Playable from level 1-40 *...PvM *=Two alignment shifts required along Law-Chaos
An Elven corsair had been shadowing the galleon for days, but the captain felt they their size would prove sufficient a deterrent against any attack. Still, he had changed course to avoid them. Unfortunately, this had played directly into the hands of the pirates, who had been using the corsair to drive the galleon towards their waiting frigate. When the watch had first seen the black sails of the frigate over the horizon, the captain had ordered the passengers below deck and set a course towards the corsair. It was a desperate plan, the galleon could not outrun the two ships, but if it could reach and sink the corsair before the frigate could enter ballista range, it just might stand a chance against the similarly armed vessel. As the galleon closed upon the corsair, it seemed like they might reach weapons range before the frigate could engage them.
Their hopes were dashed as the corsair fired a pair of heavy ballista bolts dragging a chain between them at the galleon. The expertly aimed bolts streaked through the air, tearing through the mainsail and dragging the chain across the mast. With a crash, the sail and rigging crashed to the deck. As the crew fought valiantly to clear the deck of the tangled mess of canvas, rope and wood, the frigate closed with them. Both sides dismissed the use of heavy weapons against the other, instead firing barrages of grape shot at each other to clear the decks. As the ships closed, grapnels were thrown from the frigate to the galleon and the ships were being pulled together. The captain called for all available hands to arm themselves and head to the starboard side of the ship.
Aramir flung wide the door to the cabin and stepped out with a small detachment of battle capable passengers. He stepped carefully over the corpse of a dead deckhand, a large rock protruded from the center of his face, which was crowned with a grizzly halo of blood. The last thing Aramir wanted was to get blood on his fine Waterdhavian boots. He detested battles, they were so messy. He brushed a well manicured hand across the jewelled pommel of his long sword. Letting his palm settle on the cold emerald, he rubbed his fingertips against the smooth leather of the hilt. He had trained since he was a young boy with the weapon, he had even won a few duels, but this would be his first battle. He had been on the battlefield before, but it was one thing to be in the vanguard, watching from a distance, quite another to be in the thick of the fray. He tightened his grip on the pommel and drew the blade; it hummed slightly as it cleared the sheath. He swung the blade up, shifting his grip and took a few practice swipes to loosen his arm. “Don’t be nervous, try to project confidence and your enemies will attack other targets. No one wants to fight someone who looks like they might be better than they are.” whispered the smooth baritone voice of Aramir’s companion.
Aramir’s father had hired the man to guard the young noble on his journey. When he heard that the man was a former monk of Torm, he did not relish the thought of such a stoic companion. Much to his surprise, the guard was like no monk he had ever met. Firstly, he had never met a monk that wore armour; heavy plate, made from a peculiar blue metal with bladed gauntlets and greaves. He was gregarious and gallant, with a decidedly cavalier disposition. He was constantly regaling the young noble with tales of derring-do: The rescue of fair elf maidens, the slighting of despotic tyrants, and the slaying of beasts of undreamt of horror; often all in the same tale. Though reluctant, the man did eventually tell Aramir his tale. He was born a noble in Amn, and like Aramir had preferred the lyre to the sword and the mead hall to the battlefield. After a certain indiscretions became known to his father, he had been sent to a monastery to learn discipline. Although he came to worship Torm, he struggled in the monastery. He could master the physical disciplines, but he never felt the austere life of chanting and meditation was necessary, or particularly useful, in carrying out Torm’s mandate. Though it would cost him his inheritance, the warrior eventually left the monastery and set out to see the rest of Faerun.
