The Gaming Den

I decided to convert some iconic Dungeons & Dragons characters to the Tome ruleset. So far I made one character.

Heeeeeere's Drizz't!



Drizz’t Do’urden
CG Male Drow Barbarian 5/Fighter 11
HP: 148
Initiative: +8
Speed: 30 feet (45 combat movement)
Armor Class: 36 (+2 Elusive Target, +8 Shield bonus TWF, +5 Dex, +11 Armor), touch 25, flat-footed -
Base Attack/Grapple: +16/+17
Attacks: Two Scimitars +29/+29 (1d6+13, 15-20, x3); Full Attack (may make as standard action) +29/+29/+29/+29/+29/+27/+27/+27 (1d6+13, threatens on 15-20, x3); Drizz’t ignores Deflection bonuses to AC and usually trades off Power Attack on a -10 attack/20 damage basis. Longbow +27 (1d8+7, x3)

Abilities: Str 13 Dex 20 Con 15 Int 17 Wis 17 Cha 14
Saves: Fort +19 Ref +19 Will +17 (may substitute Fort save in place of Ref and Will Saves when raging)
Skills (155 points): Balance 19 (+27), Climb 8 (+9), Escape Artist 10 (+15/+31 Vest), Handle Animal 10 (+13), Hide 9 (+14), Intimidate 9 (+12), Jump 10 (+11), Listen 8 (+13), Knowledge (Nature) 8 (+11), Move Silently 9 (+14/+30 Boots), Search 8 (+13), Survival 12 (+15), Spot 8 (+13), Swim 10 (+11), Tumble 19 (+24)
Feats: Blind Fighting, Blitz, Combat School (slashing sword-like weapons, Fort DC 19), Danger Sense, Elusive Target, Hordebreaker (6 AoOs +4 Two-Weapon Fighting), Insightful Strike, Mage Slayer (SR 21), Two-Weapon Fighting, Weapon Finesse, Whirlwind

Class Features: Barbarian: Rage, Fast Healing 5, Rage Dice 2d6, Combat Movement +15’, Battle Hardened, Sidestep Hazards; Fighter: Weapon Training, Combat Focus, Problem Solver, Pack Mule, Logistics Mastery, Active Assault, Forge Lore, Improved Delay, Foil Action, Lunging Attacks (10’ reach with Scimitars)
Equipment: Boots of Elvenkind (+16 enhancement on Move Silently), Cloak of Resistance (+6 enhancement bonus), Magic Composite Longbow (+1 Str bonus, +6 enhancement bonus), Magic Mithril Suit (all Tumble ranks benefits, +6 enhancement, +11 bonus total), Icingdeath (Magic Frost Scimitar, +6 enhancement), Twinkle (Magic Defending Scimitar, +6 enhancement bonus), Vest of Escape (lockpicks grant +16 Disable Device, vest grants +16 Escape Artist), Figurine of Wondrous Power: Onyx Panther (named Guenhwyvar)
The Edge: If Drizz’t hits an opponent twice in one round, he gains the edge against them. Drizz’t has the Edge against any opponent with a lower Dexterity than his own (20), or a lower Dexerity and Wisdom than his own Wisdom (17). Opponents Drizz’t has the Edge against provoke 6 attacks of opportunity from him whenever they move into his threatened area or attack him.

Uses the Alternate Magic Item rules in the Book of Gears

This Drizz't is bad-ass! He can do a bunch of attacks a round and murder foes foolish enough to engage him in melee! He rarely misses opponents and he can make mincemeat out of single targets. His Problem Solver ability allows him to adapt to a variety of circumstances: fighting a flying target? Zen Archery or Point Blank Shot!

Drizz't should be flipping around the battlefield, tumbling past giants and using Whirlwind to mow down foes.

THIS is a character build worthy of taking down 1,000 orc mooks!

More to come!

Actually, I'm pretty sure that the tomified version of Driz'zt would be a pile of ash and piss.

Prak_Anima wrote:Actually, I'm pretty sure that the tomified version of Driz'zt would be a pile of ash and piss.

HAH.

But I had the same idea once, when I had a younger cousin bumming the Drizzt books off of me (Look, everyone has to start somewhere. The Drizzt books were awesome when I was, oh, 13-15. I can remember them fondly and acknowledge I've moved past them.)

And it was pretty similar to this.

For me, the adventures of Drizz't began and ended with the first book. Every conflict that needed to be resolved was, making the other books nothing more than pointless moneygrubbing.

