D&D 3E/3.5 [3.5e] What's the most broken character under the new rules?

[youspoonybard]

Except that Wildshape lasts 1/hr per level, and awaken takes 24 hours to cast

AHA! THERE'S THE RULE THAT PREVENTS YOU FROM DOING THAT!

Thank you!

Of course, baleful polymorph would still work...

 

[Pielorinho]

Of course, baleful polymorph would still work...

Yep! The joys of changing types -- gets my vote for the worst change in 3.5.

Daniel

 

[bret]

Guess what I would look at is Whirlwind Attack with a Spiked Chain (SC) while under the influence of the Enlarge Person spell.

Whirlwind no longer has the 5' limit. Spiked Chain gives reach, so the combination allows you to hit everything within 10'. Trip everything within 10', and get an AoO as they get up. Since Enlarge Person gives you reach, I'm not sure if the final figure is 15' reach or 20' reach.

This build needs Dex and Int and wants Str.

Lets try and build something here:

Top, the Whirling Dervish
Human Fighter 4/Barbarian 6
Str 14 Dex 17 Con 12 Int 13 Wis 10 Cha 8

Put both attribute points from leveling into Dex.

Have a friendly Sorcerer in the party with the Enlarge Person spell to help the guy. Failing that, get a potion to do it. Buy a magical spiked chain +1 Electric -- I'm not sure if a 10th level character could afford +2 electric.

I chose Electric for the SC because of the visual. Substitute your favorite damage bonus.

1st Barbarian 1 (Rage): Dodge, Combat Reflexes
2nd Fighter 1: Exotic Weapon: Spiked Chain
3rd Barbarian 2 (Uncanny Dodge): Trip
4th: Fighter 2: Mobility
5th: Barbarian 3
6th Barbarian 4 (Rage 2x): Combat Expertise
7th Barbarian 5 (Improved Uncanny Dodge)
8th Barbarian 6
9th Fighter 3: Spring Attack
10th Fighter 4: Whirlwind Attack

Spiked Chain (M) does 2d4 damage
Spiked Chain (L) does 2d6 damage

Normal, have 10' reach
Attack +10 (BAB) +2 (Str) +1 (weapon) = +13
Damage: 2d4 + 2 + 1d6

Raging:
Attack +15 Damage 2d4 + 4 + 1d6

When under the effects of Enlarge Person:
Reach is either 15' or 20', not sure which
Attack +13
Damage +2d6 + 3 + 1d6

Enlarged and Raging
Attack +15
Damage +2d6 + 5 + 1d6

Considering that you are doing this in a 15' radius, not bad. Since you are a barbarian, only Rogues have a chance of flanking you.

Since everything is off your first attack bonus, you have a very high probability of hitting.

If we bring this up to 16th level (where the classis smackdowns were), go Fighter 6/ Barbarian 10 and pick up Weapon Focus: SC, Weapon Specialization: SC, Power Attack. At this point, your first attack bonus is high enough that you are usually going to hit so dropping some into power attack works. Spiked Chain is a 2H weapon so every -1 to attack is a +2 damage.

I'm sure there are ways to improve this further, but it is a start.

I thought about adding Rogue to the mix for the bonus damage. Uncanny Dodge would stack and you could sometimes get Sneak Attack damage. The problem is getting Sneak Attack damage when using WWA -- if you use a Ring of Blinking all of the sudden 20% of the opponents are untouched. Blah! Besides, the DR and D12 hit points from the Barbarian class are going to do a lot more for your survivability than the Sneak Attack at this point.

 

[reapersaurus]

I'm pretty sure that for the highest damage in 3.5E, I'd try to work up a high-STR hand-to-hand combatant, with unarmed strikes and grapples.

 

[Grog]

Why do so many people like trip-based characters? If you fail your trip attempt, your opponent gets a chance to trip you back. That's a significant disadvantage, IMO.

 

[Pielorinho]

Why do so many people like trip-based characters? If you fail your trip attempt, your opponent gets a chance to trip you back. That's a significant disadvantage, IMO.

1) If you trip with a weapon, you can drop the weapon to avoid the counter-trip.
2) If you build a character around tripping, your trip attempts are extremely likely to go off: check out the dire ape with a +22 on its trip attempts.
3) If someone looks like they can stand up to your trip attempts, you can target someone else.
4) If your trip attempt goes off, all further attacks against that person are at +4.
5) If your trip attempt goes off, you get that free attack -- no "wasting" an attack on a special maneuver.

Daniel

 

[ZSutherland]

Except that Wildshape lasts 1/hr per level, and awaken takes 24 hours to cast

Scribe Scroll. Give scroll to party bard, rogue, or hire NPC druid to use on you. Game on.

 

[Intrope]

Whirlwind Attack prevents you from taking any bonus attacks, so no Whirlwind of Improved Trips (you could still trip them, but you wouldn't get the extra attack)

Natural Spell won't work if you've been polymorphed, so getting someone to Baleful Poly you so you can Awaken yourself is right out. Also, Awaken gives you a new Intelligence score (on 3d6!) so I don't see this being a huge screw. For that matter, as a DM I'd rule that the awakend polymorphed animal isn't a person anymore at all, even when poly'd back--roll up a new character, because bob the fighter's only interest in life is carrots!

 

[Pielorinho]

Natural Spell won't work if you've been polymorphed, so getting someone to Baleful Poly you so you can Awaken yourself is right out.

Ultimately you're right, but not, I think, for the right reason:

NATURAL SPELL [GENERAL]
Prerequisites: Wis 13, wild shape ability.
Benefit: You can complete the verbal and somatic components of spells while in a wild shape. You substitute various noises and gestures for the normal verbal and somatic components of a spell.
You can also use any material components or focuses you possess, even if such items are melded within your current form. This feat does not permit the use of magic items while you are in a form that could not ordinarily use them, and you do not gain the ability to speak while in a wild shape.

One Effect Makes Another Irrelevant: Sometimes, one spell can render a later spell irrelevant. Both spells are still active, but one has rendered the other useless in some fashion.

Note that wildshaping is a Su ability, not a spell; all the same, I think it'd work the same way. If you wildshape and then are polymorphed, you'd be able to continue casting the spell as long as the wildshape remained active: although the polymorphing renders the wildshape irrelevant, you're still in a wild shape.

However, once the wild shape wears off, even though you don't change forms, you're no longer able to continue wth the spellcasting. Even if you wildshape into a dog, use natural spell to cast baleful polymorph to turn yourself into a dog, once the wildshape wears off, you can't keep casting spells.

Yet another silliness with 3.5 Wild Shape. Sigh.

Awaken is, however, great to have cast on you if you have a low Int score: it gives you a chance at getting a much higher score, and you can have it cast on you over and over until you get an 18 if you want.

Daniel

Daniel

 

[youspoonybard]

So the Druid can't do it on herself.

Two Druids, or a Druid and a mage (particularly Sorceror), could squeeze out 18 int and a bunch of free Cha.

Of course, if they fail their will save...