Bulwark of Beard (A build by request)

[sigtrent]

From Sigtrent's Build Request Thread

Build Name: Bulwark of Beard
Author: Sigfried Trent
Requester: Schmuel
Last Updated: 07/19/10

Key Words [PvP, Tank, Stalwart Defender, Dwarf, Evasion, Locks]

Objectives
The original request was for a very high AC and saving throw build that would rock the PvP pits. I cranked out a dwarven fighter/paladin/rogue taking some defensive bonuses from each class. It was a mithral full plate wearer and the problem now is you loose evasion in that so we need to go a bit lighter in the armor department.

I had some more radical PvP ideas but someone wanted to know how the original would play out to level 20 reguardless of PvP. So for the revamp I stuck pretty close to the core idea of a High AC, High Saves Dwarf with evasion and good utility outside of PvP as well as in.

Design
I made the move from primary paladin to primary fighter because the fighters defender class has more utility for an intim tank and shield expert than the paladin side does and more benefits when not in stance as stance is not so good in PvP. This also means more feats to work wtih and I wanted some extras for toughness as a big stack of HP is an asset in PvP play.

The evasion means light armor so I tried to make dex match up with mithral breast plates as best I could and also to allow the mithral tower shield to work at the same dex. Normally you need more armor mastery than shield, but here its the reverse. Tower shield evasion makes this a fairly unique build indeed.

Pally 3 gives you the excelent saves and rogue provides evasion and UMD with lock picking as a kind of bonus. You can also trap at levels 1-3 but that’s abotu as far as it will go. The UMD is very nice in PvP for self buffing before the fight which can help in many different ways. In Party play you can throw heals and res and such. On the down side the lack of a concentration skill makes it not so great if you are getting lit up. If you aren’t getting lit up you probably didn’t need to cast a scroll.

Leveling up I’m very focused on Defense as its a build that wants to tank and stay in CE nearly all the time. I do up the axe damage here and there for solo and PvP and eventually I throw in Power Attack as an option, but I wouldn’t expect it to see a lot of use. (In pvp you may well need every attack point you can get to hit other tanks.)

Because the build is kind of slow and PvP is kind of fast, I added in brutal throw so you can chuck an axe at archers and wizards and such instead of trying to chase them around. Its a desperation move in some ways, but it could be exactly what you need to handle the dreaded arcane archers (block against manyshot and then chuck at them during the recharge if you survive the barrage)

In the end, HP, Saves and AC are all very high here. Saves are in the upper 30s and mid 40s with normal buffs. AC should hit 60s. HP should hit around 600. Shield blocking should be excellent DR, although that is only useful in certain PvP match-ups.

Character Plan by DDO Character Planner Version 3.5.1
DDO Character Planner Home Page

Level 20 Lawful Good Dwarf Male
(14 Fighter \ 3 Paladin \ 3 Rogue) 
Hit Points: 424
Spell Points: 0 
BAB: 19\19\24\29\29
Fortitude: 22
Reflex: 15
Will: 11

                  Starting          Feat/Enhancement
Abilities        Base Stats          Modified Stats
(32 Point)       (Level 1)             (Level 20)
Strength             16                    26
Dexterity            14                    17
Constitution         16                    20
Intelligence         12                    14
Wisdom                8                    10
Charisma             12                    15

Tomes Used
+2 Tome of Strength used at level 7
+2 Tome of Dexterity used at level 7
+2 Tome of Constitution used at level 7
+2 Tome of Intelligence used at level 7
+2 Tome of Wisdom used at level 7
+2 Tome of Charisma used at level 7

                  Starting          Feat/Enhancement
                 Base Skills         Modified Skills
Skills           (Level 1)            (Level 20)
Balance               6                    17
Bluff                 1                     2
Concentration         3                     5
Diplomacy             1                     2
Disable Device        5                     6
Haggle                1                     2
Heal                 -1                     0
Hide                  2                     3
Intimidate            5                    37
Jump                  7                    14
Listen               -1                     0
Move Silently         2                     3
Open Lock             6                    19
Perform               n/a                   n/a
Repair                1                     2
Search                5                     8
Spot                  3                     4
Swim                  3                     8
Tumble                6                     7
Use Magic Device      5                    25

Level 1 (Rogue)
Feat: (Selected) Toughness
Enhancement: Rogue Skill Boost I
Enhancement: Dwarven Axe Damage I
Enhancement: Dwarven Spell Defense I


Level 2 (Paladin)
Enhancement: Paladin Saves Boost I
Enhancement: Dwarven Armor Mastery I
Enhancement: Dwarven Shield Mastery I


Level 3 (Paladin)
Feat: (Selected) Dodge


Level 4 (Rogue)
Enhancement: Dwarven Constitution I
Enhancement: Racial Toughness I
Enhancement: Paladin Charisma I
Enhancement: Rogue Dexterity I


Level 5 (Paladin)
Enhancement: Paladin Bulwark of Good I
Enhancement: Paladin Resistance of Good I
Enhancement: Paladin Extra Lay on Hands I


Level 6 (Fighter)
Feat: (Selected) Bullheaded
Feat: (Fighter Bonus) Weapon Focus: Slashing Weapons
Enhancement: Fighter Armor Class Boost I
Enhancement: Fighter Item Defense I
Enhancement: Racial Toughness II
Enhancement: Fighter Intimidate I
Enhancement: Fighter Toughness I


