Post by dodrudon on Mar 25, 2007 6:41:34 GMT
Shadows of Frost and Flame
He grew up in a small village, one of few in the frigid wastelands of the north. The villagers are the only ones that claim the protection of the Old White Wyrm Arauthator. In return, they warn him of possible threats, toil in his tunnels, and bring him frequent offerings.
He never knew his father. That was the custom among them, only the female parent was known. However, his mother was a member of a highly secretive shadow cult, whose arts she passed down to her son.
At the age of seven, disciples of a red wyrm descended from the Spine of the World and invaded the village. Though all the adults were slaughtered, they took children as their own, raising them as Red Dragon Disciples.
The boy trained and went through the necessary rituals to become a Red Dragon Disciple. However, in his heart, he still serves Arauthator. Every night, as others sleep, he still practices the dark shadow arts, hoping to one day avenge the massacre of his village.
=====================================
Okay enough with the lame story.
This is my fourth iteration of an SD tank (unless I lost count somewhere). White Half-Dragon requires Human, and is a non-secret subrace so anyone can use this build.
Instead of WM levels for an offensively oriented strength tank, this time I went Bard-RDD as well as White Half-Dragon for 65% immunity to cold and complete fire immunity. RDD also gives nice stat boosts (+10 str, +2 con, +2 int, +2 cha), +4 stacking AC, and immunity to paralysis.
Shadowdancer's Shadow Evade ability (infinite uses at SD level 20) gives you 52% conceal (better than a dex-based, but no epic dodge), 18/+12 DR, and +12 dodge AC, good for overcoming the AC penalties in Hell and against Thids. Also, you get immunity to necromancy spells, negative energy (no more chugging pots), and unlimited Etherealness (GS effect) with no cooldown timer.
Bard levels give you UMD (and you get ESF: UMD as well), and you end up with +12 AC from 60 ranks of Tumble. 53 discipline with ESF, max search plus ESF, and a ton of skill points left to spend.
Disadvantages are that you have 14 BAB at level 20. However, the 10 extra strength from RDD offsets that. It's impossible to get 45 levels of SD using this class combination, so you can't get Shadow Decoy.
You can trade two feats for two more Great Strengths, though I don't think it's worth it.
=====================================
Benefits (reformat of above paragraph for easier readability):
o 65% cold immunity
o Immune to fire (even with vulnerability)
o +4 Draconic Armor
o 52% conceal
o 18/+12 DR
o +12 Dodge AC
o Immunity to Necromancy spells
o Immunity to Negative Energy
o Unlimited Etherealness (GS effect) with no cool-down timer
o 61 UMD w/ max Cha
o 76 Discipline w/ max Str
o 60 Tumble for +12 AC
o 69 Search w/ max Int
o Improved Evasion
o Slippery Mind
o Uncanny Dodge (can't be flat-footed)
So you end up with about 8 more AC than a standard tank due to higher Tumble and Draconic Armor bonuses. Also, the Dodge AC bonus helps offset the penalties in Hell, but conceal is the biggest advantage, especially as a Strength tank.
=====================================
Human
Half-Dragon - White (+2 str, +1 dex, -1 int)
Level Progression
01-05: Bard :: Lore 8
06-15: RDD
16-16: Bard :: Hide 10, Move Silently 8, Tumble 10, UMD 19
17-28: SD :: Max Tumble
29-29: Bard :: 20 Discipline, Max UMD
30-39: SD :: Max Tumble, Max Search
40: Bard :: 43 Discipline, 43 Tumble, 43 UMD, 25 Your Choice
Feats (in recommended order)
Armor Proficiency Heavy
Luck of Heroes
Dodge
Mobility
Martial Weapon Proficiency
Weapon Focus (recommend Scim)
Improved Critical
Toughness
Blindfight
Epic Weapon Focus
Epic Will
Epic Fortitude
Armor Skin
Great Strength x2
You get 4 SD epic bonus feats. Pick up Epic Reflexes and three Epic Skill Focus feats in Discipline, UMD, and Search.
In Legendary Levels, pick up 6 more Great Strengths and Legendary Luck.
Level 40 unbuffed:
HP 508
Saves Fort 29/Will 27/Reflex 28
Level 60 unbuffed:
HP 768
Saves F 37/W 35/R 36
Level 60 buffed:
HP 1108-1128 (depending if con bonus adds HP for LLs)
Saves F 63/W 61/R 62.
He grew up in a small village, one of few in the frigid wastelands of the north. The villagers are the only ones that claim the protection of the Old White Wyrm Arauthator. In return, they warn him of possible threats, toil in his tunnels, and bring him frequent offerings.
