Help with Crusader/Bard or Warblade/Bard

Aelf · Feb 12, 2008

Good day to all!

I'm trying to stat out a new NPC for my campaign. His purpose is to be somewhat competitive with the PCs - not a minion or an ally, but worthy of respect.

The NPC has an odd background ... a human (born on the Material Plane) but reared in Mephistopheles' realm. He has a pseudo-established personality of a gregarious carouser.

I am trying to put together an interesting build for him to display some of the Bo9S stuff. I don't intend for the NPC to beat or 'show up' the PCs, just to be an interesting new face.

I'm leaning toward making him a Crusader/Bard or Warblade/Bard. I'm not set on either. I do need an NPC that won't take a huge amount of DM effort to run. (I know Crusaders require a lot of management, but I think I can plan things out) The build should be group-friendly.

Here's what I'm looking for help with:

Build ideas ... progression and feats especially.

The NPC will initially be low-level, but will progress at least to level 12. (The PCs are presently levels 6 and 7.)

Good maneuver choices/combinations. I've never had a player run a Bo9S character before, but I've done some test cases and have used a Crusader 5 NPC before.

The build should be effective and plausable. If there are decent feats that scream 'take me' from his Hellish background, please direct me!

Many thanks for the effort.

Best regards.
Aelf

Sitara · Feb 12, 2008

Keep in mind that multi-classing a BO9S class is basically the same as multiclassing a wizard or druid; you loose your maneuver progression and never quite get back on track.

Darklone · Feb 12, 2008

If you build a warblade3/bard9 or something similar, it's worth it.

You simply add some maneuvers and hitpoints to a bard who doesn't lose that much. Optimize your Inspire Courage stuff, get Song of the White raven and take the warblade levels (except perhaps for the first one at level 1 for hitpoints) rather late, then you can pick some higher level maneuvers.

Keep UMD mostly maxxed and get some nice wands. Personally, I like bard archers... for that build a crusader might be better

Mistwell · Feb 12, 2008

The Song of the White Raven feat lets you both activate inspire courage as a swift action while in a White Raven Stance, and lets your crusader and warblade levels stack with your bard levels to determine the bonus granted by your inspire courage ability. That will be a key feat for this build.

Song of the Heart feat will be next on the list for feats. It's from the Eberron Campaign Setting, pg. 60. Prereq: Bardic music class feature, inspire competence ability, Perform 6 ranks; Benefit: When you use inspire courage, inspire competence, inspire greatness, or inspire heroics, any bonus granted by your music increases by +1 (unnamed bonus).

For spells, you will want the first level Inspirational Boost Spell (Spell Compendium, pg. 124).
It's a swift action spell that increases the morale bonus granted by your inspire courage bardic music increases by 1 (increases morale bonus).

For items, you will want the inexpensive Badge of Valor (Magic Item Compendium pg. 208). Price (Item Level): 1400 gp (5th), Body Slot: Throat. Caster Level: 5th, Aura: Moderate (DC 17) abjuration, Activation: Immediate (mental), Weight: --. When you activate the badge of valor, you and all allies within 60 feet gain a +2 bonus on the next save you or they make against a charm or fear effect before the start of your next turn. If you have the bardic music ability to inspire courage, you can activate the Badge of Valor to increase the bonus granted by that ability by 1 for the duration of its effect (unnamed bonus). A Badge of Valor functions three times per day. Prerequisites: Craft Wondrous Item, remove fear, possession of a piece of the set. Cost to Create: 700 go, 56 XP, 2 days.

If you can afford it, a Vest of Legends item (DMG II, pg. 272) would be useful. It gives a +5 comp. bonus on Diplomacy and Perform checks, plus Bard level treated as five higher for purpose of determining the effects of inspire courage (stacks)...Price: 16,000 gp.

If you have more bard levels than Crusader or Warblade leves, then a Crystal Echoblade would be worth the money. See Inspire Courage Optimization Thread for more details on that.

Overall, if you follow this build (and I think you need at least 3 bard levels, though maybe it is 5) your inspire courage bonus will be quite high, and you will be able to use it while using your maneuvers. As an ally, you help a party a lot. Even alone however, particularly with the Echoblade, you will be pretty devastating.

blargney the second · Feb 12, 2008

For a PC I'd go crusader/bard, but for an NPC I'd certainly go the warblade route for simplicity's sake.

For feats:
Song of the White Raven is practically a gimme. Since bolstering voice doesn't stack with inspire courage, leading the charge should probably be his first stance. Note that once the inspire courage has started, you don't have to stay in a white raven stance anymore.

So given all that, I'd probably make him a charger. Look at Tiger Claw maneuvers, Battle Caster to cast in medium armor, Power Attack, maybe even a barbarian level for pounce and whirling frenzy. Give him some decent strength and charisma, and away you go!
-blarg

szilard · Feb 12, 2008

Sitara said:
Keep in mind that multi-classing a BO9S class is basically the same as multiclassing a wizard or druid; you loose your maneuver progression and never quite get back on track.

Actually, I've found it not as bad... particularly if you start out as a non-Bo9S class... since your other class levels count as 1/2 for your initiator level... and with your first level of a B09S class you can take higher-level maneuvers. The main differences? You may not get 9th level maneuvers and you will have fewer low-level maneuvers that you won't use at high level anyway...

I played a Bardic Savant/Warblade at one point. It worked out pretty well.

-Stuart

Slaved · Feb 12, 2008

Bard 3/Marshal 3/Crusader 3

Start with an 18 in Charisma, use the two level boosts for Charisma, have an item of charisma boosting +4 along with some other items.

For feats
White Raven Defense, Song of the White Raven, Song of the Heart, Clarion Commander, Stone Power

For auras
Minor
Motivate Dexterity
Motivate Charisma
Major
Hardy Soldiers

For Maneuvers
Devoted Spirit -
Crusader's Strike
Vanguard Strike

Stone Dragon -
Charging Minotaur
Stone Bones

White Raven -
Douse the Flames
White Raven Tactics

For Stances
Bolstering Voice
Tactics of the Wolf

With this the character is very charismatic and a great ally. He is also someone that you do not want to have as an opponent, especially if he has friends around, but he is not very powerful offensively alone he is just very good at surviving anything that is thrown against him.

His minor auras should be at least +7, his Inspire Courage should be at least +4 after spells and items, and he gets to show off two third level tome of battle effects without being overwhelming when doing so.

The players would be very wise indeed to try to make him a friend and in a very poor state if they make him an enemy.

If you put his 5 readied maneuvers on cards and shuffle them when they are needed it should be very easy to keep track of his maneuvers. Remember that as a third level crusader he has Steely Resolve 5, Furious Counterstrike, Indomitable Soul, and Zealous Surge. This means that hitting him will likely only make him angry and he should never succumb to a Willpower Saving Throw and that he gets to reroll one saving throw a day which pushes his seeming mental invulnerability even further!