Witness the inspiring transformation of a spear and shield wielding battle commander into an extremely versatile war wizard who summons monsters, makes enemies attack each other, buffs his allies, grants them free attacks and saves, and heals them as much as a warlord possibly can. From level 1 to 30 he never has to roll a d20 attack roll for himself. The build also works at all levels and is intended to be playable and non-disruptive.
The Wizard of Wor does not blast his foes like the common battlemage does. Instead you act through your more capable and better equipped allies. You also take advantage of the best auto-hitting wizard powers to make enemies attack each other (level 8). In addition, you train the best summoning powers out there to add some nasty critters to your little army (level 10). Best of all, you continuously improve your leader role and are equal, if not superior to other warlord builds.
You never attack your enemies directly (i.e. you never have to roll a d20 to attack for yourself) - you are "lazy" and don't like getting your hands dirty. Like other lazy builds you benefit greatly from not having to buy a magic weapon (except for two cheap optional items outlined below), and not having to waste feats and stats on improving weapon or implement damage, accuracy, and effects. You leave these efforts to your allies. Only for summoning powers you need an implement (see discussion below), or for wizard attacks that require a d20 roll if you want to soften your lazy theme.
You invest your freed resources instead to Paragon Multiclass into wizard, and to improve essential leader abilities like buffing and healing, and fun feats other warlords have no room for.
Compared to a regular STR-based Tactical Warlord, your advantages are high CHA, which allows access to Superior Will, Call to Glory and Supreme Inspiration feats; the focus on immediate actions which speed up combat; and the application of the maxed out INT modifier on devastating wizard and warlord powers, class features (Tactical Presence), AC and Reflex.
You know auto-hitting Magic Missile or Storm Pillar starting at level 4 with Arcane Initiate as an encounter power, and at level 11 one of them as an at-will through PMC'ing. You pick Hypnotism if you don't mind rolling a d20 for yourself.
You start off like a regular lazylord, with STR being your dump stat (since you never attack). Your two at-wills are Direct the Strike and Commander's Strike (adds INT to the damage). You take Heroic Effort in the human power selection since you have no use for a third at-will in heroic. Heroic Effort grants +4 to a save once per encounter, which is useful, even though you will never use the +4 to attacks. In paragon you switch Heroic Effort out to a third at-will in order to use the additional slot for the wizard power because you don't possibly want to give up your bread and butter warlord at-wills. Technically the retraining of Heroic Effort into a 3rd at-will is not legal by the rules, but I doubt that any DM will make this an issue. In LFR it's legal. In any case, if this is a problem, you can always shlep a 3rd at-will with you from level 1, even though you are not going to ever use it. The 3rd at-will is one of the key reasons why this build only works with humans. The additional feat at level 1 also makes sure that this character is viable from the get-go. You can also live with only one racial boost since you don't really have a secondary stat.
CHA is your second highest stat (mostly to qualify for some precious feats, and for higher than average Will), closely followed by CON for durability and Fort. The Human bonus goes to INT, and INT is 18 pre-racial (or 17 for a more defensive build, see level 2 snapshot). Ability score increases benefit INT on all occasions, and CHA on all occasions except for level 28 when the last point goes to CON to bring it to 16.
At level 4 you shockingly take Arcane Initiate, being just a regular lazy warlord until then. The MC power swap feats follow at 6, 8, and 10, so you are ready for PMC. To the three wizard powers you gained in heroic you add three more through Paragon Multiclassing in paragon, so by level 20 you know two wizard daily attacks (Succubus at level 10, retrained to Abyssal Horde at level 25; Wrath of Battle at level 20), two wizard encounter powers (Radiant Pillar at level 6 - retrained to Mass Charm at level 17; Phantom Foes at level 11), and 2 wizard utilities (Shield at level 8; Arcane Gate at level 12). See the detailed analysis of these powers at the level 20 snapshot.
In Epic you have the option to continue in the same fashion through Eternal Seeker, where you could dip into other classes for interesting stuff that doesn't require attack rolls and has INT or CHA based riders. The bard's "Increasing the Tempo" and "Climactic Chord" come to mind. More flavorful options are Archmage (my personal pick - it encompasses the transformation from purely martial PC (who can't hit) to a very powerful wizard) or Warmaster (a practically broken ED that allows for an avalanche of free actions for the whole party. In a way a step back because you do nothing to improve your arcane side.) See the detailed discussion of ED's in the level 30 snapshot.
You love summoning, because it only takes a minor action to summon the monster, and a minor action per turn to issue a command like movement. If you do it right, you don't need to worry about the intrinsic nature of the beast. You issue movement orders with a minor action, and attacks with a standard action. You still have your warlord immediate and minor actions to continue with your leader role. With your battlefield control actions, since the monster counts as an ally, you can ensure that the Succubus or the Abyssal Horde is always in the right position. The monsters inherit your strong defenses, and benefit from your high HP's (much higher than the typical summoner wizard.) The summoned monsters cannot benefit from free melee basic attacks granted by warlord powers because they don't have an MBA listed. Quite a few have an opportunity attack listed, but it seems to be consensus that this doesn't grant them an MBA.
You might consider the feat "Careful Summoner" at level 25 or 30, because it grants the summoned monsters +1 to all defenses, which goes a long way particularly with the 3 abyssal maws.
Dragon 389, page 8, offers an exciting option for you, the "Demon Binder" origin (background). You get a summon Demon power at level 3, without even having to MC wizard. The demon grows considerably stronger while you level. It's a legendary boon, and requires your DM's approval and a good amount of roleplaying.
Dungeon 184, page 54, contains a rare level 5 "gift" that summons an elemental silt. Starting at level 15 it gains a melee basic attack, an unheard opportunity for you since you just added an ally who can benefit from the free attacks you grant (other summons don't).
