Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 wargame_insomniac Aug 06, 2010 18:09:19	Hi. My last character died so I need to come up with a new one. I have been toying with several 4th level builds: Race: Human Stats: STR 16, DEX 14, CON 14, INT 14, WIS 14, CHA 8 (I guess I can swap the 16 stat from STR to either DEX/WIS if needed) (High INT as likely to be the party skill monkey) Main Weapon: mastercrafted Katana - bastard sword wielded 2 handed as martial weapon. Option 1) Ninja1/ Fighter2/Assasin1 (feats Improved Initiative/Expanded Ki Pool/Martial Stalker/Weapon Focus/Weapon Specialisation) Option 2) Ninja2/ Fighter1/Assasin1 (feats Improved Initiative/Martial Stalker/Weapon Focus/Weapon Specialisation) Option 3) Ninja2/ Fighter2 (feats Improved Initiative/Expanded Ki Pool/Martial Stalker/Weapon Focus/Weapon Specialisation) If it makes a difference I am planning on progressing Ninja for next few levels. (Maybe eventually looking at Shadowblade). Obviously with the 1st 2 options I get Death Attack, 1d6 Sneak Attack and Int Bonus Spells, which would be nice!! However 2 Levels of fighter would give me better BAB and HP plus an additional Fighetr Bonus feat. So my initail preference is Ninja1/ Fighter2/Assasin1. downside is I won't get Ghost Step (invisible) until 5th level when I progress Ninja further. Has anyone run any similar Ninja builds in their games? Thanks James
#2 Senevri Aug 06, 2010 18:14:52	Option 1) Ninja1/ Fighter2/Assasin1 (feats Improved Initiative/Expanded Ki Pool/Martial Stalker/Weapon Focus/Weapon Specialisation) Option 2) Ninja2/ Fighter1/Assasin1 (feats Improved Initiative/Martial Stalker/Weapon Focus/Weapon Specialisation) You don't qualify for Assassin. Two levels short.
#3 wargame_insomniac Aug 07, 2010 8:12:45	Option 1) Ninja1/ Fighter2/Assasin1 (feats Improved Initiative/Expanded Ki Pool/Martial Stalker/Weapon Focus/Weapon Specialisation) Option 2) Ninja2/ Fighter1/Assasin1 (feats Improved Initiative/Martial Stalker/Weapon Focus/Weapon Specialisation) You don't qualify for Assassin. Two levels short. You are right- I had nt noticed the required ranks in Move Silently and Hide. That would mean that I would habe to go for Option 3) Ninja2/ Fighter2 to start. Then add another level of Ninja at 5th level. Is this a sensible build? Cheers James
#4 lormador Aug 10, 2010 16:10:07	Often Swordsage and/or Swashbuckler is used in these types of builds. Allowed books?
#5 Balthanon Aug 10, 2010 19:09:29	If you do go Assassin for Death Attack, you want to stick with it to keep the DC up, not just take a single level.  Otherwise, Ninja 3/Fighter 2 in whatever order works fine as an entry point.  If you have access to them and your DM allows it (since the feats are designed for monks), I would look at taking Kung-Fu Genius (Dragon) or Carmendine Monk (Champions of Valor) so you can use your Int for your AC rather than Wisdom.  That will eliminate some of your multiple attribute dependency.  You could then shift some points into your Intelligence to boost that higher. If you have access to Unapproachable East, another nice option could be Ninja 4/Fighter 2/Assassin 8/Telflamar Shadowlord 6.  That gives you 14 levels that boost your Death Attack, plus all the fun benefits of Telflammar Shadowlord (namely Shadow Pounce, Shadow Discorporation, more spells, Shadow Jump, etc...).  Ninja 3/Swashbuckler 3 would also be another option that could work nicely as the base classes with that. If you want to emphasize the Ninja levels more, then I would probably break off at either 7th level (gets most of the movement options) or 12th (picks up etherealness and evasion).  Avoid the assassin altogether in this case and focus on picking up other abilities-- warblade with Cloak of Deception (via a feat) would be very useful for a ninja to supplement ki points.