This char is mainly geared toward doing party battles, either against another PC party or monsters. Though he will do well enough on his own against most. He does mature late. However he is playable from 1 to 40. Play him pre-epic like you would normal barb or fighter with bit of bard buff.
Race: Human Alignment: Chaotic Neutral or any non-lawful
Starting
Str 15 Dex 10 Con 14 Wis 08 Int 14 Cha 15 Raise Str except for the last one at lvl 40, raise Cha there.
AB 53/48/43/38 (Halberd) 1d10+19, +5Phys, +2Slash, +3Bludgeoning (18-20/x3), +2d6 on Crit
Saves Fort 27 Reflex 24 Will 25
Wait there's more. Curse song, Taunt and Rage will detract from your opponent. Terrifying rage's DC is calculated by Intimidate + 1d10. So, they have to make a Will save against DC of 59to68, or get -2 to AB and Saves. Make opposed check against 59 taunt, or suffer max AC penalty of 6.
Although his Bard song is at lvl 22, his Curse song will be at lvl 23 thanks to boost to Perform from Bard song. So -5 to AC, -2 to AB, -3 to Dmg, -3 Fort, -2 Will, -2 Refl, -34 HP and -11 to skills! Remember, rage and songs effect multiple opponents/allies. He will do well enough on his own, but he will shine most in party.
This char is really rigid on progression, but I'm still undecided on final skill spread. Any advice to improve this build is welcome. Oh, almost forgot. I'm using halberd, but using great sword may prove more effective.
Chiibo
Where's your 3rd class? _________________ Fanget av begravelsen pines vi av guds godhet ingen flammer, intet hat de hadde rett vi kom til Helvete...
~ Burzum - Hvis Lyset Tar Oss
I would suggest trying to fit 4 Fighter levels in - gives you three more feats, Armor Prof Heavy, allows you to take WS and EWS. perhaps dropping bard to 20 and barb to 16. that way you can still take Lasting Inspiration.
I love the cheese at the end, and the halberd
thats cool
but like the above suggestion, I think you should include a few fighter levels, like at level 1 3 4 and 5
then the rest barb, I might try this out myself
halberd is my favorite weapon
Thanks for the comments.
As for fighter... I have mixed feeling. It will net me more feats, and WS (I'm not too sure on EWS as I've never played any char with fighter lvl in epic). But at cost to skill points (granted it's only 12pts), exp penalty etc. I'll try it out on char builder and see if the benefit warrants it for me. But if you can live with exp penalty, that being worst draw back, it could be great.
Alternately, CoT might help the build... but meh. I'm no fan of that PrC.
Chiibo
You could something as simple as Barbarian 16/Bard 23/Ranger 1 if you want to keep the Epic Bard theme. The Ranger level adds a feat (Epic Prowess) plus Dual-Wield, a Favored Enemy, Trackless Step and the Set Trap, Spot and Search skills, too (and probably something else I can't remember now ). I'd have done that
EDIT: and, of course, if it's taken at level 40 you do not suffer any XP penalty. _________________ Fanget av begravelsen pines vi av guds godhet ingen flammer, intet hat de hadde rett vi kom til Helvete...
I have to agree with Chiibo that it is much more balanced and easier without including fighter levels
...
I like it very much
Curious, I would expect Barbarians to have more HP.....
Hey, what the..... Terrifying Rage's "requirements" said you need Epic Barbarian, but I just checked and you're correct, you do get it without 20 Barbarian levels........
Curious, I would expect Barbarians to have more HP.....
Hey, what the..... Terrifying Rage's "requirements" said you need Epic Barbarian, but I just checked and you're correct, you do get it without 20 Barbarian levels........
Yes, the manual is wrong... again. I was brousing through NWN wiki, when I stumbled on this fact. Requirements are, actually Epic Char, Intimidate 25, and minimum 15 Barbarian level it seems.
Now, I've tested with Fighter levels. It just doesn't do what I want for the build. It ristricts the progression even more than current version. As well as it being impossible to get EWS, Lasting Inspiration and Thundering rage at same time. Over all, fighter levels aren't worth it.
However, if you wish to have few additianl feats, forgo Thundering rage. Taking 3 lvls of Fighter pre-epic. You can take last Fighter lvl at 24 to take both WS and EWS, but make sure to take Epic WS at lvl 21. You also need to take last bard lvl at 39, so that you can take lasting inspiration there.