The boat rocked sharply as the two boats came together. The two crews could see each other clearly for the first time; the pirates were not the typical motley crew one expected. They were a mixture of elves and humans, all dressed in black leather armour with a silver left pauldron, green left arm and green leather boots. The crew of the galleon recoiled at the sight of them. The pirates did not attack, however, instead they parted to clear a path for lone figure. At first, Aramir could not make out the figure as it was obscured by the shadow cast by the frigate’s main sail. But as it strode forth he could discern the figure of a sea-elf, naked from the waist up, his long stringy black hair clung to his wiry green frame, and in either hand he gripped a short sword. As he reached the railing of the frigate, he placed a foot upon the railing and bowed forward, flourishing his blades. “’Tis I, the great Xyl Sharksbane! Runner of contraband, lightener of purses, master swordsman and pirate extraordinaire! Surrender now and spare yourselves the ignominy of defeat! My men and I will merely help ourselves to your valuables and you can be on your way.” He shouted, beckoning towards the galleon’s crew with his blades.
Aramir looked at the captain, from the expression on his lined face, he could see the man was considering surrender. Stepping forward he shouted, “Come now! Are we to cower in fear of this scrawny strutting popinjay, common rogue and poor dresser!” At this last insult, he had expected laughter, but he was met with silence. Xyl stared malevolently into eyes of the young noble, “Your crew has more sense than you do, my young pup. Perhaps you need some education…”
Xyl was interrupted as Aramir’s guard chimed in, “Nay Xyl, if the crew are silent, it is only because your foul reek has stunned them.” At this point the warrior burst into song, “Xyl Sharksbane trounced many a foe, as long as downwind he fought. A dragon’s breath would wound far less, than this churl's nauseating rot.
An orc would excise his nose, At the first whiff of Xyl’s toes. His men are all foolishly brave, to serve the malodorous knave.
Xyl Sharksbane trounced many a foe, as long as downwind he fought. He would be broken and humbled, If ever upwind he was caught.” There was some kind of magic in his song, an energy which transcended his performance, that filled the souls of the galleon crew. By the end of his mocking chant, the crew of the galleon was roaring with laughter. Aramir had to admit he felt emboldened, even his limbs seemed lighter and stronger. Xyl was furious, his green skin darkened to a mossy brown as he flushed with rage. “I would have let you live, but for that insult you will all die!”
“Cool yourself Xyl, perhaps go for a swim and do something about that stench.” mocked the warrior. “You won’t find this an easy battle. Your quarrel is with me, and if it is death you seek, I will grant your request.” As he spoke his challenge, he drew a long curved blade and brandished it at the elf. Xyl waved off his men and leapt from the frigate to the deck of the galleon. As the elf advanced, the warrior sang his battle chant. “ The scavengers will feast tonight, when my blade sinks into your flesh. A thousand souls in Tartarus, will to my great prowess attest. May your blades upon my armour break, As I grant you an early death.” As he chanted, the elf’s shoulders seemed to slump, his soundless footfalls became loud and heavy and his face took on a drawn appearance. The effect of the malediction was not limited to the Sea-Elf, looking around Aramir could see that all of the pirates were affected with a malaise. There weapons hung loosely in their hands and their faces drooped.
The elf closed on the warrior and the two combatants circled each other. The elf took the initiative and rushed in thrusting with both of his blades, one aimed high at the monk’s face, while the lower blow was centered on his abdomen. The warrior reacted swiftly, he neglected the blow to his midsection, his armour would deflect that blow, instead he stepped forward, placing his leg behind the leading leg of the elf and blocking the blow to his face with his scimitar. As he swept the blade aside, he pivoted his scimitar about the sword and thrust the pommel into the face of elf. As the elf lurched back, blood streaming from his broken nose, the monk hooked his bladed greave into the calf of the elf and grabbed the elf by his wrist with his free hand. The elf flopped back, his weight supported by the warrior. He couldn’t drop down and roll away, because of the warrior’s mighty grip and he couldn’t stand because his leg was impaled on the warrior’s shin. He could only watch in horror as the warrior’s scimitar took his head from his body.
The monk tossed the twitching corpse aside. “So this was the great Xyl Sharksbane, master swordsman.” he scoffed. Aramir looked with wonder at his guard, in a few seconds he had dispatched the pirate that had the crew of the galleon wracked with terror. With a mighty roar the galleon crew jumped on to the pirate frigate, attacking the demoralized pirates. Aramir paused to salute the warrior, and then joined the charge.
