Incendio's page

@stringburka, Ascaphalus, etc.

URBAN RANGER archetype -I went with a balance of melee and ranged feats and augmented his abilities with magical items. I like that Drow have a weaker con and strength, so 2 of his magic items give him a boost almost like Elric's "Stormbringer". He needs the sword to not be a weakling.

His "keen" +5 cold iron shortsword is criting on a 15 and his offhand is a + 5 "Vorpal" adamantine dagger.

He will open with +5 adamantine crossbow bolts covered in "hag spit" poison to hopefully blind people and then hack and slash (on full round attacks) with 1 "keen" mainland and 3 offhand attacks - greater two-weapon fighting (w/ "vorpal" effect on nat 20s - 3 chances per round!). I tried to make sure he has some self healing and balanced Saves as well.

I spent about 500k on gear which is a little above his level, but he is a boss.

The flavor of the character is melee dual wield "Evil Drizzt" as I said before (i have an awesome mini for him already to go!)

With Greater Darkness, levitate, feather fall and an Additional +8 attack and damage against humans, i think he's better than the first version i posted - so dumping assassin seemed to really help. He still has some nice "thief things".

Favored Community (Absalom) (+2 bonus) (Ex) +2 to rolls vs Commuity (Specify).
Favored Community (Katapesh) (+4 bonus) (Ex) +4 to rolls vs Commuity (Specify).
Favored Community (Zirnakaynin) (+4 bonus) (Ex) +4 to rolls vs Commuity (Specify).

