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My suggestions (based on a couple of minor rules errors in the original build, plus the increased level):
Female Human Aristocrat 2/Fighter 5
LG Medium Humanoid
Init +4 Senses: Perception +6
Defense:
AC: 21 (+5 Chain Shirt, +4 Dex, +1 Buckler, +1 Dodge); Touch: 15; Flat Footed: 16;
HP: 53
Fort +6; Ref +6; Will +6 (+7 vs. Fear),
Offense:
Speed: 30 ft
Melee: Masterwork Rapier +13/+8 (1d6+2/18-20) or Power Attack +11/+6 (1d6+8/18-20)
Ranged: Dagger +10 (1d4+1/19-20)
Statistics
Abilities: Str 13, Dex 18, Con 12, Int 14, Wis 8, Cha 10
Base Attack: +6 CMB: +5 CMD: 20
Feats: Dodge, Iron Will, Mobility, Power Attack, Spring Attack, Weapon Finesse, Weapon Focus (Rapier), Weapon Specialization (Rapier),
Skills: Acrobatics +11, Bluff +8, Diplomacy +5, Handle Animal +4, Intimidate +6, Knowledge (Arcana) +6, Knowledge (Local) +6, Knowledge (Nobility) +7, Perception +6, Perform (Dance) +5, Ride +8, Survival +4, Stealth +8,
Languages: Common, two other
Special Features: Bravery +1, Armor Training 1, Weapon Training (Light Blades) +1,
Equipment:
Mithril Chain Shirt +1, Cloak of Resistance +1, Masterwork Buckler, +1 Rapier, 2 Potions of Cat's Grace, 2 Potions of Cure Light Wounds, 2 Potions of Shield of Faith, 3 Daggers.
You could sub out Improved Initiative for Iron Will fairly easily, if you preferred.
With iterative attacks, standing and facing her opponent may or may not be the right thing to do, though her high AC (25 with buffs going) and much increased HP should help her there, plus her damage per round is actually 2d6+16 if both attacks hit (which, with a +13/+8 attack even while Power Attacking via Cat's Grace, is likely versus most Barbarians), so it's looking viable.
Basically, she should only Spring Attack if her opponent can do more damage in a round of full-attacking than she can. So not on the Barbarian at this level, but probably at next level. A good Feat for her in two more levels (which would both be Duelist) would be Sidestep, to make best use of this tactic. Either that or Improved Critical would be my suggestion for that level.
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Neither MW nor enhancement bonuses subtract armor DEX limits -- but making the shirt mithral works for +1000gp (she'd have a DEX limit of +7 w/Armor Training +1).Female Human Aristocrat 2/Fighter 3
Abilities: Str 13, Dex 18, Con 12, Int 14, Wis 8, Cha 10
Chain Shirt +1 ... Due to Armor Training and the Chain Shirt being Masterwork, the Dex from this will add fully to AC)
-- Okay, so adding two fighter levels would make her an Ari 2/Fighter 5. Her next level will be as a Duellist, assuming she survives. ... Her goal will be to challenge the PCs to battle, one by one, and kill them
Looking at her so far, my guess is that the PC(s) will mop the floor with her -- because PCs usually (although not always) optimize their character to kill things. -- Is she optimized for killing with her mediocre hitpoints, rapier and no damage-dealing feats or damage-bumping class levels (rogue, paladin, bard, etc)? No? ...therefore she's likely to lose, and the PCs loot the corpse (and you've effectively given them some nice magical equipment at low level).
Ergo, IMO she needs more "tricks" if she's going to be challenging the PCs.
though since she's LG, she might be satisfied with "bringing them to justice". (There's a tiny chance the paladin PC might be able to talk her down. We shall see.)
0_o ... how on earth are an LG NPC and an LG PC at such odds that she'll be challenging him to the death?
What's the background?
-- If she's an official, then being part of an organization and traveling with an entourage (say, two 2nd-level human S&B fighters, one 2nd-level glaive fighter, and one 4th-level "sergeant" half-elf fighter with Heirloom Weapon trait, Iron Will, EWP, WF, WS, SF:Sense Motive, full-plate and a MW Elven Curved Sword in a Scabbard of Keen Edges). These will represent a formidable (and probably deadly) challenge to 4th-level PCs, and preclude the sort of thing you hope to avoid (e.g., player yells, "I charge!" and gorks your NPC in two seconds after you've spend hours designing her).