As similar object can be found in Dungeon 182, page 26: The Anarusi Codex, a rare evil tome that turns an enemy you killed into a Shuffling Zombie that also has a melee basic attack, and no intrinsic nature, except for following you around. Drawback: Your allies are "enemies" for one turn.
Summon Succubus (level 10-24) Twice per day at level 21 It can fly, resist 10 fire, a range 5 attack that deals damage and dominates for one turn. A keeper, since you love telling folks what to do. Because it has a ranged attack and it always tries to attack enemies first, it's very unlikely that its intrinsic nature comes into play. Even if it dominates an ally, you are the controller, and thus dominate your ally... if you ever get dazed, you have the free save at the start of your turn from Superior Will. So you could play high risk in certain situations, if you need the standard action for something else, and not issue any commands (not even a minor action), in which case the succubus will attack on its own at the end of your turn, and you are dazed until you save.
Summon Abyssal Horde (level 25-30) Twice per day, and once every encounter at level 30 Abyssal Horde is so strong because you get 3 monsters with bloodied value in HP, instead of just one, and on top of it you only lose a HS if all 3 go down before the end of the encounter. In other words, you add attacking fleshbags to the encounter that have 1.5 times the HP of a PC in return for "maybe" losing a healing surge. You can also always dismiss the last remaining maw if you can't risk losing a HS. In addition, they have a defenderish ability with their OA which is very powerful as well. They don't have an intrinsic nature.
You wear hide armor, which allows you to add your maxed out INT modifier to AC, and also to pick Hide Masterwork Armor which grants bonuses to Fort (your only weakness). In your off-hand you carry a large shield for +2 AC, which adds up to AC 20 at level 1, which is as high as you can get. Combined with your high HP you are very much suited for melee even though you never attack.
You carry two weapons, a simple spear and a whip as reserve. The spear is required for the Ninth Legion Student feat to work, which you take at level 1, along with Toughness. This feat allows you to use Direct the Strike in place of an Opportunity Attack, which is not only powerful but also has some comical value ("hey, he is trying to get away, hit him!"). If you have an ally who can use a fun at-will power in place of an MBA - even better. If you need reach for Commander's Strike you pull out the whip. You are not proficient with whips, but this doesn't matter since you never ever use it for attacks anyway. It's just a tool to reach the target for Commander's Strike.
Even though this build works without any magic items (detailed discussion below), it's worth mentioning that there is the level 3 common (!) item "Chieftain's Weapon" which adds +1 to the basic attacks you grant. It's limited to spears and polearms... perfect fit for you and Ninth Legion Student.
Another perfect item for you is the level 7 uncommon Dragontooth Shield. It adds a "pick" to your heavy shield, which means you fulfill the criteria for Ninth Legion Student with your off-hand slot, and can put the whip or an implement in the other hand.
Another "item solution" comes in mid paragon when you could dump Ninth Legion Student and the whip and spear, and take Staff Expertise and Striking Staff (level 15 item) instead. You now have reach, a melee basic attack that allows you to use INT, and to top it all you don't provoke OA's anymore for using ranged attacks. You can compensate the loss of the shield with the Hafter Defense feat.
At level 10 you need to start worrying about implements, when you take Adept Power and switch a warlord daily out to "Summon Succubus", an amazing ally that has a shot at dominating all enemies once. The implement rules state that you can use implement powers without an implement. Since he doesn't roll attacks, he can completely ignore implements alltogether. Unfortunately, the summoned monster's attacks are based on your stats, which means if you don't have a magical implement equipped you will miss out on the attack and damage bonus from the enhancement. If you don't have Dragontooth Shield you need to dump the Heavy Shield or the weapon while controlling summoned monsters, unless you take the Arcane Familiar feat for Tome Caddy, Disembodied Hand, or Rakshasa Claw familiars, which will relieve you of this headache. They carry your implement, or allow you to pull out and stowe items as a free action (which means, you can do this outside your turn - perfect for you.) It also fits the lazy theme.
If you apply the inherent bonus rules from DMG2 you don't need to worry about implements at all, since the are no enhancement bonuses anymore and all wizard powers, including the summoned monsters' attacks, work without implements.
Presented here is a more defensive alternative approach to the stat array, where INT is 17 preracial, which allows to have CON and CHA at 14, which improves Fort and Will from the get go. In addition, you get HP: 36, Surges: 9, Surge Value: 9 instead of HP: 35, Surges: 8, Surge Value: 8 at level 2. Disadvantage is 1 damage less on Commander's Strike and 1 point lower in AC. Detailed math on why INT 17 might be the superior choice: Spoiler:Show
Higher CON and CHA means +1 untyped bonus to 2 defenses. This is worth 1 feat, compared to Improved defenses. It's one feat and not 2/3 of a feat because it's not a feat bonus which would limit other optimization choices. In addition, the higher CON value increases HP, surges, and surge value each by 1. The plus in surges is worth 0.5 of a feat, compared to Durable. Increased HP is worth 0.2 of a feat, compared to Toughness. Increased surge value, compared to Swift Recovery, is worth 0.4 feats. Not 0.33 because it's not a feat bonus.
Now the negatives. AC and REF lowered by 1 because of INT 19 instead of 20. Definitely the equivalent of loosing one feat. The bonus to Tactical Presence is not reduced at this point because only at INT 22 you will get +3. The bonus to damage of Commander's Strike is reduced by 1, which is worth half a feat (Lend Strength, but this feat applies to all attacks granted, not just Commander's Strike). Let's ignore the impacts on skill checks for simplicity.
So by changing from 13/20/13 to 14/19/14 I gain 2.1 feats and lose 1.5 feats. Net gain 0.6 feats.
This warlord should pick a background that grants a bonus to the Heal skill. He is the one ally who has the easiest time wasting a standard action on first aid in an emergency to grant an ally a free second wind. It requires DC 10, and if you have to do it, you really want to minimize the chance of failure in such a critical moment.
