WTF my char stills sucks, AGAIN!

Some Character Building Tips
by Qwildurn

I was in DM mode one day and a player started shouting, "Why can't I hit anything? What's wrong with this server?" I took a peek at his char. He/she had a dex based monk holding two dwarven waraxes. Weapon focus for a kama and no feats for two-weapon fighting. He was level 10 in the Dozo Warfields ( a level 3-5 area ) with an AB of -xx and -XXX. You know something, I'm not a miracal worker. Some are beyond help.

Lets face it, it's easier to build a bad char than a really good one. I'm sure some of you have found a build list somewhere that was supposed to be "the best build ever", and it turned out to be crap. Maybee even worse than what you screwed-up yourself. Not everybody's idea of "best" is good and most IMPORTANTLY: WHAT WORKS IN ONE REALM MAY NOT WORK IN ANOTHER REALM.

BadLands and BadLands RPG is it's own Realm. It's not any other realm that you may have played on in the past. Some of our playable subraces and monsters (to hunt) have been invented just for BadLands RPG. The monsters have been tailored to fit the maximum player abilities.

You should pick one thing to focus on in your build and then if you have room left over, pick a second focus. This might be a melee Strength based fighter wanting Dev Crit (epic feat devistating critical) or a Dexterity based monk wanting Epic Dodge. The biggest problem here is the str base will have low AC (armor class) while the dex base will have low damage.

(Mage based builds are not for beginners)

A Fighter or Cleric or even a Fighter/Cleric is the easiest to build and play. A well built Fighter/Cleric can be very dangerouse in the higher levels too.

Mixing classes in the first twenty levels can be detrimental if done wrong!

Pay attention to the BAB (base attack bonus). This can be seen on your stat-sheet just under the saves. The first 20 level are CRITICAL here. After level 20 you will get 10 more BAB no matter what. in the first 20, a pure fighter will get 20 BAB while a cleric gets 15 and a wizard gets 10 BAB. 10 fighter/10 cleric is BAB 17. Adding some wiz levels here can reduse the BAB to 15 or 16. Do you want 30 BAB at level 40 or 25 BAB?

The Bioware Engine counts class levels in groups of 4 here. Rogue, Monk and Cleric all have a BAB of 15 (pure 20 levels). Multi-Classing with 4-4-12 will get 15 BAB while 5-5-10 is 13 BAB. The order you take these is not the issue (for BAB, it can be for other things such as feats and skills)). At the end of 20 levels, it's the count: 8-4-8 will get you 15 BAB but 7-6-7 won't.

One of my better builds is this: 14 fighter / 7 Weapon Master / 19 Cleric. I took 13 fighter levels then 7 WM levels. Level 21 was my last fighter followed by 19 cleric levels. I had my 30 BAB and those famose Cleric buffs. The 7 WM levels improved my crit range. If the monster is crit-proof the cleric levels and high damge work well. (str based with dev crit)

AAB (adjusted attack bonus): is your str bonus added to your BAB. Dex builds will need Feat: Weapon Finess and a small weapon then it's your dex bonus added to your BAB. Then other things are added such as a +5 weapon enhancment, buffs from Bless, Bard Song, ect.... Most just refer to this as AB and can be seen on you stat-sheet near the top. Watch this change as you get buffed or change weapons.

Damage: This come from STRENGTH, weapon base type, feats and buffs. Weapons upgraded with elemental damage provide extra damage. Some monsters are immune or more susceptible to one or more types of damage. Strength based builds do the most damage. Large weapons do the most damage.

AC (armore class): This is one of several things that determines how easy or difficult you are to hit. Plate Mail might seem attractive, and might be best at low levels, but later when you can buy more dex, padded armor or no armor can actually get you more AC. That because your dex bonus is added to your natural AC. Heavy armor has a dex limit. a DEx build will want to use clothing to get the full advantage of your high dex. Some buffs can add to your AC.

Choose you weapon(s) wisely. Dual swords sounds so hot but in the end its snot. I've built plenty of two-weapon-fighters.....it's not an easy build. A single sword with shield will get you more AC and more AB.
A str build can pick and choose most any weapon. Big is probably better.
A dex build has its limits. Small is probably better. A Human Monk can use a kama and weapon finess while a Halfling can't. "HUH?!?", you say? To the Halfling, a kama is a large weapon and weapon finess wont work, loosing the dex bonus to AB. Try monk gloves or a kukri.

Yes, I've build some hard and/or exotic Characters like a Kobold with a Scimtar (two-handed-weapon) and Dev Crit. A Half-Orc monk with unarmed dev crit. But if you just want a decent first chararcter, try a cleric or fighter. Pick a subrace that adds to your desires. A Dwarven Cleric/Fighter can go a long way.


Happy Hunting

Qwildurn Bluemoon (huntress of evil)

*** There is no way that any one build can have it all, not even at level 60. It is a trade-off. To get This I lose That. In the end it's supposed to be rock-paper-scissores. No one build, class, race or .... is really best. Go Pure or Mix-It-Up, it's all fun in the end.

Q