Character for "Anything Goes" Campaign

[Numion]

Hi!

Yesterday we ended our first campaign under our newer DM (me being the 'older' DM). It was his first campaign, and very enjoyable. We only used the three core books + some domains in FRCS. Very conservative campaign with 3.0e rules, lasted for 13 levels.

Now he wants to also DM our next campaign too. He calls it the all-out campaign. Anything goes. All of our d20 stuff (we've got most WotC 3.0e stuff, all Malhavoc stuff, plus we can get more) is available for creating our characters. Pretty wild?

But it gets better. ECLs of 1 or 2 are probably 'free' depending on your character concept, and we use a non-standard array for stats.

10, 12, 14, 16, 18, 18.

You read that right. A munchkins dream so to speak. We're using 3.0e rules, but nerfing stat-boost spells, GMWs and Magic Vestments (because they essentially give free magic items to clerics). Starting at level 1.

So the question is: with this much options, what the heck should I play? I was thinking maybe a Grey Orc (Races of Faerun) Cleric with aiming for headlong rush feat and rhinohide armor for devastating charges. Or a Half-Ogre Cleric for much of the same, without headlong rush.

Or maybe a Deepwood Sniper-Peerless Archer-Order of the Bow Initiate combo.

Or Red Wizard - Archmage for crazy DCs.

Too many options. Post your suggestion for my 'all-out' character, please. I need multiple ones in case my PC dies, and some suggestions are better at higher levels.

Wonky race is a bonus here!

 

[Cedric]

I'm thinking...Ogre Mage Monk

I mean, sure, you are a +7 ecl race. But Ogre Magi special abilities combined with monk class features and you are rocking.

Reach
Natural Armor
Great Stat Adjustments
High natural damage
Spell Resistance

Sick man...just sick...

 

[Kae'Yoss]

Play a fey'ri (from Races of Faerûn) and become Rogue. Put 18 in Cha, 18 in Int, 16 In Dex, 14 in Con, 10 Str, Wis 12.

Cencentrate on Cha-based skills, especially Disguise, Intimidate, Gather Information, Bluff, Diplomacy. Also get Search, Spot, Listen, Hide, Move Silently. Also, get lots of Languages.

For special powers, I suggest Suggestion (hee hee hee), Detect Thoughts, Charm Persion, Clauraudiance/Clairvoyance.

This will make you the hell of a spy. There's nothing you can't find out, there's noone you cannot impersonate, there's noone you can't influence.

Also, ask the DM if he lets you take the Feat "Tongues of the Seducer" (selfmade).
You inherit your succubus acestors' ability to speak all languages.
Prereq: Speak 10 different languages.
Benefit: You get the succubus' tongues ability, which works like the spell (caster level 12th). This is a supernatural ability.

If you want to be useful in a fight, take the usual stuff - weapon finesse, two-weapon fighting, combat expertise (improved faint).

You might also like to become Assassin or Shadowdancer, but that's optional, as well.

CE or NE work best with that, or CN, if you don't want (ar aren't allowed) to be evil. But such a character could easily "hide" in a good party (as long as no detect evil using paladins are around..).

As your primary disguise, take a gold elf - it's closest to your true nature. Of course, that character will have many other shapes over the course of the campaign.

The fey'ri is ECL +2 (or +3 if you insist on one of the more powerful powers).

(And yes, I play such a character, and it's fun as hell!)

 

[Naar]

Tauric Blink Dog-Sun Elf Telflammar Shadowlord. You know you want to.
Or else an Incarnate Construct Maug Duelist, or a Fey-Touched Telepath/Shadow Mind/Arch-Psion.

 

[Piratecat]

Play a kobold commoner. With a stick.

 

[hong]

Play a kobold commoner. With a stick.

You know PC, I'd have thought you would have suggested a grell monk.

 

[Piratecat]

That was my second choice.

 

[Numion]

I'm thinking...Ogre Mage Monk

I mean, sure, you are a +7 ecl race. But Ogre Magi special abilities combined with monk class features and you are rocking.

Reach
Natural Armor
Great Stat Adjustments
High natural damage
Spell Resistance

Sick man...just sick...

Thanks, this is a great idea for higher levels. Ogre Mage also has ways to disguise itself, always useful for forays into towns and civilized areas.

As a general note, I'm looking mostly for very powergamed for combat character concepts. That, I guess, is the whole point of running a campaign like this.

 

[Voadam]

Play a kobold commoner. With a stick.

Make him blind. After all you need some in character justification to be carrying that stick.

 

[Voadam]

Half troll Azer

 

[Desdichado]

Ochre Jelly Samurai.
Half-fiendish half-dragon ilithid paladin.
Orcus.

 

[der_kluge]

You know, we wonder why people think ENWorld is a place full of munchkins and "rollplayers".

Dude, here's my answer - play what you want to play. Take this opportunity to play something that you've always wanted that you know most DMs won't allow, but do it for story-reasons. And unless everyone at the table is some kind of uber-munchkin out to inflict massive amounts of damage it's not going to matter.

