Playable in PvE 1-40.

Elf, Lawful Evil

Str 10
Dex 18
Con 12
Int 12
Wis 10
Cha 14

1 Mon (1): Dodge
2 Mon (2):
3 Mon (3): Weapon Finesse
4 Mon (4): +1 dex
5 Mon (5):
6 Mon (6): Mobility
7 Mon (7):
8 SD (1): +1 dex
9 SD (2): Weapon Focus (Unarmed Strike)%
10 BG (1):
11 BG (2):
12 BG (3): +1 dex, Blind-Fight
13 BG (4):
14 BG (5):
15 BG (6): Toughness
16 BG (7): +1 dex
17 Mon (8):
18 SD (3): Iron Will*
19 SD (4):
20 BG (8): +1 dex
21 SD (5): Epic Weapon Focus (Unarmed Strike)
22 Mon (9):
23 Mon (10):
24 Mon (11): +1 dex, Great Dex 1
25 BG (9):
26 BG (10):
27 Mon (12): Epic Dodge
28 BG (11): +1 dex
29 BG (12):
30 BG (13): Great Dex 2, Epic Prowess+
31 Mon (13):
32 Mon (14): +1 dex
33 Mon (15): Great Dex 3
34 Mon (16):
35 BG (14):
36 BG (15): +1 dex, Great Dex 4
37 Mon (17):
38 Mon (18):
39 BG (16): Epic Fiendish Servant+, Armor Skin*
40 Mon (19): +1 dex

% - Focus is taken in unarmed for medium and low magic worlds and power at level 40. In worlds where +7 or better kamas are available, take kama focus. If you want to be more easily playable and can find magic kamas while you level up, use kamas also.
* - Optional, but recommended feat
+ - Blackguard Epic Bonus Feat

Skills - Discipline, Tumble, Move Silently, Hide, Taunt.

Ending Vitals:
32 Dex

AC 34 naked
432 Max Hp
Fort 26, Reflex 35, Will 23

+42 AB, monk unarmed progression
1d20 fist damage plus 5d6 sneak attack

FAQ:
Q: What's this build's strong points?
A: It's a dex monk build with epic dodge and empty body and a high naked AC, making it very well defended against physical attacks. It gets 5d6 sneak attacks to give its offense some oomph, but unlike many epic dodge dex monks it's got a pretty high AB - and one of the better epic summons on top of that.

So the "gimmick" of this build, as it were, is the extra AB.

Q: Why elf? Can't I make this a dwarf or a human?
A: Yes, your dex will be two points lower at the start, but you would also gain in the hitpoints area. However, that would require you to put off epic dodge until later in the build, and you'll lose a point of AC and AB.

So in short, other races will work but this is one of the few monk builds where Elf actually has a very reasonable powergaming reason to be used, so I used it.

Q: This character relies on sneak attacks for offense. What ways can I generate sneak attacks with it?
A: You've got an epic vrock summon, so you can use it to distract enemies while you sneak attack them. Since you don't have any buffing capability, however, the vrock might not last long. You also have the shadowdancer shadow summon to use as a distraction tank.

You have monk improved knockdown, and using it on a Taunted enemy should work reliably.

Finally, you have HIPS. HIPSing repeatedly to get sneak attacks is often considered cheesey, but hey, bad guys don't fight fair!

Q: Why 19 monk levels? Why not 18 or 20?
A: I wanted at least 18 monk levels for Empty Body. 20 would have been nice in order to get immunity to mind spells, as the build's will save isn't anything to write home about (though you do benefit from Still Mind). However taking 20 monk levels would have required dropping a level of blackguard, which would have lost 1d6 sneak attack damage and an epic bonus feat (either epic fiend or armor skin).

I felt that the character's damage potential really needed the sneak attack bonus damage, and the extra feat was a good side effect. Mind immunity items or clarity potions can help you and would be available much earlier than the 20th monk level anyway.

Q: Why 14 charisma?
A: Because of Dark Grace, the blackguard levels add your charisma bonus to your saves. If I left it at 8, you'd have -1 to saves. If you would like an even higher AC, you can keep your will save the same at the cost of 2 in your reflex and fortitude saves and put those two points into wisdom. Then you'd have 36 AC.

You could end up with a +2 higher fort save then, with the same AC if you change armor skin to Epic Fortitude.