I was shocked to discover that Drizzt barely features in a lot of the Drizzt books. But I picked the up too late to really get interested.

Anyway, this seems much better than the canonical D&D stats, but can't he cast ranger spells in the books?

To be honest, I haven't really read the books, although I'm aware that he's a Ranger.

I considered giving him the Handle Animal and Survival Skill Feats (can't recall them off the top of my head), although I thought that the Combat feats felt better.

CatharzGodfoot wrote:I was shocked to discover that Drizzt barely features in a lot of the Drizzt books. But I picked the up too late to really get interested.

Anyway, this seems much better than the canonical D&D stats, but can't he cast ranger spells in the books?

If he can, he's never done it. He's magic-literate, and he uses his Deeper Darkness and Faerie Fire spell-likes a lot, but he never actually casts ranger spells. He's more of what you'd call a wilderness-savvy fighter who sometimes uses a bow (moreso early on than in the later books)--aka, a ranger.

Anyways, yeah. Before I stopped reading them a few years back, the real fun was with Entreri--Drizzt's long-time nemesis who eventually got over it and got his own trilogy.

For those who don't know:

Icewind Dale Trilogy--the originals. Drizzt and his four buddies and his cat

Legacy of the Drow--the prequel trilogy featuring Drizzt's backstory.

Paths of Darkness--The sequel quartet to Icewind Dale. AKA, "Stuff Goes Wrong For the Heroes", and pulls stuff from both Icewind Dale and Legacy for Shit To Go Wrong.

Then there's the books where Drizzt begins to not feature as much. One is entirely about Wulfgar, Drizzt's barbarian buddy getting over his post-traumatic stress from being a balor's prisoner for six years, and it tied into Salvatore's other Forgotten Realms series, the Cleric Quintet. There's a whole trilogy of Artemis Entreri and Jarlaxle--which I view as basically as good as it got. Well, the first book was.

And now there's the crappy 4e books where they turned Forgotten Realms into that whole "Points of light" deal and I stopped reading because the last things I liked about the series went away.

I've since given the books away, mostly. I kept the Sellswords trilogy because they're okay to re-read maybe twice a year.

But see, Drizzt started off being about half-crazy. He did shit like eat a lamb chop in the middle of a fight, and he was more harsh and less forgiving of the baddies.

Then after Legacy of the Drow, he went all emo whining about morality and such and doing the crazy shit for fun went away and then it was mainly the side characters who supplied the awesome. And now, thanks to 4e, the side characters have all been killed off and it's completely filled with "Oh, everything sucks so hard now" and the suckage is now complete.

Ariakas, Emperor of Ansalon, Scion of Tiamat
LE Male Human Wizard 6/Fighter 1/Eldritch Knight 10/Arcane Strategist 6
HP: 181
Initiative: +5
Speed: 30 feet, Fly 40 feet
Armor Class: 35 (+17 armor, +6 deflection, +2 dex), touch 18, flat-footed -
Base Attack/Grapple: +23/+32
Attack: Greatsword +39 (2d6+21+9d6 Arcane Strike, 19-20, x2); Full Attack Greatsword +39/+34/+34/+34 (2d6+21+9d6 Arcane Strike, 19-20, x2); Ariakas usually Power Attacks on a -10 Attack/+20 damage basis. He also ignores hardness, DR, and critical hit immunity

Abilities: Str 20 (28 enhanced) Dex 15 Con 19 Int 25 (33 enhanced) Wis 16 Cha 19 (Ariakas applied 5 Wishes each to his Constitution and Intelligence scores at 17th level)
Saves: Fort +21 Ref +18 Will +25 (+29 against dragon fear); includes cape of resistance bonuses
Skills (248 points): Balance 12 (+14), Bluff 12 (+16), Concentration 26 (+33), Diplomacy 16 (+20), Intimidate 26 (+33), Knowledge (Arcana, Architecture, History, Nature, Religion, Tactics) 12 (+19/+23 Helmet), Listen 10 (+13), Ride 26 (+28), Spellcraft 26 (+36/40), Sense Motive 10 (+13), Spot 12 (+15)
Feats: Combat Casting, Danger Sense (B), Dreadful Demeanor, Empower Spell (B), Expert Tactician (B), Extend Spell (B), Horde Breaker (3 AoOs), Iron Will, Mage Slayer (SR 28), Magical Aptitude, Master of Terror (Leadership Score 29), Scribe Scroll (B), Still Spell, Tyrant