It also frees up the lvl 2 utility slot for something other than Encouraging Boost. I recommend Knight's Move because it lets you waste your move action to grant it an ally. Together with your Battleshift power you now have a nice set of tools to position your allies.
The encounter power Powerful Warning is a little tricky to use. If you wait for an opportunity for the +2 to defenses to actually invalidate an attack, it might happen that the encounter ends without this ever being the case, either because a monster attack misses or it hits by a too large margin. Oftentimes it's better to let it trigger as soon as a monsters hits a capable melee ally who can then retaliate.
Destructive Surprise, the daily, grants a 2 square free shift before the 3(W) attack. This is pretty valuable for a level 1 power.
As a bottom line, as long as you have allies with RBA's and MBA's you will be the center of the battle, always in melee, free to go where you are needed, available for standard actions that are not attacks (like skill checks, first aid, etc.) and your high defenses, particularly AC, grants you a strong presence on the battlefield. Your default tactic is to grant flanking for the defenders and strikers, which also adds the +1 to hit from Lend Might when you unleash Commander's Strike.
After the intiative order is established you want to make sure that allies who inflict conditions and CA on a monster go first if possible, and you also want to remind your allies to use their action points wisely, since you grant a +2 to hit. The best advice is to use powers with additional riders and effects. Character Builder summary: Spoiler:Show
====== Created Using Wizards of the Coast D&D Character Builder ====== Gnaeus Pompeius, level 2 Human, Warlord Build: Tactical Warlord Warlord: Battlefront Leader Commanding Presence: Tactical Presence Human Power Selection: Heroic Effort Background: Pivotal Event - You Kill (+2 to Heal)
FINAL ABILITY SCORES Str 8, Con 14, Dex 10, Int 19, Wis 10, Cha 14.
STARTING ABILITY SCORES Str 8, Con 14, Dex 10, Int 17, Wis 10, Cha 14.
ITEMS Heavy Shield, Hide Armor, Whip, Adventurer's Kit, Bottle of Wine, Everburning Torch, Silk Rope (50 ft.), Spear ====== Copy to Clipboard and Press the Import Button on the Summary Tab ======
After training the rather luckluster level 1 warlord power Overwhelming Force Trap you picked at level 3, you find your destiny at level 4, by training the feat Arcane Initiate, which makes you a wizard. You gain training in the arcana skill, and can use the wizard's Hypnotism at-will as an encounter power (make an enemy attack a creature of your choice.) At the same time, you retrain Toughness into Novice Power, and dump Overwhelming Force Trap for the awesome level 1 wizard power Charm of the Misplaced Wrath. The target is dazed, slided and has to use a basic attack on a target of your choice (and this can trigger your defender's mark and, expecially, opportunity attacks if you make it use a ranged attack). The target has to make an attack EVEN if you miss, without the sliding and the dazing. Credit goes to Nausicaa for the Wizard's Handbook. You also raise INT and CHA by one. Summary: You now have a powerful arsenal of destruction: Two at-wills that let your allies strike outside their turn, one warlord power that grants an ally an attack outside your own turn, a wizard power that dazes and slides and lets the enemy attack, possibly with provoking OA's and defender marks, a daily that lets your striker buddy deal 3(W) damage outside his turn, and a utility that lets your slow tank move for free once per encounter, outside his turn. On top of it you have two healing powers, grant +1 to all attacks you hadn out to allies if you are adjacent to the target, +5 damage on Commander's Strike, +2 to attacks when allies use an action point, and you can turn your own OA's into a basic attack of a stronger ally. Character Builder summary: Spoiler:Show
====== Created Using Wizards of the Coast D&D Character Builder ====== Gnaeus Pompeius, level 4 Human, Warlord Build: Tactical Warlord Warlord: Battlefront Leader Commanding Presence: Tactical Presence Human Power Selection: Heroic Effort Background: Pivotal Event - You Kill (+2 to Heal)
FINAL ABILITY SCORES Str 8, Con 14, Dex 10, Int 20, Wis 10, Cha 15.
STARTING ABILITY SCORES Str 8, Con 14, Dex 10, Int 17, Wis 10, Cha 14.
FEATS Human: Toughness (retrained to Novice Power at Level 4) Level 1: Ninth Legion Student Level 2: Lend Might Level 4: Arcane Initiate
POWERS Arcane Initiate: Hypnotism Warlord at-will 1: Commander's Strike Warlord at-will 1: Direct the Strike Warlord encounter 1: Powerful Warning Warlord daily 1: Destructive Surprise Warlord utility 2: Knight's Move Warlord encounter 3: Overwhelming Force Trap (retrained to Charm of Misplaced Wrath at Novice Power)
ITEMS Heavy Shield, Hide Armor, Whip, Adventurer's Kit, Bottle of Wine, Everburning Torch, Silk Rope (50 ft.), Spear ====== Copy to Clipboard and Press the Import Button on the Summary Tab ======
The build is a powerful ally from the get-go (not a level 30 glass cannon), but for simplicity I only summarize the level 21 version:
Key class abilities at level 21:
Allies get +4 to attacks on AP attacks (only the first roll on multi-attacks, according to FAQ Allies get +8 damage on AP attacks Allies get +4 to next attack roll after receiving Inspiring Word (8 times per encounter) Allies within 5 gain +1 to attack rolls against targets that haven't acted yet
Overview of powers at level 21
The character has a fine arsenal of minor actions and immediate actions to complement his standard actions. Rating system: Gold: The reason why this build exists and why you go through the hassle of PMC'ing. Blue: Your favorite powers. Used every encounter or day, if possible. Black: Quite situational. Greyed out: Used only very rarely - in emergencies or if tactically forced.
