Brilliant Gameologists Forum

The Thinktank => Min/Max It! => : Hazren October 13, 2011, 11:21:51 PM

: Looking for help with Evil Character
: Hazren October 13, 2011, 11:21:51 PM
The DM has told us that we are going to need some evil characters for his next game, ECL 15 with a free +2LA.. This DM uses a lot of optimised NPCs. He's open to anything from the books besides ToB and Psionics.

I've been pigeon holed for years as the goto wizard and pretty much locked into the enchanter specialist. I want a change of pace, but might not mind a back up character if I suck at what I want to try so if you have a Wizard that is ECL 15 I'd love to see it.

A recent thread got me to thinking about an assassin who uses dex and speed to get the job done. Hide, move in to hit, move away to hide again.

Here's the build so far (we do 4d6, reroll 1's)
Str 14
Dex 26
Con 16
Int 23
Wis 19
Cha 20
(As he's evil he has used Steal Life spells to prolong his life thus the high mental stats)

Ranger2(Arcane Hunter ACF)/ Swashbuckler1/ Fighter2( ACF Hit & Run)/ Cloistered Cleric1(Access to Knowledge Devotion)/ Dread Commando 5/ Assassin 3
Templates are Shadow Creature (for a +2LA by DM, Will not count toward ECL) and Vecna Blooded for +1 LA


Feats
Ancestor: Warrior Instinct
Human: Dodge
Flaw: Telling Blow
Flaw: Craven
1: Improved Initiative
1: Ranger: Track, Favored Enemy Arcanist
2: Ranger Combat Style: Two Weapon Fighting
3: Foe Specialist
3: Swashbuckler: Weapon Finese
4: Fighter Bonus Feat: Weapon Focus Rapier
5: Fighter Bonus Feat: Mobility
6: Power Critical Rapier
9: Improved Critical Rapier
12: Leadership
15: Spring Attack

Domains( Both Cleared by DM)
Celerity: +2 to Dex and Inititive, +10 ft to move
Mysticism: Add Cha Mod to Saving throws
Knowledge: Knowledge skills are now class skills

Knowledge Domain at rank 40 (Scholar: Once per day, negate a single ability of an enemy creature that you've discovered using a successful Knowledge check )

Full attack  23/ 22/ 18/ 17


Regular Attack is 1d6 +4 (with magic weapon +1 Baaatorian Steel, Bane, Deadly precision Maiming) Primary attack and 1d4+2 off Hand

Sneak Attack   9d6 + 27

If the target uses Arcane spells or spell like abilities Add 3d6 +6 

Crits on 15 - 20 (Crit Damage is 1d6 + 19 x 1d4)

Init is 30 (+4fest, +2ACF, +5Dread Commando Level, +2Domain, +8Dex and +9Magic Items)

Skill Tricks
Find the weak point: Use spot check against AC and treat next Attack as Touch Attack
Mosquito's Bite: Taget will think I miss on first attack

Move should be 90 with templates, doman and Collar of Umbral Metamorphisis.

Hide skill 52
Move Silently 45



Magic Items of note:
Belt of Battle 
Bracers of Murder Combined with Deathstrike Bracers
Ring of Anticipation to reroll Init Checks
Ring of Invisibility

Magic Location Effects:
Terrible Cyst: Smite good once per day
Otyttugh Hole: Iron Will
The Hghest Spire: Agile Athlete, Dex instead of strenght to Climb and jump

Using an Artificer as a Cohort who has done everything to reduce cost of crafting for magic items.


Ideas and suggestions?
: Re: Looking for help with Evil Character
: X-Codes October 13, 2011, 11:44:29 PM
Ring of Invisibility is pretty sad at this point.  Ring of Anticipation is also kinda redundant.  With a +30 initiative mod, you're pretty much guaranteed to go first unless someone drops Celerity (if this line of spells isn't banned, then your character is going to be useless).
: Re: Looking for help with Evil Character
: weenog October 13, 2011, 11:48:25 PM
Sneaky hit and run assassin with a free +2 LA?  You might want to take a look at the Gravetouched Ghoul template in Libris Mortis, and the Lurking Terror prestige class in the same book.
: Re: Looking for help with Evil Character
: X-Codes October 13, 2011, 11:49:29 PM
Ah, right.  Undead immunities will really help since you're not getting them from spells.
: Re: Looking for help with Evil Character
: weenog October 14, 2011, 12:04:17 AM
Easier Hide In Plain Sight than dipping Shadowdancer too, and though it won't always save the day, it never hurts for a quiet killer to have a paralysis attack in case they live through the first strike.

Also if you want to use poisons safely without needing the assassin's poison use class feature... you aren't biologically active, what do you care if you get poison on you?  Lick it off and bite someone if you don't like having noxious goop on your finger.
: Re: Looking for help with Evil Character
: Hazren October 14, 2011, 02:31:28 AM
High UMD and an Artificer cohort will give him access to spells from scrolls and items.

