Twin...I won't finish it.
Randal Bernard has had a long and storied history with me.
He's one of the old school Necroverse characters and, back then, he was the son of Kaiten Morgan, a Nephilim along with his twin sister Eileen. Eileen herself was possessed by a succubus while still in the womb and so twisted Randal's emotions around her metaphorical finger before the duo were even born. Yes, they're lovers and yes, Randal does actually love her. While no longer a quarter-angel he is still (and always will be) with his sister.
From the beginning Randal was always about swordsmanship and skill; he was one of the few characters that ever used a specific style (he used Niten Ichi-Ryu) and that's stayed with him in all his iterations right down to this one in D&D. He is one of the only characters of mine that has consistently used a specific weapon (Toran being another with his Longsword).
Level
1 Swordsage Skill Knowledge, Quick Draw
2 Swashbuckler Weapon Finesse
3 Swashbuckler Unnatural Calm
4 Warblade
5 Swordsage
6 Warblade Blade Meditation (Diamond Mind)
7 Warblade
8 Warblade
9 Warblade Improved Initiative, Adaptive Style
10 Warblade
11 Warblade
12 Iaijutsu Master Weapon Specialization (Katana)
13 Iaijutsu Master
14 Swashbuckler
15 Iaijutsu Master Daring Warrior
16 Iaijutsu Master Skill Focus (Iaijutsu Focus)
17 Iaijutsu Master
18 Sworsage Martial Stance
19 Swordsage
20 Swordsage
So....Randal has the distinction of beng, perhaps, the only character I won't play because I feel that bad about the abuse he can inflict.
No, seriously.
Let me break it down for you.
Let's start with Iaijutsu Master who've I've talked about before. It's based on a nifty skills from Oriental Adventures called Iaijutsu Focus. Whenever I draw and attack a flat footed opponent in melee I can make an Iaijutsu Focus check and do +Xd6 damage to them as part of the attack and it does up to +9d6 (If I 50+ on the skill check). Iaijutsu Master does several things for me, one of which is, at 5th level, to allow me to add my charisma modifier to each die of extra damage I get via Iaijutsu Focus. I also get to add my Charisma mod to my initiative score and I can add my Int Mod to my AC when unarmored and using a katana. Perhaps most importantly though it allows me to treat the katana as a finessable weapon even when I'm using it two-handed.
So, then, we go to Swashbuckler which does alot of things for me. It gives me Weapon Finesse (which is great), and it gives me Grace (required for Daring Warrior later on) and it gives me, at 3rd level, Insightful Strike which allows me to add my Int modifer to damage when using a finessable weapon. Guess what I have as a finessable weapon? That's right, the katana.
Then I hit up Warblade and it gives me (along with a D12 HD and Improved Uncanny Dodge), Battle Cunning -- I add my Int modifier to damage against flat footed opponents. Wait...that sounds familiar doesn't it? That's right; Iaijutsu Focus only works against flatfooted opponents.
And finally (though ironically it's my first level), I'm taking Swordsage. This is important for Discipline Focus, specifically at 4th level when I get to add my Wisdom bonus to damage when using strikes from a selected disicpline. Naturally, I'm going to choose Diamond Mind and let me tell you why: Sapphire Nightmare Blade. That single first level maneuver is the single key to the build because, with a concentration check, I can render anyone flatfooted. Sure, they may keep their dex mod and be harder to hit but I can still use Iaijutsu Focus on them AND get an extra +1d6 damage from the strike.
Before I get to the actual reason Randal is broken let's address his feats:
First level, because he's human, Randal gets two feats (though a case could be made for him being some sort of planetouched as well). He takes Skill Knowledge (Iaijutsu Focus) because we want those max ranks and then Quick Draw required for so, so very many things. One, it's required for Iaijutsu Master and two, he can perform Sapphire Nightmare Blade unarmed then draw the sword immediately prior to the attack thanks to Quick Draw, catching his opponent flatfooted. He also gets, thanks to Swordsage, Weapon Focus for all Diamond Mind favored weapons of which the Katana is one -- Weapon Focus (Katana) is required for Iaijutsu Master as well.