At-wills:
Commander's Strike Ally within 2 makes melee basic attack with +8 damage bonus Direct the Strike Ally within 5 makes basic attack Magic Missile (alternatives are Hypnotism and Storm Pillar) Enemy within 20 suffers 12 auto damage
Encounter attack powers:
Mass Charm (standard) Burst 1 within 10 auto hit: All enemies are slid 5 and then makes MBA against creatures of my choice Phantom Foes (standard) Burst 2 within 10 auto hit: All creatures are slowed. Makes saving throw when making attack, if it fails I determine the target of the attack, with +5 damage. Powerful Warning(immediate interrupt) If an ally within 5 gets attacked: +2 defenses, and ally makes free MBA Friendly Fire (immediate reaction) An enemy misses you or ally within 10, and has to repeat the attack against an ally Blade Burst Trap(immediate reaction) Ally within 5 hits you or ally: Ally adjacent to enemy can make MBA against each enemy adjacent to her/him, and the enemies are also dazed. Hypnotism (standard), alternatives are Storm Pillar and Magic Missile (which don't require attack rolls) INT vs Will attack (boooo!) that makes the creature attack an ally with +4 to hit, or slide 4.
Encounter utilities:
Shield (immediate interrupt) Gain +4 to AC/Ref against attack Reorient the Axis (move) All allies within 5 can shift 8 for free Battlefront Shift(free) When rolling initiative, one ally can shift half his speed for free Inspiring Word(minor) 4 times per encounter, two allies spends healing surge +5d6 +6 HP, +4 to their next attack roll. Optional: Ally can also make saving throw (no 5d6 extra healing then) Encouraging Boost (minor) an extra "inspiring word" that grants allies a free action to 2nd Wind, which also means it grants +2 to all defenses and an additional 5 HP. He probably trains this out at level 21 to the level 6 arcane skill power Insightful Warning (or whatever else pleases you) because with Supreme Inspiration he just doubled his healing capability and Encouraging Boost is an overkill. Help or Hinder(immediate interrupt) Enemy saves or ally fails a save within 5, makes reroll with -8/+8
Daily utility:
Arcane Gate (minor) Getting your allies where you want them to be
Daily Attack Powers:
Summon Succubus (minor) The monster has the ability to dominate every enemy once per encounter for one turn.
Wrath of Battle (standard) burst 2 within 20 (auto hit), all enemies slide 3 and mage MBA against target of your choice. On a miss the target still takes 15 psychic damage.
Exhorted Counterattack (immediate reaction) An ally whos is hit spends a healing surge and makes 2 basic attacks as an OA (not free!). On a hit, daze (save ends).
War Master's Assault (standard) Everyone in 3 (including you) can charge or make a basic attack (magic missile for you), with +5 to attack and damage.
====== Created Using Wizards of the Coast D&D Character Builder ====== Gnaeus Pompeius, level 21 Human, Warlord, Paragon Multiclassing, Indomitable Champion Build: Tactical Warlord Warlord: Battlefront Leader Commanding Presence: Tactical Presence Epic Heroism: Epic Heroism (Charisma) Epic Heroism: Epic Heroism (Intelligence) Human Power Selection: Bonus At-Will Power Background: Society - Noble (Insight class skill)
FINAL ABILITY SCORES Str 10, Con 15, Dex 12, Int 28, Wis 12, Cha 21.
STARTING ABILITY SCORES Str 8, Con 13, Dex 10, Int 18, Wis 10, Cha 13.
The Wizard of Wor's choices for Epic Destinies boil down to four which are are all somewhat equally powerful. Archmage (recommend in terms of best match for power and flavor)
Level 21: Gain an additional daily usage of a daily arcane power (Summon Succubus of course, and Abyssal Horde at level 25)
Level 24: A very decent immortality power that lets you live on as a spirit with full HP. You are insubstantial, which means you resist 50% of any kind of damage, which practically breaks the game. On top of it you gain phasing, which means you can move through anything, matter, enemies, etc. After you "die" you can only use arcane encounter and at-will powers. Kind of funny, you become a somewhat crippled mage with Magic Missile as at-will, and Mass Carm, Phantom Foes, and Hypnotism as your encounter powers. The warlord powers don't work anymore when you are "dead". After a short rest you return to your body if it's still there and everything is like it used to be. It saves you the trouble to look for any feats or powers that let you survive a critical situation. In addition, it's your escape power as "last man standing", because without allies you are somewhat helpless. A very powerful feature - your life insurance.
Level 26 utility: Standard action - You regain any arcane power you have used. This could be awesome if it was a minor action. As standard action it's kind of meh.
Level 30: You can use your daily summoning power (the abyssal horde) every encounter. Fittingly, you also get that rakshasaw claw familiar at the same time, to not worry about your tome/whip/spear mess anymore. If you work with inherent bonuses (see below) you can ignore implements, and should spend the feat slot on Careful Summoner (+1 to summoned monsters' defenses.)
Warmaster Level 21: Your party can't be surprised anymore. Doesn't happen that often anyway, so this is rather meh.
Level 24: When you spend an action point everybody else can also take an extra action on his next turn. This is of course pretty awesome.
Level 26 utility: A standard action that grants everyone including you a full set of actions. Very powerful, and if you set up right with level 24 and all the crap you can do to grant additional attacks on top of this you might be able to kill a solo in one round.
Level 30: You can spend as many action points as you want. There is also no limit on once per turn. Combine this with the level 24 feature and level 26 feature, and all the other stuff you have at your disposal, and it basically forces your DM to trash his plans from the get-go (but he will be prepared.)
At level 30 you practically double or triple the size of your party, once per day. It's so sickeningly overpowered that your gaming group will run into serious disruption and balance issues, which is not worth it really. How much fun is the game if you can obliterate the boss encounter before the villain has even started his turn? Your DM needs to be up to the challenge that this ED provides to him, otherwise you should not bother.
Demigod or its clones
Int + 2 and Cha or Con +2. If you choose the "boring path", Indomitable Champion (the Demigod clone in HotFL) is probably the best choice. The thing is, an increase of stat bonuses is not really what you need most. INT is already sky high and grants brokenly powerful bonuses to your allies. Enough is enough. CHA you also don't need any higher really since you already qualify for the warlord feats that require high CHA. What you could use is an increase of CON to increase survivability and FORT.
