Actually just Pathfinder. For discussion of rules, character builds, and anything else non-campaign related.

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Rusty
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Dungeons and Suck: Build to Lose, Play to Win

Post by Rusty »

This thread is for the D & S game, in which we build deliberately "accidentally shitty" builds, and then play them seriously.

Characters must be mostly playable, and at a minimum non-optimized.

The challenge to this game is to make a character that is a playable but horrible build, and is flavorful and potentially fun/hilarious to play.

Use PF point buy for attributes with 25 points to spend.

Build with gestalt rules, unlimited classes, unlimited PRCs

All PF, 3.5 and most 3.0 books are available.

Characters start at 10th level and have 62000 gold to spend. (The vast majority of which should be spent prior to the game starting.)

Please please please make these highly themed characters.

The starting location is the Halfling City of Norastiel, which is under siege by the Goblin Horde. The setting is Terriel, circa NE 2500 (about 300 years before the events of the Odyssey of King Regis, played by certain people and ran by me in a previous game, and several thousand years after the culmination of the Firmament Falling campaign.)

Enjoy.
Last edited by Rusty on Fri Sep 24, 2010 2:39 am, edited 1 time in total.
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rydi
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Post by rydi »

it just occurred to me that another good build for this would be... no build. Let play dictate your non-optimized choices.
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Post by Rusty »

That would be deliciously appreciated in probably most games.
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Post by angelicyokai »

This sounds fun, though I think I pretty much make all my characters this way already. :D
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Post by adam »

I claim the mule trainer. But if you see these pictures, you may not allow it as mules kick ass.
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Post by rydi »

fuck.

Awesome.

Well, at least now we know they got the stats correct in the MM.
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Post by Ivanovich »

a kobold just about anything would probably be fun for this game. might even do it.
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Post by Rusty »

We had a resurgence of interest in this game recently.

Scrap the previous build rules and setting info.

New info is this:

11th level, 15 point buy.

PF and DSP books only

We have a trend of going into prestige at 11th level.

spend 82000 gp on equipment

The character must both suck and be playable. Several of the characters we have so far are funny, and one of them is serious and has a long story that explains his enormous diversity of classes.

Due to the nature of the game, b09s is out, simply because it's too good.

Premise:

All the brave and bold knights of the realm are being summoned to the palace by the king to receive a quest of dire importance. You have been summoned to the palace by the court jester. A menacing terror looms in the west, the ancient and evil dragon Valvex has risen from his keep again, and darkness threatens the land. A promise of aid from the virtuous Princess Aasia has sparked the knights and princes of the realm to seek out The Lonely Tower, stronghold of the aasimar in the razor-rock mountains to the north, to attempt to win the hand of this beautiful and powerful half-celestial to have some hope of defeating the vile dragon. You probably have not been summoned to the palace to partake in any of that.
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Post by rydi »

*Some stuff subject to change...


Robert the Howard, Scion of the Drunk Mallard Tribe, Freed Slave, Diviner, Guide, Righter of Wrongs, Teller of Tales, Warrior of the Phoenix Clan, and originator of the Renowned Spell-Fist-Gun-Sword fighting form

Human (Focused Study)

Barbarian (Drunken Brute) 1 / Wizard (Divination/Foresight) 1 / Monk (Master of Many Styles) 1 / Rogue (Poisoner) 1 / Fighter (Unarmed) 1 / Ranger (Guide) 1 / Gunslinger (Pistolero) 1 / Bard (Savage Skald) 1 / Cavalier (Samurai) 1 / Magus (Kensai) 1 / Pathfinder Chronicler 1

Str 10
Dex 18
Con 12
Int 12
Wis 16
Cha 7

Talents:
Veteran of Battle (As Combat), Wisdom in the Flesh (As Faith)

Feats:
Skill Focus - Sense Motive, Two-Weapon Fighting, Scribe Scroll, Imp. Unarmed Strike, Stunning Fist, Snake Style, Snake Fang, Monkey Style, Monkey Moves, Weapon Finesse, Skill Focus - Craft, Master Craftsman, Weapon Focus - Feet or Sword, Craft Arms & Armor

