Epic Character Builds - The Death Dealer Created by: Deborah “Tyr”
He is a blood-thirsty assassin, an epic monk turned mercenary, and pirate (fighter) commander, but it's not that he lacks 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.
As 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. 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 was 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 is 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 bragging about it, and the kill 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, for which he was 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, clearly worked to his favor in his line of work. In time, he would 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 honed since that day, so long ago, when he was cast out, Death Dealer was up for the challenge; he would have his revenge. It was quite easy for Death Dealer to enter his old temple, unnoticed by a single soul, but the Master was 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: “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.
Author’s Note: 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.
This is a stealth build, a sneaker, with the power of sneak attack and good first strike damage, who can follow-through with melee. This build will give you naturally high AC, and a really nice amount of immunities, saves, and spell resistance: basically, making it tough for any caster to hit you with anything and, with some minimal equipment, the same goes for any fighter. As long as you make sure to have some death immunity and negative level protection in your equipment, there are few spells or effects that can effectively touch you.
The Death Dealer is designed for PvM/Single-Player, from level 1-40; all good villains are welcome in PvP, however (note: check with your DM/Host as some might have an alignment issue, in which case it might require prior approval).
Overview
The Death Dealer - Monk (20), Fighter (10), Rogue (10)
Race: Human Alignment: Lawful Evil Max. Hit Points: 440
AC (naked): 36 / AC (armor/shield): 36 Spell Casting: Skilled in the Use of Magical Devices (UMD).
BAB (naked): 26, AB +41 (Unarmed Strike), +39 (Kama), +38 (Ranged)
• Base Damage: o Unarmed: 1-20, +*Mod, x’s 6-8 attacks per round (over 200 damage/round possible)
o Sneak Attack: Unarmed Strike: 5d6 x’s 6-8 attacks per round (over 200 damage/round possible) Dual-Wielding Kamas: 5d6 x’s up to 10 attacks/round (up to 300 damage/round possible)
o Note: in addition to stealth he can, among other scrolls, use Bigby’s-line for cover, and other benefits.
Using scroll buffs available to him through UMD, he can raise his naked AB into the mid-40s (Cat's, GMW); this effectively negates the -2 penalty otherwise applicable to monks who engage in “flurry of blows” mode, thus making this extra attack, for him, much more effective. Similarly, it should offset some, if not many, of the penalties otherwise applicable to him if dual-wielding Kamas, making these attacks more effective, regular, and consistent.
Equipment: Monk Gloves Preferred, can also use Kamas Monk Robes Preferred, but can wear any armor as the need/environment may dictate.
DC (Stunning Fist/Quivering Palm): 31 Naked Unarmed AB at Cap (+12 DEX): BAB 26, AB +47 (into the 50s, using only his available UMD/Scroll buffs)
The following is the epic path of the Death Dealer during the first 40 levels of his/her career, from fighting monk (“MONK”) to pirate commander (“FIGHTER”) and mercenary (“ROGUE”):
Edited title to add new account name - Kail Pendragon
Edited By Kail Pendragon on 06/11/06 09:41
Modifications (Dated May 30, 2006):
After receiving wise advice from many, including an official confirmation regarding the applicability of a certain feat which I truly do appreciate, (and responding also to an interesting challenge, I must say, from our very own Thax , modifications were made to the Death Dealer for your fun and enjoyment as follows:
* Switched leveling/class order around, to get rid of the XP Penalty entirely (note: other version of this build was hampered by 10-12 levels of 20-% XP penalty, which may not be huge per se or bug many, but was a little unsettling, such that I rearranged and adjusted a lot around to eliminate the XP penalty entirely);
* in the process, dropped 3 rogue levels, and 1 monk, in exchange for more fighter; doing this, in addition to eradicating the penalty as above aforesaid, we happily gain additional feats slots and other desirable benefits: i.e., to wit, AB is raised, HPs raised, and AC is also raised.