Eternal Seeker Complicated. You can pick lazy powers from any class (probably bard), but the problem is, you would have to give up one of your existing good powers. I'm not terribly exited about this, but this needs more analysis. The level 30 feature lets you pick a level 24 epic destiny feature from any ED you qualify for, which is probably allowing some uberbroken combo, but since it's level 30 I don't really care for it so much. This handbook might be helpful.
====== Created Using Wizards of the Coast D&D Character Builder ====== Gnaeus Pompeius, level 30 Human, Warlord, Paragon Multiclassing, Archmage Build: Tactical Warlord Warlord: Battlefront Leader Commanding Presence: Tactical Presence Human Power Selection: Bonus At-Will Power Archspell: Summon Abyssal Horde Background: Society - Noble (Insight class skill)
FINAL ABILITY SCORES Str 10, Con 16, Dex 12, Int 28, Wis 12, Cha 20.
STARTING ABILITY SCORES Str 8, Con 13, Dex 10, Int 18, Wis 10, Cha 13.
FEATS Human: Toughness (retrained to Saving Inspiration at Level 8) Level 1: Lend Might Level 2: Ninth Legion Student Level 4: Arcane Initiate Level 6: Novice Power Level 8: Acolyte Power Level 10: Adept Power Level 11: Superior Will Level 12: Improved Defenses Level 14: Fight On Level 16: Tactical Assault Level 18: Tactician's Word Level 20: Toughness Level 21: Supreme Inspiration Level 22: Armor Specialization (Hide) Level 24: Call to Glory Level 26: Shift the Field Level 28: Martial Mastery Level 30: Arcane Familiar
POWERS Arcane Initiate: Hypnotism Bonus At-Will Power: Direct the Strike Paragon Multiclassing: Arcane Gate Paragon Multiclassing: Phantom Foes Paragon Multiclassing: Wrath of Battle Summoner's Tome +6: Summon Living Mountain Summoner's Tome +6: Summon Marilith Warlord at-will 1: Commander's Strike Warlord at-will 1: Brash Assault (retrained to Magic Missile at Paragon Multiclassing) Warlord encounter 1: Powerful Warning Warlord daily 1: Destructive Surprise Warlord utility 2: Shake It Off (retrained to Shield at Acolyte Power) Warlord encounter 3: Overwhelming Force Trap (retrained to Battering Command at Level 5) Warlord daily 5: Scent of Victory Warlord utility 6: Encouraging Boost (retrained to Insightful Warning at Level 21) Warlord encounter 7: Friendly Fire Warlord daily 9: Warlord's Recovery (retrained to Summon Succubus at Adept Power) Warlord utility 10: Reorient the Axis Warlord encounter 13: Blade Burst Trap (replaces Overwhelming Force Trap) Warlord daily 15: War Master's Assault (replaces Destructive Surprise) Warlord utility 16: Help or Hinder Warlord encounter 17: We Will Not Fail (retrained to Mass Charm at Novice Power) (replaces Battering Command) Warlord daily 19: Exhorted Counterattack (replaces Scent of Victory) Warlord utility 22: Rush of Battle Warlord encounter 23: Critical Misfire (replaces Friendly Fire) Warlord daily 25: Precision Stance (retrained to Summon Abyssal Horde at Adept Power) (replaces Exhorted Counterattack) Warlord encounter 27: A Plan Comes Together (replaces Powerful Warning) Warlord daily 29: Break it Up (replaces Warlord's Recovery)
ITEMS Heavy Shield, Whip, Spear, Tome Implement, Voidhide, Chieftain's Spear +1, Belt of Vim (epic tier), Circlet of Indomitability (epic tier), Summoner's Tome +6, Dragontooth Shield Heavy Shield (heroic tier) ====== Copy to Clipboard and Press the Import Button on the Summary Tab ======
Magic Items
I keep magic items separate, because in some campaigns they are banned, and with the new common/uncommen/rare rule there is no way of knowing what you'll get. Common items that benefit this build are practically golden, like the Chieftain's spear, for instance. The snapshots above apply the inherent bonus rule from DMG2, and also assume that the PC has the best possible Masterwork armor. The Wizard of Wor is purely based on raw class and racial abilities and powers. If you add magic items to the build you will find that it greatly benefits from not having to invest into a superior magic weapon, or boring stuff like Iron Armbands of Power
List of beneficial COMMON magic items
If you can only buy common items, you will find that there are a few cheap items available that help you dealing with your weak defenses (Fort and Will) and also improve Commander's Strike and Direct the Strike.
Belt of Vim grants a +1/+2/+3 bonus to Fort. Circlet of Indomitability grants a +1/+2/+3 bonus to Will. Chieftain's weapon grants +1 to all basic attacks you grant your allies (and you never need to upgrade your level 3 version because you don't attack.) Masterwork Armor (Hide) grants bonuses to Fort.
Black - get it if you can afford it Dark Blue - a very good choice Light Blue - a choice that will make life much easier for you Golden - a very powerful choice, either because it's common and good, or because it's benefits are outstanding
Weapons
Chieftain's weapon (lvl. 3 ff, common) It grants a +1 item bonus to all ranged and melee basic attacks you grant your allies. It works only on spear and polearms, so you can't make it work with your whip. Still golden because it's common, which means you can buy it whenever you like.
Communal weapon (lvl 4 ff, uncommon) grants a +1 to a d20 roll of an ally, a number of times per day equal to the enhancement bonus. This will make you very popular in those "just barely missed" situations.
Battlemaster Weapon (lvl 14 ff, uncommon) let's you use an expended encounter power (any class) again. Mass Charm I hear you chanting...
