Fitting the way you DM into combat Roles classifications

I have often heard people describe what kind of DM they are, or what kind of DM’s they dislike. At the same time, I’ve heard many people proclaim, wizards staff employees included, what type of character they are, as defined by the new combat roles in the 4e of Dungeons and Dragons. Why not try to define some DM types by using these combat roles as well.

Controller
When you play Dungeons and Dragons, you have everything worked out before hand, you know exactly what is going to happen and you exert yourself well around the table to keep things on track and under control. You know how to deal well with people and keep the game environment fun and relaxed… however, as a DM, you are very much into your story and your plot, so much so that you often find yourselves railroading the game in order to get your players to do the things you want them to do. When you have combat, you force your players to do what you want them to do, giving them usually a single method for success, but even if they manage to kill the big bad villain guy, you will probably say that he escaped to live another day in order to advance the campaign you are playing in.

Defender
You know how to play, and you know what to do. You are a by the book DM. You are there to let your players enjoy their time, so you aren’t very much into house ruling or doing things outside of what you are supposed to do. Your players have fun in the game because they see that you are impartial and practical and you make judgment calls based on logic and a need to protect the game, but you are also flawed by making things to easy on your players at times and keeping them alive even when their stupidity should have whipped out the entire party. If you don’t get this under control, your players may end up not really learning anything about strategy or tactics, and thus they may suffer if they attempt to play in a different campaign which requires more thought, skill, and less, how should I say this… child support.

Leader
You love to homebrew. You are adapt at building your own races, classes, and campaign settings. You love to set your characters free in your world and let them roam about doing as they want, supporting them and giving them what you can as a “bribe” to explore your world and try new things. When you have combat, you tend to give the players obvious hints and advice on how to beat a certain scenario, making things overly easy on the players. They don’t necessarily appreciate your constant giving, but they like to see their characters empowered and thus, don’t complain. They may feel less rewarded when good things happen because of your constant generosity.

Striker
You relish combat and making your players suffer. To you, the game is about the Players vs. The DM. You relish challenging combats and love putting your players up against villains which are tougher than a player should have to face; you also like to do this more than the number of recommended times per day, often exerting both your players and their characters to feats of massive heroism. In actuality, the constant danger your players face has made them the stronger for it; they have probably united together, studied tactics and begun optimizing their characters… if they didn’t leave you game after you killed them for the second time. In terms of story, you’re not interested, but if there is story to be involved, it has to be twisted and smack at both your player’s and your PC’s emotions. If it isn’t profound, you’re not interested, but as stated above, this all takes second fiddle to your combats and encounters. Skill challenges are just another way to show your players how they can fail!

Shinobicow the MC Bard / Wizard DM
I find myself falling into a mix of the leader/controller roles. I often hand out items or levels simply because I want to advance the flow of the game to a more fun and interesting spot, and I often find myself writing back-stories for other peoples characters. My villains never die until they are supposed to die; I’ve been accused of railroading on multiple occasions.

How do you DM well?
Like any good party, the DM has to have a balance of the above roles. Good DM’s should at least be able to dabble a little bit into the better sides of each of these, and then emphasize on what he or she tends to enjoy. In other words, a good DM, like a balanced party has five parts. Maybe he is 2 parts striker and 1 part everything else, liking combat, but not being afraid to write up some homebrew, manage the table well, or give his players a hand when he knows he has made something a bit over the top. You can use your imagination from here.


As always, I’d appreciate your comments and critique. If you think something I said here is off, I’d love to hear your opinion. If you have something you think you should be added, I’d be glad to consider it. Finally, what role do you think you play as a DM? To which of these roles do you find yourself leaning?

Multi-Racing: Building Half-Breeds Part 1

Multi-classing has been an important facet of Dungeons and Dragons for many editions. Being able to build on two separate classes has always been popular and necessary (in my opinion) for fleshing out characters and making the most interesting character a player could want.

Biological laws not withstanding, there are numerous reasons why two different races may have merged together, I means its D&D, magic, experiments, fits of passion, etc. The reasons are endless and potentially provide for an entire character background based on why that character is the way he is. Who were his parents? Was he part of some crazy magical experiment? The list of background ideas goes on and on.

So, why not with races as well???

Looking at the races of Dungeons and Dragons which are available for play it stands to reason that there is nothing that should keep these numerous humanoid races from intermingling and spawning new half breed races which are both interesting and fun to play. The Half-Elf is an obvious precedent for this, not to mention the numerous half-breed races that existed in 3rd edition: Half-Dragons, Half-Celestial, Half-Orcs (now a 4e race), etc.

Why aren’t there rules for this yet?
Who knows… maybe they are on their way down the line, maybe they’ll be coming in one of the subsequent DMG’s or Player’s Handbooks. Maybe they won’t.

So here is my take on creating Half-Breed Races. This is simply a set of guidelines that I would use when building them based on the existing Half-Races which are currently in play.

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Racial Traits
Average Height: Average of the Two Parent Races
Average Weight: Average of the Two Parent Races

Ability Scores: Pick one bonus from each of the parent races, but you cannot pick the same ability twice. This allows for multiple different breeds of half-breeds. I.e. Some half-breeds pick one set of ability bonuses; some pick another.

Skill Bonuses: Pick one bonus from each parent race, but you cannot pick the same skill twice.

Size: The smallest of the two parent races. It stands to reason that a small creature giving birth would give birth to a small creature (well an appropriately sized baby, who knows how large Halfling babies are).

Speed: The average of the two. Speed should be rounded down just like all other cases of rounding in Dungeons and Dragons. Most of the times Speed will be 6.