* This led to a drop in rogue sneak damage, however, from 7d6 to 5d6. Then again, with AB raised, and UMD now maximized, the modifications should actually result in much more effective use of all those attacks, including kamas, and thus equate to more overall damage (ihits = more damage. While former AB was fine for PvM (for which this character was and remains designed), could be better if taken to a PvP server. These changes (i.e., +1 AB and more UMD (which, in turn, enables this charater to further buff his own AB via UMD/scrolls). AC, more HPs, increased STR, and other changes reflect that. As such, even more adaptable than before for PvP, but still designed for PvM.
* Theory and concept of build ptherwise fully retained, as are all the great monk benefits, save the Stunning Fist (now relegated to a parlor trick after the first few levels; then again, it was in the other build, too). In the end, these changes, fine-tuning and tweaks should make the character even more playable from level 1, which is a good thing.
Enjoy!
- Tyr
PS. Notwithstanding, even managed to fit in the epic dodge feat a tad bit sooner that in the previous build; okay, just a couple levels sooner than where it was, but still, NO XP penalty (which otherwise would have been the case), improved AB, and UMD skill dump also.
Stealth remains fully max'd, with the "extraneous" skills tossed out - Thanks, folks.
yeah, yeah, shutting up now; said more than enough; what a team I tells ya on this one (thanks!)
Edited By Robert Tyr on 05/30/06 21:52
39 AC for dual weild is nothing special, but if you need the AB you can go over to unarmed. This also gives you multiple damage types (helps with low damage).
5d6 sneak attack ... ouch. Still, no real problem. Given you have improved knockdown and a potential 10 attacks per round, you can deal at least 15d6 in sneaks a round. Try pulling a knockdown with your fists and then switching to kamas ...
Epic Dodge still comes in irritatingly late, but it's no real problem.
Overall - good AC, fair AB, sneaking ability, UMD, and epic dodge. Very nice, well done. _________________ CATS!
Quote: Dual-Wielding Kamas: 5d6 x’s up to 10 attacks/round (up to 300 damage/round possible)
Quote: ...and a potential 10 attacks per round,
Heh, told ya, you can't make 10 APR without ITWF, so you don't really make 10, hmm, with 26 BAB... I think you do make 9.. oh well, no 10, get that.
Your focuses are unarmed, I strongly suggest that you don't dual wield kamas, the loss is too great, and the dual wielding penalties are still there, go unarmed, it should go well.
Well, to take Epic Dodge earlier, you need the 10 Rogue earlier, which will cause an XP penalty, it could be worth it though, as you like.
Heh, told ya, you can't make 10 APR without ITWF, so you don't really make 10, hmm, with 26 BAB... I think you do make 9.. oh well, no 10, get that.
Well, to be really precise, he can reach 10 APR by dual-wielding Kamas with Haste and Flurry; that's nine APR, then a Cleave for the 10th _________________ "... C'est un pays plus nu que la terre polaire — Ni bêtes, ni ruisseaux, ni verdure, ni bois!
Or il n'est pas d'horreur au monde qui surpasse La froide cruauté de ce soleil de glace Et cette immense nuit semblable au vieux Chaos; ..."
Wow - talk about the "olympics" of character building....cool! And Cats, thanks for the cookie - (Means a lot coming from you). Finn, merci tres beaucoup, et Thax, a toi aussi! Great team effort!
Thax: good to see ya! Dual-wield, didn't forget about you - if going PvP, picking this character up post-epic (i.e., level 40) rather than playing it through, take AMBI at level 6 (instead of extra stunning), TWF instead of Iron Will, and finish with ITWF instead of armor skin. Can then use his/her UMD/scroll buffs to increase AB on dual-wield kamas, not just unarmed strike but also dual-wield, instead of simply adjusting for dual.
I don't recommend doing this, though, if playing it through. While this character's "blessed" by the monk, so to speak, completely immune to mind-spells/mind-effects, doesn't get the full immunity until monk level 20; as such, while waiting for the full immunity to kick in, I put the iron will feat in pre-epic; with the idea being his unarmed's good - kama's are small, and IKD...
