From Shadowfell Geographic Society

I'll use this page to capture my thoughts and decisions as I work on this particular character concept. Comments and suggestions are welcome, either on the page (marked with your name) or via email.

I've also put some open questions about rulings at the bottom, for Andy to hopefully chime in on.

Some sections remain TBD. I have thoughts and notes on those, but just haven't had the time to finalize them yet.

Resulting character build here: Kurgan's Beastmaster Build

Contents 1 Assumptions 2 General Thoughts 2.1 Shallow Multiclassing 2.2 Weapon Choice 2.3 Deeper Multiclassing 2.4 Power Choice 2.5 Attributes 3 Alternatives 3.1 Other Races 3.2 Two-Weapon Melee 3.3 Non-Rogue 3.4 Ranged 4 Build Selections 4.1 Class Features 4.2 Beast Type 4.3 Attributes 4.4 Skills 4.5 Feats 4.6 Powers 4.6.1 At-Will 4.6.2 Level 1 Encounter 4.6.3 Level 1 Daily 4.6.4 Level 2 Utility 4.6.5 Level 3 Encounter 4.6.6 Level 5 Daily 4.6.7 Level 6 Utility 4.7 Equipment 5 Rulings Questions 5.1 Allowable Supplements 5.2 Beast Scaling 5.3 Beast Damage Modifiers 6 Postscript

Assumptions

The following are the assumptions I made in my research/optimization exercise.

• I'm building a Halfling, Beastmaster-Ranger, Multiclassed into Rogue. Not a perfect combination - there are power-gamer considerations being traded for uniqueness and schtick.
• I'm building for Level 6. I haven't tried too hard to optimize for choices at Paragon tier.
• I assume all of Martial Power is in game. At least some of it is needed for Beastmasters to exist. I can adjust if any other particular part is ruled unacceptable.
• I assume Helena will remain in the party, and thus make some Skill/Power choices so as not to overlap with her.

If feedback suggests any of these assumptions don't hold, I'll need to re-think. See some possible alternatives below.

General Thoughts

Here are my thoughts on various aspects of this build, for other min-maxers to comment on.

Shallow Multiclassing

I think Sneak of Shadows is a no-brainer as a beneficial feat here. Extra striker damage once per Encounter is worth a Feat, and the Skill and access to other Rogue stuff is just bonus.

Weapon Choice

The Ranger Melee Power choices, and lack of Shield proficiency, push me toward 2-Weapon style. As a Halfling (no 2-handed or Versatile weapons) and not a true 2-Weapon Ranger (requiring a real off-hand weapon), the Backstab limitation to Light Blades not much of a limitation. I'm thinking Shortswords. I could pick up a Rapier with a Feat. I'm giving up the option of a Scimitar in my on-hand, but there's no off-hand Heavy Blade anyway, and I think it's advantageous to be using two weapons in the same group for purpose of Feats.

Deeper Multiclassing

For a Melee Ranger, I don't think swapping for any Rogue powers is likely to make sense. I'll likely want a high Dex, but it's probably not worth keeping it high enough that I'd want to use it as an attack stat. A power-swap for a Utility power may make sense at later levels, and some Rogue feats might be useful too.

Power Choice

Some of the Beastmaster powers are quite nice (particularly for their multi-attack and Flanking potential). However, my enthusiasm is muted by the fact that Beast attacks are likely to lag behind mine in both to-hit and damage, because the Beast won't have all the magic items and Feats that I have. (Off-hand attacks have only a subset of those problems.) As a result, my power choices are likely to walk the line between Beastmaster and 2-Weapon choices. I think that can be fully effective, since the Beast is a useful source of Flanking, extra attack options, and extra enemy-annoyance even if he's not being involved in

--Beast stats, like all monsters, rise with level, not half-level. You may want to revisit that assumption. --Andy 14:00, 29 December 2008 (UTC)

