Kaedrin's Custom Content
Would you like to react to this message? Create an account in a few clicks or log in to continue.

Aww, isn't he cute?

Go down

Aww, isn't he cute? Empty Aww, isn't he cute?

Post  mariogreymist Tue Jan 31, 2012 3:23 am

Having just downloaded Kaedrin's PrC pack, I got to thinking of how to build a better finesse melee specialist...here's what I came up with:

Strongheart halfling (for dex bonus, quick to master feat) str 10, dex 20, con 10, int 14, wis 12, cha 8. Through level 20, every point of ability gain goes to Dex, to have perfect two weapon at level 21.
Class progression:
Ranger, l6 - this gives two weapon, and improved two weapon as bonuses, and allows enough space to take combat expertise, dodge, mobility and weapon focus (kukri) all the pre-reqs for:
Dervish, l3 - This is where Spring attack comes for free, and Whirlwind attack can be selected to satisfy the requirements for:
Weapon Master, l7 - If you've never seen a two-fisting weapon master with kukris (or scimitars for that matter) you really ought to try it. With improved criticals (or keen weapons) the critical range is 13-20. That's right - a 40% crit rate, with enough attacks to almost ensure at least one crit per round, and usually more. The dervish dance adds +2 now and as much as +5, which is slashing damage, and goes into the crit multiplier, which goes up to 3x at level 5. Take improved critical range at level 3 (which gets you to an impressive 30%) and at level 6 take greater 2 weapon fighting, granting 3 attacks with the off hand.
Dervish, to level 10. At levels 5, 7 and 9, you gain a point of slashing damage within a dervish dance. You also get the abilities to cleave, and great cleave within the dance at levels 4 and 10 respectively. You also get one more dance per day per level, the loss of dance related fatigue at level 9, and the doozy - +2d6 slashing damage at level 10 for one minute a day. Take Feint at level 18, and perfect 2 weapon at 21, and build up some bluff ranks. At level 23 we move on to:
Invisible blade, l5. If I need to explain why, you're not getting the point yet. Add 18 points of damage to every hit by the end of this PrC. No added damage within the crit multipliers, but the sheer ridiculousness of how many hits you'll score - particularly once you add weapon finesse at level 24 - make this class worth pursuing. Which leaves us back where we started:
Ranger, levels 7-8. (total levels 30) - This gives us woodland stride and swift tracker...nothing too powerful for what this character has become, but really it's the only place you get any bang for the buck with the last two levels...added bonus is 1 level two spell, 2 if you put a couple of points into wisdom at the end.

So we end up with Ranger8, Dervish10, Weapon Master7, and Invisible Blade5.

The weaknesses here are the lack of ability to use heavy armor, and the relatively late delivery on weapon finesse. The former is countered to some extent by racial and class abilities, an extremely high dex bonus, combat expertise when needed, and not to mention the 20 points of tumbling this character will have at level 17 (+2AC). The latter can be addressed by taking finesse at level 12 rather than improved criticals. Keen weapons, or a party member who can cast keen weapon, or even scabbards of keen edges (which are relatively easy to come by in the original campaign, and never run out of charges) can keep that crit range high.

At the end of the day, you get a character who can deliver 10 attacks per round with a 40% critical probability. Granted, against extreme foes, natural 14's might miss on occasion, in spite of being in the range of criticals, but that will be rare. And that's not to mention the sheer coolness of a watching a tiny little sucker cutting big monsters into fine ribbons.

While this build only uses one of Kaedrin's PrC's, it is the lynchpin to making it come off. The free Spring Attack lets the Weapon Master levels commence at an early point for anything but a straight fighter. It also adds attack skill and damage during its powerful dances. Moreover, it adds cleave and great cleave, which makes this build a lawnmower to any large group of remotely weak opponents. And that's before even thinking of how much damage this character can do at dervish level 10 in a single minute...100 attacks (ten a round, times ten rounds a minute), at +2d6+5 slashing damage with a 40%/x3 crit rate. Even with standard, non magical weapons, and no STR bonus, the math gets outright crazy. Add two magical blades and a belt of cloud giant strength, and you'll need scientific notation.

Aww.... Isn't he cute?

mariogreymist

Posts : 12
Join date : 2012-01-30

Back to top Go down

Back to top


 
Permissions in this forum:
You cannot reply to topics in this forum