Beaumont Blakeney Dillicapp III's page

FAQ!

...and the dodge bonus does not stack with itself.

Quick question re: this passage.

If I use TWF and attack with both weapons, does the dodge bonus of each weapon's attack apply because each weapon is a different source, or does only one count because the source is considered to be Offensive Defense?

and if I am using a non-lethal attack and Sap Master it counts for all SA dice, right?

Yeah I was questioning the value of three feats to get Spring Attack. As for TWF I wasn't going to take the whole tree, just the root TWF skill so my +hit wouldn't suck so bad.

With TWF: +11/+6 and +11 offhand
W/O TWF: +9/+4 and +5 offhand

Taking the -6 to the offhand attack with the cane portion strikes me as too big a loss not to take TWF. However, if I did go farther and take ITWF it would give me another off-hand at +6.

As a Level 8 Rogue:
1) Move 10' to enter melee with target.
2) Make a full attack with cane and sword against a flat-footed opponent (1st attack only) (Skirmisher)
3) Deal 1d6+10d6+1d6+20 non-lethal damage (Sap Adept/Sap Master)
4) Gain +10 Dodge bonus to AC (Offensive Defense)
5) Successfully intimidate and target is shaken for 1d6+10d6+1d6+20 rounds(Enforcer)
6) Attack target with remaining cane attack (+6) and two sword attacks (+11/+6).

On the following round I could take a 5ft step back, sacrifice a -2AC from the +10 I just got in Step 4 and use Lunge to strike him with all attacks from 10' away.

As a DM though I would gladly allow the Spring Attack surprise round if you are a reasonable player, especially because the rogue needs any help it can get and even then this would hardly be the most optimized option. You may also want to check this feat.

This still suffers from the same lack of synergy with TWF though it is much easier to get to than Spring Attack.

I did take TWF, which greatly improved my abilities to hit once the fight was on. I was just detailing out some combat flows and had come up with:

(Note: Flaws were allowed so I have two extra feats to play with)

As a Level 8 Rogue:
1) Move 10' to enter melee with target.
2) Make a full attack with cane and sword against a flat-footed opponent (1st attack only) (Skirmisher)
3) Deal 1d6+10d6+1d6+20 non-lethal damage (Sap Adept/Sap Master)
4) Gain +10 Dodge bonus to AC (Offensive Defense)
5) Successfully intimidate and target is shaken for 1d6+10d6+1d6+20 rounds(Enforcer)
6) Attack target with remaining two sword attacks.

At Level 9 I can continue as above or:
1) Move 10' and make an attack (Spring Attack)
2) Make a single attack with cane against a flat-footed opponent (Skirmisher)
3) Deal 1d6+10d6+1d6+20 non-lethal damage (Sap Adept/Sap Master)
4) Gain +10 Dodge bonus to AC (Offensive Defense)
5) Successfully intimidate and target is shaken for 1d6+10d6+1d6+20 rounds(Enforcer)
6) Move back out of melee combat range (Spring Attack)

With the added +10 Dodge AC I could stay in melee and full attack single targets, or use Spring Attack to bounce from target to target braining them and shaking them up.

Beaumont Blakeney Dillicapp III wrote:

Also, if I'm reading the descriptions correctly, a level 8 Thug rogue with Enforcer and Sap Master, would then make the target shaken for 1d6+10d6+20+1 rounds (non-lethal damage) or frightened for 1? While the 1 round of frightened would be nice, I'm not sure it would be worth losing Rake for it, plus Shatter Defenses would work with Enforcer regardless if the rogue was a thug or not.

I'm not touching this feat with a 10-foot pole, and I suggest you do the same. The only way I could see it as balanced would be if it required an immediate action to activate on a successful sneak attack against an opponent denied it's dexterity bonus or on a critical hit, with a Will saving throw to avoid, and a duration in rounds based on the -base- weapon damage dice (1d6 rounds for a rapier, for instance). And even then, it has a great potential to make people suffer a lot with Shatter Defenses.

This would of course not only grasp the 10-foot pole with both hands, but it would swing it over your head and have you yelling, "Bring it on!", but it would definitely be fun.

...I'd suggest you write yourself a breakdown on your sheet as to avoid any bookkeeping during the game

As for keeping track of my combat options and such I'm going to actually make a flow chart, similar to the Grappling one.

Thanks for the input. I've got a few questions.

The enemy is only treated as flat-footed in the following situations :

- He does not see you coming and you start the combat with a surprise round : he is flat-footed as long as he hasn't acted yet in this combat.

This is the obviously the ideal situation as it requires less from the rogue's build to qualify, very situational though.

- He sees you coming, but you act first and possess the Surprise Attack rogue talent, so he is flat-footed against your first round of attacks.

During the surprise round, opponents are always considered flat-footed to a rogue with this ability, even if they have already acted.

