The Angry Crow (a build by request)

[sigtrent]

[CENTER]This build is from Sigtrent's build request thread

Build Name: The Angry Crow
Author: Sigfried Trent
Requester: TheCrow
Last Updated: 07/15/10

Key Words [Barbarian, Bard, Berzerker, Warchanter, Drow]

Objectives
The request was for a barbarian/bard that self heal, disable traps, open locks, good UMD, strong BAB, and had a decent armor class but was for a new player without much gear. Well, that’s a pretty tall order.

The AC side of this, I just couldn’t manage and the skills were pretty tight as well so spot isn’t exactly good. But I think I managed to fill the order fairly well.

Design
For the bard side I go for buffing and healing and fascinate. And for that I don’t need all that much charisma. You could go even lower but for a new player I don’t want them to have to push charisma items to do casting any more than the usual enhancement gear. TWF is out of the question due to stats so THF is the way to go although I don’t exactly specialize in it. You could go with a shield if you want to play cautious. Strength isn’t amazing, but its enough to take the feats you need and to build off of. Con needs some love as this build will get hurt and con drives rage length.

Instead of splashing barbarian I went far enough in to get Berzerker and because you can’t cast while raged extend spell seemed critical to pick up as well as lingering song. Level breaks are designed to keep the combat momentum going and keep skills from getting to uneven. Its kind of a tricky balance and that drove the level breakdowns more than anything else. Its Rogue 4 because that’s how many levels of rogue it took to balance skills.

The end build is interesting. Rogue skills are decent if not great. Hit points are a bout minimum for a fighting build. Buffs are pretty good but certainly dedicated bards will do better. Healing is decent but not especially strong, just enough to help patch yourself up. Saves are pretty decent due to the class mix. DPS is decent when you are all amped up, not so hot when you are un-buffed. I’d say its a good character for normal/hard quests but falls short of being very good in elite/raid/epic play where its lack of focus leaves it ineffective in most of its roles.

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

Level 20 True Neutral Drow Male
(6 Barbarian \ 4 Rogue \ 10 Bard) 
Hit Points: 298
Spell Points: 334 
BAB: 16\16\21\26\26
Fortitude: 12
Reflex: 14
Will: 9

                  Starting          Feat/Enhancement
Abilities        Base Stats          Modified Stats
(28 Point)       (Level 1)             (Level 20)
Strength             16                    21
Dexterity            12                    12
Constitution         14                    16
Intelligence         14                    14
Wisdom                8                     8
Charisma             12                    13

                  Starting          Feat/Enhancement
                 Base Skills         Modified Skills
Skills           (Level 1)            (Level 20)
Balance               5                    11
Bluff                 1                     1
Concentration         4                    12
Diplomacy             1                     1
Disable Device        6                    26
Haggle                1                     1
Heal                 -1                    -1
Hide                  4                     4
Intimidate            1                     1
Jump                  7                     9
Listen               -1                     1
Move Silently         5                     5
Open Lock             5                    14
Perform               n/a                  25
Repair                2                     2
Search                6                    28
Spot                  3                     9
Swim                  3                     5
Tumble                2                     2
Use Magic Device      5                    24

Level 1 (Rogue)
Feat: (Selected) Toughness
Enhancement: Rogue Skill Boost I
Enhancement: Rogue Disable Device I
Enhancement: Rogue Search I
Enhancement: Rogue Improved Trap Sense I


Level 2 (Bard)
Spell (1): Cure Light Wounds
Enhancement: Bard Extra Song I
Enhancement: Bard Song Magic I
Enhancement: Bard Energy of the Music I
Enhancement: Bard Wand Mastery I


Level 3 (Rogue)
Feat: (Selected) Weapon Focus: Slashing Weapons
Enhancement: Rogue Haste Boost I
Enhancement: Racial Toughness I
Enhancement: Rogue Sneak Attack Training I
Enhancement: Bard Perform I


Level 4 (Barbarian)
Enhancement: Barbarian Damage Boost I
Enhancement: Barbarian Damage Reduction Boost I
Enhancement: Barbarian Sprint Boost I
Enhancement: Barbarian Toughness I


Level 5 (Barbarian)
Enhancement: Barbarian Extend Rage I
Enhancement: Barbarian Extra Rage I
Enhancement: Barbarian Constitution I


Level 6 (Bard)
Feat: (Selected) Power Attack
Spell (1): Expeditious Retreat
Enhancement: Bard Inspired Bravery I
Enhancement: Bard Inspired Damage I
Enhancement: Bard Lingering Song I


Level 7 (Bard)
Spell (1): Detect Secret Doors
Enhancement: Barbarian Power Attack I
Enhancement: Bard Inspired Attack I
Enhancement: Racial Toughness II


Level 8 (Bard)
Spell (2): Cure Moderate Wounds
Spell (2): Heroism
Enhancement: Bard Song Magic II
Enhancement: Bard Charisma I


Level 9 (Bard)
Feat: (Selected) Extend Spell
Spell (1): Remove Fear
Spell (2): Rage
Enhancement: Bard Inspired Bravery II
Enhancement: Bard Energy of the Music II


Level 10 (Bard)
Enhancement: Bard Warchanter I


Level 11 (Bard)
Spell (3): Haste
Spell (2): Blur
Spell (3): Cure Serious Wounds
Enhancement: Bard Inspired Damage II
Enhancement: Bard Lingering Song II


Level 12 (Rogue)
Feat: (Selected) Improved Critical: Slashing Weapons
Enhancement: Bard Song Magic III


Level 13 (Barbarian)
Enhancement: Barbarian Hardy Rage I
Enhancement: Barbarian Power Rage I
Enhancement: Bard Wand Mastery II