Vision: The greater of the two parent races.
Languages: One from each of the parent races.
Racial Abilities: All half-breeds have dual heritage. This lets them take feats which would apply to either of their parent races. Then, they pick 2 racial abilities, one from each parent, but can only take one power based racial ability from either parent. Racial Abilities are chosen on a point buy system with all current racial abilities being evaluated on a scale of power. Racial Abilities are then “bought” from each of the parent races for a certain number of points. (This will be explained further in part 2 of this series).

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This concludes part 1 of my take on multi-racing. I’d appreciate comments on this work, if you think something should be changed, added, or deleted, give me a comment. I’m always looking for good advice. In part 2, I’ll provide more evaluation of the Racial Ability Point Buy system and see how it works in several of the pre-existing races. I’ll also provide the first of my homebrewed half-breed races, the Dwargon (Half-Dragonborn/ Half-Dwarf).

30 Day Game Part 3

Here is my 3rd installment of my, going to run seemingly forever, 30 day game module, which i'm building. In this entry, we get to look at the Introduction and some of the backstory.

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The Introduction

The following section should be read to the players as soon as the campaign starts, after character generation. The players should hear all this then immediately before they begin the first encounter and not before. Try to keep some measure of surprise regarding how the world has devolved before the players get wind of it.


The world is gone… the entirety of the material plane has vanished in an instant as the many planes come together and collapse in the cataclysmic destruction of not one world, but nearly all of them. Only a single bastion of light remains in the vast swirling chaotic mess that has become the universe: a tavern by the name of “The Black Cat.” Before the collapse, assorted travelers of race and background had converged within for a meal or to spend the night, none of whom were prior acquainted to each other or had any presupposition of what would soon occur. Moments before the end, a crazed and panicked gnome burst into the tavern; he hurriedly produced from within his robes a device which at first glowed dully before bursting into a circle of radiant energy. One of the guests to the tavern, panicked, ran for the door and opened it only to find himself sucked from the tavern and ripped into a million pieces, but through the open door, those within bore witness to the world’s collapse and the end of all things.

The gnome, who had not the chance to protest the initial patron from being torn asunder stood in front of the door barring anyone else from leaving and asked all those within the bar to make no attempts at escape as The Black Cat is now the only place left in existence and those within the tavern are the last hope for preservation of not only the planes, but the gods as well.

The gnome pulls himself together, brushes his matted hair back away from his sweating brown and holds the device out in his outstretched hand.

My name is Cornelius Fibble, I believe John Haverwell, this good establishment’s owner may well be acquainted with me as this isn’t my first time within these walls. I live just up the street from here, a home to which I retired following a life of travel and education in order to, how should we say, experiment in my now copious free time. You see, I am both a man, well, a gnome, of science and an inventor. In my travels and interactions with the many magics, both arcane and divine throughout the world, I’ve come to appreciate and expand my horizons to a degree that you here may believe to cross a boundary into the impossible. One of the devices that I have had in my possession for some time is a glass of sorts which continuously looks into the very near future; I use it, for the most part, to avoid confrontations with unwelcome bill collectors, but today, well, your today, it foresaw the end of the world. This is a device which I constructed that could, for a period, stop the flow of time in a small area, about the size of a one story building. It has allowed me to live far beyond the standard length of any normal individual’s life and continue my research for the span of many lifetimes. I’ve now used all but the one you see before you and I no longer have the materials needed to produce more. I have spent my time, I’m not sure how long analyzing and researching the present phenomenon and I believe I’ve been able to not only pinpoint the problem, but also a solution and a means to said end, but it will require your support as you are, perhaps the plane’s last and only hope. I have been able to construct various devices which might be able to help you in this task.

Cornelius moved to the bar and set his device upon the bar top. He then produced from his cloak a bag and from it he produced several silver pocket watches, one for each person within the bar.

I would ask that you come closer so that I can give these to each of you and explain their purpose and use.

The bartender first made a move for the watch and as he touched it, the chain that connected to it quickly attached itself to the bartenders flesh through his shirt at the waist, he seemed to take a start however made no exclamation of pain nor discomfort.

Each of these watches has been forged for the purpose of allowing you to venture into the nothingness and chaos that exists beyond these walls.
You will see that each of these watches is possessed by several dials, the largest of these marks the day. This is perhaps the most important thing I should mention, from now you will have only the length of a single cycle of the moon during which you can complete your task and save us all, after this time, the magic of my time stopping device will cease and we shall all be lost to this chaos.
The smaller dial within marks the hour, the magical energy of the watch only supports 12 hours of continuous use before it must return to the source of its power within these walls, you may therefore venture out for only 12 hours at a time before the watch must return here for an equal amount of time in order to recharge. The device you see before you here on the bar possess within it a powerful homing beacon which can reach beyond any plane or any world; each of the watches is connected to it. When the charge on the watch has run out, it will return to the beacon via its magical connection and bring the user of the watch with it. . I have constructed each of these watches to link to an individual’s soul. Soon each will link to one of yours. Because it is linked to your soul, should the watch feel that it is in jeopardy of destruction after you have fallen in battle, it will return you here so that I might care for your wounds in a timely manner and have you back out on the battlefield in the following day.
The third device within this time piece you will note is a series of dials. On each of these watches you will take head that the dials are currently reading 0, however on the watch which has now been bound to our good innkeeper John, now reads a total of 100, a measure of our fellow’s ‘soulestial’ worth. In my vast research and studies over these countless years, I discovered a value in one’s soul which increases with respect to his life experiences. You can therefore view this number and measure your strength, a process which might prove both humbling and scary depending on how you might value your own personally worth. It is here, not because I have a desire to press upon you the personal psycho-analysis that may even drive a perfectly collected wizard to the brink of madness, but because of another device I have developed; I call it the “Soulestian Apparatus.” This device constructs an item at the request of an individual providing he has enough “soul power” to bring that item into being.
This device has the power of our salvation. I developed with it another device that can identify sources of soul energy which are profound and powerful out there in the chaos. I believe that if we can gather all these sources of unbelievable soul energy out there, and should they all be brought here together, that when united and presented before the device, they will be able to call forth an artifact of pure soul energy as powerful as the cosmos itself that can undo the madness that has befallen the planes.
Your first task is to gather these and other items from my workshop up the street. I had not the power, nor the speed to gather these items myself before coming here. You will find the streets outside to be decidedly different in nature since last you saw them, but I would have you be courageous and brave this first challenge as many as those that are to come. Now each of you, take hold of your watch and go with strength.


