Character Specialization?

[Chris Parker]

When I first saw the Bane weapon special ability I thought that it wasnt useful. While it gave nice bonuses, it only rarely gave them. Then I saw the obvious application - Bane weapons are something DM's put on specialized NPC's.

For example, a class that focuses _solely_ on diplomacy and related skills wouldnt be the best thing for a PC to go into... but what if one of your party members is being held trial, and the prosecuting lawyer has taken all the levels that class has to offer?

And seeing as how Ill be DMing my second campaign soon, I was wondering if you guys could show me how specialized you can get characters - how high can a rogue get his skills? how big of a bonus can you get on trip attempts? how much damage can you do? how high can you get your saves? what about AC?

Id like to see what types of things you can do at low levels, and what sort of progression you would follow for up to epic levels.

Essentially - anyone know of some NPCs that are GODLIKE at one thing, without care for anything else?

 

[Elder-Basilisk]

First things first.

1. Bane weapons have a fair amount of use for ordinary PCs as well as for specialized NPCs. A rogue, for instance might get an undead bane weapon so that he can contribute more against one of the particular foes who is not vulnerable to his main abilities. Similarly, a character who buys an adamantine weapon for fighting constructs might well make it a +1 construct bane adamantine weapon. By the time he gets into high levels, 11kgp isn't that much more than 3kgp. And it's a LOT better at bashing constructs.

My main Living Greyhawk character's primary weapon is a wounding weapon. His secondary weapon is undead bane. I didn't quite plan it this way but it works out pretty well. Undead are not effected by the wounding ability of his main weapon so he's got a secondary weapon keyed to fighting them.

2. Characters can get quite specialized. However, it's not always a good to do everything to optimize one's specialization. For the rogue skills, though, I'll bite:

Grey elf Rog 3/Wizard 7/Arcane Trickster 10. Starting Int 20. Starting Dex 16. All stat boosts go into intelligence.
Max ranks in search, disable device, and open lock. (Doesn't technically require buying ranks cross-class with wizard skill points but he probably did).
Feats in Skill Focus: Disable Device, Skill Focus: Search, Skill Focus: Open Lock, and Nimble Fingers.
Items: +5 tome of intellect, +6 headband of intellect, +6 gloves of dexterity, vest of escape, lens of detection, goggles of minute seeing.
Spells: Greater Heroism
Skill bonusses:
Disable Device: +49 =+23 ranks, +13 int, +5 feats, +4 morale, +4 vest of escape tools
Search: +60 (or +53 if your DM is sensible and doesn't let the lens of detection and goggles of minute seeing stack) =+23 ranks, +13 int, +3 feat, +4 morale, +15 items, +2 race
Open Lock: +42=+23 ranks, +6 dex, +5 feats, +4 morale, +4 vest of escape tools

For trip checks, my main Living Greyhawk character isn't too bad. Cleaned up a little bit and power gamed a bit more (ie how he would have been if 3.5 prestige classes had been available when he was lower level and if I had min-maxed a little bit more than I did): Fighter 1/Wizard 6/Eldritch Knight 7/Spellsword 1
Feats: Power Attack, Quickdraw, Combat Expertise, Improved Trip, Scribe Scroll, Craft Wondrous Items, Combat Reflexes, Arcane Strike, Expert Tactician, Quicken Spell
Stats (28 point buy): Str 14, Dex 14, Con 14, Int 15, Wis 10, Cha 8
All stat bumps to int.
Items: Guisarme, Light Flail, Mithral Chain Shirt, Mithral Buckler, Stone of Good luck, +6 belt of giant strength, Rod of maximize Spell, lesser rod of empower spell, Orange Ioun Stone, +6 headband of Intellect
Spells: Contingency, Polymorph, Quickened Ray of Enfeeblement, Enervation, Blink, Heroism

Tactic:
Polymorph into an Athach is the contingency
Round 1: Activate Polymorph contingency, Quickened Ray of Enfeeblement on the bad guy (using lesser rod of empower spell), drop rod as a free action, quickdraw rod of maximize as a free action, Enervation on the bad guy (using rod of maximize).
Total Trip bonus: Effectively +35 =+8 size, +11 strength, +4 feat, +1 luck, (+6.75--average change in opposed score due to Ray of Enfeeblement), (+4--change in opposed score due to Enervation)

One could, of course, do better with Shapechange and a few other items.
Added Items: +5 tome of strength, Greater Ring of Spellstoring, spellstoring weapon (bestow curse), greater rod of maximize
Technique: Shapechange into a Storm Giant (base str 39, 45 with belt and 50 with inherent bonus (assuming that transfers to alternate forms). Cast righteous might from the ring of spellstoring. (Size=Gargantuan (assuming Shapechange counts as form changing magic and not size-altering magic, str=58) Debuff as above except you can use Energy Drain instead of Enervation.
Trip check +58 (effective) =+23 str, +12 size, +4 feat, +1 luck, +6.75 ray of enfeeblement, +3 curse (-6 str), +8 energy drain

At epic levels, or with Complete Divine's Practiced Spellcaster feat you could do even better by taking the form of a Titan.

Now the character won't usually do all of that in any single fight and is able to do a LOT of other things but if he decides to use all his spells to that one purpose, he is remarkably effective at tripping.

 

[Cyrik Skylark]

Defensive Specialist.