Attributes

Strength has to be primary for all Ranger attacks, which makes a Halfling non-ideal. Dex will be useful for AC, Reflex, and skills, and is favored for Halflings so I may as well keep it high. Wis is useful for Skills, and for some Ranger powers, but not all. It would be possible to choose powers so as to make Wis irrelevant, I think. Many of the Beastmaster powers seem to use Wis as a cookie for a particular Beast type, though. And if I leave Wis by the wayside my Will defense will suck. So I lean toward weighting Str highest, with Dex and Wis relatively equal. That means discretionary Attribute boosts go into Str, and alternate Dex or Wis. Int and Cha are both pure dump stats. Con is useful only for hit points, which is a tough call.

Alternatives

Things I might look into if the assumptions I made above don't turn out to be the right ones for the game:

Other Races

Dragonborn is a pretty good choice thanks to its Strength bonus. Elf is best match due to Dex+Wis and relevant bonuses, but also best suited to Ranged Rangers. Human is potentially the best choice thanks to bonus Powers and Feats. Multiclassing to Rogue becomes a less obvious choice for a Melee Ranger who isn't a Halfling, due to broader weapon choices. The dual-Scimitar (Drizzt) option is apparently very powerful at Paragon tier due to guaranteed damage from the Scimitar Dance feat. Hammers or Maces have a similar trick, but it requires high Con.

Two-Weapon Melee

If Andy decides Martial Power is out, or we decide Beastmasters are broken or uninteresting, I could pretty easily build a pure 2-Weapon Ranger with many of the same choices.

Non-Rogue

Not multiclassing means one more feat for other things. Alternative multiclasses could be Fighter/Paladin for some extra Defenderness on our front line, or Warlord to enhance the tactical advantages of the Beast.

Ranged

If Helena leaves and we want a Ranged Striker instead, I can build an Archery Ranger. In that case, Elf becomes the obvious race, and deeper multiclassing into Rogue becomes more interesting since Dex is the right Attribute. Roge powers provide Melee attacks with Dex, and attacks vs. non-AC defenses. I think this is probably the best uber-striker build available to a Ranger, for various reasons.

Build Selections

Herein I lay out the choies I'm leaning toward, and/or other alternatives I'm considering. Numbering indicates order of preference.

Class Features

• Beast Mastery (grants a Beast, and the Raise Beast Companion Ritual)
• Hunter's Quarry
• (Note: Beastmasters don't get a Fighting Style or Prime Shot)

Beast Type

TBD

Alternatives:

• Bear (Str/d12): Brute role - slow and -2 attack, but most HP/damage.
• Boar (Str/d8): Speed and damage bonus on Charge.
• Cat (Dex/d8): Fast and stealthy. Has the weird Str/Dex conflict (-1).
• Lizard (Str/d8): Attack bonus on OAs.
• Raptor (Dex/d6): Fast and flying/ +1 attack. Weak HP/damage. Has the weird Str/Dex conflict (-3).
• Serpent (Dex/d8): Slow but swims. Damage bonus on OAs. Has the weird Str/Dex conflict (-1).
• Spider (Dex/d8): Spider-climb. Has the weird Str/Dex conflict (-1).
• Wolf (Str/d8): Fast. Damage bonus from CA.

Attributes

Several options, showing raw attributes and then effective attributes, after racial adjustments (+2 Dex/Cha) and Level 4 bump (+1 to two). I could definitely use suggestions here.

