Author Topic: 3.5/Pathfinder Gestalt Warforged Warlock||Binder Help  (Read 2604 times)

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

MADDGOAT

  • Monkey bussiness
  • *
  • Posts: 5
3.5/Pathfinder Gestalt Warforged Warlock||Binder Help
« on: April 15, 2011, 01:00:19 AM »
Hi, I'm new to the forums here but a long time player of D&D of one form or another.

I was hopping for some advice for making my concept work. Playing in an upcoming Gestalt campaign for a small party (2-3 players) can use material from 3.5 (mostly) updated to Pathfinder rules (Feats, Skills, etc ...) My concept is for a Warforged created by nefarious (possibly Infernal) makers specifically to perform different functions on a day to day basis through pact magic based on the task(s)/quest(s) to be performed (assassinations, retrieving an important item, impersonating someone else, combat, ...) and through the variety of souls bound to his own, develops both innate arcane powers (Warlock) and his own personalty from an original blank slate.

I realize this isn't necessarily an optimized approach (like say, Factotum), but I'd like to try and make the Warlock || Binder work more for its mechanics and the fluff involved. Right now "Adamantine Body" is really giving me some problems regarding Spell Failure and to a lesser extent movement, but if possible I'd like to keep it for it's higher defense, survivability at first/low level(s) as well as the fact that it's aesthetically pleasing. I have a few questions regarding these issues at the end of the post. (Not too worried about the spell failure for the first few levels, due to ranged touch attack Eldritch Blasts & Binder Melee Tanking, but I would like to mitigate it by about level 5 or 6). I do feel that the character is rather unfocused as far a methods of combat (melee, ranged, control, ...) due to trying to be a flexible, jack-of-all-trades type... So suggestions for feats/abilities/items that help increase strengths (like eldritch blasts/making pacts), and/or shore up weakness would be greatly appreciated.

Warforged (as 3.5) except:
* +2 Con, +2 Int, -2 Cha
* Lose Light Fortification

Classes more or less unchanged:
Warlock: gain +1d6 Eldritch Blast damage by 20th level (now equal to sneak attack); 1 invocation/level (not necessarily final)
Binder: no major changes, MAYBE a binder bonus feat or two, pact augments to fill in dead levels.
Prc's: Basically Unchanged (Skills, ...)

Stats: (Probably) Con>Cha>Dex>Int>Str>Wis

Here's the idea for the build so far:

"The Devil's Robot"
CN Warforged Warlock 17 / Hellfire Warlock 3 || Binder 18 / Reforged 2
[01] Warlock 1 | Binder 1
[02] Warlock 2 | Binder 2
[03] Warlock 3 | Binder 3
[04] Warlock 4 | Binder 4
[05] Warlock 5 | Binder 5
[06] Warlock 6 | Reforged 1
[07] Warlock 7 | Reforged 2
[08] Warlock 8 | Binder 6
[09] Warlock 9 | Binder 7
[10] Hellfire Warlock 1 | Binder 8
[11] Hellfire Warlock 2 | Binder 9
[12] Hellfire Warlock 3 | Binder 10
[13] Warlock 10 | Binder 11
[14] Warlock 11 | Binder 12
[15] Warlock 12 | Binder 13
[16] Warlock 13 | Binder 14
[17] Warlock 14 | Binder 15
[18] Warlock 15 | Binder 16
[19] Warlock 16 | Binder 17
[20] Warlock 17 | Binder 18

Hellfire Warlock for added damage; Reforged to get around the half-healing, hp & stat damage.

Feats (So Far... Suggestions?) :
Adamantine Body, Flyby Attack

Invocations (So Far):
See the Unseen, Entropic Warding, Eldritch Glaive, Fell Flight, Flee The Scene, Hellrime Blast (For Hellfire Warlock), Vitriolic Blast, Retributive Invisibility


I also had a couple of questions that I couldn't find any definite answers to, if you could please help:

(1) The "Adamantine Body" Feat states that: "your base land speed is reduced to 20 feet, and you are considered to be wearing heavy armor." If I were to increase my speed by say +20 feet, would my new speed be 40 (Base 20 + 20), or 35 (Base 30 + 20 = 50 Reduced to 35)? I guess what I'm asking is does the "Adamantine Body" Feat modify my base speed, or impose an encumbrance penalty similar to wearing heavy armor. I ask this since the "armor" provided by the feat acts like traditional armor in some senses (any effect that doesn't working while wearing heavy armor doesn't work for a character with this feat, arcane spell failure as normal), but different in other regards (no "true" armor check penalty - only a penalty to the same skills, no penalty for not being proficient with heavy armor). As a follow up question, if I were to say gain a flight speed from the "Fell Flight" Warlock Invocation, would that be at a speed of 20 or 30?

(2) Are there any "good" ways to get rid of the 35% Arcane Spell Failure from "Adamantine Body"? For instance, as a Warlock, can I take the "Battle Caster" feat twice, once for no penalty in Medium Armor, and then again for no penalty in Heavy Armor? Or is there a more powerful version of the twilight ability/things that stack with it?

