DnD61405

Charisma's New Look

Charisma's shortcomings have FINALLY been dealt with in the most recently released version of my errata.
It now does not represent a myriad of attributes, but simply a mystical strength that other people notice (subconciously). Although they aren't aware of it, this power of the spirit affects how they act towards you. It also is the fuel for the powers of the cleric's Turn Undead ability, the paladin's Divine Grace (saving throw bonuses), the sorcerer's spells, and more.
FINALLY...Charisma is NOT a reflection of your character's physical appearance.

Elves: Tree-huggers once more

To those of you who were hoping that these three monsters had something to do with the new errata, I sincerely apologize. They do not. They are simply silly, farting demons.
Oh yeah....and you're wierd. What do demons have to do with errata?

I was very pleased to include in the new errata rules that help both the ranger and the elf.
Giving elf "Favored Class: Wizard" is a good way to make sure that most elves you see will end up as spellcasters...which is kind of boring.
Ranger is probably one of the most weak classes in the PHB. I know that some of you, particularly Drizzt fans, will disagree. Well, shut your pieholes; I know better.
Elves (at first level) can now choose to have their favored class be either Ranger or Wizard.

Character #1: The Ponk

This character (at his finish) is a combination of the paladin/monk/drunken master classes, dubbed by my playing group as "the ponk".
Ponk is a melee machine. He does massive damage with charge attacks. Charges (without my errata) rival or surpass almost any other attack any other character is capable of for raw damage. Unlike sneak attacks, it is not shut down by a measly 10% concealment or more (easily done by an Obscuring Mist spell), and unlike characters that use critical hits, Ponk does not have to worry about running into creatures that are immune to the damage he is dealing.

On top of that, the Ponk has some of the best saves that any character can achieve. Throw items on him that boost charisma and standard resistance boosting items, and spells will roll off him like peasant heads off a chopping block.
Here are the steps to follow to build your own Ponk.

1. Put your high ability scores into STR and CHA. STR will be necessary to get that high damage; CHA will boost the monk's already formidable saves by utilizing the paladin's Divine Grace ability, which adds your CHA modifier to all your saves.

2. Take your first two levels in Paladin, then at least 7 in Monk. The Paladin levels will get you your CHA bonus to all your already-good saves as well as immunity to fear. The Monk levels give you the best saving throw progression table in the game, and at 7th level monk you can get the feat Mantis Leap.

3. For feats, take Power Attack, Power Lunge, and Mantis Leap. If you don't want to take levels as a Drunken Master, make sure your DEX is a 15 or more, and take the feats Run and Fleet of Foot. This will give you the ability to make crooked charges--no straight line required.

4. Your equipment should include Sandals of Tiger's Leap (from Sword and Fist) and Rhinohide Armor (from the Dungeon Master's Guide). Also, get a Ring of Jumping so that you can overcome the limitations of Mantis Leap. Don't worry about losing your monk wisdom bonus to AC for wearing armor. Items that boost strength are also highly desirable. Enchant some gauntlets to get yourself some extra damage. Don't worry, an attack with a gauntlet counts as an unarmed attack.

The finished result is this...your Ponk will do damage on a charge according to this equation (unless you're using my house rules, in which case it will be alot less):

[(Unarmed Damage)+(magic damage from gauntlet)+(STR damage * 3)+(Power Attack damage)]*3

Let's assume your Ponk has a STR of 18 and uses his Power Attack to add 5 damage to the attack, has gaunlets+2, and rolls an average of 4 on his unarmed strike. That makes his damage on a charge....69. Yes, that's right...69 damage. A few hits like that will take a dragon down. And your saves will be so high that the poor bastard will never get you with his spells or breath.

Enjoy. More to come.

Back to the Main D&D Page