Spells Prepared (4/7/7/7/6/6/6/6/5/5), Save DC is 21+ Spell level: 0th: Arcane Mark (Symbol of Tiamat), Dancing Lights, Mage Hand, Prestigiditation; 1st: Color Spray x2, Protection from Good x2, Ray of Enfeeblement x2, Silent Image; 2nd: Blindness x2, Blur, Misdirection, See Invisibility x2, Touch of Idiocy; 3rd: Displacement, Haste, Magic Circle Against Good, Protection from Energy, Slow, Stinking Cloud x2; 4th: Confusion, Evard’s Black Tentacles x2, Fear, Rary’s Mnemonic Enhancer, Solid Fog x2; 5th: Break Enchantment, Cloudkill, Magic Jar, Major Creation, Overland Flight, Transmute Rock to Mud; 6th: Acid Fog, Anti-Magic Field, Flesh to Stone, Legend Lore, Planar Binding, True Seeing; 7th: Control Weather, Finger of Death, Forcecage, Limited Wish, Scrying, Greater, Simulacrum, Teleport, Greater; 8th: Binding, Mind Blank, Planar Binding, Greater, Symbol of Death, Trap the Soul; 9th: Dominate Monster, Freedom, Temporal Stasis, Weird, Wish

Class Features: Fighter: Weapons Training, Combat Focus; Eldritch Knight: Martial Focus, Somatic Spell, Arcane Strike, Channel Spell, Enduring Spell, Improved Familiar, Stilled Casting, Sudden Quicken, Martial Mage; Arcane Strategist: Move Earth, Delay Spell, Mass Spell 3/day, Signal, Spell Trap, Retributive Spell, Spell Beacon
Equipment: Amulet of Death Ward (grants constant Death Ward to wearer), Belt of Giant Strength (+8 Enhancement bonus), Cloak of Resistance (+8 Enhancement bonus), Helmet of Intellect (as Headband, but +8 Enhancement Bonus), Magic Greatsword (+8 enhancement bonus, has Flame, Wounding, and Ruin qualities, is his Martial Focus), Magic Dragonscale Suit (+8 Enhancement bonus, +17 total bonus, gains all BAB benefits), Ring of Evasion, Ring of Protection (+6 Deflection Bonus), Greater Metamagic Rod of Enlarge (9th level or lower)
The Edge: Ariakas has the Edge against any opponent without spells or spell-like abilities. Opponents Ariakas has the Edge against provoke an attack of opportunity when moving into his threatened square or attacking him.

The ultimate gish, Emperor Ariakas can dominate the battlefield with area of effect spells and cut people in half with his Greatsword of Doom. He usually begins the day with Magic Circle Against Good, Mind Blank, and Overland Flight cast on himself: thanks to Extend Spell and Eldritch Knight levels, Overland Flight lasts 66 hours, while Magic Circle lasts 660 minutes (11 hours).

When he needs to put his game face on, Ariakas usually pops area of effect and save or lose spells. If he's going up against an army of pathetic knights and cavalry, he'll pop Cloudkills and Transmute Rock to Mud. Against a bunch of tough opponents who can give him a run for his money, he'll Mass Spell Finger of Death. Sometimes Ariakas likes to conserve spells and gets down and dirty with with his Greatsword and uses the Hordebreaker feat to maximum advantage.

If you're going to wrap up a Dragonlance Campaign Setting with a final fight with this guy, play this music:

Trust me, you'll be glad you did.

In an ideal situation, the PCs should be arriving at the Dragon Empire's capital city of Neraka in a desperate struggle to prevent Ariakas from summoning Tiamat and severing the divine connection that the non-evil Gods have to this world. The fight should take place within an underground dark cathedral with the planar portal smack-dab in the middle of the room, complete with all the prominent Dragon Highlords and hordes of mooks. The party has 12 rounds to kill the Emperor before the ritual is complete!

Maxus wrote:
Icewind Dale Trilogy--the originals. Drizzt and his four buddies and his cat

Legacy of the Drow--the prequel trilogy featuring Drizzt's backstory.

Paths of Darkness--The sequel quartet to Icewind Dale. AKA, "Stuff Goes Wrong For the Heroes", and pulls stuff from both Icewind Dale and Legacy for Shit To Go Wrong.

Then there's the books where Drizzt begins to not feature as much. One is entirely about Wulfgar, Drizzt's barbarian buddy getting over his post-traumatic stress from being a balor's prisoner for six years, and it tied into Salvatore's other Forgotten Realms series, the Cleric Quintet. There's a whole trilogy of Artemis Entreri and Jarlaxle--which I view as basically as good as it got. Well, the first book was.

