[Character Build] Lord-Reaper of Dunnage, Principi Marauder (Berserker/Streetfighter) for PotD

[Cyrus_Blackfeather]

Hey guys! Sorry for the double post, but I accidentally left this in the lore forums, so... Yeah! That's my bad. 

 

Hey hey,

 

After getting a bunch of feedback on my Marauder build, I wanted to post a more complete version! This character can work with any faction, but is most thematically in line with the Principi. Pirate stuff! Yeah! Now, I know Barbarian/Rogue definitely isn't the class combo to pick if you want a heavy roleplay experience based on your class, but I'm hoping that the culture/background selection I decided to go with will be able to make up for that. 

 

Also, "Lord-Reaper" is a title that I stole borrowed from ASoIaF. It doesn't reflect on how the character plays, since aside from Xoti's Sickle, which we can't make terribly good use of, there aren't really scythes in the game. 

 

Blessings: Bonus attributes/skills, special item merchant, 5000 starting gold. 

 

Race: Human for character customization options and another Bloodied bonus. I've considered Fire Godlike for more special dialogue choices (It's got the most after some variant of Aumaua) but I don't like losing out on the helm slot, and the lack of available head types versus styles of portraits annoys me. Orlan could also work for extra hit to crit conversion, but I'm not a fan of them either. I seem to recall Hearth Orlan being a lot more gnome-like and less... furry. 

 

Class: Berserker/Streetfighter

 

Culture: Deadfire Archipelago. Has far and away the most dialogue choices, and fits for the Principi, since they're sort of the Huana's rowdy next-door neighbors, I suppose you could say. 

 

Background: Slave. Many of the Newblood Principi are freed slaves. Athletics, Survival, and Streetwise. 

 

Skill Focus: Alchemy (For poisons) and Mechanics as Active skills, with a splash in Athletics for skill checks and Second Wind (Set AI to use it on <25% health since the AI can still see your HP while Frenzied). For passives, Insight and then pick your poison of the conversational skills. For the type of character we're wanting to play, Intimidate makes the most sense, then Streetwise/Bluff. Also, consider putting a few points in Metaphysics for certain checks.*

 

*The skills are the part of this build where I'm still kind of indecisive, because I don't want to spread skills too thin on my MC, but I also don't want to miss certain crucial details that might affect my decision-making. I think the best thing I can do is focus on the skills that would best help this sort of character resolve the business he'd commonly find himself dealing with. Do the more esoteric skills like Metaphysics really give you much in terms of advancing the story, or is it just "You know a little more about this particular thing"? 

 

Attributes: 

 

Might: 20 (15 Base +1 Human +1 GotM +2 Berath's Blessing +1 Permanent Stat Boost) 

Con: 12 (8 Base +1 Effigy's Resentment (Durance) +1 Chameleon's Touch +2 Berath's Blessing)

Dexterity: 13 (9 Base +1 Deadfire +2 Berath's Blessing +1 Chameleon's Touch) 

Perception: 20 (18 Base +2 Berath's Blessing)

Intellect: 20 (18 Base +2 Berath's Blessing)

Resolve: 10 (7 Base +1 Human +2 Berath's Blessing) 

 

Dexterity is kept low-ish because eventually, stacking Action Speed starts to result in diminishing returns. The difference between 13 and 18 Dexterity with this build is a matter of a few tenths of a second of action time. Intellect and Perception are both kept high because, hey, hitting things is good. Resolve is kept at 10 mostly because I don't like having it much lower, and I don't really feel like it needs to be.

 

With Tough, and the bonuses from both sacrificing Durance and GotM, 12 Constitution gives 386 HP at level 20. That means it takes longer to hit Bloodied, but it also means that I can stay Bloodied longer without having to worry about being murdered. 

