Yuku free message boards

What’s Changed?
I’ve always loved the ranger, and in 3.5 a ranger is once again a great class, and one that can be played straight through for twenty levels.
- Less front-loaded.
- Choice between two-weapon fighting and archery.
- More skill points.
- Better focus on stealth overall.

General tactics
For being a stealthy character, you are one of the meatiest. Rangers now probably make the best scouts because of their sheer survivability.

Your spells are designed to allow you to survive in the wilderness, so don’t hesitate to use them if you really need to hide well or make sure that something is safe.

A d8 hit die, while not terrible, is still a bit on the weak side when it comes to melee. Rather than just slugging it out on the front lines, use your stealth to find a better position on the battlefield where you aren’t as vulnerable.

You’re the next best thing to a druid when it comes to staying alive in the wild, and you aren’t as reliant on magic as the druid. If it comes down to a grim and gritty trek across the wilderness, you’re well suited for it.

Remember that a ranger isn’t pigeonholed into one type of fighting style: feel free to use your combat styles as backup for your main method of combat.

Animal companions you can gain aren’t as strong as a druid’s but having them on call can only be helpful.

Multiclass notes
Multiclassing the ranger is no longer necessary by any stretch of the imagination, but the ranger can still benefit greatly from multiclassing to focus on a specific combat style or niche to fill. If you decide to multiclass, decide well ahead of time and know what role your party needs filled.

Good mutliclasses with ranger include:
- Barbarian- An easy multiclass to rationalize. You lose skill points, but the others will overlap well.
- Bard- You keep up good skill points, stay in light armor, and get some spells to boot.
- Fighter- Bonus feats are a great thing, though your skills will take a hit.
- Rogue- Two weapon fighting and sneak attack are sick, and you’ll get plenty of skills.

The levels to keep in mind for paladin are:
- Level 2 (first combat style feat)
- Level 3 (endurance)
- Level 5 (Improved combat style)
- Level 11 (combat style mastery)
- Level 13 (camouflage)
- Level 17 (hide in plain sight)

What are the basic ways to build a ranger?
As a ranger, you need to keep in mind that you are the most highly skilled warrior-type in the game. Playing a pure hack & slash whirling warrior of doom is a mistake here: take advantage of your skills!
- The Bounty Hunter- Everyone loves bounty hunters. And rangers make great bounty hunters.
- The Forward Scout- With a polearm and two-weapon fighting as a back-up, this scout is a tough nut to crack.
- The Master Archer- A character who knows the two keys to being a good archer: mobility and stealth.
- The Vagabond- He’s seen it all, and has killed a lot of it, too.

The Bounty Hunter
“Go on and run. I enjoy a good chase.”

The fascination with bounty hunters is enough that finding a good way to build one is something many players have tried. It isn’t a difficult task to accomplish, but it requires some forethought. The build I will present to you is ranger 11/assassin 9. A simple one, and one that works very well. Remember that the death attack ability of the assassin does not have to kill a target: it can paralyze a target too. The combat style of choice here two weapon fighting: this character is going to have a lot of attacks by the end of his development. As this build emphasizes high dexterity and intelligence, weapon finesse is a great choice for a feat, especially if you decide to use two of the same weapons, like shortswords. Weapon focus is another good choice to help alleviate some of the penalty from attacking with two weapons. For your favored enemies, pick races you plan on hunting, probably common races like humans, elves, and dwarves. Some of your skill points will go to craft (poisonmaking) so that you can always have some poisons to deal with your foe. An interesting option here is to poison several shortswords, and then use the quickdraw feat to ensure that you can attack with poison each time you strike, which gets up to around 7 attacks by level 17. Also, you are also capable of paralyzing your opponent with your deadly strike. And even better: all your spells fit into wands, so you can use a wand of greater invisibility to ensure that you’ll be able to get plenty of poisoned sneak attacks against your foes. Which poison you decide to use is up to you.

The Forward Scout
“He didn’t see me until I had my spear in his chest.”

Here’s a pure ranger build for everyone who really wants to see what the class is capable of now. The concept we’re going for is a character who uses a reach weapon to keep foes at bay (to compensate for his relatively low hit points and armor class). Now you might think this is stupid, because this seems to ignore the two combat styles a ranger can pick from. However, consider the fact that most reach weapon do not allow for attacks on adjacent foes. Two weapon fighting would serve as an excellent backup to a primary combat style such as a polearm. The focus of this ranger is stealth. This character takes the role of the scout for the party, keeping his eyes open for trouble, and setting up ambushes to take out enemies who are less aware. While developing the two weapon fighting combat style through ranger, spend normal feats to build up polearm combat. Weapon focus, power attack, and combat reflexes are all great choices that let you drop foes more quickly. When fighting with your group, use your polearm to its best affect. Keep out of close melee, as rangers lack the staying power of other melee classes. Set up flanking opportunities with allies to make the best use of your power attack. When stuck in combat alone (which happens to scouts), use your polearm as best you can, and then quickdraw out your weapon or weapons for two-weapon fighting. The volume of attacks here should provide for a bit of a shock to anyone who though closing with a polearm would be a good idea. You should be able to hold out long enough to withdraw and hide (hide in plain sight is an amazingly good ability) or wait for reinforcements to show up. When not in combat, stay ahead of the group and make sure the path is clear. Blaze a trail. Consider taking a level of rogue for the trapfinding ability just to make yourself into the best possible scout.