This particular class combination has never been posted in the guild, likely due to the alignment shifts required. There are two alignment shifts along the Law/Chaos axis required, one from neutral to lawful from level 8 to 9 and one from lawful to neutral between level 22 to 25. Other than those alignment shifts, the build is very playable from levels 1 to 40 and is quite well rounded if not exceptional in any particular aspect. It has a fair AB which can be raised to a good level by bard buffs and it can lower an opponents AC with curse song and taunt if necessary. With +5 equipment it can also manage an AC of 65, this is pretty good in most settings, though not exceptional. The build has good saving throws and evasion, which will help against spells and spell like effects. It also has full bard casting and the ability to use arcane scrolls and wands, monk equipment and with UMD pretty much anything else the character might want. The build has over 400 hitpoints, which isn't bad for character with 24 levels of D6 hit dice, but it could be better. This is a build with devastating critical, so there are many settings where it might not be allowed, in that case power attack, great cleave, overwhelming critical and devastating critical could be dropped for other feats (likely candidates would be the disarm feats, called shot, great strengths, armor skin and/or epic skill focus). The build should do well in low to mid magic environments, it is primarily a PvM build, it should do okay in PVP but there are stronger builds for that (strong arcane casters and undispellable clerics will beat it). It might do well in team PvP, where it can tank, buff and curse/taunt.
Heroic Harlequin
Advantages
-Devastating Critical with a 39 DC. Always nice to be able to kill on a critical hit. The Scimitar was chosen because of its large threat range and because, as a slashing weapon, keen edge can extend that range further. -Fair AB which can increased to a good level with buffs. He has a 40 AB which War Cry and Bard song effectively raise to a 44, toss in a curse song's ability to decrease AC and he should be able to hit his target. -Good AC. In a +5 environment he can get a 65 AC. This isn't going to make him immune to hits, but it will help. -Level 6 bard spells. He has a high enough caster level that he can only be dispelled by a holy avenger or mordenkainen's disjunction. The spells aren't great, but he has some buffs which he can cast stilled or, if he gets a chance to buff before combat, extended. Spells like War Cry and Dirge have no somatic components and do not need to be stilled. -Level 19 bard song and level 20 curse song. With lingering song it gets 100 rounds with these songs, hence they can pretty much be considered permanent buffs. He can increase his AB and AC and 2 and 5 respectively and lower his opponents AB and AC by the same. -46 Taunt skill. This won't guarrantee a taunt against an opponent with a maxed out concentration, but barring a skill focus in concentration should be around the same level. With Curse Song and Taunt he could potentially decrease an opponents AC by 11. -Good Saves. His Fortitude save is good enough to consistently make saving throws against devastating critical and all of his saves vs. spells. The will save might be a little weak against non spell effects, but other than that they are fine. -Evasion. He should make his reflex save, so he should see very little damage from spells that require a reflex save for half damage. -High UMD. With monk levels and bard levels, there are very few items with class restrictions that he can't use, this will help with racial and alignment restrictions.
Disadvantages
-Mediocre Hitpoints. 412 is okay, but it could be better. This isn't enough to survive a time stop, maxed IGMS flurry. -No defense against spells like harm, IGMS and the level 6, 7 and 9 Bigby's Hand spells. Maybe he could find some mantle scrolls, but that is about all he can do to defend against them. Harm isn't that much of problem in venues where devastating critical is being used, but it can still pop up. The mage spells pose a bigger problem. -Two alignment changes along the law-chaos axis. The first one is a neutral to lawful shift, which has to be done in one level (well there is no rule saying you have to level up once you have enough experience, but your XP per kill decreases as if you leveled up so it can be problematic). The second shift is far more manageable, a shift from lawful to neutral over three levels.
