Help me create an Avenger!

[brakthir]

Hey guys. Rolling a back up character (level 1) for a campaign and I decided to play a lawful evil Avenger. Rolled my stats and this is what I have so far

17, 15, 14, 13, 12, 6.

Nothing else has been selected as of yet but I am limited to PHB 1-3 and *maybe* Divine Power. DM is pretty rigid on not allowing non core books but we will see. Any suggestions on building an effective striker? The DM might also let me utilize Oath of Censure on a mob just being shifted/moved so keep that as a possibility as well.

Thanks!

[Meta]

Avenger is probably my favorite class so I could probably write a lot about the various builds, but let's start with some basics:

Let's get a solid Yes or No on Divine Power. It would change a lot.

Have you decided on a race? Avenger has a couple of great race choices, with Deva and Githzerai probably being my favorite from the PHBs. Githzerai in particular are extremely good at level 1 because of the feat Githzerai Blade Master.

Half Elf is maybe best race if you're looking to push the limits of the Avenger class. Being able to use Twin Strike with increasing frequency is very, very good. Or mix it up a little, there are a lot of other good at-wills you could branch out in to. You can qualify for some good feats with your diverse stat array to help with this.

If you get Divine Power in, your bread and butter will be Overwhelming Strike. You can make it a Melee Basic attack with the Power of Skill Feat. This is a pretty big deal for almost any Avenger.

I would say there's not really any other truly standout powers at level 1, so you can pick the rest as you see fit and do pretty well.

I would recommend a big 2 handed weapon, though. Githzerai get the fullblade for 'free' with that feat I mentioned before which means you'll be doing big league damage at level 1.

There's not really too much else to decide on at level 1, but how far do you expect the campaign to go?

[brakthir]

Avenger is probably my favorite class so I could probably write a lot about the various builds, but let's start with some basics:

Let's get a solid Yes or No on Divine Power. It would change a lot.

Have you decided on a race? Avenger has a couple of great race choices, with Deva and Githzerai probably being my favorite from the PHBs. Githzerai in particular are extremely good at level 1 because of the feat Githzerai Blade Master.

Half Elf is maybe best race if you're looking to push the limits of the Avenger class. Being able to use Twin Strike with increasing frequency is very, very good. Or mix it up a little, there are a lot of other good at-wills you could branch out in to. You can qualify for some good feats with your diverse stat array to help with this.

If you get Divine Power in, your bread and butter will be Overwhelming Strike. You can make it a Melee Basic attack with the Power of Skill Feat. This is a pretty big deal for almost any Avenger.

I would say there's not really any other truly standout powers at level 1, so you can pick the rest as you see fit and do pretty well.

I would recommend a big 2 handed weapon, though. Githzerai get the fullblade for 'free' with that feat I mentioned before which means you'll be doing big league damage at level 1.

There's not really too much else to decide on at level 1, but how far do you expect the campaign to go?

Hey, thanks a lot for the response! I'm not sure if Fullblade would be available since it is not officially in the core rule books. As far as the campaign, who knows! The highest level character currently is 4, closing on 5. My main character is about to hit 3. I would say we can easily hit 10+ but the GM is pretty hard on us and doesn't take it easy.

[stk3702]

The fullblade is available because it's an official weapon so you can take Weapon Profiency (Fullblade)

edit :
The fullblade is in the official book : Adventurer's Vault

[brakthir]

So my DM is allowing us to use supplemental non core rulebooks so Divine Power is in.

[tiornys]

Assuming Dragon Magazine material is not available, then Githzerai Blade Master is sadly not available.

I suggest making a Pursuit Avenger in the pseudo-Defender mold (there's an excellent writeup about this archetype here). Even without Gith Blade Master, Githzerai is a great choice for this build, although Wilden is also worth looking at primarily because Wrath of the Destroyer gives you an extra off-action attack. Your stats don't line up in a way that makes me comfortable suggesting a non-Dex/Wis race.

Either way, your first couple of feats should be Power of Skill (worship Corellon or Ioun) and Unarmored Agility. Assuming Martial Power is also allowed, make sure to have at least a 13 Strength for Battle Awareness down the line, maybe even your 14 for Power Attack at paragon. Overwhelming Strike will be your bread&butter At-will attack. For heroic-tier encounter powers I'd probably do Angelic Alacrity, Fury's Advance, and Sequestering Strike. For daily powers I'd do Aspect of Might, Bond of Foresight, and whatever you like. For utilities I like Distracting Flare, Deliverance of Faith, and whatever.

[Crivens]

Later on, if you'll be able to pick your own weapon and equipment, and Dragon Magazine is included, consider getting a Chainsaw Sword and Robes of Sudden Recovery.

[Meta]

What does the rest of your party composition look like? I think the Censure of Unity is most consistent if you have a couple of other bodies on the front line.

[brakthir]

What does the rest of your party composition look like? I think the Censure of Unity is most consistent if you have a couple of other bodies on the front line.

Well, a ranger, sorcerer, rogue and a fresh Warden since his fighter died last night. And a Warlord. My current character is a barbarian but if it drops, I'll be playing the Avenger.

[Meta]

Hmm, you've already got a ton of damage. Avenger won't really fit that well, but a Warlord is nice if you make your basic attack as good as possible. Definitely Power of Skill as the first feat.

I'd consider a dwarf in your party. Being able to second wind as a minor would help take the load off your Warlord. If you can get your DM to let you use one of the superior axes or hammers (execution axe, gouge, mordenkrad) Dwarven Weapon Training is also good.

In all honesty, I don't know if an Avenger will be very rewarding given only PHBs and DP and with that party makeup. You're probably going to do less damage than at least 2, maybe all 3 of the other strikers. Definitely less than your Barbarian currently.

[stk3702]

Can someone explain me why should half elf take twin strike ? It bases on Strength or Dexterity which are not Avenger's primary abilities.

[Waddacku]

Can someone explain me why should half elf take twin strike ? It bases on Strength or Dexterity which are not Avenger's primary abilities.

The feat Versatile Master makes it an at-will attack at paragon tier, meaning the half-elf will proceed to attack twice, rolling twice for each attack, for the rest of their life.
The ability score mismatch can be removed with Adept Dilettante (and before that became available, people would simply take Strength instead of Wisdom and just ignore all their Avenger attacks).

[Coki]

The Avenger Dwarf is good too.
- feat weapon racial (Axes)
- vision
- racial bonus