The Master Archer
“If shooting someone in the back is ‘fighting dirty’, then I must be filthy.”

One of the things I most like about the ranger is the new choice of the archery tree. Although archers are considerably weaker now than in 3.0, they are still a viable combat build. The goal with this build is to create a character who is highly mobile and skilled at getting into the right position to fire. The good old Deepwood Sniper builds of 3.0 are all about catching someone off-guard and keeping them that way. The Shadowdancer’s abilities fit the role of a fast and furious archer very well. With his shadows, this character can draw enemies into an ambush, striking with arrows and using his summoned shadow companions to keep the enemy from closing. The key though, is shadow jump. Simply shadow jump to a different area of the battlefield and then hide in the shadows, then ready yourself for another attack. If enemies manage to close, the shadowdancer has abilities that make your archer very survivable, like uncanny dodge and defensive roll. Improved evasion and slippery mind will make it difficult to be hit with spells. With the end build of ranger 10/shadowdancer 10, you’ll need to invest in more archery feats than normal, but otherwise the build is straight forward. Investing in shot on the run is very useful when used in conjunction with manyshot, especially considering the focus on mobility of this build. Keep moving and shooting, taking advantage of manyshot to pump your foes full of arrows. Only stand still while you’re lying in wait, and make sure you’re moving at any other time.

The Vagabond
“Been there. Done that.”

Now let’s try something a little more interesting. The previous master archer build is a lot of fun, no two ways about it. However, what if you want to get some delicious melee in and remain mobile. Then let me introduce to you a nasty and completely relentless build. We start with ranger and throw in levels of barbarian, and eventually take levels of horizonwalker. The goal is to end your build as a ranger 9/barbarian 5/horizonwalker 6. This grants you 2 ranges per day, improved uncanny dodge, evasion, and then five horizonwalker terrain masteries and a single planar mastery. For your feats, grab the ones for two weapon fighting. Your weapon of choice is going to be an old classic: the quarterstaff. Fitting for a traveler, eh? Anyway, the advantage of this weapon is that you can use it two-handed or as a double weapon, and it requires no special proficiency to use. Feats to grab are power attack, weapon focus, and probably greater two weapon fighting. The two “must have” abilities from horizonwalker are the terrain mastery for desert (which makes you immune to fatigue… excellent for raging) and the planar mastery for shifting planes (which gives you the incredible ability to use dimension door every 1d4 rounds). So what you do is dimension door right next to someone, strike up a rage, then start wailing away. Use your staff two-handed when charging and as a double weapon when in extended melee. In addition to your rather impressive little set of skills, you’re absolutely tireless in melee. Put it to good use and get stuck in real good. Your hit points might not be sky-high, but you’re hitting plenty hard. Don’t hold back: just kill the other guy and dimension door out if you need to.

Conclusion
The ranger has access to a great selection of skills, good combat abilities, and offers many opportunities for different combat styles. Make sure you take advantage of all the ranger’s abilities. The new ranger is a great class, and disserves some respect.

3.0 Splash Notes
And in case you didn’t know, the good old Holy Liberator is a great addition to any ranger build.
For anyone who likes playing a tracker, break out the Bloodhound or Consecrated Harrier from Masters of the Wild and Defenders of the Faith, respectively.
Any ranger who likes archery should pick up the Deepwood Sniper or Order of the Bow Initiate from Masters of the Wild and Sword & Fist respectively.
If you want a fighter/mage, pick up Unapproachable East (a Forgotten Realms accessory) and make a ranger/wizard who grabs the Master of Yurinwood prestige class. Full spell progression and full base attack bonus is sweet.

wildingo, I know very well how compatible the more recent books are with 3.5. But I'm writing this using only 3.5 Core Material as a demonstration in how to create strong character builds while still keeping them unique and interesting.

What’s Changed?
While most other classes (aside from the cleric) have been increased a couple of nudges in power, the sorcerer has generally been toned down. However, sorcerer fans should rejoice when they realize that the sorcerer has only been toned down relative to other classes: relative to the wizard (the sorcerer’s main competition), the sorcerer has gone up in power.
- Major changes to the spell list
- Ability to swap out spells at certain levels
- Changed familiars (most are more powerful)
- Better skill list (bluff is finally a class skill)

General Tactics
The sorcerer has two huge advantages over the wizard: a sorcerer doesn’t need to prepare spells in advance, and he has the ability to cast many more in a given day than the wizard. Do not hesitate to use a spell if you think it can solve a problem or end an encounter quickly.

