Need Build advice

[jbolduc]

Been working to unlock drow now, and I wanted to try and make something like a Black Guard style toon from some of the other D&D games. This is my first throw posted draft of such a build and I can imagine it is flawed quite a bit. Then again I love toying with things and just having fun. here it is


Character Plan by DDO Character Planner Version 3.5.1
DDO Character Planner Home Page (http://www.rjcyberware.com/DDO)

Level 20 Lawful Good Drow Male
(3 Paladin \ 4 Rogue \ 13 Sorcerer)
Hit Points: 218
Spell Points: 1176
BAB: 12\12\17\22
Fortitude: 14
Reflex: 15
Will: 17

Starting Feat/Enhancement
Abilities Base Stats Modified Stats
(28 Point) (Level 1) (Level 20)
Strength 16 21
Dexterity 11 14
Constitution 14 14
Intelligence 12 12
Wisdom 8 8
Charisma 15 16

Starting Feat/Enhancement
Base Skills Modified Skills
Skills (Level 1) (Level 20)
Balance 4 6
Bluff 6 7
Concentration 2 2
Diplomacy 2 3
Disable Device 5 16
Haggle 2 3
Heal -1 -1
Hide 0 2
Intimidate 2 3
Jump 7 10
Listen -1 1
Move Silently 0 2
Open Lock 4 16
Perform n/a n/a
Repair 1 1
Search 5 13.5
Spot 3 13.5
Swim 3 5
Tumble 4 7
Use Magic Device 6 26

Level 1 (Rogue)
Feat: (Selected) Force of Personality
Enhancement: Rogue Haste Boost I
Enhancement: Rogue Skill Boost I
Enhancement: Elven Enchantment Resistance I
Enhancement: Rogue Sneak Attack Training I


Level 2 (Paladin)
Enhancement: Improved Spell Resistance I
Enhancement: Elven Arcane Fluidity I


Level 3 (Sorcerer)
Feat: (Selected) Toughness
Spell (1): Ray of Enfeeblement
Spell (1): Shield
Enhancement: Elven Dexterity I
Enhancement: Racial Toughness I
Enhancement: Sorcerer Energy of the Dragonblooded I
Enhancement: Paladin Toughness I


Level 4 (Paladin)
Enhancement: Paladin Charisma I


Level 5 (Sorcerer)
Spell (1): Cause Fear
Enhancement: Elven Enchantment Resistance II


Level 6 (Paladin)
Feat: (Selected) Weapon Focus: Piercing Weapons
Enhancement: Elven Arcane Fluidity II
Enhancement: Racial Toughness II


Level 7 (Sorcerer)
Spell (1): Chill Touch
Enhancement: Improved Spell Resistance II


Level 8 (Sorcerer)
Spell (2): Lesser Death Aura
Enhancement: Elven Dexterity II


Level 9 (Sorcerer)
Feat: (Selected) Spell Focus: Necromancy
Spell (2): Resist Energy
Enhancement: Sorcerer Energy of the Dragonblooded II


Level 10 (Rogue)
Enhancement: Elven Arcane Fluidity III
Enhancement: Elven Enchantment Resistance III


Level 11 (Sorcerer)
Spell (3): Displacement
Enhancement: Improved Spell Resistance III
Enhancement: Elven Perception I
Enhancement: Elven Keen Eyes I


Level 12 (Sorcerer)
Feat: (Selected) Spell Penetration
Spell (2): Ghoul Touch
Spell (3): Ray of Exhaustion
Enhancement: Elven Perception II
Enhancement: Elven Keen Eyes II


Level 13 (Sorcerer)
Spell (4): Death Aura
Enhancement: Sorcerer Spell Penetration I
Enhancement: Rogue Dexterity I


Level 14 (Sorcerer)
Spell (2): False Life
Spell (3): Protection From Energy
Spell (4): Enervation


Level 15 (Sorcerer)
Feat: (Selected) Improved Critical: Piercing Weapons
Spell (5): Protection From Elements
Enhancement: Sorcerer Spell Penetration II
Enhancement: Sorcerer Energy of the Dragonblooded III


