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Tome of Battle: Book of 9 Swords - Things to watch out for?

Slaved said:
I understand the size manipulation, which is why I mentioned the limited number of rounds a day, but routinely getting 8 - 15 d6 damage per attack is still difficult. Then there is the problem of how long it takes to set this up and how fast the character burns out.

I would like to see the full character though. If it works as stated, without the exageratted damage reduction, then it might be a fun character to play!

My guess? Some combination of the Psionic Weapon feat, martial adept strikes, and possibly Arkhandus's Practised Manifester thing to count as Gargantuan (and thus have 6d6 or 8d6 with Monkey Grip as the weapon's starting damage)
 

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Rystil Arden said:
My guess? Some combination of the Psionic Weapon feat, martial adept strikes, and possibly Arkhandus's Practised Manifester thing to count as Gargantuan (and thus have 6d6 or 8d6 with Monkey Grip as the weapon's starting damage)

I thought that Hypersmurf has said Monkey Grip and Powerful Build do not stack?

If the character has a weapon doing 6d6, psionic weapon and greater psionic weapon for 4d6, and a 2d6 strike that would put that attack up to 12d6 which is in the middle of the range that DM_Jeff posted.

I am not sure that the character could do that at the level listed however.
 

Slaved said:
I thought that Hypersmurf has said Monkey Grip and Powerful Build do not stack?

If the character has a weapon doing 6d6, psionic weapon and greater psionic weapon for 4d6, and a 2d6 strike that would put that attack up to 12d6 which is in the middle of the range that DM_Jeff posted.

I am not sure that the character could do that at the level listed however.
It's debatable and a GM could go either way--by strict wording of the RAW, he is right (as pretty much always), but I can see why a GM might rule otherwise--you do pay a -2 to hit, after all.

Don't forget stances!
 

Slaved said:
I thought that Hypersmurf has said Monkey Grip and Powerful Build do not stack?

If the character has a weapon doing 6d6, psionic weapon and greater psionic weapon for 4d6, and a 2d6 strike that would put that attack up to 12d6 which is in the middle of the range that DM_Jeff posted.

I am not sure that the character could do that at the level listed however.

Yeah, they could do the trick at ECL 8. Half-giant warblade 4/psychic warrior 3, for instance. Level 6 feat would be Practiced Manifester, and the 2 psychic warrior feats would be Greater Psionic Weapon and Psionic Meditation. Earlier 1st-level feat of Psionic Weapon, as half-giants are naturally psionic. Other 1 or 2 feats don't particularly matter. Maybe Psionic Talent or whatever just for a few more power points, though it's not a very useful feat. Spend 7 power points on Expansion to grow Huge (effectively Gargantuan with PB) on the first round of combat. Original Large Greatsword is now Gargantuan, dealing 6d6 base damage. Can use move action to approach an enemy.

2nd round, probably in melee reach (and can 5-foot step closer if need be). Make a standard-action Strike (probably 2nd-level, like Mountain Hammer or something), a swift-action Boost (Burning Blade or whatnot) beforehand, and use Greater Psionic Weapon for +4d6 damage, for a total of 13d6+5 damage plus any enhancement bonus on the sword plus 1.5x Strength modifier. Before factoring in a possible Flaming or Shocking -type magical property on the weapon. Finish the round by using a move-equivalent action to regain psionic focus through Psionic Meditation, allowing use of GPW again next round.
 

That does look pretty close Arkhandus but it does not look multiclassed to death to me! :D Just regular multiclassing.

It is also only one use per day and that guys armor class is probably very bad.

It also has no damage reduction at all without using a strike to get it.

Maybe it is close though?
 

Slaved said:
That does look pretty close Arkhandus but it does not look multiclassed to death to me! :D Just regular multiclassing.

It is also only one use per day and that guys armor class is probably very bad.

It also has no damage reduction at all without using a strike to get it.