 

Abilities: 

 

Level 1 - Frenzy/Crippling Strike

Level 2 - Blooded
Level 3 - Escape
Level 4 - Barbaric Blow/Two Weapon Style
Level 5 - Dirty Fighting
Level 6 - Blinding Strike
Level 7 - Confounding Blind/One Stands Alone
Level 8 - Bloodlust
Level 9 - Thick Skinned
Level 10 - Blood Frenzy/Persistent Distraction

Level 11 - Withering Strike

Level 12 - Wild Sprint

Level 13 - Barbaric Smash/Deep Wounds
Level 14 - Tough
Level 15 - Interrupting Blows
Level 16 - Perishing Strike/Brute Force
Level 17 - Lion's Sprint
Level 18 - Slippery Mind
Level 19 - Deathblows/Blood Thirst
Level 20 - Blood Storm

 

Wild Sprint > Lion's Sprint is taken for the engagement immunity (Always nice to have another ability that does that) and the Accuracy boost (Which will probably be adjusted to actually work like it's supposed to, but I still feel like it's a good pick). The abilities are more or less set in stone, but if there's anything that obviously seems like a bad choice, be sure to point it out. Some things that obviously come to mind... 

 

Spirit VS Blood. I know Staggered takes foes out of engagement, and thus Flanked, but it's also an Affliction that can proc Sneak Attack and Deathblows. Blood Storm's bleed on crit does sound appealing though. 

 

Gear: 

 

Pet - Abraham: He's a good boy! Recovery reduction for armor, plus a heal on kill. It's a good way to try to maintain a healthy Bloodied state and not get overwhelmed and murdered. 

 

Weapons: There's a lot of really good options. Some sets I've considered... 

 

Stalker's Patience and Rust's Poignard

 

Modwyr and Duskfall (Dual swords are always super badass)

 

Grave Calling 

 

Any cool new weapons from the DLC. Pun intended, probably. 

 

Armor: DoC Breastplate. Even though it requires making a slightly gamey decision, it still gives +4 class resource to dual martial classes, which is easily among the best buffs in the game. That's not even getting into the immunity to Intellect afflictions it grants, and the armor bonuses aren't half bad either. Kind of a tricky steal though, but manageable with Serafen, who I'll have by that point. 

 

Helm: Death's Maw for extra damage reduction each time I kill something. Things should be dying a lot. Ergo, it should be pretty useful. 

 

Belt: Upright Captain's Belt means your Explosives experts/casters can throw around Pull of Eora and drag all of the enemies in on you for extra smashy funtime. 

 

Cloak: Cloak of Greater Protection (+10 all Defenses except Deflection) and then upgrade to Nemnok's Cloak (Which can apparently be stolen as early as level 7 or 8 with some practice. 

 

Gloves: Bracers of Greater Deflection: +7 Deflection more or less negates the -10 from Frenzy on its own. 

 

Rings: Chameleon's Touch (For +1 to two attributes and two skills) and Voidward (To reduce the Raw damage taken by Frenzy as it gains PL). 

 

Boots: Boots of the Stone, for resistance to Might afflictions as well as a little extra Dexterity and Resolve, upgrade to Rakhan Field Boots later on. 

 

Amulet: Amulet of Health most likely until I can get Precognition (Reduces crit damage taken, increases crit damage done). 

 

Interested to hear your thoughts on this! It's more or less complete, bar anything I've missed, and making a more final decision on skill focus. If Alchemy isn't a must-take for the Watcher anymore, I might just go Stealth/Mechanics and Insight/Intimidate with a dash of Streetwise. 

Edited August 2, 2018 by Cyrus_Blackfeather

[thundercleese]

Looking pretty good. Precognition has limited duration on both buffs, I forget the specifics but it's something like the extra crit damage only applies to the first x hits, reduced crit damage taken lasts for x seconds. Not at home so can't check atm. Regarding Spirit Frenzy, I don't think it's worth with Persistent Distraction, which alone will trigger Deathblows. Only issue is PER resistant/immune and engagement immune enemies. Grave calling is my favourite weapon to use against undead (the summoning is also bugged, which can lead to some funny situations), can be obtained very early as well providing you have high mechanics/enough cash.

 

Also, you may want to finish this sentence.