As for the 1 ranger. TWF, is moot in heavy armor. But other benefits are alright, and you will only lose 1/- DR. Not that this build had much, only 3/- to start with.
DarkInfernoo: Glad you like it. I enjoy playing this one as well.
Curious, I would expect Barbarians to have more HP.....
Don't forget, at 40th level he can almost instantly add 120 hitpoints via Greater Rage, and I believe 34 more via BardSong. With another +6enhancement to Con, we're talking about a bleedin-heart poet with almost 700 hitpoints. _________________ Got Hommlet? World of Greyhawk Action Server (with 1/2 price ales on Mondays!)
Str 15 Dex 10 Con 14 Wis 08 Int 14 Cha 15 Raise Str except for the last one at lvl 40, raise Cha there. Ending
Str 25 Dex 10 Con 14 Wis 08 Int 14 Cha 16
Chiibo
would this not delay getting your level 6 spells until 40 as i thought you needed Charisma on 16 to cast lvl 6 spells.
bgw
True.. Fighter incurs an XP Penalty of 20%, dependent on your build structure. But it does allow you to get Armor Proficiency Heavy for free and a further 3 feats. Timing the 4th Fighter level for Epic (ie. for WS and EWS at the same time) you gain an extra 3 pre-epic feats, potentially.
On the other hand, you could opt for CoT, which does NOT incur and xp penalty, but will give you two more feats.
Below is just an example of what benefits this could bring.
10 Base 01 DEX Modifier (Cat's Grace) 08 Tumble 02 Armor Skin 08 Full Plate 03 Tower Shield 02 Protection from Alignment 05 Bard Song 03 Mage Armor (1 Dodge, 1 Natural, 1 Armor) 04 Haste (4 Dodge) 44
(in Rage of course this drops by 2 points)
Terrifying Rage DC: Unbuffed 46+1d10, Buffed (Bard Song) 54+1d10 Taunt DC: Unbuffed 56, Buffed (Bard Song, Eagle's Splendour) 66 Full 20th Level Bard Song - without need for buffs/ items Extra +8 to saves vs Spells AB increased by 2 points HP increased by 50 points KD, IKD & Blind Fight Curse Song available from 1st level No XP Penalty
Please note that Perform does not need more than 37 ranks to achieve 20th level Bard/ Curse Song.
I would seriously reconsider dropping SF: Perform, particularly from an epic feat.
would this not delay getting your level 6 spells until 40 as i thought you needed Charisma on 16 to cast lvl 6 spells.
bgw
Quite right, it would.
Edited By I...Samphus on 02/21/06 13:28
Quote: Posted 02/21/06 10:22:47 (GMT) -- _bgwells_ would this not delay getting your level 6 spells until 40 as i thought you needed Charisma on 16 to cast lvl 6 spells.
bgw
Yes, absolutely right. I just forgot to mention it in the post. But really, you won't need those slots much. You will miss Energy buffer but others aren't useful. Remember, you will be in plate armor, so combat spells and short term buffs needs to be stilled. Your most important spells are either long term buffs, or lvl 4 or lower short term buffs (stilled).
But I'm working on different version with more bird lvl early to cater to different style of play. That one should get lvl 6 casting at lvl 24, at cost of 1 BAB. But you will end with 26 Str instead of 25. I'll post that one later.
True.. Fighter incurs an XP Penalty of 20%, dependent on your build structure. But it does allow you to get Armor Proficiency Heavy for free and a further 3 feats. Timing the 4th Fighter level for Epic (ie. for WS and EWS at the same time) you gain an extra 3 pre-epic feats, potentially.
Quite right, and I mentioned it too. Though what I forgot to mention was you don't need to take it at lvl 24 (27,30,33... will do the same). But after testing, I found benefits were not too appealing to me.
Quote: On the other hand, you could opt for CoT, which does NOT incur and xp penalty, but will give you two more feats.
I know. Also made passing mention of CoT in my 2nd post.
Quote: Below is just an example of what benefits this could bring. (snip)
Solid build. Very good alternative build for those that have no qualm about CoT PrC.
I needed to take Skill Focus (perform) in epic lvl as my build is very tight on feats. I just couldn't bring myself to give up nice Thundering rage. Thanks for the imput, very much appreciated.
Oh, almost forgot. I'm using halberd, but using great sword may prove more effective.
). I'd have done that 
I was brousing through NWN wiki, when I stumbled on this fact. Requirements are, actually Epic Char, Intimidate 25, and minimum 15 Barbarian level it seems.