The Axeman (or woman) is my attempt at creating the most versatile character, a true "hack" of all trades if you will. Combines rogue skills, arcane spellcasting, and near fighter BAB, making it the ultimate support character.

Race: Human
Alignment: Chaotic anything
Stats (ending stats in brackets)

Str 14
Dex 16 (26)
Con 12
Int 16 (20)
Wis 8
Cha 8

Levelling

1. UR1, weapon finesse, ambideterity, UR bonus feat: TWF
2. w1
3. w2, practised spellcaster :wizard
4. w3, +1 int
5. w4
6. w5, knockdown, wiz bonus feat: spell penetration
7. ur2 favored enemy: undead
8. ur3, +1 int
9. ur4 toughness, UR bonus feat: weapon focus handaxe
10. ur5
11. ur6
12. ur7, improved knockdown, UR bonus feat: ITWF, favored enemy: outsider,+1 dex
13. ur8
14. ur9
15. ur10, improved critical handaxe
16. ur11, UR bonus feat: improved favored enemy, Special ability: 3d6 sneak attack, +1 dex, must have 7 ranks in disable traps and open locks, and 4 in lore at this point
17. AT1
18. AT2, greater spell penetration
19. W6
20. UR12, favored enemy: construct, +1 int

At level 20:

UR12/W6/AT2
BAB 16, 4 attacks main hand, 2 attacks off hand, 4d6 sneak attack, +6 damage to undead, construct and outsiders
12 caster elevels, level 5 spells as buffs



21. AT3, epic weapon focus: handaxe
22. AT4
23. AT5
24. AT6, +1 int, greater TWF
25. AT7
26. AT8
27. AT9, epic spell penetration
28. AT10, +1 dex
29. AT11, access to epic spells
30. UR13, great dex 1
31. UR14, special ability: uncanny dodge (HiPS for munchkins)
32. AT12, +1 dex
33. At13, great dex 2
34. AT14,
35. AT15, epic skil focus: spellcraft (AT bonus feat)
36. AT16, +1 dex, great dex 3
37. AT17
38. AT18
39. UR15, great dex 4, UR bonus feat: epic prowess
40. AT19, Improved sneak attack 1 (AT bonus feat), +1 dex

SKills:

COncentration, spellcraft, lore, hide, move silently maxed at 43
Discipline 42, tumble 40
Disable traps 15, set traps 20, craft traps 15, open locks 7


At level 40:

UR15/w6/AT19
BAB 26
7 attacks per round with Greater TWF, 14d6 sneak attack, +6 damage to undead, construct and outsiders
29 caster levels, +35 to SR checks, access to epic spells with moderate spellcraft checks,


Notes:
Low intelligence means that you must rely on buffs and no save spells mostly. Spells should be used to set up sneak attacks (darkness, bigby, etc...). You won't be able to research the best spells in the game.

Favored enemy choices are optimized for HotU, but can be varied according to need.

The handaxe was an aesthetic choice, and I like the x3 mutiplier. You can go with short sword, rapier, or even kukri (exotic weapon prof is a an UR bonus feat).

The build is more magic focused. To get a more melee focus build, you can drop the spell penetration feats, as well as ESF spellcraft in favor of improved sneak attack or other combat feats. You can also take UR up to level 17 to get both HiPS and uncanny dodge.

Please feel free to comment.

Edited By Mr_Raider on 04/11/05 22:34

I like this...a very interesting way to meet the prereqs for Arcane Trickster without using rogue, and a decent balance between magic and melee with nice sneak damage to boot. Hopefully with enough spellcraft/INT boosting items you might be able to learn the epic spell Unseen Wanderer, since you only have to actually cast it once. Being able to turn completely invisible at will would beat HiPS hands down anyway. Very nice .

Steve