Skills:
11 Acrobatics
5 Climb
11 Craft - Smith
1 Craft - Alchemy
1 Escape Artist
Knowledge
1 -Arcana
1 -Dungeoneering
1 -Geography
1 -Local
1 -Nature
1 -Nobility
3 Linguistics
8 Perception
5 Perform - Oratory
5 Profession - Scribe
1 Ride
11 Sense Motive
1 Spellcraft
1 Stealth
1 Survival
1 Swim

Items: (Weapons and Arcane Bond item use crafted cost)
09000 Ring of Protection +3 (arcane bond item)
16000 Bracers of Armor +4
10000 Unfettered Shirt
22000 2x Revolvers +1 Ghost Touching, Seeking
15000 Adamant Wakizashi of the Sword Saint +1
04000 Gloves of Arrow Snaring
04000 Mithril Reinforced Boots +1
Last edited by rydi on Sat Sep 07, 2013 11:01 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Post by Rusty »

I'd think about dropping Bard with a charisma score like that.

Consider a sorceror with Sage or Empyreal blood line crossblooded with something like Rakshasa or Maestro. That would shift your sorcerer spellcasting to Int or Wis, letting you have it at all, and give you an arcana you could benefit from and a first level ability you might actually use. Rakshasa's Silver Tongue ability would imply that all your stories might actually be bullshit, Maestro's 1st level ability would provide some of the thematics lost with Bard.

Bard fits the character really well, it just loses spellcasting entirely. Someone tells me rather frequently that it's bad to do that.
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Post by rydi »

You are aware that I have two other classes with first level spells, and that they are of questionable worth to an 11th lvl character, right? And that of the class abilities that have a chance to progress, bard abilities are the only ones that go up with PFChronicler?
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Post by Rusty »

Nope, forgot that pf chronicler had anything to do with bards. good call then.
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Post by Avilister »

So I was talking about the Kobold Alchemist/Sorcerer going into Dragon Disciple thing, but after reading through some other prestiges and archetypes, I've decided to drop sorc/DD in favor of Master Chymist.

The concept is a Kobold who desperately wants to make himself like all the kobolds out there that have draconic features. So he starts mixing chems and drinking shit and sometimes that just blows up in his face. Sometimes it turns him into a huge rage monster.

I'm thinking Kobold Alchemist (Ragechemist/Vivisectionist) 10/Master Chymist 1.

Is that too good? I hope not. I think it'd be hilarious. General note about what makes this build so bad: 1) Being a kobold at all. 2) Ragechemist's ridiculously punitive save mechanic every time damage is taken. Our little wannabe is going to be spending an awful lot of time comatose.
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Post by Rusty »

the punitive save mechanic you mention only occurs until you transform into the mutagen form, which is by definition more combat capable than your other form. This actually serves to allow you to transform immediately after taking damage due to surprise, traps, or other things. It has uses, and does not appear punitive.

I'll leave it up to group consensus whether you should be able to have it, but it appears to be a relatively solid build.
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Post by Avilister »

Are we even reading the same class archetype? I'll quote it so we can all see how hilariously bad Ragechemist is:
Rage Mutagen: At 2nd level, whenever a ragechemist creates a mutagen that improves his Strength, that mutagen grants the rage chemist a +6 bonus to Strength [note that per errata this is actually just a flat +2 to the strength of any strength-granting mutagen, including greater and etc], +2 bonus to natural armor, and a –2 penalty to Intelligence. Furthermore, while under the effects of this mutagen, whenever the alchemist takes damage, his rage grows, with detrimental effects. At the end of each turn that he takes hit point damage, the ragechemist must succeed at a Will saving throw (DC 15, or DC 20 if any of the damage came from a critical hit that turn) or take a –2 penalty on Will saving throws and to Intelligence. These penalties end 1 hour after the mutagen ends and stack with themselves. If the penalty lowers the ragechemist’s Intelligence score to 0, the ragechemist is comatose until 1 hour after the mutagen expires. This ability replaces poison use.
Emphasis mine. Note that the alchemist has primary fort and ref saves (and so does Master Chymist for that matter), and no particular motivation to have a high Wisdom (aside from maybe mitigating this incredibly harsh penalty).

Note that this is a positive feedback loop - the more you suffer the penalty, the more likely it is that you will suffer from it again because your save to resist it goes down every time you take it.

tl;dr: Ragechemist on its own qualifies for dungeons and suck. Taking vivisectionist and master chymist is 'okay' but not 'good' (particularly since the sneak attack from vivisectionist stops at 10th level since master chymist only increases bomb damage).
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