• Raw Str 18:
  • Even Wis/Dex
    • No Con:
      • Raw: Str 18, Con 10, Dex 11, Int 10, Wis 14, Cha 8
      • Eff: Str 19, Con 10, Dex 14, Int 10, Wis 14, Cha 10
  • High Dex, minor Wis:
    • No Con:
      • Raw: Str 18, Con 10, Dex 14, Int 10, Wis 11, Cha 8
      • Eff: Str 19, Con 10, Dex 17, Int 10, Wis 11, Cha 10
• Raw Str 17:
  • Even Wis/Dex:
    • No Con:
      • Raw: Str 17, Con 10, Dex 13, Int 10, Wis 15, Cha 8
      • Eff: Str 18, Con 10, Dex 16, Int 10, Wis 15, Cha 10
    • +1 Con:
      • Raw: Str 17, Con 12, Dex 11, Int 10, Wis 15, Cha 8
      • Eff: Str 18, Con 12, Dex 14, Int 10, Wis 15, Cha 10
  • Favor Dex over Wis:
    • No Con:
      • Raw: Str 17, Con 10, Dex 14, Int 10, Wis 14, Cha 8
      • Eff: Str 18, Con 10, Dex 17, Int 10, Wis 14, Cha 10
    • +1 Con:
      • Raw: Str 17, Con 12, Dex 13, Int 10, Wis 14, Cha 8
      • Eff: Str 18, Con 12, Dex 16, Int 10, Wis 14, Cha 10 My Tentative Favorite
• Raw Str 16:
  • Even Wis/Dex:
    • No Con:
      • Raw: Str 16, Con 11, Dex 14, Int 10, Wis 15, Cha 8
      • Eff: Str 17, Con 11, Dex 16, Int 10, Wis 16, Cha 10
    • +1 Con:
      • Raw: Str 16, Con 13, Dex 14, Int 10, Wis 14, Cha 8
      • Eff: Str 17, Con 13, Dex 16, Int 10, Wis 15, Cha 10
  • Favor Dex over Wis:
    • No Con:
      • Raw: Str 16, Con 11, Dex 15, Int 10, Wis 14, Cha 8
      • Eff: Str 17, Con 11, Dex 18, Int 10, Wis 14, Cha 10
    • +1 Con:
      • Raw: Str 16, Con 13, Dex 14, Int 10, Wis 14, Cha 8
      • Eff: Str 17, Con 13, Dex 17, Int 10, Wis 14, Cha 10

Skills

• Ranger Required: Dungeoneering (Wis)
• Ranger 1: Stealth (Dex)
• Ranger 2: Acrobatics (Dex)
• Ranger 3: Athletics (Str)
• Ranger 4: Heal (Wis)
• Sneak of Shadows: Thievery (Dex)

Alternatives:

1. Perception (Wis): Helena has it covered.
2. Nature (Wis): Helena has it covered.
3. Endurance (Con): Rare, and my Con sucks anyway.

Feats

• Level 1: Sneak of Shadows: See assumptions.
• Level 2: Quick Draw: Makes 2-Weapon Fighting plus occasional Ranged attacks much easier. The initiative boost is nice.
• Level 4: Weapon Focus (Light Blades): +1d all the time.

Alternatives/Future:

1. Two-Weapon Fighting: +1d on one attack only, but opens up 2WD.
2. Two-Weapon Defense: +1 to two defenses in a single Feat.
3. Lost in the Crowd: 2 adjacent enemies Medium or larger shouldn't be too hard.
4. Slaying Action: Extra Backstab damage once per 2 encounters. (But does this work for multiclass Rogues at all? See Talk:Rulings.)
5. Halfling Agility: Sometimes you really want to be missed.
6. Predatory Action: Extra Quarry damage once per 2 encounters.
7. Beast Protector: More changes for free attacks.
8. Superior Weapon (Rapier): d8 damage die. +1d 1/turn or more, but limits equipment flexibility.
9. Lethal Hunter: Quarry die becomes d8. +1d once per turn, doesn't beat Weapon Focus.
10. Backstabber: Backstab dice become d8. +2d once per encounter isn't worthwhile yet.
11. Surprising Charge: Extra [W], but only when charging with CA (from stealth?).
12. Camoflage: Only if Stealth turns out to be highly useful.

Powers

Bulleted powers are those I've tentatively selected. Alternatives are listed in order of preference. Some powers are annotated with the character choices/features which they require or encourage (e.g. 2-Melee, Wis).

