[3.5e] - The Joke's on You!

[monkeysammich]

Howdy folks!

I'm in need of some assistance in building a divine caster. I've done the zen archery cleric, I've done the blasty cleric and I've done the melee monster cleric. Now I'm on to something different.

I'd like to try a Divine Prankster. I like the idea of a buff-cleric... The few threads I've seen after a search recommend Bard 2/Cloistered Cleric 3 as an entrance, and that seems great...

We'll be level 8. No tome of battle, no FR, no Eberron and no DMM Persist. No Flaws. The rest is pretty much open.

Bard 2/Cloistered Cleric 3/Divine Prankster 3 I'm thinking... Gnome and Trickery Domains...

Will need 14 int to make the skills for entry.

So I will need help with: 32 point buy stats. Feats (I'll only have 3!)

Also, I'd like to come up with a good list of in character puns that I can say while playing as my perform comedy.

[Flickerdart]

What's your race? You could go Human to shore up that Int requirement some.

[monkeysammich]

The PrC requires Gnome... its out of Races of Stone.

[Flickerdart]

Dang.

There's Nymph's Kiss from BoED, but you have to be Exalted. Not sure how practical that is with your class selection.

[mootoall]

Well, depending on how amenable to Rich's own homebrew, you could go Divine Trickster (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=172910) and remain human, if you'd like Rogue levels instead of Bard.

[Telonius]

For the Killing Joke, how about "The Aristocrats?"

[monkeysammich]

For the Killing Joke, how about "The Aristocrats?"

That is so happening. I get 3 rounds to get to the punchline... :smallcool:

[Kantolin]

From the little bit I've seen of the class, if I were you, I'd focus on Enrage Enemies and otherwise turtle behind heavy armour and a heavy shield.

Enrage enemies just looks insanely nasty. Make a perform check (and skill checks are very easy to boost), and for this they have to make a will save (admittedly, at +4) to beat it? It's a lot easier for a perform check to skyrocket before a will save does. Otherwise they either can give themselves a second save (which is probably also very difficult to beat), or walk over and swing at you. That sounds incredible for archers and wizards and the like.

So that's my vote, anyway. Focusing on having great defenses, and use what is basically v-game style taunt.

[monkeysammich]

From the little bit I've seen of the class, if I were you, I'd focus on Enrage Enemies and otherwise turtle behind heavy armour and a heavy shield.

Enrage enemies just looks insanely nasty. Make a perform check (and skill checks are very easy to boost), and for this they have to make a will save (admittedly, at +4) to beat it? It's a lot easier for a perform check to skyrocket before a will save does. Otherwise they either can give themselves a second save (which is probably also very difficult to beat), or walk over and swing at you. That sounds incredible for archers and wizards and the like.

So that's my vote, anyway. Focusing on having great defenses, and use what is basically v-game style taunt.

I like it. Plays well to the concept of pointing and laughing from behind a big armored meat shield, throwing insults and mocking.

So the key is jacking up Perform (Comedy) as much as possible.

[Metahuman1]

A masterwork Tool, Competence Item, and if you really wanna push, An Item Familiar can let you monster boost your Skill checks. I'd also invest in Melodic Casting since it let's you use Preform: Comedy and cast spells at the same time as getting your bardic music bonuses, and it let's you not need too invest in concentration.

As for needing a Tank, can your party work in a PHBII Knight? With exotic weapons proficiency spiked chain, Improved Trip, Combat Reflexes, and either a High Dex or the ability to shift Combat Reflexes too operating on another stat for a lock down build, and perhaps use of Person Man's Knight Handbook and maybe a bit of dipping into other classes or PrC's to optimize Tripping, reach, Knights Challenge, and defensive ability's.

That would give you an amazing shield to hide behind while you do your thing, and you'd still be able to offer healing during the round while buffing allies and save or suck/losing the enemy.

[WinWin]

You could use Divine Bard (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/variant/classes/variantCharacterClasses.htm#bardVariantDivineBard) as an entry.

This will give you more Bardic Music uses as well as more uses of Comedy per day. Skill points required for qualification will also be more easily met.

[monkeysammich]

Does Melodic Casting allow you to do -any- spellcasting while performing or only bard spells? If its any... its officially on the list :)

[QuidEst]

I'm doing something a little like this with straight-up Core Bard. If you're doing buffs and get up to Haste, you can play Yakkety Sax (aka Benny Hill theme) or Flight of the Bumble Bee. "With Cat Like Tread" is the best way to fail a Move Silently check.

If you want more jokes, though, there's a good long list here (http://community.wizards.com/go/thread/view/75882/19904090/1001DnD_Jokes) and another one here (http://www.enworld.org/forum/archive-threads/22161-i-need-bad-d-d-jokes-my-players-stay-out.html) for you to go through. Some of them will be half out of character ("Night falls…" "Roll three d6 damage!", "Dawn breaks…" "I roll Craft(Dawn) to fix it!"), but it's okay for funny characters to be a little meta.