Author Topic: Bard / Dirgesinger 3.5 Lvl 12 - please help me with my feats  (Read 7929 times)

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Nuitari

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Hi everyone,

I'm looking for some help and ideas on my character. I checked the related posts on the forum, but there are a lot of specifics that I'm unsure about.

* What D&D books you can use?
Everything D&D 3.5 related

* What type of character you want it to be?
A Bard & Dirgesinger of chaotic neutral alignment.

* What levels will this character be played at?
Level 12

* Any house rules or particular details about your DM or the other characters in the game?
My race is Nevae, which is a half drow and half elf race. See http://www.dndworld.com/3e/races/nevae.pdf for details if you're interested. They are basically elves with some spell-like abilities: 1/day dancing lights, darkness, and faerie fire* What specifically you are looking for help with?
I want to build a scary bard character based on intimidation/fear effects. The half-drow race is very fitting for this I think. What I'm not sure about is which feats to use and which armor and weapons would be suitable. Here are the ideas I have so far, but I would very much appreciate your input.

Basic ideas:

1) Fear effectsintimidate as a class skill.


Character traits & feats:

1) Bardic Music:
Use Inspire Awe (from Dragon Magic) instead of Inspire Courage.
Benefit: A bard with 3 or more ranks in a Perform skill can use song or poetics to inspire awe in his enemies, rendering them shaken. To be affected, an enemy must be within 30 feet and be able to hear the bard perform. The effect lasts for as long as the enemy hears the bard perform and for 1 round thereafter. Each enemy can attempt a Will save to negate the effect; the DC is equal to the bard's Perform check result. Regardless of the success or failure of the save, no creature can be affected by inspire awe more than once in a 24-hour period. Inspire awe is a mind-affecting fear effect.

2) Feats I am considering:

2a) RequiemHaunting Melody (from Eberron). Perform: 9 ranks
Spend a Bardic Music use as you sing or use the Perform skill, and enemies in 30 ft. have to make a Will save (DC 10 + 1/2 your level + your Cha modifier) or become shaken for a number of rounds equal to your ranks in the Perform skill.

2c) Imperious Command (from Drow of the Underdark). Intimidate 8 ranks
The feat makes your intimidate checks turn the enemy Cowering for one round (dex denied to AC, can take no actions) and Shaken the next.

The question here is, which of the feats are the best to take, and what feat to take at a lower level (because these need 8-9 ranks). Perhaps Extra Music (from Complete Adventurer, +4 bardic music per day), or Lingering Song (from Complete Adventurer, extend the duration of your bardic music effects)

2d) I also like the feat progression that is Undertone of Heresy (Perform 4 ranks) - Blasphemous Utterance (Perform 9 ranks) - Sickening Sonata (Perform 12 ranks) (from Dragon #336), but I'm not sure it is worth it. (http://realmshelps.dandello.net/cgi-bin/feats.pl?Sickening_Sonata)
Benefit: Your Blasphemous Utterance affects creatures in a more powerful way. Creatures with fewer Hit Dice than you are paralyzed, those with an equal number of Hit Dice become nauseated, and creatures with up to 3 Hit Dice more than you are sickened. All three effects last for a number of rounds equal to 1d4 + your Charisma modifier. This replaces the effect of Blasphemous Utterance. It otherwise functions as that ability.


Equipment ideas:

- harmonizing crystal echoblade (longsword) +X
- cloak of charisma +x
- fearsome armour


Thanks a lot for reading! Please share your ideas :)





woodenbandman

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Re: Bard / Dirgesinger 3.5 Lvl 12 - please help me with my feats
« Reply #1 on: June 01, 2010, 08:54:06 PM »
Well you've got a hit dice based effect and Bards (eventually) get that thing that increases their hit dice. Seems like it'd work. Have you considered what to do after Dirgesinger?

Nunkuruji

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Re: Bard / Dirgesinger 3.5 Lvl 12 - please help me with my feats
« Reply #2 on: June 01, 2010, 08:57:46 PM »
Thematically I like Dark Speech / Filthy Outburst, but I'm not sure if that is relevant to your CN interests.

Shadowhunter

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Re: Bard / Dirgesinger 3.5 Lvl 12 - please help me with my feats
« Reply #3 on: June 01, 2010, 09:45:09 PM »
Tounges solves that.

Prereq. are 8 ranks in Intimidate and Preform.

There should be... ah yes here:
http://brilliantgameologists.com/boards/index.php?topic=3809.0
This ought to help a bit.


As far as early feats go, Extra Music will be useful considering you'll be spending them like mad.
Especially if you take Doomspeak.


Did I mention Doomspeak is sexy?
[Spoiler]
Quote from: Runestar
the most effective optimization is the one you can actually get away with.  :smirk

Quote from: Vinom
(A group of nerds are called a murder because like crows we are anti-social, like shiny things, and often squack at each other over nothing for hours)

I often have to remind people not to underrate divination.  The ability to effectively metagame without actually metagaming beats the ability to set things on fire more times than not.
[/quote]
[/spoiler]

Binder? You're Welcome

Zceryll makes Binders go from tier 3 to tier 2.
Cagemarrow is a Genius

Before giving the advice that build X would be better of with Fist of the Forest, take a long, good look at Primal Living. Twice.

ninjarabbit

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Re: Bard / Dirgesinger 3.5 Lvl 12 - please help me with my feats
« Reply #4 on: June 01, 2010, 11:09:35 PM »
A level of marshal can get you motivate charisma which will boost your intimidate and perform checks.

duncandun

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Re: Bard / Dirgesinger 3.5 Lvl 12 - please help me with my feats
« Reply #5 on: June 01, 2010, 11:19:16 PM »
sorry , this is off topic. But how can you be both half elf and half elf?

Shadowhunter

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Re: Bard / Dirgesinger 3.5 Lvl 12 - please help me with my feats
« Reply #6 on: June 01, 2010, 11:24:24 PM »
One part Drow parent.
One part Elf parent.
(Hopefully) No part Other parent.
[Spoiler]
Quote from: Runestar
the most effective optimization is the one you can actually get away with.  :smirk

Quote from: Vinom
(A group of nerds are called a murder because like crows we are anti-social, like shiny things, and often squack at each other over nothing for hours)

I often have to remind people not to underrate divination.  The ability to effectively metagame without actually metagaming beats the ability to set things on fire more times than not.
[/quote]
[/spoiler]

Binder? You're Welcome

Zceryll makes Binders go from tier 3 to tier 2.
Cagemarrow is a Genius

Before giving the advice that build X would be better of with Fist of the Forest, take a long, good look at Primal Living. Twice.

skydragonknight

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Re: Bard / Dirgesinger 3.5 Lvl 12 - please help me with my feats
« Reply #7 on: June 01, 2010, 11:26:30 PM »
sorry , this is off topic. But how can you be both half elf and half elf?

A Wizard did it. Actually, two wizards did each other. Favored class.
It always seems like the barrels around here have something in them.