Post by dodrudon on Nov 22, 2006 23:13:53 GMT
This build combines the defensive abilities of a legendary Shadowdancer with the damage output of a strength-based tank.
The Shadowed Slayer is proficient in two weapons, the scythe and scimitar, allowing him to switch between a two-handed weapon for maximum damage (two-handed weapons give 1.5x str modifier damage bonus), and a one-handed weapon to equip a shield. Feats for both weapons give him maximum AB and crit range, making him effective no matter which combo he chooses. Being strength-based allows the Shadowed Slayer to use Heavy Armor and Tower Shields with no penalty to AC from dexterity. Final conceal 50%, same as having all Self Conceal feats from a dex build, with 17/+11 DR, giving you a wider choice of equipment, and +12 AC bonus. The downside is that these bonuses come rather late.
Stats
Race - Choose a race, any race! Preferably one that gives a bonus to two of the following stats: strength, dex, or int.
Possible Race Choices: PT, Earth or Fire Gensai both give +2 to str, and +2 to con or dex respectively, as well as 25% immunity and vulnerability to bludgeon/acid or fire/cold respectively. Both have -2 to wis and cha. If you have access to secret races, Stringer would probably be the perfect choice. It gives +4 str, +2 dex, +2 con, and Spring Attack. It has -2 to wis and cha, as well as having an increased base movement speed, and doesn't need a ring of levitation. The extra feat would allow you to get Toughness, and the +2 dex and con lets you get 16 con, giving you a total of 3x levels more hp than the normal build. Tieflings have +2 dex and int, also letting you boost con more, and would pair well with half-orc (+2 str but -2 int for net gain of +2 str and dex). Githyanki, Kurai, and Lycans would be other secret races to consider.
STR 18
CON 12
DEX 13
INT 13
WIS 8
CHA 8
Level Progression
Fighter 1-6: Start getting feats to go Weapon Master. Dodge, Mobility, Expertise, Spring Attack, Whirlwind, Weapon Proficiency Exotic, and Weapon Focus. Going human gives you one extra feat, so you can take Weapon Specialization after getting Weapon Focus. WP Exotic is required for Scythe, though you can toss that if you go Greatsword.
WM 7-11: First Weapon of Choice, then get your second Weapon Focus so you can take Weapon Specialization next level for that weapon. The 5th level of WM here gets you Ki Critical (+1 to crit multiplier).
Fighter 12: You need to be taking a level in fighter to get Weapon Specialization, and level 12 gives you a general feat.
WM 13-17: Improved Critical for either weapon here. You get your second bonus point of AB to your first Weapon of Choice, as well as +2 to the crit range.
SD 18-21: Finally! Pick up the second Improved Critical here, as well as a general epic feat. You get HIPS (useless), Darkvision, Evasion, Uncanny Dodge, Shadow Daze, Shadow Summon (useless), and Shadow Evade (5% conceal, 5/+1 DR, +1 AC).
WM 22-24: You end up with an epic general feat (see Recommended Feats list below), and with the 13th level of WM, which lets you choose a second Weapon of Choice and gets you one more AB to your two Weapons of Choice.
SD 25-40: The rest of your levels are in SD. You get 6 general feats in 3 bonus feats. Defensive Roll (25), Uncanny Dodge II (25) & III (30), Slippery Mind (27), Improved Evasion (30).
Recommended Feats: The build gives you 7 general epic feats, 7 legendary feats, and 3 SD bonus feats. Armor Skin, Blindfight, Epic Prowess, Epic Weapon Focuses, and Great Strength are perfect for this build. Toughness should definitely be picked up along the way, and maybe even some Great Constitutions.
The SD bonus feat list include: Blinding Speed, Epic Skill Focus (except in some class-specific skills), Epic Dodge, Epic Reflexes, Epic Shadowlord, Improved Whirlwind Attack, Self Concealment, and Superior Initiative. Now, due to pre-reqs, you can only choose Epic Skill Focus, Epic Reflexes, or Epic Shadowlord. Awesome, no? Epic Shadowlord is useless. Pick up Epic Reflexes and Epic Skill Focus in Discipline and something else. Pick Pocket and Search are both class skills, so you don't need to get focuses in those (though it will help). Keep in mind ESF in Tumble won't help AC.
