Inspired by Mith's Lone Ranger and Torias' Rogue Archer, I set out to create a stealthy build that used a crossbow in conjunction with Devastating Critical. This character combines all of the support abilities of the bard with the ever-useful Hide in Plain Sight ability of the Shadowdancer. This build only gets three attacks a round before Haste, but it makes those shots count, using the many buffs available to the Bard class to boost its accuracy and damage.
In addition to the heavy crossbow, I have the character carry a morningstar with them for meleeing undead and construct opponents, who will be a bit of a problem in the absence of Sunburst or Crumble scrolls. The last four feats you get are pretty flexible, and I have only included one possible setup. You may want to pick up Devastating Critical: Morningstar, or you may want to improve the defensive abilities of the build by including Lasting Impression, Armor Skin, and Epic Toughness. Your call.
Title: Shire Shadow Shooter (Try saying that three times fast!) Race: Halfling Alignment: Any non-lawful Classes: Bard 26 / Red Dragon Disciple 10 / Shadowdancer 4 Starting/Final Attributes:
Increase Strength at 4, 8, 12, 16, and 20. Increase Dexterity at 24, 28, 32, 36, and 40. All other ability increases are through feats or RDD levels.
Level Progression: 1-5 Bard 6-10 Red Dragon Disciple 11-14 Shadowdancer 15-19 Red Dragon Disciple 20-40 Bard
Feat Progression: (all feats marked with an asterisk are optional) Level 1: Power Attack Level 3: Cleave Level 6: Dodge Level 9: Mobility Level 12: Point Blank Shot Level 15: Rapid Reload Level 18: Weapon Focus: Heavy Crossbow Level 21: Improved Critical: Heavy Crossbow Level 24: Great Cleave Level 27: Overwhelming Critical: Heavy Crossbow Level 30: Devastating Critical: Heavy Crossbow Level 33: Epic Weapon Focus: Heavy Crossbow Level 36: Toughness* Level 37: Curse Song* (Bard epic bonus feat) Level 39: Great Dexterity I* Level 40: Great Dexterity II* (Bard epic bonus feat)
Skills: I haven't worked out the skill points on this character, but it should receive enough to get Hide, Move Silently, Tumble, Spellcraft, Use Magic Device, and Perform near their maximums.
Equipment: Heavy Crossbow Morningstar Robes or Padded Armor
As always, questions, comments, and criticisms would all be appreciated. _________________ (sig space for rent)
Quote: Posted 04/09/04 22:57:21 (GMT) by Herbie Shimmer
Is there a feat you need from the Shadowdancer class in particular? I generally only take an SD past 1st level if I'm going for Epic Dodge. As you're not, maybe you should leave SD at 1 and put the other 3 levels into Bard, to get another bonus feat. I guess there's an argument for taking 2 levels of SD to retain your Dex bonus to AC even when flat-footed, but I think the build could gain more from an extra feat. Although, I'm not entirely sure what you'd spend it on.
There are two main reasons I took 4 Shadowdancer levels. The first reason was to pick up Evasion. The second reason was to minimize pre-20 BAB loss. _________________ (sig space for rent)