Stat Envy - Downloaded from the Wizards Community, all coding removed by Solauren

Stat Envy

Post/Author/DateTime Post
#1
dm_screen
Feb 08, 2009 14:37:14 Hey everyone, I came here to ask if anyone has any ideas on stat boosting, and I mean the permanent kind, not just magical enhancement.

See in our party we have a fighter, he used to be a half-orc and what happened with him is he became permanencied Large and took the warhulk prestige (MHB). This meant that as he progressed he continued to gain +2 str instead of a BaB. Now that wouldn't be much a problem if it weren't for the fact that he's a bit brash and doesn't think options through very much (that's just how the character is) and now has 32 str.

Now I'm a tad jealous of his enormous battle potential. I'm the party's ranged specialist and I wanted to know any good ways to enhance my dex other then a Book of Dex +5, gloves of Dex, and through old fashioned leveling. Can anyone help me with this?

Tl;dr I need tips on raising dex without wish and magic enhancements.
#2
zeratulcraft
Feb 08, 2009 15:09:26 There's no way to gain more stat points than every 4th. There's feats in epic that will grant you extra Dex. Aside equipment you're out of luck though.

Keep in mind his 32 strength is only impressive in terms of damage, the loss of BAB (and thus iterative attacks) makes up for it.
#3
shinikama
Feb 08, 2009 15:17:13 It's great that he can deal so much damage in 1 hit, but he only has 1 or 2 attacks per round. You can't hope to outclass him in 1 strike, but over the course of a round you can equal him. Just optimize your DPR (check the CharOp boards if you need help).
#4
daidojitaidoru
Feb 08, 2009 15:22:43 Yeah, there's not much to boost your Dex. You should be looking for ways to boost your damage, hit and number of attacks. There are a lot of archery boosters, and the fact that your Arrows and Bow stack for magic effects (ie a flaming bow firing icy burst arrows is flaming/icy burst) means that in the end after you finish full rounding you'll have done way more damage. As Shinikama suggested check the old CharOp boards for the equipment you'll want. They've managed to get a Warrior (Fighter without feats) capable of soloing Pit Fiends 99.9% of the time with archery so it shouldn't be too hard.
#5
doomsought
Feb 08, 2009 15:25:50 1) Get some more arms
2) get multi-weapon fighting
3) ???
4) Profit!
#6
kyomamoru
Feb 08, 2009 15:35:52 Splitting (weapon enhancement, Champions of Ruin) - Arrows split in two. +3 Bonus.

You basically double your attacks. Throw in Haste for extra cheese.
#7
Dark_Stryke
Feb 08, 2009 16:40:57
Yeah, there's not much to boost your Dex. You should be looking for ways to boost your damage, hit and number of attacks. There are a lot of archery boosters, and the fact that your Arrows and Bow stack for magic effects (ie a flaming bow firing icy burst arrows is flaming/icy burst) means that in the end after you finish full rounding you'll have done way more damage. As Shinikama suggested check the old CharOp boards for the equipment you'll want. They've managed to get a Warrior (Fighter without feats) capable of soloing Pit Fiends 99.9% of the time with archery so it shouldn't be too hard.

To add to and maybe clarify this, special effects stack, but not base pluses. A +5 flaming bow shooting +2 icy arrows will end up shooting +5 flaming icy arrows, not +7 flaming icy arrows.
#8
daidojitaidoru
Feb 08, 2009 21:59:36
To add to and maybe clarify this, special effects stack, but not base pluses. A +5 flaming bow shooting +2 icy arrows will end up shooting +5 flaming icy arrows, not +7 flaming icy arrows.

Yeah, thats a better way of putting it.

Also don't forget to grab a pearl of power to pay back the cleric for greater magic weaponing your bow up to +5 in the morning. That way you can leave your bow at +1 and just keep grabbing enhancements to get even more damage while still hitting.
#9
tytalus
Feb 09, 2009 5:19:29 I recommend asking this question on the 3.5 Character Optimization board.

Post your current character and I'm sure you'll get some good suggestions.

In essence, raising DEX is not the only way to get higher damage: equipment (in particular the Splitting enchantment mentioned above), (prestige) classes, and feats can do the trick as well.

Also note that your friend is in big trouble if he's hit by a successful Dispel Magic.
#10
Zherog
Feb 09, 2009 9:18:34
he became permanencied Large ....

You could always arrange for a spellcaster to hit him with a greater dispel magic and then laugh maniacally when he goes back to being a half-orc and loses all his prestige class abilities because he no longer meets the requirements.

Probably wouldn't be a good idea. But you could do it.

I'd wager you actually do more damage in a round than he does, due to iterative attacks and (I'm assuming) Rapid Shot. Each of your shots does less damage, but totaled together you're likely in the same ballpark as he is. And you'll continue to improve.
#11
Zherog
Feb 09, 2009 9:23:26 Also, [thread=320889]this thread over on the Char Op forum[/thread] might give you a different way to go about solving your "problem." Rather than boosting your Dex, it'll give you ways to add other stats to your attack and/or damage rolls. So, for example, with a little bit of dipping into prestige classes, you could find a way to add your Int as well as your Dex to ranged attacks and damage.