Well, I'm sure other people have managed to get it higher, but my character is a defensive specialist... at 19th level, he can get his AC up into the 70's, has higher resistances, damage reduction, and quite a few immunities. For extra twinkiness, a level of monk will give you an extra few points of AC, while two levels of monk will give you evasion. Here's the build, assuming you're using monk levels:

Human PsiWar 18/monk 2. Starting Dex 16. Starting Wis 18, all stat boosts to Wis
Relevant Powers:
1st Level: Inertial Armor, Thicken Skin, Defensive Precognition, Biofeedback (Can be changed with Inertial Barrier, but Biofeedback has higher potential), Force Screen (Can be omitted if you can use an animated shield)
3rd Level: Concealing Amorpha, Greater, Empathic Feedback, Evade Burst (can be omitted if you took two levels of monk)
4th level: Energy Adaptation, Freedom of Movement, Metamorphosis (taken with Expanded Knowledge)
6th level: Dispelling Buffer (necessary with all the buffs you have up), Personal Mind Blank.

Items: Ring of Protection +5, Weapon of Parrying and Defending +5, Cloak of Resistance +5, Gloves of Dexterity +6, Periapt of Wisdom +6, Tome of Understanding +5 (used), Tome of Quickness in Action+5 (used)

Feats: Dodge, Psionic Dodge, Combat Expertise, Superior Expertise (Oriental Adventures), Psionic Weapon, Deep Impact, Expanded Knowledge, Psionic Meditation
Skills: Tumble (Max ranks (11 CC, 22 class) (Important if using OA tumble rules, otherwise only 5 ranks are necessary)

I haven't gone through all the monsters, but stone giant works fairly well as an alternate form. Now comes the adding:

1) Dexterity. You're not wearing any armor, so you get your full dex bonus... which, what with one thing and another, is +8. AC so far: 19, FF 10, Touch 19

2) Monk AC Bonus: Again, no armor, so you get to apply this. You Wis bonus is +12, so there's another 12 points. AC so far: 30, FF 22, Touch 30

3) Ring of Protection +5. AC so far: 35, FF 26, Touch 35

4) Inertial Armor. At 18th manifester level, you can augment this up to 17 power points, for a total armor bonus of +12. AC so far: 47, FF 38, Touch 35.

5) Thicken Skin. At 18th manifester level, you can augment up to 16 PP, for a total armor enhancement bonus of +6. AC so far: 53, FF 44, Touch 35.

6) Weapon of Parrying/Defending: Gives a +1 insight bonus to saves/AC, and you can use the +5 as an AC bonus. AC so far: 59, FF 45, Touch 41

7) Expertise/Superior Expertise: Gives up to a +14 Dodge bonus to AC. AC so far: 73, FF 45, Touch 55

8) Stone Giant: Your dex drops by 2 points, and you get a -1 size penalty. However, you get a +11 natural armor bonus. Takes a round to bring up. AC so far: 82, FF 55, Touch 53

9) Defensive Precognition, prepared: If you have prep time, you can pump all 16 points into upping the bonus, giving yourself a +6 Insight bonus (+5 net, since your Parrying already gives you a +1 insight bonus) to AC and saves. AC so far: 87, FF 54, Touch 58

10) Defensive Precognition, quick: If you don't have the time to spend an extra round buffing, you instead get a +4 bonus (+3 net). AC so far: 85, FF 54, Touch 56

11) Force Screen: Augmented to 17 pp, for a total shield bonus of +8. It takes a round to put up, however. AC so far: 93, FF 62, Touch 56 (note, however, that you usually won't get this bonus while FF)

12) Fighting Defensively: Depending on your DM, you may or may not be able to stack with Expertise, but there's nothing preventing it from stacking. Depending on if you're using OA, you'll get either a +3 or +4 dodge bonus. We'll assume +3 for this build. AC so far: 96, FF 65, Touch 59.

13) Dodge/Psionic Dodge: Against one opponent, you get a +2 dodge bonus to AC, or +1 vs. two opponents. AC so far: 98, FF 65, Touch 61

Additionally, throwing on a Monk's Belt will add another +1 to all AC's.

With your other powers, you gain DR 7/-, Energy Resistance (everything) 30, a Mind Blank effect, a Freedom of Movement effect, and total concealment (with one round of manifestation), and (fully buffed) saves of Fort +25 (+con), Ref +27, Will +31. You have 202 pp's, of which about half will be spent on your first buff of the day, which will last you 3 hours before you have to reapply most of it - Extend Spell might be a useful investment at this point. You're vulnerable to dispels, but thanks to Dispelling Buffer, they have to hit a DC 34 to dispel your stuff. With Deep Impact, you can still hit things even while going full-out defensive - unless you have to hit yourself. =b If anything, you're the guy who'll bring everyone back after they die a horrific death.

You are, however, a sitting duck for a beholder.

This isn't my actual character - he's chaotic, has been since level 1, so he can't go Monk. He sort of evolved into the role of defensive specialist after an unfortunate encounter with a thri-kreen that ginsued him with eight attacks in one round, at 7th level... since then, post-traumatic stress disorder has turned him into the defensive powerhouse he is now, with a routine AC in the 40's, and high AC around 70 or so. Had I been intending the obscenely min-maxed version I just presented above, he'd be really terrifying, and my DM probably would have thrown the three beholders that finally killed him (after 12 death-free levels) far earlier than he actually did.