He is a blood-thirsty assassin, an epic monk turned mercenary, and a pirate (fighter) commander, but it's not that he is without his charm or grace. With impeccable martial arts mastery, and devout attention to anatomy and stealth, he’s mastered the art of death: his palm incredibly swift, more deadly than any blade, with a body tougher than plate armor.
an epic monk, bolstered by levels of fighter and the prestige class of assassin, this character excels in the art of dealing quick, lethal blows, and takes great pride in his work. In fact, the horror he’d see in the eyes of his victims, their blood-soaked bodies crumpling to the ground as they gasped their last breath, pleased him. Satisfied with his kill, he’d soon disappear into the shadows, making his getaway under cover of stealth, and be far, far away before any hint of the crime could be discovered. Yes, he was a murderer, a cold-blooded mercenary, and he loved it. And this, his love of the “kill”, the rush he always experienced when running his victims through, when toying with them like a dire tiger mauling a tiny mouse, might even have been forgiven by the Order. Nothing wrong, perhaps, with a devout monk, a monk who had trained hard to be a stealth killer, taking a little pride in his work; but only if he refrained from his bragging about it, and that it was done to advance the goals of the Order. Unforgivable, however, was his love of gold, and the way it shimmered. It was gold that made Death Dealer sing, and for which love he was eventually cast from the Order.
At first, he was upset enough to plot revenge, but he soon got on with his life as a mercenary. His title as outlaw, atop his already impeccable credentials as a stealth killer, clearly worked to his favor in his line of work. In time, he would ironically receive a special assignment, one which would lead him back to the Order, on a mission to terminate his old Master. His skills having been polished, and honed since that day, so long ago, when he was cast out, Death Dealer was up for the challenge against his old Master; blood would soon be spilled, and he would finally have his revenge.
Not surprisingly, it was quite easy for Death Dealer to enter his old temple, unnoticed by a single soul, but the Master was seemingly out. So, Death Dealer waited. Not a sound, not a stir did he make; patiently, he waited. When the Master did return, on entering his room, the trap was instantly sprung. Like a bolt of lighting, and with shocking precision, Death Dealer leaped. In an instant, he had bested his former master; it took but a single blow. The dying man whispered, one final breath: “You were my best student, and I suspected that my death would come by your hand. But why? Why kill me now, after all of these years?”
Perhaps, out of respect, the Death Dealer responded with an answer. “You have trained me well, Master, from whom I learned great discipline; I take my vengeance now because it tastes sweeter when cold, and because your death is finally worth something to me in gold.”
The Death Dealer is evil because he is a mercenary, a highly trained killer-for-hire: his loyalties are bought and sold by only the highest of bidders.
Special note from the author: the Death Dealer is based on a real-life, historical figure: Eustace the Monk. Dubbed also the “Black Monk,” he was the son of a noble, spending time at a monastery before becoming a pirate commander, and mercenary. His ability to seemingly appear out of nowhere, and fighting prowess, resulted in many believing he practiced sorcery; he was an assassin, an epic monk turned mercenary, who satisfied his thirst for gold by selling his services to the highest bidder. Being one of the most notorious mercenaries of his day, he is the perfect medieval outlaw, and an irresistible villain-type character. If he were alive today, he would most likely be a specialist, secret agent; far too lawful to be a rogue agent (his living depends on order), but having the potential to be a double-agent.
This character is designed for single-player/PvM play, but all good villains are welcome on PvP (note: may require prior permission of the DM/Host, if they have an alignment issue). Are you evil enough to dare?
Death Dealer's Key Advantages • Against all foes, the Death Dealer is deadly; with his epic stealth and +5d6 death attack, coupled with his monk speed, stunning fists and quivering palm abilities, his first strike on a victim, like that of a poisonous viper laying in wait, is often all that it takes to bring down his victim. • Epic Stealth and Speed: It is far easier to win a battle if your opponent not only never gets a chance to strike back, but doesn’t even see you coming, with the Death Dealer’s Move Silently and Hide Skills being maximized, accordingly. In addition to prestige-class assassin training (invisibility, improved invisibility, and other similar feats), he/she is an epic monk, having high concealment, monk speed, and other special abilities. Like a shark circling from deep beneath the water, the Death Dealer’s victims are unaware of the danger they’re in, being unable to see him until after he strikes, when it’s too late. • High AC, High HPs and Great Health (Immunities): in addition to being essentially immune to poison, disease, mind-spells, and also having a naturally high magic resistance, the Death Dealer is the perfect picture of health and vitality. Likewise, he is a bastion of defense, with high AC and tumbling skills, which have been maximized. • Epic Martial Arts Fighting Ability: The Death Dealer is a double-black belt, martial arts master, able to disarm the mightiest of foes (improved disarm), and out maneuver a dragon (improved knockdown). Whether bare-fisted or wielding a Kama, the Death Dealer has trained long and hard, such that he/she is able to strike fast, strike hard, and strike often. • Lethal Unarmed Attacks and Epic Kama Focus/Specialization: To be able to use unarmed attacks that cause as much damage in combat as a trained fighter having a magic weapon is an incredible feat, and it is a feat that the Death Dealer has assuredly mastered. In addition, he/she has trained long and hard with the Kama, which provides him with extra utility. The Kama may be small, many do think; but in the hands of the Death Dealer (having epic prowess, epic focus/epic specialization, monk speed, and extra bonus attacks per round), the Kama is extraordinarily lethal.
