Level 12, All books are fair game. Now, what should I be? [Updated, still need help!]

[Votan]

Well, in my original post, I was requesting a fucs more on melee characters with some backup healing powers - thus full casters are really not what I'm looking for. And yes, while I'm full aware that druids and clerics are 'teh best!', I want more sword and less sorcerery.

I'm really considering that fighter/monk/pally/divine crusader combo. Maybe I could convince the DM to run gestalt to really use and abuse his campaign - then it'd be a pally/favoured soul all teh way! Or fighter/knight. Or barbarian/ranger. Oh well, maybe next time

cheers,
--N

I have a great deal of personal interest in trying to make the Divine Crusader a functional class. I really like the flavor of the class and I find it a really cool way to make a melee character work well at high levels.

Some things are obvious. One, is that the class needs to focus on buffs. Two, is that the choice of domain is brutally important.

I'd ask a DM if I could build my own Domain and forfiet the domain power for the choice of spells.

If I could do this I'd probably pick:

1: Nerveskitter or Critical Strike or True Strike
2: Wrathstrike
3: Haste
4: Polymorph
5: Righteous Might
6: Heal
7: Greater Teleport
8: Moment of Prescience
9: Miracle

If, instead, I had to pick an exisiting Domain my top chocies are: Travel, Time, Slime and Competition. In such a case, get a second domain for sure (my best reading of the rules suggest that this should work exactly like a Druid so one spell per level can be prepared form the second domain -- it isn't a lot but it really helps).

If I wanted to do this I would try something like:

Ranger 1-2/Fighter 1-2/Barbarian 1-2/Pious Templar 1 or Ranger 3/Divine Crusader 1 (Competition Domain)/ Seeker of the Misty Isles 1 (for Travel Domain)/Divine Crusader 2-10

 

[Darklone]

Wohoo, was checking the book of dragons yesterday... what about a halfling paladin riding on a dragon mount ?

 

[Nyaricus]

Update!!

Assuming Ftr 2 / Pal 4 / Kt 2 / DC 4...

*snip good stuff*

I'm kinda warming to this, but I gotta ask - how important are the knight levels?

I mean, I like the knight class and all, but I think I'd rather pick up Occult Slayer PrC or something rather than Knight.

Right now, I'm looking at Ranger 1 / Fighter 2 / Paladin 3 / Occult Slayer 1 / Divine Crusader 5

Ranger will give me nice skill points, some wilderness survival, good Ref save and Favoured Enemy which is nice. Fighter with bonus feats, which will help me out with PrC pre-reqs, Paladin for the front-loadedness cheesefest that is, Occult Slayer for good Will and the nice abilities, and DC for spells and will saves and whatnot.

Alignment will be LG (Paladin levels), so must check out LG gods.
BAB will be 10/5, looking at my 3rd attack next level
Saves will be [12 4 7], looking at +1 in each next level; this is above average which is good.
Spells will be 3 2 2 1 0, which is hardly amazing, but considering everything else (BAB, et al) is wicked
Skills will be crap, other than that first level of Ranger for the 6+(Intx4) goodness
I'll have all Martial & Simple Weapons, All Armours and Shields profs, which is good.


How does that sound, everyone?

Oh, and I still haven't settled on a race. Feats will be easy to attain for those PrCs I want, Skills should be dandy too, so something other than Human would be nice to try out

 

[Endur]

Be a Dread Pirate.

 

[Iku Rex]

How does that sound, everyone?

A spellcasting occult slayer doesn't really work. :\

You really want 4 levels of paladin, both for the spell and for Turn Undead. One spell/day may not seem like much, but with some pearls of power it can prove a real help. My suggestion: rhino's rush (SC), for the devastating charges. (Wis is a tempting dump stat though, for that 5.) Turn undead powers the oh-so-lovely Divine Might feat. If you use a shield Divine Shield can also be worth it. You could even go for the Divine Metamagic: Persistent trick.

My suggestion:

Human Paladin 4/Fighter2/Pious Templar 1 (CD)/Divine Crusader 5 (CD)

You need to be human to avoid XP penalties. Pious templar gets you Mettle.

Ability scores (20, 17, 16, 16, 11, 5, arrange as desired)

Str 17
Dex 16
Con 16
Int 5
Wis 11
Cha 20

+1 Wis, +1 Str, +1 Cha for levels.

Spells:
If you want serious healing you're pretty much stuck with the healing domain (Pelor). One more level and you'll have heal, which is good. Personally I'd just buy a couple of wands of cure light wounds and get a more melee-friendly domain. Competition (SC), Mysticism (SC) (my favorite) or Strength are possible choices. You'll need to find a fitting LG or NG deity though.

Feats: Depends on the weapon. Charge feats are tempting, to go with rhino's rush.

