Geekier than thou.

Don't try to deny it, I am definitely an Uber Geek, a gaming monster, and a full fledged card carrying nerd. Yesterday was my birthday, and I was out with my friends. Where was I? Was it a singles bar? A strip club? A sporting event?

I was at a MAGIC THE GATHERING TOURNAMENT BABY! ^_^

In case there are any doubters, and to renew my geek licence for another year, I have for you a Dungeons and Dragons post that I recently put on a website that will make your DM cry:

The best loophole I know is: one level of rogue and one level of cleric. Both of these classes get incredible benefits at first level, and the game assumes you're going to continue in their levels, but just about any class can get a lot of benefit just from taking 1 level of each.

Now, having both will hurt your base attack, but if you can take one or both and not get a cross class penalty, the benefits are staggering, especially if you wait until you're about level 4 or 5 in your main class before doing so (so you're not too underpowered).

One level of rogue is useful if your group doesn't have a rogue, or if the rogue isn't always there when you play. This level of rogue will allow you to search for complex traps. Just put all the points into search, and as long as you don't have a large intelligence penalty, you'll probably find most traps if you take 20 to find them. Disabling them is another thing alltogether, which would require another level or two of rogue, but if you keep taking seach cross class in your main class, you'll always be able to find them and then the entire group can figure out a way around it. The extra sneak attack and reflex save bonus doesn't hurt either, and if you like evasion, just take a second level.

One level of cleric will give you a small amount of cleric spells, the ability to turn undead (admittedly not too well, but not badly either if you have a good charisma), a good bonus to your fort/will save and two domain powers. If you choose your domains well, and invest in some cleric spell wands, you'll be a great backup caster and still be able to wear armor!

Here's an example, avg stats, 4th lvl ability bonus to Strength:

4 Fighter/1 Rogue/ 1 Cleric (Fharlanghn) Human NG

Str: 16, Con:14, Int: 13, Dex: 10, Wis: 12, Cha:8

BA: +4 (same as cleric)
Saves F/R/W: 6/3/4 (instead of 7/1/2)
Search: +10 (can search for complex traps)
Casts as 1st lvl cleric, domains: travel and luck
1 round/day: freedom of movement (doesn't require action, happens automatically when desired)
1/day reroll any roll just made
turn undead 2xday (not too well)
1d6 sneak attack
Feats: weapon focus, weapon specialty, expertise, imp. disarm, imp. trip, imp. initiative, power attack

What would he have gotten if he had put those levels in fighter? Two base attack, one feat and an average of three hit points. If you weigh that against the benefits of the single levels of rogue and cleric (especially after the characters go up in level more), you can see how effective this combination is!"


LADIES PLEASE CONTOL YOURSELVES! I know geeky D&D strategies drive you wild, but please try to show some restraint!

I'll let you all calm down, and be back in a little bit with a rant. (Animals...)