Originally posted by alphathegreat:
"No. Leave them to me. I will deal with them myself."
Darth Vader
Darth Vader is, in fact, a hybrid Swordmage|Defenderlock. He uses the dark side of the force to curse and then control his enemies. He is tough and strikes from both range and close up.
He is a superior defender for any troops he leads into battle.
He is of course human, and is an Infernal Pact to represent the evil that dwells within, and Vestige Pact because the secrets of the Dark Side are known only by a few.
All of this is beside the point, however.
Taking into account his Armor of Dark Majesty, Warding Curse, concealment from his Phantom Chausseurs, Trick of Knowledge and Mark of Warding, his defenses sit at roughly 55ac/52f/53r/54w. White Lotus Riposte will make him painful to attack early on, and the Baldric of Shielding will kick in after that gets trained out to generate some personal thp. He also has resist 5 all from Strength Through Challenge.
Defending his minions:
1. He gets the Swordmage's massive mark with Total Aegis, which hits his enemies for -3 to hit his allies. Protective Hex throws down another -2, setting marked/cursed enemies he hits at -5 to attack his allies.
2. He is a shielding swordmage with TWO uses of his aegis each turn thanks to the latest defender article.
3. All marked enemies take 5+conmod fire damage when they try to attack his allies.
4. All his attacks deal half psychic damage, which triggers psychic lock, throwing a -2 debuff on his target's next attack. Swordburst makes that an area debuff.
5. Eyes of the Vestige with the Vestige of Leraje immobilizes at-will. Do I need to explain why sticking people in place is a Good Thing?
6. Eyes of the Vestige lets him unload his curse more easily, getting a wide variety of bonuses thereby.
7. When he gets his Baldric of Shielding, Shared Pact lets him share his wealth of temp hps with his allies. If I can find room for Bloodied Boon after that, the amount of thp flying around will be insane.
9. He is loaded with nasty debuffing and controlling powers, which will ruin his enemies' day. He is truly a master of the Force.
He is tough, he is powerful, he controls the battlefield and he ensures that the only one killing his troops...is himself.
Darth Vader
[sblock]====== Created Using Wizards of the Coast D&D Character Builder ======
level 30
Human, Swordmage|Warlock, Avernian Knight, Sage of Ages
Hybrid Talent: Swordmage Warding
Eldritch Strike: Eldritch Strike Constitution
Swordmage Aegis (Hybrid): Aegis of Shielding
Eldritch Pact (Hybrid): Vestige Pact (Hybrid)
Hybrid Warlock: Hybrid Warlock Will
Versatile Expertise: Versatile Expertise (Heavy Blade)
Versatile Expertise: Versatile Expertise (Light Blade)
Twofold Pact: Infernal Pact
Human Power Selection: Bonus At-Will Power
Vestige Mastery: Vestige of Leraje
Background: Arcane Sentinel (+2 to Arcana)
FINAL ABILITY SCORES
Str 14, Con 26, Dex 12, Int 24, Wis 14, Cha 10.
STARTING ABILITY SCORES
Str 12, Con 16, Dex 10, Int 16, Wis 12, Cha 8.