Level 16 (Rogue)
Enhancement: Improved Spell Resistance IV


Level 17 (Sorcerer)
Spell (3): Magic Circle Against Evil
Spell (4): Stoneskin
Spell (5): Waves of Fatigue
Enhancement: Elven Perception III


Level 18 (Sorcerer)
Feat: (Selected) Enlarge Spell
Spell (6): Tenser's Transformation
Enhancement: Elven Keen Eyes III
Enhancement: Sorcerer Improved Enlarge I


Level 19 (Sorcerer)
Spell (4): Negative Energy Burst
Spell (5): Symbol of Pain
Spell (6): Necrotic Ray
Enhancement: Sorcerer Energy of the Dragonblooded IV


Level 20 (Rogue)
Enhancement: Rogue Skill Boost II
Enhancement: Rogue Sneak Attack Training II
Enhancement: Rogue Improved Trap Sense I



Basically this should be Melee battle caster that uses Necro to debuff mobs so he can take them down quickly. I beleive this could work, but I'd love to have some more seasoned players take a look at it and give me some advice.

Thanks in advanced

[Aschbart]

This is not going to work beyond level 3, and probably will be a pain even then. By level 5 Mobs will keep hitting you whether or not you have Shield and Mage armor (from pots or wands) up or not. The point on Dex is thus wasted - it should have gone into Cha instead. Your only chance at defense would be Displacement, but you don't get that before level 11. You will see Ogres at level 3, Giants at 5-6, and Beholders at 8, and you do not have sufficient protection from either.

Nor will your offensive spells be any use: both your Charisma and spell level will be way to low to get to a reasonably high save DC . Your caster level will be too low to overcome Spell resistance.

Your melee abilities at least won't be quite bad, thanks to your focus on Strength, but your choice of weapon type is unwise: there are no two-handed piercing weapons! If you want to do a bit of damage without having to invest heavily in feats, two handed weapons are the way to go - a rapier or short sword used as single weapon will not do any notable damage. And the pale master special attacks aren't any help either.

Your skills also ned work: Open Locks is too high, it does not require that many points. Search and Disable however require much more attention. With an Int score of just 12 they should be maxed out, or close to max. Otherwise you'll probably miss quite a few traps, or blow up the trap boxes. Also half ranks don't do anything for you, they get cut off.

In short, you are tryinig to pack a whole lot of abilities into one build with a set of classes that have almost no synergies. It will not work. At all.

Rethink your goals: what do you want to achieve? Offensive casting? Then go pure or almost pure caster. Melee? Take a mix of melee or melee-friendly classes - hint: arcane is not melee friendly! Rogue skills? Either go rogue, or mix it with classes that have synerigies with rogue skills or at the very least get many skill points, such as Ranger or Wizard.


Sorry if this sounds very negative, but really, I am almost sure that by level 5 you will not want to continue playing this build. I like experiments. I like new ideas, new concepts, but I also like to make things work. And this build simply doesn't come together well.


P.S.: Just to get you an idea - by level 20 your highest level offensive spell will be Necrotic Ray. If you have a +6 Charisma item, your DC will be 10(base)+6(spell level)+6(Cha mod)+1(feat) = 23. This save is a fortitude save, and the majority of mobs in Gianthold (quest level 14) and later have Fortitude save modifiers in the high 20s. The same mobs (in GH) will hit with an attack modifier around +30 modifier, making any AC below 35 irrelevant. Only Displacement will help here, and being in a group. Most likely the biggest chunk of damage you will deal will come from sneak attacks.

[jbolduc]

Thanks for the information. Like I stated before this was purely a concept toon and a rough draft. I just used the character builder to get a better understanding.

So basically there is no way to build a melee battlemage other then the WF FireTanks. I wanted a stable melee platform that could buff and maybe use necro debuffing as well.


I guess I need to forget trying to build sometime and get a cookie cutter.