This build's idea is to get a whole lot of "make the saving throw or die" abilities in a small amount of time. Combining Death attack and Devastating Critical with high DC's for both of them does exactly this.
PvP. I have only tested it in a little bit of PvM but the build seems most applicable to PvP. Straight level 40 PvP Perhaps playable from 1-40, but I haven't tried that so I wouldn't know for sure.
Skills Discipline 21, Heal 18, Hide 43, Move Silently 43, Set Trap 43, Tumble 40, Use Magic Device 43
HP 218 (see correction to build below.)
AC 20 (in hide armor 23, can also use large shield if necessary.)
AB 37 with dual kukris 38
Saves
Fort 19 Reflex 24 Will 16
Death attack 17d6 DC 41 Devastating Critical 15-20/x2 DC 40
So there you have it. To start things off, I will make the first correction. Replace Mobility with Toughness. I just don't want to redo the build right now.
He has ultra-low defence so he must HIPS and then strike like a maniac. True seeing is the enemy here. An interesting thing to do with this build is to turn on ultravision from his single ranger spell slot and then cast darkness. Since he can see through his own darkness spell and the enemy can't, he can issue death attack after death attack, as the enemy will be unable to initiate combat. It seemed to work with me.
I have not tried this, but if he is hasted to 7 attacks, he should get 3 attacks in the first flurry and so 3 death attacks. I am pretty sure this should work.
Edited By griphook on 01/28/06 23:33
I would take this char and use bow instead. All you need is that DC to hit and if it doesn't - well let's just say that standing melee with a stronger opponent isn't what you wanted. _________________ Be realistic...
Hail, and well met. Welcome to the Epic Guild. I have a few comments and questions.
You stated that it's a level 40 build for PvM. Are there a lot of such environments? I thought most Lvl 40 environs were PvP. In which case, I'm not sure if this build cuts the mustard PvP wise. And either way, Dev Crit is pretty much disabled anywhere you go these days.
I see four major weaknesses:
1. Low Hit Points: in fact, so low, that my SC V builds get more Hit Points than this. With no Evasion, he is a sitting duck for casters, Dragons, and anything that makes big booms.
2. Low AC: I'm not sure how much of this can be compensated with +6 gear, but his starting combat AC with no magic gear is low. His AC will be about 7-10 points behind his counterparts.
3. Mediocre AB: 38 for dualwielding is okay, and pretty acceptable in most PvM environments. I'm just worried about WF and EWF not coming until Lvl36 and 39. Would it be high enough for PvP? Probably not.
4. Low Saves: Yet another hole in his defenses. No Evasion, Improved Evasion, Defensive Roll, Slippery Mind, Immunties, Resistances, etc....
5. Low Discipline: Bad guys definitely attempt Knockdowns in PvM. Coupled with low AC, life doesn't look too good.
Strengths:
1. UMD: this is your lifeblood. Drink deep from its cup.
2. Improved Invis: Nigh Undispellable. And excellent duration.
3. HiPS: One'll have to exploit the hell out of it here. And even though it comes early in the build, I'm not sure if it adds to the playability due to the Stealth scores being subpar until Epic SFs are taken.
Summary: You added that you wanted to drop Mobility for Toughness. You can't. It's a prereq for SD. 1 more level of Ranger and one more level of SD would go a long way in this build. Taking Ranger 10 in Epic would net you a bonus feat (Epic Prowess or EWF) and allow you to top out Discipline. 1 more level of SD will give you Evasion. You lose 2d6 sneak and 2 DC on your DA, but what is gained is far more valuable.
Also, even starting with a 17 Strength would make all the difference. You put 1 point into Wisdom and immediately gain +1 Will Save, a bonus 1st lvl Ranger spell, and gain a 2nd level spell if you took Ranger10. Then putting 2 points into Int would get you 43 more skill points (now you complete your Discipline and take a few other utility skills), and raise your DA DC by 1. So, if you dropped 2 Assn levels, you would only lose 1 net DC.
Quote: Posted 01/07/06 11:09:02 (GMT) -- Dark Centurion ... So there you have it. To start things off, I will make the first correction. Replace Mobility with Toughness. I just don't want to redo the build right now. ...
You will not qualify for SD if you do that _________________ Dilegua notte Tramontate stelle Tramontate stelle All'alba vinceṛ Vinceṛ Vinceṛ
Edited By Kail Pendragon on 01/07/06 15:17
Perhaps taking another SD level (for Evasion) and another ranger level late (for discipline and the bonus feat) would make the char more survivable.
Also at least at the moment (1.66) Improved Sneak Attack feats can be taken by assassins but without any rogue/blackguard sneack attack feats the additional damage is not applied. So no reason to take the feats. Might be fixed in later patch of course. _________________ Character Build Calculator(works with Excel, Open Office) 2.83: updated to NWN 1.69.
Griz, please don't cuss. You make, however, some good points for his survival. Sorry about the mobility feat problem. I made that build a while ago so I must have taken that prerequisite for shadow dancer then. Looking back on it when I posted made me forget it was a prereq and dump it for toughness. Thank you for pointing that out. Who said he was for PvM? I said I tested it in some PvM. He is MADE for PvP. The idea is to get about six "Make the fortitude save or die" attacks in a single round. If they are paralysed or dead immediately as the fight starts, they won't be using spells or improved knockdown. The idea is to kill them before the player on the other end can react with anything more than computer controlled attacks.
Thank you for the defence corrections. I just wanted to clear that attack stuff up.
Add to previous post ... Thank you Kamiryn for the ISA knowledge. I figured that ISA would simply add to my death attack. Apparently, that is wrong. I heard there was some trouble with that feat.
Personally, I would suggest replacing the two ISA's with Great Dexterity two and three, as the plus 3 bonus from Dex would still work with hide armor.
Someone else suggested here that I use a bow instead. I suppose that would be safer, but he would have to major in dex and str to get devastating critical on a bow.
Although, I did hear that throwing axes use str as the damage modifier if I recall correctly. Wishful thinking perhaps, but do their AB increase with strength or dexterity?
Edited By Dark Centurion on 01/07/06 22:09
Quote: Posted 01/07/06 22:09:07 (GMT) -- Dark Centurion
Although, I did hear that throwing axes use str as the damage modifier if I recall correctly. Wishful thinking perhaps, but do their AB increase with strength or dexterity?
All ranged weapons use DEX for attack modifier.
That's what I thought. No ranged for this guy. Of course, I would encourage people to use the concept of this build in different ways. Perhaps one day, we will get a devastating critical/death attack/ranged using character. If it hasn't been already done. Which it probably has.
I would advice revising your starting stats, in addition to the level split above.
This would make for a better end result. STR 16 DEX 14 CON 12 Int 14 WIS 12 CHA 8
Much more efficient, all saves are +1, and you get cats grace at ranger lvl 10, 43 skill points, 40 hp's. It costs you 1 AB, damage and Dev crit DC. Also, heed the dwarflords advice on assassins, he's the assassin King.
I think you can still take Dev crit when you do. Also, you are on to something, just needed a little advice.
