Questions tagged [optimization]

For questions pertaining to the positive aspects of character optimization, often abbreviated as CharOp. (If dealing with player problems relating to optimization, use the [powergaming] tag instead.)

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2 answers
4k views

Crafting on ten coppers a day

Using the 3.5 crafting rules, how would you optimize for the cheapest magic item crafting possible, and how cheap would it be? By default, crafting is 1/2 the base price, or 50% + materials. Lowering ...
7 votes
1 answer
11k views

Best equipment for Crossbow Expert for highest total damage in rounds 1–3?

Crossbow Expert: When you use the Attack action and attack with a one handed weapon, you can use a bonus action to attack with a loaded hand crossbow you are holding. So the hand crossbow can be ...
5 votes
3 answers
2k views

Does the War Domain grant Improved Unarmed Strike when given by a god who favors Unarmed Strikes?

I could have sworn that I read somewhere that the War Domain granted Improved Unarmed Strike when the god favored them, but I can’t find it now. Did I just imagine this, or is it an actual rule ...
3 votes
0 answers
1k views

Optimize this Dragonborn Dragon Sorc /cleric concept [closed]

I have a fluffy character concept and I need help fine-tuning crunch to something viable. The character: A dragonborn full caster (sorcerer) with Dragon Origin and a splash of cleric (Deity: ...
1 vote
1 answer
935 views

Increasing multiclass cleric/wizard caster levels [closed]

I am planning on a character who is a wizard that will enter the dweomerkeeper1 prestige class as soon as possible, with a single-level dip in cloistered cleric to meet the divine spellcasting ...
15 votes
1 answer
3k views

Darts are awesome? Seriously? Darts?

It's my understanding that the dart is the optimized fighter's weapon of choice. In a traditional Advanced Dungeons and Dragons, 2nd Edition campaign that's run as much as it can be by the rules-as-...
11 votes
4 answers
17k views

How to choose between dual wielding and two hand weapon fighting

At first glance dual wielding two weapons and two handing a single large weapon seem to be competing to fill the same role of martial damage per round. However, I have the feeling that like in past ...
2 votes
1 answer
656 views

Char-op: Warblade 20 vs. Warblade 18/Swordsage 2

Here is a link to my level 7 Warblade, Vesuvio Monteverdi. He is a mobile DEX fighter, happy to use a rapier. He is a swashbuckler in spirit, focused on Ironheart, Tiger Claw, and Diamond Mind ...
8 votes
2 answers
6k views

When is it optimal to dip two levels of Barbarian into this human variant fighter build?

I'm possibly going to play a variant human fighter in my next campaign with the GWM feat at level 1. I'm going to specialize Champion and I'm not sure when I should go for reckless attacks. Should I ...
2 votes
0 answers
799 views

What archetypes can be good for an Paladin/Oracle gestalt under E6 rules, or "Weird E6"? [closed]

I am planning a gestalt Pathfinder character to be used under E6 gestalt rules, or, probably, under the "Weird E6" rules. I think about the Paladin/Oracle combo, as I have recently discovered a very ...
7 votes
1 answer
2k views

How can a Druid obtain certain high level Wizard/Cleric/Sorcerer spells?

I'm building a Druid. The thing is, he's also a cult leader, meaning he would appreciate certain spells and skills that most Druids normally wouldn't need. Unfortunately, from what I've seen so far, ...
0 votes
2 answers
7k views

What combination of spells and items provide you the best odds of being undetectable? [closed]

If I were attempting to solo infiltrate a fortress by stealth, what spells/items would I bring to give me the best chance of not getting caught? If the fortress had unknown methods of detection, what ...
3 votes
1 answer
2k views

Classes for preventing damage [closed]

I'm new to dungeons & dragons and I am looking to play a support role within the campaign so I want to know which class can mitigate the most amount of damage for my party members. I'm thinking ...
9 votes
5 answers
1k views

Best class for making mount tougher in special gestalt 3.PF E6

Unfortunately, this question is going to require a lot of contextual explanation due to the strange, heavily tweaked system and classes in play. Bear with me. The system I am playing in a game that ...
7 votes
1 answer
530 views

How can I optimize a symbol-specialist wizard?

In an upcoming campaign that starts at level 12 and that has PCs start with typical wealth for a PC of that level I'd like to play a wizard whose specialty is the various symbol spells. What classes ...
32 votes
10 answers
20k views

One PC is too powerful. What should I do?

