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1 year ago ::
Apr 18, 2012 - 5:37PM
#1
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Date Joined:
Apr 18, 2012
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Hi!
Im new to the site, this is my first post. I've only recently discovered D&D and it turns out its right up my alley.
So I've only played 3 games, but I understand all the basics and then some.
I've just written up a first level elven ranger from the High forest in the forgotten realms, to be the fourth in a party of three rangers (two human plus me) and an azar(?) cleric who draws power from the elemental plane of fire. My Ranger's scores are as follows:
Str: 20
Dex: 18
Con: 10
Int: 8
Wis: 16
Cha: 11
By no means is this a bad roll. it gives me Strength + 5, Dexterity + 4 and Wisdom + 3. Armed with a Greatsword and +2 mighty composite longbow, this guy is awesome. He also has studded leather armour. My problem is, with Intelligence - 1 I am limited in how many skill ranks I get. On top of that, having 0 Constitution means I only have 8 HP. I took Dodge as my first level feat to help with that problem (at the expense of choosing the prerequisite Feat to cleave), but I'm still fairly worried about what happens if I get hit, particularly since i'm the member of our party who will be doing the most melee combat (due to high strength).
As i understand, I gain one further ability point every four levels, but that would take me 16 levels to raise both my INT and CON by one modifier point. I know that there are certain magic items that could either temporarily or permanently increase my scores, as well as the level 9 wish spell that would do the same, but i'm sure is hard to come by affordably.
What I need is advice from any more experienced players on what to do to keep my elf alive or increase his skill points in INT or CON, or even just how to play my character. Permanent solutions are preferred but I can make do with temporary ones. I'm open to suggestions about changes to Feats and skills and items and such.
Any advice I can get would be greatly appreciated!
Thank you all in advance!
Atticus
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1 year ago ::
Apr 18, 2012 - 9:40PM
#2
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First of all, is that rolled or point buy?
Your CON is waaaaay low for a true melee type. Rangers typically do better as Archers, NOT greatsword wielders. Greatsword wielders do better as barbarians and maybe fighters.
You get 5 skill points a level, so you aren't hurting. Just pick and choose which 5 are most important.
You're going to need IMproved toughness to get some hit points. Your Health is going to be pretty bad without it.
You want elven chain as soon as you can get it, to max your Dex out. At higher levels, when you start getting Dex boosting magic items, you'll want Celestial Chain.
You can get stat modifying gear with gold as you level, including Int and Con boosters. I suggest Con be your first one.
If I were you I'd take the Str to 18, Con to 13, Wis to 14, Int to 10 or 12. Your ideal is probably a switch-hitting ranger...use a bow up until you get into melee, then Quick Draw a greatsword and go to town.
Generally people use stat boosting items to get an additional +1 to +3 as they level, and put all their level stats into their most important stat (in your case, Str or Dex).
You need a 14 wis to be able to cast ranger spells. If you want more bonus spells, just buy a Wis Booster.
==Aelryinth
Fighter vs Warblade analysis http://community.wizards.com/go/thread/view/75882/19573526/Analyzing_the_Fighter_vs_The_Warblade
The Lockdown F/20 iconic build http://community.wizards.com/go/thread/view/75882/19856162/A_little_Lock_build_for_you
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1 year ago ::
Apr 18, 2012 - 10:25PM
#3
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Date Joined:
Apr 18, 2012
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That's rolled. I don't know what point buy is, but i could take a guess. :P
My DM helped me write him up. He said that because my INT is -1 I'd only get 4 skill points a level. maybe i'm wrong.
I'll ditch dodge and take toughness as my Feat. That might make our cleric's life a little easier at least. And I'll definitely look into the chain and gear, and I'll find out what I can about the boosters. Thanks!
At second level I'm taking archery as my ranger combat style focus, and I had always planned to play him as a switch-hitting ranger when I'm able. before I rolled the character I had considered taking dual wielding, but since hes so strong I went for the greatsword instead.
I don't understand what you mean about taking my STR and WIS down and CON and INT up. Is there a way to reallocate points? Or is that only if i've used point buy?
Thanks heaps!
Any other answers I can get will only help more!
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1 year ago ::
Apr 18, 2012 - 11:20PM
#4
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Date Joined:
Oct 24, 2005
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If you still can, you should switch the rolls you put into con and wis. You'll eventually need more than 12 wis to cast all your ranger spells, but it won't come up until 11th level, which is plenty of time to deal with that. Are you playing a wood elf? They get +2 str, +2 dex, -2 con, -2 int instead of the +2 dex, -2 con standard elves get. I ask because, without a racial +2 to str, you can't normally start with 20 str. If you're using standard elf, I'd go with wild elf (Monster Manual, p104) or snow elf (Frostburn, p34) instead. Instead of the standard elves' +2 dex and -2 con, wild elves get +2 dex and -2 int, and snow elves get +2 dex and -2 cha. Dragon magazine printed a template called arctic (issue #306, p61). It gives you +2 con and -2 cha on top of your existing racial adjustments and is +0 LA. If you're not familiar with LA, just know that +0 LA means you can add it to a character for no cost beyond that inherent in the template (-2 cha, in this case). If your DM allows that, it would be good for you. Improved toughness is a different feat from toughness. Despite what the name would lead you to believe, improved toughness doesn't have toughness as a prerequisite. Improved toughness (Complete Warrior, p101) gives you +1 HP per level. Until 3rd level, this is worse than toughness, but after that it's better. If your DM allows you to use the retraining rules from Player's Handbook II, you can take toughness now and change it to improved toughness later.
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1 year ago ::
Apr 19, 2012 - 12:43AM
#5
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Date Joined:
Apr 18, 2012
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Too late, sorry.