And now there's the crappy 4e books where they turned Forgotten Realms into that whole "Points of light" deal and I stopped reading because the last things I liked about the series went away.

I think you might have some of the books slightly confused.

I'm fairly certain that the prequel trilogy is called The Dark Elf Trilogy or something. It's fairly shite.

The Icewind Dale trilogy is probably among the best FR books written. That really doesn't mean much, but it's something. They're fairly fun.

Legacy of the Drow is the sequel quartet to Icewind Dale. I only read the first one, but it was okay I guess.

Paths of Darkness was the 4 or 5 books that came after Legacy. The range from shite (the one only featuring Wulfgar, called the Spine of the World I think) to vaguely above average (Sea of Swords).

The Thousand Orcs trilogy came next, and it was complete and utter drek. Like, supersupersupersupersuper bad. The books get progressively worse as the trilogy progresses.

Then came the 4E trilogy. It came out after I'd basically stopped reading FR novels, but I still read the first one. Conceptually, it was kinda neat because it dealt with how orcs could be more than just monsters to be facestabbed and looted, but it was still really boring and poorly written.

And I honestly don't recall Drizzt ever using ranger spells.




If we really cared about Tomeifying him, he probably should be more than like 10th or 11th level. Quite possibly lower, since Salvatore's books tend to be fairly E6 in style.

I'm really just doing straight level-level conversions.

If Drizz't is 16th level in 3rd Edition, then the Tome Drizz't is 16th level. If normal Ariakas is 23, then Tome Ariakas is 23.

To be honest, I think that the more cheesy things (like the 35th level Elminster) can be scaled back to 20th level. Going 1-3 levels above is fine (we've got crazy demon lords and great wyrm dragons in settings), but 30-40th level's pushing it.

Who's up for seeing 20th-level Elminster?

Possible future builds:

Elminster (Done!)
Mordenkainen (Done!)
Raistlin Majere (Done!)
Artemis Entreri (Done!)
Vol (Eberron)
Strahd von Zarovich (Done!)
Rudolf Van Richten (Done!)
Lord Soth (Done!)
Meepo the Kobold (Done!)

Elminster starts out as a Fighter, dual classes into Thief, dual classes into Cleric, and then dual classes into Mage. Which is actually a decent thing to do if you have the attributes for it and are playing the long game, but simply does not work in 3e or 4e.

You'd need a special 'Elminster' prestige class to make the concept work in 3e/Tome at all. Especially since he's so blatantly dual classing. He never uses his fighter levels to become a spellsword, his rogue levels to become an arcane trickster, or even his cleric of Mystra levels to become a mystic theurge.

CatharzGodfoot wrote:Elminster starts out as a Fighter, dual classes into Thief, dual classes into Cleric, and then dual classes into Mage. Which is actually a decent thing to do if you have the attributes for it and are playing the long game, but simply does not work in 3e or 4e.

You'd need a special 'Elminster' prestige class to make the concept work in 3e/Tome at all. Especially since he's so blatantly dual classing. He never uses his fighter levels to become a spellsword, his rogue levels to become an arcane trickster, or even his cleric of Mystra levels to become a mystic theurge.

I think we already made the Elminster base class.

Yes, here it is.

Blicero wrote:

Maxus wrote:
Icewind Dale Trilogy--the originals. Drizzt and his four buddies and his cat

Legacy of the Drow--the prequel trilogy featuring Drizzt's backstory.

Paths of Darkness--The sequel quartet to Icewind Dale. AKA, "Stuff Goes Wrong For the Heroes", and pulls stuff from both Icewind Dale and Legacy for Shit To Go Wrong.

Then there's the books where Drizzt begins to not feature as much. One is entirely about Wulfgar, Drizzt's barbarian buddy getting over his post-traumatic stress from being a balor's prisoner for six years, and it tied into Salvatore's other Forgotten Realms series, the Cleric Quintet. There's a whole trilogy of Artemis Entreri and Jarlaxle--which I view as basically as good as it got. Well, the first book was.

And now there's the crappy 4e books where they turned Forgotten Realms into that whole "Points of light" deal and I stopped reading because the last things I liked about the series went away.

I think you might have some of the books slightly confused.

I'm fairly certain that the prequel trilogy is called The Dark Elf Trilogy or something. It's fairly shite.

The Icewind Dale trilogy is probably among the best FR books written. That really doesn't mean much, but it's something. They're fairly fun.

