Even after the thunderous cascade of rock and flame, he stood there still. Unmoving. Unflinching. A stoic silhouette lit only by the apocolyptic spray of fire and lightning that erupted from the siege engines and war wizards of the enemy. A hailstorm of arrows and bolts clattered harmlessly off his blackened platemail, and every now and then one could see his hand move to snap a feathered shaft from where it pierced his armor. In one instance, he disappeared completely in a great ball of flame and smoke, and the defenders on the wall inhaled sharply. But when the ash and debris settled, he stood there still, kneeling in the rubble to light a cigar from a nearby burning corpse.
And as he slowly stood up a grim smile played across his cracked and blistered lips, and he laughed and said, "Is that all you got, lads?" ______________
The Battling Citadel of Moradin
Rogue10/Fighter4/Dwarven Defender26
Playable: 1-40, PvM Race: Dwarf Alignment: Any Lawful
Advanatges High Hit Points Nearly maximum allowable Damage Reduction Evasion Epic Weapon Specialization Rogue skill set throughout the build 5d6 Sneak/Improved Knockdown Crippling Strike Defensive Awareness Defensive Stance
_______________
There is nothing new here. Just a tried and true strategy. An attempt to get the best of 3 classes at once without having to be hopelessly mired in mediocrity. What makes this build attractive is its capacity for a balanced approach to both offense and defense. He achieves Damage Reduction fast, maintains competitive saving throws, and has a variety of ways to damage his opponent. Has enough skill points for customization of skills, and one can take a traps-based approach rather than the Crafting one I established here. AB and AC are good enough for low to mid-magic environments. Whether in party or solo play, he should provide a solid and versatile melee template for all players.
There are a few Fighter/Rogue/DwDs in the Guild, and for good reason-- it's a damn good combination. Probably the one most similar would be The Masterful Barricade, a Rogue14/Ftr4/DwD22. If one is keen on getting Crippling Strike, I would probably fashion a bit more like that one, but CS was never a goal or a priority in this build, but rather icing on the cake. _________________ Got Hommlet? World of Greyhawk Action Server (with 1/2 price ales on Mondays!)
Ariel, Ookla, RIDE!
Edited By Kail Pendragon on 10/12/07 16:13
A nifty build Grizz, and somewhat reminiscent of one I've been working on (Not sure if I'll bother posting mine now...) Rather an unexpectedly short tale from you though. Still, it's good to see another build from you, my stout friend. _________________ It's rogue, dammit, ROGUE!!!
Oh yeah, more dwarves!
Improved Evasion would be nice (because your Reflex ain't high), but you'd need to sacrifice your Great CON (your HP is already high, and with that DR it won't be a great loss) to move Epic Prowess as you lose an epic feat and 3 DR, not a good idea if you're going PvP against those IGMS spammers, but it could be a nice addition for magical resistance, as your physical resistance is already awesome, mostly working in PvM though.
Solid rocking power grizz, a good one, I like it very much.
Quote: Posted 08/08/06 21:11:29 (GMT) -- grizzled_dwarflord ... Has enough skill points for customization of skills, and one can take a traps-based approach rather than the Crafting one I established here. ...
i presume the crafting here is to just let you customize your armour?
solid build. quite the descriptive intro. i could picture the stout 'tower' of dwarven might.
-cs
Edited By christian.schnabel on 08/08/06 23:36
27 dr? heck, with almost 700 hps its gonna take a century to kill this guy! Remind me to sneak away from all DDs...
Nice Build GD and an effective intro (But a cigar? Real dwarves smoke pipes! ). Not much to add, pretty solid all the way through. Maybe swap crippling strike for improved evasion, but that's about it. _________________ Two wrongs don't make a right but three lefts do.
Quote: Posted 08/09/06 01:37:45 (GMT) -- Groml
27 dr? heck, with almost 700 hps its gonna take a century to kill this guy! Remind me to sneak away from all DDs...
That's what Harm is for
Nice build GD, I've got something similar in my stables too, going for Rogue 14/DwD 22 though to grab both IE and Crippling Strike. I also did something with more Fighter once when I went the Dev Crit route. Fighter/Rogue/DwD is an amazing combo and it's lotta fun to play IMO. Kudos to you.
Cheers, Kail _________________ Unto to the darkness I commend my soul Never shall I repent Never shall I be saved
I'll go into the House of Death Before my last breath My enemies all shall die!
Improved Evasion.
I see where you're going with the IKD/Sneak Attack/Crippling combination Grizz, but this build's focus seems to be more defensive and I suspect the above feat would see more use.
Quote: Posted 08/08/06 23:20:41 (GMT) -- Thaxll'ssyllia Improved Evasion would be nice (because your Reflex ain't high), but you'd need to sacrifice your Great CON...to move Epic Prowess as you lose an epic feat and 3 DR,
Or one could just swap the 10th level Rogue feat from Crippling to Improved Evasion. _________________
Quote: Posted 04/07/06 14:00:59 (GMT) by Murdane Although personally, if I was going to take rogue levels I'd want a good CHA score. It's not necessary, but if you want your rogue to be really good at social skills CHA would be helpful.
Edited By pocketbeetle on 08/09/06 12:05
Quote: Posted 08/08/06 23:19:06 (GMT) -- Cinnabar Din
A nifty build Grizz, and somewhat reminiscent of one I've been working on (Not sure if I'll bother posting mine now...) Rather an unexpectedly short tale from you though. Still, it's good to see another build from you, my stout friend.
Sorry about that. Both the reminiscence and the short tale-- oh for a Muse of Fire....
I see where you're going with the IKD/Sneak Attack/Crippling combination Grizz, but this build's focus seems to be more defensive and I suspect the above feat would see more use.
Actually, I wasn't going anywhere with that combo. It's there if you want it, but more by happenstance than design. As for IE, eh. I could take IE or leave it. Evasion and lots of hps will be sufficient 95% of the time. His reflex save against Spells will be plenty high enough in most circumstances. Between that, and UMD, and Stance, and whatever other doodads he can stick up his bum to improve his saves, he'll do quite fine.
But it's up for each to decide. In a more PvP setting, I might agree. But it was never my intention to get any Rogue Feats, I just wanted the other built-in goodnesses that come with the Rogue class.
What this build proves the most I think, is how much goodies you get in build with 27/- DR over a 30/- DR build. Just by giving up 3 Dr you gain so much. Rock-steady Grizz.
Rock on. _________________ Dragonlance ROH is back, better than before! and I spend a little time here WoG
Oh yeah, more dwarves!
Nice Build GD and an effective intro (But a cigar? Real dwarves smoke pipes! 
). Not much to add, pretty solid all the way through. Maybe swap crippling strike for improved evasion, but that's about it.