Trolls. He smelled them. He always did. He did not see them yet, but he was on to them. He was hot on their trail and soon he would be upon them. As always when the prey was almost in his sights, his thoughts wandered back to that fateful morning that seemed so long ago.
He had been on the trail to pick up his bride. They hadn't shown up as agreed and he had become worried. Further down the path he found it, her entire escort, dead. All their valuables gone and the bride missing. In desperation he had followed the tracks and soon came upon some trolls, bringing his bride. Trolls were known to steal brides on the eve of the wedding. In desperation he attacked them, but his combat-skills were limited and the trolls had no problems dispatching him. They left him for dead on the ground and went on, probably to eat his bride.
Sadly for them he had survived. He started to train himself, learning the ways of the land and the way of the weapon. Perfecting his killing, survival and tracking skills. All the while hatred and fury was building inside of him. He had started out slow. tracking young trolls, using them as training, then gone upwards and upwards. Now he was skilled and experienced enough to take on entire hunting parties. He could not save his bride. But he could avenge her, which he did. Again. and again. And again in an endless killing spree. So far he had killed almost a hundred trolls, and they were starting to fear him, his legend among them spreading. The fear they felt for him had become even another weapon in the hunt for vengeance.
Back to now. He was hiding under the bush, watching the group. He had to make sure that he could account for their exact numbers, as he could not afford surprises. He started to lay down traps. Traps that were mostly focused on injuring and capturing/paralyzing the trolls and not killing them. It had become his favourite past-time, watching the trolls struggling, pleading and threatening as the sun rose. He enjoyed staring them in the eyes as the sun turned them to stone. The fear and desperation his bride must have felt, was paid back in kind. After the traps was in place he circled slowly around so that when they started to flee, which they would, they would run into his traps. His faithful Lynx was at his side, dark as night too, coloured by his hatred. It was a silent killer, just like himself. He felt the adrenaline and anger level rise as he came into position. It was again time to unleash bloodred vengeance. _______
I actually tried to make a DEX-based ranger, but after a few tests I just dropped it. It worked sooo excellent with Strength instead. This build must have tumble, so assassin became the only option as it costs nothing and gives access to an excellent skillset and gave 2d6 sneak dice and Death attack DC 15 to boot (they might roll a 1).
Barbarian16, Ranger21, Assassin3, Human Alignment NE. (or CE)
Ranger spells to help with stealth, nice enough AC, lacks hardly anything compared to a plate wielder. Has UMD to help cover some weaknesses, as I'll be the first to admit that saves are crap. Some might wanna gimp some other skills to max out UMD, but then you must move Assassin to lvl 38.
I'll explain the levelling. I started Barbarian as Rage gives more, perhaps, than 1 FE and dual-wield. Then I got uncanny at lvl 2 which opens for ranger levels and the switch to dual-wield and gets you some stealth and 2 FE's. Then Barbarian again for 1 more Rage, then I went for Improved dual-wield. Then all Barbarian to reach Terrifying Rage at first opportunity. Terrifying is an excellent mob-cleaner. He gets 7 or more skillpoints pr level, which I tried really hard to get the most out of. You might consider taking an assassin level earlier to get access to Rogue skills earlier, just be aware that it postpones your terrifying rage.
It turned out a versatile and fun character, and you will not regret going the STR path. You have okay AC and a fair amount of hitpoints. Should with the help of your skillset and UMD be able to deal with most situations.
Pro's: Traps, panther, stealth, strength, BoE, nice hitpoints. A little sneak-dice. Terrifying Rage at lvl 24. UMD. Both dual-wielding and axe+board. Uncanny dodge. Good stealth with ranger spells.
Con's. Few FE's, so choose wisely. No PvP-power. Mediocre saves. Very late BoE. Feat-starved, no bonus feats.
There are other classes than Assassin to choose as 3rd class, but they all come at a cost, whereas Assassin brings all it's goodness to the table completely free.
A note to weapon chosen. Some might prefer short-swords. I took Handaxes because they are slashing, and with UMD you might be able to get hold of Keen Edge Scrolls.
Enjoy folks.
PS! The trolls in the story are the norse ones, not the D&D ones. They were actually known to rob brides.
*Edit* No other build in the guild with both Terrifying and BoE, and no other build in this class-combo at all. So another unique build. _________________ 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.
Edited By Grimnir77 on 08/13/06 18:23
True, Assassin makes it so that you don't get XP penalty, nice catch.
It's quite good, I don't see why you mean no-PvP power, BoE is a great PvP feat and with Rage your STR is good, HP good too, it's nice overall.
CD and I had been discussing how there were no barbarian/rangers in the guild. I came up with a Barb/Ranger/Harper Scout, CD came up with a Barb/Ranger/Bard. I was going to post mine later today but there doesn't seem to be a point to it now, I even wrote a story but that can be used for another build. It isn't an uber combo, terrifying rage only lasts 1-3 rounds and BoE isn't good enough by itself to qualify as a high damage build. Also, defensively it leaves a lot to be desired. Still it is a fun combo with some good RP possibilities. Good Job on both the build and story. _________________ Two wrongs don't make a right but three lefts do.
Another cool build and story, and unique to boot - shhh! be wary, wary quiet: we huntin' troll (Cool, Grim!!
Edited By TyrTemplar on 08/14/06 14:11
I like this one a lot. SD wouldn't be a bad choice over Asn, you know. Great build! _________________ "With Europe liberated, the people of the world turned their attention to that old devil, the United States of America [...] We taught that monster of old the true meaning of freedom." Star Wreck
Thanks for the comments folks, really appreciated. This isn't the first Barb/Ranger around, there were a few in the guild, but it's the first havng BoE and terrifying. True SD wouldn't be a bad choice, but it has a slight cost, x-classing some tumble and two pre-epic feats. _________________ Dragonlance ROH is back, better than before! and I spend a little time here WoG
Well done buddy, as you say first of its kind with BoE and TR. Me likes it. I'm of the idea I would like also a SD version, it will probably cost you the save boosters feats. Barbarian 17/Ranger 21/SD 2 would be a good split methinks.
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!
Hmmm... I guess I must of had my level filters up when I did the search, or the search engine might have been acting up (I did the search around the time it was giving some trouble). Still a noteworthy addition to the guild. SD would work nicely except for the extra 5 points you would have to spend on tumble maybe Barbarian 15/Ranger 23/SD 2? _________________ Two wrongs don't make a right but three lefts do.
Ranger 23 would get another feat, not much to spend it on except another FE, which in itself is quite good. But the problem with only 15 Barb-levels and no assasin is that you will have trouble maxing Intimidate and getting Terrifying somewhat early. assassin has intimidate on the class-list.
Thing is in my build I needed Barb15/Ranger21. 4 more levels to play with, and to get some skilldumps it's hard to take less asn. You might even take 4 asn levels at the cost of Barb16 since asn gets intimidate, but I felt that 1 more rage was better all in all. Some things might be harder than it looks at first glance. _________________ 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.
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