Master Mule (A build by request)

[sigtrent]

This build is from Sigtrent's build request thread (http://forums.ddo.com/showthread.php?t=117232)[/CENTER]

Build Name: Master Mule
Author: Sigfried Trent
Requester: Nibel
Last Updated:05/26/10

Key Words [Haggle, Bard, Crowd Control, UMD]

Objectives
The request is for an easy to level haggle/mule character.

Design
In the original build I went with a splash of fighter to give the character more of an abbility to use some of the items that they may buy or sell. Now that we have masters touch, that's less useful. For the re-vamp I went with a more control caster style bard, absolutely maxed out on haggling tech as well as UMD. One drawback is that some of the classic bard enhancements come a bit late in the build due to favoring anything that bumps haggle first. Still, this character comes out of the gate with 16 haggle which is enough to start making decent profit right away. As a 28pt build with no tomes required its very accessible for new FTP players as their first mule.



Character Plan by DDO Character Planner Version 3.34
DDO Character Planner Home Page (http://www.rjcyberware.com/DDO)

Level 20 True Neutral Human Female
(20 Bard)
Hit Points: 180
Spell Points: 926
BAB: 15\15\20\25\25
Fortitude: 8
Reflex: 11
Will: 11

Starting Feat/Enhancement
Abilities Base Stats Modified Stats
(28 Point) (Level 1) (Level 20)
Strength 12 12
Dexterity 8 8
Constitution 14 14
Intelligence 10 10
Wisdom 8 8
Charisma 18 29

Starting Feat/Enhancement
Base Skills Modified Skills
Skills (Level 1) (Level 20)
Balance 3 9
Bluff 4 9
Concentration 6 29
Diplomacy 8 34
Disable Device n/a n/a
Haggle 8 41
Heal -1 -1
Hide -1 -1
Intimidate 4 9
Jump 5 24
Listen -1 -1
Move Silently -1 -1
Open Lock n/a n/a
Perform 8 35
Repair 0 0
Search 0 0
Spot -1 -1
Swim 1 1
Tumble n/a 11
Use Magic Device 8 37

Level 1 (Bard)
Skill: Balance (+4)
Skill: Concentration (+4)
Skill: Diplomacy (+4)
Skill: Haggle (+4)
Skill: Jump (+4)
Skill: Perform (+4)
Skill: Use Magic Device (+4)
Feat: (Selected) Negotiator
Feat: (Human Bonus) Skill Focus: Haggle
Enhancement: Human Versatility I
Enhancement: Bard Haggle I
Enhancement: Bard Song Magic I
Enhancement: Bard Energy of the Music I


Level 2 (Bard)
Skill: Balance (+1)
Skill: Concentration (+1)
Skill: Diplomacy (+1)
Skill: Haggle (+1)
Skill: Jump (+1)
Skill: Perform (+1)
Skill: Use Magic Device (+1)
Enhancement: Bard Inspired Damage I
Enhancement: Bard Lingering Song I
Enhancement: Bard Charisma I


Level 3 (Bard)
Skill: Balance (+1)
Skill: Concentration (+1)
Skill: Diplomacy (+1)
Skill: Haggle (+1)
Skill: Jump (+1)
Skill: Perform (+1)
Skill: Use Magic Device (+1)
Feat: (Selected) Extend Spell
Enhancement: Bard Inspired Attack I
Enhancement: Bard Lyric of Song I
Enhancement: Bard Wand Mastery I


Level 4 (Bard)
Ability Raise: CHA
Skill: Balance (+1)
Skill: Concentration (+1)
Skill: Diplomacy (+1)
Skill: Haggle (+1)
Skill: Jump (+1)
Skill: Perform (+1)
Skill: Use Magic Device (+1)
Enhancement: Human Versatility II
Enhancement: Bard Haggle II


Level 5 (Bard)
Skill: Balance (+1)
Skill: Concentration (+1)
Skill: Diplomacy (+1)
Skill: Haggle (+1)
Skill: Jump (+1)
Skill: Perform (+1)
Skill: Use Magic Device (+1)
Enhancement: Human Adaptability Charisma I
Enhancement: Bard Song Magic II