---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Male Drow, Noble Ranger (Urban Ranger) 17
CE Medium Humanoid (elf)
Init +12; Senses Darkvision, Low-Light Vision; Perception +26
--------------------
Defense
--------------------
AC 35, touch 21, flat-footed 29 (+9 armor, +6 Dex, +5 natural, +5 deflection)
hp 255 (17d10+85)
Fort +20, Ref +21, Will +16
Defensive Abilities Evasion, Improved Evasion; Immune sleep; Resist Elven Immunities; SR 28
Weakness Light Blindness
--------------------
Offense
--------------------
Speed 30 ft., Push Through
Melee +5 Keen Cold Iron Shortsword +26/+21/+16/+11 (1d6+10/15-20/x2) and
+5 Vorpal Adamantine Dagger +26/+21/+16 (1d4+10/19-20/x2)
Ranged +5 Crossbow, Hand +28/+23/+18/+13 (1d4+5/19-20/x2)
Spell-Like Abilities Dancing Lights (At will), Deeper Darkness (At will), Detect Magic (Constant), Dispel Magic (1/day), Divine Favor (1/day), Faerie Fire (At will), Featherfall (At will), Invisibility Trick (4/day), Levitate (At will), Suggestion (1/day)
Ranger (Urban Ranger) Spells Prepared (CL 14, 22 melee touch, 23 ranged touch):
4 (2/day) Cure Serious Wounds (DC 18), Find Quarry
3 (3/day) Remove Disease (DC 17), Neutralize Poison (DC 17), Cure Moderate Wounds (DC 17)
2 (4/day) Snare (x2), Cure Light Wounds (x2) (DC 16)
1 (5/day) Blend (x3), Residual Tracking (x2)
--------------------
Statistics
--------------------
Str 14/20, Dex 22, Con 12/18, Int 12, Wis 18, Cha 12
Base Atk +17; CMB +22; CMD 43
Feats Double Slice, Greater Two-weapon Fighting, Improved Critical (Shortsword), Improved Initiative, Improved Two-weapon Fighting, Iron Will, Point Blank Shot, Precise Shot, Quick Draw, Rapid Shot, Toughness +17, Two-weapon Fighting, Weapon Finesse
Traits Resilient, Warrior of Old
Skills Acrobatics +23, Climb +25, Disable Device +29, Escape Artist +11, Heal +8, Intimidate +9, Knowledge (dungeoneering) +9, Knowledge (geography) +9, Knowledge (local) +9, Knowledge (nature) +6, Knowledge (nobility) +2, Knowledge (religion) +2, Perception +26, Ride +10, Sleight of Hand +7, Spellcraft +5, Stealth +26, Survival +24, Swim +13
Languages Drow Sign Language, Elven, Undercommon
SQ Blend In, Camouflage, Enemies: Humanoids (Dwarf) (+2 bonus), Enemies: Humanoids (Elf) (+2 bonus), Enemies: Humanoids (Gnome) (+2 bonus), Enemies: Humanoids (Human) (+8 bonus), Favored Community (Absalom) (+2 bonus), Favored Community (Katapesh) (+4 bonus), Favored Community (Zirnakaynin) (+4 bonus), Hunting Companions (4 rounds), Poison Use, Quarry, Ring of Sustenance, Swift Tracker, Track +8, Trapfinding +8, Wild Empathy +18
Combat Gear +5 Adamantine Bolts, Crossbow (10), +5 Crossbow, Hand, +5 Keen Cold Iron Shortsword, +5 Mithral Chain Shirt, +5 Vorpal Adamantine Dagger; Other Gear Amulet of Natural Armor +5, Bag of Holding I (2 @ 175.56 lbs), Belt of Physical Might, STR & CON +6, Cloak of Resistance, +5, Flint and steel, Poison, Hag Spit (10), Pouch, belt (11 @ 0 lbs), Ring of Protection, +5, Ring of Sustenance, Thieves' tools, masterwork, Waterskin
--------------------
Special Abilities
--------------------
Blend In (Ex) Stealth can replace Disguise within a favored community for the purpose of blending into a crowd.
Camouflage (Ex) Can use the Stealth skill in favored terrain, even without cover/concealment.
Dancing Lights (At will) (Sp) Cast Dancing Lights at will.
Darkvision (120 feet) You can see in the dark (black and white vision only).
Deeper Darkness (At will) (Sp) Cast Deeper Darkness at will.
Detect Magic (Constant) (Sp) Constant Detect Magic
Dispel Magic (1/day) (Sp) Cast Dispel Magic once per day.
Divine Favor (1/day) (Sp) Cast Divine Favor once per day.
Drow Immunities - Sleep You are immune to magic sleep effects.
Elven Immunities +2 save bonus vs Enchantments.
Enemies: Humanoids (Dwarf) (+2 bonus) (Ex) +2 to rolls vs Humanoids (Dwarf).
Enemies: Humanoids (Elf) (+2 bonus) (Ex) +2 to rolls vs Humanoids (Elf).
Enemies: Humanoids (Gnome) (+2 bonus) (Ex) +2 to rolls vs Humanoids (Gnome).
Enemies: Humanoids (Human) (+8 bonus) (Ex) +8 to rolls vs Humanoids (Human).
Evasion (Ex) If you succeed at a Reflex save for half damage, you take none instead.
Faerie Fire (At will) (Sp) Cast Faerie Fire at will.
Favored Community (Absalom) (+2 bonus) (Ex) +2 to rolls vs Commuity (Specify).
Favored Community (Katapesh) (+4 bonus) (Ex) +4 to rolls vs Commuity (Specify).
Favored Community (Zirnakaynin) (+4 bonus) (Ex) +4 to rolls vs Commuity (Specify).
Featherfall (At will) (Sp) Cast Faerie Fire at will.
Hunting Companions (4 rounds) (Ex) Grant half favored enemy bonus to allies within 30' as move action.
Improved Evasion (Ex) If you succeed at a Reflex save for half damage, you take none instead. If you fail you take half damage.
Invisibility Trick (4/day) (Sp) Invisibility as a spell-like ability.
Levitate (At will) (Sp) Cast Levitate at will.
Light Blindness (Ex) Blinded for 1r in bright light, dazzled as long as they remain in it.
Low-Light Vision See twice as far as a human in low light, distinguishing color and detail.
Point Blank Shot +1 to attack and damage rolls with ranged weapons at up to 30 feet.
Poison Use (Ex) You do not risk poisoning yourself accidentally while poisoning a weapon.
Precise Shot You don't get -4 to hit when shooting or throwing into combat.
Push Through (Ex) Not slowed by difficult terrain within a favored community, and may move through citizen's spaces as allies.
Quarry +2 to hit and other bonuses against your designated quarry.
Quick Draw Draw a weapon as a free action. Throw at full rate of attacks.
Rapid Shot You get an extra attack with ranged weapons. Each attack is at -2.
Ring of Sustenance This ring continually provides its wearer with life-sustaining nourishment. The ring also refreshes the body and mind, so that its wearer needs only sleep 2 hours per day to gain the benefit of 8 hours of sleep. The ring must be worn for a full week before it begins to work. If it is removed, the owner must wear it for another week to reattune it to himself.

