looking to be build powerful level 12 duelist

me and my friends have a hypothetical 12th level campaign that might hypothetically occur in the future, so ive begun working on a (yes) hypothetical duelist

the options i have thought of so far:

1) 2 barbarian, 4 fighter, 6 duelist
this would give me faster movement, good hp, and the (to me) necessary uncanny dodge. i would plan to use a rapier (with improved critical)

2) 4 monk, 2 barb, 1 fighter
this would give me wisdom ac bonus, 20 faster speed, and flurry of blows. I would use a siangham

is there an option i am over looking besides rogues (bored of them)? thanks

Consider taking levels in the Swashbuckler Core Class from CW, maybe you will stick to it at all, or start with it and take Duellist, not very hard to accomplish with Swashbuckler.

I'd second that. Swashbuckler6/DuelistX is the most straightforward route. You get some nice bonus abilities along the way.

Your Bbn/Ftr/Duelist combination could work, too. Basically a boy from the wilderness constantly refining his style. The Mnk/Bbn/Ftr is rather hard to explain. First chaotic, then lawful, then maybe something else? And duelling with a siangham just has no style

Another path is Rgr3/Swash3/Duelist6. Decent skills (Rgr 6/lvl, Swash 4/lvl), feats for free (Finess, TWF). Make it an elf and take Improve Weapon Familiarity and fight with Elven Thin- and Lightblades.

Mnk8/Duelist4 has a nice combination of abilities. If you have some decent stats, the AC is really nice (Dex + Wis + Int), Flurry of blows has some benefits (you might stay for Mnk9/Duelist3), movement and unarmed damage won't hurt, either. Some monks/martial artists really fith the duelist description... ("My kung-fu is better!")

Here's mine:
Feytouched (Fiend Folio +2Dex/Cha, -2 Con, Immune to Mind Effects, and a few other abilities)
Swashbuckler 3/Fighter 2 alternating up to level 5 (to avoid the xp penalty). The fighter levels are to get some of the feats required to be a Duelist, and some more feats to be a better duelist. The Swashbuckler levels give you Weapon Finesse, Insightful Strike, better skills, and flavor.
Then if your DM will allow it take the Swashbuckler PrC from the Quintessential Fighter (+1AC/Level, and at higher levels nice acrobatic abilities, Uncanny Dodge, and Evasion), otherwise the Annointed Knight from The Book of Exalted Deeds, at L1 with a Cha of 18, you can get DR 3/- (and you get a +2.5 Will save bonus).
The reason for the PrC at level six is to get the +6 BAB to qualify for the Duelist. You could take a fourth level of Swashbuckler or third level of Fighter, but you don't get a special ability, so why bother?
From level 7 to 13 take Duelist, to get to the amazing Elaborate Parry (then devote one point--or more--from attack to AC through Combat Expertise, and you get an extra +7 AC bonus).
In addition to the required feats, I'd suggest Improved Initiative, Blooded, Thug, or anything else that will raise your initiative (because you're AC 10 until you act). Keep you spot skill maxed (unfortunately, it's cross class until you take Duelist levels), to avoid surprise rounds. And take the Elusive Target feat (from the Complete Warrior), it's very cool for a Duelist.
I've planned him out to level 20. He'll have an initiative bonus of +17, and an AC of 37 (with a -1 on attacks, AC 45 when moving through threatened squares), increasing to a limit of 56 (with a -20 on attacks, 64 when moving through threatened squares) BUCK NAKED! When keeping the AC at 37, he'll be +27/+22/+17/+12 to hit and do 1d8+5 +2d6 damage, critting on a 15 with a non-magical elven thinblade. Then there are the magical items I plan to buy...
Not too bad, I'd say.

Another possibility would be Ftr1/Brd7/Duelist.

Kalamaran Pimp Alert: Ftr1/Basiran Dancer7/Duelist is even better due to bonus feats and free Weapon Finesse.

