Post by hippyimmortal on May 6, 2009 23:25:43 GMT
Charismatic Thief (3 Rogue/37 Bard)
: remarks:
This is a Lockpicker with 30 charisma. The focus lies on maxing abilties of both classes to achieve a performance similar to pure builds, with certain drawbacks, which would be subject of further discussion.
: first of all, the setup:
: subrace: optimlly Shard, Base Race: Elf
(BUR subrace is recommended, but if you take fewer epic spells and skills, anything is doable. should also be a recommendable build for newcomers, since the item requirements are moderate)
stats:
: aim for 20 charisma at lvl 40, then 30 charisma until lvl 60
get more con than dex, elves have a weakness here. aiming for 100 ac
: elves can upgrade rogue skills (in this example) just like rogues, but use up 3 times the number of skill points to do so. therefore, intelligence is our secondary stat. ( instead of dex, as a dexer bard would) get as many points on it as you can, early on, that way there will be enough skill points.
on shard, i took 2 feats of greater int in lvls 20 and 23.
: starting out with 16 int, this gives me 26 int before lvl 40. shards can achieve 20 cha from creation.
playing styles:
: we have a squishy robed figure. keep a safe distance when you can, dodging around the mobs whenever you need to apply anything to the party members.
: should carry LOTS of res rods, clarity scrolls, even heal scrolls or mass heals, etc. Bards are healers as much as some divine classes. there will be plenty of time in between loot tasks to go around helping.
: unable to carry shields. shields are cumbersome and reduce the effectiveness of etherial visage, our only protection. and you may want to use a flag (...).
: When theres a tight situation, uses sanctuary. dont curse around when in gs, it counts as an attack. bard song however not.
: we have ... a battle looter ! when the party seems to need neither resing nor healing, there is time to search for secret doors, and collet all the loot. casts treasure scent before popping anything, and can id everything. rogue skills can be maxed using regular items, if you count the skill bonus provided by the Bad Song.
: take around 100 bags with you, if you want to carry everything.
feats:
: shards get several bardic feats for free
: uncanny dodge. as a rogue, i have uncanny dodge. this allows for all manner of activity in non-combat stance. very useful for casters.
: evasion: bards have a high reflex save, so i took 3 levels of rogue for the evasion feat. this will let me dodge many magical attacks as well as dragon breath.
: artist. the level of bard song will be 59. reduction on bonuses as compared to pure bards is negligible.
: epic skill focus, legendary skill focus. focussing on perform, because charisma will be low. this way there will be 118 points on perform including skill bonuses from items. if you have many bards' items, these may not be necessary.
: also focussing on search, open lock and disable traps. all in all, 8 feats on skill focuses. was able to do dc-126 locks at 42, with +12 lockpicks, tool belt, rogue secret and gloves+2
: greater spell focuses. as all bards, spell focuses are needed for the acquaintance of epic spell runes, which are in turn used to produce the custom epic spells (compare journal).
bards cannot take epic focus before immortality, but they can take greater focus, so there are 2 feats to take for each epic. this build recommends to take 2 of them. a 3rd one can be added in legendary levels.
: epic reflexes/will/fortitude. as we need to take 7 feats for focuses in legendary levels, no need to think about saves. getting 50++ on all saving throws before lvl 60.
discussion of pros and cons in further posts
regards, mik
: remarks:
This is a Lockpicker with 30 charisma. The focus lies on maxing abilties of both classes to achieve a performance similar to pure builds, with certain drawbacks, which would be subject of further discussion.
: first of all, the setup:
: subrace: optimlly Shard, Base Race: Elf
(BUR subrace is recommended, but if you take fewer epic spells and skills, anything is doable. should also be a recommendable build for newcomers, since the item requirements are moderate)
stats:
: aim for 20 charisma at lvl 40, then 30 charisma until lvl 60
get more con than dex, elves have a weakness here. aiming for 100 ac
: elves can upgrade rogue skills (in this example) just like rogues, but use up 3 times the number of skill points to do so. therefore, intelligence is our secondary stat. ( instead of dex, as a dexer bard would) get as many points on it as you can, early on, that way there will be enough skill points.
on shard, i took 2 feats of greater int in lvls 20 and 23.
: starting out with 16 int, this gives me 26 int before lvl 40. shards can achieve 20 cha from creation.
playing styles:
: we have a squishy robed figure. keep a safe distance when you can, dodging around the mobs whenever you need to apply anything to the party members.
: should carry LOTS of res rods, clarity scrolls, even heal scrolls or mass heals, etc. Bards are healers as much as some divine classes. there will be plenty of time in between loot tasks to go around helping.
: unable to carry shields. shields are cumbersome and reduce the effectiveness of etherial visage, our only protection. and you may want to use a flag (...).
: When theres a tight situation, uses sanctuary. dont curse around when in gs, it counts as an attack. bard song however not.
: we have ... a battle looter ! when the party seems to need neither resing nor healing, there is time to search for secret doors, and collet all the loot. casts treasure scent before popping anything, and can id everything. rogue skills can be maxed using regular items, if you count the skill bonus provided by the Bad Song.
: take around 100 bags with you, if you want to carry everything.
feats:
: shards get several bardic feats for free
: uncanny dodge. as a rogue, i have uncanny dodge. this allows for all manner of activity in non-combat stance. very useful for casters.
: evasion: bards have a high reflex save, so i took 3 levels of rogue for the evasion feat. this will let me dodge many magical attacks as well as dragon breath.
: artist. the level of bard song will be 59. reduction on bonuses as compared to pure bards is negligible.
: epic skill focus, legendary skill focus. focussing on perform, because charisma will be low. this way there will be 118 points on perform including skill bonuses from items. if you have many bards' items, these may not be necessary.
: also focussing on search, open lock and disable traps. all in all, 8 feats on skill focuses. was able to do dc-126 locks at 42, with +12 lockpicks, tool belt, rogue secret and gloves+2
: greater spell focuses. as all bards, spell focuses are needed for the acquaintance of epic spell runes, which are in turn used to produce the custom epic spells (compare journal).
bards cannot take epic focus before immortality, but they can take greater focus, so there are 2 feats to take for each epic. this build recommends to take 2 of them. a 3rd one can be added in legendary levels.
: epic reflexes/will/fortitude. as we need to take 7 feats for focuses in legendary levels, no need to think about saves. getting 50++ on all saving throws before lvl 60.
discussion of pros and cons in further posts
regards, mik