With Tough, and the bonuses from both sacrificing Durance and GotM, 17 Constitution gives 460 HP at level 20. That means it takes longer to hit Bloodied, but that

[Cyrus_Blackfeather]

 

Looking pretty good. Precognition has limited duration on both buffs, I forget the specifics but it's something like the extra crit damage only applies to the first x hits, reduced crit damage taken lasts for x seconds. Not at home so can't check atm. Regarding Spirit Frenzy, I don't think it's worth with Persistent Distraction, which alone will trigger Deathblows. Only issue is PER resistant/immune and engagement immune enemies. Grave calling is my favourite weapon to use against undead (the summoning is also bugged, which can lead to some funny situations), can be obtained very early as well providing you have high mechanics/enough cash.

 

Also, you may want to finish this sentence.

With Tough, and the bonuses from both sacrificing Durance and GotM, 17 Constitution gives 460 HP at level 20. That means it takes longer to hit Bloodied, but that

 

 

Haha, thanks! A lot of typing, and I forget sometimes. So, would you suggest I swap out Spirit Frenzy/Spirit Tornado for Blood Frenzy/Blood Storm, or just not get a Frenzy upgrade? If the bleed on crit stacks with Deep Wounds, that'd be pretty cool. As far as Perception resistant/immune enemies/engagement immune enemies go, I can't imagine there are going to be too many of those, and that's what Crippling Strike/Perishing Strike/Confounding Blind are for. 

[thundercleese]

Yeah you can swap for Blood Frenzy or just take something else. All different DoTs stack so no issue there. Static number DoTs only really scale with PL and might, unless I'm mistaken. Blood Storm could be good if you are killing fast as it'll free up rage for other abilities. Not sure how long the extension is though as I'm yet to reach max level on a barb lol. I think most of the big monster bosses (dragons, kraken) are immune to engagement and/or have perception resist/immunity, plus a handful of others. But they are easy enough to manually flank, and as you say you have plenty of other CC at your disposal.

[Cyrus_Blackfeather]

Yeah you can swap for Blood Frenzy or just take something else. All different DoTs stack so no issue there. Static number DoTs only really scale with PL and might, unless I'm mistaken. Blood Storm could be good if you are killing fast as it'll free up rage for other abilities. Not sure how long the extension is though as I'm yet to reach max level on a barb lol. I think most of the big monster bosses (dragons, kraken) are immune to engagement and/or have perception resist/immunity, plus a handful of others. But they are easy enough to manually flank, and as you say you have plenty of other CC at your disposal.

 

Decided to go with the Blood variant, since I couldn't really think of anything else that'd be worth taking. Hopefully the fixed damage is worth it with 20 Might (From Frenzy) and the PL bonus. Plus I like the idea of, as you said, killing things quickly to free up more Rage. 

 

Pretty much set on things at the moment. Skills shouldn't be a problem anymore since I can respec more freely (Thanks to them finally fixing that bug). I might want to see how much I can get away with dropping Con, and maybe Dexterity, to bump Might up. Maybe take Con down to 12 (10 with the Durance buff and the ring) because that's still 386 HP. (Which translates to Bloodied at 193 compared to 230). 

 

... Okay, that might be a better investment. 

Edited August 2, 2018 by Cyrus_Blackfeather

[Vaneglorious]

I'll try this at some point.

 

I'm a tad confused about the 20 MIG, then followed up by "MIG is kept at 10" . What's that about?

 

Also, if the armor gives INT affliction immunity, can't I just go dual sabres? Would a 2h work like Whispers of the E.P. or Wahai Poraga?

[baldurs_gate_2]

I'll try this at some point.

 

I'm a tad confused about the 20 MIG, then followed up by "MIG is kept at 10" . What's that about?

 

Also, if the armor gives INT affliction immunity, can't I just go dual sabres? Would a 2h work like Whispers of the E.P. or Wahai Poraga?

Grave Calling and Mins Foretune or Scordeo's, but you can get that only very late.

[Cyrus_Blackfeather]

I'll try this at some point.

 

I'm a tad confused about the 20 MIG, then followed up by "MIG is kept at 10" . What's that about?

 

Also, if the armor gives INT affliction immunity, can't I just go dual sabres? Would a 2h work like Whispers of the E.P. or Wahai Poraga?