Race Human
Alignment NG/LG or TN/LN
Base Attributes STR 16 DEX 8 CON 14 INT 14 WIS 8 CHA 15
Attribute Bonuses All 10 increase strength
Final Level Distribution Bard 24 Monk 6 Champion of Torm 10
Level Distribution and Feats Level 1: (Bard 1): Weapon Proficiency (Martial), Armor Proficiency (Heavy) Level 2: (Bard 2) Level 3: (Bard 3): Weapon Focus (Scimitar) Level 4: (Bard 4) Level 5: (Bard 5) Level 6: (Bard 6): Curse Song Level 7: (Bard 7) Level 8: (Bard 8 ) Level 9: (Monk 1): Toughness (Alignment has to be lawful by here) Level 10: (Monk 2) Level 11: (Champion of Torm 1) Level 12: (Monk 3): Still Spell Level 13: (Champion of Torm 2): Blind-Fight Level 14: (Champion of Torm 3) Level 15: (Champion of Torm 4): Extend Spell, Improved Critical (Scimitar) Level 16: (Champion of Torm 5) Level 17: (Monk 4) Level 18: (Champion of Torm 6): Power Attack, Great Fortitude Level 19: (Champion of Torm 7) Level 20: (Champion of Torm 8 ): Great Cleave Level 21: (Monk 5): Epic Weapon Focus (Scimitar) Level 22: (Monk 6) Level 23: (Champion of Torm 9) Level 24: (Champion of Torm 10): Epic Prowess, Great Charisma I Level 25: (Bard 9) (Alignment has to be neutral by here) Level 26: (Bard 10) Level 27: (Bard 11): Great Strength I Level 28: (Bard 12) Level 29: (Bard 13) Level 30: (Bard 14): Overwhelming Critical (Scimitar) Level 31: (Bard 15) Level 32: (Bard 16) Level 33: (Bard 17): Devastating Critical (Scimitar) Level 34: (Bard 18) Level 35: (Bard 19) Level 36: (Bard 20): Epic Fortitude Level 37: (Bard 21) Level 38: (Bard 22) Level 39: (Bard 23): Great Strength II, Lasting Inspiration Level 40: (Bard 24)
Final Attributes STR 28 DEX 8 CON 14 INT 14 WIS 8 CHA 16
AB and Damage (no buffs, mundane scimitar) 40/35/30/25 9+1D6 (15-20 x2) Devastating Critical DC 39
(+4 to Strength [bull's strength], Haste, Greater Magic Weapon, Keen Edge, War Cry, Bard Song, Scimitar) 51/46/41/36/51 21+1D6 (12-20 X2) Devastating Critical DC 41
(+12 to Strength [bull's strength, gauntlets of ogre power, belt of giant strength +5], Haste, Greater Magic Weapon, Keen Edge, War Cry, Bard Song, Scimitar) 55/50/45/40/55 25+1D6 (12-20 X2) Devastating Critical DC 45
AC 17 (no buffs no equipment) 28 (Full Plate, Tower Shield) 44 (+4 to Dexterity [Cat's Grace], Full Plate, Tower Shield, Mage Armor, Haste, Bard Song) 65 (+4 to Dexterity, +5 Full Plate, +5 Tower Shield, +5 Ring of Protection, +5 Boots of the Sun Soul, Mage Armor, Haste, Bard Song)
Final Saves/ Sacred Defense and Bard Song/ Vs. Spells Fortitude 30/37/46 Reflex 25/32/41 Will 21/29/38
Skillpoint Distribution Level 1: C 4, D 4, P 4, S 4, T 4, Tu 4, U 4 Level 2: C 1, D 1, P 1, S 1, T 1, Tu 1, U 1 Level 3: C 1, D 1, P 1, S 1, T 1, Tu 1, U 1 Level 4: C 1, D 1, P 1, S 1, T 1, Tu 1, U 1 Level 5: C 1, D 1, P 1, S 1, T 1, Tu 1, U 1 Level 6: C 1, D 1, P 1, S 1, T 1, Tu 1, U 1 Level 7: C 1, D 1, P 1, S 1, T 1, Tu 1, U 1 Level 8: C 1, D 1, P 1, S 1, T 1, Tu 1, U 1 Level 9: C 1, D 1, Tu 1, Save 4 Level 10: C 1, D 1, Tu 1, Save 8 Level 11: D 1, Save 12 Level 12: C 2, D 1, Tu 2, Save 14 Level 13: D 1, Save 18 Level 14: D 1, Save 22 Level 15: D 1, Save 26 