Actually, I don't think I have to act first here if I have Surprise Attacks, right? It's still a surprise round only option though, but at least it's an automatic qualifier for that round.

- On a successful Feint.

If successful, the next melee attack you make against the target does not allow him to use his Dexterity bonus to AC (if any).

Feint says the target loses their DEX bonus, but it doesn't state they are considered flat-footed. So I don't believe this would qualify.

- You have the Catch Off guard feat and attack an unarmed character with an improvised weapon, or weapon with the "improvised" property (like your hanbo scabbard).

Yep. While this didn't work for me last night (target has natural attacks), it should be easy enough to disarm with the sword and then catch them off guard with the hanbo/scabbard.

- Shatter Defenses feat. Works awesomely well with a Thug/Dandy rogue.

- Scout rogue's charge.

I looked at a Thug/Scout Dandy after reading this, but realized you would really benefit from Shatter Defenses for the Thug and Spring Attack for the Scout, but you could never have enough feats to do it. Between the two the scout would appeal more to me (thugs ARE rather brutish after all, and brutish = low brow)

Also, if I'm reading the descriptions correctly, a level 8 Thug rogue with Enforcer and Sap Master, would then make the target shaken for 1d6+10d6+20+1 rounds (non-lethal damage) or frightened for 1? While the 1 round of frightened would be nice, I'm not sure it would be worth losing Rake for it, plus Shatter Defenses would work with Enforcer regardless if the rogue was a thug or not.

With Enforcer, slapping someone for 12d6+20 (1d6 for weapon, 10d6 for Sap Master, 1d6 for Merciful enchant and +20 for Sap Adept) would do a ton of non-lethal and shaken them up for the rest of the fight (assuming they were still conscious from the hit).

Which brings this all back full circle about how to get Sap Master to hit more often. Even without Sap Master you would still be hitting for 7d6+10 non-lethal/shaken rounds in the situation above if the target wasn't flat footed.

Too bad shaken opponents can still get AoO, otherwise a scout could move in, knock them senseless and dance around them each round, moving 10 feet and attacking them as if they were flat-footed without risk of AoOs. Looks like Spring attack would still help here.

On a slightly different topic, if what you wish for is to get a better, constant average damage, you may be interested in Cheapy's replacement to Sneak Attack that we refined in The Secrets of Tactical Archetypes II. It allows to deal additional damage everytime an enemy is afflicted by a detrimental condition.

I'm not too concerned about "better, constant average damage" vs "high burst damage", I was just trying to determine if Sap Master is too situational to take up a feat slot.

Does the sap master change this line from Sneak attack?

Quote:

With a weapon that deals nonlethal damage (like a sap, whip, or an unarmed strike), a rogue can make a sneak attack that deals nonlethal damage instead of lethal damage. She cannot use a weapon that deals lethal damage to deal nonlethal damage in a sneak attack, not even with the usual –4 penalty.

Putting Merciful on your weapons would take care of this issue and give you an extra d6.

Also, just as a reminder, only Sap Master requires both a bludgeoning weapon dealing non-lethal damage and a flat-footed target, Sap Adept just has the bludgeoning weapon dealing non-lethal damage requirement. Flat-footed isn't required for Sap Adept.

First session was tonight. Lots of good RP opportunities. Other than almost causing a bar room brawl in a low brow inn because I pulled out a chest of fine spirits when I saw the swill they were serving we only had one combat.

Sword and cane worked well, but I realized Sap Master may be limited in utility since it specifically calls out opponents having to be flat-footed, which means so far I haven't been able to use it. Sap Adept only calls out using non-lethal with a bludgeoning weapon so it still fires with the cane on a sneak attack, but not so for Sap Master.

One question, if a target is tripped is it considered flat-footed or is that strictly for surprise round.

I'm looking forward to it. I'll be sure to post feedback as he progresses.

I saw the update. Quick note, the hanbo is from Adventurer's Armory, not Ultimate Combat.

Before you replied I had decided to talk to the GM about treating the sword cane (when sheathed) and the "scabbard" (when unsheathed) as an improvised hanbo. It's a staff less than a yard long and is often carved to look like a walking stick. It's 1d6 same as a combat scabbard or club and it's light so it is automatically finessable.

Enemies that aren't able to act during a surprise round because they didn't perceive you are treated as flat-footed until they act in the next round. :)

The feat you are searching for is actually the Surprise Attack talent, it treats enemies that have not yet acted during the fight a flat-footed.
This means that with the Betrayer feat :

1. No combat yet : Immediate action draw + attack, surprise round begins if the enemy treats you as a friendly creature.
2. Surprise round : Move or standard action. Both if you are a Bandit. You may attack once, enemy is still flat-footed. Full sneak damage on Underhanded talent.
3. Combat really begins : Roll initiative. If enemy didn't act yet, he is still flat-footed. Enjoy your full attack sneak orgy.

