D&D 3.x Help with my Drow Swashbuckler (3.5)

[Dandu]

Yes, you will want more con.

Also, if you have spare feats, look up Robiliar's Gambit and Karmic Strike. With TWF and Dual Strike, plus Combat Opportunist for +4 on AoOs, your enemy generates 2 AoOs every time they take a swing at you. You get to take many attacks in retaliation.

They get bonuses to hit and damage against you though. Still, pretty awesome way of generating hits.

 

[Abciximab]

I have a player in my campaign that went the Swashbuckler 2 weapon fighting route (w/ two weapon defense for a shield bonus). He did also take the Rogue levels and Daring Outlaw, but not until late in his career. Dual wielding a rapier (Keen or Improved Crit when available) and shortsword he did fairly well. It was tough at lower levels but he finally came into his own and the player felt it was worth the wait. I would avoid the PrC if you can. (I was unclear as to whether that was your choice or a requirement from the DM)

Admittedly now that he has the rogue levels and daring outlaw he's significanlty more powerful. It's a shame your DM is set in his ways.

Good luck with the character and the campaign, hope it works out.

 

[StreamOfTheSky]

thanks everyone for helping
i'll reconsider my build

@http://www.enworld.org/forum/members/streamofthesky.htmlStreamOfTheSky: i can't buy off the level adjustment and i can't use tome of battle
only
Player's Handbook
Player's Handbook 2
Dungeon Master Guide
all Complete x books

and what about basic stats? should i invest more on constitution? any suggestions on the basic abilities stat allocation?

What are your starting funds (gp), and you don't get Magic Item Compendium for choosing gear? That's important -- MIC has the Mobility enhancement for light armor as a +1 market price. +2 armor is affordable by ECL 6 (4 class levels, 2 LA). Very affordable if you have standard wealth, which you may not based on what you said earlier. Dervish is a great class for Swashbucklers, but requires a lot of feats, including some crappy ones. Dodge, Mobility, Weapon Focus (any slashing melee weapon, if possible pick scimitar for later on), and Combat Expertise.

The good news is, it looks like you were going that direction with feats anyway. Still, paying for Mobility hurts, and might make it hard to enter the PrC as soon as you can -- you only need BAB +5 and 3 ranks in some skills otherwise -- I'd grab those 4 feats first, then TWF and Deadly Defense, and later on perhaps the higher TWF feats. If flaws aren't an option and neither is the Mobility enhancement (worth begging for it, just to save 3 levels, if at all possible), then you can't go into Dervish until Swash 9 / Dervish x, sadly.

Dervish is a great class, it gives Dervish Dance, which lets you move between each attack of a full attack. It lets you weild scimitars as if they were a light weapon, handy for both Insightful Strike and TWF penalties (and Deadly Defense). Always take 10 on Tumble, Jump, and dance checks, small AC boost, small movement speed boost, free spring attack feat, a parry bonus when fighting defensively, iniative bonus... The level 10 capstone lets you 1/day double your number of attacks on a full attack, which is unbelievably sexy.

I reiterate that you should grab Arcane Stunt. Getting Blur or Expeditious Retreat for 1 round, 4 or more times a day, is almost certainly better than +1 reflex saves. Definitely more fun.

EDIT: And yes, Insightful Strike and Deadly Defense both work with two weapons, and it's probably the best way to utilize them.

 

[Jhaelen]

I'd definitely move away from playing a drow. It's a terribly weak race for its LA. Maybe your DM simply hates drow and would be more lenient if you picked another race?

 

[StreamOfTheSky]

I'd definitely move away from playing a drow. It's a terribly weak race for its LA. Maybe your DM simply hates drow and would be more lenient if you picked another race?

The OP already said the DM was limiting him to a Drow Swashbuckler with up to 1 prestige class, and nothing more.

If you can only do one PrC, I think Dervish is the best choice, both for power and flavor, and gives similar abilities to what the OP seemed to want originally, with the added boon of being able to fight groups of enemies. Does anyone think another prestige class would work better? Swashbuckler sucks, so you want as little of it as possible So, I didn't even consider anything with less than 10 levels.

 

[Herobizkit]

In a previous post, I mentioned that I normally diagree with Stream's character build ideas, mostly due to creative differences and tastes, but if you're going to stick with this build... Dervish would likely be the best way to go, especially with Dandu's feat suggestions (if you have the feats to do so).

 

[StreamOfTheSky]

In a previous post, I mentioned that I normally diagree with Stream's character build ideas, mostly due to creative differences and tastes, but if you're going to stick with this build... Dervish would likely be the best way to go, especially with Dandu's feat suggestions (if you have the feats to do so).

Well, Dervish requires 4 feats on its own just to enter, fortunately most were on the OP's wishlist already. From there, Dervish works so much better with the TWF tree, and Deadly Defense IS a good feat to go with the build, too. The problem is, as a Drow and no opportunity to drop into Fighter for a few levels, he really doesn't have the feats to do much else. The 4 Dervish feats alone take him to level 9. Add in 3 TWF feats and Deadly Defense, and...that's already level 21 (epic) to acquire all of them. I suppose GTWF isn't terribly essential with the low to-hit it'd have, but that's still all his feats before epic.

OP, another far-fetched idea: Would your DM allow you to count the Swashbuckler's Dodge class feature gained at level 5 as the feat, to meet Mobility's pre-reqs? My group allows that, it'd make the feat burden a little lighter.

 

[StreamOfTheSky]

By the way, the only other 10 level "duelist" prestige class I really like is the Blade Bravo, which gets a bunch of fun and unique abiltities including a Riposte. Unfortunately, the class is a) Gnome-only, barring adaptation by the DM and b) in Races of Stone, not an allowed book.

 

[Herobizkit]

Fighting defensively is not worth the trade-off for an extra d6 damage, imo. Dodge may also be a wasted feat, as you essentially gain the Dodge feat for free at level 5. It stacks, sure, but whoo-pee.

This is gonna cause groans a-plenty, but I might consider going with the spiked chain cheese. It's a reach weapon that can also be used in melee (so if you're seldom in melee, you'll seldom get attacked, ergo no need for high AC) and you can do trips and disarms with it. Plus, it's got 2d4 for damage.

Otherwise, go TWF with Rapier and Dagger (or Punching Dagger - it's stylish). Then, take Combat Expertise. It opens a path for all your fancy disarms and trips (which work better with a spiked chain but hey, you're a swashbuckler... play into the stereotype).

Of course, you could turn the stereotype right on its head and go with a PrC such as a Master Thrower, but it only goes 5 levels. Still, you only need Point Blank Shot, Precise Shot, and Weapon Focus in a thrown weapon. Then take the Throw Anything feat. Laugh your butt off.

 

[StreamOfTheSky]

Fighting defensively is not worth the trade-off for an extra d6 damage, imo. Dodge may also be a wasted feat, as you essentially gain the Dodge feat for free at level 5. It stacks, sure, but whoo-pee.

My advice was based on going into Dervish. Which means:
1) Dodge feat is required to gain entry, cruddy though it and Mobility (also required) may be. But hey, the OP wanted those feats from the start, so yay!

2) Fighting Defensively is also eventually giving you an extra +4 AC from the Dervish's parry ability. Also, iirc, you can use Deadly Defense with Combat Expertise, which Dervish also requires anyway. Even without Dervish, with the tumble ranks alone you're trading 4 attack for 3 AC, it's hardly an awful exchange. Of course, assuming my build can't get the 4 Dervish required feats before level 9, he won't be getting Deadly Defense until level 15+ anyway (TWF comes first, and then possibly ITWF).