Legacy of the Drow is the sequel quartet to Icewind Dale. I only read the first one, but it was okay I guess.

You're right. I did have them confused.

Rudolph Van Richten
LG Human Male Rogue 3/Fighter 9
Hit Points: 59
Initiative: +5
Speed: 30 feet
Armor Class: 22 (+7 armor, +3 Deflection, +2 Dexterity), touch 15, flat-footed 20
Attack: Magical Silver Dagger +19 (1d4+4, 17-20, x3), Magical Cold Iron Rapier (1d6+4, 15-20, x3), Magical Light Crossbow +17 (1d8+4, 17-20, x3). Van Richten often Power Attacks on a -5 attack/+10 damage basis. Van Richten ignores Deflection bonuses to armor class; if he succeeds on a Spot check against the opponent’s armor class, he can ignore their Armor and Natural Armor bonuses as well. In such a case, he increases his Power Attack trade-off to -10/+20 unless the monster looks particularly nimble.
Base Attack/Grapple: +11/+10

Abilities: Str 10 Dex 14 Con 10 Int 22 Wis 19 Cha 15 (Van Richten’s Intelligence started out as 18 but increased to 20 at 8th level. He also reached Old Age at this level as well, increasing his Intelligence by another 2)
Saves: Fort +7 Ref +11 Will +11
Skills (182 points): Balance 8 (+10), Climb 8 (+8), Disable Device 3 (+9), Gather Information 14 (+19), Hide 8 (+10), Heal 6 (+10/+12 with kit), Knowledge (Arcana, Geography, History, Local, Nature, Religion) 5 (+11), Listen 11 (+15), Move Silently 9 (+11), Search 9 (+28), Sense Motive 12 (+16), Spellcraft 12 (+18), Spot 11 (+18), Survival 12 (+19), Swim 8 (+8), Tumble 13 (+15), Use Magic Device 8 (+10)
Feats: Blitz, Danger Sense, Detective, Expert Tactician, Ghost Hunter, Insightful Strike, Mage Slayer, Point Blank Shot, Sharp-Eyed, Track
Class Features: Rogue: Sneak Attack +2d6, Trapfinding, Evasion; Weapon Training, Combat Focus, Problem Solver, Pack Mule, Logistics Mastery, Active Assault, Forge Lore, Improved Delay, Foil Action

Equipment: 5 flasks of acid, 5 flasks of alchemist's fire, 3 thunderstones, 4 tanglefoot bags, Magical Silver Dagger (+4 Enhancement bonus, Disruption Quality), Magical Light Crossbow (+4 Enhancement bonus, Sun quality), Magical Cold Iron Rapier (+4 Enhancement bonus, Holy), Magic Studded Leather Armor (+4 Enhancement bonus, all Tumble rank benefits except last ability), Healer’s Kit, Ring of Mind Shielding, Ring of Protection (+3 Deflection bonus), Vampire Hunter's Kit (garlic cloves, mirror, holy symbol of Ezra, holy wafers, wooden stakes)
The Edge: Rudolph Van Richten has The Edge against any foe with a Wisdom and Dexterity score lower than his own Wisdom (19).

Vampire Killer!!!

Rudolph Van Richten, the legendary monster hunter! A cerebral fighter, the good doctor dedicated his life to learning about monsters and hunting them to help defend the innocent folk of the Land of Mists from their depredations. He has Spellcraft and Use Magic Device as class skills due to his background.

Van Richten often uses Blitz and Point Blank Shot to crank up damage against foes. When catching an unaware opponent, he uses his Sharp-Eyed ability to guarantee a hit! Most of his weapons are capable of taking on a variety of opponents: the supernatural toughness of Shadow Fey, vampires, demons, and ghosts alike are no match for Van Richten’s Arsenal! If he doesn’t have the right tool, Forge Lore and the Detective Skill Feat help whip up the right tool for the job!

A took some inspiration from issues 2 and 18 of Quoth the Raven, a Ravenloft Netbook produced by the Fraternity of Shadows. Their 3rd Edition stats served as a useful guideline for this build. I should also give a shout-out to the War of the Lance by Sovereign Press and the Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting by Wizards of the Coast for Ariakas and Drizz't.

fraternityofshadows.com

angelfromanotherpin wrote:

CatharzGodfoot wrote:Elminster starts out as a Fighter, dual classes into Thief, dual classes into Cleric, and then dual classes into Mage. Which is actually a decent thing to do if you have the attributes for it and are playing the long game, but simply does not work in 3e or 4e.

