Epic Character Builds – The Hex Blade By Deborah “Tyr” *
Hex Blade is a tactical fighting specialist, and knows the power of music. Combining his/her mastery of the blade with bard song talent, he/she is an irresistible defender, and an unforgettable attacker; music affects all within ear shot, be they friend or foe. Created by NWN community member, and long-time D&D melee “purist,” this character has been built to strike fear and pandemonium into swarming gangs, monsters, and entire battle fields, in order to send them packing. First-and-foremost, he/she is a blade master, with the artistic talent to further weaken and disorient the enemy through music.
With the power of taunt and curse song, and the tactical use of bard magic, the Hex Blade can reduce enemies to quivering cowards; and once the enemy is hexed, the Hex Blade need merely draw upon his/her fine-tuned blade, to swiftly finish the job. The sooner that evil is foiled, the better it is for the Hex Blade: in between sharpening blades, adventuring and winning battles, this character recuperates through music. Hex Blade is a fighter with a romantic, sensitive side, as an artist, with a high dedication to the study of music composition and performance. This dedication to music has rewarded the Hex Blade with the ability to sing a song of inspiration, to augment self and all those who stand beside him/her, and to strike fear and damage into the hearts and bodies of the enemy. The Hex Blade is an irresistible character, and a welcome addition to any party.
Based on the Arthurian Tales and old Celtic lore (the “fighting bard”), this character is a melee character, and built to perform under pressure. When a musician goes off to Knight School, to add blade mastery to his/her talent list, it begs the question: is the song more powerful than the sword?
The Hex Blade is neutral, preferably, but may be of any non-lawful alignment. The blade, for example, is indiscriminate, but a cold piece of steel; it is a tool that may be used for the forces of “good” or “evil,” or “neutrality,” only as directed by its wielder; when wielded by the Hex Blade, it is sheer poetic mastery. Music, in a sense, is also neutral: it is an art form, and it stirs emotions in the minds and hearts of the audience, without regard to their alignment; when performed by the Hex Blade, it draws its tempo and power from the full range of all that is human thought and experience, and stirs the soul of everyone more-or-less equally. In addition, and as a practical matter, with all this study of the blade and music, the Hex Blade simply has neither the time, nor the inclination, to study the detailed intricacies of the law, or its enforcement, which is an entirely different specialty, requiring a different aptitude and skill set. Instead, the Hex Blade is a weapon master, an epic fighter, and a performance musician; by any other name, Hex Blade is the fighting bard that all medieval minstrels rave about.
This character is meant to be played through, with skills and feats chosen and balanced accordingly, since it makes little sense to have an ‘ultimate’ shining character, if she/he can’t survive long enough to reach the epic levels. That having been said, players are of course free to pick up the Hex Blade at any level. Astute players will quickly recognize that, as a melee fighting character, the Hex Blade has been gifted with all the strength, feats, and skill-sets that fully qualify as “tank,” but having a nice touch of the arcane, justifiable by the fact the Hex Blade is an intelligent, performing musician, and thus able to draw upon some of the unique strengths and qualities of the bard. Melee players, especially purists, while enjoying the Hex Blade’s epic fighting prowess and superior longsword mastery, should equally come to appreciate this character’s unique bard assets, providing an arcane touch. This unique blend of skills and abilities that can only be the Hex Blade is designed for the ultimate purpose of producing a character that is exceptionally well suited for team PvP (strategic battle settings, and the like), but he/she is equally suited for solo play, and always up for a dungeon/PvM romp. Because Hex Blade is a tactical fighting specialist, with a sensitive, artistic side, this is an uber-build with high role-playability.