Hide in plain sight from Umbral Collar.

Shadow Creature template :
Speed: As base creature × 1 1/2.
• Cold resistance of 5 + 1 per HD, to a maximum of 20.
• Darkvision with a range of 60 feet.
• Low-light vision.
• Shadow Blend (Su): In any conditions other than full daylight, a shadow creature can disappear into the
shadows, giving it nine-tenths concealment. Artificial illumination, even a light or continual flame spell, does
not negate this ability. A daylight spell, however, will.
Shadow creatures also have one additional supernatural ability for every 4 HD they possess (minimum of one)
chosen from the following list:
+2 luck bonus on all saving throws.
• Cause fear once per day.
• Damage reduction 5/+1.
• Evasion.
• Mirror image one per day.
• Plane shift self to or from the Plane of Shadow once per day.
• Regenerate 2 hit points per round (slain if brought to 0 hit points).
Skills: Same as the base creature, plus Move Silently +6.

DM is really nasty when you try to play undead with everything and the horse they rode in on (yes in one game the paladin was riding an awakened horse that had cleric levels) being able to turn/control undead  :banghead

I was trying for an under the radar build that could be fast and deadly. Hide instead of invisibility so detect invisible wouldn't find him. The ring of anticipation is to hopefully make damn sure I get two rounds of attacks on the BBEG before he goes. The ring of invisibility is a left over from playing other characters and I'm totaly open to changing it out. The DM is real big on wizards as the  main NPCs we face so I was hoping for a wizard killer.

I was going for poison use, in case massive damage and crappy assassin DC failed it would at least add a decently high fort save vs Poison. As I usualy play wizards I figure there will be the customary AMF somewhere and wanted a character that at it's core was class/feat/skill driven and didn't rely on magic to get the job done, magic just makes it easier.

But still I'm open to any suggestion of an ECL 15 character for the game.
: Re: Looking for help with Evil Character
: JohnnyMayHymn October 14, 2011, 08:16:36 AM
Divine Minion Template, it won't help your rapier, but it's fun

EDIT: this could mess up your domains too ...
: Re: Looking for help with Evil Character
: Nytemare3701 October 14, 2011, 08:55:56 AM
I'm actually working on an assassin type right now. He SHOULD be able to go into a room, kill everything in the room, and leave, all on the first round.
: Re: Looking for help with Evil Character
: nightshade October 14, 2011, 02:17:14 PM
sounds like you want to shadowpounce and/or use aptitude weapons
: Re: Looking for help with Evil Character
: Nytemare3701 October 14, 2011, 03:15:05 PM
sounds like you want to shadowpounce and/or use aptitude weapons

Shadowpouncing+Factotum standard actions
: Re: Looking for help with Evil Character
: linklord231 October 14, 2011, 03:43:44 PM
I don't see Darkstalker (Lords of Madness) on your feat list.  This is absolutely vital to a sneaky character.  Speaking from experience, after a certain point EVERY enemy you meet will have some form of see invis/blindsight/tremorsense.  It's really hard to play a sneaky character when everything automatically detects you without even needing an action to do so.
: Re: Looking for help with Evil Character
: X-Codes October 14, 2011, 04:05:14 PM
Again, let's say that the Wizard has a... +15 Init Mod.  If you roll a 6 or higher, you go first.  Period.  The ONLY thing stopping that is Celerity.  If you pick up Nerveskitter, then you go first, period.

Unless the Ring of Anticipation is *really* cheap (like <3kgp cheap), I'd consider going with something else, instead.

Another thing to consider is the Enemy Spirit Pouch (keyed to Arcansists).  If you DM allows it, then it's 2100 gold for a +3 bonus on attack rolls against arcanists (on top of other stuff).  It's a really cheap static boost to numbers.

Shadow Creature was updated in Lords of Madness, and I have to agree that Gravetouched Ghoul will serve your purposes better.  Switch Intelligence and Charisma (GGhoul gives +2, so your Int mod actually stays the same) and play up Charisma a little more.  Drop Telling Blow, Weapon Focus, Power Critical, Improved Critical, and Spring Attack in favor of Darkstalker, Power Attack, Divine Might, Elusive Target, and Death Blow.  3 levels of Lurking Terror will improve the save on your paralyzing attacks to 10 + 7 (Cha) + 7 (1/2 HD) + 3 = 27 (30 w/ +6 item), which is actually really tough for even high-level characters to shrug off when it's hitting them 3 times each round.

Also, the luck bonus to saving throws isn't that hot, relative to Gravetouched Ghoul.  Gravetouched Ghoul gives a +2 bonus to Reflex and Will saves from ability boosts, and makes you immune to almost everything that hits Fort.  You can stack that with a Luckblade, Luckstone, Recitation, or, dare I say, the Ilyyukur's Mantle spell in Unapproachable East.