You'll find your job as a DM is a lot easier and more enjoyable if you can "train" your players into the idea that they not only shouldn't, but can't, just kill everything they meet.
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Neither MW nor enhancement bonuses subtract armor DEX limits -- but making the shirt mithral works for +1000gp (she'd have a DEX limit of +7 w/Armor Training +1).
One of the several minor errors in the original build. Totally my bad. I corrected it in the above post.
Looking at her so far, my guess is that the PC(s) will mop the floor with her -- because PCs usually (although not always) optimize their character to kill things. -- Is she optimized for killing with her mediocre hitpoints, rapier and no damage-dealing feats or damage-bumping class levels (rogue, paladin, bard, etc)? No? ...therefore she's likely to lose, and the PCs loot the corpse (and you've effectively given them some nice magical equipment at low level).
Ergo, IMO she needs more "tricks" if she's going to be challenging the PCs.
The plan, as I understand it from the original thread, is for her to challenge one of the PCs at a time to a duel. With her AC and higher level she should be a fair, if not overwhelming challenge for any of the PCs one-on-one.
0_o ... how on earth are an LG NPC and an LG PC at such odds that she'll be challenging him to the death?
What's the background?
Again, based on the original thread, she's from a family of primarily Evil people (I bbelieve in collusion with Rakshasa)...a fact she is completely unaware of (her lack of Sense Motive and Wisdom 8 are very intentional). The PCs killed her...brother? Some relative anyway. Who, as far as she knows, was perfectly innocent (Note: He wasn't). Hence the whole duel thing.
-- If she's an official, then being part of an organization and traveling with an entourage (say, two 2nd-level human S&B fighters, one 2nd-level glaive fighter, and one 4th-level "sergeant" half-elf fighter with Heirloom Weapon trait, Iron Will, EWP, WF, WS, SF:Sense Motive, full-plate and a MW Elven Curved Sword in a Scabbard of Keen Edges). These will represent a formidable (and probably deadly) challenge to 4th-level PCs, and preclude the sort of thing you hope to avoid (e.g., player yells, "I charge!" and gorks your NPC in two seconds after you've spend hours designing her).
You'll find your job as a DM is a lot easier and more enjoyable if you can "train" your players into the idea that they not only shouldn't, but can't, just kill everything they meet.
Again, as I recall from the first thread, she's not an official, but she is actually a member of an equivalently leveled adventuring party, who will back her up (though not interfere with a duel if her challenge is accepted). So that's not really an issue.
And I believe the PCs know of her, and that she's a good person, making killing her in cold blood over a misunderstanding not cool (especially with a Paladin in the group).
Lawful Good... villain? Are you running with evil PC's or something? Don't get me wrong, its possible, and if you pull it off it'll be great, but it seems odd.
That being said, I like that you're going for duelist, but I do have one point to make: you're building a high Int fighter and you're not going for Combat Expertise. Why? You get some great stuff that seems to fit the flavor of your character perfectly.
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The plan, as I understand it from the original thread, is for her to challenge one of the PCs at a time to a duel. With her AC and higher level she should be a fair, if not overwhelming challenge for any of the PCs one-on-one.
Actually, to be a reoccurring challenge, she's has to be, at least initially, unbeatable.
With that Int, I'd do the following:
Feats: Dodge, Combat Expertise, Weapon Finesse, Improved Disarm, Combat Reflexes, Weapon Focus (Rapier), Weapon Specialization (Rapier), Greater Disarm.
I'd be really tempted to swap out Mobility and Spring Attack for Combat Reflexes and Lunge to make her more capable of handling multiple foes.
I'd be tempted to swap out her weapon for something with the Disarm trait.
Combat Expertise gives her +2 AC, before chugging potions. Her primary tactic will be to disarm opponents for capture.
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Feats: Dodge, Combat Expertise, Weapon Finesse, Improved Disarm, Combat Reflexes, Weapon Focus (Rapier), Weapon Specialization (Rapier), Greater Disarm.