I mean, two scenarios exist - everyone else at the table is going to be stupid-powerful, in which they will take care of all the horrible combat situations. Or two, you are the only one that makes a stupid-powerful character, and it could possibly unbalance the game, force the GM into making the encounters more difficult, and the others might resent you for it, especially if they've all made role-playing centric characters.

 

[ArcOfCorinth]

Be a monk.

Seriously. Get your hands on Dragon 310 for the Cobra Strike Monk variant.

LG/LN Human Monk.
Str 12
Con 16
Dex 18
Int 14
Wis 18
Cha 10
Skills: Balance +10, Escape Artist +12, Hide +10, Listen +8, Move Silently +10 and Tumble +10
Feats: Acrobatic, Stealthy, Dodge
Live off your skills and be a deadly scout.

Take Weapon Finesse at level 3 and Combat Reflexes at 6th. Slip in a few ranks in Perform (Dance) every now and then (swap it out with Balance after you have 4 ranks in it). Keep going with Mobility and Spring Attack as your bonus feats. After 8 levels, go Shadowdancer.

 

[humble minion]

Play 'how high can I get my Strength if i really try?'

Feral anthropomorphic baleen whale frenzied berzerker. And take the 'Large and in Charge' feat if you can possibly manage it.

Seriously, this thread is just one long invitation to the GMs of the world to kick us all in the groin...

 

[Sanackranib]

IF you are looking to maximize then pick your race AFTER you have picked your CLASS. ie: Tiefling Rogue or Aasmir Paladin.

PK's Kobold with stick idea might seem like somthing you would just bypass - but stop a moment and consider it. True you will never be the best melee fighter, but you would be a fine archer. and if you do go into melee you should get off one good attack at least before anyone considers you anything but a nominal threat. and theres always barbarian levels. I did that once with an NPC kobold. he had to rage to cancell out the STR penalty. but he was really popular with the 2 PC Barbarians - who were vastly imused when he followed in thier footsteps
esp when he rolled an "11" for his hit points

 

[Michael Tree]

How about a half-fey paladin, with a huge bumblebee for a mount.

Or a treant magister (who needs a staff - you are a staff!)

Or a wereclam barbarian.

Seriously though, with such open options don't think about power, think about what you've always wanted to play. With those stats it'll be powerful no matter what you choose. What characters in fiction have you always admired, but couldn't emulate because of race and power restrictions? What archetypes do you love?

I would probably make a half-fey bard or half-fiend magister, because I love the Merlin archetype of a powerful magician with an unnatural parentage and the blood of something weird or sinister running in his veins. They're probably not the most powerful combinations there are, but I would enjoy playing them a heck of a lot more than some monstrosity cobbled together for the sole purpose of being the most powerful.

 

[Brother Shatterstone]

Something about this thread just screams "raging bugbear" aka the bugbear barbarian.

Starting stats
22 STR (+4 racial)
18 DEX (+2 racial)
20 CON (+2 racial)
14 INT
10 WIS
10 CON (-2 racial)

Heh? I might even start multi-classing with a ranger... Might as well get the most out of your lack of armor. If you do you might want to reverse your WIS Scores with your CHA giving you a 12 and uping your WIS till you hit 14 with your ability bonus. I would keep the 14 INT as it's alot of bonus points for skills.

So when your have your secound class level and you rage for oh 26 STR, 24 CON and you have two weapons in your hands it will get scary and bloody very quick...

You also get bonus for natural armor, the alertness feat, +4 on move silently, and I few other things I'm forging as I'm at work and don't have all of my books.

 

[Clueless]

No no - better...
Half Fey.
Bladesinger/Monk.
With a ring of evasion.

"Can't hurt me if you can't *HIT* me!"

 

[Numion]

You know, we wonder why people think ENWorld is a place full of munchkins and "rollplayers".

Sorry for ruining the boards for you

Dude, here's my answer - play what you want to play. Take this opportunity to play something that you've always wanted that you know most DMs won't allow, but do it for story-reasons. And unless everyone at the table is some kind of uber-munchkin out to inflict massive amounts of damage it's not going to matter.

I don't think you got the point. We've talked through this and everyone knows the premise here: make a powerful character. Everyones going to.

Any purely story-based characters will be wasted on this kind of campaign. I can create a story-based one for the next campaign - for this one it would just be swimming upstream and just as disrupting as building a munchkinized combat monster for an RP-heavy campaign.

Every playing style has it's place, and we've decided it's time for powergaming. Why be the rebel and try to disrupt the game?

 

[Dirigible]

"Tongues of the Seducer"... You inherit your succubus ancestors' ability to speak all languages.

That wouldn't have been my first guess about what that particular power did....

Here's what you should play :

Take one fresh dire rat. Add HD until it reaches a nice, medium-size.
Take one kobold (free range).
Mix with the Tauric template, stirring regularly until an unholy abomination called kob'rat or ratbold is formed.
Season with Leadership (for kobold cohort rider, of course), and a heavy lance.