Neanderthal Dragon Disciple - Downloaded from the Wizards Community, all coding removed by Solauren

Neanderthal Dragon Disciple

Post/Author/DateTime Post
#1
fearthebat
Sep 08, 2008 0:06:43 I bought Frostburn a few days ago (I love how cheap 4e made 3.5 books), and decided to build a Neanderthal character. I wanted to do something with dragon disciple, using dragon devotee from RoD to get the casting for D Disciple. My thought was to do Barbarian 5/D. Devotee 5/ D. Disciple 10. Obviously this guy is going to have crazy high Strength and Constitution, so I should work with that.

I guess my questions are is there any other classes to replace Barb. with that still give 1/1 BAB, (for Devotee), and what sort of feats should I take? I was thinking some mounted combat stuff, but that might not be a great choice. (rages would often go unused, high Str might become less important and go wasted, things like that).

Also, what are some good 2-level dips to take that would fit flavorwise to possibly replace D. Devotee 4 and 5?

How should I play this guy in combat? RP wise, his ancestor dragon would be a white dragon, and he would be very gruff and dour, not a very easy guy to get along with, but dependable and trustworthy, if a bit of a simpleton.

I've got a ton of books, so throw anything at me, and thanks in advance for advice.
#2
natenate
Sep 08, 2008 3:14:26 You'll probably want to get Dragon Disciple as early as possible, otherwise you may never even get to see the last few levels of it. If you want to maximize your BAB going into it you could use Hexblade 4+, or dip one level into Duskblade. I'd recomend Barbarian 2/ Fighter 2/ Duskblade 1/ Dragon Disciple 2/ Exotic Weapon Master 1/ Dragon Disciple, maybe afterward get something like Frenzied Berserker or Occult Slayer. Rather than using mounted combat, just get Power Attack and Leap Attack.

Take Exotic Weapon Proficiency: Tigerskull Club, and wield it two-handed with Uncanny Blow from Exotic Weapon Master. Maybe even replace Barbarian with two more Fighter levels for Weapon Specialization and to qualify for Melee Weapon Mastery. Note that the Tigerskull Club deals both Bludgeoning and Piercing damage on every attack, unlike most weapons which can only deal one type of damage per attack. You could get Melee Weapon Mastery for both Bludgeoning and Piercing and have both apply, if you can get away with it. I seem to remember WotC addressing something similar to this and saying that it can only be applied once to the attack, but I don't think the weapon in question was capable of dealing both types of damage on a single attack.
#3
fearthebat
Sep 08, 2008 17:24:22 I hadn't thought about exotic weapon master. fighter 2 seems pretty logical, but duskblade doesn't really fit with the idea i had, since duskblade casts based on Int, which Neanderthals have a penalty to. Are there any other spontaneous full caster classes with a 1/1 BAB which don't cast based on Int? I can't think of any, but I'm not sure. The spellcasting was the reason I was going to take the 3 levels in Dragon Devotee. Well, that, plus the CHA boost at first level and CON boost at 3. I suppose I could use Bard 1, but I really don't like the flavor of that.

I was definitely considering using a tigerskull club. The dual damage types was attractive immediately. also, I like Barb 2/ Fighter 2 for the first few levels.

BTW, how do you calc max skill ranks when it's cross class for some classes and class skill for others. Because Barb and Fighter do not have any knowledge skills as class skills, but duskblade does have K (arcana), which I need 8 of the get into D. Disciple. Do the max ranks switch to class level +3 when it becomes a class skill? If it doesn't , then I cant get into D. Disciple with that build at level six.

Thanks
#4
ninjarabbit
Sep 08, 2008 20:43:51 Hexblade could work though you'd have to take 4 levels of it.

barbarian1/fighter2/hexblade4/dragondevotee3/dragondisciple10
#5
natenate
Sep 08, 2008 21:18:31 Max ranks for a skill that's a class skill for any class you have levels in is always Character Level +3. Max ranks for a skill that's not a class skill for any of your classes is always half of that. For example, you could go Barbarian at level 1 and put 4 ranks into Listen, then take a level of Fighter and spend two cross-class skill points to get a 5th rank in Listen.

