Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 evardsdare Apr 23, 2008 20:02:27	The campaign I'm playing in is standard Greyhawk. Magical items are common enough but any really good or abusable ones ( Nightsticks anyone? ) are difficult for us to pick up. Most everything Greyhawk that's not Campaign World specific is currently not allowed but our game is suppose to eventually take us across the planes to the likes of Faerun, Dragonlance and maybe even Ravenloft. Those are the loose guidelines we have other then no Evil characters so that pretty much limits me to Good alignment ( Crusaders can't be Neutral ). The rest of the party is all Humans and made up of a Psychic Warrior, Rogue, Cleric of Pelor ( might go Radiant Servant ), Barbarian and a Wizard. I want to play a Crusader\Ruby Knight Vindicator but with a different kind of build than just dipping levels into Cleric. I'm not too worried about having full spellcasting and our DM makes things fun and involving for everyone, spellcaster or not. As for deity of worship the idea is of a character who worships Wee Jas and regulates the lawful, non-evil use of Undead, mediates between both the living and the dead and, naturally, puts violent or out of control undead to rest. Permanently. With all of that in mind what are some classes, variant class features or PrCs that'd allow me to qualify for RKV? It occurred to me I could use the Paladin but not taking advantage of their Special Mount stinks in my opinion.
#2 Nox_Noctis Apr 24, 2008 0:28:22	http://forums.gleemax.com/showthread.php?t=1013833&highlight=ruby+knight+vindicator+rebuilding If your DM allows rebuilding and the like from PHB II, that's golden. I really should ask someone to link my thread into one of the Tome of Battle indexes or the useful threads thread... >_>
#3 Wyvernhand Apr 24, 2008 7:21:01	Pal4/Cru1/RKV7-10/Cru5-8 is pretty decent. Mixing Battle Blessing with Divine Impetus is pretty neat for the couple of Pal spells you do get, and Pal4 gets Turn Undead, which fuels Divine Might for some nice damage spikes when you get to make a full attack and is a prereq for RKV. I also played around with the idea of something like Pal2/Ftr2/Cru1/PT1/KotR3/RKV10/Cru1. This gets full PT casting by level 20, which can be kind of nice. Knight of the Raven is a full BAB casterish PrC from Exp to Castle Ravenloft, and its really nice. Use it to advance PT casting. It also grants Turn Undead at level 3, which again can be used to power Divine Might and is a prereq for RKV. Bit later of a bloomer for RKV stuff than the 1st build, but finishes stronger. Alternatively, swap the 2 levels of fighter for more crusader for an extra IL and a maneuver. Its still argued that Battle Blessing doesn't work for Pious Templar spells, but I'm of the opinion that it does. Either way, take a look through Spell Compendium for more on Pal spells. Rhino's Rush is a great combat opener, and sometimes is a combat closer if you get a nice crit. Righteous Fury is a decent buff, since the Str bonus is moral, which there aren't very many of, so stacking isn't an issue. Knight's Move adds a bunch of mobility, which is supplimented well with RKV's access to Shadow Hand teleport maneuvers. Shadowblink in particular is very fun with Divine Impetus. It goes without saying that Extra Granted Maneuver should be a prereq for any Crusader. PA is also very good, and you should utilize a 2 hander like a Glaive or Greatsword to get the best effect from it.
#4 wolfie-kun Apr 24, 2008 7:27:22	The campaign I'm playing in is standard Greyhawk. Magical items are common enough but any really good or abusable ones ( Nightsticks anyone? ) are difficult for us to pick up. Most everything Greyhawk that's not Campaign World specific is currently not allowed but our game is suppose to eventually take us across the planes to the likes of Faerun, Dragonlance and maybe even Ravenloft. Those are the loose guidelines we have other then no Evil characters so that pretty much limits me to Good alignment ( Crusaders can't be Neutral ). The rest of the party is all Humans and made up of a Psychic Warrior, Rogue, Cleric of Pelor ( might go Radiant Servant ), Barbarian and a Wizard. I want to play a Crusader\Ruby Knight Vindicator but with a different kind of build than just dipping levels into Cleric. I'm not too worried about having full spellcasting and our DM makes things fun and involving for everyone, spellcaster or not. As for deity of worship the idea is of a character who worships Wee Jas and regulates the lawful, non-evil use of Undead, mediates between both the living and the dead and, naturally, puts violent or out of control undead to rest. Permanently. With all of that in mind what are some classes, variant class features or PrCs that'd allow me to qualify for RKV? It occurred to me I could use the Paladin but not taking advantage of their Special Mount stinks in my opinion. White Raven maneuvers can easily take advantage of the special mount, the problem is that it stops progressing too quickly. I'd veer away from Paladin, but other than that I think we'll need a little more info about what you want the character to actually do, what books you have, etc, etc. Check out the ToB Build Compendium II (the smaller one) and Tome of Battle for Dummies for ideas that might help.
#5 ChristopherGroves Apr 24, 2008 8:06:57	Cleric X / Crusader 1 / Prestige Pally 1-2 / RKV is a pretty strong little beasty as well and my current favorite build.
#6 Xeraph Apr 24, 2008 10:01:53	Crusader 6/ Soldier of Light 2/ Divine Crusader 2/ Ruby Knight Vindicator 10 Bab +19 CL 10 (9th level spell) IL 18 (9th level maneuvers) Divine Grace, Turn Undead and all that other jazz
#7 Wyvernhand Apr 24, 2008 14:01:03	What is this "Soldier of Light" and where to I find info on this neato sounding class?
#8 Nox_Noctis Apr 24, 2008 14:51:32	It's in Deities and Demigods around page 204 or something (away from book at the moment).