Evil Overlord - 26 soc, 13BG, 1 Monk

[mrslayer]

Hi

1st attempt at a written build so be nice ;-)

A Bane Knight

A buffed tank that kick's back damage and deals it out will under Tensors
Transformation/GMW etc.

Also a compentent caster, specially with Bane Knight spells (that use 9/10
STR mod plus all bar 1 of my levels)

Prismatic Dragon

STR 17 (19)
DEX 8 (6)
CON 12
INT 11(10)
WIS 8
CHA 16 (18)

Stats
ALL STR

Skills
1-12 Sorc (Max Conc and Spellcraft, though save enough points to)
13 Monk (Max Tumble and get Hide 5)
14-25 BG (Max Discipline)
26 - 39 Sorc (Max Conc and Spellcraft, plus Tumble as necassary, tho save
enough to)
40 BG (Max Disc)
LL Top up Conc, Spellcraft and tumble)

Skill points are tight and you may miss out on a few points of spellcraft
but I needed the stat points for CON).

Monk Give BG prerequisits of Cleave and Hide 5, plus evasion (saving 2
feats)

Feats

Not worked all these out yet but I think I can get
Spell Pen
Greater Spell Pem
Epic Spell Pen
Leg spell Pen
Weapon focus (Scimitar)
Epic Weapon focus (Scimitar)
Toughness
Blind Fighting
Max Spell
Emp Spell
Extend Spell
Still Spell (by level 25) Granted Still Spell 3 free
Epic Evocation (for various Bigby's and Epic damage spell)
Epic Enchantment (GMW and Balor)
Epic Warding (as premonition is not boosted due to few BG levels)
LEG STR 10
LEG CHA 1 (to round it to 18 before or 30 after items/spells)
Increased Crit Feat (If I have enough feats)

From Book (I think I can use it with 26 sorc levels?)
Leg Dev (for a buffed rez)

If too many drop either 1 epic school (probably Enchantment) or a few levels
of STR. Could drop Empower and Max spell but quite like the versatility
these offer. If I drop one it will be empower.

Can cast some direct damage Ok (meteors/MS/Epic spell) and is a decent tank
(though low AB and HP when not buffed).
Good Saves combined with evasion should work well.
Not many spell slots (low CHA and alot of items will need to be combat
boosters rather than spell slots) but a decent Pen on spells, particularly
Bane Knight spells.
Epic Warding should give me a nice boost when tanking major bad's

Not sure on all the spells I should choose.
Im thinking mainly Bane Knight ones
My LVL 9 spells will probably be Meteor shower, Mords and Bigbys
WIll probably sneak in Misile Storm (wont be amazing but can help in some
circumstances).

Not set on Scimitar as my weapon (chose it because of threat range and the fact I can cast keen on it). Any better weapons I should choose. I want a 1 handed weapon obviously.

Comments?

[archmage]

Several thoughts come to mind having made a Bane Knight whose lvl 59 and one of my strongest characters:

Premonition will be viable on this build. It will use your baner knight progression and is one fo your best buffs.

Dont waste your time with spells not on the Bane Knight list, your dc will be too low to hurt anything in the more difficult areas. IGMS, Meteors, etc

Scimitars make a fine choice for Bane Knights, its what I use and Ariakus does some very nice damage indeed.

Prismatic is the perfect subrace for Bane Knight builds. The extra elemental immunity goes quite well with this class as well.

Taking the monk lvl early to save on feats is interesting, but it comes with one penalty as well. you wont be able to max tumble, which is going to hurt your AC, I took mymonk lvl late, after 37 to max tumble, granted it was at the expense of a couple feats.

Bane Knights cant cast custom epics, they lack enough sorceror levels. So I'd rethink your foci to Evo (bigbys) Illusion (weird, phantasmal killer) or Transmutation (GMW)

Max and Empower arent really all that great for BK's, since most of the Bane Knight spells arent damage spells. Extend is quite nice for Tensers and the dmg shields, provided you can avoid getting dispelled.

With the correct gear, BK's are excellent tanks, due in large part to their Prismatic ele immunities.

All in all a nice build, just some ideas and knowledge from experience to help you along the way. I

[mrslayer]

I though custom spells require 25 sorc levels. That is why I took them and not bane knight ones (hence why premonition is not too hot for me). Then again part of me is saying it is actually 35 sorc levels. Anyone know?

Aware that I loose out on tumble but I can live with that. Though if I cannot use epic spells maybe it become a level 40 choice.......

With 26 sorc levels will I be able to use a book to get an epic spell feat free?

[archmage]

You can use a book to gain an epic focus, yes. Your Bane Knight and your Sorc lvls combine to determine your caster lvl for premonition, so either way your premontion will be fine.

Edit - to clarify, you can use the bioware epics but not the custom HG ones

[mrslayer]

How many sorc levels do youo need for custom epic spells?

Is getting Epic Warding worth while?

About the Premonition I though the Bane night special thing only counted BG levels?

Really appreciate the feedback. Thanx :-)

[mrslayer]

Just checked the board (numpty for not doing it before)

This book lists the custom Epic Spells in this module. You must have 25 levels of palemaster, sorceror, or wizard in order to learn these spells, be level 40, have the epic spell focus feat in the spell's school, and find someone or something to teach you the spell.

As such I reckon a few epic spells seem lovely :-)

Ench will give me 14 GMW and balor and div will give me auto rez. I had better calculate the feats and see if I can get evo as well. Will probably drop max and empower though.

[FunkySwerve]

You can find all ingame building information on these forums as well. Your first question answered here:
highergroundpoa.proboards3.com/index.cgi?board=info&action=display&n=1&thread=1129314243

Epic Warding is probably worth it; there are items that give it but swapping them out costs you spell slots, so if you want to be able to use it more than once per rest, not a bad idea.

And yes, BK Premonition only counts BG levels.

Funky

[archmage]

ouch

its a wonder i actually managed to pull off a reasonable build with the 15 errors i lucked into not making, or maybe I knew them and forgot

[sabregirl]

So with blackguard not being the control class on this build you'll be missing out on better premonition - which from my BK's experience is totally awesome.

The other thing is if you have 21 Blackguard, divine might and shield will double in duration - I'm a fan of Divine might myself and more kickback might be a nice thing to have. If you have 20 levels of blackguard you'll also get the blackguard smite - won't be very powerful without the normal smite feats but better than a stick in the eye
Epic spells are tempting but I prefer having BG control class.

-S