Maybe it is close though?
She probably has the DR one of the times the damage is at 8d6 using Stone Dragon manoeuvres (remember he said the damage varies from 8d6 to 15d6 from round to round ;)). Also, I know some people whose opinion of 'multi-classed to death' includes 'has multiclassing in at least some capacity and is a strong character', so it could be that.
 

If you have no problems with high level warrior-types setting off massive burst of fire more powerful than maximized fireballs, then I say go for it.

[Puts on flameproof suit.]
 

Thurbane said:
If you have no problems with high level warrior-types setting off massive burst of fire more powerful than maximized fireballs, then I say go for it.
Same BAB as a Bard.

I guess it's sort of a "warrior type". ;)

Cheers, -- N
 

Well, we don't know what multiclassing DM Jeff's fellow did, anyway.

[sblock=Ark's PC]My PC, Jornat Arusket, was a half-giant swordsage 5/psychic warrior 4. We got a high point buy for ability scores IIRC, 42 points.

His possessions were a belt of giant strength +4, periapt of wisdom +2, cloak of resistance +1, mithral shirt +1 of light fortification, large composite longbow +1 allowing 8 points of Strength bonus to damage, and a large keen greatsword +1 of ghost touch. Total ability scores were Str 26, Dex 12, Con 16, Int 10, Wis 18, and Cha 10, before temporary adjustments.

He had 99 hit points, and 17 power points (enough to do Expansion for Huge size twice per day at most; that would leave him with 3 power points, so he could manifest Force Screen and Biofeedback once each in addition to that (or just Force Screen twice), unaugmented, and still have 1 power point left to make use of psionic feats).

AC was normally 20 (10 base, +4 Wisdom as Swordsage, +1 Dexterity, +5 armor), could be boosted to 24 with Force Screen manifested (25 if augmented, but not worth the bother given FS's augment cost). AC would drop to 19 or 18 when Expanded (23 or 22 with FS and Expansion). Biofeedback would give him a few points of Damage Reduction, and Hustle would give him an extra move action sometimes when he really needed it. Saving throw totals were Fortitude +9, Reflex +7, and Will +10.


Maneuvers were (considering that he'd have taken his 3rd-5th swordsage levels after the psychic warrior levels, and got to swap a maneuver at 4th or whatever): Burning Blade, Wind Stride, Counter Charge, Sapphire Nightmare Blade, Charging Minotaur ; Action Before Thought, Mountain Hammer ; Death Mark, Bonecrusher ; Ruby Nightmare Blade. Stances were: Flame's Blessing, Island of Blades ; - ; Roots of the Mountain. Swordsage features were Wis bonus to AC in light/no armor, Quick to Act (+2 Initiative), and Discipline Focus (Stone Dragon ; Weapon Focus with Stone Dragon weapons such as the greatsword, and insightful strike which I can't remember the effects of ; not the maneuver but the swordsage class feature). Jornat had 6 maneuvers readied at any given time, typically Burning Blade, Wind Stride, Counter Charge, Action Before Thought, Deathmark, and Ruby Nightmare Blade.

Feats were Adaptive Style, Psionic Weapon, Power Attack, Psionic Meditation, Practiced Manifester, and Greater Psionic Weapon. Main skills were Concentration at 12 ranks, total +15, and Tumble at 12 ranks, total +13, plus a handful of other skills at 1-6 ranks each. With the Flame's Blessing stance he'd have Fire Resistance 10 from his Tumble ranks.


Normally he could attack at +16/+11 with the large greatsword or +9/+4 with the large longbow, dealing 3d6+13 damage with the greatsword (threat range 17-20 from Keen) or 2d6+9 damage with the longbow. He also had a large spiked gauntlet as a backup weapon, unenhanced, just in case he got into any grapples. With GPW he could add +4d6 damage to one of the melee attacks, but couldn't regain psionic focus to do it again unless he avoided full-attacking next time.

