Sultans of Smack

[Dantai]

PHB Smackdown with no magic items

O.K. You got your prestige classes of uber-cheese only printed once in warbles and weevils magazine vol 1 smackdowns utilising +8 swords of monkey-beasting.
Here's something a bit simpler:

Half-Orc: Cleric (St Cuthbert) Lv16
Armed only with a common qurterstaff and these Feats:
Ambidexterity, TWF, Imp TWF, Power Attack

With Divine Favour (yes I am English), Greater Magic Weapon and Righteous Might cast.
With a strength of 24 activating your strength domain power gives a strength of 40 for a round, str 44 with righteous might.
So your base damage adjust is +17 (str) +25 (two-handed) +30 (luck bonus from divine favour) +35 (enhancement bonus from greater magic weapon).
You get 5 attacks this round the lowest attack bonus being +24, might as well use the smite ability on that one then for a grand total of:
191 + 5D8 damage
If you're being picky then Power Attack away to your heart's content.
Total cost of Smackdown ingredients = zip, not a single GP
Total number of dodgy classes and books used= zip, PHB only
So when you're butt-naked in the dungeon of ultimate despair you need only find a stick to prove that you are still the daddy.
For a bit of extra death you could use the Spikes spell out of DotF
I guess you could disallow the Righteous Might if you only had one round to prep, but you could take a Barbarian Lv (and a N alignment) and use rage to compensate, which would be slightly less effective but should still get the 200 pts in with a bit of power attacking.

 

[CRGreathouse]

Re: PHB Smackdown with no magic items

First, I like the smackdown - all it takes is a stick and a holy symbol and you're set.

However, I have trouble with your damage figures. I get:
1d8+17 (Str) + 6 (luck) + 5 (enhancement) for the 3 primary attacks, and
1d8+8 (Str) + 6 (luck) + 5 (enhancement) for the two off-hand attacks.

I guess you could disallow the Righteous Might if you only had one round to prep, but you could take a Barbarian Lv (and a N alignment) and use rage to compensate, which would be slightly less effective but should still get the 200 pts in with a bit of power attacking.

Clerics of St. Cuthbert can't be neutral - they may only be lawful neutral or lawful good.

 

[reapersaurus]

Dantai - imagine the amounts of damage if you use a Mighty Contender of Kord with a similar approach.
That's what I had in mind when I calculated the Strength Smackdown.
Literally, if I came up with a smack that actually USED that strength (with spells, feats, and magic items), I think it would be scary.

Yes, the MCoK may be Dragon magazine material, but I don;t know of too many people that find it abusive (strangely)

 

[Knowledge Sinkhole]

Shambling Mound: Temporary is a non-stackable type of bonus. See temporary hit points.

The con increase of a shambling mound is not a bonus.. (also, could you point me to the text that says temporary hit points don't stack? I couldn't find it under any entries I checked)

Monte Cook has posted the shocker lizard/Shambling mound combo on his message boards as a favorite "trick," and I imagine he's a guy that would know

 

[Archer]

An increase = a bonus

Bonus is a defined game term in the back of the PHB

The Sage clarified that temporary was a category of bonus in addition to the many listed in the DMG and is non-stacking (since all bonuses are non-stacking unless spefically noted that they stack.)

The text for shambling mound states temporary, which is a named bonus type, which has already been officially declared non-stackable.

Therefore from the game definition of "bonus", "temporary", and "non-stacking" it is clear that shocker lizard/shambling mound is not a valid combo.

 

[Knowledge Sinkhole]

Therefore from the game definition of "bonus", "temporary", and "non-stacking" it is clear that shocker lizard/shambling mound is not a valid combo.

Well, we disagree then. I think it is clear from the wording in the MM that the Shambling Mound is able to get more than 4 points of con increase from repeated electrical attacks. Otherwise, it wouldn't be much of an ability (or a creature).

 

[ashockney]

Congrats Dantai! Truly a unique and powerful combination. : )

Regarding the questions, I believe it can be accomplished (this is maxing out, not using averages to hit):

Half Orc (20 Str to start)
Levels (24 Str)
Righteous Might (28 Str)
Bull's Str (32 Str)
Strength Dom (48 Str)

Relevant Spells:
Greater Magic Weapon(x2)
Divine Favor
Divine Might
Righteous Might

Relevant Feats:
Weapon Focus
Ambi
Two Weapon Fight
Imp Two Weapon Fight
Power Attack

Attacks: 43/43/38/38/33/28

Max Damage: 1d8+28/1d8+19 =198

Power Attack and Smite get you over the top.

Mighty impressive for "all PHB." Any number of DMG magic items (holy weapons, boots of speed, books of str, etc.) can more than make up the difference if there was any question.

 

[SpikeyFreak]

An increase = a bonus

This is not always true, and there is an example of it in every single powerplay in this thread.

The stat increase you get at each level is an increase but it is not a bonus.

--Fun Spikey

 

[Archer]

stat bonuses for levels are unnamed, stackable bonuses

 

[shilsen]

Congrats Dantai! Truly a unique and powerful combination. : )

Regarding the questions, I believe it can be accomplished (this is maxing out, not using averages to hit):

Half Orc (20 Str to start)
Levels (24 Str)
Righteous Might (28 Str)
Bull's Str (32 Str)
Strength Dom (48 Str)

Bull's Str and the Strength Domain boost will not stack, since each is an enhancement bonus.