Faint conjuration; CL 5th; Forge Ring, create food and water; Price 2,500 gp.
Spell Resistance (28) You have Spell Resistance.
Suggestion (1/day) (Sp) Cast Suggestion once per day.
Swift Tracker (Ex) Tracking penalties when moving at normal speed or faster are reduced.
Track +8 +8 to survival checks to track.
Trapfinding +8 +8 to find or disable traps.
Wild Empathy +18 (Ex) Improve the attitude of an animal, as if using Diplomacy.

Wow. I love all this stuff. Thank you all for this incredible info! Now onto draft 3...

Yes there is magic, but my players are so shooty shooty stabby stabby, I don't see them doing scrying etc, but I could be wrong. Hey...I do want them to win, I just don't want my BBEG to go down like a sack of potatoes. At the same time I don't want him walking around with a batman utility belt of escapes, etc..

Ultimately I want him to harass them (not kill them individually, maybe just there hirelings, etc.---build up tension

I guess I want him to be a melee monster. Maybe I should drop some assassin levels, take some more ranger and a level of barbarian for rage? Grab some multi attack stuff like great cleave and whirlwind?

He's wielding two +5 keen cold iron blades. Crits!

He's not the campaign end boss, just a troublemaker along the way.

Wow. All of this information is great. I rebuilt my assassin using a lot of the ideas you all posted. One thing to note. There are NO arcane casters in the group. The group consists of a sniper rogue, a rogue/gunslinger and a monk tank. It's a thieves world style campaign and everyone is evil. They've been doing well with no healer and are usually stocked up with healing potions.

@Cel, Ascalaphus and deadman. This helps so much! I have had zero experience with the super high level stuff do all your advice (and all the previous posters) really help. I certainly don't want to kill off my PCs, but I want them to hate this guy and ultimately take him down...I certainly don't want him to open with a fancy attack and then get pwned either.

His will save is only 10, but he has a Spell Resistance of 28. Wouldn't that mitigate that a bit?

@andreww. Good point. Hmmm need to do some more tweaking...

As far as stealth goes, it's maxed (with 17 ranks) unless I give him some other stuff, but his armor allows him to move in the ethereal plane with no time limit once per day. I still like the melee idea for him since it is part of his backstory/assassins code (he likes too look his victims in the eyes "up close" before taking them down.

A very basic melee strategy is:

1. step out of the ethereal plane* or stealth
2. Spring attack/ unload massive melee damage / spring away (no op attacks)
3. *Step back into ethereal plane if not used for the day, jump off building (feather fall (at will), cast Deeper Darkness, etc.

Also...yes he will be picking off family members/ hirelings first. He even has a little token he leaves behind. Kind of like Zorro's "Z" in order to taunt the PCs.

@ Cel Awesome.

Thanks again for everyone's help. Here is the full stat block pasted from HeroLabs...and yes...he's basically an evil Drizzt...but I am doing a Darklands campaign.

