodge/Avoid/Evade = Uncanny Dodge, Evasion, Dodge bonus to AC, High Dex, Travel Domain
Slow Missile = Wind Wall
Penetrate = High attack bonus through any means
Decoy/Valkyrie = Trickery Devotion (Complete Champion)
Pierce = Exit Wound weapon property (Complete Warrior) or Penetrating Shot (PHB2)
Poison/Plague Javelin = Acidic/Acid Burst weapon property or Poison + Smiting Spell (PHB2), or Stinking Cloud/Cloudkill + Imbued Arrow.
Lightning Bolt = Shocking/Shocking Burst weapon property or Shocking Grasp + Smiting Spell (PHB2)
Lightning Fury = Chain lightning + Imbued Arrow.
I'm sure there are other ways. Those just seem like the most obvious to me.
Reflouring Arcane Archer to Divine Spearmaiden wouldn't be hard with my DM. Just two levels should do the trick, right?
I got the Woodwoman impression from the description of most of the spear-skills.
Thanks for the ideas!