Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 glomkettle Jul 07, 2011 22:13:23	My group recently started a 3.5 game. Our DM has allowed us the use of all core, and any other material can be run by him before use. Additionally, the stat block we were given to use is quite high (18, 17, 15, 14, 10, 9). We began at level 1, and at the end of the last session we reached level 2. I began with a Human Scout My stats are: STR: 10 DEX: 18 CON: 15 INT: 14 WIS: 17 CHA: 9 At level 1 I had the following skills maxed out: Balance Disable Device (Cross-Class skill - 2 points) Escape Artist Hide Listen Move Silently Open Lock (Cross-Class skill - 2 points) Search Sense Motive Spot Survival Tumble Feats: Two-Weapon Fighting Able Learner (Races of Destiny p 150) Languages: Common, Dwarven, and Elven --- At level 2 I am taking a level in Ranger. I am using the Spiritual Connection (Complete Champion p 50) alternate class feature, replacing Wild Empathy with Speak With Animals/Plants 3/day, as well as the unnamed Wildshape variant (Unearthed Arcana p 58), replacing combat styles with fast movement at level 1, and later wild shape as a druid. I am adding 1 point to each of the following skills: Search Sense Motive Survival Tumble and 5 points to Knowledge (Nature) My progression should look like: Scout 1 Scout 1/Ranger 1 Scout 2/Ranger 1 (Feat: Weapon Finesse) Scout 3/Ranger 1 Scout 4/Ranger 1 (Scout bonus feat: Swift Hunter) From there I would go full Ranger, taking substitution levels of Shooting Star Ranger (Champions of Valor p 50) at appropriate levels. I would appreciate some critique on this build, as well as feat suggestions - particularly ways to maximize spellcasting or interesting ways to use wildshape. Thanks in advance for any and all assistance.
#2 Maat_Mons Jul 08, 2011 1:40:45	You don't actually qualify for weapon finesse as a 1st-level scout. It requires base attack bonus +1. If you correct the build, one replacement feat option is able learner. It's from Races of Destiny, and it makes cross-class skills only cost 1 skill point per rank instead of 2. It doesn't change the maximum number of ranks you can have in a skill, but it's good for keeping up with your scout skills during your ranger levels.
#3 glomkettle Jul 08, 2011 1:49:09	You are correct. I can't imagine how I missed that... I'll probably leave it on there, actually. Several other people in the group have made similar mistakes, and for the sake of time our DM has just let us keep them. I'll definitely keep it in mind next time I'm working on a build though, thanks. And I'll probably want to take able learner as my third level feat. Other than that, any comments/criticisms on the build?
#4 Slagger_the_Chuul Jul 08, 2011 4:00:57	If you correct the build, one replacement feat option is able learner. It's from Races of Destiny, and it makes cross-class skills only cost 1 skill point per rank instead of 2. It doesn't change the maximum number of ranks you can have in a skill, but it's good for keeping up with your scout skills during your ranger levels. Since it's a multiclass build, the maximum rank will be equal to his character level +3 for skills that are class skills for any of his classes. And I'll probably want to take able learner as my third level feat. Able Learner can normally only be taken at 1st level, so if you're correcting things, you should probably fix it as soon as possible.
#5 glomkettle Jul 08, 2011 10:14:22	Thanks for pointing that out, I'm not sure how I missed it. I've made the corrections, including using the extra 2 skill points to become trained in disable device (I know it was errata'd to be a class skill for scouts, but we're going without errata in our game.) and taking weapon finesse at level 3. I suppose there really isn't much else to help with, since I only outlined the build up to level 5, but that's all I really need at the moment. Thanks for your help though, and have a nice day.