Evil - ish character of doom and darkness and stuff - Downloaded from the Wizards Community, all coding removed by Solauren

Evil - ish character of doom and darkness and stuff

Post/Author/DateTime Post
#1
nistra
Sep 20, 2011 17:28:05 I am joining an evil party and was wondering what should I play. I think of damage oriented palladin of tyranny - cleric - bone knight or something like that. I've read the cleric handbook and the paladin handbook but I just can't get it straight. So I am looking for ideas.

The race = lesser aasimar is too powerful. If you have any other ideas, please let me know. And I always wanted to play a character wielding a scythe. If not - greatsword always gets the job done :D

Books we'll be using:
Core rules 3.5 + PhbII, DMG II, Monster Manual 2-5, Complete series, Heroes of Battle, Heroes of Horror, Player's Guide to Faerun, Races of... series, Fiend Folio, Fiendish Codex 2, Draconomicon, Expanded Psionics Handbook, Frostburn, Libris Mortis - The Book of the Undead, Lords of Madness - The Book of Abberations, Miniatures Handbook, Weapons of Legacy.

Note: Bone Knight is in 5 Nations but I am sure my dm will allow it. The other restriction - two core classes, two prestige classes. I haven't rolled stats so assume 32 pb.

Thanks in advance.
#2
Maat_Mons
Sep 20, 2011 19:14:00
If you want to use a scythe, a cleric of Iborighu (Frostburn) or a cleric of an ideal can get proficiency with the war domain. Iborighu's domains don't look so good. Of course, you gain proficiency with all martial weapons when you enter bone knight, so you can either be patient or retrain to a new domain (or feat) later.
#3
ZhonLord
Sep 20, 2011 22:02:24 Well, it's not really cleric-/paladin-oriented, but there's always the Dread Necromancer (Heroes of Horror). Gets martial proficiency with one weapon of your choice - and the scythe fits the class quite well.

You get necromancy magic, evil-aligned spells that you can cast without consequence since you're in an evil party, more HD of controllable undead than any other class in the game, and with a scythe in hand you look like a Grim Reaper with plenty of minions at your disposal.

Add a few Corpsecrafter feats out of Libris Mortis and you have undead with the equivalent of 18 Con and various abilities from extra cold damage to explosions of negative energy - which is especially helpful if you have a single big undead and a bunch of small ones meant to die and keep him up and running.

And don't forget the wonderful self-healing you get with a single feat: Tomb-Tainted Soul.
#4
Tempest_Stormwind
Sep 20, 2011 23:17:31 There's also hexblade. Not as bad as it seems, believe it or not. It's not divine, though it's got the evil/dark/does-not-play-well-with-others down.

Paladin of Tyranny is a fun opening for this, since it can qualify as early as 4th level. Personally I'd be fine delaying it a touch and focusing on debuffing. Paladin of Tyranny 3 / Hexblade 4 [Dark Companion variant, PHB2] / Blackguard 2 / Bone Knight X in some order should work (you can get Blackguard long before Hexblade 4, and it qualifies at level 1 with a decent Wisdom (14+).).

This gives you two powerful no-save debuff auras (the Hexblade Dark Companion and the Paladin of Tyranny's Aura of Despair; if your DM lets it, a third level of Blackguard gives yet another aura, but it might not stack with the paladin's), which crushes the enemy saves quite a bit. Your Hexblade Curse, reserved for big targets, pushes it down even further. Also, check out what Dark Blessing + Divine Grace + Arcane Resistance + Mettle gives you defensively.

Feat-wise, you're considering Imperious Command (Drow of the Underdark, I believe), Dreadful Wrath (if you can get it), and Divine Might (more Charisma synergy). Also, see the Never Outnumbered skill trick. The idea here is to add further debuffs "for free" in terms of fear, which is not only thematic but adds up pretty quick. If you intimidate your target, they're Cowering for one round (which prevents them from moving) and Shaken on the following round. On that second round, you charge them, triggering Dreadful Wrath, which should render them Shaken again (which stacks up, meaning they're Frightened now, and have to flee at the first chance you get). You have your dark companion near them, and your aura kicks in as well, meaning their AC is reduced by 6 and their saving throws are down by at least the same amount. With -6 AC, Power Attack, Smite, and possibly also a lance from your skeletal steed, you're dealing insane damage and probably killing them in one fell blow.