It really depends on what you want... you don't need the extra points in your reflex save, I went with a charisma bonus to pump up my fort and will saves with one stat.

Edited By griphook on 10/30/05 22:42

It was a very unusual day in the glittering Elven treecity of Alaeuil. The King and Queen, and all their court, were for the first time in over a century assembled on the ground at the base of one of the ramps leading up the giant treetrunks that supported their ancient, magic-built city. For some of these elves it was, in fact, their first time on the ground in several human lifetimes.

The reason they were so assembled was kneeling, a slim and pale-skinned elf who was faced away from the regal assemblage at the base of the tree-ramp. Two battlewizards flanked him, their magic channeled into maintaing a glowing barrier that trapped the figure within. Around them were six promising apprentices from the school of wizardry, who were charged with a task they little understood the importance of - maintaining bright Continual Light spells to chase away every last shadow in the area around the imprisoned figure.

The lights were quite necessary, for the prisoner had repeatedly escaped the Royal Guards by melting into the very shadows, disappearing from plain sight then striking again from the darkness. That he was unarmed and unarmored mattered little - he had slaughtered two highly trained, magickally equipped Guardsmen with his bare hands during an attempted prison break and was only recaptured after severely wounding several more. And so the lights were maintained to drive away any shadows around him now, ensuring he could not mount an attempt on the rulers' lives.

"Vael'lyr Ysarni, we pass judgement on you," the King intoned. "Your scheming to usurp the Crystal Throne, a scheme which cost many goodly elves their lives, is at an end. For your treason and murders, for your consorting with fiendish Outsiders, and for your other crimes too numerous to list, you are hereby sentenced to the Unending Exile." The courtiers murmured amongst themselves, for the king was handing down a sentence that had not been used in an eon, a punishment considered worse than death itself to the elves. The criminal was bound magically with a mighty, practically unbreakable Geas that not only prevented him from returning to Alaeuil, but prevented him from entering any elven community at all.

"Your pitiful magic may bind me for a time," Vael'lyr spat defiantly, "But mark my words - I will have my revenge, and your throne, in the end!" The wizards holding his magical bindings in please focused, and pain shot through him. The elf glared at them, staring them down, memorizing their faces for a future vengence that his black heart already plotted.

The Exile spell was known only to those of the direct royal lineage, and was jealously guarded for it helped to ensure their control of the city. So it was that the Queen stepped forward, beginning the incantation. Mystical lights floated around her, sparkles beginning to spiral around the now-outcast prisoner. His scream was enormous as the magical commandments barring Vael'lyr from ever again interacting with elven society were branded into his very soul, the essence of his being on fire with the Queen's power.

The King finalized his judgement, "You are hereby stripped of your holdings, your title, and your name: no longer shall you be called Vael'lyr Ysarni. You are cast out as Vael'lyr Blackheart."

The royal entourage departed then, climbing back up to the treetops. The Blackheart, as he was now named, was forced outside the city's limits then released, and never again could he approach an elven city without an unbearable agony wracking his very life essence. And so he determined to wage a war against all Elfkind from the shadows, even as he fled with his soul on fire from the Queen's magic, forcing him to put more and more distance between himself and the city he still retained ambitions of ruling.

"I'll be back!" He screamed at the city, even as the Exile spell compelled him further away.
_________________
Experience is the mother of good judgement; bad judgement is the father of experience.
Quote: Posted 10/29/05 04:38:51 (GMT) -- Xylophone

...

Finally, you have HIPS. HIPSing repeatedly to get sneak attacks is often considered cheesey, but hey, bad guys don't fight fair!

...

you ARE the bad guy! how much worse than a blackguard does it get? yeesh!

pretty strong char. but wait until someone who knows evil better than i. perhaps they can improve it. decent story too, btw.

-c
_________________
Et Earello Endorenna utulien.
Sinome maruvan ar Hildinyar tenn' Ambar-metta. A bad tree hugger! Nice! Few feats, doesn't get anything extra, but he get what he needs. You have really only 1 lvl to spare, and you used it for monk. It doesn't give you much, but nor does any of the others. Monk is ok.

Loved your story. It brings out what people want with their build to. I think you would have been in trouble when faced with sneak immune creatures, but let's face reality: Almost every setting has monk gloves availible that gives a diversity of elemental damage. Stick and move.

Again: Nice.