Don't worry about casting any spells at all, take the Duskblade level just because it qualifies you for DD, plus it has a good BAB, HD, and saving throws, everything you could want.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 fearthebat Sep 08, 2008 0:06:43	I bought Frostburn a few days ago (I love how cheap 4e made 3.5 books), and decided to build a Neanderthal character. I wanted to do something with dragon disciple, using dragon devotee from RoD to get the casting for D Disciple. My thought was to do Barbarian 5/D. Devotee 5/ D. Disciple 10. Obviously this guy is going to have crazy high Strength and Constitution, so I should work with that. I guess my questions are is there any other classes to replace Barb. with that still give 1/1 BAB, (for Devotee), and what sort of feats should I take? I was thinking some mounted combat stuff, but that might not be a great choice. (rages would often go unused, high Str might become less important and go wasted, things like that). Also, what are some good 2-level dips to take that would fit flavorwise to possibly replace D. Devotee 4 and 5? How should I play this guy in combat? RP wise, his ancestor dragon would be a white dragon, and he would be very gruff and dour, not a very easy guy to get along with, but dependable and trustworthy, if a bit of a simpleton. I've got a ton of books, so throw anything at me, and thanks in advance for advice.
#2 natenate Sep 08, 2008 3:14:26	You'll probably want to get Dragon Disciple as early as possible, otherwise you may never even get to see the last few levels of it. If you want to maximize your BAB going into it you could use Hexblade 4+, or dip one level into Duskblade. I'd recomend Barbarian 2/ Fighter 2/ Duskblade 1/ Dragon Disciple 2/ Exotic Weapon Master 1/ Dragon Disciple, maybe afterward get something like Frenzied Berserker or Occult Slayer. Rather than using mounted combat, just get Power Attack and Leap Attack. Take Exotic Weapon Proficiency: Tigerskull Club, and wield it two-handed with Uncanny Blow from Exotic Weapon Master. Maybe even replace Barbarian with two more Fighter levels for Weapon Specialization and to qualify for Melee Weapon Mastery. Note that the Tigerskull Club deals both Bludgeoning and Piercing damage on every attack, unlike most weapons which can only deal one type of damage per attack. You could get Melee Weapon Mastery for both Bludgeoning and Piercing and have both apply, if you can get away with it. I seem to remember WotC addressing something similar to this and saying that it can only be applied once to the attack, but I don't think the weapon in question was capable of dealing both types of damage on a single attack.
#3 fearthebat Sep 08, 2008 17:24:22	I hadn't thought about exotic weapon master. fighter 2 seems pretty logical, but duskblade doesn't really fit with the idea i had, since duskblade casts based on Int, which Neanderthals have a penalty to. Are there any other spontaneous full caster classes with a 1/1 BAB which don't cast based on Int? I can't think of any, but I'm not sure. The spellcasting was the reason I was going to take the 3 levels in Dragon Devotee. Well, that, plus the CHA boost at first level and CON boost at 3. I suppose I could use Bard 1, but I really don't like the flavor of that. I was definitely considering using a tigerskull club. The dual damage types was attractive immediately. also, I like Barb 2/ Fighter 2 for the first few levels. BTW, how do you calc max skill ranks when it's cross class for some classes and class skill for others. Because Barb and Fighter do not have any knowledge skills as class skills, but duskblade does have K (arcana), which I need 8 of the get into D. Disciple. Do the max ranks switch to class level +3 when it becomes a class skill? If it doesn't , then I cant get into D. Disciple with that build at level six. Thanks
#4 ninjarabbit Sep 08, 2008 20:43:51	Hexblade could work though you'd have to take 4 levels of it. barbarian1/fighter2/hexblade4/dragondevotee3/dragondisciple10
#5 natenate Sep 08, 2008 21:18:31	Max ranks for a skill that's a class skill for any class you have levels in is always Character Level +3. Max ranks for a skill that's not a class skill for any of your classes is always half of that. For example, you could go Barbarian at level 1 and put 4 ranks into Listen, then take a level of Fighter and spend two cross-class skill points to get a 5th rank in Listen. Don't worry about casting any spells at all, take the Duskblade level just because it qualifies you for DD, plus it has a good BAB, HD, and saving throws, everything you could want.