I am currently playing DnD 3.5 with three friends of mine. I am Game Master and I let my players create 4th level characters in the beginning of the campaign. One of them chose Forsaker as his ...
3 votes
2 answers
7k views

Priorities for a variant human tempest cleric level 1-8 [closed]

I'd like optimize my character for a game I just joined. I chose a variant human, tempest cleric, stats were rolled. Full stats (before racial bonuses) are 12/12/12/13/14/17, so I will have 12 INT/...
6 votes
2 answers
1k views

Is there any way to make a PC obtain the Forsaker Prestige class at 2nd level?

The forsaker requires 3 feats: Great Fortitude Lightning Reflexes Iron Will Is there a way to obtain all those 3 feats at level 1 so I can become a forsaker at level 2? If not, what is the minimal ...
8 votes
1 answer
19k views

Maximum possible Attack Roll bonus? [closed]

I decided to attempt to figure out what the highest possible bonus to a single attack roll, given the proper magic items and spell buffs. From what I could tell, the best way to go about this would be ...
3 votes
2 answers
740 views

Effective high level character equipment under a really small gold budget? [closed]

I'm part of a group that is GM'ed by an incredibly stingy GM. We went through a campaign from level 1 to level 11 and we had two cloaks of resistance between the six of us, with not enough funds to ...
10 votes
2 answers
1k views

How can I make sure my character is awesome enough?

This question pulls quite a lot from Brian Ballsun-Stanton's paper on constrained optimisation (i.e. making your character awesome), so that might be a good thing to read. I know that in D&D ...
6 votes
1 answer
4k views

Warlock/cleric vs. warlock/sorcerer? [closed]

I'm looking at building a character in 5e D&D but I can't decide which multiclass I would prefer. My character so far is a 5th level Warlock (Archfey patron, pact of the Tome), and I want to ...
7 votes
3 answers
8k views

How do you efficently create the biggest demiplane?

The create demiplane spell family has a lot of interesting and versatile uses, but suffers from a frustrating size restraint. This limit prevents you from ever creating more than a generous apartment ...
4 votes
0 answers
175 views

How did DnD 3.0 barbarian optimization work? [closed]

I started thinking about this after my wife demanded that I optimize a 3.0 barbarian character. I never paid much attention to martial optimization back in 3.0 though, so I don't know how to think ...
4 votes
1 answer
3k views

A method of casting unlimited level 0 spells (cantrips?)

In D&D 3.5, is there any method of casting spells that fit in the lvl 0 spell slot without being limited to a number of times/day? The goal is to cast Prestigitation an unlimited amount of times/...
5 votes
3 answers
2k views

Damage Output of Improved Critical vs. Weapon Specialization

Let's assume the following: Rapier: 1d6 Critical Hit Range 18-20/×2 Attack: +10 Damage: 3d6+2 (extra dice from other feats, I believe only 1d6+2 gets applied on the crit.) Opponent AC: 20 ...
-6 votes
1 answer
692 views

How can I gain the Dare "Run like Hell" without taking 4 levels in the Gunslinger class?

I have a character that benefits greatly from the Run Like Hell dare, but I want to remake the character with less (or no) levels in gunslinger. How else can I gain that Dare? Just the effects would ...
4 votes
1 answer
16k views

Feats for a wolf animal companion? [closed]

I have a two-weapon fighting ranger. Currently I am level 6 and am just getting my animal companion. I chose the wolf. At level 7 he becomes large because of the feat, boon companion. His stat bump ...
15 votes
2 answers
5k views

Which yields higher average damage, an Empowered or Twinned Chaos Bolt?

Chaos bolt from UA had the nifty feature of bouncing targets in the event of your 2d8 damage rolling up doubles. While some people complained about the relatively low damage output, no one ...
18 votes
9 answers
4k views

Make NPCs hard to interrogate

So my ~11th level party is going to be interrogating a prisoner (demon, if it makes any difference) to try to get them to reveal their master's evil plan. They'll be doing this in the prison where the ...
3 votes
8 answers
1k views

Survivalist NPC build?

How can I best optimize an NPC so that instead of having perfect power attack or sneak attack, they're just really hard to kill? I can think of thief acrobat and perhaps exemplar or dungeon delver, ...
4 votes
2 answers
3k views

Animal form with most grapple damage in wild shape form

I'm looking for the best wild shape form (or Elemental) for grappling damage. The conditions are as follow: No multi classing, just strictly a base human druid no specific archetype. My objective is ...
10 votes
1 answer
3k views

How can I most effectively use a Weapon of Legacy?