She's explicitly working towards Duelist, which kinda necessitates Mobility, and I really think she needs Power Attack to have any meaningful damage capacity at all.
That said, replacing Spring Attack and Iron Will in my above build with Combat Expertise and Improved Disarm might not be a bad idea. It'd be nicely flavorful, too. That would up her total AC to 27, and make disarming a viable tactic (and one which Weapon Finesse explicitly works on) which'd be neat.
With the build I've posted, going to Greater Disarm and keeping the rapier, but swapping Combat Reflexes for Mobility, to keep her on the path for Duellist.
Assuming she wins Init - which is likely given her Dex:
Her CMB is 5+4+4+1-1=+13 and +8.
Your Barbarian's CMD is probably around 10+5+6+2=23 when raging.
With Greater Disarm, she takes his Greatsword out of play on a 10 or higher on the first attack, and on a 15 or higher on the second if she misses the first. He's got a lot of his 'combat effectiveness' tied into that sword; taking the sword out is the key to her winning.
That's a 0.55+(0.45*0.30)=~68% chance that if she wins initiative, your Barbarian loses his sword on her first full attack. And by loses his sword, I mean "It's somewhere within 15' in a place of her choosing."
She wins by getting him to leave the duelling area, whether it's to retrieve his sword, or running him out of rage rounds, making him fatigued or both. The long fight favors her.
Have them duel ON the warf and knock the sword off into the water. If he leaps off the warf to recover, she wins the duel by default. If he pulls out a backup weapon, the damage per round swings rapidly into her favor...and she probably gets an AoO.
Greater Disarm is an incredibly annoying feat to pull out on DPR-killing machines...
I'm wondering why you would use a +1 Mithral Chain Shirt over a +1 Elven Chainmail?
The Max DEX is higher for the chain shirt, but, it evens out with the higher base AC from the Elven Chain.
The cost is the same (for all intents).
The Elven Chain is a bit heavier, but not much.
Elven Chain is +6 AC, +5 DEX bonus max (with fighter training). -1 ACP (same as Mithral Chain Shirt).
Dex 18 = +3
With Cat's Grace, that's 22 for +5
Mithral Chain Shirt is +4 AC, +7 DEX max (with fighter training).
So, Elven Chain is 9 AC, 11 with potion
Mithral Chain Shirt is 7 AC, 9 with potion.
Note I didn't add in the magical bonuses since those apply to both. Unless I'm missing something, it seems like she'd benefit by the Elven Chain more than Mithral Chain Shirt. And, it's light armor still for when she goes duelist.
EDIT : Fixed the max dex on the mithral chain shirt
Unless you're going to give her some +DEX items, the Elven Chainmail is better for her at this point in her career. When she get's some +DEX items, she might switch to the mithral chain, but it would have to be a +6 DEX item (or she'd have to need a higher touch AC for some reason for it to make sense).
Problem #2: the raging barbarian who grapples. Once he figures out that she only does d6+8 on a hit, there's a good chance he'll try this. I'm not sure how to deal with this.
Armor Spikes (Barb is hurting himself)
Boost her Escape Artist skill, she has plenty of skill points, so she just slips out of his grapple.
Have her keep a STR draining poisoned dagger in her off hand, and only use it if her opponent violates the spirit of the duel by grappling her. Stab him in the side with the dagger. By the same logic, she wouldn't disarm, as this is a duel, not a street fight.
Boost her Escape Artist skill, she has plenty of skill points, so she just slips out of his grapple.
Her CMB is +7, am I right? BAB + Str bonus. Max ranks in Escape Artist would give her +11, so definitely better.
But the barb's CMD while raging is 10 + BAB (5) + Str (6) + Dex (2) = 23. So even with full Escape Artist, she's got a less than even chance of breaking a grapple from him.
Doug M.
If she's cat graced up, she get's another +2 to escape artist.
That gives her an even chance of breaking the grapple. If you're really worried about it, get her a Salve of Slipperiness and have her put it on her armor prior to the duel. That's a +20 competence bonus to escape grapples, guaranteeing she will escape them. Not to mention a +10 to her CMD to avoid getting grappled in the first place.
A vest of escape is more expensive, but gives a permanent +6 to escape artist checks.