You'd need a special 'Elminster' prestige class to make the concept work in 3e/Tome at all. Especially since he's so blatantly dual classing. He never uses his fighter levels to become a spellsword, his rogue levels to become an arcane trickster, or even his cleric of Mystra levels to become a mystic theurge.

I think we already made the Elminster base class.

Yes, here it is.

...I was actually kinda hoping the class would be called "The Elminster."

Maxus wrote:But see, Drizzt started off being about half-crazy. He did shit like eat a lamb chop in the middle of a fight, and he was more harsh and less forgiving of the baddies.

Then after Legacy of the Drow, he went all emo whining about morality and such and doing the crazy shit for fun went away and then it was mainly the side characters who supplied the awesome. And now, thanks to 4e, the side characters have all been killed off and it's completely filled with "Oh, everything sucks so hard now" and the suckage is now complete.

So he started as a fishmalk?

Libertad wrote:Rudolph Van Richten
LG Human Male Rogue 3/Fighter 9

Hit Points: 59
Initiative: +5
Speed: 30 feet
Armor Class: 22 (+7 armor, +3 Deflection, +2 Dexterity), touch 15, flat-footed 20
Attack: Magical Silver Dagger +19 (1d4+4, 17-20, x3), Magical Light Crossbow +17 (1d8+4, 17-20, x3). Van Richten often Power Attacks on a -5 attack/+10 damage basis. Van Richten ignores Deflection bonuses to armor class; if he succeeds on a Spot check against the opponent’s armor class, he can ignore their Armor and Natural Armor bonuses as well.
Base Attack/Grapple: +11/+10

Abilities: Str 10 Dex 14 Con 10 Int 22 Wis 19 Cha 15 (Van Richten’s Intelligence started out as 18 but increased to 20 at 8th level. He also reached Old Age at this level as well, increasing his Intelligence by another 2)
Saves: Fort +7 Ref +11 Will +11
Skills (182 points): Balance 8 (+10), Climb 8 (+8), Disable Device 3 (+9), Gather Information 14 (+19), Hide 8 (+10), Heal 6 (+10/+12 with kit), Knowledge (Arcana, Geography, History, Local, Nature, Religion) 5 (+11), Listen 11 (+15), Move Silently 9 (+11), Search 12 (+21), Sense Motive 12 (+16), Spellcraft 12 (+18), Spot 11 (+18), Survival 12 (+19), Swim 8 (+8), Tumble 13 (+15), Use Magic Device 5 (+7)
Feats: Blitz, Danger Sense, Detective, Expert Tactician, Ghost Hunter, Insightful Strike, Mage Slayer, Point Blank Shot, Sharp-Eyed, Track
Class Features: Rogue: Sneak Attack +2d6, Trapfinding, Evasion; Weapon Training, Combat Focus, Problem Solver, Pack Mule, Logistics Mastery, Active Assault, Forge Lore, Improved Delay, Foil Action

Equipment: 5 flasks of acid, 5 flasks of alchemist's fire, 3 thunderstones, 4 tanglefoot bags, Magical Silver Dagger (+4 Enhancement bonus, Disruption Quality), Magical Light Crossbow (+4 Enhancement bonus, Sun quality), Magical Cold Iron Rapier (+4 Enhancement bonus, Holy), Magic Studded Leather Armor (+4 Enhancement bonus, all Tumble rank benefits except last ability), Healer’s Kit, Ring of Mind Shielding, Ring of Protection (+3 Deflection bonus), Vampire Hunter's Kit (garlic cloves, mirror, holy symbol of Ezra, holy wafers, wooden stakes)
The Edge: Rudolph Van Richten has The Edge against any foe with a Wisdom and Dexterity score lower than his own Wisdom (19).

Vampire Killer!!! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=crUygPP0 ... re=related

Rudolph Van Richten, the legendary monster hunter! A cerebral fighter, the good doctor dedicated his life to learning about monsters and hunting them to help defend the innocent folk of the Land of Mists from their depredations. He has Spellcraft and Use Magic Device as class skills due to his background.

Van Richten often uses Blitz and Point Blank Shot to crank up damage against foes. When catching an unaware opponent, he uses his Sharp-Eyed ability to guarantee a hit! Most of his weapons are capable of taking on a variety of opponents: the supernatural toughness of Shadow Fey, vampires, demons, and ghosts alike are no match for Van Richten’s Arsenal! If he doesn’t have the right tool, Forge Lore and the Detective Skill Feat help whip up the right tool for the job!