Thank You for any advice/help you can offer! I would certainly appreciate it.

    - MADDGOAT

CrimsonDeath

  • Curious George
  • ****
  • Posts: 316
    • Email
Re: 3.5/Pathfinder Gestalt Warforged Warlock||Binder Help
« Reply #1 on: April 15, 2011, 01:28:02 AM »
Hellfire Warlock//Binder does really well.  If you bind Naberius, you'll heal one Constitution damage per round, which means you can Hellfire Blast away.

Unfortunately, you can't take Battle Caster twice.  Also, if you're using the errata (which you might not be, after the Pathfinder conversion), Eldritch Blast counts as an Invocation and is thus subject to spell failure.  I know that the Twilight enhancement (+1 price modifier) reduces spell failure by 10%.  The Spellsword class could reduce it further if you qualified, but it requires the ability to cast arcane spells (not invocations) and proficiency in all martial weapons-- and that still wouldn't completely eliminate spell failure.  I thought there was a Warforged prestige class that reduced spell failure, but I can't find it.  You may be better off using Mithral Body instead.

As for your speed, I think you would apply the +20 to your base of 20 to get 40.  I'm also pretty sure Fell Flight would give you a speed of Fly 20.  (With a strict reading, Adamantine Body changes your base speed to 20 and treats you as being in Heavy armor, which would result in a total speed of 15, but I'm pretty sure that's neither the intent nor the official interpretation.)

MADDGOAT

  • Monkey bussiness
  • *
  • Posts: 5
Re: 3.5/Pathfinder Gestalt Warforged Warlock||Binder Help
« Reply #2 on: April 15, 2011, 01:51:34 AM »
Thank you for the reply!

Yeah, trying to reduce spell failure for invocations has been a problem since they're considered spell-like abilities with somatic components. Not a lot of feat support for that! Eldritch Blast being the major problem, at least more so than the 24-hour buffs, which I could just cast first thing every day until they succeed. Most everything is for traditional arcane casters, like wizards/sorcerers. What I've been able to find gets me about halfway there (Battle Caster once gets me to no penalty in medium armor, and through various means like Twilight, class features, etc... I could get a decent -ASF percentage but the two methods don't combine together and trying to get to -35% ASF eats up quite a bit of class levels, gold, and feats. Not to mention I probably couldn't get rid of the penalty til about level 10 or later.)

"Mithral Body" does solve all my problems/concerns in one fell swoop and I might inevitably have to resort to it, but if at all possible, I would like to try and get "Adamantine Body" to work. I suppose most reasonable people trying to get rid of the ASF in heavy armor would just go Mithril Full-Plate/Battle Caster and call it a day, but I guess I've always been a little obstinate.  :D  Being Warforged really complicates things though.

Still Spell would help normally, but is there a such a thing as a Still Spell-Like Ability type feat/ability?

Thanks for your suggestions!

Widow

  • Bi-Curious George
  • ****
  • Posts: 469
Re: 3.5/Pathfinder Gestalt Warforged Warlock||Binder Help
« Reply #3 on: April 15, 2011, 04:56:47 AM »
I have a simple solution depending on your starting level and if you can use the Underdark book.  On page 70 there is an armor property called Halfweight (+3).  It makes the armor count as light and reduces the weight by one half.  So now all you need is 16,000gp for +1 Halfweight armor.

MADDGOAT

  • Monkey bussiness
  • *
  • Posts: 5
Re: 3.5/Pathfinder Gestalt Warforged Warlock||Binder Help
« Reply #4 on: April 15, 2011, 05:31:53 AM »
Would that work on a Warforged, overruling the text of the feat? Would my base speed go back to 30 feet then? Reduce The Pseudo-Armor Check Penalty? That would definitely solve my problems! Earliest I think I could swing that would be level 8, barring a generous-feeling DM.  :love

Thanks!
« Last Edit: April 15, 2011, 06:13:20 AM by MADDGOAT »

Widow

  • Bi-Curious George
  • ****
  • Posts: 469
Re: 3.5/Pathfinder Gestalt Warforged Warlock||Binder Help
« Reply #5 on: April 16, 2011, 12:02:44 AM »
Would that work on a Warforged, overruling the text of the feat? Would my base speed go back to 30 feet then? Reduce The Pseudo-Armor Check Penalty? That would definitely solve my problems! Earliest I think I could swing that would be level 8, barring a generous-feeling DM.  :love

Thanks!

Yeah, it should overwrite the feat and push up your speed since it counts as light armor in all ways.  It still has the same stats though, so you are still stuck with the armor check penalty but keep the listed DR.  You can always add on Nimble later to push up max dex by 2 and lower the armor check penalty by 1.  I don't know of any other enchantments that can effect the armor check penalty, only the pathfinder fighter class.