AC: 46 Fort: 43 Reflex: 44 Will: 45
HP: 184 Surges: 15 Surge Value: 46
TRAINED SKILLS
Endurance +28, Thievery +21, Athletics +22, Arcana +44, Intimidate +26
UNTRAINED SKILLS
Acrobatics +16, Bluff +21, Diplomacy +15, Dungeoneering +23, Heal +17, History +34, Insight +17, Nature +23, Perception +17, Religion +34, Stealth +16, Streetwise +15
FEATS
Human: Hybrid Talent
Level 1: White Lotus Riposte (retrained to Shared Pact at Level 19)
Level 2: Versatile Expertise
Level 4: Improved Initiative (retrained to Superior Initiative at Level 22)
Level 6: Mark of Warding
Level 8: Shield of Hestavar (retrained to Double Aegis at Level 21)
Level 10: Wrathful Warrior (retrained to Battle Awareness at Level 12)
Level 11: Twofold Pact
Level 12: Greater Swordmage Warding
Level 14: Psychic Lock
Level 16: Protective Hex
Level 18: Improved Defenses
Level 20: Twofold Curse
Level 21: Vestige Mastery
Level 22: Warding Curse
Level 24: Rapid Aegis Reaction
Level 26: Epic Will
Level 28: Skill Focus (Arcana)
Level 30: Strength Through Challenge
POWERS
Bonus At-Will Power: Eldritch Strike
Hybrid at-will 1: Eyes of the Vestige
Hybrid at-will 1: Sword Burst
Infernal Pact: Hellish Rebuke
Hybrid encounter 1: Clarion Call
Hybrid daily 1: Armor of Agathys
Hybrid utility 2: Channeling Shield (retrained to Charm of Hearts at Level 6)
Hybrid encounter 3: Dimensional Vortex
Hybrid daily 5: Swordmage Shielding Fire
Hybrid utility 6: Swordmage's Decree
Hybrid encounter 7: Transposing Lunge
Hybrid daily 9: Vestige of Ilmeth
Hybrid utility 10: Ethereal Sidestep
Hybrid encounter 13: Soul Flaying (replaces Clarion Call)
Hybrid daily 15: Vestige of Leraje (replaces Armor of Agathys)
Hybrid utility 16: Painful Transference
Hybrid encounter 17: Sea Tyrant's Fury (replaces Soul Flaying)
Hybrid daily 19: Ward of Scales (replaces Vestige of Ilmeth)
Hybrid utility 22: Shackled Warding
Hybrid daily 25: Quicksilver Blade (replaces Ward of Scales)
Hybrid encounter 27: Zutwa's Incandescence (replaces Sea Tyrant's Fury)
Hybrid daily 29: Waves of Languor (replaces Swordmage Shielding Fire)
ITEMS
Swordwing Armor of Dark Majesty +6 - for defenses
Far-Step Amulet +6 - for mobility
Phantom Chaussures (paragon tier) - concealment
Sorrowsong Blade +6 - psychic lock
Bracers of Mental Might (heroic tier) - makes Avernian Knight's powers usable
Baldric of Shielding (paragon tier) - thp
Zehir's Gloves (epic tier) - set bonus
Avandra's Ring (epic tier) - set bonus + mobility
Opal Ring of Remembrance (epic tier) - arcana + swordmage accuracy
Eye of Awareness (epic tier) - init, Will defense
====== Copy to Clipboard and Press the Import Button on the Summary Tab ======
[/sblock]
*Double Aegis is retrained to Total Aegis at level 21.
As a variant, you can swap out psychic lock and the sorrowsong blade for a radiant weapon and some form of radiant support, so that Vader will be wielding an actual lightsaber.
Notes about defenses
[sblock]Of the defenses listed, these are the conditionals:
2/2/2/2 against cursed targets from Armor of Dark Majesty
2/2/2/2 against cursed targets from Warding Curse
3/3/3/3 from Trick of Knowledge(Sage of Ages encounter utility)
2/2/2/2 from concealment
-Eyes of the Vestige is important to getting curse spread around, twofold curse comes in before Warding Curse, etc. This is the biggest deal.
-Trick of Knowledge is a minor action on your turn, so yeah you have to activate it. The probability of getting the features you need is pretty good, 93.6-97.7% depending on how much of a hurry you're in.
-Phantom Chaussures are the primary source of concealment. With Ethereal Stride and Farstep Amulet, you should be able to get a teleport in every turn, but obviously this is the most unstable source of defenses for Vader.[/sblock]
Variants:
Warforged Vader
[sblock]====== Created Using Wizards of the Coast D&D Character Builder ======
level 30
Warforged, Warlock|Swordmage, Avernian Knight, Sage of Ages
Eldritch Pact (Hybrid): Star Pact (Hybrid)
Hybrid Warlock: Hybrid Warlock Will
Swordmage Aegis (Hybrid): Aegis of Shielding
Hybrid Talent: Swordmage Warding
Versatile Expertise: Versatile Expertise (Heavy Blade)
Versatile Expertise: Versatile Expertise (Light Blade)
Twofold Pact: Infernal Pact
Eldritch Strike: Eldritch Strike Constitution
Background: Arcane Sentinel (+2 to Arcana)
FINAL ABILITY SCORES
Str 14, Con 26, Dex 12, Int 26, Wis 14, Cha 10.
STARTING ABILITY SCORES
Str 12, Con 16, Dex 10, Int 16, Wis 12, Cha 8.