Once the players get their watches, which they should first of all, they will notice each of the soul meters has been increased to 100 just as high as the bartenders figure. They are given the opportunity to talk to Cornelius as well as to the bartender and each-other. John has very little to say regarding much of anything other than the geography of the town outside the bar and he can draw the characters a map should they ask him to. If they ask, the gnome will put his house on the map and describe the layout of the house as well as the description of the two machines they need to retrieve. He also gives the players a pair of portable holes which they are instructed to use in order to retrieve the pair of machines.

The 30 Day Game Part 1

Greywulf has been posting a bit about his ideas for a 30 day game, just as i have in the past, so i thought i would start posting up some of what i have so far for my 30 day game.

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After the End of the World

Preface:

The challenge was put to me recently whether I could design, prior to the start of the first game, without regard for player classes, number of players, race of the player characters or the relative skill levels of the players involved, a complete campaign that would take the player characters from level 1 to level 30 in 30 play sessions. This isn’t probably a realist or doable task, but I said I’d try and do it so I will try. I will definitely need people’s input however in order to help, so I ask that everyone provide as much input as you are willing to give.

People that need thanked:

A while ago, I posted on the forums that I was trying to do this and several people gave me some advice on how to do it better. Specifically those people are:

GregT 314 who gave a lot of great ideas in very few words, the work of pure brilliance.
Fastcarfreak
Kuonji
Jimmy 631
Trei
Atanakar
Witchslasher
Intoxicated-T-F
Whitebaron
Noon

Once again, thanks guys. Your ideas helped make this possible.

Rules are made to be Broken

This campaign will break many rules of game play, chiefly those regarding players having a mind of their own and the desire to go on side quests and such (who cares what the player thinks really anyway). It will therefore break several rules all of which are explained below.

Players generally want the ability to go on quests of their own or want to go explore the infinite world that is Dungeons and Dragons.
This cannot be allowed as the campaign has to have the entirety of the game already prepared as thirty days doesn’t allow any time for the DM to build anything in between games (the “I have a life too assumption”)

It takes generally between 8 to 10 encounters to gain a level.
This will almost surely be cut down at every level, with the exception of perhaps the first few levels which may approach the 8 encounter mark.

Every game session lasts a different amount of time.
Well, this is the tricky part. In trying to build a game from start to finish before meeting the players you can’t really know exactly how long each game session might take. In order to actually get each session’s game play done, this will mean that there won’t be a whole lot of story telling if the players aren’t as quick on the uptake. Every day is encounter heavy and each encounter length should be mitigated for time purposes.

Item Availability is usually random to a degree.
Screw this, it takes too long and if bad treasure comes up, then kiss all hopes of the player being able to see this campaign to the end goodbye. This game will make use of the “Shop of Unholy Awesomeness”… a shop where the players can buy whatever they dang well please.

Character leveling takes place during game sessions.
Screw this, it takes times. Before the campaign starts, everyone agrees what material sources to take gear, items, and powers from and then makes sure that the character is legal… or ideally, the players would all use the character creator which is put out by WotC and therefore the characters are proved to be legal by the character builder and no house rules are used.

More to come in Part 2 Including My 30 day game special mechanics

Guide to the Khopesh: The Versatile Crit Master

Guide to the Khopesh: The Versatile Crit Master

--Taken from http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/38/Khopesh.jpg

History, Description, and Use of the Khopesh
“A typical khopesh is 50-60cm in length (though smaller examples also exist) and is composed of three main parts: the hilt, a straight and unsharpened section of blade finishing in a curved crescent shape with the sharpened edge. The khopesh evolved from the epsilon or similar crescent shaped axes that were used in warfare. This makes the khopesh not a true sword (which evolved from daggers), but a specialized battle-axe. However, unlike an axe, the khopesh did not make push-cuts, but rather slashes. The khopesh went out of use around 1300BC.

The khopesh was initially used against the Egyptians in war, but as the kingdom of Egypt improved trade relations with other kingdoms, eventually it adopted the khopesh. It seemed to have been most popular during the New Kingdom under the united Egypt.[citation needed] Various pharaohs are depicted with a khopesh, and some have been found in royal graves, such as the two examples found with Tutankhamun.

Although some examples are clearly sharpened, many examples have dull edges which apparently were never intended to be sharp. It may therefore be possible that some khopeshes found in high status graves were ceremonial variants.

Later the Khopesh was slowly developed into what is known as the Falcata. This variant was adopted by Alexander the Great for its effectiveness.”
--Taken from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khopesh



I’ve spent the last month playing around with the fighter and the various builds that you can do with him as well as browsing through the character optimization forums through different guides; I have decided to write one of my own. Also, after looking over the various weapon builds are out there: polearm builds, axe builds, heavy blade builds, flail builds, etc., I really haven’t found any builds out there for the khopesh, a weapon I think deserves much more attention.

