Combine the leadership abilities of the Bard with the control options of Polearm Momentum.
How It Works:
Polearm Momentum + Rushing Cleats + Eldritch Strike + Staggering Glaive +6 + Polearm Master feature = an MBA that slides 9 and prones. The combo doesn't come online to full effect until level 11.
Leadership Stuff:
We have all bard powers, so it's not hard having the good stuff. Mantle of Unity, Climactic Chord, Frenzied Rhythm, Song of Sublime Snowfall, Increasing the Tempo...they're all there.
Bardic Virtue -- For a change, I have a build that uses Prescient Virtue...only cause all the other options are bad when you have no Con or Int. The benefit isn't that great, but it can still turn a hit into a miss.
Leader-Based Feats -- Bard of All Trades, Majestic Rescue
Alternate Power -- if you get some of the "tax" feats for free, pick up Heavy Blade Opportunity and take one of the following alternate Dilettante powers:
Battlemind -- Concussive Spike (Push) -- This one doesn't actually move the target of the power, so it's kinda "wonky"
Barbarian -- Pressing Strike (Push)
Dragonborn -- The bard push/slide powers aren't Weapon keyworded, so you lose out on some of the options (HBO, Staggering Weapon), but you can also gain Draconic Arrogance.
Mark of Storm -- Has the added benefit of allowing you to pick only Melee Weapon powers from the bard list, as they'll all have the forced movement component. The downside is you lose the Staggering Weapon property to the need to use a Lightning Weapon.
Free Feats -- If your DM gives you a feat or two for free, the first addition I'd make would be Defending Dabbler, to mark things and add to your level 16 PP feature. An excellent choice, as well, is Quickened Spellcasting.
Faux Defender -- Retrain your Warlord MC feat at 16 to Defending Dabbler (instead of Prescient Aid) and now you can lower attacks against your allies, and if they don't have reach, you can slide them 9 and prone them if they come for you. You lose out on the enabling aspects of Prescient Aid, but you get to chuckle as your DM agonizes over what to do.
Thanks to:
Ytterbium Dragon and the ##4eCO channel for feedback/input
I'm not going to do a level-by-level breakdown on the build at this this time. The powers on the build are wide-open, the gear is nearly so, and the feats/stats are the only way to make it work, so basically just look at the options and pick what you like.
Most of the powers will be either Melee Weapon or Close Blast/Burst, we don't want to take OAs for using our powers. Priority is given to powers that push/slide to stick to the theme. The number of options that fit the theme and the range restrictions are rather slim, so for the most part, we're just picking the better powers at that level.
Primary Weapon -- We're using a Heavy-Blade Polearm, for a variety of reasons, to include -It counts as an implement since we have the Arcane Implement Proficiency feat -Staggering Weapon adds +enhancement bonus to slides
Other Slots -- Rushing Cleats are handy, but with the Staggering Weapon, not super necessary if you want to take a more move-oriented footware option. The rest is all purely open. You do need a couple items that add to defenses, though, as this build is a little weak on them, especially your Fort/Ref.
Feats -- In order to fit in all the polearm fun and the bard stuff, as well as some defensive considerations, there's literally no room in this build for leeway. Unless you can get free feats from your DM, or you like having horrible defenses, I wouldn't build this with any other feats, which saddens me, because I love Quickened Spellcasting on my Bards.
Stats --Raise Cha/Str every level until epic, when you raise Dex at 24 so you qualify for Heavy Blade Mastery, and then at 28 so you have an even Dex
PP - Polearm Master -- The daily utility power and the Forceful Reach feature are the reasons for this choice. The powers are nigh-useless to you, especially the Encounter power...at least the Daily will still do damage in a close burst 2. Bracers of Mental Insight would allow you to use the encounter power, but then you lose out on the Iron Armbands, so I don't recommend this.
ED - Indomitable Champion -- We need an ED that raises our Strength, we might as well raise Charisma in the bargin, and this ED also offers us a nice bump to our NADs, which we sorely need. Look nowhere else.