AC: 47 Fort: 42 Reflex: 44 Will: 45HP: 184 Surges: 15 Surge Value: 46
TRAINED SKILLS
Arcana +45, Thievery +21, Endurance +30, Intimidate +22
UNTRAINED SKILLS
Acrobatics +16, Bluff +15, Diplomacy +15, Dungeoneering +23, Heal +17, History +35, Insight +17, Nature +23, Perception +17, Religion +35, Stealth +16, Streetwise +15, Athletics +17
FEATS
Level 1: Hybrid Talent
Level 2: Versatile Expertise
Level 4: Improved Initiative (retrained to Superior Initiative at Level 22)
Level 6: Mark of Warding
Level 8: White Lotus Riposte (retrained to Shared Pact at Level 19)
Level 10: Wrathful Warrior (retrained to Battle Awareness at Level 12)
Level 11: Twofold Pact
Level 12: Double Aegis (retrained to Total Aegis at Level 21)
Level 14: Greater Swordmage Warding
Level 16: Psychic Lock
Level 18: Protective Hex
Level 20: Improved Defenses
Level 21: Warding Curse
Level 22: Rapid Aegis Reaction
Level 24: Bloodied Boon
Level 26: Epic Will
Level 28: Skill Focus (Arcana)
Level 30: Strength Through Challenge
POWERS
Hybrid at-will 1: Booming Blade (retrained to Sword Burst at Level 11)
Hybrid at-will 1: Eldritch Strike
Infernal Pact: Hellish Rebuke
ITEMS
Shadow Warlock Swordwing Armor +6,
Far-Step Amulet +6,
Sorrowsong Blade Longsword +6,
Baldric of Shielding (paragon tier),
Bracers of Mental Might (heroic tier),
Zehir's Gloves (epic tier),
Avandra's Ring (epic tier),
Opal Ring of Remembrance (epic tier),
Eye of Awareness (epic tier),
Phantom Chaussures (paragon tier)
====== Copy to Clipboard and Press the Import Button on the Summary Tab ======
[/sblock]
update: 11/27/10 - changed a bunch of stuff that needed changing, made him more viable at all levels (including extensive retraining), and switched him over to infernal/vestige for greater control ability.
update: 11/28/10 - moved vestige to heroic and infernal to paragon, freeing up some feat and retraining space. Revamped his power selection.
update: 3/14/11 - added the new warforged variant of Vader. You can be more machine now, than man. The variant is mostly the same, but skimps on a couple desired feats, and brings in bloodied boon at the end for a big boost to shared pact.
"No. Leave them to me. I will deal with them myself."
Darth Vader
Darth Vader is, in fact, a hybrid Swordmage|Defenderlock. He uses the dark side of the force to curse and then control his enemies. He is tough and strikes from both range and close up.
He is a superior defender for any troops he leads into battle.
He is of course human, and is an Infernal Pact to represent the evil that dwells within, and Vestige Pact because the secrets of the Dark Side are known only by a few.
All of this is beside the point, however.
Taking into account his Armor of Dark Majesty, Warding Curse, concealment from his Phantom Chausseurs, Trick of Knowledge and Mark of Warding, his defenses sit at roughly 55ac/52f/53r/54w. White Lotus Riposte will make him painful to attack early on, and the Baldric of Shielding will kick in after that gets trained out to generate some personal thp. He also has resist 5 all from Strength Through Challenge.
Defending his minions:
1. He gets the Swordmage's massive mark with Total Aegis, which hits his enemies for -3 to hit his allies. Protective Hex throws down another -2, setting marked/cursed enemies he hits at -5 to attack his allies.
2. He is a shielding swordmage with TWO uses of his aegis each turn thanks to the latest defender article.
3. All marked enemies take 5+conmod fire damage when they try to attack his allies.
4. All his attacks deal half psychic damage, which triggers psychic lock, throwing a -2 debuff on his target's next attack. Swordburst makes that an area debuff.
5. Eyes of the Vestige with the Vestige of Leraje immobilizes at-will. Do I need to explain why sticking people in place is a Good Thing?
6. Eyes of the Vestige lets him unload his curse more easily, getting a wide variety of bonuses thereby.
7. When he gets his Baldric of Shielding, Shared Pact lets him share his wealth of temp hps with his allies. If I can find room for Bloodied Boon after that, the amount of thp flying around will be insane.
9. He is loaded with nasty debuffing and controlling powers, which will ruin his enemies' day. He is truly a master of the Force.
He is tough, he is powerful, he controls the battlefield and he ensures that the only one killing his troops...is himself.