If battle broke out, typically he'd manifest Force Screen and move forward, or wait a bit if the opposition looks strong, in order to spend another round manifesting Biofeedback. After the brief prepping, he'd move in closer and manifest Expansion, augmented to 7 power points for Huge size (with Powerful Build allowing him to use his weaponry enlarged to Gargantuan). Once close enough he'd change stances to Roots of the Mountain or Island of Blades, depending on opposition and whether or not he has any useful allies to follow him into melee. Stance change would come before the turn of his attack.

As soon as possible after ensuring his defenses weren't ineffectual, Jornat would strike once with Ruby Nightmare Blade, Burning Blade, Greater Psionic Weapon, and Power Attack for 2 points if possible (not wanting to screw up and miss by a hair), using the greatsword. A Concentration check at +15 against the opponent's AC has a fair chance of success at that level (not awlays, but usually), so his attack would deal double normal melee damage.

The attack would be made at +14, dealing 12d6+1d6+4d6+14+8+2+30 damage (reduced by 7 points if Burning Blade's static bonus is not actually multiplied on a crit or similar, since it's unclear). If the Concentration check failed, it'd be an attack at +12 to-hit and 6d6+1d6+4d6+7+4+1+15 damage. So an average of either 105 damage or 60 damage. Most likely going to force a Fortitude save against Massive Damage if he hits. If the foe is easy to hit, he could Power Attack for 6 points instead of 2, adding +12 damage (or +24 if the Concentration check succeeded for Ruby Nightmare Blade).


Follow-up would be a Concentration check to regain psionic focus, likely to succeed, as a move-equivalent action. Then on his next turn he'd strike with Death Mark, Greater Psionic Weapon, and 2 points of Power Attack, at 14 to-hit and 6d6+6d6+4+1+15 damage, so 56 damage on average, also likely to force a Fortitude save against Massive Damage. Follow through by another use of Psionic Meditation to prepare for the next attack. Third round would probably be use of Adaptive Style to ready maneuvers again, probably replacing Action Before Thought and Wind Stride and Counter Charge, with Bonecrusher, MOuntain Hammer, and Sapphire Nightmare Blade

Fourth round would see a repeat of the 1st round's offensive, and similarly the fifth round would be a repeat of the 2nd round's offensive. The sixth round would be a strike with Bonecrusher, Greater Psionic Weapon, and Power Attack, then the seventh round would be a strike with Mountain Hammer, Greater Psionic Weapon, and Power Attack. Eighth round would be a strike with Sapphire Nightmare Blade, Greater Psionic Weapon, and full Power Attack since the foe would be flat-footed against the Sapphire Nightmare Blade.

After that his Expansion would fade and he'd be normal-size again. Force Screen and Biofeedback would still be going strong, but if by some absurd chance the battle was still going, he'd have to either re-manifest the augmented Expansion, or just be more careful as he fights since he'd lost much of his brute force. Ready maneuvers again with Adaptive Style, and maybe try his Stomp psi-like ability, though its Reflex DC is only 11. Still, if used against mooks, it just might knock one or two off of their feet, making them easier prey when he attacks.


I chose most of Jornat's maneuvers for their broad tactical possibilities and a few just for raw power (Ruby Nightmare Blade and Bonecrusher; Death Mark is also good but only against foes lacking Fire Resistance/Immunity, and mainly for blasting a group of mooks. Jornat would have been a joy to play (and not just in tactics/power, I liked my background and personality for him too). Mainly he was going to be my experiment with 3.5 psionics and the Book of Nine Swords in actual play. Too bad the campaign got cancelled after the first (annoying and extremely rail-roaded) session. :(

Rambling over! :heh: [/sblock]
 

Oh, and for reference: The two 10th-level orcish barbarians in the party were more obscenely damaging and tough than my half-giant swordsage 5/psychic warrior 4. :p :]

They had something like twice his HP, similar AC I think, and almost twice his BAB (if the campaign had only gone long enough for them to gain 1 more level, they would've been getting a third attack per round). I think I was capable of dealing more damage for 1 or 2 rounds, and that's it; their extra damage made up for that after a few rounds at most. And they could Rage more often than I could use augmented Expansion.
 

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