Armor
Screaming Armor (lvl 2 ff, uncommon) Grants bonus to Intimidate, and an encounter power that inflicts -2 to attacks on one enemy within 5 for one turn - autohit. That's the way you like it.
Battle Harness (lvl 4 ff, uncommon) Grants bonus to initiative (which you don't really need so much), but most importantly allows to draw/sheathe items as a free action. Perfect for your implement/weapon mess.
Healer's Armor (lvl 5 ff, uncommon) Adds its enhancement bonus to your healing powers.
Lifeblood Armor (lvl 10ff, uncommon) Grants 5/10/15 temp HP after every short rest. This is the equivalent of taking Toughness. Shields Dragontooth Shield (lvl 7 uncommon) It adds a "pick" to your heavy shield, which means you fulfill the criteria for Ninth Legion Student with your off-hand slot, and can put the whip or the implement in the other hand. Perfect for you at level 10 when you get the Summon Succubus power. By then this item should be easy to obtain.
Force Shield (lvl 9 uncommon) increases AC and Ref by 1 until you get hit by an attack, every encounter.
Feet
Zephyr Boots (lvl 24, uncommon) You can fly. Flying is great for you because you can stay above the battlefield wherever you are needed most. You don't worry about arial combat either because ... you never attack.
Hands
Gloves of the Healer (lvl 12,22, uncommon) grants 1d6/2d6 extra HP on your healing powers. It's the best hand slot item for you, and probably allows you to save a feat on improved healing. Lightning Reflex Gloves (lvl 19, uncommon) A daily that allows you to use an OA twice on one target per round. Thanks to your Ninth Legion feat this means you can grant the attack to an ally twice.
Arm
Bracers of Mental Might (lvl 6, uncommon) lets you use your INT modifier on STR attacks, checks, and STR based skill checks. Works once per encounter, so this should get you out of odd situations almost all the time (jumping over a river without looking like a fool), and even make a meaningful weapon attack if the need should ever arise. Hell, you can even train a STR based warlord encounter power if you don't care about being purely lazy.
Rapidstrike Bracers(lvl 15, uncommon) You gain +2 to initiative, but the cool thing about this item is that it lets you use an at-will attack power when you are using a basic attack, once per encounter. This means, you can use Commander's Strike, Direct the Strike and Hypnotism on an OA, or when you charge an enemy. On top of it, you don't provoke an OA when using a ranged attack. Too bad it's level 15, because this item is tailored to your needs and addresses your weakness of not being able to charge effectively, and having weak OA. Once you have this you can train out "Student of the Ninth Legion", and in order to compensate the loss of Bracers of Mental Might you could get the Striking Staff.
Head
Circlet of Indomitability (lvl 8, 18, 28, common) +1/+2/+3 to Will - helping the 2nd lowest defense after Fort.
Helm of Heroes (lvl 10,20, uncommon) daily, grants a standard action that turns a free MBA you grant to an ally into a standard action. The power of this feature can be devastating.
Golden Crown of Battle Command (lvl 14, uncommon) An always on +2 bonus to attack and damage of attacks you grant. Beyond golden.
Neck
Mantle of the Golden General (level 12 ff, uncommon) grants +2 to saves you grant. Golden once you have "Saving Inspiration".
Torc of Power Preservation (lvl 15+, uncommon) Once per day recycles an encounter power. I would use it on ridiculous powers like Mass Charm once you have them all in place to hit each other again...
Rings
Ring of Tenacious Will (level 21, uncommon) Uses CHA as base for the number of healing surges you possess. Good. Also grants a fine lifesaving daily.
Ring of Free Time(level 29, uncommon) Grants additional minor actions. Useful since you are a summoner, and have plenty of other minor actions.
Waist
Belt of Vim (lvl 8, 18, 28, Common) grants +1+2/+3 to Fort, helping your only weakness.
General's Belt (lvl 10, 20, 30, uncommon) Grants +1 bonus to Fort and you can heal yourself when healing somebody else once per day.
Belt of the Witch King (lvl 18 Uncommon) +2 to Fort, and a self-healing daily that grants a bonus to HP gained equal to double the level of your highest level arcance power you have not expended.
Belt of Vitality (lvl 23, uncommon) +2 to Fort, and a daily that lets you spend a HS when you make a death save.
Implements
(note on staffs: If you want to use a staff as a weapon (Quarterstaff) you need to wield it two-handed, which means you need to drop or stowe your shield. If you use it as an implement you can continue to wield a shield. There is no workaround to my knowledge on how to attack with a quarterstaff and still wield a shield.)
Master's Wand of Magic Missile (lvl 3 ff, uncommon) You gain the Magic Missile power at-will once per encounter, and you can push the target 1 square (doesn't scale.) It doesn't hurt to get it earlly, because an auto-hit push effect can be quite useful a lot of times. You can even keep it as lvl 3 item forever since you don't depend on an attack roll. You are just missing out on the damage bonus. Once you have this you can switch out your wizard class power from Arcane Initiate to something more exciting, like Hypnotism.
Master's Wand of Thunderwave (lvl 3 ff, uncommon) It's always nice to have more wizard powers at your disposal. It belongs in your wand collection.
Staff of the War Mage (lvl 3 ff, uncommon) Once per day, increase the burst of ANY burst and blast powers by by 1. It not only affects wizard powers like Mass Charm, Wrath of Battle, but also your various warlord attacks and utilities, like War Master's Assault, Reorient the Axis, Inspiring Word, and so on. Increasing a burst to include more allies or enemies for free attacks can be very effective.