But, ... if picking this guy up post-epic (or level 40 for PvP), when he's got all those nice monk immunities in tact, the iron will feat back pre-epic will be a total waste; thus, opening up the ITWF option, should you want (cool challenge, thanks; didn't forget about you
As to XP penalties - tough call; a few levels at 20% isn't that bothersome to me, but yikes, the reactions on that from this wonderful crowd - it was rough, rough I tells ya (and hence, we just don't go there)
Great team effort, guys and gals. Thanks so much.
~ Tyr
Edited By Robert Tyr on 05/31/06 19:36
Quote: Posted 05/31/06 19:35:20 (GMT) -- Robert Tyr
But, ... if picking this guy up post-epic (or level 40 for PvP), when he's got all those nice monk immunities in tact, the iron will feat back pre-epic will be a total waste; thus, opening up the ITWF option, should you want (cool challenge, thanks; didn't forget about you
ITWF, however, requires two feats to be available: Ambidexterity and TWF. You'd have to drop, say, Toughness, Iron Will and something else. _________________ "... C'est un pays plus nu que la terre polaire — Ni bêtes, ni ruisseaux, ni verdure, ni bois!
Or il n'est pas d'horreur au monde qui surpasse La froide cruauté de ce soleil de glace Et cette immense nuit semblable au vieux Chaos; ..."
I'd drop Dodge, Extra SA and Iron Will if I had to, Deborah suggested to drop AS if you read carefully the post.
Quote: Posted 05/31/06 19:35:20 (GMT) -- Robert Tyr
Wow - talk about the "olympics" of character building....cool! And Cats, thanks for the cookie - (Means a lot coming from you). Finn, merci tres beaucoup, et Thax, a toi aussi! Great team effort!
Thax: good to see ya! Dual-wield, didn't forget about you - if going PvP, picking this character up post-epic (i.e., level 40) rather than playing it through, take AMBI at level 6 (instead of extra stunning), TWF instead of Iron Will, and finish with ITWF instead of armor skin...
Cheers, Kail _________________ To hear the sound of Freedom, many gave their lives They fought for you and me Those memories will always live inside us, and now it's our time to be free
I'd drop Dodge, Extra SA and Iron Will if I had to, Deborah suggested to drop AS if you read carefully the post.
Quote: Posted 05/31/06 19:35:20 (GMT) -- Robert Tyr
Wow - talk about the "olympics" of character building....cool! And Cats, thanks for the cookie - (Means a lot coming from you). Finn, merci tres beaucoup, et Thax, a toi aussi! Great team effort!
Thax: good to see ya! Dual-wield, didn't forget about you - if going PvP, picking this character up post-epic (i.e., level 40) rather than playing it through, take AMBI at level 6 (instead of extra stunning), TWF instead of Iron Will, and finish with ITWF instead of armor skin...
Cheers, Kail
Umm, where the heck did you pick up that quote, because I sure as Hell can't find a post like that _________________ "... C'est un pays plus nu que la terre polaire — Ni bêtes, ni ruisseaux, ni verdure, ni bois!
Or il n'est pas d'horreur au monde qui surpasse La froide cruauté de ce soleil de glace Et cette immense nuit semblable au vieux Chaos; ..."
Finn: it's there; but that's okay . . . 'cause I like Kail's idea better - ie., ambi instead of dodge TWF instead of xtra-stun, and ITWF instead of iron will
Thus, keeping AS (either way, can achieve the same result in respect of dual wield,
Once again, though, recommended only if not playing it through; else, gonna want that iron will feat. . . yes, I know the hole that would otherwise exist, while waiting for the monk immunities to kick in full throttle, could just as easily be plugged with an item. -- ie., wis amulet, or clarity potions; however, as a practical matter, clarity potions being expensive, and STR here being avg., would have to make a lot of trips to carry stuff out to afford all those potions. But can do this if you want. I just prefer the iron will feat if playing it through; just me. But there are other options.
(thanks, Kail - I like it!; and to everyone, once again, thanks - like a Timex, this a great team that just keeps on giving . . . Priceless!
Edited By Robert Tyr on 05/31/06 20:40
WAIT! Question re: Dodge -- um, isn't that required for Epic Dodge? (I think it is; no?