Maybe you can't get your Dex up to a 34 (+12 mod). But get your Dex to a 22 (+6 mod) and your Int to an 18 (+4 mod), and you're really damn close while having a better BAB.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 dm_screen Feb 08, 2009 14:37:14	Hey everyone, I came here to ask if anyone has any ideas on stat boosting, and I mean the permanent kind, not just magical enhancement. See in our party we have a fighter, he used to be a half-orc and what happened with him is he became permanencied Large and took the warhulk prestige (MHB). This meant that as he progressed he continued to gain +2 str instead of a BaB. Now that wouldn't be much a problem if it weren't for the fact that he's a bit brash and doesn't think options through very much (that's just how the character is) and now has 32 str. Now I'm a tad jealous of his enormous battle potential. I'm the party's ranged specialist and I wanted to know any good ways to enhance my dex other then a Book of Dex +5, gloves of Dex, and through old fashioned leveling. Can anyone help me with this? Tl;dr I need tips on raising dex without wish and magic enhancements.
#2 zeratulcraft Feb 08, 2009 15:09:26	There's no way to gain more stat points than every 4th. There's feats in epic that will grant you extra Dex. Aside equipment you're out of luck though. Keep in mind his 32 strength is only impressive in terms of damage, the loss of BAB (and thus iterative attacks) makes up for it.
#3 shinikama Feb 08, 2009 15:17:13	It's great that he can deal so much damage in 1 hit, but he only has 1 or 2 attacks per round. You can't hope to outclass him in 1 strike, but over the course of a round you can equal him. Just optimize your DPR (check the CharOp boards if you need help).
#4 daidojitaidoru Feb 08, 2009 15:22:43	Yeah, there's not much to boost your Dex. You should be looking for ways to boost your damage, hit and number of attacks. There are a lot of archery boosters, and the fact that your Arrows and Bow stack for magic effects (ie a flaming bow firing icy burst arrows is flaming/icy burst) means that in the end after you finish full rounding you'll have done way more damage. As Shinikama suggested check the old CharOp boards for the equipment you'll want. They've managed to get a Warrior (Fighter without feats) capable of soloing Pit Fiends 99.9% of the time with archery so it shouldn't be too hard.
#5 doomsought Feb 08, 2009 15:25:50	1) Get some more arms 2) get multi-weapon fighting 3) ??? 4) Profit!
#6 kyomamoru Feb 08, 2009 15:35:52	Splitting (weapon enhancement, Champions of Ruin) - Arrows split in two. +3 Bonus. You basically double your attacks. Throw in Haste for extra cheese.
#7 Dark_Stryke Feb 08, 2009 16:40:57	Yeah, there's not much to boost your Dex. You should be looking for ways to boost your damage, hit and number of attacks. There are a lot of archery boosters, and the fact that your Arrows and Bow stack for magic effects (ie a flaming bow firing icy burst arrows is flaming/icy burst) means that in the end after you finish full rounding you'll have done way more damage. As Shinikama suggested check the old CharOp boards for the equipment you'll want. They've managed to get a Warrior (Fighter without feats) capable of soloing Pit Fiends 99.9% of the time with archery so it shouldn't be too hard. To add to and maybe clarify this, special effects stack, but not base pluses. A +5 flaming bow shooting +2 icy arrows will end up shooting +5 flaming icy arrows, not +7 flaming icy arrows.
#8 daidojitaidoru Feb 08, 2009 21:59:36	To add to and maybe clarify this, special effects stack, but not base pluses. A +5 flaming bow shooting +2 icy arrows will end up shooting +5 flaming icy arrows, not +7 flaming icy arrows. Yeah, thats a better way of putting it. Also don't forget to grab a pearl of power to pay back the cleric for greater magic weaponing your bow up to +5 in the morning. That way you can leave your bow at +1 and just keep grabbing enhancements to get even more damage while still hitting.
#9 tytalus Feb 09, 2009 5:19:29	I recommend asking this question on the 3.5 Character Optimization board. Post your current character and I'm sure you'll get some good suggestions. In essence, raising DEX is not the only way to get higher damage: equipment (in particular the Splitting enchantment mentioned above), (prestige) classes, and feats can do the trick as well. Also note that your friend is in big trouble if he's hit by a successful Dispel Magic.
#10 Zherog Feb 09, 2009 9:18:34	he became permanencied Large .... You could always arrange for a spellcaster to hit him with a greater dispel magic and then laugh maniacally when he goes back to being a half-orc and loses all his prestige class abilities because he no longer meets the requirements. Probably wouldn't be a good idea. But you could do it. I'd wager you actually do more damage in a round than he does, due to iterative attacks and (I'm assuming) Rapid Shot. Each of your shots does less damage, but totaled together you're likely in the same ballpark as he is. And you'll continue to improve.
#11 Zherog Feb 09, 2009 9:23:26	Also, [thread=320889]this thread over on the Char Op forum[/thread] might give you a different way to go about solving your "problem." Rather than boosting your Dex, it'll give you ways to add other stats to your attack and/or damage rolls. So, for example, with a little bit of dipping into prestige classes, you could find a way to add your Int as well as your Dex to ranged attacks and damage. Maybe you can't get your Dex up to a 34 (+12 mod). But get your Dex to a 22 (+6 mod) and your Int to an 18 (+4 mod), and you're really damn close while having a better BAB.