As a side effect, if you want to fit in two more Blackguard levels, you get Sneak Attack, which unlocks Staggering Strike. If that charge is also a sneak attack (if you're flanking, or are using something like Neraph Charge or a feint on Round 1, etc), they have to make a saving throw (with those severe penalties) vs the damage you deal or become Staggered, which means they can't take actions. If they're Frightened (must flee) but can't flee, they cower again.

You've pinned them in place with fear and can slice them apart at your liesure.
#5
nistra
Sep 21, 2011 3:25:25 So Dark Blessing stacks with Divine Grace?
Entering Blackguard is tough, because it requires 3 useless feats. With no flaws and not being human it's not viable imo.

And feats to concider then: Dreadful Wrath, Divine Might, Power attack, Mounted Combat (pretty useful) shock trooper. I can also get 1 lvl of cleric, so I can qualify for Bone Knight easier and have 5 lvl cleric spells.

Another thing - how do you get the devotion feats? Do you swap your, for example, death domain for death devotion (this will be thematical).
#6
ZhonLord
Sep 21, 2011 11:48:00
Another thing - how do you get the devotion feats? Do you swap your, for example, death domain for death devotion (this will be thematical).

As a matter of fact, it's quite the opposite. Having the death domain makes it much more reasonable for you to have the Death Devotion feat (thematically, anyway). And you can choose a Devotion feat the same way you'd choose any other feat - no sacrifices needed on your part.

The way a Devotion feat works is that you can only choose ones that fit your character. For example, if your character was Chaotic-whatever he could choose the Chaos Devotion feat, but not the Law Devotion feat. And a Duskblade with lots of knowledge skills would probably go for Knowledge Devotion, since it enhances his natural desire to use the things he's learned to aid his already-impressive combat abilities.

