Optimized Build Request Thread - ENWorld Version

[Cyclone_Joker]

Okay, since I'm bored and am having a bout of insomnia, so I might as well bring this over here.

It's pretty much exactly what it says on the tin: Ask for something, anything from seeing what can be done for a class to a character concept you're having trouble making work. Also, say how much you want. Minimalist is just classes and relevant notes, a more in-depth version including a more complete list of feats and maybe skill tricks or WBL guidelines, or the whole deal, classes, feats, WBL, and so on.

The rules of the thread are as follows:
1) You can ask for basically anything.
2) I am perfectly willing to say no, if I believe I can't do the job well, I really dislike the idea, or I simply feel don't like it.
3) Give me specifics. You can ask for something as vague as you like, but a more specific request is more likely to be given attention, and be closer to what you want.
4) You might not get exactly what you're looking for. I am incapable of telepathy, have pretty high standards on quality, and sometimes like to get creative. You're getting it (possibly) quickly, complete, and purely out of the kindness of my boredom. Gift horses and mouths and all. If you don't like this, well, not my problem.
5) Despite contrary appearances, I'm not a god. Shocking, I know, but be patient. Even I am not always capable of coming up with perfect builds instantly.
6) If your post is unreadable, whether due to lack of punctuation, atrocious spelling, general incoherence, or the car key gnomes tampering with your computer, I may still try do it. I am, however, just as likely to laugh at both it and you. So, for the Burning Hate's sake, make your posts readable.

It's also worth noting that I have some power level standards. I will not make an intentionally gimped builds. I also will not rehash an old build unless a new take on such a thing is specifically asked for, so I may just link to a relevant build if I think it's well-done. I think that's everything.

So, with that out of the way, challenge me! I'm bored.

 

[Dandu]

What is the best way you can think of to create the classical fencer from movies such as Robin Hood, Princess Bride, Zorro, etc?

 

[Cyclone_Joker]

What is the best way you can think of to create the classical fencer from movies such as Robin Hood, Princess Bride, Zorro, etc?

Idiot Crusader. Warblade would work, too, but I think the Swordsage splash in IC adds to the light-armored fencer feel.

Regardless, Iron Heart and Diamond Mind are the way to go, with a dabbling of Tiger Claw. Wall of Steel gives you some cool parrying action, and you can get a bunch of attacks this way. The rest seems pretty self-explanatory to me, although if you need some clarification, I'd be glad to provide it.

 

[Dandu]

I've always felt it lacked offensive power, and was wondering what steps people have discovered to address that.

Most efforts seem to be geared towards having the fencer take advantage of TWF with either a dagger (to mimic a real world fencing style) or Unarmed Strike, as Zorro never had a problem punching people when the situation called for it.

 

[Morrus]

We have a forum especially for this, now! I'll slip this over there for you!

 

[Cyclone_Joker]

I've always felt it lacked offensive power, and was wondering what steps people have discovered to address that.

It has maneuvers. They do a pretty good job on their own. Diamond Mind and Warblade both have a bunch of extra attack and bonus damage maneuvers, and Tiger Claw is made up of basically nothing but bonus dice and extra attacks.

Most efforts seem to be geared towards having the fencer take advantage of TWF with either a dagger (to mimic a real world fencing style) or Unarmed Strike, as Zorro never had a problem punching people when the situation called for it.

But TWF sucks, as does UAS. And, really, if you want UAS, you can use the Tiger Claw extra attack boosts to both punch people and stab them.

We have a forum especially for this, now! I'll slip this over there for you!

Oh, I'd missed that. Thanks!

 

[Empirate]

Can you think of a way to have Shadowcasters (Tome of Magic) not suck in E6 (using the generally accepted house rules by the class' designer Ari Marmell found here)? I'll even allow a homebrew "Extra Mystery" feat for more mysteries known, but other than that, this just doesn't seem to work too good.