First, lets take a look at the Khopesh in D&D terms:

Well, first, it’s a military weapon and therefore the fighter comes proficient with it to begin with and thus frees up a feat slot for things other than a weapon proficiency feat. The weapon only gives you a +2 prof bonus, but that’s just fine. The damage on the khopesh also isn’t that great, only 1d8, the same damage as the longsword. But, the fun part comes when you look at the abilities on this thing. It is a versatile weapon, probably putting it among some of the least damage dealing of all the versatile weapons out there. It is a brutal 1 weapon giving it an ability reserved for most hammers. But, the real prize of the khopesh is the fact that it is both an axe and a heavy blade. The fact that it is a one handed weapon that has two different weapon classifications, both of which are extremely powerful, but are never joined except in this one weapon.

Getting the Most out of your Khopesh:

Build Options
Although the khopesh is a versatile weapon and therefore can be used two-handed, its really not that great for that. There are definitely better two handed weapons out there, the mordenkrand comes to mind. The strength of the khopesh is in allowing you to dual wield these suckers and stack the attacks and damage on critical hits.

Because the khopesh is both an axe and a heavy blade, it is viable for both the one handed weapon talent, battlerager, and tempest builds. The weapon allows you to play it in several ways, more of an axe, more of a sword, or a lot of both. The feats you take with the weapon will be virtually all the same save for the few build or race specific feats that you take to fill out the feat progression. The major difference in how you play the weapon comes in whether you want to put more points into constitution or into wisdom. With the battlerager you get more constitution and the temporary hit points to stay on the front line longer and take lots of damage. With the tempest wisdom build, you get increased damage and lots more OA’s.

As far as Paragon Paths go, the +THP granted with the ability to roll more attacks from the ravager makes it an ideal choice. If you go with the increased wisdom and focus on number of attacks, than the Blade Dancer is the way to go, access to which is granted through your ranger multiclass.

The two Epic Destinies that work with this build are the Punisher of the Gods and the Demigod. The Punisher of the Gods, which works well in many builds is absolutely at home with this build. The immortal curse ability allows you to deal max damage on all crits and get an action point every time you crit the target of your immortal curse. This makes this Epic Destiny perfect for both of the builds I describe in this guide. The Demigod is also a fantastic choice for both of these builds (if not a little bit bland since so many builds from every class use this one over all the others); the Demigod helps fill in to the stats that you need to take advantage of in a build where you have to spread your points thin and Divine Recover and Divine Miracle are awesome as well. If you do take Demigod under the Battlerager build then it is worth looking at the invigorating exploit at level 30 to take with cruel reaper and then use it every round.

Feat Choices

Heroic Tier
The first thing you have to do in order to make this build viable is to multiclass Two-Blade Warrior so that you can wield one in each hand. The following is your feat progression for the critical parts of this build.

2 Weapon Expertise (Axe or Heavy Blade doesn’t matter which)
4 Weapon Focus (Axe of Heavy Blade doesn’t matter which)
6 Two Weapon Fighting (since you’re wielding two weapons why not)
8 Two Weapon Defense (to make up for not wearing a shield if you go battlerager) / Blade Opportunist (since you already have Two Weapon Defense), or a racial feat (Anger Unleashed, Markings of the Victor, Action Surge etc.)
10 Two Weapon Threat (Bonus Damage on OA’s is great)

Paragon Tier
11 Reckless Attacker (One of the main points of this build)
12 Two Weapon Opening (One of the other main points of this build)
14 Heavy Blade Opportunity (A critical part of this build)
16 Deadly Axe (Now the khopesh is brutal, high crit and versatile as well as being both a heavy blade and an axe)
18 Devastating Critical (As this is a crit build, best to deal more damage when you get one)
20 Mighty Battlerage / Agile Tempest / Racial Paragon Feat (Strength from Pain, Unyielding Stone

Epic Tier
21 Axe Mastery or Heavy Blade Mastery
22 Two Weapon Flurry (More attacks means more crits)
24 Knockback Swing (Lets you push the opponent when you attack), Epic Resurgence or Ferocious Assault if you’re a half-orc (and then taking Epic Resurgence at level 30)
26 Mobile Warrior (lets you move into the space of the guy you just pushed to push him across the battlefield and follow him along)
28 Rending Tempest (More damage on extra action attacks and on opportunity attacks)
30 Channeled Battlerage or Invigorating Exploit (taken with cruel reaper if you go with Demi-god epic destiny over Punisher of the Gods so that every round you only use this power) , Epic Resurgence

Power Choices

At first level you’re going to take dual strike and then either brash strike or crushing surge based on whether you want to go with a tempest or battlerager build. Funneling flurry should be your first encounter power allowing you to stay mobile and mark more targets as well as get off more attacks and thus hopefully more crits. At second level and beyond you want to maximize the amount of either hit points that you get back on non dual strike attacks or you want to maximize the number of attacks you can get by taking encounter and daily powers with either the invigorating keyword or that grand you lots of attacks.