The only restriction besides character theme on what Devotion feats you can choose from is that, once you choose one, you cannot choose another unless it ties into the first feat in some way that makes sense to both you and your DM.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 nistra Sep 20, 2011 17:28:05	I am joining an evil party and was wondering what should I play. I think of damage oriented palladin of tyranny - cleric - bone knight or something like that. I've read the cleric handbook and the paladin handbook but I just can't get it straight. So I am looking for ideas. The race = lesser aasimar is too powerful. If you have any other ideas, please let me know. And I always wanted to play a character wielding a scythe. If not - greatsword always gets the job done :D Books we'll be using: Core rules 3.5 + PhbII, DMG II, Monster Manual 2-5, Complete series, Heroes of Battle, Heroes of Horror, Player's Guide to Faerun, Races of... series, Fiend Folio, Fiendish Codex 2, Draconomicon, Expanded Psionics Handbook, Frostburn, Libris Mortis - The Book of the Undead, Lords of Madness - The Book of Abberations, Miniatures Handbook, Weapons of Legacy. Note: Bone Knight is in 5 Nations but I am sure my dm will allow it. The other restriction - two core classes, two prestige classes. I haven't rolled stats so assume 32 pb. Thanks in advance.
#2 Maat_Mons Sep 20, 2011 19:14:00	If you want to use a scythe, a cleric of Iborighu (Frostburn) or a cleric of an ideal can get proficiency with the war domain. Iborighu's domains don't look so good. Of course, you gain proficiency with all martial weapons when you enter bone knight, so you can either be patient or retrain to a new domain (or feat) later.
#3 ZhonLord Sep 20, 2011 22:02:24	Well, it's not really cleric-/paladin-oriented, but there's always the Dread Necromancer (Heroes of Horror). Gets martial proficiency with one weapon of your choice - and the scythe fits the class quite well. You get necromancy magic, evil-aligned spells that you can cast without consequence since you're in an evil party, more HD of controllable undead than any other class in the game, and with a scythe in hand you look like a Grim Reaper with plenty of minions at your disposal. Add a few Corpsecrafter feats out of Libris Mortis and you have undead with the equivalent of 18 Con and various abilities from extra cold damage to explosions of negative energy - which is especially helpful if you have a single big undead and a bunch of small ones meant to die and keep him up and running. And don't forget the wonderful self-healing you get with a single feat: Tomb-Tainted Soul.
#4 Tempest_Stormwind Sep 20, 2011 23:17:31	There's also hexblade. Not as bad as it seems, believe it or not. It's not divine, though it's got the evil/dark/does-not-play-well-with-others down. Paladin of Tyranny is a fun opening for this, since it can qualify as early as 4th level. Personally I'd be fine delaying it a touch and focusing on debuffing. Paladin of Tyranny 3 / Hexblade 4 [Dark Companion variant, PHB2] / Blackguard 2 / Bone Knight X in some order should work (you can get Blackguard long before Hexblade 4, and it qualifies at level 1 with a decent Wisdom (14+).). This gives you two powerful no-save debuff auras (the Hexblade Dark Companion and the Paladin of Tyranny's Aura of Despair; if your DM lets it, a third level of Blackguard gives yet another aura, but it might not stack with the paladin's), which crushes the enemy saves quite a bit. Your Hexblade Curse, reserved for big targets, pushes it down even further. Also, check out what Dark Blessing + Divine Grace + Arcane Resistance + Mettle gives you defensively. Feat-wise, you're considering Imperious Command (Drow of the Underdark, I believe), Dreadful Wrath (if you can get it), and Divine Might (more Charisma synergy). Also, see the Never Outnumbered skill trick. The idea here is to add further debuffs "for free" in terms of fear, which is not only thematic but adds up pretty quick. If you intimidate your target, they're Cowering for one round (which prevents them from moving) and Shaken on the following round. On that second round, you charge them, triggering Dreadful Wrath, which should render them Shaken again (which stacks up, meaning they're Frightened now, and have to flee at the first chance you get). You have your dark companion near them, and your aura kicks in as well, meaning their AC is reduced by 6 and their saving throws are down by at least the same amount. With -6 AC, Power Attack, Smite, and possibly also a lance from your skeletal steed, you're dealing insane damage and probably killing them in one fell blow. As a side effect, if you want to fit in two more Blackguard levels, you get Sneak Attack, which unlocks Staggering Strike. If that charge is also a sneak attack (if you're flanking, or are using something like Neraph Charge or a feint on Round 1, etc), they have to make a saving throw (with those severe penalties) vs the damage you deal or become Staggered, which means they can't take actions. If they're Frightened (must flee) but can't flee, they cower again. You've pinned them in place with fear and can slice them apart at your liesure.
#5 nistra Sep 21, 2011 3:25:25	So Dark Blessing stacks with Divine Grace? Entering Blackguard is tough, because it requires 3 useless feats. With no flaws and not being human it's not viable imo. And feats to concider then: Dreadful Wrath, Divine Might, Power attack, Mounted Combat (pretty useful) shock trooper. I can also get 1 lvl of cleric, so I can qualify for Bone Knight easier and have 5 lvl cleric spells. Another thing - how do you get the devotion feats? Do you swap your, for example, death domain for death devotion (this will be thematical).
#6 ZhonLord Sep 21, 2011 11:48:00	Another thing - how do you get the devotion feats? Do you swap your, for example, death domain for death devotion (this will be thematical). As a matter of fact, it's quite the opposite. Having the death domain makes it much more reasonable for you to have the Death Devotion feat (thematically, anyway). And you can choose a Devotion feat the same way you'd choose any other feat - no sacrifices needed on your part. The way a Devotion feat works is that you can only choose ones that fit your character. For example, if your character was Chaotic-whatever he could choose the Chaos Devotion feat, but not the Law Devotion feat. And a Duskblade with lots of knowledge skills would probably go for Knowledge Devotion, since it enhances his natural desire to use the things he's learned to aid his already-impressive combat abilities. The only restriction besides character theme on what Devotion feats you can choose from is that, once you choose one, you cannot choose another unless it ties into the first feat in some way that makes sense to both you and your DM.