HEX BLADE
Overview Fighter: 18 Ba: 15 Weapon Master: 7
Race: Human Alignment: Neutral Good Preferred (Any Non-Lawful)
Other: HP: 460 (+16, buffed) AB: +41 (+2 song buffed, +2 war cry)
Bard Spells: Level 5
Mighty Defense and Bard Assets: • Bard Song: Hex Blade’s innate musical talent have been artfully polished, with the fighting maestro being able to instill the following effects on the audience: o Curse Song: all enemy combatants within earshot (30’ area) are cursed, suffering -2 to Save Rolls (Fort, Will, Reflex), -2 to Attack Roll, -3 to Damage Rolls, -3 to Skill Rolls, -4 to AC, and -16 HPs (damage). o Buff Song: the Hex Blade, together with all his allies (within 30’area) are inspired by his song, gaining +2 to all Saves, +2 to Attack Rolls, +3 Damage, +3 to Skill Rolls, +16 HPs (temporary), and +4 AC. • Lingering Song: at level 15 Bard, the Hex Blade carries many songs in his heart and their effects are long lasting; whether it’s a performance being delivered to inspire himself and/or his allies, or curse his foes (or both), the effects of his songs linger on for many rounds, which is of great benefit when engaged in hand-to-hand combat. • Access to Bard Spells (5th Level), including WAR CRY, which is a powerful battle cry that strikes instant fear and panic into all enemies within ear-shot, who fail their saving throws; at the same time, the war cry grants Hex Blade a further +2 bonus to his already high Attack and Damage Rolls. • Bard Toys: adept at using bard instruments, and a large variety of wands and scrolls.
Devastating Offense and “Deadly Accuracy”:
• Epic Blade Mastery: the Hex Blade is an epic fighting character, having trained long and hard with his weapon, and is a blade master. His superior weapon focus, combined with his epic weapon focus and epic weapon specialization, means high AB; in short, he accurately hits his target. Coupled with his great strength and epic level fighting expertise (including devastating critical and Ki Critical), he can swiftly bring down his enemies.
• High Attack Bonus: o Non-Buffed: o AB: +41/+36/+31/+26 o Damage: 1-8 +14 (critical 15-20/x3)
o Self-Buffed: o AB: +43/+38/+33/+28 o Damage: as above, +3 Bludgeoning
Hex Blade's Advantages
1. High Attack Bonus/Damage: can be raised even further with bard song and/or bard spell (self-buffing). 2. Devastating Critical: can easily defeat anyone with Devastating Critical when they fail their saving throws against the fear or other debilitating effects of Hex Blade’s Magic (i.e., bestow curse, confusion, war cry, and so forth), which enemy saves can be reduced by the curse song; even with saves, enemies will still have to overcome Devastating Critical. 3. Bard/Tactical Fighting Advantages: with numerous bard and curse songs, having long-lasting effects, Hex Blade can strike fear and pandemonium into the hearts and minds of all enemies within ear-shot (battalions, marauding monsters, and swarming gangs of thugs), and regardless whether they are hiding or in plain view. 4. High AC and High HP: can be raised even further through his music (self-buffing). 5. Bard Knowledge and Access to Magic: Full access to 5th-Level Bard Spells, with the innate talent also to use a large variety of magical devices, including many scrolls.
Secondary Advantages
1. Can reduce an unlimited number of enemy combatants’ AC, along with their attack and damage rolls, their save and skill rolls, and even lower their HPs (damage), with a single music performance (which perform skill has been maximized). The curse song affects all enemy combatants in the area of effect (30’ area). At the same time, his song can inspire him, and all his allies. In each case, the effects of his musical performance are long lasting (see, above). 2. Can further reduce an enemy’s AC with the Taunt skill, which has been maximized. 3. Sneaking/Hiding characters, and would-be ambushers, cannot avoid the curse song; when it is followed up by the War Cry, Confusion, or any number of his other unique “combat hexing” (bard spell) effects, the Hex Blade will know where they are. 4. Good-to-High Saves all across-the-board, which can be increased through music (self-buffed). 5. High Discipline and High Concentration, which have both been fully maximized.
Hex Blade's Disadvantages
1. While providing unbeatable defense, the use of full plate and a shield risk high arcane-casting failure; thus, drop his shield before casting any arcane bard spells, equipping it (if necessary) once you move in for combat. Later in the Hex Blade’s career, try switching his heavy armor with something lighter, and take full advantage of his defensive feats (dodge, armor skin, mobility, expertise, spring attack); coupled with good tumbling and his ability to self-buff (see, above), he can cast arcane bard spells with confidence, without worrying about his defense.
Secondary Disadvantages
1. Low Spot/Listen: while he has a fine tuned “musical sense”, these partial-skill affinities are not sufficient for him to see adept sneaking creatures/characters (can be avoided, see above).
