Here's another bard/blackguard build I worked up today. This evil minstrel has tremendous combat abilities due to his draconic heritage. He has devastating critical, improved knockdown to create sneak attacks (+5d6), an epic vrock servant to assist in combat, a Taunt skill check of 50, full Spellcraft, Tumble, Discipline, and Use Magic Device skills. In addition, he has access to 4 levels of Bard spells for pre-combat buffing. In addition to arcane spells, he has the bardic Curse Song which can be used at the same time as his Bard Song.
His naked AC is 24, he rolled 401 hit points, and he has 4 attacks per round (unhasted). With a mundane greatsword his AB is 42/37/32/27.
Race: Human, Alignment: Evil
Stats (start) Str 16 (34) Dex 10 Con 14 Int 14 Wis 8 Cha 14
AC 24 HP 401 BA 27 AB: 42/37/32/27 Fort Save 28 Reflex Save 22 Will Save 24 Skills: Max: Taunt, Tumble, UMD, Discipline, Spellcraft, Perform: 21, Lore 50
Edited By griphook on 06/02/05 14:31
The image of a jester with wings disturbs me....
Still, nice build.
I was curious if you could explain to me the usefulness of the Taunt skill. In the single-player game, it was a good way to be evil while maintaining a good alignment... but otherwise I didn't see much use for it.
Quote: Posted 01/01/05 01:47:10 (GMT) -- Xeroyne
I was curious if you could explain to me the usefulness of the Taunt skill. In the single-player game, it was a good way to be evil while maintaining a good alignment... but otherwise I didn't see much use for it.
Xeroyne,
Here's the skill description from the NWN Grimoire:
"Taunt is used to provoke an enemy into dropping his guard for a short time.
The DC is a concentration check made by the target against the character’s Taunt skill roll. It is considered an attack. If the taunt is successful, the opponent suffers an Armor Class penalty equal to the difference between the Taunt roll and the defender’s roll (to a max of a -6 penalty) for 5 rounds. The target will also suffer a 30% chance of spell failure, if they don’t resist the taunt."
I put in bold what I consider the beauty of Taunt - the ability to lower the opponent's AC by 6. This is very useful against tough bosses or opponents. I like to Taunt, then follow with an Improved Knockdown, then a few Sneak Attacks....then rinse & repeat!
Taunt + Curse Song + Bard Song effectively greatly increases the AB of the Black Jester during combat.
Kaliban
why get divine might? your charisma is so low....
Ack! I just noticed I neglected to update the ending stats with the RDD bonuses:
Str 34 Dex 10 Con 16 Int 16 Wis 8 Cha 16
So his base Charisma is 16 (after the 10 RDD levels at character level 26). Plus Eagle's Splendor plus any Charisma-boosting items worn.
Kaliban _________________ "Where there is life, there is hope." - Grover
Edited By Kaliban99 on 05/26/05 20:42
i love this build against good characters for PvP. only suggestions i would change are to max out str and lower dex to 8. int only needs to be 12. you dont need if you lvl like this you should will be able to max out your skill points and get rid of having such a high lore, with me its useless with potions of lore to buy.
(on my server they really dont allow you to stack skill points so i figured if you save no more then 10 and space them out you might be able to get away with it)
bard-5 lvls (max out tumble, taunt, perform) rdd-4 lvls (max out discipline and spellcraft) blackguard-1 lvl (max out taunt, discipline) you'l need this class to pick up new feats bard-1 lvl (max out tumble, taunt, perform again) rdd-5 lvls (max out disciple and spellcraft)
bard 6/rdd 10/blackguard 1 now. youll have +2 bonus to int. and thus maxing your potential int bonus for more skill points.
take the last 4 lvls in blackguard before epic, and you'll have 4 attacks per round. although if you might get higher saves if you take blackguard at an early lvl and bipass more skill points from the rdd int bonus, but thats to much to figure out.
i would take out lingering song, toughness, improve KD, and replace with expertise and 2 epic str's. with the str so high as it is, you'll still be able to KD anything. i would also take out epic servant which completely sucks on most mods.
if you stagger every bard lvl with 2 blackguard lvls towards the end of the build you can then choose epic skill taunt for blackguard at like lvl 38 or 39 instead of the servant. then at lvl 40 bard, you can take epic skill tumble to grab another +2ac. you'll have killer ac, i think i got as high as 60-70.
to me, this is the best uber build you can make with balance. you get tons of offense and tons of defense.
i love this build against good characters for PvP. only suggestions i would change are to max out str and lower dex to 8. int only needs to be 12. if you lvl like this you should will be able to max out your skill points and get rid of having such a high lore with to me is useless with potions of lore.
