Author Topic: Character help. An archivest dual wielding Tentacle whips.  (Read 1507 times)

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druid91

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Character help. An archivest dual wielding Tentacle whips.
« on: June 24, 2011, 12:28:05 AM »
Ok I have an Idea for a character, an archivest/(Melee class here) eldritch knight (Or similar) who dual wields tentacle whips from The Eberron Campaign setting.

Now I have this Idea, he's mainly touch spell and fire focused, (Holy order devoted to garyx).

Unfortunately I am horrible at min-maxing. Which is what he needs to keep up with.

So could someone help? Point me in the right direction?

rot42

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Re: Character help. An archivest dual wielding Tentacle whips.
« Reply #1 on: June 24, 2011, 05:41:29 AM »
So you want a basically martial character, based off Archivist so you can suckle at the sweet, sweet goodness of under-leveled Paladin spells while delivering Touch spells using 15' hentaicles, but want some way around the low HP/BAB? Anything labeled "codzilla" should have solid advice for wading into melee as a divine caster (Divine Favor, Divine Power, Stone Body, that sort of thing). The whips are "usually LE", so I am guessing that Luminous Armor and Celestial Aspect are off the table. There should be at least one Archivist thread in the Handbooks section; "find the lowest level at which any spell is available" is a fun game. I am not quite sure what advice you will find most useful, so here are some indifferently organized thoughts.

What level will your character be at creation, and how far do you expect the game to go? Are you interested in playing a full caster, or a hitting-stuff-character who also has some spells? Are you set on Archivist, or would something like Duskblade work (full BAB, channel touch spells through melee attacks, but very limited spell progression/selection)? Are you looking to take advantage of the Dark Knowledge bonuses yourself, or are you looking to prestige out of Archivist at the earliest opportunity? Do you have any feats selected, or are you still looking for things that fit with the casty-stabby-burny concept? You mention min/maxing - are you looking to keep up with other Tier 1 characters, or just a coherent build? Are all sourcebooks fair game?

Even when focusing on Touch spells, the TWF penalties are pretty harsh, but the BAB of the Tentacle Whip attacking by itself is also pretty suboptimal. Gloves of the Balanced Hand (Magic Item Compendium 105) should help with that, depending on how you read the Improved Attack (Ex) ability. The poison DC is way too low to be of any use by the time you can afford two of these.

Your basic action economy of "standard action spell, quickened spell, touch attack, touch attack" is going to burn through your slots really quickly. Look for spells with lingering effects (e.g. buffs) or that let you make a touch caster level times or whatever. If you feel like abusing your DM's friendship, ask about Battle Blessing + Prestige Paladin.

The first thing you need to worry about is that daily Dexterity damage. You have access to all the healing spells, but a Rod of Bodily Restoration (Magic Item Compendium 173) is probably more efficient. A more interesting option would be to use the Anima Mage adaptation (Tome of Magic 53) and bind Naberius to eat the damage as it happens. A number of vestiges have a very eldritch knight feel - Savnok comes with armor and can teleport people around the battlefield, Paimon gives you Whirlwind Attack, Andras gives you a mount, a Smite, and a Confusion effect. Aym lets you move in armor like a dwarf and make fire-based touch attacks (which might or might not apply to attacks by your symbionts; I would rule yes, but run it by your DM); Aym is available with only one level of Binder, and sounds great for your flavor. Anima Mage also gets limited free metamagic (a.k.a. take Persistent Spell and wander around with your best Bite of the WereX up all day).

Since you playing with Eberron anyway, the Hands of Flame graft (Magic of Eberron 130) lets you burn things for 1d6 with a touch. Again, it is not necessarily clear how this would interact with your symbionts (or they might not be compatible at all - check the slotting rules). Wreath of Flames (Druid 3, Dragon Magic 75) will, well, wreathe you in flames for 1 round/level. Bracers of Lightning (Magic Item Compendium 206) add electricity to your Touch attacks. Even assuming all of the foregoing work and stack, you are looking at two Touch attacks per round at 4d6@ at the cost of a class level, a 3rd level spell, and about 20,000 gold - take one to get the flavor right and focus on something else.

Magic of Incarnum has a number of options for filling the 'look at me all magical and hitting stuff' concept, and is very dip-friendly. Heart of Fire, Mantle of Flame, or Phoenix Belt could work well with fiery whips. Depending on how the Share Soulmeld feat interacts with symbionts, the breath weapon from the Lammasu Mantle might actually be good.

Now you just need to figure out your save vs. thrown rulebook when you Share Spells to give one of your symbionts Evard's Menacing Tentacles and the other Aspect of the Wolf.