Level 7 (Rogue)
Enhancement: Dwarven Shield Mastery II
Enhancement: Dwarven Spell Defense II


Level 8 (Fighter)
Feat: (Fighter Bonus) Combat Expertise
Enhancement: Dwarven Axe Attack I
Enhancement: Fighter Strength I


Level 9 (Fighter)
Feat: (Selected) Improved Critical: Slashing Weapons
Enhancement: Fighter Tower Shield Mastery I


Level 10 (Fighter)
Feat: (Fighter Bonus) Weapon Specialization: Slashing Weapons
Enhancement: Fighter Armor Class Boost II
Enhancement: Fighter Intimidate II
Enhancement: Fighter Toughness II


Level 11 (Fighter)
Enhancement: Dwarven Constitution II


Level 12 (Fighter)
Feat: (Fighter Bonus) Shield Mastery
Feat: (Selected) Skill Focus: Intimidate
Enhancement: Fighter Stalwart Defender I


Level 13 (Fighter)
Enhancement: Fighter Tower Shield Mastery II


Level 14 (Fighter)
Feat: (Fighter Bonus) Improved Shield Mastery
Enhancement: Fighter Strength II


Level 15 (Fighter)
Feat: (Selected) Toughness
Enhancement: Fighter Dwarven Waraxe Specialization I
Enhancement: Fighter Greataxe Specialization I


Level 16 (Fighter)
Feat: (Fighter Bonus) Brutal Throw
Enhancement: Fighter Strength III


Level 17 (Fighter)
Enhancement: Fighter Toughness III


Level 18 (Fighter)
Feat: (Fighter Bonus) Greater Weapon Specialization: Slashing Weapons
Feat: (Selected) Toughness
Enhancement: Fighter Stalwart Defender II
Enhancement: Fighter Intimidate III


Level 19 (Fighter)
Enhancement: Fighter Armor Mastery I


Level 20 (Fighter)
Feat: (Fighter Bonus) Power Attack
Enhancement: Fighter Tower Shield Mastery III

Play
I’m not a PvP expert but you will need to learn your opponent and how to counter them. Some you use AC to stonewall, others you block the big attack and then charge in. Some you just run up to and beat down. Some you stand still and huck a thrower hoping for the best. While not unbeatable you are a pretty hard nut to crack.

In PvE this is a very focused intim tank and one I think most parties would be pleased to have as it includes all the tanking you might need.

Variations
You can play with the feats some. If you don’t want the monster HP you can instead take some other feats there, THF or perhaps UMD focus. You could also shift some STR to Dex for fitting in more epic AC configurations. This is not set up for absolute max AC, only really really good AC.

[spifflove]

Oh shoot, I thought this was Bulwark of Beer

[hugal]

Thank you very much! To be honest I figured it would end up being a dwarf with something similar to those lvl break downs.

The saves are absolutely silly on the toon, no doubt. Although I was hoping for a higher AC. I am still somewhat new to the game, so I'm not really familiar with top end AC potential. 55 does seem pretty dang good tho.

I appreciate you taking the time to post this because I find that Char building in this game is one of the more fun aspects of it.

Incidently, if you want I am currently running a drow sorc/paly that is gonna self buff to 52 ac if I've done my math right, and I'd be happy to share that build with you if you want it.

Again, thanks for your time,

Hu'gal

[sigtrent]

The saves are absolutely silly on the toon, no doubt. Although I was hoping for a higher AC. I am still somewhat new to the game, so I'm not really familiar with top end AC potential. 55 does seem pretty dang good tho.

Incidently, if you want I am currently running a drow sorc/paly that is gonna self buff to 52 ac if I've done my math right, and I'd be happy to share that build with you if you want it.

55 is pretty solid. It's possible to go higher. I didn't include the dodge ring +2 as I don't know much about where it comes from or what its called. If you can get a +3 tome you could take another point of armor mastery or use the dagger tooth belt for another point but that seemed like extreem speculation. You could also go for a mithral tower shield and Tower shield mastery, but I felt that it was a lot of gear and enhancments just to eek out one more point of AC, and in return loose +2 attack and -9 on balance which can be usefull in PvP.

So if you had the dodge ring, and you had a ranger buff that's another +4, and extreem dex buffing would get you another +1 to reach 60. I wouldn't bother with the tower shield. Also if you can lay your hands on the legendary +5 fearsome armor you could effectively get another 2 AC due to the fear debuff when your opponent makes their save (or laugh at them if they fail it).

A lot of the builds that go beyond that are including stuff like Blocking AC and 20second buffs from action boosts or Uncanny Dodge. Personaly I don't think that stuff counts since it is so short term as to only be active a tiny percentage of the time.

Id certainly be interested to see it your high AC soc/pally or at least how you get 50+ ac on them. I'm always looking for more tricks to include in the builds.

[Zhiel]

So when fleshing this out to 20, do you go a total 14 pally for Holy Sword/Zeal or put the rest somewhere else? Fighter would give you a lot more feats to work with, and Intimidate would be a class skill. While I would have no plans to PvP with this build - it does look interesting enough that I am looking at it for PvE.

Thank you in advance!