I'm trying to hammer down the build for my first Arcane Duelist, the fourth PC that will make up the group about to run a modified Second Darkness campaign. I've toyed around with a lot of different build ideas and decied that focusing on combat manuevers simply wasn't going to get it done and this is what I've come up with so far - any comments or suggestions would be well-recieved.
Incidently, the other three PC's will be an Elven Wizard (Void Mage & Spell Binder), a Half-Elven Summoner who fights alongside his eidolon and intends to eventually use him as a mount and a Half-Elven Master Summoner, the twin sister of the Summoner above. Obviously, Bardic buffs will come in useful.
Human 1st level Fighter / 19th level Bard (Arcane Duelist)
Focused Study, Favored class option for Bards
Attributes: 20 point buy)
STR - 16 (+2 racial bonus, +1 at 4th and 8th level)
DEX - 14
CON - 12
INT - 12
WIS - 7 (+1 at 20th level)
CHA - 14 (+1 at 12th and 16th level)
Traits:
Reactionary
Magical Lineage (Good Hope)
Feats:
1st - Weapon Focus: Rapier
1st - Dazzling Display
1st - Skill Focus: Intimidate
2nd - Arcane Strike
3rd - Combat Casting
3rd - Arcane Shield*
5th - Still Spell
7th - Disruptive
7th - Silent Spell
8th - Skill Focus: Craft (Weapons)
9th - Craft Magic Arms & Armor
11th - Spellbreaker
11th - Discordant Voice
13th - Quicken Spell
15th - Penetrating Strike
15th - Spell Perfection: Good Hope
16th - Skill Focus: Craft (Armor)
17th - Iron Will
19th - Greater Penetrating Strike
19th - Improved Iron Will
Some random thoughts:
The PC will wear armor, carry a rapier and a heavy shield.
We almost never use 3rd party material but the Arcane Shield feat just seemed like an ideal fit to the character concept and it got ok'ed. Lot of 'swift action' options for the character as it develops.
I agonized over taking the 1st level of Fighter, but getting an effective Dazzling Display at 1st level seemed too good to pass up. In the all-Bard alternate build the earliest I could get it was 5th level.
I don't know if I'll actually get the chance to craft any magical armor or weapons in the campaign, but given that the character recieves Arcane Bond it seemed like a good fit RP-wise and an excellent way to take full advantage of the class feature.
Arcane Lineage, Quicken spell and Spell Perfection: Good Hope seem like a lot of work to be able to get that spell out as a swift action so late in the build, but again it suited the character's concept and I didn't see a clear advantage to taking anything else in those slots.
One option that I haven't fully explored yet is the possibility of taking the Skill Focus at 8th level, the feat slots at 9th, 13th and 15th or 17th and going into one of the Eldritch Heritage bloodlines... I'm not sure which of them would best compliment the character - perhaps the Imperious Bloodline for Humans?
If Quicken Spell is the only metamagic feat you plan to apply to Good Hope, I would recommend selecting a different trait or applying Magical Lineage to a different spell. Spell Perfection allows you to apply a metamagic feat to the spell "as long as the total modified level of the spell does not use a spell slot above 9th level." The feat makes no reference to your maximum spell level, so it will work even though you never get the seventh level spell slots Quickened Good Hope would normally require.
That's actually fascinating - I never considered that RAW allowed a Bard to bump up a meta-magic'ed spell to 7th level or beyond. Thanks for that insight.
You seem to be interested in intimidating enemies. Have you considered taking Power Attack and Cornugon Smash, a feat that lets you intimidate someone as a free action when you connect with Power Attack? It won't affect as many enemies at once as Dazzling Display, but it'll come up more frequently.
I'm primarily interested in Intimidating enemies as a combat opener, a debuff to compliment my buffs and I'm especially interested in doing it en masse at low levels where its benefit will be most keenly felt. I've used Cornugon smash in other builds but never really seriously considered it here.
Humans can trade the bonus feat they get at first level for access to three Skill Focus feats: one at first level, one at eighth level, and one at sixteenth level. For details, search this page for Focused Study.
Yes, the Focused Study option is listed in the build above, and the Skill Focus feats are actually taken at 1st, 8th and 16th levels.
Since you're planning to use a rapier, you could take Weapon Finesse to use Dexterity instead of Strength for attack rolls and use more balanced stats. You'd do less damage, but I doubt the difference is significant at higher levels.
I initially planned on doing that, but with feats at a premium the gain didn't seem worthwhile.
The Faction Guide has several feats that modify bardic performances, including two that increase the bonuses granted by Inspire Courage. The first requires Extra Performance and the second requires 8th level, but if your group is comfortable using them, they would be useful.
Thanks for the head's up, I'll definitely look into that.
I'm surprised you never took Improved Initiative. If you go before your allies, you can start Inspire Courage and cast your buffs before their first turn, which means they'll benefit from them throughout the fight.
I'm not opposed to taking it - in fact that's one of the reasons I took Reactionary as a trait in the first place.