Using metamagic feats is easier and harder for a sorcerer. While you don’t have to prepare it in advance, it does take you a full round to cast any spell you use a metamagic feat with. Try to learn when you need to start casting to use a metamagic feat or when a normal spell will do.

Your selection of weapons is impressive for a “mage type”. Having a good weapon at hand could be the difference between victory and defeat, especially if the enemy has closed with you.

Your charisma is excellent, so make use of it by investing some skill points in social skills.

Never underestimate the advantage having a few utility spells in scroll form can give you in terms of versatility.

Whereas the 3.0 sorcerer had to get only spells that could be useful straight through to level 20, the sorcerer now has the luxury of taking spells that are only useful for a few levels and then swapping them back out later.

Multiclass Notes
As the sorcerer is a primary caster, multiclassing a sorcerer only decreases the overall power of the character unless doing so provides spell progression (such as through a prestige class). That said, sorcerer does mesh well with fighter-types who want to add some magic to their repertoire and aren’t trying to fill the role of the arcane artillery.

The only levels to keep in mind for sorcerer are the levels at which you can take new spells. Generally speaking, familiar ability progression is rarely worth planning your development around.

Good multiclasses with sorcerer include:
- Barbarian- A class that can really get a lot out of some buff spells.
- Bard- Grab some social skills and put that charisma to good use!
- Fighter- While fighters won’t get as much out of buff spells as barbarians, their feats open up interesting opportunities for a sorcerer.
- Monk- Being able to use monk unarmed strikes with touch spells is a lot of fun, and not relying on armor is a plus.
- Paladin- Divine grace and smite evil can make paladin a tempting multiclass.

What are the basic ways to build a sorcerer?
In order to get the most out of the sorcerer, we need to create builds that maximize the use of casting without preparation and that benefit from being able to cast many a lot of spells. Combos will focus more on spells than on feats, but I’ll give a little bit of everything.
- The Bombardier- This character likes making things go boom.
- The Caller- A sorcerer/cleric who overcomes the problems of multiclassing through summoning.
- The Disciple- A sorcerer with a splash of monk who delivers deadly touch attacks.
- The Fortress- A sorcerer who shows that defensive spells can change a battle too.

The Bombardier
“You wanna talk power? Let’s talk about body counts.”

While save or die spells might be able to take out the Big Bad Evil Guy faster, your fighter friends would be stuck in a sea of minions if you weren’t there to blast a hole in the enemy lines for them. And this sorcerer makes area of affect spells into an art. The goal here is to command the battlefield by blowing up big chunks of it. Your job isn’t to take down single monsters: you are specialized in removing the smaller enemies on the field. The obvious tool of your trade are spells like fireball, cone of cold, and meteor swarm. But it is the more subtle tools you will use that will make this character viable. First, we must identify the weakness of area of affect spells: anyone with a good reflex save and anyone with evasion (and of course improved evasion). This means that monk, rangers, and rogues need to some how be knocked down a few pegs before you can effectively blow them to pieces. In order to remove their mobility, you need to render them flat-footed, which isn’t exactly easy. Most spells that can slow foes down or hold them in place grant a reflex save. However, there are other options. Hold person will nail your target’s feet to the ground, and ray of enfeeblement can encumber a character who is carrying a lot of items. Spell focus and greater spell focus in your main artillery school will make your spells more difficult to avoid, and investing in spell focus for your disabling school is also a good idea. Finally, levels of archmage truly make this build shine. Abilities of choice are spell power, mastery of elements, and mastery of shaping. Remember, most of the foes you are dealing with will have poor saves, so you should have little trouble roasting them to a crisp.

The Caller
“I call thee forth to do my bidding!”

Most people know that being able to cast dozens of low level spells does not hold a candle to being able to cast a few high level spells, because that is where the power is. This build exploits the one advantage of being able to cast many lower-level spells to create a summoner who fills the battlefield with summoned monsters. The build is a somewhat graceless one: sorcerer 4/cleric 3/mystic thurge 9/thuamergist 4. Thuamergist should be taken as early as possible, and cleric levels should be taken first to gain a higher hitpoint total, so the real build should look something like: cleric 1/sorcerer 2/cleric 1/sorcerer 1/cleric 1/sorcerer 1/mystic thurge 3/thuamergist 4/mystic thurge 6. Thuamergist should be used to increase caster level for both cleric and sorcerer, so that by level 20, you are casting as a sorcerer 15/cleric 14, which isn’t bad for a level 20 character. Alternatively, you can reach 8th level cleric spells if you assign a third thuamergist level to cleric instead of sorcerer, which allows for sorcerer 14/cleric 15, which is a slightly stronger build. Now in terms of feats, extend spell and still spell should be considered. Extend spell will stack with the thuamergist’s ability to extend summoning spells, which means your friends will be on the field for a long time. Still spell is a great choice, especially if you decide to wear the armors cleric levels give you access to. Spell focus (conjuration) is needed to qualify for thuamergist, and also makes a few of your offensive spells more powerful. Hold off on grabbing augment summoning, because thuamergist gives it to you for free. As for tactics: summon, summon, and summon some more. Keep the battlefield full of your allies and keep them in the fight. With this many allies on the field, your spells are conserved, because your allies are being hit less and thus need less healing. Use this opportunity to get a few licks in the way a cleric knows how.

