Karesh crept forward, senses straining, eyes focused on the hunting camp in the hollow before him. His right hand gripped the shaft of his great axe, it's long, scarred shaft giving off sheen from the moonlight. He glanced at the weapon - how many times had he gone into battle with his mighty fists gripping that axe? How many foes had fallen before his fierce skill with the blade? He gave a cold chuckle as the countless faces of his victims briefly passed before him. But then he grunted and shook the shaggy black mane from his face as he remembered why he was here. Why his Wolfsfang clansmen had ridden with him for a week, nearly killing their horses as they rode fast and far from their homes. Three of his men had fallen to the giant steppe wolves, screaming as their throats were torn out. It was all in pursuit of her: the one known as the The Siren. Karesh paused as his mind shot back to the day that triggered this hunt...
It was on a routine patrol of his clan's borders when there had been a clash at a river ford. Karesh and his men had surprised a group of enemy riders breaking camp. The Wolfsfang riders rode down upon the surprised intruders, expecting an easy skirmish. But events turned out in a different manner and Karesh went down, an arrow in his shoulder. By the time he got to his feet, cursing the odds, the fight was over. His clan had won, but had paid a deadly price. Four men were mortally wounded - one was his younger brother. A handful of the opponents had managed to escape, among them their leader, The Siren. That day Karesh swore to avenge his brother's death by one day mounting the head of The Siren on a spear in his camp and parading it for all to see.
He snapped back to the present as he heard his lieutenant hissing behind him, wondering why the delay? Karesh curtly signaled to have his men sweep in and to commence the attack.
The Wolsfang men crept down towards The Siren's camp slowly and stealthily. A horse neighed and stomped somewhere in the camp. Karesh glanced around, wary now. His men were close enough for the final charge, for the bloodthirsty screams that would give an advantage over the sleeping, unsuspecting victims. He grinned, a fierce wolf's grin. He glanced around to make sure all was as it should be, stood, raised his axe and drew in a great breath to give the shout that would trigger the attack.
But suddenly the quiet embers of the campfire erupted in a great blaze and a chilling cry roared from a shadowy figure behind the fire. Karesh fell back chocking and blinking fiercely at the bright light. By the old Gods! It was her! The Siren was prepared for them and was springing a trap on them! As her cries washed over the attackers they seemed to reverberate back from the walls of the hollow. She stepped forward into the glow of the fire, clad in the armor showing her ties to the southern cities, moonlight and firelight flickering off the surface of her plate mail and tower shield in a macabre crimson and silver dance. She began chanting and her axe lit up with an arcane aura. Her voice shifted to an uncanny wail and Karesh felt the hairs on his neck rise and he felt his courage leak away. Suddenly he felt a wet warmth trickle down his legs and thought briefly he had taken another arrow, a mortal shot from which he would slowly and painfully bleed to death. Then he realized that it wasn't blood running down his legs. As he gathered his tattered will and raised his axe, he wryly thought at least his clan would never know he had wet his britches in battle and no dishonor would fall on his family. Then he swallowed grimly and stepped down to meet The Siren and the end of his days.
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Playable from level 1 - 40 PvM
The Siren of the Steppes (Bard 12/Barbarian 20/Champion of Torm 8)
The inspiration for this build was an idea to blend the songs and spells of a Bard with the Terrifying Rage of a Barbarian. CoT was built in for 1. Bonus Feats, and 2. Bonuses to Saves.
Comments, criticism, questions and suggestions welcome.
Kaliban
The Siren of the Steppes Classes: Bard 12/Barb 20/CoT 8 Race: Human Alignment: Non-Evil
Stats (start/finish) Str 16/30 Dex 10 Con 14 Int 14 Wis 8 Cha 14
AC 31 Max HP 536 BA 29 No Buff AB: 43/38/33/28 Raging AB: 46/41/36/31 Raging + Bard Song AB: 48/43/38/33 Saves: Fort 28/Reflex 25/Will 21 Skills: Max: Intimidate, Discipline, Taunt, Spellcraft, Tumble, Perform 16 (18) plus 18 points _________________ This space for rent
Edited By griphook on 09/30/05 18:41
Good story, a little different. One thing springs to mind, that singing Rager is like the battlerager's of good old AD&D. But the Battleragers are Dwarves, so.... But good. nice amount of self buffs, in conjunction with all your natural melee prowess.
I personally would go with 16 Bard/16 Barbarian and throw Curse Song in there somewhere. Looks fine, though ^^
EDIT: I guess double-u tee eff is too harsh ;x _________________ Now is my day's work done; I'll take good breath: Rest, sword; thou hast thy fill of blood and death.
I'll confirm that later and ask Griphook to edit it in to the original post at the top of the thread.
Kaliban. _________________ This space for rent
Edited By Kaliban99 on 09/26/05 15:57
Another nice build, Kaliban. I enjoyed the story as well.
It's nice to see a smattering of new barbarian builds being published...I've always thought that they were a little under-represented on these boards. Look for a rather odd combination of classes (including barbarian) from me soon! _________________ Favorite PW's: Hall of the Worlds, Higher Ground, World of Iniquity.
I personally would go with 16 Bard/16 Barbarian and throw Curse Song in there somewhere. Looks fine, though ^^
Like this you mean Click Here .
Nice build though; personally I like to have 11, 16 or 20 bard levels.
mphacon, I have to apologize! I did a search (tip o' the hat to pulse cap) for this build and couldn't find one, so thought I had rights to it!
mphacon, I have to apologize! I did a search (tip o' the hat to pulse cap) for this build and couldn't find one, so thought I had rights to it!
Chsmi, Thank you.
Kaliban
No apology necessary, they have slighly different advantages over each other. I don't think that mine is on the updated build list yet, so that's why the search (you gotta love that) didn't pick it up.
Kal, this is a long overdue comment - apologies. Nice build. I enjoyed the story as well, good job. It really adds something to the builds (IMHO) when there's a story posted with them. _________________ It's rogue, dammit, ROGUE!!!
Thank you sir!
I agree, it adds much more depth and flavor to the builds when there is an introductory story.
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Thank you sir!