At-Will

• Twin Strike: Because multiple attacks rule.
• Circling Strike: For easy flanking.

Alternatives:

1. Predator Strike (Wis): I'm not sure +Wis on a Beast attack is a big enough bonus.
2. Hit & Run: Would be useful for mobility, but not often enough.

Level 1 Encounter

One of these:

• Synchronized Strike (Bear/Boar/Lizard/Raptor/Snake -> Wis): 2 attacks, and one is vs. Reflex.
• Fox's Cunning (Melee/Ranged, Wis): A non-standard attack, and out-of-turn repositioning.

Alternatives:

1. Two-Fanged Strike (2-Melee/Ranged, Wis): 2 attacks, both of them mine.
2. Off-Hand Strike: Extra attacks (which aren't Standard) might be worth more than the two full-damage attacks?
3. Dire Wolverine Strike: I really like the idea of a burst attack, but I'm doubtful that I'll frequently have 3 foes (or if I am, that I'll be doing the Wizard's job).

AE notes:

• Fox's cunning is nice, in that it's a free melee basic attack, and a shift. can be used to negate CA (two kobolds flank you, one gets his attack in, then you shift away from the other), to produce CA (you hit me, now I shift to flank you at hit back). Effectively, this is a 2W power, since it it doesn't consume your standard action.
• Offhand strike is a minor, attack with your offhand; I think this is almost strictly worse than Fox's Cunning, because it doesn't have the out of cycle repositioning advantage.
• Synchronized strike is nice because it lets you target reflex, and can do more damage than the other 2W powers at this level. you also get the wismod bonus for one attack hitting, unlike ...
  • AT: Wow, I totally missed that Rangers got any non-AC attacks at these levels. Compendium searches has allowed me to fix that, and update some thoughts.
• Two-Fanged Strike, which Helenav2 is likely taking.
• Dire Wolverine Strike: Having a discriminating burst attack has some really nice features; it's like a "get out of minion jail free card". Of course, that's also what you have a wizard and a fighter for. Needs to have three enemies adjacent to even be competitive. If you had this, we would take advantage of it; if you didn't and got surrounded by four enemies, then we hae Aroc Scorching Burst you, instead, which is effectively the same attack.

Level 1 Daily

• Jaws of the Wolf (2-Melee): Highest damage potential, plus half on a miss.

Alternatives:

1. Boar Assault (Melee/Ranged): Temp HP will improve survivability.

AE notes:

• interesting call here. JoTW is 4W + 2mod, in two attacks, each of which can be halved; BA is half that (one attack instead of two). BA's temp HP aren't really worth it - basically, you end up with two temp HP per round he is still alive, which we've always tried to make short. I'd go with Jotw.

Level 2 Utility

Not sure yet. None of them seem so great. Top alternatives:

1. Yield Ground (E): Survivability aid. May be overkill if I also take Fox's Cunning.
2. Fox Shift (E): Could be fun with a Fighter in the party. Though a defense bonus vs. a marked opponent is not as useful if he obeys the mark and hits the fighter.
3. Hunter's Privilege (D): Way cool, but is my Dex high enough to win Initiative once per day?

AE notes:

• H'sP is pointless for you; the likelihood of you beating *everyone* is vanishingly small with Helena and Vlad in the party.
• Look at Fox Shift - given a marking fighter in the party, this is a good way to deal with solos and elites.
  • The challenge on the mark is that the fighter is *also* the highest AC in the party (26 much of the time). Since your AC isn't within 2 of that, the BBEG may choose to take the free attack from the fighter to get in a shot at you. Note that this may suck for the BBEG, since my Combat Challenge attack includes a push 1, which might negate the attack; but Fox Shift certainly will make him think about taking his attacks elsewhere.

Level 3 Encounter

Not sure yet. Several good alternatives:

1. Paired Predators (Boar/Lizard/Wolf -> Wis): Highest damage potential. Allows Beast to attack a different target
2. Beast Latch (Bear/Cat/Raptor/Spider/Snake -> Wis): Keep opponents from getting away.
3. Disruptive Strike (Wis): Helena's schtick, but out-of-turn attacks are cool. It's less flexible in Melee, though, because I can only target adjacent foes.