A took some inspiration from issues 2 and 18 of Quoth the Raven, a Ravenloft Netbook produced by the Fraternity of Shadows. Their 3rd Edition stats served as a useful guideline for this build. I should also give a shout-out to the War of the Lance by Sovereign Press and the Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting by Wizards of the Coast for Ariakas and Drizz't.

fraternityofshadows.com

Van Richten really shouldn't be a rogue; sneak attack is worthless against his chosen foes. I'd probably stat him up as a soldier. Ideally with new vampire/werewolf/mummy/lich/etc stances.

@CatharzGodfoot:

I wanted Van Richten to have the ability to find traps and get Evasion.

I admit that I have not given an in-depth look at the expanded base classes within the Tome PDF.

What I wanted for Van Richten was skill versatility, diverse ways to research opponents and get the right tool for the job (Detective feat and Forge Lore), and a way to counter-attack monster abilities (Foil Action). I think that his Use Magic Device modifier is too low; I may rearrange the skill points again.

Koumei made an inquisitor class along with a whole bunch of X Slayer type abilities (vampire slayer among them). You might want to check it out.

Also, Tome vampires are no longer immune to critical hits and SA if I recall.

I think that the Tome of Necromancy introduced concepts (Dark-Minded and Unliving) that were meant to be a replacement for standard undead concepts like the Deathless. Being trained in Knowledge (Religion) allowed one to make critical hits and sneak attacks against undead.

Libertad wrote:I think that the Tome of Necromancy introduced concepts (Dark-Minded and Unliving) that were meant to be a replacement for standard undead concepts like the Deathless. Being trained in Knowledge (Religion) allowed one to make critical hits and sneak attacks against undead.

Oh yeah, I totally forgot that. Never mind.

New Character Background: Hunter of the Supernatural
Maybe your parents were devoured by werewolves. Perhaps you joined a secret society sworn to defend humanity against the Legions of the Night. Researching, hunting, and killing these fell forces of darkness is your duty.
Effect: Gather Information, Spellcraft, and Survival are class skills for you. Even rural rangers and cloistered hermits learn of ways to quickly find out information related to their enemies. You can choose a single martial or exotic weapon to be proficient in. You have a small handheld object of sentimental value on your person which reminds you of why you took up the path of the hunter. You get a +2 bonus on Will Saves when this object remains on your person.

Artemis Entreri
NE Male Human Fighter 12/Assassin 6
Hit Points: 154 (+54 with Periapt)
Initiative: +8
Speed: 30 feet
Armor Class: 41 (+10 armor, +5 Dex, +6 Deflection, +2 Elusive Target, +8 Shield bonus TWF), touch 23, flat-footed -
Base Attack/Grapple: +16/+19
Attack: Charon’s Claw +29 (1d8+13, 19-20, x2, Vile Damage), Vampiric Dagger offhand +29 (1d4+9, 19-20, x2), Shortbow +27 (1d6+5, x3); Full Attack Charon’s Claw/Vampiric Dagger +29/+27/+27/+29/+29/+29 (first three attacks are Charon’s Claw, next three are the dagger); Entreri often Power Attacks on a -12 attack/+24 damage basis.