Izztyrr Baenath
Male Drow, Noble Assassin 7 Ranger (Skirmisher) 10
CE Medium Humanoid (elf)
Init +8; Senses Darkvision, Low-Light Vision; Perception +22
--------------------
Defense
--------------------
AC 30, touch 22, flat-footed 23 (+7 armor, +1 shield, +6 Dex, +5 deflection, +1 dodge)
hp 173 (10d10+7d8+17)
Fort +15, Ref +22, Will +10
Defensive Abilities Evasion, Improved Uncanny Dodge (Lv >=11); Immune sleep; Resist +3 Save Bonus against Poison, Elven Immunities; SR 28
Weakness Light Blindness
--------------------
Offense
--------------------
Speed 40 ft.
Melee Dreadfrost - Keen Shortsword +24/+19/+14 (1d6+7/17-20/x2) and
Nightfall - Dagger +24/+19 (1d4+7/19-20/x2)
Ranged +3 Crossbow, Hand +24/+19/+14 (1d4+3/19-20/x2)
Special Attacks Death Attack (DC 21), Sneak Attack +4d6
Spell-Like Abilities Dancing Lights (At will), Deeper Darkness (At will), Detect Magic (Constant), Dispel Magic (1/day), Divine Favor (1/day), Faerie Fire (At will), Featherfall (At will), Levitate (At will), Suggestion (1/day)
--------------------
Statistics
--------------------
Str 14, Dex 22, Con 12, Int 18, Wis 11, Cha 12
Base Atk +15; CMB +17; CMD 39
Feats Assassin Weapon Proficiencies, Blind-Fight, Dodge, Double Slice, Endurance, Improved Two-weapon Fighting, Mobility, Point Blank Shot, Precise Shot, Quick Draw, Spring Attack, Two-weapon Defense, Two-weapon Fighting, Weapon Finesse
Traits Magical Talent (Detect Poison) (1/day) (Sp), Warrior of Old
Skills Acrobatics +26, Bluff +9, Climb +20, Disable Device +28, Disguise +9, Escape Artist +26, Handle Animal +5, Knowledge (dungeoneering) +17, Knowledge (geography) +12, Knowledge (local) +6, Knowledge (nature) +15, Perception +22, Ride +10, Sense Motive +8, Sleight of Hand +14, Stealth +26, Survival +20, Swim +15, Use Magic Device +6
Languages Common, Drow Sign Language, Elven, Gnome, Goblin, Undercommon
SQ Animal Companion Link, Enemies: Humanoids (Dwarf) (+2 bonus), Enemies: Humanoids (Elf) (+2 bonus), Enemies: Humanoids (Human) (+6 bonus), Hidden Weapons +7, Hide in Plain Sight, Hunter's Trick: Chameleon Step, Hunter's Trick: Quick Climb, Hunter's Trick: Skill Sage, Hunter's Tricks (5/day), Poison Use, Poison Use, Quiet Death, Share Spells with Companion, Swift Tracker, Terrains: Underground (+4 bonus), Terrains: Urban (+2 bonus), Track +5, True Death (DC 22), Wild Empathy +11, Woodland Stride
Combat Gear +2 Frost Cold Iron Bolts, Crossbow (50), +3 Crossbow, Hand, +5 Etherealness Leather, Dreadfrost - Keen Shortsword, Nightfall - Dagger; Other Gear Amulet of Proof against Detection and Location, Bag of Holding I (20 @ 47.2 lbs), Blue Priest (5), Boots of Striding and Springing, Cloak of Resistance, +5, Glarecutter Goggles, Poison, Drow Poison (10), Poison, Hag Spit (10), Potion of Cure Serious Wounds (2), Potion of Remove Disease (2), Potion of Restoration, Lesser, Pouch, belt (empty), Rations, trail (per day) (10), Ring of Climbing, Improved, Ring of Protection, +5, Rope, Spider Silk (50'), Thieves' tools, masterwork, Waterskin
--------------------
Special Abilities
--------------------
+3 Save Bonus against Poison +3 bonus to saves vs Poison.
Animal Companion Link (Ex) You have a link with your Animal Companion.
Blind-Fight Re-roll misses because of concealment, other benefits.
Dancing Lights (At will) (Sp) Cast Dancing Lights at will.
Darkvision (120 feet) You can see in the dark (black and white vision only).
Death Attack (DC 21) (Ex) You can kill or render a target helpless for 1d6+7 rounds with a prepared sneak attack.
Deeper Darkness (At will) (Sp) Cast Deeper Darkness at will.
Detect Magic (Constant) (Sp) Constant Detect Magic