Hex Blade’s Equipment • As with all characters of the realm, the Hex Blade would benefit from having access to magical equipment. In addition to typical “fighter” items (e.g., magic armor, keen weapons, strength-boosting items, and items providing damage and magic resistance), the Hex Blade can make full use of bard instruments (lutes, mandolins, lich lyrics), arcane wands, and scrolls. • She also has unused Bard spell slots, which can be made readily accessible to her by a simple charisma-boosting item.
The Hex Blade’s Combat Spells and Epic Career Path:
• In addition to the self-buff magic available to bards, some of the Recommended Spells for the Hex Blade, as a curse song combat warrior, are as follows: o Level 1: Balagarn's Iron Horn, Charm Person, Grease, Scare o Level 2: Cloud of Bewilderment, Ghostly Visage, Sound Burst, Tasha's Hideous Laughter o Level 3: Bestow Curse, Confusion, Fear, plus one of: Cure Serious Wounds, Invisibility Sphere, or Slow o Level 4: War Cry o Level 5: Mind Fog
What follows is the epic path of the Hex Blade, from “battle crier” to “curse song combat warrior”, during the first 40 Levels of his/her career:
01: Fighter(1): Toughness, Dodge, Power Attack 02: Fighter(2): Cleave 03: Bard(1): Curse Song 04: Fighter(3): CHA+1, (CHA=13) 05: Fighter(4): Weapon Focus: Longsword* (OR,Weapon of YOUR Choice) 06: Bard(2): Lingering Song 07: Fighter(5) 08: Fighter(6): STR+1, Great Cleave, (STR=17) 09: Bard(3): Mobility 10: Fighter(7) 11: Fighter(8): Spring Attack 12: Bard(4): STR+1, Expertise, (STR=18) 13: Fighter(9) 14: Fighter(10): Whirlwind Attack 15: Weapon Master(1): Improved Critical: Longsword, WoC: Longsword 16: Weapon Master(2): STR+1, (STR=19) 17: Weapon Master(3) 18: Weapon Master(4): Iron Will 19: Weapon Master(5) 20: Weapon Master(6): STR+1, (STR=20) 21: Weapon Master(7): Epic Weapon Focus: Longsword 22: Bard(5) 23: Fighter(11) 24: Bard(6): CHA+1, Great Strength I, (STR=21), (CHA=14) 25: Fighter(12): Weapon Specialization: Longsword 26: Fighter(13) 27: Fighter(14): Great Strength II, Epic Weapon Specialization: Longsword, (STR=22) 28: Bard(7): STR+1, (STR=23) 29: Bard(8) 30: Fighter(15): Great Strength III, (STR=24) 31: Fighter(16): Armor Skin 32: Fighter(17): STR+1, (STR=25) 33: Fighter(18): Overwhelming Critical: Longsword, Devastating Critical: Longsword 34: Bard(9) 35: Bard(10) 36: Bard(11): CHA+1, Great Charisma I, (CHA=16) 37: Bard(12) 38: Bard(13) 39: Bard(14): Great Strength IV, (STR=26)* 40: Bard(15): DEX+1, (DEX=14)
* Indicates that feat may be exchanged for one of the player’s choice without detracting from the overall build.
Author’s Note: The Hex Blade is meant to be played through from the beginning, with feats and skills chosen accordingly; however, he/she may be commenced at level 40, or other level. This character is legitimate, being tested and retested through play, and verified using the CPC-character builder. As one final note, players may be interested in knowing that the Hex Blade (previous version) not only survived, but succeeded the “Arena of Champions” epic challenge designed by the award-winning builder Commche. This character has since been even further tweaked.
Special Note and Acknowledgments: • The Author would like to thank Guild members for their feedback, with special acknowledgement to Grim for some terrific advice; thanks also to Xylo, Cats, and Cinnabar for helping to clarify certain feat issues, in terms of today’s power gaming atmosphere; their comments were helpful. Special thanks to Kail Pendragon, who kindly provided assistance to me in reformatting my post.