He never knew his father. That was the custom among them, only the female parent was known. However, his mother was a member of a highly secretive shadow cult, whose arts she passed down to her son.
At the age of seven, disciples of a red wyrm descended from the Spine of the World and invaded the village. Though all the adults were slaughtered, they took children as their own, raising them as Red Dragon Disciples.
The boy trained and went through the necessary rituals to become a Red Dragon Disciple. However, in his heart, he still serves Arauthator. Every night, as others sleep, he still practices the dark shadow arts, hoping to one day avenge the massacre of his village.
=====================================
Okay enough with the lame story.
This is my fourth iteration of an SD tank (unless I lost count somewhere). White Half-Dragon requires Human, and is a non-secret subrace so anyone can use this build.
Instead of WM levels for an offensively oriented strength tank, this time I went Bard-RDD as well as White Half-Dragon for 65% immunity to cold and complete fire immunity. RDD also gives nice stat boosts (+10 str, +2 con, +2 int, +2 cha), +4 stacking AC, and immunity to paralysis.
Shadowdancer's Shadow Evade ability (infinite uses at SD level 20) gives you 52% conceal (better than a dex-based, but no epic dodge), 18/+12 DR, and +12 dodge AC, good for overcoming the AC penalties in Hell and against Thids. Also, you get immunity to necromancy spells, negative energy (no more chugging pots), and unlimited Etherealness (GS effect) with no cooldown timer.
Bard levels give you UMD (and you get ESF: UMD as well), and you end up with +12 AC from 60 ranks of Tumble. 53 discipline with ESF, max search plus ESF, and a ton of skill points left to spend.
Disadvantages are that you have 14 BAB at level 20. However, the 10 extra strength from RDD offsets that. It's impossible to get 45 levels of SD using this class combination, so you can't get Shadow Decoy.
You can trade two feats for two more Great Strengths, though I don't think it's worth it.
=====================================
Benefits (reformat of above paragraph for easier readability):
o 65% cold immunity
o Immune to fire (even with vulnerability)
o +4 Draconic Armor
o 52% conceal
o 18/+12 DR
o +12 Dodge AC
o Immunity to Necromancy spells
o Immunity to Negative Energy
o Unlimited Etherealness (GS effect) with no cool-down timer
o 61 UMD w/ max Cha
o 76 Discipline w/ max Str
o 60 Tumble for +12 AC
o 69 Search w/ max Int
o Improved Evasion
o Slippery Mind
o Uncanny Dodge (can't be flat-footed)
So you end up with about 8 more AC than a standard tank due to higher Tumble and Draconic Armor bonuses. Also, the Dodge AC bonus helps offset the penalties in Hell, but conceal is the biggest advantage, especially as a Strength tank.
=====================================
Human
Half-Dragon - White (+2 str, +1 dex, -1 int)
| Stat | Init | Mod | L40 | L60 |
| STR | 17 | 19 | 38/50 | 54/66 |
| DEX | 12 | 13 | 13 | 13 |
| CON | 15 | 15 | 18 | 18 |
| WIS | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 |
| INT | 9 | 8 | 10 | 10 |
| CHA | 12 | 12 | 14 | 14 |
Level Progression
01-05: Bard :: Lore 8
06-15: RDD
16-16: Bard :: Hide 10, Move Silently 8, Tumble 10, UMD 19
17-28: SD :: Max Tumble
29-29: Bard :: 20 Discipline, Max UMD
30-39: SD :: Max Tumble, Max Search
40: Bard :: 43 Discipline, 43 Tumble, 43 UMD, 25 Your Choice
Feats (in recommended order)
Armor Proficiency Heavy
Luck of Heroes
Dodge
Mobility
Martial Weapon Proficiency
Weapon Focus (recommend Scim)
Improved Critical
Toughness
Blindfight
Epic Weapon Focus
Epic Will
Epic Fortitude
Armor Skin
Great Strength x2
You get 4 SD epic bonus feats. Pick up Epic Reflexes and three Epic Skill Focus feats in Discipline, UMD, and Search.
In Legendary Levels, pick up 6 more Great Strengths and Legendary Luck.
Level 40 unbuffed:
HP 508
Saves Fort 29/Will 27/Reflex 28
Level 60 unbuffed:
HP 768
Saves F 37/W 35/R 36
Level 60 buffed:
HP 1108-1128 (depending if con bonus adds HP for LLs)
Saves F 63/W 61/R 62.