Both possibilities allow 3rd level spells.

ideas

swashbuckler 3/fighter 2/invisible blade 5/duelist 2

or alternate the invisible blade and duelist levels, double your int bonus to ac, int bonus to damage, sneak attack, free action feinting, massive init bonus, take two weapon fighting feats, and you also have full BAB progression.
See if you can get your dm to alter the invisible blade prereqs to something more appropriate, like dodge and mobility, or expertise and weapon finnese, rather than point blank shot & precise shot, which doesnt fit the invisible blades fighting style, and is just a leftover that wasn't looked at properly from the splatbooks.

Well, what is a duelist, exactly? I would not think Uncanny Dodge or faster movement were relevant, for example. For my idea of a duelist, I would take 12 levels of fighter. My guess is that none of those other combinations could take him in a duel, that is, some kind of stand-up pre-arranged fight. Even if they were allowed to choose their weapons. Combining feats and role-playing, I think such a character could be whatever was needed. I guess that is kind of a dull option, but it is worth thinking about.

Keith said:

Well, what is a duelist, exactly? I would not think Uncanny Dodge or faster movement were relevant, for example. For my idea of a duelist, I would take 12 levels of fighter. My guess is that none of those other combinations could take him in a duel, that is, some kind of stand-up pre-arranged fight.

Click to expand...

That's not a duel, that's a pit-fight. For a pit fighter or judicial champion Ftr12 is a fine choice, but the duelist as depicted in the DMG definitely targets something different. We're talking about D'Artagnan or the Gray Mouser here.

The D&D rules don't favour unarmored fighters with small, agile weapons. There's not that much you can do about it with feats. That's why prestige classes have to cater to that crowd. The Duelist gets an AC bonus from his Int and does "precision damage", which brings him closer to his plate-armoured, greatsword-wielding equivalent.

With the (very artificial) restriction of no armor and a rapier as the only weapon, I doubt that a Ftr with all his feats could come close. Duelists will shin in this little niche, the Fighter is still the unbeaten king of the battlefield. Just like it should be, you didn't see Italian fencing masters prancing around during a full-fledged battle.

(so, let's build Inigo, Fezzik and Vicini in D&D now

I think people are missing an obvious choice... the rogue.

Here's my build for a 'western iaijitsu guy': Rog 10/Duelist 2

Str 10, Con 16 (orig 13), Dex 22 (orig 15, then 18 with ability advancement), Int 15, Wis 8, Cha 10.

82 hit points

Improved reaction +2, Sneak attack +5d6, Improved evasion, Improved uncanny dodge, trap sense +3

Feats: Dodge, Mobility, Weapon finesse, Two-weapon fighting, Combat expertise, Improved feint, Improved initiative

Want to gain Improved and Greater two-weapon fighting at higher levels. Possibly spring attack to get in and out of trouble, but this duelist’s power comes from the initial round or use of feint.

BAB +9/+4, Init +12, Melee +16/+11, 1d6 +1 19-20/x2, 2 weapon: +14/+9/+14, 1d6 +1 19-20/x2
+5d6 sneak attack

AC 25 (+6 Dex, +2 Canny defense, +3 bracers of armor, +2 amulet of natural armor, +2 ring of protection)

Possessions:
Gloves of dex +4 16k, Amulet of natural armor +2 8k, + amulet of health +3 13.5k, Ring of protection +2 8k, Cloak of resistance +3 9k, Bracers of armor +3 9k, Boots of speed 12k, Two +1 adamant short swords 10k

Assuming he wins initiative, that's potentially 3 hits with sneak attack damage. Draw stroke SLASH SLASH SLASH. And if he's flanking, more opportunities to do sneak attack damage.

Sure, like most rogues, he has trouble if he can't use sneak attack. But 25 AC isn't bad, and his hit points are rather respectable. With 3 attacks (more with improved and greater two-weapon), he can hold his own against other targets. A crossbow and tanglefoot bags can flesh him out.

Get some personality for your swashbuckler!

Dwarven Swashbuckler 3/Fighter 4/Duelist 5 (if you use UA racial paragon rules, after 10 levels of duelist, take 3 levels of dwarf).

That is the next PC design in my queue.