Edited title to add new account name - Kail Pendragon
Edited By Bromium on 02/28/08 19:22
Just a quick note directed to all players, but especially the purists, in respect of this build, which has been modified slightly from its original form ( click here ) as follows:
1. Dropped 4 levels of FTR, in exchange for Bard (much, much better buffs, way better curse song, and access to some serious spells, including but not limited to yet even more incredible buffs - and extra AC (it was already high, but in the uber-charged, high arcane world out there, there's no such thing as too much AC
2. In accounting for same, moved the "lingering song" feat up pre-epic, since level 15 bard gets more songs (buff and curse) that did this character at bard level ll; making it unnecessary to take the extra music feat, yet remaining fully within the theme of the overall build (e.g., increasing in his/her musical performing talent over time, which is proper)
3. Retained all the great feats, skills, etc. of the FTR/WM in tact, including Devastating Crit and high strength (which at 26 is good; boosted by a belt, well, even better
3. As a result of adding more bard, justifible yet again as this character concept is one of a musician who went to knight school proper, gets a much higher SR, and slightly better UMD, among other great bard assets & benfits (note: get a charisma boosting item, like a ring, and have fun! This is a fighting character that can actually (and justifiably as an intelligent musician, thus bard) unlock the mysteries of arcane magic, and buff himself - sweet!
4. Oh, and don't forget the bard toys! Utility AND Fun
Finally, double checked with a DM friend (a stickler for the rules; hates the DevCrit feat (hey, spell slingers get death magic and the like, monk/pale master types get those stunning fists and quivering palm of death, while the rogue/assassin types have stealth with sneak and death attacks -- only fair that "honorable" fighter/melee types get their crits, yes?). Anyway, the DM would accept this build as a proper "epic fighting character" and thus neither balk nor "disarm" the Hex Blade's devcrit (at 18 ftr plus 7 wm, that should be obvious, but some DMs for sure are sticklers, and many which I wanted to make clear for the benefit of everyone, especially purists (which was the original reason behind my original build, e.g., to have "epic ftr" in the title, but otherwise it doesn't add much more than what this guy's got, other than a few more HPs and a couple of feats. Then, I've played him through a great many adventures/environments, fully tested him out myself, and it's been a joy to play (still do ; however, with all of the great advice and comments that I've received and considered on the boards, re: "more bard," and with the DM weighing in fully on the issue and granting that "stamp of approval", what can I say: give the players what they want (yep, more bard, and without losing a single thing). Even adds that much more role-playability!
Grimm, you made me think -- thank you; A big thanks also to Xylo, Cats, and Cinnabar for pitching in with their comments and thoughts. That this character has generated so much interest and great comments, it's a real treat. As its creator (with credit duly given to all of you once again for helping out), I truly hope everyone has fun with him; he's not only a power build with utility (made even better!), but he's a blast to play. Enjoy!
You can find further revised versions of the build here and here.
Deborah "Tyr"
Added links - Kail Pendragon
Edited By Kail Pendragon on 05/29/06 19:11
Quote: Posted 05/19/06 18:16:38 (GMT) -- Robert Tyr
Grimm, you made me think -- thank you;
Deborah "Tyr"
My pleasure. I sure hope someone will have that effect on me sometime. _________________
Quote: Posted 03/06/06 18:56:45 (GMT) -- FinneousPJ Trollborn Asgardian by the master of the Norse legends, Grimnir himself!
Some More Useful Information (Stats)
BAB: 29 AB: +41 (naked, unarmed) AB: +43 (naked, singing in the shower)
Obviously, this will be higher with magic, and magical equipment such as a weapon having the keen property. In choosing a weapon for your Hex Blade, consider its critical threat range and critical threat modifier, within the context of the environment in which you intend to wield it. I selected the longsword for illustrative purposes, being also a nice utility blade that allows for the use of a shield. A great axe, which dishes out higher damage on average, would do nicely, but a scimitar threatens a devastating critical more often (thus saving rolls to avoid death) is nice, too.*
Devastating Critical – DC Saves:
- Based on the following formula: 10 + (1/2 character level) + STR modifier, the Hex Blade’s Dev Crit stats are as follows:
• DC 38 (26 STR, unbuffed), sufficient for many single-player/PvM jaunts. • DC 44 (+6, fully buffed), necessary on a PvP world, depending on where you play. *
Bard Spells:
With a simple boost to your Charisma, you will be able to gain access to the following number of spells per day (or rest period); you already have access to many, but can readily gain all the following for your full use and combat/buffing benefit:
0-lvl 4 1st 4 2nd 3 3rd 3 4th 3 5th 2
SR penetration: at 15th Level Bard, 15, +1d20
Edited By Robert Tyr on 05/20/06 09:09
It looks better, but there is still room for improvement.