1. No combat yet : enemy perceives you as a foe, he is not flat-footed against this betrayer attack.
2. Combat begins, roll initiative. If Surprise Attack talent and you win initiative, enemy is flat-footed.

Without the feat :

1. No combat yet : Enemy didn't see you or don't see you as a menace.
2. Surprise round : Move or standard action. Both if you are a Bandit. You may attack once, enemy is still flat-footed. Full sneak damage on Underhanded talent.
3. Combat really begins : Roll initiative. If enemy didn't act yet, he is still flat-footed. Enjoy your full attack sneak orgy.

1. No combat yet : enemy perceives you as a foe, he is not flat-footed.
2. Combat begins : Roll initiative. If Surprise Attack talent and you win initiative, enemy is flat-footed.

Thanks, for the breakdown. I just have to figure out how to keep my contribution up once normal combat begins. W/O the 2WP tree i'm afraid I'll have an issue hitting with the scabbard since it's not finesse-friendly (neither is the glove for that matter). So once the initial impressive flair is done, I'm back to my +0 STR mod for the offhand and the minuses for dual wielding. Maybe dropping the scabbard and quick drawing a dagger for the offhand would be workable.

You may want to disarm the target on your first round of fight, not during the betrayer attack or surprise round, except if you don't get the Underhanded talent. So you slap hard the guy with Sap Master, draw the sword as a free action and disarm it before the battle even really begins !

Catch-Off Guard would also allow me to slap them with the scabbard for sneak damage once they were disarmed, right?

Well, the Dandy does make the sword cane better and can use the scabbard as the weapon ; and his "improvised" weapons aren't treated as such, can be made magic and are easier to conceal, so it actually gets candy over classic tricks. :)

BTW... The whole idea of enchanting improvised weapons is really reaking havoc with Hero Lab. This build is definately gonna take a lot of notes to keep track of.

With one attack with a merciful cane sword in the surprise round (or sap), you are aiming for a base 1d6+(8d6+16) nonlethal on your first attack (+1d6 if merciful cane sword) ; and 1d6+24 underhanded damage on your standard action attack with the same unsheated weapon (or another 1d6+8d6+16 if you use a deft palm-concealed sap).

Or even, fight bare-handed like a gentleman, unarmed strikes are nonlethal... ;)

Initially I was thinking of the sequence (at level 7):

1) Draw sword from cane as a free action (Quick Draw)
2) Disarm opponent with sword attack.
3) Smack them with the scabbard for 10d6+12 :: 1d6(weapon) + 8d6(Sap Master) + 1d6(Merciful) +12(Sap Adept)

I thought there was a feat or something that allowed me to treat people in the surprise round as flat-footed, but I'm not finding it.

Also, since being disarmed doesn't grant a flat-footed state I don't know what real value there is in me disarming first (other than them not being able to attack back.)

I like a lot of the flavor, but would be more inclined to just making the sword cane better across the board. I already house rule that all stick-like object of appropriate heft count as clubs anyway, and having a glove filled with lead shot or gold coins is a classic way of making a sap too.

My GM already house ruled that the sword in a sword cane is equivalent to a rapier hence an 18-20/2x stat and I treat it as a club when closed.

The links for all of my previously purchased PDFs still appear to be correct, but the links for the errata downloads all just point to the URL for the "My Downloads" page.

Thanks for the update. I'm currently introducing a new character (level 7) to an existing group so I decided to play a hobgoblin dandy raised by a noble family from a neighboring kingdom. Raised in the sheltered world of nobility, he has little understanding of the peasantry or why they choose to live the way they do. The roleplaying aspect of this character is a blast, especially because his racial heritage is anything but that of a gentleman.

I'm working on getting the mechanics of the character built to ensure he is a boon to the party (beyond just a greater sense of style and decorum).

Also, a dandy may treat any kind of sword cane she holds like a finessable weapon with the Trip and Disarm weapon properties. When used this way, the cane is either treated as an appropriately sized club when sheated, or a 19-20x2 piercing weapon when unsheated, and can't be wielded two-handed.

So, my assumption is the sheathed sword cane, and the unsheathed sword blade get Trip and Disarm, but the combat scabbard does not, correct?

redliska wrote:

Why not use armor spikes?

This is the leading reason I believe it to be possible.

If armor spikes can do it, why not a spiked gauntlet?

I picture him standing there holding his scythe, and just punching forward to hit with the fist instead of swinging the scythe. I can understand someone losing a claw attack in this instance as the claws are wrapped around the scythe holding it, but that wouldn't seem to hold for a fist attack.

Ok, yep, we are thinking the same thing. It would be more in keeping with that theme to have lower Wisdom and Charisma. Now to just figure out the best approach for a build. I'm off to research some more...

Ahhh this fits better...

There is also a feat called Noble Scion that can only be taken at 1st level that you might be interested in. It's in the ISWG.

Thanks I'll check it out.