 

Oh, that's my bad. I didn't update the main text. 

[Cyrus_Blackfeather]

Before I go ahead with this, I'm curious as to what everyone thinks - would it be better to go for higher Might for Might related dialogue checks and 30% compared to 15% bonus damage, or more Constitution for 460 max HP at level 20 compared to 386? 

[mant2si]

Before I go ahead with this, I'm curious as to what everyone thinks - would it be better to go for higher Might for Might related dialogue checks and 30% compared to 15% bonus damage, or more Constitution for 460 max HP at level 20 compared to 386? 

I don't know why but I much more prefer defensive setup :D

I don't think that you really need berserkers, all their bonuses exist as potions alternative (at least for melee setup). For solo/duo marauder builds I usually pick no-subclass barbarian

I never max int, because it cause rogue dots do less DPS and 15SEC for Frenzy is pretty enough

 

Instead of INT I max Resolve

Instead of MIG I put all points to Constituion

 

So I usually try to stack as much as possible deflection +10 From Resolve + 7 (From Cloak of Greater deflection) + 10 from (Casità Samelia's Legacy ) + 8 Dagger Modal (Pukestabber) + 4 (2x ring of minor deflection) + 3 (From resolve Drug) + 10 (From Hylena Food for no-rest run) = 105 - 110 Deflection. Why ?  Because this stop enemies to over-pen your armor with crits

 

Fire godlike + Barbarian passive + Belt (Blunting Belt) + Potion of Shield will give you enough armor to survive in any fight without carrying  about enemies DM

As primary weapon I used Scordeo's Edge to make it stack enough accuracy

Edited August 2, 2018 by mant2si

[Cyrus_Blackfeather]

 

Before I go ahead with this, I'm curious as to what everyone thinks - would it be better to go for higher Might for Might related dialogue checks and 30% compared to 15% bonus damage, or more Constitution for 460 max HP at level 20 compared to 386? 

I don't know why but I much more prefer defensive setup :D

I don't think that you really need berserkers, all their bonuses exist as potions alternative (at least for melee setup). For solo/duo marauder builds I usually pick no-subclass barbarian

I never max int, because it cause rogue dots do less DPS and 15SEC for Frenzy is pretty enough

 

Instead of INT I max Resolve

Instead of MIG I put all points to Constituion

 

So I usually try to stack as much as possible deflection +10 From Resolve + 7 (From Cloak of Greater deflection) + 10 from (Casità Samelia's Legacy ) + 8 Dagger Modal (Pukestabber) + 4 (2x ring of minor deflection) + 3 (From resolve Drug) + 10 (From Hylena Food for no-rest run) = 105 - 110 Deflection. Why ?  Because this stop enemies to over-pen your armor with crits

 

Fire godlike + Barbarian passive + Belt (Blunting Belt) + Potion of Shield will give you enough armor to survive in any fight without carrying  about enemies DM

As primary weapon I used Scordeo's Edge to make it stack enough accuracy

 

 

Well, I planned on doing this build in a party, but I didn't know about Int behaving like that in regards to Rogue DoTs. I'd be worried about the duration on the Afflictions, though I suppose the PL scaling helps with that as well. Plus I do kind of like the idea of maxing Resolve, because playing a fearless character definitely appeals - though playing a smart one has a certain degree of appeal as well. 

[mant2si]

 

Well, I planned on doing this build in a party, but I didn't know about Int behaving like that in regards to Rogue DoTs. I'd be worried about the duration on the Afflictions, though I suppose the PL scaling helps with that as well. Plus I do kind of like the idea of maxing Resolve, because playing a fearless character definitely appeals - though playing a smart one has a certain degree of appeal as well. 

 

Check it by yourself and decided what you prefer more :D

[Cyrus_Blackfeather]

So, slight correction to what I said earlier. If I'm doing this in a party - with tanky characters like Eder, would it be better to focus on Might, or should I bump up Resolve and play OT as well? If I decided to go with a more Resolve/Con focused playstyle, my stats would look like this...

