Playable all the long road to Hill 40! That means PvM. And she is designed to PvP!
The adventurer's troupe felt rested and safe, their quest had been an outstanding success. The darkskinned people had been ripe for picking, and their caravan transporting the Hunter's Idol had not been well enough guarded. They had no casters of their own to protect against Holgrom the wizard, and their arms and armor were primitive at best. The adventuring group had been pleasantly surprised that they had also found quite a nice amount of jewels and gems in addition to the Hunter's Idol made from pure gold.
It was early morning and they were breaking camp. Holgrom sat and looked over his spells, wondering which to commit to memory. Elvin, the groups ranger, was on the lookout since his senses were the keenest. The two warriors had donned their armor and were readying the horses for the trip home.
Suddenly, seeming to just appear from a shadow, a large dark skinned female appeared. She was wielding two primitive axes, but to deadly effect. Before any of them could intervene she had struck Holgrom, and he seemed completely paralyzed by the blow. Another one to the head and he went down. Elvin was the quickest to react and was upon her almost immediately, but to late for Holgrom. They traded blows a little while, but she seemed able to anticipate most of his moves and blows, and seemed to know exactly how to swing to make her strikes count the most. She had to take him fast though, before the warriors could reach them. She made a couple of desperate strikes to make him concentrate on avoiding her weapons, and then delivered a kick right where it hurts. He crouched forward in pain, exposing his neck. One more blow and two down, two to go.
Even in their heavy armor, the last two adversaries had almost closed the distance. Just before they got within range she finished a spell, disappearing from sight. They threw a few punches were she had been, but to no avail. They began scanning the ground, for any sign of her whereabouts. The next thing they heard was another spell, and before they reached her voice a deep Darkness surrounded them.
They were completely blind and were striking wildly, hoping to get lucky. Elaysa, who had extensive training in fighting most civilized races, could easily dispose them in the magical darkness.
"This treasures belong to my people, I believe." She stated, looking towards the saddlebags. "With some luck all of you are still alive, and must be punished by my tribe's elders for your theft. I am the champion of the Heddmark Tribe. And your worst nightmare." The tall and powerfully built female bandaged their deadliest wounds, and tied them up real good. She loaded them and their gear on to the horses, and started the journey home.
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This was a difficult build. Aiming to be a good PvP build for a ranger. My goal was to get Imp invis and Bane of Enemies as early as possibly, in which i think i succeeded. The lvl mix was the worst part. I ended up without to good a Death attack, DC 28. I needeed Ranger 21, and the Ranger lvl's from 23-26 just gave me to many feats to drop. Ranger and assassin give a great synergy, namely Darkness and Ultravision, Cats grace, stealth skills. A third class could have been nice, but since I feel both classes are almost to low I dont think its worth it.
Human, NE. Female felt right for some unknown reason.
AB mundane handaxe 42/37/32/27-40/35/30/25/40/35 dual-wielding, add another two vs FE's. Dmg: 1d6+10(19-20/x3)+7d6 sneak. Another 6+2d6 vs FE's. Saving throws. Fort 22 Will 20 Ref 23 + another 3 vs spells.
Has good enough stealth abilities to Stealth in heavy armor, but remember that she can only dual wield in light or no armor. She is somewhat adaptable. She can cast Darkness and Ultravision, Has UMD galore to use scrolls and monk items. She has Cats grace as a Ranger to help her DEX if needed. IKD is good to have to. And on top of that, she really isn't depending so much on her sneaks anyway, packing a real punch without it. With a spear+5 and +12 to strength her damage will be 1d6+35+2d6 vs FE's.
A wekness in this build is the saves. All medium, so save boosters will do a lot. And protect yourself with Darkness and imp-invis. Her Death attack DC is a bit low, but can be useful vs those low fortitude enemies. And no matter what, they can roll 1! But in this build it is a bonus, nothing else.
You could go Dwarf and net 40 hp's, traded in for Luck of Heroes, but you would lose 43 skill points, which she really can't afford. I would have liked a better AB, but have no Idea how. Her AC is medium+. Damage is good. Stealth is good. There is a thin balance as to how may FE's you want in place of Feats. ESF: listen would be nice. I chose handaxes as they fit the concept nice. x3 crit is nice, but short swords would work to, but seems more wrong from an rp-perspective. Hope the guild likes this girl, I certainly enjoyed it, but if any of you can tweak it for me, that would be nice.
I think this girl is capable of showing the anti-assassins a few nasty tricks to, being as much a warrior as a sneaker.
Elvin was the quickest to react and was upon her almost immediately, but to late for Holgrom. They traded blows a little while, but she seemed able to anticipate most of his moves and blows, and seemed to know exactly how to swing to make her strikes count the most. She had to take him fast though, before the warriors could reach them. She made a couple of desperate strikes to make him concentrate on avoiding her weapons, and then delivered a kick right where it hurts. He crouched forward in pain, exposing his neck. One more blow and two down, two to go.
