Playable from 1-40 PvM build

Vitals
Race: Half-elf
Alignment: True Neutral
Class Spread: Bard (9), Arcane Archer (15), Palemaster (16)

Starting Stats
STR 12 (+1)
DEX 15 (+2)
CON 16 (+3)
INT 12 (+1)
WIS 08 (-1)
CHA 12 (+1)

Final Stats
STR 12 (+1)
DEX 22 (+6)
CON 22 (+6)
INT 12 (+1)
WIS 08 (-1)
CHA 12 (+1)

Feat progression
1(B1): Weaponproficieny: Martial
2(B2): -
3(B3): Weaponfocus: Longbow
4(B4): -
5(B5): -
6(B6): Point blank shot
7(B7): -
8(P1): -
9(P2): Toughness
10(A1): -
11(A2): -
12(A3): Improved Critical: Longbow
13(A4): -
14(A5): -
15(A6): Blind Fighting
16(A7): -
17(A8): -
18(A9): Rapid Shot
19(A10): -
20(B8): -
21(A11): Epic Damage reduction I
22(P3): -
23(P4): -
24(P5): Epic Damage Reduction II
25(P6): -
26(P7): -
27(P8): Epic Damage Reduction III
28(P9): -
29(P10): -
30(P11): Epic Weaponfocus: Longbow
31(P12): -
32(P13): Epic Energy Resistance: Sonic I
33(P14): Armorskin
34(P15): -
35(P16): Epic Spell: Epic Mage Armor
36(A12): Great Dexterity I
37(A13): -
38(A14): Great Dexterity II
39(A15): Great Dexterity III
40(B9): -

Ability Raises
First 6 raises to Constitution, Last 4 to Dexterity

Skill point spread
Discipline: 43
Spellcraft: 43
Tumble: 40
Pickpocket: 11
Open Lock: 1
Perform: 14
Use Magical Device: 30

HP: 573 base
AB: 44/39/34/29 with mundane Longbow
AC: 36 naked
AC: 63 with EMA, MA and +12 DEX
Fort: 28
Reflex: 29
Will: 21

My 4 attack version of the Undead Artillery.
Quick Pros: Epic DR 3, Immune Sneak, Immune Crit, High AC
Quick Cons: Relatively low AB, low damage output, gets boni late in development

I initially thought of another build Lesser Undead Artillery which was more playable but only had 3 attacks base which wasn't really what I was looking for. So I was checking how to increase AB and lo' and behold, this one came out, though losing out a bit on the AA side, it keeps the same AB and an extra attack at the cost of 2 damage and lower AA level.

Feel free to comment and request further info
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Inactive for a while

Edited By GhostNWN on 03/03/06 18:12

Nice, though EMA is hardly useful in a decent magic level environment (with +5 items you'll only get +5 AC (the Dodge AC part) from it), and thus I feel it is not worth an epic feat, especially when you don't have Epic Warding. Epic Warding is definitely the best epic spell and should always be picked first. If you don't have extra feats I feel that it's the only Epic Spell worth picking; I'd rather get more Great X's or Armor Skin or Epic Prowess or such feats than the lesser Epic Spells (a Caster 38/X 1/Y 1 might be different, however even in this case I feel that Spell Focuses and Great X's are worth more than the Epic Spells).

Decent build anyhow, though not the first of its kind. It's customary to credit other builds with the same classes (and if there are ridiculously many, at least list the ones with similar level distribution/goals and motives). Why am I always the one doing this...

For builds with the same classes, Results from pulse cap's build searcher:
Repost: Evo_Dragon’s Palemaster Archer /Bard 5/AA 19/PM 16 by pocketbeetle
Undead Archer /Bard 7/PM 10/AArcher 23 by XyberKnight
Pale Archer /Bard 5/Palemaster 16/AArcher 19 by yrtsns
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The world is grey, the mountain's old
The forge's fire is ashen and cold
No harp is wrung, no hammer falls
The darkness dwells in Druin's halls...

~ Summoning - Khazad-Dúm

Edited By FinneousPJ on 03/03/06 20:29

I don't usually use the search engine unless I'm looking for a specific build. Hence I came up with this one without knowing similar builds existed and looking at those, they don't seem to have any epic DR3 so this one is different

As for the point about EMA, that really depends. I play low-mid magic and +5 isn't easy to get thus EMA is useful. If you play high magic, YMMV. Builds posted here are not supposed to be useful in any given environment and not all feat choices will fit in every environment (take for example craft wand feats on a no crafting server or dev crit where its disabled)

Is there anything else you want to point out about the build?
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Inactive for a while
Quote: Posted 03/03/06 23:32:43 (GMT) -- GhostNWN

I don't usually use the search engine unless I'm looking for a specific build. Hence I came up with this one without knowing similar builds existed and looking at those, they don't seem to have any epic DR3 so this one is different
The point is you're supposed to credit them even if they don't have EDR3 (No, I don't think it's a must but it's well-mannered and as I said, a tradition.) You are, actually, also supposed to check the build you're about to post has not already been posted. Use the search engine.

Quote: 
As for the point about EMA, that really depends. I play low-mid magic and +5 isn't easy to get thus EMA is useful. If you play high magic, YMMV. Builds posted here are not supposed to be useful in any given environment and not all feat choices will fit in every environment (take for example craft wand feats on a no crafting server or dev crit where its disabled)
I realize that, I'm just pointing it out for someone who might not understand how EMA works (especially when the majority of servers have at least +5 items from what I've seen). Nonetheless, do you not think 50/+20 DR is more powerful than a mere say +11 AC bonus (assuming you have +3 items now)? After all, 20s always hit... EMA does outlast EW, that's true.

Quote: 
Is there anything else you want to point out about the build?
UMD works with modified ranks on multiples of 5. Ergo, 29 ranks is enough with +1 CHA modifier.
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The world is grey, the mountain's old
The forge's fire is ashen and cold
No harp is wrung, no hammer falls
The darkness dwells in Druin's halls...

~ Summoning - Khazad-Dúm 50/+20 DR for 16 rounds vs +5-+20 AC for 16 hours seems a good trade-off to me. Also, Epic DR doesn't stack with warding and is always active. I don't feel having both EDR and EW is useful for a build.
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Inactive for a while Hmmm, very interesting. He gets all the important things by Level 30, which enhances his playability for most Epic Mods (something I take into consideration for almost any character I play anymore-- can I get everything by Level 30?, etc.)

Seems like he should hold his own in any environment. The sonic resistance seems like a good idea, though I might lean towards Fire, Electrical or even Acid. Cold might even be a thought in case you have one of those party members who likes to chaincast Icestorms.

I don't see anything I would really change. Something to consider would be taking Heavy Armor Proficiency over Toughness. Not only does it improve AC up front in pre-epic, you really no longer have to worry about being caught Flat-footed and losing your Dex AC. It would also, combined with UMD, pretty much allow you to have the choice to wear whatever you want. But such decisions are best left to players environment.
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Ariel, Ookla, RIDE! Good point about the heavy armor griz, since this build has a fairly low dexterity, he wouldn't loose all that much using a plate if the environment provides better plates than medium armors.
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Inactive for a while