If you drop your intial strength to 15 you could raise dex and int to 14 to begin with. Then instead of increasing DEX at level 40 you can increase STR and end up with 43 more skill points.
Quote: 01: Fighter(1): Toughness, Dodge, Power Attack 02: Fighter(2): Cleave 03: Bard(1): Curse Song
It makes the first level a litte bit harder to play, but if you start with bard at level 1 you can get an extra 6 hitpoints. For example: Level 1: take Toughness and curse song Level 2: take your weapon focus (an extra +1 to AB makes a big difference at low levels) Level 3: Dodge, Power Attack Level 5: Weapon Specialization: Longsword ... Level 8: Cleave
You could now take great cleave at level 21, or take it at level 18, you could then take epic will (+4 as opposed to +2) at 21 and move the Epic Weapon Focus to 25 (I would switch fighter and bard at level 24 and 25 to get the feat earlier). Alternatively, you could drop the Epic Will and take still spell, which would let you cast your spells in armor (though a level higher) with no risk of spell failure.
Other than those suggestions, the build looks okay. My main concern is the use of devastating critical. If I'm in a setting where I have devastating critical, it's ussually a safe bet that my opponents have it as well. A level 40 character will have at least a devastating critical DC of 37. With a fortitude save of 22, you don't have a good chance of making that saving throw. If immunity to critical hits items are available where you play, then this isn't a problem, but devastating critical probably isn't too useful in that scenario either. I would suggest you drop devastating critical, overwhelming critical, power attack, cleave and great cleave and pick up a couple of great strengths in epic levels (to raise your AB) as well as still spell and the knockdown feats pre-epic. _________________ Two wrongs don't make a right but three lefts do.
I would suggest you drop devastating critical, overwhelming critical, power attack, cleave and great cleave and pick up a couple of great strengths in epic levels (to raise your AB) as well as still spell and the knockdown feats pre-epic.
I agree.
Well, in a PvE build, even a relatively weak dev crit character will be getting a lot of dev crits off, and in mid and high magic settings you can use your UMD and scrolls to patch up the holes in your saving throws. Scrolls like Death Ward and Mind Blank for example will be some of this character's best friends.
Of course you'll have to take UMD for that to work, which this build doesn't - in fact I'd call that it's biggest problem. UMD is a great skill, maybe the one best skill in the entire list. It would be a very good idea to put bard at level 1 and start with a 14 int so that you have enough points to raise UMD.
Another suggestion that is more of a "maybe" - you can start with 12 Con and 14 Cha, and then change two of your cha points while levelling up into Str. This costs you 40 hitpoints and 1 fort save point, but gets you 1 AB and damage.
The reason I'd consider that is because you'll still have over 400 hitpoints, which is still decent, and because your fort save is already quite low, so low that making it worse might not even be very noticeable. This is especially true if you are covering it using immunity scrolls via your UMD skill which you are going, going, going to take.
For a PvP build I'm not sure how well this character would work, but PvP has a very different set of requirements from PvE. _________________ Experience is the mother of good judgement; bad judgement is the father of experience.
Thanks for the comments; appreciate hearing from you both. Your observations are interesting and well taken if the Hex Blade were but a simple fighting tank, but he's not, and thus you're missing something very relevant. His saves are good across the board to begin with, and they're unbuffed, naked scores. Now, raise them with a song, and decrease that of the enemy's with his curse song. In addition, at 15 level bard, he's all those great buff spells, including but not limited to Eagle's Splendor, Bull's Strength, Magic Circle, etc. etc. etc., and not to mention his incredible buffs to AC, with ability to curse enemies down -4 (not to mention taunt, his war cry, and other wonderful talents, all which when played out, means that the enemy can't land a hit on him and even if they do, his own inspiration to himself and self-buffs to all his raw scores, abilities, save and hit rolls, well, you get the picture; now, do the opposite for the enemy, who's rolls, AC, etc. are all reduced accordingly. Fact is, he's going to hit, they're not; and if they do, he's going to make his save, and they're not.
What makes the Hex so much fun, as a power build, is his great utility. 15 level bard, who can sing and curse and taunt his way through just about anything, without the need for any other assistance. When the numbers are crunched, he's quite the character.