...
I think this girl is capable of showing the anti-assassins a few nasty tricks to, being as much a warrior as a sneaker.
first off nice story. really puts a lot of us who are not very good at that part of char building to shame. i must say though that i was a little sad to hear the ranger go down, although it did take longer than the others.
second, i think that this char will have a hard time sneaking in full plate, even with ranger spells. at least, most of the anti-assassin bulds will see through her stealth (or perhaps hear through it, as in the case of some builds). also, i would include the AC with light armor or lower, since that is what she needs to wear to dual wield. chain shirt doesn't count as light, does it? if so, thean ignore that idea.
nifty though. very dark and powerful. although since i don't play assassins, take that with some salt. grizz or cin might be better judges, however.
-c _________________ Et Earello Endorenna utulien. Sinome maruvan ar Hildinyar tenn' Ambar-metta.
Thanks Christian, and I think you are right about the Chain Shirt. Forget that part, subtract 1 AC, since that will make it Studded leather. Chain Shirt is light in PnP, I have made that mistake before to..... I love Rangers to, but he had to go, lol. To make the story short enough. And as for stealthing vs anti assassin's, thats the beauty of this big, bad girl. She doesn't need to stealth. Either Darkness, IKD(They have good discipline ) or just play the mad slasher! Her main strength is not stealth, sneak or Death attack. They are just bonuses when usable.
Good story! I was happy to see the heathens take the day
The only suggestion I can make right now is to sprinkle in your first three Assassin levels, rather than take them in a group. This would permit you to get Imp. Two Weapon fighting a bit earlier. Then you could take a bucketload of Assassin levels to even them up.
As for a third class, I must have cheese on my mind tonight (I had a nice Shiraz and pasta for dinner, so perhaps that's why?) but the first choice that came to mind is Shadow Dancer. You could go Ranger 22/SD 1/Assassin 17 as a HIPS-abusing option
I like that you've gone Strength-based rather than Dex-based. I'm more fond of burly Rangers myself and Grizz has demonstrated recently how functional Strength-based Assassins can be.
Since you didn't make any mention of similar builds, I assume this is a unique class combo - nice job!
I would have liked a better AB, but have no Idea how.
Keep in mind that this is still a pretty good AB. Remember, if we assume that 30 Str/Dex is about the highest you can reasonably get your character, and if your pure melee BAB all the way with WF/EWF/Epic Prowess, the most you can get is 44.
This is good design and concept. What I like about her is that pre-epic, her Death Attack DC is just as good as more dedicated Assassin builds, and makes her more playable and likeable. The DC advantage begins to disappear after Lvl24, but that's really not the point of the build. It just makes the pre-epic portion of this character a lot of fun. _________________ Got Hommlet? World of Greyhawk Action Server (with 1/2 price ales on Mondays!)
The only suggestion I can make right now is to sprinkle in your first three Assassin levels, rather than take them in a group. This would permit you to get Imp. Two Weapon fighting a bit earlier. Then you could take a bucketload of Assassin levels to even them up.
Yeah, but it increases the Death attack and gives me two Sneak dice, which is a good bonus, but yeah, can get an extra attack two lvl's earlier. That is also a nice bonus. >)
Quote: You could go Ranger 22/SD 1/Assassin 17 as a HIPS-abusing option
Cheesedancer and this combo would cost her 3 epic ranger feats, and two pre-epic feats to take Dodge and mobility. It is not worth it IMO. 25/1/14 would perhaps work, but it will still cost three feats.
Quote: Since you didn't make any mention of similar builds, I assume this is a unique class combo - nice job!
Kaliban
Thanks. There are other builds including both ranger/assassin's and -/rogues, but they are not similar, and they are 3-classed and dex-based.
GRIZZ: Thanks for pointing that out. The bad girl just got a little bit more bad.
(Prevents attack of opportunity) _________________ Got Hommlet? World of Greyhawk Action Server (with 1/2 price ales on Mondays!)
Ariel, Ookla, RIDE!
Never trust a knife-wielding Assassin who says "I got your back"! _________________ It's rogue, dammit, ROGUE!!!
Quote: Posted 09/22/05 14:07:40 (GMT) -- Cinnabar Din
Never trust a knife-wielding Assassin who says "I got your back"!
Hey! I'm no common brigand. What do you take me for, one of those Bard Scoundrel types?
Unless I've signed a contract, or did a spit-and-shake, your back is safe with me. _________________ Got Hommlet? World of Greyhawk Action Server (with 1/2 price ales on Mondays!)
to hear the ranger go down, although it did take longer than the others. 
) or just play the mad slasher! Her main strength is not stealth, sneak or Death attack. They are just bonuses when usable.
Good story! I was happy to see the heathens take the day 