You miss the point. This is not a completely min-maxed PvP build. It's a PvM build and intended to be a bit more rounded than min-maxed.
Besides, lowering DEX to 8 only frees up 2 points. Raising STR to 18 at start costs 6 points. You wouldn't free up enough even with 12 INT to raise STR to 18.
Quote: (on my server they really dont allow you to stack skill points so i figured if you save no more then 10 and space them out)
bard-5 lvls (max out tumble, taunt, perform) rdd-5 lvls (max out discipline and spellcraft) bard-1 lvl (max out tumble, taunt, perform again) rdd-5 lvls (max out disciple and spellcraft) now you have +2 bonus to int. more skill points
i would take out lingering song and toughness and replace with expertise and improve expertise. i would also take out epic servant which completely sucks on most mods. if you make your last lvl bard you can then choose epic skill focus for blackguard at like lvl 38 or 39 instead of the servant. then with the last feat you can take epic skill focus tumble to grab another +2ac.
Builds posted here aren't geared towards a specific mod or PW, they're intended to be shown as a finished build concept. Of course, you're free to tweak it to be more effective in your playing environment.
And once again: the AC boost from Tumble only considers your base ranks (actual skill points invested), not your modified ranks (either through DEX or feats). Epic Skill Focus in Tumble will not raise your AC. _________________ Wave upon wave of demented avengers marched cheerfully out of obscurity into the dream...
oh ya for got, take con at 12 instead of 14 at start. to me this is one of the best builds in game. i felt i had to max its potential. you dont need dex caues you wear full plate when taking blackguard and use cats grace for the extra dex bonus you lose.
hmm no ac bonus for epic tumble huh, ill have to check that one out. well even then, if you can grab an extra feat and get rid of that servant and perhaps take epic prowess you'd be in really really really great shape.
Edited By Bad213Boy on 10/19/05 21:57
Nice to see some interest in an old (old!) build of mine.
bard-5 lvls (max out tumble, taunt, perform) rdd-4 lvls (max out discipline and spellcraft) blackguard-1 lvl (max out taunt, discipline) you'l need this class to pick up new feats bard-1 lvl (max out tumble, taunt, perform again) rdd-5 lvls (max out disciple and spellcraft)
bard 6/rdd 10/blackguard 1 now. youll have +2 bonus to int. and thus maxing your potential int bonus for more skill points.
take the last 4 lvls in blackguard before epic
If I were to build this today I'd do it differently. One thing I wanted to point out is your recommended leveling scheme costs you AB. Specifically, taking 10 levels of RDD pre-epic is going to cost you. Since RDD is on the 3/4 schedule, you should stick with 4 or 8 levels of RDD pre-epic. Same with Bard. Taking anything other than 4, 8, or 12 levels of these classes pre-epic permanently handicaps your AB.
Also, your math doesn't add up. You say go Bard 6/RDD 10/BG 1, then "take the last 4 levels in BG levels before epic" - that's 21 levels.
Quote: bard-5 lvls (max out tumble, taunt, perform) rdd-4 lvls (max out discipline and spellcraft) blackguard-1 lvl (max out taunt, discipline) you'l need this class to pick up new feats bard-1 lvl (max out tumble, taunt, perform again) rdd-5 lvls (max out disciple and spellcraft)
bard 6/rdd 10/blackguard 1 now
No. I count that as Bard 6/RDD 9/BG 1.
Thanks for the input and the suggestions. Nice for people to have options.
Kaliban. _________________ What I'm reading now: The White Spider by Heinrich Harrer.
If I were to build this today I'd do it differently.
What I find amusing in that statement is that I say that about every build I've ever made. _________________ Got Hommlet? World of Greyhawk Action Server (with 1/2 price ales on Mondays!)
If I were to build this today I'd do it differently.
What I find amusing in that statement is that I say that about every build I've ever made.
Ain't that the truth!
As to what changes I'd make: 1. I no longer play (or build) Dev. Crit. characters, so I'd drop Great Cleave, Over. Crit and Dev. Crit. 2. I'd drop Epic Vrock because I haven't found it very useful without buffs. 3. I'd probably go something like this:
Stats (start/finish) Str 16/38 Dex 10 Con 14/16 Int 14/16 Wis 8 Cha 14/16
Okay, I want to know how you managed that BG bonus feat, 'cause I want to use it too! _________________ Wave upon wave of demented avengers marched cheerfully out of obscurity into the dream...
Quote: Posted 10/21/05 03:48:05 (GMT) -- Cinnabar Din