The Death Dealer: Overview: Epic Monk (24), Fighter (6), Assassin (10) Race: Human Alignment: Lawful Evil
Equipment: Monk Gloves, Kama Robes are Preferable, but able to wear any armor
BAB: 25 AB +32 (naked) Damage: 1-20, plus modifier (unarmed), with extra attacks (note, monks attacks/damage are not comparable to a ftr per se; monks are judged differently, with bonus speed and enjoying a number of extra attacks per round).
Added link, edited title to add new account name - Kail Pendragon
Edited By Kail Pendragon on 06/11/06 09:38
Quote: Posted 05/22/06 05:04:29 (GMT) -- Robert Tyr
Special note from the author:
Notice that this is a special note, as apposed to those darned un-special notes.
Anyways, the concept of the build is very good, but the AB is so low! 32 on your first attack?! Thats low even for a sneaker.
But still cool build _________________ They were all dead. The final gunshot was an exclamation mark to everything that had led up to this point. I released my finger from the trigger. And then it was all over. The storm seemed to lose its frenzy. The ragged clouds gave way to the stars above.
What's the point in taking Wis so high? It would be better spent in either DEX or STR. You can barely hit anything, you are about 6-7 points lower in AB than I would recommend.
You pick 2-weapon fighting with ambidex or improved 2 weapon fighting. Don't. Switch 1 of the assassin-levels for monk to gain a feat. I think roigue would perform as well as assassin in this build too, you would loose Darkness and imp.invis. You have empty body. But gain skills and a rogue bonus feat at 10.
Dex-based, weapon finesse and rogue path, going for epic dodge.
*whew* _________________ 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.
Quote: Posted 05/22/06 12:34:28 (GMT) -- Grimnir77 You pick 2-weapon fighting with ambidex or improved 2 weapon fighting. Don't.
It should say without!!!
aaarrrgh _________________ 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'll echo Grim's sentiment about droping your wisdom and raising your dexterity instead. A 32 AB is pretty low, typically you can think of ABs as follows: <=37 low 38-40 average support character 40-42 good support character, low warrior 42-44 average warrior >=45 good warrior. (different builders have different scales, but this should be fairly standard) Also it's kind of tough to split between Kama and Unarmed, choose one or the other and your character will do much better. You don't really have enough feats to do both. Lastly avoid circle kick, it causes you to change your target which can cause many problems. _________________ Two wrongs don't make a right but three lefts do.
Edited By Mithdradates on 05/22/06 18:13
Dittos on what Grim and Mith said.
I think this build would benefit a lot from a level split like monk 21/fighter 6/rogue 13 - that gives you epic dodge qualification and a rogue bonus feat to take crippling strike with, for example. _________________ Experience is the mother of good judgement; bad judgement is the father of experience.
Thanks guys, glad you like this character; quite the concept, isn't he?!! Had just way too much fun in developing this one.
But the AB issue, true; in testing him out at the arena, he was great, incredible stealth, but missed; ok, back in stealth mode, attack and hit, then miss, etc., oh, but the stuns and all those bonus attacks - just so much fun to play and watch; but yeah, definitely, AB should be better.
Also, tons of fun to watch when hasted; it made me laugh (for a "bad boy", that itself is pretty funny). Anyway, you're right, perhaps I'm trying to sqeeze too much in here; wasn't thinking rogue. I like the assassin's improved invis (amazing how many ftr/melee types forget about their spot/listen skills; sure, blind fight's nice, but as against an epic sneaker, hee hee). I'll try the rogue, with ambidex/improved TWF also, and see how it all cashes out. I suppose it wouldn't make any difference if instead of assassin, we took rogue, since monk's are immune to poison anyway, but did like the imp.invis and authenticity the class name gave to the character so to speak, -- but these are all great comments, thanks.
He's my first "bad boy" and glad you went easy on me --- hee hee. As always, appreciated! Oh, just have this feeling, but something just tells me that this bad boy is gonna be good!!!