AE thoughts:

• PP is nice for the bonus attack from your beast (yay, minion removal)
• Beast latch is a nice way to deal with an artillerist; it has a mini defender feel to it.
• Leonine surge I would stay away from - granting CA on a pair of misses is way too much cost here.
• Cut and Run might be interesting. Lower damage, but has some nice repositioning.
• Disruptive Strike you should seriously consider. even though Helena has it, you can both use it (just not on the same attack, its effects do not stack).
• Ruffling Sting - really, if you need CA, here is one way to get it.
  • AT: I think the presence of the Beast, plus a well-coordinated front line, will mean CA will be trivial to get. I only really need it once per Encounter to Backstab.
  • AE: True. Between Tide of Iron and Footwork Lure, Daryavesh should be able to satisfy anyone's need for CA or disengagement.

Level 5 Daily

• Frenzied Skirmish (2-Melee): Dazed, slowed, and movement without OAs. What's not to like?

Alternatives:

1. Two Wolf Pounce (2-Melee): Highest damage potential (max 5[W]+2Str), but must be split between 2 opponents.
2. Bloodied Frenzy: Free attacks are good, and this one is a good reaction to an opponent who's decided to target the Striker.

AE notes:

• Yup, you nailed it on the head.

Level 6 Utility

1. Weave through the Fray (E): Best kind of mobility because it's an interrupt. May trump the usefulness of other Immediate powers, so I need to make a unified choice across levels.
2. Invigorate the Beast (D, Boar/Liz -> Wis): Healing for my Beast without using one of its (very limited) Surges.
3. Defensive Posture (E): Shield for my Beast.
4. Serpentine Dodge (E): Mobility and defense for busy combats.

I may be over-selfish in de-emphasizing the powers which aid allies (Evade Ambush, Skilled Companion).

• AE: Skilled Companion is of little interesting use. The +2 to stealth you could hand out to either Vlad or Helena is interesting; other than that, it feels not so useful. Evade Ambush likewise; given the Perception in the party, we should not be getting ambushed once a day. If we do, retrain.

Equipment

TBD

According to the rules for building higher-level PCs, I get:

• Unlimited mundane equipment.
• One item of Level N+1
• One item of Level N
• One item of Level N-1
• GPs or items of equivalent value to an item of Level N-1

Rulings Questions

Allowable Supplements

Is all of Martial Power available, or is it available only on a case-by-case basis?

Is all of Adventurer's Vault available, or is it available only on a case-by-case basis?

Beast Scaling

Is it a typo that Beasts get level added to their attacks and defenses? I assume that should be level/2.

--That is the monster standard - and why monsters get more painful as the party levels. --Andy 14:05, 29 December 2008 (UTC)

-- I hadn't actually thought of that way of looking at it. Monsters also get level/2 added to damage, though, which beasts don't. So if the rules as written are used, the Beast will quickly end up with a higher attack bonus than the Ranger, but doing less damage. I could've sworn I remembered reading some official word about this the WotC site, but every time I've tried to get to the FAQ the past few days their help site is down. Kurgan 16:47, 29 December 2008 (UTC)

Beast Damage Modifiers

Some Beast types use Dex for attack and damage rather than Str. All the Powers which grant Beast attack use "Beast's attack modifier" (meaning Str or Dex as appropriate). However, they all use damage of the form N x [B] + Beast's Str modifier. Read literally, that means Dex-favored Beasts use a different damage modifier for their Basic attacks than they do for their attacks with Powers. That could be a typo, but unless others think so, I'm going on the assumption it's an intentional disadvantage of the Dex-favored Beasts.

Postscript

Anyone who's ever wondered why I take so long to create characters. The analytic tendency which leads to pages like this is the answer.