 

Might: 15 (10 Base +1 Human +1 GotM +2 Berath's Blessing +1 Permanent Stat Boost) 

Con: 17 (13 Base +1 Effigy's Resentment (Durance) +1 Chameleon's Touch +2 Berath's Blessing)

Dexterity: 13 (9 Base +1 Deadfire +2 Berath's Blessing +1 Chameleon's Touch) 

Perception: 20 (18 Base +2 Berath's Blessing)

Intellect: 10 (8 Base +2 Berath's Blessing)

Resolve: 20 (17 Base +1 Human +2 Berath's Blessing) 

 

So, 460 HP at level 20, +10 Deflection in addition to everything I can get from other stuff. I could go all in and drop Might down to 5 for more Con, but I'd rather not do that. This allows me to pass every Resolve test in the game, but means I'll lose out on Intellect tests. Which actually necessitates getting high Alchemy if I want the permanent stat boost. 

 

Hmm... 

[mant2si]

@Cyrus_Blackfeather

Yes yo need to max Alchemy and change your gear
For RP you can put 2 more points to int and remove 1 point from constitution 12 - 13 INT/MIG/DEX sound very reasonable :D 

[Cyrus_Blackfeather]

@Cyrus_Blackfeather

 

Yes yo need to max Alchemy and change your gear

For RP you can put 2 more points to int and remove 1 point from constitution 12 - 13 INT/MIG/DEX sound very reasonable :D 

 

And also going No-Subclass Barbarian so I'm not constantly murdering myself with Berserker, I guess. 

[baldurs_gate_2]

 

@Cyrus_Blackfeather

 

Yes yo need to max Alchemy and change your gear

For RP you can put 2 more points to int and remove 1 point from constitution 12 - 13 INT/MIG/DEX sound very reasonable :D 

 

And also going No-Subclass Barbarian so I'm not constantly murdering myself with Berserker, I guess. 

 

Berserker is the only reason to play a barbarian. The 30% crit chance, +2 Armor rating and +2 penetration is just too good. With Nemonks cloak, you have such a high armor rating, you won't die often.

[PIP-Clownboy]

 

@Cyrus_Blackfeather

 

Yes yo need to max Alchemy and change your gear

For RP you can put 2 more points to int and remove 1 point from constitution 12 - 13 INT/MIG/DEX sound very reasonable :D 

 

And also going No-Subclass Barbarian so I'm not constantly murdering myself with Berserker, I guess. 

 

 

Nah, I mean you want to be bloodied anyways for maximum damage outputs. There are a bunch of items that raise dmg reduction/resists when you're low health. 

[Cyrus_Blackfeather]

 

 

@Cyrus_Blackfeather

 

Yes yo need to max Alchemy and change your gear

For RP you can put 2 more points to int and remove 1 point from constitution 12 - 13 INT/MIG/DEX sound very reasonable :D 

 

And also going No-Subclass Barbarian so I'm not constantly murdering myself with Berserker, I guess. 

 

 

Nah, I mean you want to be bloodied anyways for maximum damage outputs. There are a bunch of items that raise dmg reduction/resists when you're low health. 

 

 

So would you say it's worth it to keep Int high or should I keep it low in favor of high Resolve? I do plan on keeping Con high. 

[PIP-Clownboy]

Personally, would go high INT. With Blood Storm you can near perma frenzy up which saves resources for other stuff

[thundercleese]

Personally, would go high INT. With Blood Storm you can near perma frenzy up which saves resources for other stuff

Also less interruptions in your attacking; Frenzy has a "cast time" unlike most other self buffs. Though I personally wouldn't go for int. Too little benefit compared to other classes.

[Cyrus_Blackfeather]

 

Personally, would go high INT. With Blood Storm you can near perma frenzy up which saves resources for other stuff

Also less interruptions in your attacking; Frenzy has a "cast time" unlike most other self buffs. Though I personally wouldn't go for int. Too little benefit compared to other classes.

 

 

So you'd go for Resolve over Int? What about from a roleplay perspective - aren't there a lot more Int checks than Resolve checks? 