Gear Choices

The most obvious choice of gear you’re making in these builds is your weapon…dum dum, da, dum… the KHOPESH! In terms of magic enhancements for it, the obvious one and the one you will be using for the entirety of your khopesh wielding character’s life is rending. Rending is without a doubt the best thing for these as it allows you to make another attack whenever you roll a critical hit which is a big part of this build, the compounding critical hits. As far as other magic items and armor are considered, you will be wearing chain mail in both of the builds that I have provided below. I have provided below a wish list of items that you may or may not want and that provide direct benefits for this build in granting more attacks, increasing the effectiveness of either your hits or your crits, or increasing mobility and defenses

Arm Slot
Heroic Tier

Level 2 – Bracers of Mighty Striking
Level 3 – Flame Bracers
Level 4 – Countersrike Guards
Level 5 – Quickhit Braces


Paragon Tier
Level 12 – Bracers of Mighty Striking
Level 13 – Flame Bracers
Level 14 – Counterstrike Guards
Level 15 – Quickhit Bracers, Couters of Second Chances, Rapidstrike Bracers

Epic Tier
Level 22 – Bracers of Mighty Striking
Level 23 – Flame Bracers
Level 24 – Counterstrike Guards
Level 25 – Quickhit Bracers, Couters of Second Chances,


Feet Slot
Heroic Tier
Level 6 – Boots of Free Movement
Level 8 – Quickling Boots
Level 9 – Boots of Eagerness, Boots of Furious Speed

Paragon Tier
Level 12 – Assault Boots (Awesome for more crit power)

Epic Tier
Level 22 – Boots of Speed
Level 25 – Sandals of Avandra
Level 28 – Boots of Teleportation


Hands Slot
Heroic Tier
Level 3 – Gloves of Piercing
Level 5 – Gauntlets of Ogre Power
Level 6 – Breaching Gauntlets, Lucklender Gloves
Level 9 – Gloves of Storing
Level 10 – Strikebacks, Dwarven Throwers

Paragon Tier
Level 11 – Gauntlets of Blinding Strikes
Level 16 – Breaching Gauntlets
Level 19 – Lightning Reflex Gloves

Epic Tier
Level 26 – Breaching Gauntlets

Head Slot
Heroic Tier
Level 4 – Helm of Opportunity
Level 6 – Horned Helm
Level 9 – Helm of Battle

Paragon Tier
Level 14 – Helm of Opportunity
Level 16 – Crown of Eyes (So that when you get in the mix you’re not getting pounded as badly), Horned Helm
Level 18 – Helm of Swift Punishment (Awesome, viable for this build until 30)
Level 19 – Helm of Battle

Epic Tier
Level 24 – Helm of Opportunity
Level 26 – Horned Helm
Level 28 – Ioun Stone of True Sight
Level 29 – Helm of Battle

Neck Slot
Heroic Tier
Level 5 – Cape of the Mountebank
Level 9 – Amulet of False Life, Cloak of the Walking Wounded
Level 10 – Cape of the Mountebank

Paragon Tier
Level 12 – Cloak of Resistance
Level 14 – Amulet of False Life, Amulet of Attenuation, Cloak of Distortion
Level 15 – Cape of the Mountebank
Level 20 – Amulet of Aranea

Epic Tier
Level 22 – Cloak of Resistance
Level 23 – Amulet of Scales
Level 24 – Amulet of False Life, Cloak of the Walking Wounded
Level 25 – Cape of the Mountebank, Life Charm, Amulet of Aranea
Level 27 – Cloak of Resistance
Level 28 – Amulet of Scales
Level 29 – Amulet of False Life, Amulet of Attenuation, Cloak of Distortion, Amulet of the Unbroken
Level 30 – Cloak of the Phoenix, Scarab of Invulnerability

Rings
Paragon Tier
Level 14 - Ring of Fury x2
Level 16 – War Ring


Epic Tier
Level 24 – Ring of Regeneration
Level 25 – Sorrowsworn Ring
Level 27 – Ring of the Phoenix
Level 30 – Nullifying Ring

Waist Slot
Heroic Tier
Level 6 – Stalwart Belt, Cincture of the Dragon Spirit
Level 8 – Belt of Lucky Strikes

Paragon Tier
Level 15 – Belt of Giant Strength
Level 16 – Stalwart Belt


Epic Tier
Level 25 – Belt of Titan Strength
Level 26 – Stalwart Belt

Wondrous Items
Heroic Tier
Level 3 – Battle Standard of Healing
Level 4 – Battle Standard of Might
Level 5 – Ruby Scabard
Level 6 – Solitaire Cinnabar
Level 7 – Long Battle Tattoo, Tattoo of the Wolverine
Level 9 – Backlash Tattoo

Paragon Tier
Level 15 – Sapphire Scabbard
Level 16 – Solitaire Aquamarine
Level 17 – Tattoo of the Wolverine
Level 18 – Battle Standard of the Stalwart
Level 20 – Battle Standard of the Vanguard

Epic Tier
Level 21 – Solitaire Cerulean
Level 25 – Diamond Scabbard
Level 27 – Tattoo of the Wolverine
Level 28 – Charm of Abundant Action
Basic Tactics and Math:

This build makes use of the axe to get rending and deadly axe and the sword to get heavy blade opportunity so that you can use them both in conjunction to get a massive quantity of attacks.