Skills
Level 5: 4 Intimidate for WM
Level 7: 5 Tumble for SD
Level 13: 8 Move Silently for SD
Level 17: 10 Hide for SD
Max Discipline at all levels. Max Tumble at all SD levels. Get Pick Pocket at SD levels to 47 (to overcome max skill check penalty due to full plate with tower shield), or just 37 if you get ESF in it.
You have enough skill points left over to max two skills. You could split it between Lore and Search, and max out some other skill.
Special Abilities
Character Level 40: Unlimited Shadow Evade (30% conceal, 12/+5 DR, +7 AC bonus (don't know what kind of AC this is, only Dodge stacks))
Level 45: Shadow Evade gives Death Immune (35%, 13/+5, +8)
Level 50: SE gives Immunity to Necro spells (like Horrid) (40%, 15/+8, +9)
Level 55: SE gives 100% immunity to negative energy (45%, 16/+10, +11)
Level 60: SE gives 1 turn (1 minute RT) of Etherealness (same as Greater Sanctuary) (50%, 17/+11, +12)
Final Stats at Level 40
400HP, 45 AB with Scythe or Scim, 4 attacks per round, saves F20/W15/R27 (with Epic Reflexes), 28 strength (without Great Strength feats).
Pros and Cons
HP: Rather low, picking up toughness if possible would help, and maybe trading a few pairs of Great Strengths for Great Constitutions.
AB: Because 17 of your pre-epic levels are Fighter and WM, you get only one less AB than a pure Fighter (AB progression after level 20 is same for all classes). However, with 13 levels of WM, you get +3 bonus AB to your weapons of choice, so you come out with +2 more AB than a pure fighter.
Saves: Saves aren't that great. Improved Evasion will help out a lot, with reflex as your highest save.
AC: You get to wear Heavy Armor and use Tower Shields.
Defensive Abilities: Look up the SD ability progression table. You get the equivalent of 50% conceal on a strength tank wearing heavy armor using a tower shield.
Attack Abilities: As said above, your AB is the same if not greater than normal. Use a scythe for massive damage, and a scim/shield for times when you need higher AC. You're a strength tank. With immunity to negative energy. And necromancy spells. And you get Etherealness. As many times a day as you want. Shadow Evade is frosting on your cake.
Leveling: should be easy throughout, with your important-to-AB levels (1-20) being almost all Fighter/WM.
Variations
Different Races: Choose a secret race with Dodge, Expertise, or Spring Attack (none have Mobility) to free up a slot. You could go Wraith to start SD at level 2, with its +6 bonus to Hide and Move Silently, but the -3 to Strength really hurts. You COULD go Half-Orc Wraith to get only -1 to strength, which lets you get less levels in fighter and more in SD to get better defense (more conceal, AC bonus, better DR), at the cost of losing some Fighter bonus feats. You could also probably get Epic Weapon Specialization. All things aside, a Con bonus, or a Dex and/or Int bonus that allows you to put more points in Con would REALLY help this build out, with the paltry HP it has. If you do end up with an extra feat, pick up Toughness for a big boost in HP.
Different Weapons: I chose scimitar because of its large crit range and scythe because of its high multiplier. You could do greatsword if so inclined, or choose another one-handed weapon to wield with a shield. Alternately, you could focus in a single weapon and only get WM up to level 7, allowing you to get three more SD levels, as well as more fighter levels and therefore more feats, and also freeing up some feats for the second weapon.
Different Feat Progression: If you really want Weapon Expertise in both weapons and aren't going human, you can go for Weapon Focus: Scimitar first in place of Weapon Proficiency: Exotic, and replace the first Wep Focus with Wep Spec in scim. However, this means you start out early levels using scimitar+shield instead of scythe, less damage but more defense. Then, pick up your second Wep Focus as early as possible, then use the last fighter level to grab the second Weapon Specialization.