Now, if you're going to a world where there's protection against absolutely everything, where you can land a ring or some item granting 100% magic resistance, or a suit of armor with full protection against sneak/death/crit hits, well, how boring. Then again, everyone's equally reduced, and how boring; but then, with his hex power and ability to curse, taunt, and self buff, the Hex still has an edge over a simple tank, and it is this edge that makes the Hex such an interesting character. Without the bardic abilities, he'd be just another boring tank, out to get rings, raise con and str, etc., which every tank of course does; but with 15th level bard and all those wonderful arcane abilities and buffs brought in (with tactical strategic play; he's gonna use his curse, buffs, and of course be as well equipped as any other fighter), well, that's the edge one needs in those worlds. He's not just another boring tank, already there at the late teens/early 20s, but he's a tank with an edge, brought in with the power of music, which he fully develops.
As for skills, he's got well over 200; already all maxed where he needs to be; anything else would be redundant; and he needs no other feats; well, epic toughness would be nice, had to drop it to bring in the extra levels of bard, but, once again, with his song and curse, he more than makes up for it (buffing himself extra HPs, and taking an equal number from the enemy, doing a full round of damage on the enemy before he even warms up and pulls his blade), and then there's those buffs; he's an epic tank with 15th level bard; no push over, that's for sure. And he can do what a vanilla brand fighter simply cannot do, and no amount of skill points will allow a fighter/wm do what he can - which is why the bard not only brings in soooo much utility, but also makes him fun. It's his edge; as they say in Hollywood, everyone needs a schtick . . . and the Hex Blade has one (without it, yep, just a vanilla brand FTR/WM, but check out those spells, curse song, and other great abilities - 15th level bard; now that's packing a punch; when the battle/ememies are all readjusted to account for this, all things otherwise being equal, the Hex is gonna come out not only singing, but dancing, too! It's that bard, and then there's those bard toys!
Thanks for the comments; for players who aren't huge fans of Dev Crit (I know, many DMs and builders deactivate it these days, but others are coming back around as frankly it's only fair; the dev crit IS the fighter/wm's glory so to speak, with every class having their thing. As stated at the outset, as a purist (hence, no RDD/dragon wings here, or sorcerer or any thing else; a bard is arcane, but much more "authentic" as a fighter, and Hex is based on old Celtic lore, the fighting bard, thus authentic and legit as a character. Also, no cheese, or any baggage; just a power character, with great utility (and roleplayability) due to bard; that's what makes this character so much fun, and not just another boring fighter.
That having been said, if I have time, I'm gonna crunch out one last version of the Hex using more wm instead of ftr for folks who don't do or don't care for the pvp/dev crit, or in the event that where they play, it's either so skewed because the DM/hosts doesn't like it, or has disabled the feat altogether (which I hate, but at least it's more honest of them to do this than to play games with the feat, which unfortunately happens). So, stay tuned . . . but in the meantime, once again, must thank Grim for getting me going more onto the bard; initially, I had 11 levels, and he convinced me to bring it up; at 15 levels, those spells, those buffs, and those curses.
(so, not to worry, the non dev crit for other play version will star bard too; I've been convinced, so stay tuned
Keep those great comments coming; always a pleasure!
Deborah "Tyr"
Edited By Robert Tyr on 05/20/06 17:20
Alright; did some more number crunching (thanks, guys! seriously, the UMD and fact he'd get a couple of extra feats, just for switching the order around --- seriously appreciated; so, here we go now:
Putting Bard at Lvl 1, followed by FTR at lvl 2 (in other words, switch their order) Skills, add +13 to UMD at Level 22: 22: Concentration(1), Discipline(1), Taunt(2), Tumble(10), UMD(13), such that the Hex winds ups in the end with a final, raw UMD total of 21 (24, when naked, singing in the shower). That would be good.
As to the new starting stats – ie., STR 15, Dex 14 & Cha 13 but winding up with the exact same in the end– this does create some maneuverability (thanks). Starting with that, and boosting STR at every ability increase we get (other than at Lvl 24, where we instead boost CHA (hey, mastered our weapon and now want to have some arcane fun by now, spending more time at this point on our composition/performance, and totally within the theme of the build , we get to STR 26 at level 39, and one feat earlier, such that we gain the use of an extra ability feat (and that’s nice!). Plus, having boosted DEX at the beginning, that’s where we toss in our final CHA, for a final score of 16 as before (and buying up, as intended). So,
. At level 39, where GR STR used to be, we can leave it as is (thus, a final STR of 27 – OK, nice! That gives us more AB and damage, yes? OK, let’s do that.