Level 14 (Barbarian)
Enhancement: Barbarian Damage Boost II
Enhancement: Barbarian Toughness II


Level 15 (Barbarian)
Feat: (Selected) Cleave
Enhancement: Barbarian Extend Rage II


Level 16 (Barbarian)
Enhancement: Barbarian Extra Rage II
Enhancement: Barbarian Frenzied Berserker I


Level 17 (Bard)
Spell (3): Displacement
Enhancement: Barbarian Hardy Rage II
Enhancement: Barbarian Power Rage II


Level 18 (Bard)
Feat: (Selected) Two Handed Fighting
Enhancement: Bard Inspired Attack II


Level 19 (Bard)
Spell (4): Cure Critical Wounds
Spell (4): Freedom of Movement
Spell (3): Remove Curse
Enhancement: Barbarian Constitution II


Level 20 (Rogue)
Enhancement: Barbarian Power Attack II
Enhancement: Rogue Subtle Backstabbing I
Enhancement: Rogue Sneak Attack Training II

Play
You will have lots of buttons to push, timers to track, and gear considerations to think about. This is not really an easy build to play well. I strongly suggest practicing, experimenting and thinking over what you can do so that when in quest and in group you can get the most out of it. Each thing it does requires some gear switching. Trap skills are not handy when raging and combat hear won’t help you heal well. Know your character and it will perform well.

Variations
Its both easy and hard to change up these kinds of builds. Each element is somewhat interdependent but if you drop one you can shore up another. I can’t say I have any specific suggestions.

[TheCrow]

Thanks for that, looks like a lot of fun.

In terms of damage output the two rogue levels mean it loses +1 BAB but it gains 1d6 sneak ?

[sigtrent]

Thanks for that, looks like a lot of fun.

In terms of damage output the two rogue levels mean it loses +1 BAB but it gains 1d6 sneak ?

You are very welcome.

That is about right. You can't take open lock without taking a rogue level. The primary reason I included it was because your request mentioned trap skills and I wanted to try and get as much of what you requested as I could manage. Rogue 2 also get's you the evasion abbility which lets you take no damage when you succede at a reflex save instead of half damage. Its good for running traps and also against most damage spells. A lot of people take two rogue levels just for that.

It is costing you +1 on your BAB though as opposed to more barbarian levels. If you instead had more bard levels the bab would be the same due to the level breaks.

[TheCrow]

You are very welcome.

That is about right. You can't take open lock without taking a rogue level. The primary reason I included it was because your request mentioned trap skills and I wanted to try and get as much of what you requested as I could manage. Rogue 2 also get's you the evasion abbility which lets you take no damage when you succede at a reflex save instead of half damage. Its good for running traps and also against most damage spells. A lot of people take two rogue levels just for that.

It is costing you +1 on your BAB though as opposed to more barbarian levels. If you instead had more bard levels the bab would be the same due to the level breaks.

So if my buddy wants to modify this build & leave out the Rogue levels (basically we wanted to do a 2 man buddy build but he really wants to go Drow bard/barb also) how would you suggest he modify it ? or is there another class he could take to make his BAB & Damage higher ? 2 levels of fighter or 2 levels of Paladin (mainly for the saves) or is he better off sticking to barbarian levels ?

[sigtrent]

So if my buddy wants to modify this build & leave out the Rogue levels (basically we wanted to do a 2 man buddy build but he really wants to go Drow bard/barb also) how would you suggest he modify it ? or is there another class he could take to make his BAB & Damage higher ? 2 levels of fighter or 2 levels of Paladin (mainly for the saves) or is he better off sticking to barbarian levels ?

It's a little tricky but not too bad...

Take Bard at level 1 because it gives you more skill points. Max out UMD, Perform, Concentrate, Balance etc..

(I just noticed an error in the level 1 feats left over from another build! Doh! I'll fix that.)

Then take Barbarian instead of Rogue at level 7 and barbarian instead of bard at level 12. I'll put in notations for that.

[dormetheus]

My original (pre favor, pre warchanter) 28pt build looks quite a bit like this.

Right now she's 8bard, 7barb Human. I think 11 barb would be minimum (for 20 cap) just for greater rage. I'm going 12barb with her just to touch FB I. I advise skip 2rog, unless you HAVE to have evasion.

The human skill boost is great for umd, especially at earlier levels, or before raid gear f(really i think it's great all the time). This is a VERY busy build to play at max efficiency. Keeping displacement up is a headache (expensive, short-term, even with extend).

Note: This build is best to be played by experienced players. You can lose a lot of time (read dps) during buffing if you're left behind and you aren't sure when the big battles are.

Keep your rages short, but plentiful, because you're going to be dismissing a lot of rages to buff and umd scrolls. Luckily, you won't be doing too much hasting, but IF you need it, it's there. Always great to have your own hastes.

This build is about utility and high dps. I think she's GREAT during boss battles.

I think Cure Serious is kind of a joke on this build. Not exactly sure of spell selection. Make sure you have Good Hope. I believe it adds a dmg element that GH doesn't, I get confused sometimes about bard song/buff stacking.

This build won't outkill anyone else in the party because you'll be buffing yourself to stay on par, while buffing them up above you. You'll also have the bard defficiencies (lower BaB, etc.) even when there is a full bard in raid/group.

At 15, I am hitting almost everything on a roll of 2. Throw a BP of destruction on this character and you'll do your party some more favors (love it on my build!).

I kept my cha lower on my build, but I had human boost for umd (not sure what it takes for the 40ish umd breakpoint, exactly).

Edit: I also want recommend that, if you aren't doing TWF or taking the 2rogue levels, to decrease Dex and pump Con. This build will have low hp for a front line dpser.