Level 6 (Bard)
Skill: Balance (+1)
Skill: Concentration (+1)
Skill: Diplomacy (+1)
Skill: Haggle (+1)
Skill: Jump (+1)
Skill: Perform (+1)
Skill: Use Magic Device (+1)
Feat: (Selected) Empower Healing Spell
Enhancement: Bard Concentration I
Enhancement: Bard Concentration II
Enhancement: Bard Lyric of Incredible Song I


Level 7 (Bard)
Skill: Balance (+1)
Skill: Concentration (+1)
Skill: Diplomacy (+1)
Skill: Haggle (+1)
Skill: Jump (+1)
Skill: Perform (+1)
Skill: Use Magic Device (+1)
Enhancement: Human Versatility III


Level 8 (Bard)
Ability Raise: CHA
Skill: Concentration (+1)
Skill: Diplomacy (+1)
Skill: Haggle (+1)
Skill: Jump (+1)
Skill: Perform (+1)
Skill: Tumble (+1)
Skill: Use Magic Device (+1)
Enhancement: Bard Haggle III
Enhancement: Bard Energy of the Music II


Level 9 (Bard)
Skill: Concentration (+1)
Skill: Diplomacy (+1)
Skill: Haggle (+1)
Skill: Jump (+1)
Skill: Perform (+1)
Skill: Tumble (+1)
Skill: Use Magic Device (+1)
Feat: (Selected) Heighten Spell
Enhancement: Bard Spellsinger I


Level 10 (Bard)
Skill: Concentration (+1)
Skill: Diplomacy (+1)
Skill: Haggle (+1)
Skill: Jump (+1)
Skill: Perform (+1)
Skill: Tumble (+1)
Skill: Use Magic Device (+1)
Enhancement: Bard Inspired Damage II
Enhancement: Bard Lingering Song II


Level 11 (Bard)
Skill: Concentration (+1)
Skill: Diplomacy (+1)
Skill: Haggle (+1)
Skill: Jump (+1)
Skill: Perform (+1)
Skill: Tumble (+1)
Skill: Use Magic Device (+1)
Enhancement: Human Versatility IV


Level 12 (Bard)
Ability Raise: CHA
Skill: Concentration (+1)
Skill: Diplomacy (+1)
Skill: Haggle (+1)
Skill: Jump (+1)
Skill: Perform (+1)
Skill: Tumble (+1)
Skill: Use Magic Device (+1)
Feat: (Selected) Skill Focus: Use Magic Device
Enhancement: Bard Charisma II


Level 13 (Bard)
Skill: Concentration (+1)
Skill: Diplomacy (+1)
Skill: Haggle (+1)
Skill: Jump (+1)
Skill: Perform (+1)
Skill: Tumble (+1)
Skill: Use Magic Device (+1)
Enhancement: Bard Haggle IV


Level 14 (Bard)
Skill: Concentration (+1)
Skill: Diplomacy (+1)
Skill: Haggle (+1)
Skill: Jump (+1)
Skill: Perform (+1)
Skill: Tumble (+1)
Skill: Use Magic Device (+1)
Enhancement: Bard Inspired Damage III


Level 15 (Bard)
Skill: Concentration (+1)
Skill: Diplomacy (+1)
Skill: Haggle (+1)
Skill: Jump (+1)
Skill: Perform (+1)
Skill: Tumble (+1)
Skill: Use Magic Device (+1)
Feat: (Selected) Spell Penetration
Enhancement: Bard Improved Spell Penetration I


Level 16 (Bard)
Ability Raise: CHA
Skill: Concentration (+1)
Skill: Diplomacy (+1)
Skill: Haggle (+1)
Skill: Jump (+1)
Skill: Perform (+1)
Skill: Tumble (+1)
Skill: Use Magic Device (+1)
Enhancement: Bard Charisma III


Level 17 (Bard)
Skill: Concentration (+1)
Skill: Diplomacy (+1)
Skill: Haggle (+1)
Skill: Jump (+1)
Skill: Perform (+1)
Skill: Use Magic Device (+1)
Enhancement: Bard Song Magic III
Enhancement: Bard Wand Mastery II


Level 18 (Bard)
Skill: Concentration (+1)
Skill: Diplomacy (+1)
Skill: Haggle (+1)
Skill: Jump (+1)
Skill: Perform (+1)
Skill: Tumble (+1)
Skill: Use Magic Device (+1)
Feat: (Selected) Greater Spell Penetration
Enhancement: Bard Perform I
Enhancement: Bard Perform II


