Help me find my niche!

[Eltern]

Two characters recently died/left the party, and so my friend and I will be bringing in two new characters when we get back together this fall. Here's what's in the party so far (all about 8th level):

Evocation-happy sorc gnome
Cleric/Hunter of the Dead human
Greatsword/bow-happy fighter dark elf
Wizard/Human Paragon/Ur-Priest/Mystic Theurge Yeah, I know...
Druid homebrew race

The homebrew race is a sort of constructed, organic, angel thing, and has ridiculous amounts of healing capability.

My friend is thinking of doing Ninja/Master Thrower. What else is needed? At first glance, the obvious answer is rogue, but in this campaign a skill-focused guy isn't necessary, as we don't deal with lots of dungeons and their ilk.

FYI, my last two characters were a bard and a werecat rogue/Warshaper, so I'd prefer to stay away from that.

SO...suggestions?

 

[pogre]

I don't use a lot of extra classes outside of the PHB, but if rogue is not needed in the campaign it looks like you could use some more warrior muscle in whatever flavor you choose.

 

[pbd]

Ever try a dervish? A ranger 2, fighter 4, dervish x is a good build and lots o' fun to boot. Go with ranger 2 to get the TWF, then fighter to get better TWF and spec in scimitar. The dervish is a potent fighter that is build around mobility and can wield dual scimitars as light weapons. You can really piss on big baddies by using the dervish dance to attack then move away from tough foes. They can't get a full attack on you, but you can on them....

Plus, you can use the dervish dance with the whirlwind attack feat for a moving WWA! (this last has been somewhat controversial here onj the boards, but it allowable by the rules)

All in all, the dervish is a fun class.

pbd

 

[Caeleddin]

Pbd - He does not qualify for ITWF and GTWF if he takes Ranger levels and then Fighter levels UNLESS he also take TWF as one of his feats. This is because Combat Style is NOT TWF. It just emulates it.

 

[Hypersmurf]

Pbd - He does not qualify for ITWF and GTWF if he takes Ranger levels and then Fighter levels UNLESS he also take TWF as one of his feats. This is because Combat Style is NOT TWF. It just emulates it.

"If the ranger selects two-weapon combat, he is treated as having the Two-Weapon Fighting feat, even if he does not have the normal prerequisites for that feat."

He doesn't gain an ability that acts like TWF; he gains an ability that means he is treated as having the TWF feat.

Does he qualify for ITWF? He requires the TWF feat. Does he have the TWF feat? He is treated as if the answer is yes, so he satisfies the TWF prerequisite of ITWF (although his Dex still needs to be high enough to satisfy the Dex prerequisite).

If he wears Medium armor, he loses the benefits of the Combat Style, and therefore is not treated as having the TWF feat, and therefore loses access to any feats that have TWF as a prerequisite until he takes the armor off.

-Hyp.

 

[pbd]

Sorry, we house ruled it that way because it just seemed logical. So TWC for the ranger counted as TWF for purposes of GTWf etc.

 

[pbd]

"If the ranger selects two-weapon combat, he is treated as having the Two-Weapon Fighting feat, even if he does not have the normal prerequisites for that feat."

He doesn't gain an ability that acts like TWF; he gains an ability that means he is treated as having the TWF feat.

Does he qualify for ITWF? He requires the TWF feat. Does he have the TWF feat? He is treated as if the answer is yes, so he satisfies the TWF prerequisite of ITWF (although his Dex still needs to be high enough to satisfy the Dex prerequisite).

If he wears Medium armor, he loses the benefits of the Combat Style, and therefore is not treated as having the TWF feat, and therefore loses access to any feats that have TWF as a prerequisite until he takes the armor off.

-Hyp.

Guess it wasn't a house rule

 

[Eltern]

What about swashbuckler/fighter? Or Swash/ranger? Is there any sense there?

 

[Caeleddin]

Hyp - It is specifically stated in 3.0 that it is not the same. I am not sure if it transferred over to 3.5, but given that 3.5 is more of a supplement to 3.0, I personally will err on the side of caution and say "yes unless otherwise stated".

 

[Hypersmurf]

Hyp - It is specifically stated in 3.0 that it is not the same.

The rule from 3E? Let's look at Masters of the Wild, for example.

Virtual Feats
If a character has a class feature or special ability that exactly duplicates the effects of a feat, then he or she can use that "virtual feat" as a prerequisite for other feats, as well as prestige classes, and so forth. For example, a ranger can fight with two weapons as if he had the feats Ambidexterity and Two-Weapon Fighting, so he is considered to have those feats for the purpose of acquiring the Greater Two-Weapon Fighting feat detailed in this section. If the character ever loses the virtual prerequisite, he or she also loses access to any feats or other benefits acquired through its existence. For example, a ranger who wears armor heavier than light loses access to the virtual feats noted above, and thereby to Greater Two-Weapon Fighting as well. Acquiring a virtual feat does not give a characer access to its prerequisites.

Looks to me like it specifically stated in 3E that is is the same. So under your own "Yes unless otherwise stated" guideline, we have a statement that a ranger's "as if he had the TWF feat" ability qualifies as a TWF feat prerequisite.

-Hyp.