Darth Vader
[sblock]====== Created Using Wizards of the Coast D&D Character Builder ======
level 30
Human, Swordmage|Warlock, Avernian Knight, Sage of Ages
Hybrid Talent: Swordmage Warding
Eldritch Strike: Eldritch Strike Constitution
Swordmage Aegis (Hybrid): Aegis of Shielding
Eldritch Pact (Hybrid): Vestige Pact (Hybrid)
Hybrid Warlock: Hybrid Warlock Will
Versatile Expertise: Versatile Expertise (Heavy Blade)
Versatile Expertise: Versatile Expertise (Light Blade)
Twofold Pact: Infernal Pact
Human Power Selection: Bonus At-Will Power
Vestige Mastery: Vestige of Leraje
Background: Arcane Sentinel (+2 to Arcana)
FINAL ABILITY SCORES
Str 14, Con 26, Dex 12, Int 24, Wis 14, Cha 10.
STARTING ABILITY SCORES
Str 12, Con 16, Dex 10, Int 16, Wis 12, Cha 8.
AC: 46 Fort: 43 Reflex: 44 Will: 45
HP: 184 Surges: 15 Surge Value: 46
TRAINED SKILLS
Endurance +28, Thievery +21, Athletics +22, Arcana +44, Intimidate +26
UNTRAINED SKILLS
Acrobatics +16, Bluff +21, Diplomacy +15, Dungeoneering +23, Heal +17, History +34, Insight +17, Nature +23, Perception +17, Religion +34, Stealth +16, Streetwise +15
FEATS
Human: Hybrid Talent
Level 1: White Lotus Riposte (retrained to Shared Pact at Level 19)
Level 2: Versatile Expertise
Level 4: Improved Initiative (retrained to Superior Initiative at Level 22)
Level 6: Mark of Warding
Level 8: Shield of Hestavar (retrained to Double Aegis at Level 21)
Level 10: Wrathful Warrior (retrained to Battle Awareness at Level 12)
Level 11: Twofold Pact
Level 12: Greater Swordmage Warding
Level 14: Psychic Lock
Level 16: Protective Hex
Level 18: Improved Defenses
Level 20: Twofold Curse
Level 21: Vestige Mastery
Level 22: Warding Curse
Level 24: Rapid Aegis Reaction
Level 26: Epic Will
Level 28: Skill Focus (Arcana)
Level 30: Strength Through Challenge
POWERS
Bonus At-Will Power: Eldritch Strike
Hybrid at-will 1: Eyes of the Vestige
Hybrid at-will 1: Sword Burst
Infernal Pact: Hellish Rebuke
Hybrid encounter 1: Clarion Call
Hybrid daily 1: Armor of Agathys
Hybrid utility 2: Channeling Shield (retrained to Charm of Hearts at Level 6)
Hybrid encounter 3: Dimensional Vortex
Hybrid daily 5: Swordmage Shielding Fire
Hybrid utility 6: Swordmage's Decree
Hybrid encounter 7: Transposing Lunge
Hybrid daily 9: Vestige of Ilmeth
Hybrid utility 10: Ethereal Sidestep
Hybrid encounter 13: Soul Flaying (replaces Clarion Call)
Hybrid daily 15: Vestige of Leraje (replaces Armor of Agathys)
Hybrid utility 16: Painful Transference
Hybrid encounter 17: Sea Tyrant's Fury (replaces Soul Flaying)
Hybrid daily 19: Ward of Scales (replaces Vestige of Ilmeth)
Hybrid utility 22: Shackled Warding
Hybrid daily 25: Quicksilver Blade (replaces Ward of Scales)
Hybrid encounter 27: Zutwa's Incandescence (replaces Sea Tyrant's Fury)
Hybrid daily 29: Waves of Languor (replaces Swordmage Shielding Fire)
ITEMS
Swordwing Armor of Dark Majesty +6 - for defenses
Far-Step Amulet +6 - for mobility
Phantom Chaussures (paragon tier) - concealment
Sorrowsong Blade +6 - psychic lock
Bracers of Mental Might (heroic tier) - makes Avernian Knight's powers usable
Baldric of Shielding (paragon tier) - thp
Zehir's Gloves (epic tier) - set bonus
Avandra's Ring (epic tier) - set bonus + mobility
Opal Ring of Remembrance (epic tier) - arcana + swordmage accuracy
Eye of Awareness (epic tier) - init, Will defense
====== Copy to Clipboard and Press the Import Button on the Summary Tab ======
[/sblock]
*Double Aegis is retrained to Total Aegis at level 21.
