Upgrade your account to a Community Supporter account and remove most of the site ads.

Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="jasin" data-source="post: 1851929" data-attributes="member: 7531">Heh. Thanks.Well, +11 to AC is plenty of use, but it is rather cheezy, and I wouldn't allow it as a DM. If it were a medium BAB class, though, four levels might be worth it, for +4 AC...But that's another 4 rounds of Divine Might! A whole fight, almost! But yes, it needs to go, since Divine Might needs Power Attack, and she doesn't have it; I missed the requirement.I think the +5 shield was too expensive, or something; she has a +4 animated shield in the notes on my computer. I changed her AC, but forgot to change the equipment.She's eclectic.Honestly, I don't really like the idea of animated shields in general, even for non-samurai. But they're such a cheap way to get AC, if you're a two-handed-weapon-wielder.Neither would I, probably. Unlike an animated shield, monks, martial artists and Snowflake wardancers can use it... so I think it's fair that unlike an animated shield, it's not actually a shield and can't be used for the stuff that needs a shield. It's just a thingy that gives a shield bonus.8th is One strike, two cuts. That's pretty nice.9th is a bonus feat.10th is Strike with no thought: you automatically get a surprise round even when your enemy is aware of you, and all you can do is attack with your katana. Not really all that great in a typical dungeon crawl/arena combat, but it's a reasonable fit for Lianne; with diplomacy +44, she could reasonably start most fights with a talk. And if the enemy really wants a fight, she's first, with an iai-strike. And than likely another, with Init +21.What would you suggest instead of iaijutsu master levels? Arcane duelist? The problem is it has weak BAB, which is supposed to be offset by the enhance chosen weapon ability, but at these levels, you're starting to hit the +10 limit.... actually, I just noticed that the dextrous attack ability, on the very next Acd level, is pretty abusable in 3.5. You can take a penalty on damage, and add the same number to attacks, with a limit = max. weapon damage - 1, so a you could take up to a -10 penalty on damage with a +3 longsword, and add +10 to attack.Now, two-handed Power Attack back for the whole value gained by dextrous attack! With a +3 katana, you can use dextrous attack for +12 attack, -12 to damage; then use Power Attack for -12 attack, +24 damage: net +12 damage out of nowhere!Or just use dextrous attack to make sure you hit with an iaijutsu strike. What's -10 to damage for +10 to attack, on an attack that deals >100?The two-handed Power Attack doesn't work with Snowflake Wardance so it doesn't synergize all that well with Lianne's style... but other munchy builds using the arcane duelist come to mind. An appropriate mix of martial artist, bard, fighter, battle sorcerer might be turn out truly deadly.I think I might be posting another character one these days...I was running out of money, and she had AC 50 anyway, so I decided to call it a day. But if she doesn't get the full Cha bonus to AC, definitely, that'd be one of the first additions. It's something cheap, right?Yes, it's wounding. Because wounding seems to be a good enhancement for people who hit often, but don't do much damage. Only, between Divine Might and Power Attack (which she needs for DM) she does respectable damage, but the idea stuck.BTW, I calculated it as wounding for her equipment values, just forgot to note it.Collision is from XPsiHB: a +2 equivalent ability that gives +5 to damage. Again, for people who hit often, but don't do much damage. Since she needs Power Attack anyway, she's better of with another +2 worth of straight enhancement bonus.BTW, if her katana a +5 etc. weapon instead of +3 collision etc. weapon, in her hands it's a +6 weapon! The arcane duelist's enhancement ability allows you to exceed the +5 limit! (But not the +10 total limit.)Inspire courage. +1 vs. charm and fear, right? I didn't not fear since she's immune anyway.I usually have trouble with thinking up cool signature items that are not weapons, but this seemed really natural.I think so.Right. With a 50-ish AC from the cheezy duelist dip, she can probably afford to lose some of it for some fortification. Without it, it's tougher, but it's still probably worth it for at least light fort.Ah, right! She'd really need that, I think, being a melee girl, with Str 14 and no escape artist.And it can also stand in for a freedom of movement item... a couple of times.</blockquote>

Verification