Ranger assistance

[The Souljourner]

she would insist that my ranger skills get rustier if Im stuck in the woods

Wha!? How could getting stuck in the woods *hurt* your ranger skills? That's what rangers DO

...I guess you covered that. Hrm, things to make him faster... there's Dash in Song and Silence - +5 movement.

Cleave and Great Cleave work, as does combat reflexes. Expert tactician would work when you ambush people. Improved initiative fits the bill.. and you already mentioned quickdraw.

Umm... lightning reflexes, while not really all that great, still fills a gap in your power set, and works for the whole spiffy fast idea.

Think about throwing axes - they're useable as melee and thrown weapons, are small so you can wield them in your off hand... and therefor work well with both rapid shot and two weapon fighting... plus, they're the perfect ranger weapon, because they can be used as a tool as well.

-The Souljourner

 

[Marius]

See above

 

[IceBear]

I understood your point perfectly. I think the main reason that people recommended barbarian is because they do fit together well, and most people don't seem to worry about the roleplaying aspect of multiclassing (Before anyone takes offence to that, I didn't mean it as an insult. I just a campaign taste of mine).

IceBear

 

[Marius]

I understood your point perfectly. I think the main reason that people recommended barbarian is because they do fit together well, and most people don't seem to worry about the roleplaying aspect of multiclassing (Before anyone takes offence to that, I didn't mean it as an insult. I just a campaign taste of mine).

IceBear

Yeah...to me, that's intensely problematic, given that the only thing you can really control in the campaign is your own character, and changing his motivations, and abilities at such a fundamental level without thinking about it, or justifying it from an in-game point of view boggles my mind.

I mean, how can you really expect people to roleplay in a roleplaying game though, right?

 

[IceBear]

Yes, but for all the people that were proposing this knew, you could have been roleplaying your character so that a level of barbarian made sense. All I was trying to show was that there are ways of it making sense - IF - you want it to. Yes, it would require roleplay and it would take time. If it doesn't make sense to take your character in that direction then you don't roleplay that way and you don't take that class.

Again, people made the suggestion because they don't know the details of your character or your campaign. In another campaign, it might make perfect sense to become a barbarian. Understand what I mean?

IceBear

 

[jontherev]

Marius, if one is playing in a campaign where roleplaying isn't a huge factor in the requirement for multiclassing, taking a level of ANY class isn't a problem (except pal/monk of course...unless in FRCS). It's also not a problem in any other campaign unless the DM wants to be constrictive and not fun IMO. I agree with Icebear, that if you don't see your pc taking a level of barbarian, then don't take it. But don't assume the rest of us aren't creative enough to imagine a character like a 5th level wizard who decides to then take 4 levels of monk and then becomes a barbarian henceforth. Yeah, it's not a typical character, but that's part of the fun - having a character that is different. At least, it is for me. And before anyone says, "But each character is unique if you ROLEPLAY", remember that no amount of roleplaying will allow a druid to find and disable traps without taking levels of rogue. That's just one example.

That said, I'm surprised no one mentioned Improved TWF. Perhaps because it will be a while before you will be able to get it (9th level). I would take that before Improved Crit. Also, you may want to take a look at the Tempest PrC from MotW. It sounds like a good fit to your concept.

 

[The Souljourner]

Improved two weapon fighting and greater two weapon fighting are both great feats. However, the Tempest PrC is not very good. The benefits are minimal, and are almost completely trumped by taking perfect two weapon fighting at epic levels. While I agree that the idea of the class is perfect for what he's looking for, I just don't see it as being the best choice in the long run. You give up a lot to get only marginally better for a couple levels.

Otherwise, I agree, making a unique character with the motivation and experience to do the unusual is at least half the fun of D&D. There are infinite variations of characters, and nothing should be discouraged except powergaming.

If it were up to me I would remove all multiclass restrictions... if you can dream it up, you can do it. Besides, the restrictions are silly anyway... you can be a 3/2/3/2/3/7 dwarven cleric/ranger/barbarian/bard/sorcerer/fighter without penalty... but you can't be a 4/2 dwarven barbarian/ranger without getting a 20% XP penalty. That's crap.

-The Souljourner

 

[jonrog1]

Played a Dwarven Ranger with twin short swords or handaxes, or a battleaxe in one hand and a handaxe in the other depending, so I get your love of the two weapons.

Fighter levels and Wepon feats on your weapons of choice, my pal, and you will be unpleasant. I don't think that breaks your role-playing focus -- after all, just means you're taking a few hours out of each day to really focus on the weapon katas...

Expertise, because you will be in light armor, and that CAN hurt.

The Dragon's Toughness, Giant's Toughenss from the Masters of the Wild splatbook -- more HP makes your opponents go "Why won't you just fall down!?"

I loved the Foe Hunter PrC, but it really only works if your DM has a recurring villain type in the campaign. Aberrations are a good general choice, and the Undead if you take the DEFENSIVE FAVORD ENEMY OPTION from MotW.

Good luck.

 

[jontherev]

Improved two weapon fighting and greater two weapon fighting are both great feats. However, the Tempest PrC is not very good. The benefits are minimal, and are almost completely trumped by taking perfect two weapon fighting at epic levels. While I agree that the idea of the class is perfect for what he's looking for, I just don't see it as being the best choice in the long run. You give up a lot to get only marginally better for a couple levels.

Otherwise, I agree, making a unique character with the motivation and experience to do the unusual is at least half the fun of D&D. There are infinite variations of characters, and nothing should be discouraged except powergaming.

If it were up to me I would remove all multiclass restrictions... if you can dream it up, you can do it. Besides, the restrictions are silly anyway... you can be a 3/2/3/2/3/7 dwarven cleric/ranger/barbarian/bard/sorcerer/fighter without penalty... but you can't be a 4/2 dwarven barbarian/ranger without getting a 20% XP penalty. That's crap.

-The Souljourner

Discourage powergaming? You mean, like not taking a PrC that fits your concept because it's not as efficient/powerful as taking a feat 10 levels later? Sorry, that just seems a bit contradictory. And what's wrong with powergaming anyway? This is a game, and as long as everyone's having fun, who cares? [/Rant]

 

[The Souljourner]

Sorry, I didn't define powergaming... I meant egregious character creation choices for the sole purpose of making a min/maxed character. Such as the two-handed sword and armor spikes wielding rogue with a single level of ranger... that sort of thing.

Choosing not to take a prestige class that fits your character image doesn't necessarily make you a power gamer. If you can duplicate the effects, or get better effects somewhere else without losing your character's image, then I say go for it. It's not powergaming to not take a sucky prestige class, no matter how well it fits your character. There's a Commando prestige class in Quintessential Rogue that basically epitomizes what I want my ranger to be. However, it's focused on ranged attacks, and I don't really want to focus on one over the other, so I'm not taking it (and it's actually a very good prestige class, if only 5 levels).

My reccomendation was essentially this: The Tempest prestige class is cool, but you can duplicate most of the effects outside it, and get more neat abilities instead, which could make your character a lot more interesting than a blender on two legs.

-The Souljourner