The Myrmidon Eternal

"...they were an Axe from the days of Old, when the the tombs of the Dwarflords were kingdoms unto themselves, and whose stewardship was placed in the granite grip of the Revengers of Moradin, a Circle of 12 who guarded even unto death the untold wealth and storied honor of the bygone Mountain Kings. But that was long ago, in the Golden Age of this world, when our kind still ran with the great bison, and before we had memory...."

----Valstinean, Sagemaster of Cenelak

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And yet again I feel it necessary to reveal the strength of bone. A melee balance to Mestil's Pale Emissary.

While Fighter/Bard/PMs are nothing new, this is one I've been playing with, and frankly am a bit stunned on how powerful they are in combat. When you have a natural AB of 42 and a natural AC of 40 in mundane armor, and you can deliver 100+ points on a basic critical with no items, and are immune to sneaks and crits, you have to step back for a moment and say, "What the crap?" Oh, and did I mention Epic Warding with a 20 round duration and a 1000 point sponge?

Concept: Make no bones about it, this is a straight up Warrior. No spells, no fuss, just high strength and high AC with lots of damage. UMD still there for scroll casting if needed. And still good saves.
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The Myrmidon Eternal

Fighter16/Bard4/PaleMaster20
Race: Dwarf
Alignment: Any non-good, non-lawful
Playable 1-40, PvP, PvM, most environments

Attributes
Str18 (34)
Int14
Wis8
Dex10
Con16
Chr6

Levelling Guide
1 Fighter1, LoH, Weapon Focus: Great Axe*
2 Bard1
3 Fighter2, Knockdown, Lightning Reflexes
4 Fighter3, Str19
5 Fighter4, WS: Great Axe*
6 Fighter5, Iron Will
7 Bard2
8 Fighter6, Blindfighting, Str20
9 Fighter7, Great Fortitude
10 Fighter8, Improved Knockdowm
11 Fighter9
12 Bard3, Improved Crit: Great Axe*, Str21
13 Fighter10, Disarm
14 PaleMaster1
15 PaleMaster2, Improved Disarm
16 PaleMaster3, Str22
17 PaleMaster4
18 PaleMaster5, Toughness
19 PaleMaster6
20 Fighter11, Str23
21 Fighter12, Great Str I, EWF: Great Axe*
22 PaleMaster7
23 PaleMaster8
24 PaleMaster9, Great Str II, Str26
25 PaleMaster10
26 Fighter13
27 Fighter14, Epic Prowess, EWS: Great Axe*
28 PaleMaster11, Str27
29 PaleMaster12
30 PaleMaster13, Great Str III, Energy Resistance: Fire
31 PaleMaster14
32 PaleMaster15, Str29
33 PaleMaster16, Great Str IV, Epic Warding
34 PaleMaster17
35 PaleMaster18
36 PaleMaster19, Great Str V, Energy Resistance: Acid**, Str32
37 Bard4
38 Fighter15
39 Fighter16, Armor Skin, Great Str VI
40 PaleMaster20, Str34

Vitals
AB: 42/37/32/27
Damage: 1d12+24 (19-20/x3)
Basic Critical (no items or enhancements): 75-108 damage
AC: 40 (mundane plate)
HP: 492
Immunties: Criticals, Sneaks, Stun, Paralysis, Holds
Resistances: Fire 10/-, Acid 10/-

Saves
Fort: 29 (40)
Will: 23 (34)
Reflex: 21 (32)
( ) indicates vs. Spells

Skills: 180
Discipline: 38 (50)
Tumble: 40
Spellcraft: 43 (45)
UMD: 37 (35)
Heal: 6 (5)
Lore: 4 (8)
Perform: 11 (9)
Persuade: 1

Special Abilities
Bard Song (4/day): +1AB, +2Damage
Epic Warding: +20/50 DR, up to 1000 points can be absorbed, 20round duration
Summons: Skeletal Blackguard (not real impressive)
Improved Knockdown
Improved Disarm

Notes:
* = Indicates that you can choose a sword/board model for even further insane AC increase. 2-hander was chosen for maximum damage infliction.
** = You can choose an Epic Spell here instead of Energy Resistance. I like having defense, and the more natural I have, the more slots I open up for other items.
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Other Combos:

The Introspective Necromancer /Bard 4/Fighter 12 /PM 24
--avarielo
Deathless Skald /Bard 12/Fighter 12/PM 16
--Cinnabar Din
Fighter 20/Bard 4/PaleMaster 16
--Eindride
Undeath,s Eternal Champion /Bard 16/PM 16/Fighter 8
--Evo_Dragon
DeathDozer /Fighter 20/Bard 4/Palemaster 16
--Faign
Orcish Undead Hornblower (Fighter12/Bard 10/ PM18
--Hediyoshi
The Unknown Warrior /Bard 4/Fighter 26/Pale Master 10
--krsboss
Doom Skald /Bard 16/Fighter 8/PM 16 + No Dev Crit Version
--Mithdradates
Shar’s Skald /Bard 10/Fighter 14/PM 16
--Mithdradates
Grim Reaper /Bard 4/Fighter 8/PM 28
--sketchy_c

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Ariel, Ookla, RIDE!

Edited By Kail Pendragon on 10/12/07 16:03

Looks sweet Grizz. Only thing I might suggest as a tweak is perhaps taking FTR 15 at around level 32 or so, just to top out Discipline ranks, then move the PM levels accordingly. Delays your last Energy Resist feat by 2 levels.

This really looks good. Even though you have a long delay between Bard 3 and 4, you don't miss out on much, as the FTR levels capture Discipline and the PM levels take care of Spellcraft. Tumble isn't that urgent, since the PM AC boosts more than take care of your AC needs. As for delaying the UMD dump, you really only need it for Monk and Cleric items, which are generally just bonus material as opposed to necessities.

Well done. Very effective.
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It's rogue, dammit, ROGUE!!! I did a build very, very close to this called the Introspective Necromancer. In the updated version I never posted it had 5 more AC but 2 less AB, and probably didn't have the same damage potential. The offensive ability of this build is awing when you look at its defenses.
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CATS! where do you find these great names and words. myrmidon? brilliant!

-cs You gotta know by now that the Dwarflord is well read. Myrmidon comes from Greek mythology. One myth has them as a race of people that Zeus created from ants. They were extremely hardy and effective warriors and fanatically loyal. Achilles commanded and led a group of them at Troy.
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It's rogue, dammit, ROGUE!!! Very true, Cin.

But also, for those who can harken back to the days of yore-- the days of 1st Edition, when the player's handbook cover was a giant statue of an efreet with thieves crawling upon his shoulders to pry out the gem-ensocketed eyes-- one will recall that each class had titles given to them as they leveled up. A first lvl Ftr was a "Veteran", and a 1st lvl Magic-user was a "Prestidigatator,", et cetera. And it was, I believe, at level 6 when a Fighter was given the title of "Myrmidon". Of the 9 titles given to fighters, that was always my favorite of the bunch.
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Ariel, Ookla, RIDE!
Quote: Posted 09/17/06 21:09:31 (GMT) -- Cinnabar Din

.. One myth has them as a race of people that Zeus created from ants. They were extremely hardy and effective warriors and fanatically loyal. Achilles commanded and led a group of them at Troy.

Funny, I dont remember seeing Brad Pitt order anything like that in the movie. Maybe I was drinking too much.
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Quote: Posted 07/24/06 22:47:54 (GMT) -- FinneousPJ

You should listen to avado

Quote: Posted 09/17/06 22:04:38 (GMT) -- grizzled_dwarflord

Very true, Cin.

But also, for those who can harken back to the days of yore-- the days of 1st Edition, when the player's handbook cover was a giant statue of an efreet with thieves crawling upon his shoulders to pry out the gem-ensocketed eyes-- one will recall that each class had titles given to them as they leveled up. A first lvl Ftr was a "Veteran", and a 1st lvl Magic-user was a "Prestidigatator,", et cetera. And it was, I believe, at level 6 when a Fighter was given the title of "Myrmidon". Of the 9 titles given to fighters, that was always my favorite of the bunch.

Grizz, do you actually remember all that stuff or do you still have the book handy as a reference? Now that you've mentioned it, I remember that from the book, but I'd have never come up with it without that. I have those old books (PHB, DMG, MM) along with the greyhawk map, and tonnes of modules stored away somewhere and have often thought about getting my hands on them again. Unfortunately they're on the other side of the country. *sigh* perhaps I can convince my brother to track them down.
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It's rogue, dammit, ROGUE!!!