Second level is Swashbuckler and I get Weapon Finesse as a bonus feat. This is important for later.
Third level and I grab Unnatural Calm. This is mostly around to give Randal 1) Flavor because he's a scary motherfucker and 2) A better chance of scoring on someone in that crucial first round.
6th level and I'm squarely into Warblade when I grad Blade Meditation for Diamond Mind. I get +2 on Concentration checks which means I get a better chance of pulling off Sapphire Nightmare Blade and a better chance of winning that Duel of Wills.
When I get to 9th level Randal is a 5th level Warblade which means a bonus feat! I grab Improved Initiative which is useful for 1) Going First and catching folks flatfooted that way and 2) It's the last required feat for Iaijutsu Master. I also get Adapative Style from my Warblade Bonus feat so I can alter and refresh my maneuvers freely.
At 12th level I'm treated as a 5th level fighter for purposes of feats and I get Weapon Specialization to add to my damage with that katana for when I can't get someone with an absurd Iaijutsu Strike.
15th level rolls around and I get Daring Warrior now that I qualify for it -- Now, depending on how the DM interpets Waepon Aptitude one of three things happens. Either it doesn't work in which case I'm getting a different feat. My warblade levels convert straight over to fighter levels for purposes of Daring Warrior and I'm suddenly treated as a 10th level Swashbuckler giving me Dodge +2. Or (mostly likely I think), my Warblade levels count as Fighter Levels-2 meaning I'm treated as a 8th level Swashbuckler according to Daring Warrior and I get Dodge +1. (Not so incidentally I'm at least an 8th level fighter for feat purposes now too).
16th level and I grab a bonus feat from Iaijustsu Master for which I get Skill Focus because I want to pump that skill check like whoa because I like scoring more d6s with that check. More dice = more times I add my Cha modifier to damage.
And at 18th level I get Martial Stance for...something. Who knows. It's a random feat. Do whatever you want with it.
Tangentially, if I had flaws open I'd probably add Combat Expertise and Deadly Defense at first level then drop Unnatural Calm and Martial Stance to get Mercurial Strike and Riposte from the Dragon Magazine Compendium. This way I could use Combat Expertise for 2 (triggering Deadly Defense which I could use with the Katana giving me an extra +1d6 damage) and, when someone missed me (as they probably would), I'd get an AoO thanks to Riposte. But! because my sword would be sheathed I could draw it as a free action, catching my opponent flat footed (thanks to Mercurial Strike) and get Iaijutsu Focus damage alone with several other stats to damage.
And this is why Randal is broken; his damage formula. Assuming succssful use of Sapphire Nightmare Blade it looks like this:
1d10+1.5xStr+Wis(Discipline Focus)+Int(Battle Cunning)+Int(Insightful Strike)+1d6+Xd6xCha(Iaijutsu Focus)+Misc (Enhancement bonuses, Weapon Spec, Etc)
Assuming, for a minute, starting stats of Str 15, Dex 16, Con 15, Int 17, Wis 16, Cha 15 at first level. Five points over a career of 20 levels gives me this:
Str 16 (+3)
Dex 16 (+3)
Con 15 (+2)
Int 18 (+4)
Wis 16 (+3)
Cha 18 (+4)
He'll have the money for stat bootsting items for all his important stats (all of them but Con, really) meaning his stats look like this:
Str 22 (+6)
Dex 22 (+6)
Con 15 (+2)
Int 24 (+7)
Wis 22 (+6)
Cha 24 (+7)
Then he has a +5 Focus Katana with Focus being an ability from OA giving a +4 bonus to all Iaijutsu Focus checks. Give him 23 ranks in Iaijutsu Focus (meaning his skill check is +38). If he gets an average roll on a d10 (let's just say 10 for a total skill check of 48) he's got +8d6 damage from Iaijutsu Focus. That means his damage formula, with numbers filled in and feats applied, turns into this:
1d10+9+6+7+7+1d6+8d6+32+13
If I'm using deadly defense, tack another d6 on there.