Level 19 (Bard)
Skill: Concentration (+1)
Skill: Diplomacy (+1)
Skill: Haggle (+1)
Skill: Jump (+1)
Skill: Perform (+1)
Skill: Tumble (+1)
Skill: Use Magic Device (+1)
Enhancement: Bard Inspired Attack II


Level 20 (Bard)
Ability Raise: CHA
Skill: Concentration (+1)
Skill: Diplomacy (+1)
Skill: Haggle (+1)
Skill: Jump (+1)
Skill: Perform (+1)
Skill: Tumble (+1)
Skill: Use Magic Device (+1)
Enhancement: Bard Musical Prodigy
Enhancement: Bard Perform III




Play
Very much a support character, you want to hang back and support the party. Use crowd control to keep them out of trouble, buffs to make them strong, and the occasional heal to keep them alive. Mana is limited so it pays not to waste spells when they aren't needed. Solo play is difficult but not impossible. In many quests you can fascinate or hypnotize most of the monsters you encounter, sneak invisibly by others, and then throw everything you have at the end boss. Inspire courage and human versatility can augment an otherwise weak attack profile for shorter fights, and your defensive buffs should help mitigate damage. At higher levels collecting arcane area damage scrolls can help quite a bit. UMD here is about as strong as a character can have so just about any scroll is accessible for you and they can be had at quite a discount.

Variations
You could easily cut back on the haggle tech for a more well rounded character, picking up toughness and perhaps diverting some charisma to strength. That would help it become a more solo friendly build.

[nibel]

I was off the forums for some weeks, and only now i saw the build. Thanks, dude. Thats a great build, and exactly in my style: stay back, support, and sometimes save the day.

[Puby]

Intresting build

[Allgee]

bard thats attractive to groups? how about a good Disable device bard with evasion, hopefully you will always find groups quickly

human bard rogue 14/2 or 13/3
Str Dex Con Wis Intel Char
8 8 10 8 18 18

take the insightful reflexes feat for reflex save.

when soloing buy hireling fighters to make going easier.

[gamblerjoe]

if this toons sole purpose is to be a haggler/mule i have a suggestion.

drow 1brd/10sor. by lvl 11 u can get 150 coin lords and house k favor easily. now u have a toon that can teleport at will, has high cha, and max ranks in haggle. then u can take another level of bard for cha, and all the rest in any class, as long as u keep haggle maxed out.

as far as leveling the toon, sorcs r easy to level. i could get a toon to 2brd/18sor as fast as any other.

this toon would be pretty gimped but playable, and would be the worlds best haggler. at lvl 16 she will have 40cha w/o requiring a littany, just a +3 tome and +3 exceptional item. even with just a T2 shroud weapon and a +1 tome, her cha is 36. of corse, whatever gear u pick will effect every build the same, so its not a basis for comparison.

this build doesnt have many skill points, and depending on how playable the toon needs to be u may or may not want concentration and umd. just dump con and start with 20 cha/16 int.

overall, it sounds like u are looking for a build that gives up some power to be better at haggling and muling. sice bards as melees allready start w a defecit that requires twinkage and expert play to make work, i dont reccomend gimping one even further. on the other hand, playing the sorc version, u will hardly even notice the gimpage.

[Zorminster]

Sorry to dredge up an older thread but i've started a bard that will roughly follow this build. With the event of mod9, how would suggest updating/rounding out this character?

He stands as Brd15/Ftr1 so it seems natural to take another level of ftr for a freebie feat (slightly more combat use) leaving us with 3 levels to play around. I'm thinking splashing those 3 levels as rogue-- further adding utility to the group. I'm wondering though- would 3 levels of rogue be enough to function to open doors/disable traps? I'm 3 levels into the build but I don't think I'd want to restart him as rogue at 1.

My main concern with this B15/F2/R3 build would be having enough skill points to get my spot/search/disable/open high enough. Although I would easily be willing to forego opening skill and simply carry scrolls of knock.

Input? Suggestions?

[JinxedWarrior]

Heavy repeater and Kopesh probably seem odd to some folks.


Are you going kopesh + shield, or kopesh single hand, or dual weapons??