Yes, I am playing a wood elf. I forgot to mention that. They also have -2 cha.
I'll look up that magazine, although I'm not too familiar with templates. I know of them, but haven't used one myself.
I'm playing two storylines that overlap, each with it's own DM. During the other game the DM is a player. Unfortunately my usual DM is the cleric in this party, so I'd have to ask the other. I don't know how he likes to run things.
This explains why I couldn't find Improved Toughness in the player's handbook. Thanks!
I don't have player's handbook II, but again I'll ask about the DM's rules.
Thanks for the help! I'll see what I can do with it.
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1 year ago ::
Apr 19, 2012 - 1:08AM
#6
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Date Joined:
Apr 18, 2012
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With the character I've got being a wood elf it's hard to justify an arctic template storywise.
Does anyone know of any alternative templates that would work?
And could somebody please simply explain what the point of Level Adjustment (LA) is and what difference it makes to my character?
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1 year ago ::
Apr 19, 2012 - 12:34PM
#7
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Date Joined:
Oct 24, 2005
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For an introduction to level adjustment (LA), you should read the “monsters as races” section of the Dungeon Masters Guide on page 172. Basically, LA is a number of levels you're required to give up to play as an unusual creature. You'll always be that number of levels behind the rest of the party. Without special rules, you can't play a race with +1 or greater LA in a game that starts at 1st level. Also, most things with +1 or greater LA aren't worth the price. Saying a race has +0 LA is basically a roundabout way of saying there's no special cost to play it. There are many base races that have +0 LA. This is considered the norm for races meant for use by players, so it isn't always explicitly stated, as is the case with the races in the Player's Handbook. There are only a few templates that have +0 LA. I used to have them listed in that races thread, but I'm reorganizing it right now. Here's a quick rundown.
- Amphibious: -2 dex; can breathe both water and air; Stormwrack pg. 135
- Aquatic: can breathe water, but not air; Dragon 306 pg. 61
- Arctic: +2 con, -2 cha; Dragon 306 pg. 61
- Desert: only minor changes; Dragon 306 pg. 63
- Dragonborn of Bahamut: -2 dex, +2 con; become a reptile-man; Races of the Dragon pg. 5
- Magic-Blooded: -2 wis, +2 cha; Dragon 306 pg. 64
- Necropolitan: become undead; Libris Mortis pg. 114
- Primordial Giant: -4 str, -2 dex, +4 int, +4 cha; only giants can take this template; Secrets of Xen'drik pg. 79
- Unseelie Fey: -2 st, +2 dex, -2 con, +2 cha; this one might be an error; Dragon Compendium pg. 222
- Wild: +2 str, -2 int, -2 cha; Dragon 306 pg. 65
With arctic ruled out, the only other template I think you might be interested in is wild. I don't know if the fact that wood elves are already wild-ish makes it easier or harder to justify the template.
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1 year ago ::
Apr 19, 2012 - 12:57PM
#8
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Date Joined:
Nov 30, 2005
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I'll ditch dodge and take toughness as my Feat. That might make our cleric's life a little easier at least. And I'll definitely look into the chain and gear, and I'll find out what I can about the boosters. Thanks!
Toughness is generally considered terrible. IMPROVED TOUGHNESS from a seperate book is alright, it is better the higher level you are. Your toughness feat won't be helpful for very long. If you plan to ever go above level 3, its probably a better choice to take improved toughness. As a ranger with a low con, you shouldn't be the melee guy. Keep the bow and do lots of run and gun. (more away and fire) tactics. 1st level in 3.5 is very death prone anyway, and most characters should generally just run and gun. Even traditional melee types.
5e comments and thoughts all in one place. Check it out to provide feedback, mock, or steal ideas.
http://community.wizards.com/go/thread/view/75882/28835423/Krusks_5e_Design_Goals?sdb=1
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1 year ago ::
Apr 19, 2012 - 7:59PM
#9
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Date Joined:
Apr 18, 2012
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Thanks guys, this is great.
I get another hit dice roll each new level anyway, right? I'll find out if I can retrain at level 3 and switch over. If not, I'll go for improved now.
I'm desperately hoping to find a way to increase constitution fairly early on, because my character has such high strength it'd be a shame to waste it.
That said, you are right about running and gunning and particularly at first level that's very true. It's my usual low-level tactic anyway.
@Maat_Mons: Thanks for that. I found an explanation on the net but it was badly worded and did more confusing than explaining.
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1 year ago ::
Apr 20, 2012 - 2:48AM
#10
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My DM helped me write him up. He said that because my INT is -1 I'd only get 4 skill points a level. maybe i'm wrong.
Rangers get 6 skill points per level. Since your Int modifier is -1, you should be getting 5 per level, not 4 (you always get x4 at first level).
Rangers need a score of some sort in Wis to cast spells, but I'd be tempted to put the 16 in Con, the 11 in Wis, the 10 in Int and the 8 in Cha (if you don't mind being a grumpy, uncharismatic sort of Ranger). Having a better Cha is nice for Handle Animal and Wild Empathy and things, but personally I far prefer having the Int. If nothing else I'd swap the 8 in Int and the 11 in Cha. Failing that, put the 11 in Con and the 10 in Cha, then add a point to Con when you reach L4 (or 8, 12, 16, or 20, since all these levels give a +1 to an ability).
By the time you can cast spells (L4), or shortly after, you should be able to grab a Periapt of Wisdom +2 or something which will give you enough Wis to cast L1-3 spells and to get a bonus 1st-level slot. Remember that Ranger spellcasting is little more than a nice extra, but without 11+ Wis you won't even be able to use items of those spells (and a Wand of Cure Light Wounds, for example, can be very useful to have).
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