As a variant, you can swap out psychic lock and the sorrowsong blade for a radiant weapon and some form of radiant support, so that Vader will be wielding an actual lightsaber.
Notes about defenses
[sblock]Of the defenses listed, these are the conditionals:
2/2/2/2 against cursed targets from Armor of Dark Majesty
2/2/2/2 against cursed targets from Warding Curse
3/3/3/3 from Trick of Knowledge(Sage of Ages encounter utility)
2/2/2/2 from concealment
-Eyes of the Vestige is important to getting curse spread around, twofold curse comes in before Warding Curse, etc. This is the biggest deal.
-Trick of Knowledge is a minor action on your turn, so yeah you have to activate it. The probability of getting the features you need is pretty good, 93.6-97.7% depending on how much of a hurry you're in.
-Phantom Chaussures are the primary source of concealment. With Ethereal Stride and Farstep Amulet, you should be able to get a teleport in every turn, but obviously this is the most unstable source of defenses for Vader.[/sblock]
Variants:
Warforged Vader
[sblock]====== Created Using Wizards of the Coast D&D Character Builder ======
level 30
Warforged, Warlock|Swordmage, Avernian Knight, Sage of Ages
Eldritch Pact (Hybrid): Star Pact (Hybrid)
Hybrid Warlock: Hybrid Warlock Will
Swordmage Aegis (Hybrid): Aegis of Shielding
Hybrid Talent: Swordmage Warding
Versatile Expertise: Versatile Expertise (Heavy Blade)
Versatile Expertise: Versatile Expertise (Light Blade)
Twofold Pact: Infernal Pact
Eldritch Strike: Eldritch Strike Constitution
Background: Arcane Sentinel (+2 to Arcana)
FINAL ABILITY SCORES
Str 14, Con 26, Dex 12, Int 26, Wis 14, Cha 10.
STARTING ABILITY SCORES
Str 12, Con 16, Dex 10, Int 16, Wis 12, Cha 8.
AC: 47 Fort: 42 Reflex: 44 Will: 45HP: 184 Surges: 15 Surge Value: 46
TRAINED SKILLS
Arcana +45, Thievery +21, Endurance +30, Intimidate +22
UNTRAINED SKILLS
Acrobatics +16, Bluff +15, Diplomacy +15, Dungeoneering +23, Heal +17, History +35, Insight +17, Nature +23, Perception +17, Religion +35, Stealth +16, Streetwise +15, Athletics +17
FEATS
Level 1: Hybrid Talent
Level 2: Versatile Expertise
Level 4: Improved Initiative (retrained to Superior Initiative at Level 22)
Level 6: Mark of Warding
Level 8: White Lotus Riposte (retrained to Shared Pact at Level 19)
Level 10: Wrathful Warrior (retrained to Battle Awareness at Level 12)
Level 11: Twofold Pact
Level 12: Double Aegis (retrained to Total Aegis at Level 21)
Level 14: Greater Swordmage Warding
Level 16: Psychic Lock
Level 18: Protective Hex
Level 20: Improved Defenses
Level 21: Warding Curse
Level 22: Rapid Aegis Reaction
Level 24: Bloodied Boon
Level 26: Epic Will
Level 28: Skill Focus (Arcana)
Level 30: Strength Through Challenge
POWERS
Hybrid at-will 1: Booming Blade (retrained to Sword Burst at Level 11)
Hybrid at-will 1: Eldritch Strike
Infernal Pact: Hellish Rebuke
ITEMS
Shadow Warlock Swordwing Armor +6,
Far-Step Amulet +6,
Sorrowsong Blade Longsword +6,
Baldric of Shielding (paragon tier),
Bracers of Mental Might (heroic tier),
Zehir's Gloves (epic tier),
Avandra's Ring (epic tier),
Opal Ring of Remembrance (epic tier),
Eye of Awareness (epic tier),
Phantom Chaussures (paragon tier)
====== Copy to Clipboard and Press the Import Button on the Summary Tab ======
[/sblock]
update: 11/27/10 - changed a bunch of stuff that needed changing, made him more viable at all levels (including extensive retraining), and switched him over to infernal/vestige for greater control ability.
update: 11/28/10 - moved vestige to heroic and infernal to paragon, freeing up some feat and retraining space. Revamped his power selection.
update: 3/14/11 - added the new warforged variant of Vader. You can be more machine now, than man. The variant is mostly the same, but skimps on a couple desired feats, and brings in bloodied boon at the end for a big boost to shared pact.