At Level 30 you will be wielding:

+6 Rending Khopesh x2
Prof +2
Damage 1d8 (1d10 if they are large)
Versatile, Brutal 1, High Crit
Axe, Heavy Blade
+6 on attacks and damage
+1d6 on critical hit and make another basic attack roll

What happens when you crit:

As this build is a crit build, it might be hard to keep track of what happens when you actually do crit. If you’re in Epic Tier, you’re going to hit on a 19-20 not just a 20 increasing your percent chance to get a crit by 5%. When you crit, which you will, the following is what pops:

Always Gained:
Max Weapon Damage on the Attack to which you rolled the critical, 8 damage (10 for large) per W
1d10 for Devastating Critical
1d6 for Magical Weapon Property
3d8 for High Crit (3d10 if weapon is large) from Deadly Axe
Make one basic attack as a free action, but take -2 to AC for the turn from Reckless Attacker

Build or Target Dependant:
If the critical hit was with your main hand, make an attack with your off-hand at the same target from Two Weapon Opening.
Gain 1 special action point for the turn if the target is marked by your immortal curse from the Punisher of the Gods Epic Destiny.
Gain back one encounter power if you took Swordmaster PP
Gain back one encounter power if it’s the first time you rolled a critical hit this encounter.
+4 attack and damage till the end of your next turn from Ferocious Critical

The Following are Item Dependant:
Stalwart Belt - Gain 3 times your constitution modifier as THP
Assault Boots - The opponent is knocked prone.
Bracers of Flame - 2d6 fire damage

Solitairs:
1 solitaire /encounter – Solitaire: Aquamarine: 1/ encounter gain 1 extra basic attack on same target
1 solitaire /encounter – Solitaire: Cinnabar: 1/ encounter roll a saving throw on something you can make a saving throw on
1 solitaire /encounter – Solitaire: Citrine: 1/ encounter spend a healing surge
1 solitaire /encounter – Solitaire: Aquamarine: 1/ encounter roll a save on every thing that you can make a save against
1 solitaire /encounter – Solitaire: Violet: 1/ encounter gain 1 action point that you must spend by the end of the turn and can be used in addition to other action points that you can spend this turn.




The entire problem with getting the critical hits you need is that you can only get them on a roll of a 20, which means that you are only going to be getting a critical hit 5% of the time until you get the mastery feat and can double this percentage to 10% chances. So, in order to get more critical hits, you are going to need a greater quantity of attacks. The following sources grant you extra attacks as well as opportunity attacks.


Bonus Attacks:
Ravager Stuff:
Ravager’s Action – Spend an action point to make an attack against every adjacent enemy with +con to damage.
Marauding Fury – 1/round when you miss with an attack while bloodied, make a melee base attack.
Blade Dancer:
Dual Blade Action – Spend 1 AP gain 1 main and 1 off hand attack with +wis damage

Opportunity Attacks:
Heavy Blade Opportunity – Make Every Opportunity Attack using dual strike rather than your normal base attack.
Two Weapon Flurry – When you make OA with you main hand, you get another with your off hand at -5 penalty. This may or may not allow you to make another dual strike attack starting with your off hand, or it may simply let you make a third attack at a -5 penalty.


Item Dependant:
Ring of Fury – When you are first bloodied make 2 melee basic attacks (4 total if wearing two rings)
Helm of Swift Punishment – Lets you make 2 melee basic attacks instead of 1; compounding this with heavy blade opportunity it lets you do dual strike twice and then with the possibility of Two Weapon Flurry allows you to make between 5 and 6 opportunity attacks for every opportunity attack you make.
Strikebacks - When an opponent hits you, make a melee basic attack against him,
Quickhit Braces – 1/day When you hit with both weapons make a melee basic attack with your off-hand weapon.



You can do a lot of the math yourself, if you really need to. Just from looking at the above tables, one should get a pretty good idea of the massive damage this beast can dish out. The second table is also in addition to the extra attacks granted from the previous table when you get a critical hit.
Sample Khopesh Fighter Builds
Below are two of the builds which I have built using the guide that I have set up above. Snapshots are given for them at 1st, 11th, 21st, and 30th levels.

Vox Bugbear Battlerager / Ravager / Punisher of the Gods

Vox was raised in captivity. He grew up fighting in the pits as a gladiator. As he began to excel, his lust to inflict the greatest damage possible on his enemies drove him to craft a pair of Khopesh, which he saw being worn by the legionairs, using the primitive facilities that availed him as a simple gladiator; but, his skill on the anvil combined with his skill in the arena earned him a growing fandom. Eventually Vox left the arena as a free beast after winning his 500th match. Now, Vox rises to challenge Kord and nothing will stand in his way.

Level 1 Snapshot
Race: Bugbear
Class: Fighter

Stats (with racial bonuses):
Strength 18
Constitution 16
Dexterity 15
Intelligence 10
Wisdom 11
Charisma 8

Initiative +3
Hit Points 30 Bloodied 15 Surge Value 7 Surges 1`
Defenses:
AC 16 Fort 16 Ref 13 Will 10
Speed 5
Passive Insight 10 Passive Perception 10

Khopesh Basic Attack +6 vs AC 1d10+4 damage

Feats:
Two Blade Warrior, Two Weapon Defense
Powers:
At-Will: Crushing Surge, Dual Strike
Encounter: Furious Assault, Funneling Fury
Daily: Tempest Dance

Skill Training: Acrobatics, Athletics, Endurance, Intimidate

Gear: Large Khopesh x2, ChainmailLevel 11 Snapshot
Race: Bugbear
Class: Fighter
Paragon Path: Ravager

Stats (with racial bonuses):
Strength 21
Constitution 17
Dexterity 18
Intelligence 11
Wisdom 12
Charisma 9

Initiative +9
Hit Points 92 Bloodied 46 Surge Value 23 Surges 12
Defenses:
AC 25 Fort 24 Ref 22 Will 18
Speed 5
Passive Insight 16 Passive Perception 16