Other alternatives: (ie., if players want a Hex just for single-player/PvM OR are worried about saves (shouldn't be, for reasons stated above, but let's see how it all cashes out - hey, an extra feat IS a free feat after all - and that's great (thanks!)
Take Epic Fort (which would boost Fort to 26, add +2 for Bard Song, thus a whopping 28 when totally naked: seriously sweet! though already alright again, see above); alternatively,
Could leave fort as is (ie., 22 +2 =24, which is fine, once again, that's naked, just a song in the shower) and drop Epic Will into that slot instead. If we go this route, we’ll gain yet 2 more points to our Will Save up (e.g., such that it will go from 22+2 (24), to 24+2 (26), also nice), which at the same time, would provide us with yet one more, pre-epic feat slot at level 18 (where Iron Will was popped). Another free slot? ok, let's look at that! (thanks agains!).
So, in its stead, we can take either Still Spell (to cast in armor, though this comes in handy post-epic only once we gain all those great levels of bard, as you've noted; and this would be good to have) --OR—Knockdown (wizards/sorcerers etc can’t sling fire balls at you when they’re on their backs – also nice.
Hey, I like that, too! For power-PvP/team battles, the extra STR is preferred; but the epic will (ie., for yet another extra slot up at level 18) is pretty attractive, too. I'll have to make a note of that to players, and let them choose (as once again, if they intend to mostly play mods, or in teams, then the x-tra str point, given all the buffs etc., isn't necessary per se, but ALWAYS nice
At the same time, by switching around the first two class levels, starting with Bard, and followed by FTR, we do gain a further 13 skill slots, that we didn’t have before, which can all be tossed into UMD (for a grand total of 24 (that’s 18 raw, +3 adj/modified for class, then add another +3 to skill rolls re: song buff)
24 UMD should be enough, yes? (seriously, I don't know; but what you said about those scrolls sounds good, and never hurts to have extra protection, notwithstanding the AC.
OK, changes, as follows:
Level 01: Bard(1): Toughness, Curse Song 02: Fighter(1): Weapon Focus: Longsword* OR, Weapon of YOUR choice 03: Fighter(2): Dodge, Mobility 04: Fighter(3): STR+1, (STR=16) 05: Fighter(4): Power Attack 06: Bard(2): Lingering Song 07: Fighter(5) 08: Fighter(6): STR+1, Cleave, (STR=17) 09: Bard(3): Spring Attack 10: Fighter(7) 11: Fighter(8): Great Cleave 12: Bard(4): STR+1, Expertise, (STR=18) 13: Fighter(9) 14: Fighter(10): Whirlwind Attack 15: Weapon Master(1): Improved Critical: Longsword, Weapon of Choice: Longsword 16: Weapon Master(2): STR+1, (STR=19) 17: Weapon Master(3)
18: Weapon Master(4): (special note: Iron Will was here; if keeping GRT STR at lvl 39 (meaning, final STR 27, being up one (1) from before), OR putting in Epic Fort, then leave Iron Will here. Conversely, if removing grt str from level 39 and putting in epic will feat, then place into this slot either Knockdown OR Still Spell
Together, we took a nice power build with utility, gave him a lot more utility, and now we've made him yet even more powerful --- sweet. Talk about uber-good -- you guys really are great, thanks! (and now he is, too!!!)
Seriously; alright, so I'll toss up yet one more revised version (we'll call him the pvp/dev crit build for ease of reference), and will definitely work on another version as stated, without the devcrit, for players who want a hex blade, but a non devcrit version. I'm thining more WM in that case; have to see how it cashes out.
But this, this version, nice call, guys. And with all of the other statements and comments noted above, seems we did it: exceptional! (again, stay tuned for the "alternate" - I'll have that one out soon; and thanks so much again). Tyr Out
, we get to STR 26 at level 39, and one feat earlier, such that we gain the use of an extra ability feat (and that’s nice!). Plus, having boosted DEX at the beginning, that’s where we toss in our final CHA, for a final score of 16 as before (and buying up, as intended). So,