 

[Cyclone_Joker]

Sorry, but I don't do Shadowcasters. I hate them on a mechanical level, so I've never bothered to actually memorize their ruleset. That's really the one system I don't do. Hell, I even like Truenamers, but not Shadowcasters. If you need it, I'll find some time to reread the rules and figure something out, probably tonight or tomorrow, but, at the moment, I'd just suggest a Focused Illusionist/Master Specialist or Beguiler to get the fluff without bothering with something that manages to be worse than Truenamers.

On a side note, it seems like that, while the fixes do fix a couple things, it doesn't solve some of the underlying problems.

Sorry, this has never come up before, so I didn't even think about mentioning it.

 

[Empirate]

Heh. Now that I have found your weak spot, I'll go spamming Shadowcaster stuff in all your threads

Seriously, the main fault I find with Shadowcasters is the extremely low number of mystery uses/day, especially at low levels. Before 7th level, they're tier 5 in my book (can be optimized to do one thing well enough... but not as well as a given higher tier class; or: can do a number of things, but not well enough to actually bother). At 7th level, they jump up about 1.5 tiers, as far as I'm concerned, but in E6, that's sadly not happening.


So, for a different request to do with Tome of Magic: I've done some idle thinking about a Paimon-based Binder melee guy to use for battlefield control. I was thinking "how awesome would it be to dance past all the opponents and trip all of them in the first round of combat?" Any pointers on how to do this efficiently and reliably, at as low a level as possible? I've been frustrated that I can't seem to find good synergy with Paimon's other abilities; also, a way of staying effective in combat rounds 2+ would be appreciated, since I could only do the dancing thing 1/5 rds. If you think dipping Binder for only a few levels, then leaving for greener pastures, I'd like to hear your reasoning on that as well.


Also: awesome thread idea. Ever since the gleemax change, I've never bothered to revisit the WotC boards, so it seems I missed out on your stuff.

 

[Cyclone_Joker]

Heh. Now that I have found your weak spot, I'll go spamming Shadowcaster stuff in all your threads

Curses! You win this time, Gadget!

Seriously, the main fault I find with Shadowcasters is the extremely low number of mystery uses/day, especially at low levels. Before 7th level, they're tier 5 in my book (can be optimized to do one thing well enough... but not as well as a given higher tier class; or: can do a number of things, but not well enough to actually bother). At 7th level, they jump up about 1.5 tiers, as far as I'm concerned, but in E6, that's sadly not happening.

The online support gives them a little boost in power, but my biggest problem is that whenever I read the rules or tried to come up with something, I just thought to myself "I could be making a Truenamer that does all of this but better."

So, for a different request to do with Tome of Magic: I've done some idle thinking about a Paimon-based Binder melee guy to use for battlefield control. I was thinking "how awesome would it be to dance past all the opponents and trip all of them in the first round of combat?" Any pointers on how to do this efficiently and reliably, at as low a level as possible? I've been frustrated that I can't seem to find good synergy with Paimon's other abilities; also, a way of staying effective in combat rounds 2+ would be appreciated, since I could only do the dancing thing 1/5 rds. If you think dipping Binder for only a few levels, then leaving for greener pastures, I'd like to hear your reasoning on that as well.

My first thought would be to use that handkerchief a lot. Turning other Digimon into keych- Oh, sorry, wrong Paimon

It depends on your objective. You want to be a melee character who happens to bind Paimon for his kickassery, or do you want to be a binder who kicks ass?

My first instinct is to take three levels of binder and Improved Binding, and then going Bard the rest of the way. Snowflake Wardance and, if you want some more power behind you, some Bardzilla thrown in. Items in this case are going to be various Inspire Courage-boosting items, an Echoblade, the Slippers of Battledancing(DMGII), despite it sounding incredibly... yeah, were practically made for Paimon, Gauntlets of Heartfelt Blows(DrC) supplements damage, other CHA-SAD items are cool, too, and you'd function like a melee bard with some new tricks added on. You could go Song of the White Raven, instead, if you don't like Bardzillas.

Honestly, you could go straight Binder and function similarly, though, just without Snowflake Wardance, some spells, or ToB. If so, you'd probably want the debuff aura vestiges above the others, but almost all of them kick serious ass besides it, so I doubt you'd complain about it.

That's all I've got right off the top of my head.

Also: awesome thread idea.

Thanks.