But even without that, assuming a 5 on the d10 and everage rolls on the d6s I'm looking at.....110 damage on that one strike (114 with Deadly Defense)
The kicker? Because I have both Warblade and Swordsage levels I've got two sets of maneuvers I'm tracking and Diamond Mind is on each of them. So I can have Sapphire Nightmare Blade prepared twice; once as a Warblade and once as a Swordsage so I can do this twice in a row if I need to before needing to refresh my maneuvers. What makes this even worse is my HD equation (7d12+5d8+8d10+Conx20) and that fact that I have every saving throw as a good save at some point. In fact my lowest save is ironically my Will Save since I've only got 5 levels of a good save there (as opposed to 10 levels of a good Fort save and 10 levels of a good Ref Save). And he's got at least 4 skill points per level at every level.
Voting Time:
Siege Engineer, Knob, Alikin, Hidden Talent Fighter, Joshua Numenor, Multiterrain Shocktrooper, Ubertrooper, Warblade/Lurk Concept Char, Njal the Warbringer, Kalix of Blade Iron, Balthas Kasra, Kurth, Alarian Thrakos, Raging Ninja, Tarman Vorse, Urzai Irondancer, Spellsmiter, Elias the Stormwalker, Highlander Build, Original Gideon, Dragonmage, Melee-ist Fighter, Skarn Bloodclaw, Paladin of Revelry, "Standard Fighter", Master of Chains, Shadowhunter, Mounted Archer, Arisias, Whirlwind, Vykes, Anarok Tor, Cerberus Ranger, Kobold Pick Fighter, Magekiller, Ebin, William Corshek, Grappler, Stormlord Cleric, Storm Mage
Also: Happy Birthday Sh33p.
He's one of the old school Necroverse characters and, back then, he was the son of Kaiten Morgan, a Nephilim along with his twin sister Eileen. Eileen herself was possessed by a succubus while still in the womb and so twisted Randal's emotions around her metaphorical finger before the duo were even born. Yes, they're lovers and yes, Randal does actually love her. While no longer a quarter-angel he is still (and always will be) with his sister.
From the beginning Randal was always about swordsmanship and skill; he was one of the few characters that ever used a specific style (he used Niten Ichi-Ryu) and that's stayed with him in all his iterations right down to this one in D&D. He is one of the only characters of mine that has consistently used a specific weapon (Toran being another with his Longsword).
Level
1 Swordsage Skill Knowledge, Quick Draw
2 Swashbuckler Weapon Finesse
3 Swashbuckler Unnatural Calm
4 Warblade
5 Swordsage
6 Warblade Blade Meditation (Diamond Mind)
7 Warblade
8 Warblade
9 Warblade Improved Initiative, Adaptive Style
10 Warblade
11 Warblade
12 Iaijutsu Master Weapon Specialization (Katana)
13 Iaijutsu Master
14 Swashbuckler
15 Iaijutsu Master Daring Warrior
16 Iaijutsu Master Skill Focus (Iaijutsu Focus)
17 Iaijutsu Master
18 Sworsage Martial Stance
19 Swordsage
20 Swordsage
So....Randal has the distinction of beng, perhaps, the only character I won't play because I feel that bad about the abuse he can inflict.
No, seriously.
Let me break it down for you.
Let's start with Iaijutsu Master who've I've talked about before. It's based on a nifty skills from Oriental Adventures called Iaijutsu Focus. Whenever I draw and attack a flat footed opponent in melee I can make an Iaijutsu Focus check and do +Xd6 damage to them as part of the attack and it does up to +9d6 (If I 50+ on the skill check). Iaijutsu Master does several things for me, one of which is, at 5th level, to allow me to add my charisma modifier to each die of extra damage I get via Iaijutsu Focus. I also get to add my Charisma mod to my initiative score and I can add my Int Mod to my AC when unarmored and using a katana. Perhaps most importantly though it allows me to treat the katana as a finessable weapon even when I'm using it two-handed.