The Disciple
“I reach in to harness my strength, then reach out to crush my foes.”

The monk and the sorcerer present an interesting synergy in terms of abilities. The sorcerer cannot wear armor, and the monk provides a way to maintain a fair armor class without armor. The sorcerer has access to some interesting touch spells but is ineffective at using them, and the monk is an expert at striking with fists. Combining the two into an effective build presents an interesting balancing act of how to maximize the synergy between the two. The build I present is a blend of the two designed to be somewhat skilled in social situations (bluffing enemies into believing the character harmless) and a master of delivering deadly touch attacks. As much as I love quivering palm, finger of death is head and shoulders above it. The build is simply monk 2/sorcerer 18. The first two levels are of monk. Bonus feats should be stunning fist and deflect arrows. Deflect arrows basically makes the first arrow fired at you each round an automatic miss, whereas stunning fist lets you disable a foe who breaks through the lines. Skill points should be put into traditional sorcerer skills (concentration and spellcraft) as well as social skills. Sorcerer only provides bluff, but monk levels will give you a smattering of others (diplomacy, perform, and sense motive). For spells, grab touch spells, buff/defensive spells, and enchantment spells to round out your repertoire. Feats to keep in mind are defensive feats like dodge and the spring attack tree. Spell focus, greater spell focus, spell penetration, and greater spell penetration make your spells that much more potent. Craft wondrous item will keep you outfitted in the best gear possible, and is an excellent choice. In combat, try to disable foes with enchantment spells. Keep yourself well protected with magic, and don’t hesitate to deliver a deadly stunning fist of death if the opportunity presents itself, but don’t leave yourself vulnerable if you can at all help it. Levels of archmage might be considered for arcane reach and spell power, but little else is needed.

The Fortress
“Get out and stay out!”

One of the overlooked types of spells is the type that creates a wall or barrier. This is surprising, because the ability to add barriers to the battlefield is something that a party with good tactical sense can use to great advantage. This sorcerer uses his large number of spell slots to fill the battlefield with barriers. The build is simply sorcerer 15/archmage 5. Feats to get are extend spell (primarily to make your barriers last longer). All other feats are secondary. Your character is a support caster first and foremost, although his support is an interesting type. After changing the battlefield into something more suitable for the party, you then begin to use a few powerhouse spells to take out key opponents. Spell focus, greater spell focus, etc. should be taken to supplement your choice killer spells. Archmage abilities of choice are mastery of shaping, mastery of counterspelling, spell power, and arcane fire. “Why arcane fire?” you might be asking. Well, looking at the focus of this character, first level spells offer very little of what we want: few barrier-type spells and zero killer spells. So giving up a magic missile for 6d6 points of damage, no save, is a pretty decent trade off. The higher you go in your spell slots, the less attractive it becomes, but it is a nice way to deliver the finishing blow to someone, or to take a chunk of hit points off the first person to breach your defenses. Your first response to a fight should be to throw up a wall to divide your foes or set up a line of defense, then begin to strategically reshape the battlefield, isolating enemies to let your allies fight them one at a time rather than all at once. After you’ve accomplished this, you can fall back onto your offensive casting ability. Remember to divide first and conquer second and you’ll make this build work well.

Conclusion
The sorcerer is still one of the most powerful classes in the game once you reach higher levels. He is closer in power to the wizard than ever, and still maintains his excellent flexibility and the ability to cast spells all day long. Use these abilities to your advantage and nobody should doubt your choice of sorcerer over wizard.

3.0 Splash Notes
A single level splash of alienist from Tome & Blood makes summoned monsters even beefier, and is a great choice for the Caller build.
I remain a big fan of the sorcerer/shadow weave adept (Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting) enchanter-type build, which allows for strong illusion and enchantment spells.
Mage of the arcane order (Tome & Blood) is the answer to all of the sorcerer’s problems, and represents one of the most broken combos in the 3.0 rules.
A monk/sorcerer with levels of Blood Magus (Tome & Blood) is a frightening opponent.