Abilities: Str 16 Dex 20 Con 16 (22 Periapt) Int 20 Wis 14 Cha 10 (Artemis started with an 18 Int and increased it by 1 point each at 4th and 8th level)
Saves: Fort +13 (16 with periapt) Ref +15 Will +9
Skills ( 242 points): Balance 21 (+29), Bluff 10 (+10), Climb 13 (+16), Concentration 12 (+15/+18 with periapt), Disable Device 15 (+20), Disguise 10 (+10), Hide 19 (+27), Intimidate 12 (+12), Jump 14 (+17), Listen 18 (+20), Move Silently 19 (+27), Sense Motive 15 (+18), Sleight of Hand 19 (+27), Spot 18 (+20), Tumble 13 (+18), Use Magic Device 14 (+14)
Feats: Blitz, Combat Looting, Combat School (slashing sword-like weapons), Danger Sense, Deft Fingers, Elusive Target, Ghost Step, Iron Will, Point Blank Shot, Steady Stance, Stealthy, Subtle Cut, Two-Weapon Fighting, Weapon Finesse
Class Features: Assassin: Death Attack +8d6, Poison Use, Personal Immunity (Dark Reaver Powder, Drow Knockout Poison, Scorpion Venom, Spider Venom, Wyvern Poison), Spellcasting, Uncanny Dodge, Hide in Plain Sight, Cloak of Discretion, Traps, Trapmaking, Palm Weapon; Fighter: Weapons Training, Combat Focus, Problem Solver, Pack Mule, Logistics Mastery, Active Assault, Forge Lore, Improved Delay, Foil Action, Lunging Attacks
Spells Known (3/5/3): 0th: Detect Magic, Detect Poison, Disrupt Undead, Ghost Sound, Read Magic, Touch of Fatigue; 1st: Detect Secret Doors, Disguise Self, Ray of Enfeeblement, Silent Image ; 2nd: Detect Thoughts, Invisibility, See Invisibility
Equipment: Vampiric Dagger (magic dagger, +6 enhancement bonus, lifestealing quality), Charon’s Claw (sentient magic longsword, +6 enhancement bonus, wounding quality), Ring of Protection (+5 deflection bonus), Magic Shortbow (+6 enhancement bonus, wounding quality), Magic Spiderweb Clothing (all Move Silently benefits, +6 enhancement bonus, +10 total armor bonus), Drow Piwafwi (grants invisibility 3/day, Fire Resistance 18), Periapt of Health (+6 enhancement bonus to Con)
The Edge: Artemis Entreri has the Edge against any opponent with a lower Dexterity than his own (20). If he hits an opponent twice in one round with a weapon of his combat school, then he gains The Edge against that opponent on all further attacks he makes that round.

Here's Artemis Entreri, the legendary assassin!

Charon's Claw is a sentient magical longsword designed to slay wizards. It can detect magic at will and use deeper darkness 1/day, and has a continuous detect scrying effect.

Lord Soth, Knight of the Black Rose
LE Human Male Swordwraith Knight 10/Death Knight 4/Swordwraith Paragon 3 (Undead, Dark-minded, Unliving subtypes)
Hit Points: 192
Initiative: +5
Speed: 30 feet
Armor Class: 31 (+14 armor, +2 dex, +5 deflection), touch 17, flat-footed -
Attack: Greatsword +31 (2d6+21+2d6 unholy, 19-20, x2), Full Attack Greatsword +31/+26/+26/+26; Lord Soth often Power Attacks on a -10 attack/+20 damage basis.
Abilities: Str 22 (28 Belt) Dex 14 Con 18 Int 10 Wis 16 Cha 16
Saves: Fort +9 Ref +7 Will +20 (+15/13/26 with Cape)
Skills ( 94 points): Diplomacy 9 (+12), Hide 4 (+9), Intimidate 14 (+20), Knowledge (History, Nobility & Royalty, Religion) 8 (+8), Listen 10 (+16), Ride 19 (+24), Sense Motive 12 (+15), Spot 10 (+13)
Feats: Alertness (B), Blind Fighting, Combat School (Slashing sword-like weapons, DC 24, 27 Belt), Command (B, Command Rating 4, Leadership Score 20), Danger Sense, Dreadful Demeanor, Ghost Hunter (Death Knight B), Hordebreaker, Iron Will (B), Juggernaut, Lord of Death (Command Rating 2, Leadership Score 11), Mounted Combat (B), Stealthy (B)

Class Features: Knight: Designate Opponent (10d6), Code of Conduct, Damage Reduction 5/-, Energy Resistance (10 + shield bonus), Speak to Animals, Immunity to Fear, Knightly Spirit, Defend Others, Quick Recovery, Bastion of Defense, Draw Fire (DC 22), Mettle, Spell Shield (SR 22), Sacrifice, Knightly Order (Hell Knight); Death Knight: Sword of Death, Life and Death, Army of the Dead, Sphere of Bone; Swordwraith Paragon: Strength Damage, Damage Reduction 10/Magic

Equipment: Magic Full Plate (+6 enhancement bonus, +14 total bonus, all BAB bonuses), Magic Greatsword (+6 enhancement bonus, Sharpness Quality), Ring of Protection, Cape of Resistance (+6 enhancement bonus)
The Edge: If Lord Soth hits the same opponent twice in one round with weapons from his combat school, all further attacks are treated as having the Edge against that opponent.

The quintessential Death Knight

I did a relatively straight port of Lord Soth from War of the Lance with some thematic classes thrown in. Blind Fight and Danger Sense make him hard to surprise, while his Death Knight class features and Lord of Death feat make it so that he always has a legion of undead at his command. His undead minions should have some aerial and ranged opponents to make up for his melee focus.

These are fun to read.