So, then, we go to Swashbuckler which does alot of things for me. It gives me Weapon Finesse (which is great), and it gives me Grace (required for Daring Warrior later on) and it gives me, at 3rd level, Insightful Strike which allows me to add my Int modifer to damage when using a finessable weapon. Guess what I have as a finessable weapon? That's right, the katana.
Then I hit up Warblade and it gives me (along with a D12 HD and Improved Uncanny Dodge), Battle Cunning -- I add my Int modifier to damage against flat footed opponents. Wait...that sounds familiar doesn't it? That's right; Iaijutsu Focus only works against flatfooted opponents.
And finally (though ironically it's my first level), I'm taking Swordsage. This is important for Discipline Focus, specifically at 4th level when I get to add my Wisdom bonus to damage when using strikes from a selected disicpline. Naturally, I'm going to choose Diamond Mind and let me tell you why: Sapphire Nightmare Blade. That single first level maneuver is the single key to the build because, with a concentration check, I can render anyone flatfooted. Sure, they may keep their dex mod and be harder to hit but I can still use Iaijutsu Focus on them AND get an extra +1d6 damage from the strike.
Before I get to the actual reason Randal is broken let's address his feats:
First level, because he's human, Randal gets two feats (though a case could be made for him being some sort of planetouched as well). He takes Skill Knowledge (Iaijutsu Focus) because we want those max ranks and then Quick Draw required for so, so very many things. One, it's required for Iaijutsu Master and two, he can perform Sapphire Nightmare Blade unarmed then draw the sword immediately prior to the attack thanks to Quick Draw, catching his opponent flatfooted. He also gets, thanks to Swordsage, Weapon Focus for all Diamond Mind favored weapons of which the Katana is one -- Weapon Focus (Katana) is required for Iaijutsu Master as well.
Second level is Swashbuckler and I get Weapon Finesse as a bonus feat. This is important for later.
Third level and I grab Unnatural Calm. This is mostly around to give Randal 1) Flavor because he's a scary motherfucker and 2) A better chance of scoring on someone in that crucial first round.
6th level and I'm squarely into Warblade when I grad Blade Meditation for Diamond Mind. I get +2 on Concentration checks which means I get a better chance of pulling off Sapphire Nightmare Blade and a better chance of winning that Duel of Wills.
When I get to 9th level Randal is a 5th level Warblade which means a bonus feat! I grab Improved Initiative which is useful for 1) Going First and catching folks flatfooted that way and 2) It's the last required feat for Iaijutsu Master. I also get Adapative Style from my Warblade Bonus feat so I can alter and refresh my maneuvers freely.
At 12th level I'm treated as a 5th level fighter for purposes of feats and I get Weapon Specialization to add to my damage with that katana for when I can't get someone with an absurd Iaijutsu Strike.
15th level rolls around and I get Daring Warrior now that I qualify for it -- Now, depending on how the DM interpets Waepon Aptitude one of three things happens. Either it doesn't work in which case I'm getting a different feat. My warblade levels convert straight over to fighter levels for purposes of Daring Warrior and I'm suddenly treated as a 10th level Swashbuckler giving me Dodge +2. Or (mostly likely I think), my Warblade levels count as Fighter Levels-2 meaning I'm treated as a 8th level Swashbuckler according to Daring Warrior and I get Dodge +1. (Not so incidentally I'm at least an 8th level fighter for feat purposes now too).
16th level and I grab a bonus feat from Iaijustsu Master for which I get Skill Focus because I want to pump that skill check like whoa because I like scoring more d6s with that check. More dice = more times I add my Cha modifier to damage.