Dispel Magic (1/day) (Sp) Cast Dispel Magic once per day.
Divine Favor (1/day) (Sp) Cast Divine Favor once per day.
Drow Immunities - Sleep You are immune to magic sleep effects.
Elven Immunities +2 save bonus vs Enchantments.
Endurance +4 to a variety of skill checks. Sleep in L/M armor with no fatigue.
Enemies: Humanoids (Dwarf) (+2 bonus) (Ex) +2 to rolls vs Humanoids (Dwarf).
Enemies: Humanoids (Elf) (+2 bonus) (Ex) +2 to rolls vs Humanoids (Elf).
Enemies: Humanoids (Human) (+6 bonus) (Ex) +6 to rolls vs Humanoids (Human).
Evasion (Ex) If you succeed at a Reflex save for half damage, you take none instead.
Faerie Fire (At will) (Sp) Cast Faerie Fire at will.
Featherfall (At will) (Sp) Cast Faerie Fire at will.
Hidden Weapons +7 (Ex) You gain +7 to Sleight of Hand checks made to hide weapons on your person.
Hide in Plain Sight (Su) You can use Stealth even while observed, as long as there is a shadow within 10'
Hunter's Trick: Chameleon Step (Ex) The ranger can move up to twice his speed as a move action. The ranger does not take any penalty on Stealth checks for movement during this move. This move provokes attacks of opportunity as normal.
Hunter's Trick: Quick Climb (Ex) The ranger can climb at his full speed as a move action without penalty.
Hunter's Trick: Skill Sage (Ex) As a free action, the ranger can roll twice on any one skill check and take the better result. He must have at least 1 rank in that skill to use this ability.
Hunter's Tricks (5/day) (Ex) Various tricks.
Improved Uncanny Dodge (Lv >=11) (Ex) Retain DEX bonus to AC when flat-footed. You cannot be flanked unless the attacker is Level 11+.
Levitate (At will) (Sp) Cast Levitate at will.
Light Blindness (Ex) Blinded for 1r in bright light, dazzled as long as they remain in it.
Low-Light Vision See twice as far as a human in low light, distinguishing color and detail.
Magical Talent (Detect Poison) (1/day) (Sp) Choose one 0-level spell - it becomes a 1/day spell-like ability for you.
Mobility +4 to AC against some attacks of opportunity.
Point Blank Shot +1 to attack and damage rolls with ranged weapons at up to 30 feet.
Poison Use You don't accidentally poison yourself with blades.
Poison Use (Ex) You do not risk poisoning yourself accidentally while poisoning a weapon.
Precise Shot You don't get -4 to hit when shooting or throwing into combat.
Quick Draw Draw a weapon as a free action. Throw at full rate of attacks.
Quiet Death (Ex) If you kill a target with your death attack during a surprise round, you can make an Opposed Stealth vs. Perception check to avoid it being noticed.
Share Spells with Companion (Ex) Spells cast on you can also affect your Companion, if it's within 5 feet.
Sneak Attack +4d6 +4d6 damage if you flank your target or your target is flat-footed.
Spell Resistance (28) You have Spell Resistance.
Spring Attack You can move - attack - move when attacking with a melee weapon.
Suggestion (1/day) (Sp) Cast Suggestion once per day.
Swift Tracker (Ex) Tracking penalties when moving at normal speed or faster are reduced.
Terrains: Underground (+4 bonus) (Ex) +4 to rolls vs Underground.
Terrains: Urban (+2 bonus) (Ex) +2 to rolls vs Urban.
Track +5 +5 to survival checks to track.
True Death (DC 22) (Su) Casting Raise Dead on a victim of your death attack requires a successful DC 22 caster level check.
Two-weapon Defense +1 to AC while wielding 2 weapons. +2 when doing so defensively.
Wild Empathy +11 (Ex) Improve the attitude of an animal, as if using Diplomacy.
Woodland Stride (Ex) Move through undergrowth at normal speed.
--------------------
In Drow speech, Izztyrr Baenath means "Masked Poisoner, Blessed by the Dragons".