Epic Dodge Type of Feat: Class Prerequisite: 21st level, Dexterity 25+, Dodge, ranks in Tumble, improved evasion and defensive roll. Specifics: The character avoids the first attack each round. Use: Automatic.
If want ED, keep the dodge and drop the AS; will get the AC back, more in fact, with UMD/Cat's, which also boosts the AB, etc. etc. (Thax, like I said, a very interesting challenge, indeed!) . . . LOL
Ah, but once again, for PvM I wouldn't do these things, but options are always good. With IKD and unarmed, it's all good either way (again, cool challenge; thanks).
Edited By Robert Tyr on 05/31/06 21:12
The manual's wrong, Dodge is not a prerequisite for ED, also you need just 1 single rank in tumble to qualify plus IE, Defensive Roll and DEX 25.
Cheers, Kail _________________ To hear the sound of Freedom, many gave their lives They fought for you and me Those memories will always live inside us, and now it's our time to be free
Really? (er . . . ya know, *NOT* gonna argue this time, nope, no need to be pullin' me teeth (but yeah, that's what it says . . . well, shiver me timbers, once again . . . LOL
Well then, if picking this character up post-epic and/or for PvP, then drop dodge (for ambi), xtra SA (for TWF), and Iron Will (for ITWF), keeping the AS. When it comes esp. to PvP, there's no such thing as too much AC (that it's UMD/buffable, so much the better!)
Thanks, Kail
ps. off-topic: that "faith" pill I took, it's still in effect (I know you and many of the expert builders here know best; of that I am sure, and that tip is really good to know. If there's any link or something where I can get a new manual, or if you can shoot me one over via email, that would be great. Just a thought.
And as to your thoughts in regards to the build at hand and dual-wield -- cool! A nice team effort this one is; totally!
Edited By Robert Tyr on 05/31/06 22:41
Quote: Well, to be really precise, he can reach 10 APR by dual-wielding Kamas with Haste and Flurry; that's nine APR, then a Cleave for the 10th:shake:
Heh, yeah, also unarmed Hasted with Flurry, Cleave and Circle Cick, but what the hell, change for Great Cleave and go against a mob of 50 weak zombies, go go infinite APR!
You'd be surprised about how much stuff is wrong in the manual or even in-game descriptions, I don't even want to remember...
You're going to want to switch those focuses for kamas. If you're taking the time to do the whole two-weapon tree, you're probably going to want to increase your kama awesomeness. _________________ CATS!
Quote: Posted 05/31/06 20:23:16 (GMT) -- Robert Tyr
Finn: it's there; but that's okay . . . 'cause I like Kail's idea better - ie., ambi instead of dodge TWF instead of xtra-stun, and ITWF instead of iron will
Heh, yeah, also unarmed Hasted with Flurry, Cleave and Circle Cick, but what the hell, change for Great Cleave and go against a mob of 50 weak zombies, go go infinite APR!
Euh, he doesn't have Circle Kick, though And FYI, there's a cap of 12 APR, so no infinite Great Cleaves for you. _________________ "... C'est un pays plus nu que la terre polaire — Ni bêtes, ni ruisseaux, ni verdure, ni bois!
Or il n'est pas d'horreur au monde qui surpasse La froide cruauté de ce soleil de glace Et cette immense nuit semblable au vieux Chaos; ..."
Ahoy!
Finn, Thax: zombies etc ... love it - (yeah, it's pretty cool to watch the monk in action, kinda like those old Batman reruns, or Kung Fu movies! If you tossed in the circle kick, even more funny (Bioware's got a great sense of humor; it's awesome!).
Problem with CirKick though is that it's not a very practical feat; cool to watch, so very cool, but forces monks to switch foes mid-battle, rather than finish it off. Not practical, but hillarious. Totally. Zombies, beware! Tee hee.