Build Summary:
(most of this won't work in the oldCB, between not being in the CB and/or the CB bug that won't let you retrain a MC feat and select it again with MC Mastery) Spoiler:Show
FEATS Bard: Ritual Caster Level 1: Bard of All Trades Level 2: Improved Majestic Word (retrained to Versatile Master at Level 11) Level 4: Versatile Expertise Level 6: Arcane Implement Proficiency Level 8: Battle Awareness (retrained to Multiclass Mastery at Level 21) Level 10: Resourceful Leader (retrained to Prescient Aid at Level 20) Level 11: Polearm Momentum Level 12: Polearm Gamble Level 14: Hafted Defense Level 16: Improved Defenses Level 18: Armor Proficiency: Scale Level 20: Majestic Rescue Multiclass Mastery: Battle Awareness Multiclass Mastery: Resourceful Leader Level 21: Supreme Majesty Level 22: Human Perseverance (retrained to Heavy Blade Mastery at Level 24) Level 24: Mobile Warrior Level 26: Prescient Resurgence Level 28: Armor Specialization (Scale) Level 30: Epic Reflexes
POWERS Bard at-will 1: War Song Strike Bard at-will 1: Guiding Strike Dilettante: Eldritch Strike Bard encounter 1: Shout of Triumph Bard daily 1: Sprightly Rhythm Bard utility 2: Concerted Effort Bard encounter 3: Unicorn's Charge Bard daily 5: Satire of Bravery Bard utility 6: Deliverance of Faith Bard encounter 7: Chillsong Stroke Bard daily 9: Hymn of the Daring Rescue Bard utility 10: Mantle of Unity Bard encounter 13: Couplet of Deceptive Weakness (replaces Unicorn's Charge) Bard daily 15: Strike Up the Dance (replaces Sprightly Rhythm) Bard utility 16: Song of Sublime Snowfall Bard encounter 17: Resounding War Cry (replaces Shout of Triumph) Bard daily 19: Increasing the Tempo (replaces Satire of Bravery) Bard utility 22: Climactic Chord Bard encounter 23: Chant of Bad Fortune (replaces Chillsong Stroke) Bard daily 25: Frenzied Rhythm (replaces Hymn of the Daring Rescue) Bard encounter 27: Pounding Rhythm (replaces Resounding War Cry) Bard daily 29: Hero's Beacon (replaces Strike Up the Dance)
ITEMS Ritual Book, Dwarven Elderscale Armor +6, Amulet of Protection +6, Rushing Cleats (heroic tier), Diamond Cincture (epic tier), Ioun's Flame (epic tier), Iron Armbands of Power (epic tier), Strikebacks (heroic tier), Ring of Tenacious Will (epic tier), Ring of Giants (paragon tier), Staggering Glaive +6 ====== Copy to Clipboard and Press the Import Button on the Summary Tab ======
lol @ that tiny bit of scale mail between the cups.
With that out of the way: Kudos for managing such solid defenses and all that battlefield control. I imagine that the real value of this build is that you don't sacrifice too much of the usual Bard leader goodness while you do it.
F-111 Interdictor Long (200+ squares) distance ally teleporter. With some warlord stuff. Broken in a plot way, not a power way. Thought Switch Higher level build that grants upto 14 attacks on turn 1. If your allies play along, it's broken. Elven Critters Crit op with crit generation. 5 of these will end anything. Broken. King Fisher Does an excellent job at keeping an enemy disabled in a few ways. Strong. Boominator Fun catch-22 booming blade build with either strong or completely broken damage depending on your reading. Very Distracting Warlock Lot's of dazing and major penalties to hit. Overpowered. Pocket Protector Pixie Stealth Knight. Maximizing the defender's aura by being in an ally's/enemy's square. Yakuza NinjIntimiAdin: Perma-stealth Striker that offers a little protection for ally's, and can intimidate bloodied enemies. Very Strong. Chargeburgler with cheese Ranged attacks at the end of a charge along with perma-stealth. Solid, could be overpowered if tweaked. Void Defender Defends giving a penalty to hit anyone but him, then removing himself from play. Can get somewhat broken in epic. Scry and Die Attacking from around corners, while staying hidden. Moderate to broken, depending on the situation. Skimisher Fly in, attack, and fly away. Also prevents enemies from coming close. Moderate to Broken depending on the enemy, but shouldn't make the game un-fun, as the rest of your team is at risk, and you have enough weaknesses. Indestructible Simply won't die, even if you sleep though combat. Sir Robin (Bravely Charge Away) He automatically slows and pushes an enemy (5 squares), while charging away. Hard to rate it's power level, since it's terrain dependent. Death's Gatekeeper A fun twist on a healic, making your party "unkillable". Overpowered to Broken, but shouldn't actually make the game un-fun, just TPK proof. Death's Gatekeeper mk2, (Stealth Edition) Make your party "unkillable", and you hidden, while doing solid damage. Stronger then the above, but also easier for a DM to shut down. Broken, until your DM get's enough of it. Domination and Death Dominate everything then kill them quickly. Only works @ 30, but is broken multiple ways. Battlemind Mc Prone-Daze Protecting your allies by keeping enemies away. Quite powerful. The Retaliator Getting hit deals more damage to the enemy then you receive yourself, and you can take plenty of hits. Heavy item dependency, Broken. Dead Kobold Transit Teleports 98 squares a turn, and can bring someone along for the ride. Not fully built, so i can't judge the power Psilent Guardian Protect your allies, while being invisible. Overpowered, possibly broken Unnamed Avenger|Runepriest/Hammer of Vengance Do lot's of damage while boosting your teams. Strong to slightly overpowered. Charedent BarrageA charging ardent. Fine in a normal team, overpowered if there are 2 together, and easily broken in teams of 5. Super Knight A tough, sticky, high damage knight. Strong. Super Duper Knight Basically the same as super knight, only far more broken. Mora, the unkillable avenger Solid damage, while being neigh indestuctable. Overpowered, but not broken. Swordburst Maximus At-Will Close Burst 3 that slide and prones. Protects allies with off actions. Strong, possibly over powered with the right party.
1. Defenses. AC is OK, NADs as a group are very strong. Good stuff.
2. 'does this build give someone a reason to run it instead of some other random build?': sure. Skill monkey + Leader capability + polearm shenanigans. The turns should be pretty active. This is probably very appealing for people who like polearm stuff.
Polearm stuff isn't my flavor, so I'm not geeking out over this one the way I still do over Master of Puppets, Fuel, or Seek & Destroy, but it is pretty evident that this is a solid and very functional build.