Staff of Sleep and Charm (lvl 3 ff, uncommon) It grants a +1 item bonus to attack rolls on charm powers, and it scales per tier, which is extremely rare in the game because attack bonuses from items should technically never scale. In paragon, with +2, it becomes extremely powerful. In Epic, with +3, I would consider it broken. You take advantage of this item when using Hypnotism, Summon Succubus and any other powers with the charm keyword. All dominating attacks by the Succubus will benefit from this item as long as you wield it. Summoner's Tome (lvl 5 ff, uncommon) Allows you to add two additional summoning powers to your arsenal, and by expending your daily wizard power you get to use one of them. This is awesome because sometimes the Succubus or the Abyssal Horde is not the right tactical choice. It also increase damage from the monsters' OA's. Summoner's Staff (lvl 7 ff, uncommon) A relatively cheap item that grants your allies temp HP whenever your summons are missed by attacks. This is playing along greatly with your leader role. In addition, you can make an enemy reroll an attack against your summon once per day, which is a very rare ability in the game.
Staff of Provocation (lvl 8 ff, uncommon) Has a daily that works when you hit with any attack power. You can then make any other creature attack that enemy as a free action, with +INT to attack and damage. It's only a daily, but the key is that it auto-hits. I would save it for a hilarious moment once per day where you first cast Hypnotism on a target using this staff, make it attack his ally, and then make that ally retaliate against his friend immediately.
Orb of Inescapable Consequences (lvl 8 ff, uncommon) Playing along your theme of auto-hitting, this daily item power applies the effect of a power even on a miss. So, you can auto-hit Orcus with Hypnotism...
Staff of Spellblasting (lvl 14ff, uncommon) You don't provoke an OA from an adjacent target anymore whom you use Hypnotism or other ranged arcane attacks on. This is highly useful. On top of it you get a daily which allows you to use Hypnotism as a close blast 3 instead... smack fest. Striking Staff(lvl 15 ff, uncommon) Similarly to the Bracers of Mental Might, this item is rather awesome for you, once you can afford it. You can use your INT modifier on melee basic attacks, all the time as long as you wield the staff. You also get a d10 crit damage on weapon attacks. You basically keep this item as a backup, for rare situations where there is absolutely nothing better to do for you than to strike an enemy yourself. For example, if you are the last man standing and can't help your allies because they are dead-dead or out of reach, if all your allies are immobilized or incapacitated and can't reach enemies with attacks granted by your powers, etc. Of course this item dilutes your "lazy" theme, but at the end of the day survival is more important. In order to use it as a weapon you must wield it two-handed, because the magic item property doesn't grant you the ability to use a quarterstaff on a one-handed attack.
Wondrous and others
Phantom Soldier (lvl 7 uncommon) Daily item power: An ally that can't attack but can be used for flanking, and only needs a minor action to be moved. Can be useful.
Clay of Creation (lvl 7 ff reagent, uncommon) grants temp HP and reroll for your summons.
Regarding hybrids: This build is primarily a leader. By going down the hybrid route you are losing too much from the warlord class, and then you have to scramble and "get it back" by taking hybrid talent, which you can only take once in heroic, and 2nd time in paragon if you PMC as hybrid, which is an overkill.
The biggest problem for the hybrid version in heroic is the lack of armor proficiency hide, but this can be alleviated to a degree by taking Hybrid Talent, Unarmored Agility, or by sucking up the -2 Ref penalty from wearing hide without being proficient in it. The -2 to attacks you don't care about. At level 11 you can take PMC hybrid talent for Warlord Armor proficiency. Taking Armor proficiency hide earlier as feat is not possible because you are not meeting the STR 13 requirement (you would have to waste another feat on leather anyway.) So, overall the AC situation is frustrating to say the least if you go hybrid. Compared to going old school PMC, as hybrid PMC you need to take the feats Hybrid Talent Commanding Presence and Unarmored Agility early on, can use Inspiring Word only once per encounter, have 21 hit points less at level 21, and also 1 surge less. Also, the NADs are lower (-2 Fort, -2 Will, but +1 REF in my comparison.) But you free up 2 feat slots. I don't think it's worth it. The increased hit points, significantly higher defenses, and the additional use of Inspiring Word are each worth at least the equivalent of one feat, which means the hybrid variant has a "negative 1" in comparison.
I also dislike the fact that hybrids have to start out as such at level 1. A warlord|wizard is truly feeble and ineffective at lower heroic tier. The classic PMC version I present is much more robust, and allies will not complain about lack of leader abilities.
The Warwizard doesn't follow commands and does not blast his foes like the common battlemages do. In fact, he is the one commandeering his allies around, and summoning creatures and conjuring effects that help his allies and devastate his foes indirectly. He also takes advantage of the best wizard powers to make enemies attack each other.
He never attacks his enemies directly (i.e. he never rolls a d20 to attack for himself) - he is "lazy" and doesn't like getting his hands dirty. Like other lazy builds he benefits greatly from not having to buy a magic weapon, and not having to waste feats on improving weapon or implement damage, accuracy, and effects. Only for summoning powers he needs an implement (see below).
He invests these freed resources instead to Paragon Multiclass into wizard, and to improve essential leader abilities like buffing and healing.
He knows Magic Missile or Storm Pillar starting at level 1 with Arcane Initiate as an encounter power, and at level 11 one of them as an at-will through PMC'ing. The key is that it allows for effortless killing (no d20 roll), which is in sync with the lazy theme.
He starts off like a regular lazy warlord, with STR being his dump stat (since he never attacks). His two at-wills are Direct the Strike and Commander's Strike. He takes Heroic Effort in the human power selection since he has no use for a third at-will in heroic. Heroic Effort grants +4 to a save once per encounter, which is useful, even though he will never use the +4 to attacks. In paragon he switches out to a third at-will in order to gain Magic Missile or Storm Pillar through PMC and still keep all his favorite warlord at-wills.
He makes INT his highest stat (for Warlord and Wizard riders, most importantly +INT damage on Commander's Strike, and also AC and Ref), and CHA his second highest stat (for some important Warlord riders), closely followed by CON for durability and Fort. The Human bonus goes to INT, and INT is 16 pre-racial, which frees up tons of points for CHA and CON. A +4 starting bonus for INT riders on his powers is plenty - it's actually overpowered, because the Warlord design never assumed that someone would dump STR in favor of INT.
