Epic D&D 3.5: The Eye of Profane Truth [full]

[Shayuri]

Depends! Epic meatshields can be dynamite on toast...or one Dominate away from batting for the other team.

Gate can also be used for temporary meatshielding.

That said...there's definitely room for some warrior melee in our gang. We'll just need to make sure the design plugs up the obvious holes.

 

[Wrahn]

Well, the answer is yes, I think we are light on melee damage, but it depends on how combat heavy you are looking the game on being. We have what roughly translates as a Sorcerer, Wizard, Warlock and Cleric. Now I think, because sneak attack is virtually eliminated as a useful tool at epic levels, the rogue is pretty much a sneaky scout. So if we are playing a combat heavy scenario, then I am not sure we need a scout.

Then again, if we are playing a mystery or a heavily roleplaying game, then I am not sure we need a War Hulk (not exactly high on the versatility scale). If we want to stick to 4 and feel we need a melee combatant, I can change characters to eliminate the overlap.

 

[Rkhet]

Mostly RP, I think. I've got a reasonably complicated backstory this time. I will squeeze in a decent amount of combat because I like the crunch.

Light on the mystery. Detective novels are not my thing.

 

[Shayuri]

Azaar - My gut reaction on seeing your build is that you're trying to do too many things at once. You've got sneak attacking, eldritch blasting, a bunch of mediocre (for epic scores) stats instead of a few really good ones, and a fiendish servant that will (I kid you not) be more of a liability than an asset in battle.

My advice to you is to consolidate. For each level you take, especially past 20, ask why...why am I taking this? A good example is Hexblade. Why? Just for the bonus vs spells? The mettle? The meager (and nigh useless) spellcasting? Ditto on Blackguard. And Ninja.

If you want to focus on ranged attacks, Power Attack and Cleave won't be too helpful. Get Point Blank Shot and Precise Shot instead. Getting powers that increase your damage is smart too. The sneak attack of the build probably isuen't worth the drop in caster level and so on...not at epic levels..

My suggestion is to treat Warlock like a caster class. Try not to stray TOO far, or else SR will constantly be a nuisence. Vitrioli Blast can help alleviate this somewhat, but it's mighty easy to counter. Alternatively, pick feats and/or classes that will play to your strengths. Scout isn't bad, for example. The Bonus to damage occurs when you move and attak...and since you can't use iterative attacks on Eldritch Blast, you lose nothing.

Without knowing more about your intent, it's hard to judge more thoroughly, but this is my first crack at it.

 

[Lord_Raven88]

Depends! Epic meatshields can be dynamite on toast...or one Dominate away from batting for the other team.

Gate can also be used for temporary meatshielding.

That said...there's definitely room for some warrior melee in our gang. We'll just need to make sure the design plugs up the obvious holes.

Due to levles in Occult Slayer (Mind Blank), this won't be a problem for my meatshield.

I built him with this inherent weakness in mind.

 

[Bloodweaver1]

Don't say SA is useless at epic levels!! My whole character concept is based on ranged-touch-SA times 9. Some how I thought 12d6 x9 vs touch AC with ranged flanked would be ubber.

*sigh*

-Blood

 

[Azaar]

I can also revamp entirely for a more melee-oriented role. I'm highly tempted to do so, in fact (just on general principle, because I think you're right, Rhket -- I won't be able to compete as a warlock in epic-level play, even if I were to single-class). My problem, though, is that I'm looking at most likely blowing all 5 million gold on getting halfway decent epic (+6 or better) weapons and armor, and have nothing left after that -- so it becomes a matter of deciding where my trade-offs will be, especially since a single +6 enhancement weapon (+6 scimitar, for example) will be running me 720K gold -- no whining, just stating fact.

The damage output, though, is something I've never been good at trying to get to nice crunch levels, mostly because I don't like having to trade to-hit for extra damage with Power Attack (not to mention that I've never tried it before).

Rhket: If you'd prefer, I'm willing to swap over. Right now, I have three thoughts, two of them a melee build, the third a full caster:

1) Fighter 15/Dervish 10/Tempest 5, with all the TWF feats I can get (including TW Defense), while also building towards Weapon Supremacy (scimitar), and a Weapon Finesse thrown in (since my Dex would have to far outstrip my Str to make this build work, and Dervish 1 gives that nice slashing blades ability where scimitars are considered light weapons for all purposes, including TWF).

2) Githzerai (LA +2) Monk 23/Hexblade 3/Blackguard 2 -- high AC and saves; I think I can manage to get some of the nicer feats that a monk can qualify for. If I work it Hexblade 3/Monk 15/Blackguard 2, I come away with BAB +17 for four attacks, plus two more at the highest attack bonus for greater flurry.

3) My only other recourse, if I were to remain a full caster, would be to switch to wizard and make a fairly sizable build on that end.

I'll await your word on that -- in the meantime, I'll start preliminary stats up for all three concepts, just in case.

 

[Shayuri]

A monk isn't a bad choice for epic play, since they can get Epic DR penetration with an epic feat, thus saving loads of money. And with this high point buy, and easy access to stat increases, a monk can really get good AC -and- good SR.

A twin weapon build is doable, but will be -expensive-. Two epic weapons will costya...but the benefit is that you can use the weapons to compensate for somewhat less stat boostage, thus recouping some of that money. Twin weapon builds also give you opportunities for fun things like dual Defender weapons, which can really skyrocket your AC when needed...

The most effective melee build in terms of raw damage is almost unilaterally the two-handed strength monster...Raven's build is a good example. Usually one takes a race with some Str bonus...perhaps an Orc, for example...then you layer on Half Dragon or similar...you can get some sick scores this way. The goal of the strength puppy isn't so much to bypass DR. It's to do so much damage that DR is insignificant. Defense can be an issue for these characters...typically you'll be focusing on huge hit points rather than massive AC...though some multiclass combos can change this.

One early concept I was playing with for this game was a Barbarian 20/Legendary Dreadnought 10. I worked it out so I could get roughly DR 20/-, making AC nearly obsolete. And that Mighty Tireless Rage is nice, since it boosts to hit, damage, and HP.

 

[Wrahn]

Don't say SA is useless at epic levels!! My whole character concept is based on ranged-touch-SA times 9. Some how I thought 12d6 x9 vs touch AC with ranged flanked would be ubber.

*sigh*

-Blood

Sorry Blood, here is why sneak attack is useless:

101,015 +5 Mithral Buckler of Heavy Fortification

immune to criticals, immune to sneak attack for 2% of your money and it can be cheaper. Now don't get me wrong, you can seriously mow down some mooks with that, but against anything serious you are just going to tink against it. At least that is my impression, but remember, the GM is the one who makes these descisions and if he leaves monsters untouched from say the epic level handbook, you will get sneak attack against some of them.

 

[Rkhet]

Personally, I'd say the party needs an archer. I'm surprised that I haven't seen any longbow-related twinking, really. If anyone wants to play an archer, go ahead. TWF is fine, too, though I have my reservations about the effectiveness of that path compared to the brute-force two-hander.

As a party, don't go overboard with the fighter builds. It'll be useful sometimes, but usually magic is the order of the day.

I've thought about it, and expanding the party to six people isn't a problem. I'll just throw more monsters at you. So lord_raven and bloodweaver can play, if they like.

Incidentally, I won't be able to post again until Thursday. Got stuff that needs doing...

Whatever you do, try to have your chars ready soon. I'd like to get started.