How does a rogue fight the Undead?
Lord Pendragon
First Post
This is why I love these boards. There are so many ideas here I hadn't thought of. Wielding a couple wands of cure moderate wounds is a neat idea, as is getting a hold of a few enchanted maces. One upside to this is we're based around a rather large city, so most enchantments can be had for the right price and the time it takes to have them crafted.
I've considered having the rogue take a few levels of cleric before---it would fit in with her background and inclinations--but didn't really think only a few levels would be particularly useful. One good point of the design of 3e is that while it's easy to multiclass, it's not always the best option.
One thing to note: my DM doesn't really hate rogues, nor do I think his choice to focus on a lot of undead was meant to deter me in any way. But another member of the party is a ranger with undead as a favored enemy, so using undead frequently stemmed naturally from that, I think. Overall, my DM's pretty accomodating to me.
The house rule states that skeletal undead take half-damage from slashing, no damage from piercing. Other undead do indeed take regular damage from piercing. No sneak attack, but the short swords do still bite.
Thanks so much for all the ideas, everyone. It's really giving me some good strategies on how to make my PC more beneficial to the party!
I've considered having the rogue take a few levels of cleric before---it would fit in with her background and inclinations--but didn't really think only a few levels would be particularly useful. One good point of the design of 3e is that while it's easy to multiclass, it's not always the best option.
One thing to note: my DM doesn't really hate rogues, nor do I think his choice to focus on a lot of undead was meant to deter me in any way. But another member of the party is a ranger with undead as a favored enemy, so using undead frequently stemmed naturally from that, I think. Overall, my DM's pretty accomodating to me.
The house rule states that skeletal undead take half-damage from slashing, no damage from piercing. Other undead do indeed take regular damage from piercing. No sneak attack, but the short swords do still bite.
Thanks so much for all the ideas, everyone. It's really giving me some good strategies on how to make my PC more beneficial to the party!
Tace
First Post
Many other people have mentioned bumping up your Use Magic Device or perhaps picking the Weapon Focus - Light Mace Feat. Depending on your Stats, Improved Trip as a feat can be interesting. That +4 to your follow up attack can be very helpful, plus since the target is prone it loses its attack.
Tace
Tace
Henry
Autoexreginated
Use magic device skill is your best bet - not only for a wand of cure moderate wounds (thanks, PCat!) but also to have the party wizard make up some scrolls or a wand of of Halt Undead! Another idea is to use her attack to trip them, or just start lobbing holy water at them with an aspergilium (mundane item from the Defenders of the Faith book).
Epametheus
First Post
Getting the ghost-touch enchantment on your swords will allow you to reliably harm incorporeal undead; flaming, holy, and undead bane are good additional enchantments (the nightshades are the only undead creatures I can readily think of with fire resistance, but a 12th level party is no match for a nightshade, anyways). Though there isn't an actual proper undead-bane enchantment in the DMG...
If you have a LOT of spare cash, you can shoot for getting a Sun Blade, which actually handles just like a short sword (i.e., it's a medium-large weapon that handles like a small one), functions as +4 against evil creatures, and can apparently critical on undead (for x3 damage, no less), though the x3 crit ability is a lot less useful if it only works on evil outsiders from Negative Energy Plane (all one of them?).
A sun blade is worth 30,315 gp on the market..
Perhaps more reasonable, but very vicious, is something that goes for about 20000 gp, is a wand of Searing Light cast at 10th level -- a ranged touch attack that will deal 5d8 to the living, 10d6 to the undead, and 10d8 to undead that are vulnerable to sunlight, with no saving throw. And wands are simply a straight DC 20 UMD check to activate, which is also nice.
As a side note, while wands of cure mod. wounds are nice, ya can't really dual-wield them -- it's a partial action to activate a wand, so you can only do 2d8+3 damage twice per round -- if you've been hasted. And it allows a Will Save for half, which unfortunately is the one good save for undead.
Seriously, a bandolier of holy water vials could be cheaper and more effective than the wand. Or not; I just noticed that you don't have quickdraw, which sometimes surprises me with its ability to actually be a useful feat.
So if ya have the resources, bringing your swords up to snuff is what would allow to you do the most damage, and getting a ghost-touched mithril chain-shirt or breast-plate (and a ghost-touched mithril buckler) wouldn't be bad, either.
I hope that's of help.
If you have a LOT of spare cash, you can shoot for getting a Sun Blade, which actually handles just like a short sword (i.e., it's a medium-large weapon that handles like a small one), functions as +4 against evil creatures, and can apparently critical on undead (for x3 damage, no less), though the x3 crit ability is a lot less useful if it only works on evil outsiders from Negative Energy Plane (all one of them?).
A sun blade is worth 30,315 gp on the market..
Perhaps more reasonable, but very vicious, is something that goes for about 20000 gp, is a wand of Searing Light cast at 10th level -- a ranged touch attack that will deal 5d8 to the living, 10d6 to the undead, and 10d8 to undead that are vulnerable to sunlight, with no saving throw. And wands are simply a straight DC 20 UMD check to activate, which is also nice.
As a side note, while wands of cure mod. wounds are nice, ya can't really dual-wield them -- it's a partial action to activate a wand, so you can only do 2d8+3 damage twice per round -- if you've been hasted. And it allows a Will Save for half, which unfortunately is the one good save for undead.
Seriously, a bandolier of holy water vials could be cheaper and more effective than the wand. Or not; I just noticed that you don't have quickdraw, which sometimes surprises me with its ability to actually be a useful feat.
So if ya have the resources, bringing your swords up to snuff is what would allow to you do the most damage, and getting a ghost-touched mithril chain-shirt or breast-plate (and a ghost-touched mithril buckler) wouldn't be bad, either.
I hope that's of help.