Khopesh Basic Attack +15 vs AC 1d10+10 damage

Feats:
Two Blade Warrior, Two Weapon Defense, Weapon Expertise (Axe), Weapon Expertise (Axe), Two-Weapon Fighting, Two Weapon Threat, Reckless Attacker
Powers:
At-Will: Brash Strike, Dual Strike
Encounter: Predatory Eye, Funneling Fury, Blinding Smash, Savage Parry, Driven Before You
Daily: Tempest Dance, Bedeviling Assault, Terrifying Impact
Utility: Boundless Endurance, Unbreakable, Into the Fray

Skill Training: Acrobatics, Athletics, Endurance, Intimidate

Gear: Agile Finemail +2, Quickhit Braces, Boots of Furious Speed, Strikebacks, Helm of Opportunity, Cape of the Mountebank +2, Large Rending Khopesh +2, Belt of Lucky Strikes


Level 21 Snapshot
Race: Bugbear
Class: Fighter
Paragon Path: Ravager
Epic Destiny: Punisher of the Gods

Stats (with racial bonuses):
Strength 24
Constitution 20
Dexterity 19
Intelligence 12
Wisdom 13
Charisma 10

Initiative +14
Hit Points 155 Bloodied 77 Surge Value 38 Surges 14
Defenses:
AC 34 Fort 33 Ref 29 Will 25
Speed 5
Passive Insight 21 Passive Perception 21

Khopesh Basic Attack +25 vs AC 2d10+15 damage

Feats:
Two Blade Warrior, Two Weapon Defense, Weapon Expertise (Axe), Weapon Expertise (Axe), Two-Weapon Fighting, Two Weapon Threat, Reckless Attacker, Two Blade Opening, Heavy Blade Opportunity, Deadly Axe, Devastating Critical, Mighty Battlerage, Axe Mastery
Powers:
At-Will: Crushing Surge, Dual Strike
Encounter: Predatory Eye, Funneling Flurry, Driven Before You, Crumpling Slam, Vorpal Tornado, Immortals Curse
Daily: Terrifying Impact, Marked Savagery, Dragon’s Fangs, Devastation’s Wake
Utility: Boundless Endurance, Unbreakable, Into the Fray, Blood Soaked Fury, Regnant Shout

Skill Training: Acrobatics, Athletics, Endurance, Intimidate

Gear: Agile Forgemail Armor +4, Quickhit Braces, Assault Boots, Strikebacks, Helm of Swift Punishment, Cape of the Mountebank +3, Rending Khopesh +4, Belt of Lucky Strikes, Ring of Fury x2
Level 30 Snapshot
Race: Bugbear
Class: Fighter
Paragon Path: Ravager
Epic Destiny: Punisher of the Gods

Stats (with racial bonuses):
Strength 26
Constitution 22
Dexterity 19
Intelligence 12
Wisdom 13
Charisma 10

Initiative +19
Hit Points 211 Bloodied 105 Surge Value 52 Surges 15
Defenses:
AC 43 Fort 41 Ref 36 Will 34
Speed 5
Passive Insight 30 Passive Perception 30

Khopesh Basic Attack +34 vs AC 2d10+18 damage

Feats:
Two Blade Warrior, Two Weapon Defense, Weapon Expertise (Axe), Weapon Expertise (Axe), Two-Weapon Fighting, Two Weapon Threat, Reckless Attacker, Two Blade Opening, Heavy Blade Opportunity, Deadly Axe, Devastating Critical, Mighty Battlerage, Axe Mastery, Knock-Back Swing, Mobile Warrior, Two Weapon Flurry, Rending Tempest, Channeled Battlerage
Powers:
Powers:
At-Will: Crushing Surge, Dual Strike
Encounter: Predatory Eye, Vorpal Tornado, Driven Before You, Cruel Reaper, Warior’s Urging, Immortals Curse
Daily: Earthquake Smash, Marked Savagery, Force the Battle, Devastation’s Wake
Utility: Boundless Endurance, Unbreakable, Into the Fray, Blood Soaked Fury, Regnant Shout, Repel Legions, Howl of Defiance

Skill Training: Acrobatics, Athletics, Endurance, Intimidate

Gear: Agile Forgemail Armor +6, Quickhit Braces, Assault Boots, Strikebacks, Helm of Swift Punishment, Cape of the Mountebank +6, Rending Khopesh +6, Belt of Lucky Strikes, Ring of Fury x2



Targus Half-Orc Tempest Fighter / Blade Dancer / Punisher of the Gods

At an early age, Targus joined the ranks of the Mummy Guard, a group of individuals sworn to protect the mummies of the ancient dessert inside their massive tomb-castles. Tagus’s skill with the Mummy Guard’s traditional weapon, the Khopesh allowed him to move quickly up within the ranks of the Mummy Guard before gaining the highest favor of the mummy lords he served After Targus took over the Mummy Guard’s care, he single handedly fought off the Undead Dragon Army that sought to overthrow the Mummy Lords from power; his feats of bravery reached the ears of the gods and he ascended into their ranks where he continued to seek out and destroy anything that might challenge the power of his or the power of his mummy lords’ powers.