This is a highly experimental build, and feedback from more experienced builders would be much appreciated.
The Shadowed Slayer is proficient in two weapons, the scythe and scimitar, allowing him to switch between a two-handed weapon for maximum damage (two-handed weapons give 1.5x str modifier damage bonus), and a one-handed weapon to equip a shield. Feats for both weapons give him maximum AB and crit range, making him effective no matter which combo he chooses. Being strength-based allows the Shadowed Slayer to use Heavy Armor and Tower Shields with no penalty to AC from dexterity. Final conceal 50%, same as having all Self Conceal feats from a dex build, with 17/+11 DR, giving you a wider choice of equipment, and +12 AC bonus. The downside is that these bonuses come rather late.
Stats
Race - Choose a race, any race! Preferably one that gives a bonus to two of the following stats: strength, dex, or int.
Possible Race Choices: PT, Earth or Fire Gensai both give +2 to str, and +2 to con or dex respectively, as well as 25% immunity and vulnerability to bludgeon/acid or fire/cold respectively. Both have -2 to wis and cha. If you have access to secret races, Stringer would probably be the perfect choice. It gives +4 str, +2 dex, +2 con, and Spring Attack. It has -2 to wis and cha, as well as having an increased base movement speed, and doesn't need a ring of levitation. The extra feat would allow you to get Toughness, and the +2 dex and con lets you get 16 con, giving you a total of 3x levels more hp than the normal build. Tieflings have +2 dex and int, also letting you boost con more, and would pair well with half-orc (+2 str but -2 int for net gain of +2 str and dex). Githyanki, Kurai, and Lycans would be other secret races to consider.
STR 18
CON 12
DEX 13
INT 13
WIS 8
CHA 8
Level Progression
Fighter 1-6: Start getting feats to go Weapon Master. Dodge, Mobility, Expertise, Spring Attack, Whirlwind, Weapon Proficiency Exotic, and Weapon Focus. Going human gives you one extra feat, so you can take Weapon Specialization after getting Weapon Focus. WP Exotic is required for Scythe, though you can toss that if you go Greatsword.
WM 7-11: First Weapon of Choice, then get your second Weapon Focus so you can take Weapon Specialization next level for that weapon. The 5th level of WM here gets you Ki Critical (+1 to crit multiplier).
Fighter 12: You need to be taking a level in fighter to get Weapon Specialization, and level 12 gives you a general feat.
WM 13-17: Improved Critical for either weapon here. You get your second bonus point of AB to your first Weapon of Choice, as well as +2 to the crit range.
SD 18-21: Finally! Pick up the second Improved Critical here, as well as a general epic feat. You get HIPS (useless), Darkvision, Evasion, Uncanny Dodge, Shadow Daze, Shadow Summon (useless), and Shadow Evade (5% conceal, 5/+1 DR, +1 AC).
WM 22-24: You end up with an epic general feat (see Recommended Feats list below), and with the 13th level of WM, which lets you choose a second Weapon of Choice and gets you one more AB to your two Weapons of Choice.
SD 25-40: The rest of your levels are in SD. You get 6 general feats in 3 bonus feats. Defensive Roll (25), Uncanny Dodge II (25) & III (30), Slippery Mind (27), Improved Evasion (30).
Recommended Feats: The build gives you 7 general epic feats, 7 legendary feats, and 3 SD bonus feats. Armor Skin, Blindfight, Epic Prowess, Epic Weapon Focuses, and Great Strength are perfect for this build. Toughness should definitely be picked up along the way, and maybe even some Great Constitutions.
The SD bonus feat list include: Blinding Speed, Epic Skill Focus (except in some class-specific skills), Epic Dodge, Epic Reflexes, Epic Shadowlord, Improved Whirlwind Attack, Self Concealment, and Superior Initiative. Now, due to pre-reqs, you can only choose Epic Skill Focus, Epic Reflexes, or Epic Shadowlord. Awesome, no? Epic Shadowlord is useless. Pick up Epic Reflexes and Epic Skill Focus in Discipline and something else. Pick Pocket and Search are both class skills, so you don't need to get focuses in those (though it will help). Keep in mind ESF in Tumble won't help AC.