 

[Nyaricus]

A spellcasting occult slayer doesn't really work. :\

You really want 4 levels of paladin, both for the spell and for Turn Undead. One spell/day may not seem like much, but with some pearls of power it can prove a real help. My suggestion: rhino's rush (SC), for the devastating charges. (Wis is a tempting dump stat though, for that 5.) Turn undead powers the oh-so-lovely Divine Might feat. If you use a shield Divine Shield can also be worth it. You could even go for the Divine Metamagic: Persistent trick.

My suggestion:

Human Paladin 4/Fighter2/Pious Templar 1 (CD)/Divine Crusader 5 (CD)

You need to be human to avoid XP penalties. Pious templar gets you Mettle.

I've been looking at my books tonight, and I think I have a decent combination which will end up dumping the ranger level anyway. I was really inspired by the art on the cover of Races of Destiny (always liked that piece) and in particular the half-orc warrior:

And so I am basing this character after him:

Desert Half-Orc Paladin of Freedom 4 (with the 3rd Half-orc Paladin Racial Substitution level from Races of Destiny) / Fighter 2 / Pious Templar 1 OR Occult Slayer 1 / Divine Crusader 5 of [some CG deity].

I get +2 Con, -2 Int with that Desert Half Orc (which is better than standard simply because there's no -2 Cha), Paladin of Freedom will free up god selection, which is fine (plus goes with the character I have in mind better), that racial sub level fits him better too (scare his enemies rather than inspire allies) and then there's that one space level left over.

See, I figure half-orcs would hate arcane magic; thus Occult Slayer fits. On the other hand, the Mettle ability is nice from the Pious Templar class, and I think for RPing reasons I'd rather have a low Int than Wis (it just fits half-orcs better).

Am I missing anything?

 

[rgard]

I am going to be a player in a campaign, level 12, with any book that I own open for usage. That pretty much sums up 75-85% of 3.x WotC books, except for some of the sub-system expansions (like Magic of Incarnum, etc - which I am not interested in using).

I know another player is going to go for the mage role, and another will likely shoot for the monk class. So, what should I be, if all books are open? Powergaming is fair gaming, so I can min-max this as much as I want. And boy, do I want

Since we have a psuedo-fighter/scout character and a Wizard already, I was thinking about going with the tank/healer role. Any good builds?

thanks!

cheers,
--N

Prestige Palading or Prestige Ranger from UA. Both look cool to try.

 

[Iku Rex]

Desert Half-Orc Paladin of Freedom 4 (with the 3rd Half-orc Paladin Racial Substitution level from Races of Destiny) / Fighter 2 / Pious Templar 1 OR Occult Slayer 1 / Divine Crusader 5 of [some CG deity].

20% XP penalty. Ouchy.

Also, you don't need a CG deity. Within one step works for the True Believer feat (Pious Templar prerequisite), and paladin's don't have to have the same alignment as their deity. Pelor is still the only Core option if you want the healing domain, and his favored weapon is the heavy mace. That looks like what your half-orc is holding.

that racial sub level fits him better too (scare his enemies rather than inspire allies)

You should get the Frightful Presence feat from Draconomicon or the Dreadful Wrath regional feat from Player's Guide to Faerun to go with that.

See, I figure half-orcs would hate arcane magic; thus Occult Slayer fits.

Occult Slayers hate all magic. Your first act will be to commit suicide, since "mortals are too irresponsible to wield magic, and those who dare do so must be slain".

 

[Nyaricus]

20% XP penalty. Ouchy.

Also, you don't need a CG deity. Within one step works for the True Believer feat (Pious Templar prerequisite), and paladin's don't have to have the same alignment as their deity. Pelor is still the only Core option if you want the healing domain, and his favored weapon is the heavy mace. That looks like what your half-orc is holding.

You should get the Frightful Presence feat from Draconomicon or the Dreadful Wrath regional feat from Player's Guide to Faerun to go with that.
Occult Slayers hate all magic. Your first act will be to commit suicide, since "mortals are too irresponsible to wield magic, and those who dare do so must be slain".

Thanks for the further feedback I forgot to mention that we don't use XP penalties, however

For Alignment, Divine Crusaders have to have their deities alignment exactly, so I'll be looking for a CG god. Since the game is "open book" (not core only) this shouldn't be too hard to do, and I'm not really hung up on the specific weapon yet I will be using.

Thanks for the pointers towards those "fear" feats. I'll also have a peek in Libris Mortis and hereos of Horror for good measure

Good point for OCs. I suppose my dreams are dashed

thanks again for the help!

cheers,
--N

 

[Nyaricus]

You could even go for the Divine Metamagic: Persistent trick.

What is this, exactly?