He's a drow noble as well...and he has the hide in plain site feat as well.

Levitate, feather fall at will, etc

Thanks Cel - yes, In my post above I mentioned he is wearing armor of etherealness (ethereal jaunt once per day). I also gave him an Amulet of Non Detection (which I forgot to mention)- love the ideas the hag, etc!

Yep...I gave him a magic hand crossbow as well, but yeah...I think I need to make sure he does not engage too many.

At least building him as a PC, I don't feel like I'm making him too op.

Thanks for the responses. The "PC" villian I made is an assassin 7 / ranger 10 with +5 keen weapons, leather armor of etherealness +5 and magic items like ring of improved climbing, boots of striding, feather fall, spring attack, etc plus insane stealth.

So when I looked at all his good weapons, 4d6 sneak attack, favored enemy bonuses, etc, I kind of thought...omg this guy is too strong, but if he gets swarmed I can see bad things happening for him. The idea / strategy of the villian is to try pick off the PCs individually and that is where I'm worried he might be too much.

I have been messing around with HeroLabs to create a few CR17+ non- monster villians and I have been building them as PCs instead of NPCs. I bought them magic gear based on the wealth a player of that level would have. These Villians would likely be "solo" fights (no minions).

Am I inviting a TPK with this strategy?

Have any of you guys had good results with this?

Any feedback or anecdotes are welcome.

Thanks again everyone!! Great suggestions!

Thanks for all these ideas. Keep 'em coming. I know dipping is an art and I have a lot to learn!

Very interesting.... :) I'll check it out.

Thanks everyone for all this. All the info is appreciated! I was thinking dipping fighter at lvl2 for the feats...

Here's some more info regarding my char:

Str 16
Dex 12
Con 12
Int 11
Wis 10
Cha 14

Order of the Sword
Sword's Challenge
Sword's Skills
Tactician - Escape Route

Escape Route

You get a +4 bonus on initiative checks. Improved Initiative

You are proficient with all Martial weapons. Martial Weapon Proficiency - All

+2 damage with light or one-handed weapons vs. flat-footed opponents Noble Born - Surtova

Your starting cash increases to 900gp. Rich Parents

You can use a shield and take only the standard penalties. Shield Proficiency

Proficient with all simple weapons. Simple Weapon Proficiency - All

You gain +3 hit points. Toughness +3

Wearing chain, heavy shield, lance, masterwork long sword, masterwork flail

I have a level 1 cavalier in the Kingmaker AP. He's been doing great, especially with all the outdoor combat. Combining lance and horse I'm doing insane damage. I also love the mobility.

I was just wondering if there are any good dips I could take so that he can be good on foot. I'm worried that when I don't have my mount, I will be a second rate fighter.

Would it be worth it to dip into another martial class and grab some other feats?

My cavalier is a lawful neutral knight-very much a "by the book" justice vibe.

Thanks.

Ahh, OK, I see. Thank you. I think they made this rule too confusing.

It was my cavalier that did the crit in Deleon's game. Thanks for clearing this up!

Hi all -

Great videos everyone. Think everything has been said pretty nicely already...

Here's mine dedicated to the "Rockstars" at Paizo and Goblinworks!

http://youtu.be/sSG85v4jL14