Hey, Cats - Nice to see ya! The kamas - what a GREAT idea; you know, I put them in as an aside (t'was great fun, inspired by Thax But yeah, since we're all brain-storming here on that, and with Kail's great tip re: dodge/ED, why not: let's take it up and see what it looks like for real; cool. Great thinking! Back soon. ~ Tyr
Quote: Posted 06/01/06 15:49:47 (GMT) -- Robert Tyr
Problem with CirKick though is that it's not a very practical feat; cool to watch, so very cool, but forces monks to switch foes mid-battle, rather than finish it off. Not practical, but hillarious. Totally. Zombies, beware! Tee hee.
No one was suggesting Circle Kick anyway _________________ "... C'est un pays plus nu que la terre polaire — Ni bêtes, ni ruisseaux, ni verdure, ni bois!
Or il n'est pas d'horreur au monde qui surpasse La froide cruauté de ce soleil de glace Et cette immense nuit semblable au vieux Chaos; ..."
Nope; just having some fun, just visualizing, and nothin' wrong wit dat! (pvp/kama version coming up soon . . . so, as they say in those batman reruns, stay tuned . . .
Alright - reporting back re: the so-called "awesome kama" deal ---- as fun as it's been, truly it has, his unarmed focus is much, much better, and will work just fine, with IKD the unarmed AB, then swithching to Kamas for the sneak attacks. Repeat as necessary, be it PvM or PvP. If the creature/character's immune to sneak, you're gonna want that unarmed strike. No matter how you slice it, Kamas are low damage, and there's no escaping this fact. Different result, perhaps, if this were a Monk/FTR/WM with dev.crit and STR based, but it's not . . . this is a sneaker who can melee, such that switching to a kama-focus solely would really hamper this character, as he'd only have the one type (i.e., low) damage.
So, as fun as it's been, and it has, in the wise words of Cats:
Quote: Posted 05/30/06 23:26:14 (GMT) -- avarielo
39 AC for dual weild is nothing special, but if you need the AB you can go over to unarmed. This also gives you multiple damage types (helps with low damage).
5d6 sneak attack ... ouch. Still, no real problem. Given you have improved knockdown and a potential 10 attacks per round, you can deal at least 15d6 in sneaks a round. Try pulling a knockdown with your fists and then switching to kamas ...
Epic Dodge still comes in irritatingly late, but it's no real problem.
Overall - good AC, fair AB, sneaking ability, UMD, and epic dodge. Very nice, well done.
ps. I like my cookie (you know, Cats would take it back if I tried to state something like "ooh, look at all that awesome kama combat damage" LOL
Thanks guys . . . just wanted to report back; doesn't work for this build, ftr/wm/monk why not, but not the sneaker. This build's the one, for the features we want, to play it through, and also PvP adaptable. For melee, unarmed and not kamas are the way to go
Quote: Euh, he doesn't have Circle Kick, though And FYI, there's a cap of 12 APR, so no infinite Great Cleaves for you.
Crap those caps (I know, I know, blah blah blah, the round is separated in 3 attacks, the max amount of hits is 4 each, 10 APR is 4/3/3, so obviously 12 for 4/4/4 is the max... blah blah blah, anyway, by making 12 attacks in 6 seconds you wouldn't notice Great Cleave getting capped blah blah blah, this is getting contagious). Yeah, not really suggesting Circle Cick, just saying stuff, because that clearly gives 10 APR, stupidly non-viable 10 APR.
Sure, make the kama version, but seriously, try builds with another classes or class combination, there are many.
, modifications were made to the Death Dealer for your fun and enjoyment as follows: 
Then again, with AB raised, and UMD now maximized, the modifications should actually result in much more effective use of all those attacks, including kamas, and thus equate to more overall damage (ihits = more damage. While former AB was fine for PvM (for which this character was and remains designed), could be better if taken to a PvP server. These changes (i.e., +1 AB and more UMD (which, in turn, enables this charater to further buff his own AB via UMD/scrolls). AC, more HPs, increased STR, and other changes reflect that. As such, even more adaptable than before for PvP, but still designed for PvM.
shutting up now; said more than enough; what a team I tells ya on this one (thanks!)
(Means a lot coming from you). Finn, merci tres beaucoup, et Thax, a toi aussi! Great team effort! 
Tee hee.