My goal with the Stonedeath build was to have a character that could optimize his sneak attack/knockdown damage. I chose the assassin because I've always loved the concept of the death attack. I'm playing with him now on a PvP server and he's doing very well. I usually stay invisible until the mage's shields wear off then I use improved knockdown coupled with death attack to send them to their graves.
With Stonedeath, you're going to want heavy armor, a good tower shield, as much AC gear as you can find (remember, he can wear Monk items such as Sun Soul Boots), rings to boost Intelligence (this raises his Death Attack DC), and various other items to raise his Strength.
Pros: Evasion Can cast those helpful assassin spells 22d6 Death Attack Devastating Critical
Cons: Only 406 hp Needs Improved Expertise to keep up with AC builds
So, anyhow. Check it out and let me know what you think. It looks more like a RP build, but it's pretty sturdy in the arenas. Any suggestions would be much appreciated.
King Harbromm
Edited By griphook on 07/27/05 17:26
Looks good to me. I would suggest taking only 8 Assassin in pre-epic so you can get another AB. You can do so without breaking the build in epic...well, you may lose an improved sneak, but 1AB vs. 1d6 sneak is a no-contest.
For those interested, I would also detail Saves and Skills. _________________ Got Hommlet? World of Greyhawk Action Server (with 1/2 price ales on Mondays!)
Ariel, Ookla, RIDE!
Edited By grizzled_dwarflord on 07/26/05 11:25
Why Monk? You're not using wis ac or the monk attack progression. deflect arrows only works when you're unarmed. using 2 rogue makes more sense to me. you still get evasion and tumble. You gain 1d6 sneak (fits build concept), but lose cleave. (maybe switch out improved knockdown to get cleave... regular knockdown works fine for a dwarf). You can use umd to use monk items anyways, so that is not an issue.
Did I miss something?
edit: noticed that assasin gets umd...
Edited By jjjhhhlll on 07/26/05 15:34
It so happens I was puzzlilng over a DEX version of this build today.
The only problem I see with the build is that it uses Improved Sneak Attack feats which according to a post from a couple of weeks ago, do not work for an Assassin unless the character has taken at least one level of Rogue. This is apparently a bug and not intentional.
Why Monk? You're not using wis ac or the monk attack progression. deflect arrows only works when you're unarmed. using 2 rogue makes more sense to me. you still get evasion and tumble. You gain 1d6 sneak (fits build concept), but lose cleave. (maybe switch out improved knockdown to get cleave... regular knockdown works fine for a dwarf). You can use umd to use monk items anyways, so that is not an issue.
Did I miss something?
edit: noticed that assasin gets umd...
My guess is he wanted to qualify for assassin and net a plus 3 to all his saves.
I've built a Druid/Shifter/Asassain and been offered Improved Sneak as an Asassain bonus feat so I don't think that should be a problem. _________________ Teaching men a lesson in combat etiquette.
I've built a Druid/Shifter/Asassain and been offered Improved Sneak as an Asassain bonus feat so I don't think that should be a problem.
That's not the issue. You can choose it as a feat. It just doesn't work. It's been tested with combat debugging on, and you can tell from the average damage that you are clearly getting the benefit of just the base assassin damage. But, if you add in a single rogue level, all of a sudden all that extra Improved Sneak Attack damage starts getting added in.