Level 1 Snapshot
Race: Half-Orc
Class: Fighter

Stats (with racial bonuses):
Strength 18
Constitution 13
Dexterity 16
Intelligence 10
Wisdom 14
Charisma 8

Initiative +3
Hit Points 28 Bloodied 14 Surge Value 7 Surges 10
Defenses:
AC 13 Fort 16 Ref 13 Will 12
Speed 6
Passive Insight 12 Passive Perception 12

Khopesh Basic Attack +6 vs AC 1d8+5 damage

Feats:
Two Blade Warrior, Two Weapon Defense
Powers:
At-Will: Brash Strike, Dual Strike
Encounter: Furious Assault, Funneling Fury
Daily: Tempest Dance

Skill Training: Acrobatics, Athletics, Endurance, Intimidate

Gear: Khopesh x2, ChainmailLevel 11 Snapshot
Race: Half-Orc
Class: Fighter
Paragon Path: Blade Dancer

Stats (with racial bonuses):
Strength 21
Constitution 14
Dexterity 18
Intelligence 11
Wisdom 16
Charisma 9

Initiative +9
Hit Points 89 Bloodied 44 Surge Value 22 Surges 11
Defenses:
AC 19 Fort 22 Ref 19 Will 18
Speed 5
Passive Insight 18 Passive Perception 18

Khopesh Basic Attack +15 vs AC 1d8+9 damage

Feats:
Two Blade Warrior, Two Weapon Defense, Weapon Expertise (Heavy Blade), Weapon Expertise (Heavy Blade), Two-Weapon Fighting, Anger Unleashed, Two Weapon Threat, Reckless Attacker
Powers:
At-Will: Brash Strike, Dual Strike
Encounter: Furious Assault, Funneling Fury, Dance of Steel, Savage Parry, Cross Body Parry,
Daily: Tempest Dance, Bedeviling Assault, Stop Thrust
Utility: Pass Forward, Agile Approach, Into the Fray

Skill Training: Acrobatics, Athletics, Endurance, Intimidate

Gear: Agile Drakescale Armor +2, Quickhit Braces, Boots of Furious Speed, Strikebacks, Helm of Opportunity, Cape of the Mountebank +2, Rending Khopesh +2, Belt of Lucky Strikes


Level 21 Snapshot
Race: Half-Orc
Class: Fighter
Paragon Path: Blade Dancer
Epic Destiny: Punisher of the Gods

Stats (with racial bonuses):
Strength 24
Constitution 15
Dexterity 19
Intelligence 12
Wisdom 19
Charisma 10

Initiative +14
Hit Points 150 Bloodied 75 Surge Value 37 Surges 11
Defenses:
AC 35 Fort 32 Ref 28 Will 27
Speed 5
Passive Insight 24 Passive Perception 24

Khopesh Basic Attack +25 vs AC 2d8+18 damage

Feats:
Two Blade Warrior, Two Weapon Defense, Weapon Expertise (Heavy Blade), Weapon Expertise (Heavy Blade), Two-Weapon Fighting, Anger Unleashed, Two Weapon Threat, Reckless Attacker, Two Blade Opening, Heavy Blade Opportunity, Deadly Axe, Devastating Critical, Agile Tempest, Heavy Blade Mastery
Powers:
At-Will: Brash Strike, Dual Strike
Encounter: Furious Assault, Funneling Fury, Dance of Blades, Vorpal Tornado, Cross Body Parry, Immortal Curse
Daily: Blade Dance, Dragon’s Fangs, Stop Thrust, Devastation’s Wake
Utility: Pass Forward, Agile Approach, Into the Fray, Misleading Bladework, Regnant Shout

Skill Training: Acrobatics, Athletics, Endurance, Intimidate

Gear: Agile Forgemail Armor +4, Quickhit Braces, Assault Boots, Strikebacks, Helm of Swift Punishment, Cape of the Mountebank +3, Rending Khopesh +4, Belt of Lucky Strikes, Ring of Fury x2
Level 30 Snapshot
Race: Half-Orc
Class: Fighter
Paragon Path: Blade Dancer
Epic Destiny: Punisher of the Gods

Stats (with racial bonuses):
Strength 26
Constitution 15
Dexterity 20
Intelligence 12
Wisdom 20
Charisma 10

Initiative +20
Hit Points 204 Bloodied 102 Surge Value 51 Surges 11
Defenses:
AC 44 Fort 41 Ref 37 Will 38
Speed 5
Passive Insight 30 Passive Perception 30

Khopesh Basic Attack +34 vs AC 2d8+21 damage

Feats:
Two Blade Warrior, Two Weapon Defense, Weapon Expertise (Heavy Blade), Weapon Expertise (Heavy Blade), Two-Weapon Fighting, Anger Unleashed, Two Weapon Threat, Reckless Attacker, Two Blade Opening, Heavy Blade Opportunity, Deadly Axe, Devastating Critical, Agile Tempest, Heavy Blade Mastery, Epic Resurgence, Ferocious Critical, Two Weapon Flurry, Rending Tempest, Mobile Warrior
Powers:
At-Will: Brash Strike, Dual Strike
Encounter: Furious Assault, Funneling Fury, Dance of Blades, Vorpal Tornado, Cross Body Parry, Immortal Curse, Warrior’s Urging, Cruel Reaper
Daily: Blade Dance, Earthquake Smash, Force the Battle, Devastation’s Wake
Utility: Pass Forward, Agile Approach, Into the Fray, Misleading Bladework, Regnant Shout, Repel Legions, Howl of Defiance

Skill Training: Acrobatics, Athletics, Endurance, Intimidate

Gear: Agile Forgemail Armor +6, Quickhit Braces, Assault Boots, Strikebacks, Helm of Swift Punishment, Cape of the Mountebank +6, Rending Khopesh +6, Belt of Lucky Strikes, Ring of Fury x2
Wrapping Up

That about covers it for this guide. It’s my first time trying to write one when it comes to min / maxing, but I hope that I did a good and comprehensive job. I’d appreciate all the feedback that you can giving me regarding this guide and how to best improve it if I missed something.

I’d like to thank:



Also, if anyone decides to play one of these builds, post your results. I’d love to hear about exactly how far you can get in terms of the longest set of critical chain rolls. Enjoy, Happy Gaming!