Level 16: D 1, Save 30 Level 17: C 5, D 1, Tu 5, Save 26 Level 18: D 1, Save 30 Level 19: D 1, Save 34 Level 20: D 1, Save 38 Level 21: C 4, D 1, Tu 4, Save 36 Level 22: C 1, D 1, Tu 1, Save 40 Level 23: D 1, Save 44 Level 24: D 1, Save 48 Level 25: C 3, D 1, S 17, T 17, Tu 3, U 14 Level 26: C 1, D 1, S 1, T 1, Tu 1, U 2 Level 27: C 1, D 1, P 2, S 1, T 1, Tu 1 Level 28: C 1, D 1, P 2, S 1, T 1, Tu 1 Level 29: C 1, D 1, P 2, S 1, T 1, Tu 1 Level 30: C 1, D 1, P 2, S 1, T 1, Tu 1 Level 31: C 1, D 1, P 2, S 1, T 1, Tu 1 Level 32: C 1, D 1, P 2, S 1, T 1, Tu 1 Level 33: C 1, D 1, P 2, S 1, T 1, Tu 1 Level 34: C 1, D 1, P 2, S 1, T 1, Tu 1 Level 35: C 1, D 1, P 2, S 1, T 1, Tu 1 Level 36: C 1, D 1, P 2, S 1, T 1, Tu 1 Level 37: C 1, D 1, P 2, S 1, T 1, Tu 1 Level 38: C 1, D 1, P 3, S 1, T 1 Level 39: C 1, D 1, P 3, S 1, T 1 Level 40: C 1, D 1, P 3, S 1, T 1
Spells
Level 0: Cure Minor Wounds, Daze, Flare, Light, Resistance
Level 5: Ethereal Visage, Greater Dispelling, Healing Circle, Mind Fog, Summon Creature V
Level 6: Dirge, Energy Buffer, Ice Storm, Mass Haste _________________ Two wrongs don't make a right but three lefts do.
Edited By Mithdradates on 07/05/06 19:07
Is there any particular reason you didn't get ESF: Perform? You could get a 21st level song if you got it. Add Artist and SF: Perform to get 22nd level.
EDIT: Great build! _________________ "We keep our Feast of Feasts, sure of our bourne, Our aims self-same: The Guest of Guests, friend Zarathustra, came! The world now laughs, the grisly veil was torn, And Light and Dark were one that wedding-morn."
Edited By FinneousPJ on 07/05/06 19:22
Nice tale, Mith, though I must confess that it would have been more of a victory if he had just humiliated Xyl and tossed him into the sea where he was feasted on by the very thing he was accredited "Bane" for.
Quote: This particular class combination has never been posted in the guild, likely due to the alignment shifts required.
That, and Bard/Monks leave me feeling a little queasy. _________________ Got Hommlet? World of Greyhawk Action Server (with 1/2 price ales on Mondays!)
Ariel, Ookla, RIDE!
Hey, Mith: great tale! We're having a Bard feast today, it seems, and this is a cool inaugural character. Monk is good here, helps with AC and also some really neat stuff all their own. With Bard, can curse enemy skills, saves, etc, thus having some nice symmatries. I likes it. Not sure about DevCrit though, as to the DC factor (reminds me of an old character I did, but bard buffs do help quite a bit, and love the concept & that scimmy should def. help (ie.,everyone can roll low afterall - especially when you can sing and curse and war cry and buff, and with the scimmy, just keep on forcin' the issue - nice Your HPs are decent, not a weakling at all; on the line, but decent for a high level bard as we were just discussing on Finny's build; cool AC, decent AB and you've some nice buffs (with the enemy cursable), too. Shame about the extra alignment change though (yeah, not so easy to go N to L, so quickly, (note: other way, from L to N, that's easy; but still...