Dazzling Display is not worth it. You only ever have 11 feats and you have other ways to mass intimidate with better action economy. Blistering Invective lets you mass intimidate as a standard action or, with a metamagic rod, a swift. Dirge of Doom lets you inflict mass shaken with no roll as a move action or, at level 13, a swift. It's certainly not worth a fighter dip. 30' is less than an encumbered charge distance (unless it's an encumbered gnome or halfling) so combat usually starts outside dazzling display range, making the move action to get a clump of enemies in range of blistering invective usually worth a second level spell, especially with what a burn rider will do to low level enemies.
First off, I appreciate the responses. We'll have to agree to disagree on Dazzling Display - Blistering Invective burns up one of precious few spell slots and Dirge of Doom's effects can't stack with Inspire Courage or other performances. The question for me becomes whether a Fighter dip is worth getting it at 1st level rather than 5th.
Arcane Shield is terrible. It will overlap with a ring of protection, and it wouldn't be a very good return on your spell slots even if it were untyped.
We're talking about two different feats - the one I mentioned was the 3rd party feat located here.
Silent Spell doesn't work for bards. There's a line in their spellcasting description that they cannot cast without verbal components.
Still Spell is situational and not very good.
Don't know how I missed that. My thought would be to be able to cast spells when helpless or perhaps use a spell like Charm Person without anyone knowing... looks like that's out.
Skill Focus (craft weapons) is absolutely terrible. If you want to craft magic items better take spellcraft. Spellcraft will let you craft armor as well (or wondrous items if you take my advice on which crafting feat to go for)
Craft Magical Arms and Armor is not good for you. Craft Wondrous Item will give more value for your feat, particularly since you have a bonded item that must be a weapon and you can enhance your bonded item without a craft feat.
Advice taken. The crafting thing was really meant to be more of a role-play idea, but you're right in that I don't need to burn valuable feats to do it.
Quicken is expensive for little gain. By downgrading to a light shield (-1 AC) you can hold an item in your shield hand. Like a lesser rod of quicken metamagic. You can get that AC back from shield focus.
If you have a quicken rod you don't need spell perfection.
I don't see the use of one feat as expensive and I never, ever pre-plan builds with the assumption that I'll have access to a particular magic item.
I'd get Power Attack, probably at 3rd level since I think you should discard the fighter dip. I'd also consider going longsword and quickdraw shield instead of rapier and light shield. Rapier has a better crit range, but if you switch to a quickdraw shield you can switch between one and two handed attacks as a swift action. Take the Quickdraw feat and you can do so as a free action, allowing you to two handed attack for 1.5x strength and 3:1 power attack during your turn and then get the shield out for extra AC during everyone else's turn. You would have to drop the quicken rod or use a glove of storing, but you're unlikely to use if after the first round of combat (when you will likely cast good hope and something defensive like mirror image and quicken one or the other).
I'm seriously considering that, and now seriously considering taking the Fighter dip to qualify for a full two-handed weapon as well...
So it looks like I'm torn between two slightly different builds, the first with the 1 level Fighter dip and the second without:
With Fighter dip at 1st, a two-handed weapon and Power Attack:
1st - Weapon Focus: Falchion
1st - Dazzling Display
1st - Skill Focus: Intimidate
2nd - Arcane Strike
3rd - Combat Casting
3rd - Improved Initiative
5th - Power Attack
7th - Disruptive
7th - Furious Focus
8th - Skill Focus: Knowledge (Arcana)
9th - Eldritch Heritage - Arcane Bloodline (Arcane Bond)
11th - Spellbreaker
11th - Discordant Voice
13th - Improved Eldritch Heritage - Arcane Bloodline (New Arcana)
15th - Penetrating Strike
15th - Dreadful Carnage
16th - Skill Focus: ---
17th - Greater Eldritch Heritage - Arcane Bloodline (School Power - Enchantment)
19th - Greater Penetrating Strike
19th - Quicken Spell
without Fighter dip, wielding a rapier and shield:
1st - Arcane Shield
1st - Skill Focus: Intimidate
1st - Arcane Strike
2nd - Combat Casting
3rd - Weapon Focus: Rapier
5th - Dazzling Display
6th - Disruptive
7th - Improved Initiative
8th - Skill Focus: Knowledge (Arcana)
9th - Eldritch Heritage - Arcane Bloodline (Arcane Bond)
10th - Spellbreaker
11th - Discordant Voice
13th - Improved Eldritch Heritage - Arcane Bloodline (New Arcana)
14th - Penetrating Strike
15th - Quicken Spell
16th - Skill Focus: ---
17th - Greater Eldritch Heritage - Arcane Bloodline (School Power - Enchantment)
18th - Greater Penetrating Strike
19th - Iron Will
Go THF and pick up EH (Orc), IEH and GEH. Add quicken SLA.
Pick up the optimistic gambler trait.
Maybe even pick up Dragon Disciple after level 11 to get all its nice boosts.
Go THF and pick up EH (Orc), IEH and GEH. Add quicken SLA.
Pick up the optimistic gambler trait.
Maybe even pick up Dragon Disciple after level 11 to get all its nice boosts.
The Half-elven Summoner is already going the EH:Orc route and it suits him - Touch of Rage on your eidolon mount is pretty devastating. We aren't using the Optimistic Gambler trait for that hack though...
I've also made a DD/EH:Orc character before and played it. Nice build but not at all what I'm going for here.