[PIP-Clownboy]

 

Personally, would go high INT. With Blood Storm you can near perma frenzy up which saves resources for other stuff

Also less interruptions in your attacking; Frenzy has a "cast time" unlike most other self buffs. Though I personally wouldn't go for int. Too little benefit compared to other classes.

 

 

Well the question was INT or Resolve and for this build I would go INT any day of the week. You can attain immunity to resolve afflictions/interrupts fairly easy.

[thundercleese]

 

 

Personally, would go high INT. With Blood Storm you can near perma frenzy up which saves resources for other stuff

 

Also less interruptions in your attacking; Frenzy has a "cast time" unlike most other self buffs. Though I personally wouldn't go for int. Too little benefit compared to other classes.

 

So you'd go for Resolve over Int? What about from a roleplay perspective - aren't there a lot more Int checks than Resolve checks?

Yeah, though you don't need to completely dump it, I just wouldn't prioritize it. Yes int checks are more common than res, however there are some quite funny ones that only appear if you have a really low int - "why are you asking me?!" etc.

[Cyrus_Blackfeather]

 

 

 

Personally, would go high INT. With Blood Storm you can near perma frenzy up which saves resources for other stuff

Also less interruptions in your attacking; Frenzy has a "cast time" unlike most other self buffs. Though I personally wouldn't go for int. Too little benefit compared to other classes.

 

So you'd go for Resolve over Int? What about from a roleplay perspective - aren't there a lot more Int checks than Resolve checks?

Yeah, though you don't need to completely dump it, I just wouldn't prioritize it. Yes int checks are more common than res, however there are some quite funny ones that only appear if you have a really low int - "why are you asking me?!" etc.

 

 

So, something like this? 

 

15 Might/15 Con/13 Dex/20 Perception/12 Intellect/20 Resolve - I didn't break down every bonus, but basically I shaved two points off of Con for max Res while keeping Int a little bit up. That gives me 429.5 (430) HP (Assuming it rounds in your favor, which I think it always does). So basically I trade 30 HP for no Deflection loss when Frenzied, plus a (slightly) higher Will save, and I miss out on the dialogue tests for being a super smarty pants, while passing all of the ones involving force of will. 

 

Hmm. 

[Dorftek]

 

 

Before I go ahead with this, I'm curious as to what everyone thinks - would it be better to go for higher Might for Might related dialogue checks and 30% compared to 15% bonus damage, or more Constitution for 460 max HP at level 20 compared to 386?

I don't know why but I much more prefer defensive setup :D

I don't think that you really need berserkers, all their bonuses exist as potions alternative (at least for melee setup). For solo/duo marauder builds I usually pick no-subclass barbarian

I never max int, because it cause rogue dots do less DPS and 15SEC for Frenzy is pretty enough

 

Instead of INT I max Resolve

Instead of MIG I put all points to Constituion

 

So I usually try to stack as much as possible deflection +10 From Resolve + 7 (From Cloak of Greater deflection) + 10 from (Casità Samelia's Legacy ) + 8 Dagger Modal (Pukestabber) + 4 (2x ring of minor deflection) + 3 (From resolve Drug) + 10 (From Hylena Food for no-rest run) = 105 - 110 Deflection. Why ? Because this stop enemies to over-pen your armor with crits

 

Fire godlike + Barbarian passive + Belt (Blunting Belt) + Potion of Shield will give you enough armor to survive in any fight without carrying about enemies DM

As primary weapon I used Scordeo's Edge to make it stack enough accuracy

Well, I planned on doing this build in a party, but I didn't know about Int behaving like that in regards to Rogue DoTs. I'd be worried about the duration on the Afflictions, though I suppose the PL scaling helps with that as well. Plus I do kind of like the idea of maxing Resolve, because playing a fearless character definitely appeals - though playing a smart one has a certain degree of appeal as well.

I don't think that's correct, rogue dots tell u on description "will deal x dmg per 3sec over x time" int doesn't change the tic dmg like it did in the first game as far as I know, it will however make the dot stay on for longer or shorter so higher int means more tics, toxic strike especially will be gimped with a low Int score. Edited August 3, 2018 by Dorftek