At level 4 he shockingly takes Arcane Initiate, being just a regular lazy warlord until then. The MC power swap feats follow at 6, 8, and 10, so he is ready for PMC. To the three wizard powers he gained in heroic he adds three more through Paragon Multiclassing in paragon.
Thus, over the course of his career, he picks more and more wizard powers, mostly useful utilities (Shield, which he keeps from level 8 till 30), illusions (i.e. Phantom Foes), summoning powers (Dretch at level 10, Succubus at level 19), or devastating "leader" powers (i.e. Mass Charm at level 17, Wrath of Battle at level 20 through PMC.)
In Epic he has the option to continue in the same fashion through Eternal Seeker, where he could also dip into other classes for interesting stuff that doesn't require attack rolls and has INT or CHA based riders. The bard's "Increasing the Tempo" and "Climactic Chord" come to mind.
He wears hide armor, which allows him to add his maxed out INT modifier to AC. In his off-hand he is carrying a large shield for +2 AC, so he starts with AC 19 at level 1, which is as high as you can get realistically.
The implement rules state that you can use implement powers without an implement. Since he doesn't roll attacks, he can completely ignore implements alltogether, which allows him to equip a large shield and a whip (for reach so Commander's Strike is more effective.) Only for his summoning power(s) he would need to wield an implement (the monster attacks are based on his implement bonus), in which case he would need to either dump the whip or the heavy shield.
Just a minor note, changing your racial choice from Heroic Effort to the extra At-Will isn't RAW. It's legit in LFR and many home games, but it's not a valid choice for retraining by pure RAW.
Thanks Mommy, I didn't realize you can PMC as hybrid. So I checked this out.
Biggest problem in heroic is the lack of armor proficiency hide, but this can be alleviated to a degree by taking Unarmored Agility, or by sucking up the -2 Ref penalty from wearing hide without being proficient in it. The -2 to attacks you don't care about. At level 11 you can take PMC hybrid talent for Warlord Armor proficiency. Taking Armor proficiency hide earlier as feat is not possible because you are not meeting the STR 13 requirement (you would have to waste another feat on leather anyway.) So, overall the AC situation is not very elegant if you go hybrid. Compared to going old school PMC, as hybrid PMC you need to take the feats Hybrid Talent Commanding Presence and Unarmored Agility early on, can use Inspiring Word only once per encounter, have 21 hit points less at level 21, and also 1 surge less. Also, the NADs are lower (-2 Fort, -2 Will, but +1 REF in my comparison.) But you free up 2 feat slots. Not sure if it's worth it. The 21 hit points, higher defenses, additional use of Inspiring Word beat the 2 freed feats IMO.
Nice build ^^ I humbly suggest you to rename it, Pompeius wasn't exactly known for his culture :D
Thanks. Well I named him Gnaeus, who is a son of the famous Pompeius. Our campaign has a Roman touch to it, that's really the only reason.
The build can be more refined. I noticed that almost all the encounter powers the warlord class has to offer for a lazy build are immediate actions. This frees up the standard actions for Commander's Strike, Direct the Strike, and maintaining summoned monsters. On the other hand, switching to a wizard's encounter power doesn't make much sense. The warlord's immediate actions seem to be far superior. So the power switching is really all about dailies and some utilities, and perhaps one encounter wizard power from the PMC feature.
What do you guys think of the summoning monsters idea? I was pleased to discover that you can let the monsters act without wasting a standard action, if you do it right. You might take some damage, but if you position them right they will not attack an ally if left to themselves.
Nice build ^^ I humbly suggest you to rename it, Pompeius wasn't exactly known for his culture :D
Thanks. Well I named him Gnaeus, who is a son of the famous Pompeius. Our campaign has a Roman touch to it, that's really the only reason.
Yeah, also the "famous Pompeius" was called Gnaeus, btw. This particular Gnaeus of yours is the one who died at Munda, battling against Caesar. Certainly he was a good general, helped by Labienus and his father, the more famous Sextus Pompeius.
I realized that implement powers don't require an implement - they can be used completely without one. Since this build never attacks, there is no need to run around with a wand, which makes it so much more elegant
The only reason to use an implement would be Tome of Binding, since this adds CON to the damage dealt by his summoned creatures.
I realized that implement powers don't require an implement - they can be used completely without one. Since this build never attacks, there is no need to run around with a wand, which makes it so much more elegant
The only reason to use an implement would be Tome of Binding, since this adds CON to the damage dealt by his summoned creatures.
Your Summoned creatures use the implement bonus to be able to hit...they're a lot weaker if you don't have an implement.
One advantage of going hybrid is that it opens up other options via Paragon path and MC feats - Bonded Summoner and Rimetongue Caller give a lot of advantages to a Summoner...Adroit Explorer is a great paragon path for the current build.
OK, that's discouraging news. Does it mean he needs to wield the implement whenever the creature attacks, in order to benefit from the bonus? One could argue that the creature only needs to be "infused" by the implement when it's being summoned. In our campaign we use inherent bonuses. I wonder how that is affecting the issue.
You love summoning, because it only takes a minor action to summon the monster, and a minor action per turn to issue a command like movement. If you do it right, you don't need to worry about the intrinsic nature of the beast. You issue movement orders with a minor action, and attacks with a standard action. You still have your warlord immediate and minor actions to continue with your leader role. With your battlefield control actions, since the monster counts as an ally, you can ensure that the Succubus or the Abyssal Horde is always in the right position. The monsters inherit your strong defenses, and benefit from your high HP's (much higher than the typical summoner wizard.) The summoned monsters cannot benefit from free melee basic attacks granted by warlord powers because they don't have an MBA listed. Quite a few have an opportunity attack listed, but it seems to be consensus that this doesn't grant them an MBA.
Twice per day, and once every encounter at level 30
