Well, I've lurked around here long enough. I suppose I should take a turn at getting prodded by the masters.
This PC is based on Corp. Kalam Mekhar, Assassin and Bridgeburner in Steven Erickson's Masterful Malazan Book of the Fallen series. Kalam is from the Holy Desert of Raraku, and has worked for the Seven Cities, Empress Laseen, Whiskeyjack, and the Rope (patron of assassins) himself at various points in his career. He's powerful, lethal, and much more reliant on his skills than many of his former associates in the Claw who rely on magic instead.
This is almost certainly not the most powerful build imaginable, but I think it reflects the intended character. That said, there are plenty of ranger/assassin/sds on the forum, but only 3 that have a spread similar to this one.
Shadow Stalker-
Click Here Which is a dex-based build which uses blunt weapons.
Silent Assassin-
Click Here Which is not intended to be a play to 40 build.
and andymax's
Click Here Which is a dexer elf. So Kalam is a bit different, and thus I feel justified in posting him.
I'll post his build subsequently.
Edited class levels into title - Grim
Edited By Grimnir77 on 06/02/08 19:19
Kalam Mekhar
Race: Human Ranger 10/ Assassin 25/ Shadowdancer: 5 Alignment: LE (any evil works, LE is closest to his book align).
Playable: PvM 1-40.
Starting:
Str 15 (26) Dex 14 (16) Con 14 Wis 12 Int 14 Cha 8
Ranger Skills: Discipline, Hide & Move Silently until assassin, Listen, search Assassin Skills: Open Lock; Disable Device, Use Magic Device, Hide/MS, Tumble Shadowdancer Skills: Hide/MS, Tumble, Listen, Search
Pros: Big death attack, good skills for an assassin; lots of stealth. FEs that can cover most of the things you won't be able to deal death attacks to, and HiPS. And you're a 6 attack rogue with lots of ways to stealth and lots of ways you can get sneak attacks off. Very good dmg for a rogue since you're Str based.
Cons: Saves from middlin to poor, rogue AB; not as many skills as a rogue, no epic dodge (this is for a dev crit banned server, so not a con ). And low AC for a rogue, since you're Str based.
AB: Base Attack 26 w/ mundane longsword & shortsword: 36/31/26/21 longsword; 33/28 shortsword. Saves: Fort22 Reflex 28 Will 17
Touched up build format A LOT, added max hp, added naked AC. - Grim
Edited By Grimnir77 on 06/02/08 19:52
Couple Additional Notes: Base Death Attack DC is 37.
In the books, Kalam actually uses longknives as his preferred weapon. Since NWN doesn't use those, I gave him longswords here, since Seven Cities Longknives are almost as long as longswords. In the PW I'm working on, there are longknives.
arg...missed a typo above. Starting STR should be 15.
I recommend you to avoid writing on your build all the abilities your classes gain automatically upon reaching a certain level (like Uncanny Dodge, Death Attack, HiPS, etc.) unless it's really critical to point it out, rest assured we all know them already. Writing them all only makes it harder to read.
Another thing, when posting builds please write your HP as if you rolled max each time, it works better for comparative purposes. I believe it should be 360.
You could get +1 AB if you change 1 level of Assassin for Shadowdancer or Ranger pre-epic, you wouldn't lose anything by doing so.
I wouldn't agree on taking longswords on a dual-wielder, since you're taking a shortsword on your offhand anyway, why not take weapon focuses on shortsword altogether? Is it for RP? _________________ The world is full of lies! “Thou shalt not kill”, “Thou shalt not steal”. These are all deceptions. “I don't want to be killed”, “I don't want to be a victim of theft”, that is why they use lies like justice and morals to protect their weak selves.
Edited By Thaxll'ssyllia on 06/02/08 18:07
I don't know anything about "longknives", so excuse me if i am completely wrong here. I imagine long knives as some kind of long bladed daggers, or narrow shaped short swords. Would be better in a dual wielder as the off hand weapon is small and both "longknives" benefit from one common weapon focus. _________________ I generally avoid temptation, unless I can't resist it...
hehe, actually Seven City longknives are nearly as long as longswords, just considerably narrower. They don't hold up to parries well on heavier blades, but they strike almost like a rapier. On the PW I'm building, I used the longest short sword base for them. But that's not entirely accurate.
RPing him, I go dual-longswords. I dropped one to get the proper read for here. I can't stand dual-wielding short swords with an STR based PC, to be perfectly honest.
In addition to not posting each and every ability and feat you gain from class, you should include class-levels. I even think it's required. It eases up the reading and generates better and quicker feedback. Like this:
18: Ranger10: FE:Dwarf; IC:longsword
You see? I'll do the edits.
*Edit* Hemh....
You MUST include: -max hp -unmodified skilldistribution like this: Hide 43(56) f.ex. -class levels in title -Damage with mundane equipment. Should be 1d8+8 in your case(plus crit range 17-20/x2 or whatever it is) + 13d6 death attack f.ex. -Naked AC. Why all these chars run around naked is another question entirely. Probably a funny party though. - Can't think of anything else right now.
Feedback: Take your last Ranger level later to get a better dump in Discipline. Take only 8 assassin levels pre-epic to gain +1 AB/BAB as mentioned. Your AB is already suffering. Why the late increase in DEX? Seems to me that 2 more STR would be better. You don't have Imp crit in a STR build. Maybe not necessary, but to me it seems a better choice than PA+Cleave. _________________ We are sons of Odin, and the fire that we burn inside is the legacy of warrior-kings who reign above in the sky I will lead the charge, my sword into the wind Sons of Odin fights to die and live again
Edited By Grimnir77 on 06/02/08 19:59
The dex increase was inevitable because the Assassin bonus choice was Great Dex (I'd used the others). It was either have an odd number str or an even number dex. I evened out the dex to get the base bonues.
Improved Crit would be nice in the build, though not having cleave in a STR build makes me shudder too.
I recommend you to avoid writing on your build all the abilities your classes gain automatically upon reaching a certain level (like Uncanny Dodge, Death Attack, HiPS, etc.) unless it's really critical to point it out, rest assured we all know them already. Writing them all only makes it harder to read.
I imagine long knives as some kind of long bladed daggers, or narrow shaped short swords.