And at 18th level I get Martial Stance for...something. Who knows. It's a random feat. Do whatever you want with it.
Tangentially, if I had flaws open I'd probably add Combat Expertise and Deadly Defense at first level then drop Unnatural Calm and Martial Stance to get Mercurial Strike and Riposte from the Dragon Magazine Compendium. This way I could use Combat Expertise for 2 (triggering Deadly Defense which I could use with the Katana giving me an extra +1d6 damage) and, when someone missed me (as they probably would), I'd get an AoO thanks to Riposte. But! because my sword would be sheathed I could draw it as a free action, catching my opponent flat footed (thanks to Mercurial Strike) and get Iaijutsu Focus damage alone with several other stats to damage.
And this is why Randal is broken; his damage formula. Assuming succssful use of Sapphire Nightmare Blade it looks like this:
1d10+1.5xStr+Wis(Discipline Focus)+Int(Battle Cunning)+Int(Insightful Strike)+1d6+Xd6xCha(Iaijutsu Focus)+Misc (Enhancement bonuses, Weapon Spec, Etc)
Assuming, for a minute, starting stats of Str 15, Dex 16, Con 15, Int 17, Wis 16, Cha 15 at first level. Five points over a career of 20 levels gives me this:
Str 16 (+3)
Dex 16 (+3)
Con 15 (+2)
Int 18 (+4)
Wis 16 (+3)
Cha 18 (+4)
He'll have the money for stat bootsting items for all his important stats (all of them but Con, really) meaning his stats look like this:
Str 22 (+6)
Dex 22 (+6)
Con 15 (+2)
Int 24 (+7)
Wis 22 (+6)
Cha 24 (+7)
Then he has a +5 Focus Katana with Focus being an ability from OA giving a +4 bonus to all Iaijutsu Focus checks. Give him 23 ranks in Iaijutsu Focus (meaning his skill check is +38). If he gets an average roll on a d10 (let's just say 10 for a total skill check of 48) he's got +8d6 damage from Iaijutsu Focus. That means his damage formula, with numbers filled in and feats applied, turns into this:
1d10+9+6+7+7+1d6+8d6+32+13
If I'm using deadly defense, tack another d6 on there.
But even without that, assuming a 5 on the d10 and everage rolls on the d6s I'm looking at.....110 damage on that one strike (114 with Deadly Defense)
The kicker? Because I have both Warblade and Swordsage levels I've got two sets of maneuvers I'm tracking and Diamond Mind is on each of them. So I can have Sapphire Nightmare Blade prepared twice; once as a Warblade and once as a Swordsage so I can do this twice in a row if I need to before needing to refresh my maneuvers. What makes this even worse is my HD equation (7d12+5d8+8d10+Conx20) and that fact that I have every saving throw as a good save at some point. In fact my lowest save is ironically my Will Save since I've only got 5 levels of a good save there (as opposed to 10 levels of a good Fort save and 10 levels of a good Ref Save). And he's got at least 4 skill points per level at every level.
Voting Time:
Siege Engineer, Knob, Alikin, Hidden Talent Fighter, Joshua Numenor, Multiterrain Shocktrooper, Ubertrooper, Warblade/Lurk Concept Char, Njal the Warbringer, Kalix of Blade Iron, Balthas Kasra, Kurth, Alarian Thrakos, Raging Ninja, Tarman Vorse, Urzai Irondancer, Spellsmiter, Elias the Stormwalker, Highlander Build, Original Gideon, Dragonmage, Melee-ist Fighter, Skarn Bloodclaw, Paladin of Revelry, "Standard Fighter", Master of Chains, Shadowhunter, Mounted Archer, Arisias, Whirlwind, Vykes, Anarok Tor, Cerberus Ranger, Kobold Pick Fighter, Magekiller, Ebin, William Corshek, Grappler, Stormlord Cleric, Storm Mage
Also: Happy Birthday Sh33p.