As to suggestions: I'd be inclined to raise your perform on this one also, though, to get a better song/curse as Finn suggests -- Nice work, Mith
btw, with 21-plus level bard and high perform (55 i think is the magic number), you'll get a much better bard song/curse song, including +30 HPs singing; and with L.I., that song, just lasts on, and on, and on and ....
Edited By TyrTemplar on 07/05/06 21:10
post-post btw, just so we're clear, in raising the thought of me old character, it's just that this one's a bit reminiscent, and that's all (and I've learned so much since then, including from Mith -
Harlequin, here, on the other hand, is so GOOD!!! He's an entirely different class combo altogether, and thus so very different, not to mention that epic level bard (nice, re: spell access, SR, etc.) And with LI, those songs and curses, they just go on, and on, and on ....(and thus, *will* help out with the DC factor With Monk in there for AC etc., and COT for the saves etc.... Nice Job! (Mith, once again, super work -- I likes it a lot) ~ Tyr
Edited By TyrTemplar on 07/05/06 21:49
Aww, no kama cheesines...
Although using kama would be strong, your AC would suffer it badly, so I won't try to persuade you this time.
You could start with 12 INT and 16 CHA (as no feats requires the INT, IKD is automatic) changing Great Charisma I for Armor Skin, losing 40 skillpoints for 2 AC... and listen not to Grim, you won't die for letting off those 40 skillpoints. (of course, forget about it if you think your AC is high enough... depends on the setting I'd say).
It's nice
Edited By Thaxll'ssyllia on 07/06/06 00:37
Thanks for the feedback .
For the bard song, if I had taken another bard level, so that with some equipment I might have a shot of reaching the 25th level song, I might have taken the feats to boost perform. The 21st level bard song offers another 4 hitpoints and 2 skill points compared to the level 19th bard song. IMO not worth an epic feat. The bard song bonuses can be found here for anyone who is interested.
Thaxll'ssyllia, I vacillated on that choice for a while, going as far as to build both variants (I took the skill points from UMD and Spellcraft). In the end I prefered having the extra skillpoints to the 2 AC.
Grizzled Dwarflord: Damn, I don't know how I missed that ending! I bow before your bardic skill. If you think Bard/Monks make you queasy now consider a bard/monk/AA with a high wisdom and zen archery. High AB, High enough AC that clerics might even miss harm touch attacks and pretty high saving throws too. _________________ Two wrongs don't make a right but three lefts do.
Actually Monk's AC (both WIS and lvl AC) is lost to touch attacks...
Nice build and nice story too Mith, as usual.
Cheers, Kail _________________ Looking for a realm of adventure? Check out World of Greyhawk, you won't regret it.
Quote: Posted 07/06/06 00:35:23 (GMT) -- Thaxll'ssyllia You could start with 12 INT and 16 CHA (as no feats requires the INT, IKD is automatic) changing Great Charisma I for Armor Skin, losing 40 skillpoints for 2 AC... and listen not to Grim, you won't die for letting off those 40 skillpoints.
In a build with Bard in it, I probably would. He can't even max UMD and has not yet x-classed any rogue skills, which is a good thing to do in bards IMO.
Nice build.
Note, more monk wouldn't increase his AC, since he's wearing plate. _________________ 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.
& that scimmy should def. help (ie.,everyone can roll low afterall - especially when you can sing and curse and war cry and buff, and with the scimmy, just keep on forcin' the issue - nice 
Your HPs are decent, not a weakling at all; on the line, but decent for a high level bard as we were just discussing on Finny's build; cool AC, decent AB and you've some nice buffs (with the enemy cursable), too. Shame about the extra alignment change though (yeah, not so easy to go N to L, so quickly, (note: other way, from L to N, that's easy; but still...
- 
He can't even max UMD and has not yet x-classed any rogue skills, which is a good thing to do in bards IMO.