I'd go with the salve of slipperiness though. :)
If you're giving out buffs to an LG NPC who wants a fair duel.
Why wouldn't the Barb be bull strengthed up and enlarged to boot?
Does he have a potion of Bull Strength? Great, let him drink it. Oh, he doesn't? Oh well. NPCs have treasure, they are supposed to use that treasure during conflicts, and if it's a one use item, then it's gone. A potion of Enlarge? Same thing. Let him drink it. However, the team mage can't cast it on him. Or, if he wants them to, then her Team Mage casts more buffs on her. The idea is that she has been hunting them, so brings to the duel what she deems necessary, then challenges him to a fight (to death, to yielding, to first blood, whatever). It sounds like the PCs have been mistakenly fingered for something they didn't do, and she's the bounty hunter. She just happens to be a LG person who prefers to take them down one at a time, one-on-one, in a duel.
Also why would grappling violate the spirit of a duel to death?
It doesn't have to. It all depends on her viewpoint. I admit I'm taking from the way she's described that she has a code of honor, let our steel speak for us. That's why I specifically said if she considers the grappling a violation of the duel code, then she should not disarm either. Capish?
If someone tried to kill me you better believe I'll be fighting with every trick in the book.
And if you lived in a time with chivellry, and fought like that, the Knight's friends would put a crossbow through you mid fight and be done with it. Again, we're not talking about a gutter fight between two CN people, we're talking about a Duel, which follows certain codes. Fighting dirty in a duel is a good way to get ganked by the bystanders.
If you have a salve of slipperiness then as the Barb I would just disarm her too, eating the AOO. Then let see if she can out duke someone with much higher strength.Disarming is just a poor tactic to use if you are trying to kill someone.
Agreed, if she uses disarm, then he should disarm her in return.
If I was designing the NPC, I would go down the combat reflexes, improved trip, step up, and a reach weapon.
Round 1 - Lunge and trip the barbarian, then attack with the second iterative, 5 feet step closer. Barbarian gets up eats AOO, step up to 5 feet step away from Barbarian. Barbarian now can not attack unless he uses the charge action. Triggering another AOO, which will be another trip.
Round 2 - Full attack on the prone...
Again though, it depends on the code of honor. Remember, the Code Duello usually doesn't like things like grappling, tripping, disarming, dirt in the eyes, having friends shoot them with arrows, poisoning your blade, etc.
How's that, now? Her BAB is +6 and her Str modifier is +1. She would get +2 for each Disarm feat, for a total of +4. Wouldn't that give +11 / +6?Her CMB is 5+4+4+1-1=+13 and +8.
Here's the breakdown:
BAB is +6
STR is +1
Weapon Finesse is +4 (valid when using a Weapon Finessable weapon)
Greater Disarm is +4
Weapon Focus is +1
Combat Expertise (assuming she has Threatening Defender) is -1
So 6+1+8=+15/+10
So - she disarms first, and his sword goes out of the way. She attacks if she succeeds.
He attempts to grapple. He triggers an AoO. She ALMOST certainly hits him - and every point of damage she does adds to her CMD to avoid being grappled, unless he has Improved Grapple (at which point, he avoids the AoO entirely).
The question is whether you want her to be a recurring foe. If it's Kill Or Be Killed (which is a little odd for a LG antagonist...), then, guess what - she either kills a party member, or is a walking bag of loot and XP.
The reason I suggested the disarms and using the technicalities of the code duello was so that she could beat the PC without removing him from the game...and in doing so cause legal problems for the rest of them...
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How's that, now? Her BAB is +6 and her Str modifier is +1. She would get +2 for each Disarm feat, for a total of +4. Wouldn't that give +11 / +6?Her CMB is 5+4+4+1-1=+13 and +8.
Here's the breakdown:
BAB is +6
STR is +1
Weapon Finesse is +4 (valid when using a Weapon Finessable weapon)
Greater Disarm is +4
Weapon Focus is +1
Combat Expertise (assuming she has Threatening Defender) is -1So 6+1+8=+15/+10
You don't get to add your Strength in if you're using Weapon Finesse - it replaces the Strength mod, it doesn't add to it. On the other hand, the weapon's own +1 enhancement bonus to attacks does apply, so the end number is in fact the same as what you have here.