Ranger/Bard/HS -- a theme/RP build (yes ). Decent Bard Song, Hide/MS in 60s when buffed, decent AB, AC is fairly weak but decent when DEX is buffed. Damage output is respectable, in testing I killed a 15/- DR opponent without much trouble. Great selection of skills, too few skill points. But hey, it's always like that, isn't it?
NOTE: for the Metamagic feat Empower Spell is recommended.
Designed to be dual-wielding in Studded Leather (+2/+6); Empowered Cat's from Ranger and Cat's Grace from HS will buff your DEX to be good enough. Dual-wielding light weapons allows you the chance to switch to a shield when needed. Two-Handed Weapon with Full Plate is possible, though not recommended.
Here's a chart for different pre-epic level spreads.
Edited by Kail Pendragon: added class split to title _________________ 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...
Nice goings, Finn. you forgot to include the class/lvl distribution in the topic, but Grip will fix.
A bit late BoE, but with his other availible powers it doesn't really matter. Gets okay saves, the choice between nice damage from 2 weapons or okay AC from shield. I liked the added bonus of Empowering the rangers Cats Grace. Nice.
All in all, buddy, a good, well-balanced character, which seems versatile and fun. Efficient stat-spread. _________________ I see the fear you have inside, you can run but never hide. I will hunt you down and tear you limb from limb.
I run the Pre-Epic Builders guild. Join and share your experience.
I had the honour to see the build before it got posted, and to discuss it with Finn in the middle of the night. Thumbs up on this one Finn. A pride for the Harper Scouts secret society.
A note for those who want to go plate, weapon and shield, drop starting DEX to 8 and pump CON and INT to 14. Also, just a few ranks in UMD gives the possibility to use any scroll in game IIRC.
Kudos to ya buddy!
Cheers, Kail
Quote: Posted 03/04/06 21:10:29 (GMT) -- FinneousPJ ... Great selection of skills, too few skill points. But hey, it's always like that, isn't it?
NOTE: for the Metamagic feat Empower Spell is recommended.
Designed to be dual-wielding in Studded Leather (+2/+6); Empowered Cat's from Ranger and Cat's Grace from HS will buff your DEX to be good enough. Dual-wielding light weapons allows you the chance to switch to a shield when needed. Two-Handed Weapon with Full Plate is possible, though not recommended.
very nicely done. i am a fan of rangers, and harper scouts. this was very nicely put together. the addition of bard, HS and ranger together comes out with a strong melee presence.
the only points i wish to make are as follows. they are minor, and purely technical.
you don't have heavy armour, so you need to drop a feat in exchange for picking this up. i would have to say knockdown or epic fort would be the ones to go. i was tempted to say empower spell, but the usefulness of empowering bulls is kinda important. even and empowered cats is still useful, although with the HS cats its not as necessary in heavy armour (between the two, empowered cats loses its importance). also, if going this route, dropping dex to 8. two cats will get you to 12 at least (enough for plate) and then put the extra points into con and int. this also nets you more HP and skillpoints. you can then max taunt, which would give you another advantage. i would stick with the single weapon and shield, even in heavy amour, to give you a really strong tank. a taunting, singing, tank striking from the shadows, with extra strength and 50% concealment, only retreating to let the enemy fall into traps and allow the panther companion (buffed with bulls, cats, mage armour, improv vis, greater magic fang, haste and aid) to rack up some crazy sneak damage. now that is a fight is just brutal.
i do like the two weapon aspect, but when you need a good tank this one good put up a good fight for quite some time. very impressive. also, i thought this combo was done before, but i cannot find it. with that being the case, the congrats must be piled a little higher.
well done.
-c
ps: a bard can cast all arcane spells from scrolls without any UMD, for those who didn't know. this makes this chars job even easier, and can even lead to being a sort of simple group buffer using many scrolls of bulls, cats, endurance, impr invis, gmw, flame weapon, etc. adding a little flame damage to your pet isn't a bad idea either. the possibilities just keep adding up with this build. buffing a bear with stoneskin woudl make a nice meat shield for the dual-wielding version of this build. the more i think about this, the more i like it. -cs _________________ “If you bring a Ranger with you, it is well to pay attention to him...”
Edited By christian.schnabel on 03/05/06 05:54
O'Griphook, mighty Lord of the Night, forever wilt I praise thy dreaded name~
Edit the class levels in, please
Grim is right about a late BoE, but I wanted some early Bard/HS levels, so it couldn't be help really.
Thanks.
Thanks to Kail, too. Yeah, dropping DEX to 8 is a good idea if you want to tank with a plate. I just enjoy dual-wielding because the
Quote: +5 +2d6 vs. FEs +4 GMW +3 Bard Song +2 War Cry -- +14 +2d6 -- +16-26
is added to both weapons and it piles up fairly quickly Full Plate/Shield tank, I'll try that...
I couldn't find any Ranger/Bard/HSs on the search engine, though it wouldn't be the first time a build didn't turn up.
Thanks for all the praises Christian. You're right about Bards casting from scrolls, however in order to use Cleric spells you need to have enough UMD to bypass the Usable By: Cleric restriction. I don't think you need much, though.
Thank you all! _________________ 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
It's cool, but you wouldn't be happy if you faced a nasty Dwarven Defender with Damage Reduction of 30 or 27
Edited By Thaxll'ssyllia on 03/05/06 17:52
According to the Grimoire Rangers do not get Heavy Armor Profiency for free. This is true for Druids, Barbarians, Bards and Rogues too, as well as Monks & Sorcerers/Wizards.
Quote: meself Damage ------ 1-6 (Short Sword) +8 Strength -- 9-14 main hand +2 Bull's Strength -- 11-16
+5 +2d6 vs. FEs +4 GMW +3 Bard Song +2 War Cry -- +14 +2d6 -- +16-26
FYI, that makes 27-42 damage on main hand and 22-37 on off hand. As good as any Fighter in the realms If you're still not convinced, go for the 2-handed weapon.
2-12 Greatsword +12 Strength -- 14-24 +3 Bull's Strength -- 17-27 +5 +2d6 vs. FEs +4 GMW +3 Bard Song +2 War Cry -- +16-26 -- 33-53
Suddenly 30/- DR doesn't seem all that scary.
Thanks for the comments.
EDIT: ch33t, you edited your Heavy Armor comment away! _________________ 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...
one problem i just noticed - when all is said and done, where are the skill points allocated to perform?
-c
Good point. They aren't there Well, that's a skill spread you can use if you don't want Bard Song I'll let just let people make their own skill spreads, damn. Thanks. _________________ 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...
). Decent Bard Song, Hide/MS in 60s when buffed, decent AB, AC is fairly weak but decent when DEX is buffed. Damage output is respectable, in testing I killed a 15/- DR opponent without much trouble. Great selection of skills, too few skill points. But hey, it's always like that, isn't it?
Full Plate/Shield tank, I'll try that... 