Skills
Level 5: 4 Intimidate for WM
Level 7: 5 Tumble for SD
Level 13: 8 Move Silently for SD
Level 17: 10 Hide for SD
Max Discipline at all levels. Max Tumble at all SD levels. Get Pick Pocket at SD levels to 47 (to overcome max skill check penalty due to full plate with tower shield), or just 37 if you get ESF in it.
You have enough skill points left over to max two skills. You could split it between Lore and Search, and max out some other skill.
Special Abilities
Character Level 40: Unlimited Shadow Evade (30% conceal, 12/+5 DR, +7 AC bonus (don't know what kind of AC this is, only Dodge stacks))
Level 45: Shadow Evade gives Death Immune (35%, 13/+5, +8)
Level 50: SE gives Immunity to Necro spells (like Horrid) (40%, 15/+8, +9)
Level 55: SE gives 100% immunity to negative energy (45%, 16/+10, +11)
Level 60: SE gives 1 turn (1 minute RT) of Etherealness (same as Greater Sanctuary) (50%, 17/+11, +12)
Final Stats at Level 40
400HP, 45 AB with Scythe or Scim, 4 attacks per round, saves F20/W15/R27 (with Epic Reflexes), 28 strength (without Great Strength feats).
Pros and Cons
HP: Rather low, picking up toughness if possible would help, and maybe trading a few pairs of Great Strengths for Great Constitutions.
AB: Because 17 of your pre-epic levels are Fighter and WM, you get only one less AB than a pure Fighter (AB progression after level 20 is same for all classes). However, with 13 levels of WM, you get +3 bonus AB to your weapons of choice, so you come out with +2 more AB than a pure fighter.
Saves: Saves aren't that great. Improved Evasion will help out a lot, with reflex as your highest save.
AC: You get to wear Heavy Armor and use Tower Shields.
Defensive Abilities: Look up the SD ability progression table. You get the equivalent of 50% conceal on a strength tank wearing heavy armor using a tower shield.
Attack Abilities: As said above, your AB is the same if not greater than normal. Use a scythe for massive damage, and a scim/shield for times when you need higher AC. You're a strength tank. With immunity to negative energy. And necromancy spells. And you get Etherealness. As many times a day as you want. Shadow Evade is frosting on your cake.
Leveling: should be easy throughout, with your important-to-AB levels (1-20) being almost all Fighter/WM.
Variations
Different Races: Choose a secret race with Dodge, Expertise, or Spring Attack (none have Mobility) to free up a slot. You could go Wraith to start SD at level 2, with its +6 bonus to Hide and Move Silently, but the -3 to Strength really hurts. You COULD go Half-Orc Wraith to get only -1 to strength, which lets you get less levels in fighter and more in SD to get better defense (more conceal, AC bonus, better DR), at the cost of losing some Fighter bonus feats. You could also probably get Epic Weapon Specialization. All things aside, a Con bonus, or a Dex and/or Int bonus that allows you to put more points in Con would REALLY help this build out, with the paltry HP it has. If you do end up with an extra feat, pick up Toughness for a big boost in HP.
Different Weapons: I chose scimitar because of its large crit range and scythe because of its high multiplier. You could do greatsword if so inclined, or choose another one-handed weapon to wield with a shield. Alternately, you could focus in a single weapon and only get WM up to level 7, allowing you to get three more SD levels, as well as more fighter levels and therefore more feats, and also freeing up some feats for the second weapon.
Different Feat Progression: If you really want Weapon Expertise in both weapons and aren't going human, you can go for Weapon Focus: Scimitar first in place of Weapon Proficiency: Exotic, and replace the first Wep Focus with Wep Spec in scim. However, this means you start out early levels using scimitar+shield instead of scythe, less damage but more defense. Then, pick up your second Wep Focus as early as possible, then use the last fighter level to grab the second Weapon Specialization.
This is a highly experimental build, and feedback from more experienced builders would be much appreciated.