Weapons of Legacy are bad. But if a character does want to use one and still be effective (say, because you have a cool idea involving the Legacy Champion class), how should they do so? Specifically:...
6 votes
1 answer
5k views

How can I make a useful tank/melee character?

Objective: Able to survive a boss encounter. Able to survive trash fight. Able to Shake (No focus on one-shotting enemies, the purpose is to tank) What I have tried (useful attributes and stats): ...
4 votes
4 answers
7k views

Good Undead Templates for a (good aligned) Rogue character

In my current campaign, I am planning to transform one of my players (a rogue) into an undead player. I talked with him and both of us thinks that would be different and fun for the game. Now, I am ...
4 votes
1 answer
1k views

What is the maximum number of attacks a single character can make in 1 round?

Introduction A friend and I were discussing our builds for an upcoming venture into Star Wars: Saga Edition and we're dabbling with multiattack characters: one melee and one ranged, and need some ...
1 vote
1 answer
1k views

What can I do to play my cleric better? [closed]

I realize how broad and subjective the title sounds, but it's the most honest and straight-forward way of asking the question I need answered. About a year and a half ago I joined a Pathfinder group ...
13 votes
3 answers
2k views

How much optimization do published D&D adventures expect?

I've recently gotten into D&D5e and it may come up that continuing to play this summer will require me to be the DM at least part of the time. I'm at a point where other people doing the work of ...
1 vote
1 answer
374 views

Mutants and Masterminds, Affects other beneficial effects and power levels

Hi so I've been told I should split up my earlier question to allow for more focused answers. I feel this is prevented by Power Levels as it acts directly rather than through circumstantial modifiers ...
16 votes
2 answers
6k views

How can I play an Artificer predictively?

Of the various classes held to be Tier One, the Artificer is perhaps the absolute trickiest to play. Though their potential power - especially with access to downtime - is immense, they more than any ...
3 votes
0 answers
5k views

Optimizing a D&D 5e Sorcerer/Warlock for support [closed]

One of the other players is making a Polearm Master Fighter, so I'm thinking of building a Repelling Blast-spamming Sorcerer/Warlock to help the fighter to block off choke points. Polearm Master ...
18 votes
5 answers
104k views

Is the Alert Feat better than an Ability Score Improvement for a Rogue?

I'm close to getting a 4th level of Assassin Rogue with a character I'm playing and I'm torn between picking up the Alert feat or improving an Ability Score (i.e. +2 Dexterity) so: Which is best, an ...
5 votes
0 answers
407 views

Optimizing for off-turn free action activity

I'm trying to develop a build for levels 3-6 that optimizes for the largest number of discrete free actions that need to be taken off-turn to work but don't explicitly grant themselves the ability to ...
3 votes
2 answers
906 views

Help with a Tiny Sized Melee Fighter in Pathfinder [closed]

I'm involved in a fairly unusual campaign. I'm trying to build a tiny sized (faerie dragon) unarmed melee fighter, and I'm just looking or anything I can do to increase DPS. The character will be ...
0 votes
1 answer
4k views

Is taking Warcaster more optimum than ability score increase for my Bard/Paladin [closed]

In an Underdark campaign, I have a Tiefling Valor Bard who is about to hit lvl 4. I want her to eventually pick up a couple levels of Paladin, and her primary role is as a melee character, with a bit ...
3 votes
2 answers
754 views

How to complement my party in a world overrun by undead [closed]

I am in a party of five in a homebrew DND 3.5 game where the world has been mostly over run by the undead. There are pockets of civilization left, mostly the well-guarded cities. My last character, ...
9 votes
4 answers
10k views

How would I build a master magic item crafter/blacksmith type character? [closed]

So I had this idea for a character who is basically obsessed with magic items, making, collecting, using, having, any and every magic item he can get his hands on: effectively a batman type character. ...
15 votes
6 answers
3k views

How do I represent a warlock with a background in thievery?

I'm developing a Dwarven Warlock (Hrafnhildur "Fin" Arnarsdottir) for the next 4E campaign I get the chance to join. She left home to join a gang in a city, and after reading a book they were going to ...
3 votes
4 answers
3k views

Melee-capable cleric with limited point buy [closed]

I am about to join a campaign of pathfinder as a human cleric, but our point-buy is really limited with only ten points allowed. This is a problem particularly for me as I want my cleric to be able ...
5 votes
2 answers
2k views

How to max out halfling Adaptable Luck?

I have a halfling who took the alternate racial feature Adaptable Luck (Advanced Race Guide), giving me a luck bonus to things +1 after a roll or +2 before. I took the trait Fate's Favored (Ultimate ...

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