Prestige Class: Sublime Chord

[Raconteur02]

(I'm surprised I haven't seen a build for this PrC on here yet.)

"You'll never get through me and my friends, evildoer!"

Nymph Bard 26/Arcane Duelist 4/Sublime Chord 10
Neutral Good

Stats:

Str: 14
Dex: 20
Con: 16
Int: 20
Wis: 14
Cha: 22 (32 at level 40)

Feats: Weapon Prof. (Rapier), Weapon Finesse, Dodge, Mobility, Force of Personality, Weapon Focus (Rapier), Improved Critical (Rapier), Practiced Spellcaster (Bard), Lasting Inspiration, Epic Spellcasting, Epic Spell Penetration, Great Charisma (1, 2, 3, 4), Epic Prowess

Recommended Skills:

Discipline
Heal
Listen
Lore
Perform
Persuade
Spellcraft
Tumble
UMD
Concentration

Pros: Excellent buffs, hard to debuff, high caster level (CL 40, 44 with Song of Arcane Power), high armor class (41 AC butt naked, and it goes up to at least the mid 80's with HotU gear), very high saving throws, Use Magic Device, strong nukes in epic levels, powerful bardsong, epic spells, very high +Cha scaling, at-will high DC blind aura, fairly competent melee combatant, works extremely well with parties.

Cons: No natural spell resistance, somewhat feat starved, low HP, low per-hit melee damage, no natural evasion, blind aura has friendly fire, no devastating critical.


Commentary: Unearthly Grace, Apparent Defense and Force of Personality combined with Cha-based spellcasting turn Charisma into a complete powerhouse stat for this character. Every two points gives +2 AC, +2 Will, +1 Fort, +1 Ref, +1 Spell DC and +1 to Blinding Beauty/Stunning Glare DC. Sublime Chord PrC gives access to some wonderful arcane nukes like Doom Scarabs, Cone of Cold, Firebrand, and Isaac's Greater Missile Storm, and the fact that it stacks with bard to determine caster level means you'll be smoking mobs like a pro as soon as you get them. It also gives access to higher-level buffs like Egregious Might, Greater Stoneskin and Energy Immunity. And when all else fails, you can fall back on your passable melee abilities and sky-high AC to take the battle toe-to-toe. Your buffs and bardsong are a welcome asset in any group, especially since they come packaged with some significant offenses and defenses of your own.

(Go 18 Bard/2 Arcane Duelist up to level 20 to help maximize BAB.)

[ThE LoSt BoY]

Unless there is a strong need for 2 Arc Duel pre-epic, you may consider going straight L20 bard pre-epic for 15 BAB. Arc Duel is half progression and bard L19, 20 are both +1.

Since all classes are 4 +Int mod skills, you may be able to back off of 20 Int and still get the (skill) totals you want and have higher combat related abilities.

I don't think I've seen a bard focused build get Epic spells. Great use of Sublime Chord.

Keep 'em comin'.

[Raconteur02]

Unless there is a strong need for 2 Arc Duel pre-epic, you may consider going straight L20 bard pre-epic for 15 BAB. Arc Duel is half progression and bard L19, 20 are both +1.

It depends. If you're playing the character from level 1, the extra AC will help insure you get to epic levels. It's hard to put that off, although it does make for a more powerful final character. I made a conscious decision to lose the +1 BAB in order to distribute some of the power curve into the pre-20 levels, because it's already hard enough relying on low-damage melee and support spells until level 20+. If the character is being created at or near epic levels, then doing 20 levels of bard first is the clear choice, and arguably taking Arc Duel early is only the difference between a good AC and an obscene AC before then.

Since all classes are 4 +Int mod skills, you may be able to back off of 20 Int and still get the (skill) totals you want and have higher combat related abilities.

It's a possibility, but on the other hand, you can definitely use the skill points. Concentration, heal, discipline, lore, listen, persuade, spellcraft, tumble and UMD can all be maxed out, as far as I know. Perform needs a skill check of at least 30, so you're already cutting into one of the aforementioned skills to get that.

I don't think I've seen a bard focused build get Epic spells. Great use of Sublime Chord.

Thanks - it's a great PrC, hence my surprise at why a charbuild hasn't been posted that uses it until now.

[Shalvan]

What would you use if you didn't want to play an overpowered race like Nymph? I think it takes away from the fun of playing. I think I would like a character similar to that one, but with a race that has a level adjustment no higher than +2. Since LA is not implemented in NWN, using rakshasas and nymphs feels downright dirty to me xD Aside from Human, what would be a good choice? Also, is the Arcane Duelist worth it then?

[CyberEagle1989]

What would you use if you didn't want to play an overpowered race like Nymph? I think it takes away from the fun of playing. I think I would like a character similar to that one, but with a race that has a level adjustment no higher than +2. Since LA is not implemented in NWN, using rakshasas and nymphs feels downright dirty to me xD Aside from Human, what would be a good choice? Also, is the Arcane Duelist worth it then?

Hey, Shalvan. One Hell of a late response, but that's what us two get for browsing a dead Forum.

I'm pondering a similiar issue.
The PrC Pack DOES actually have the option to emulate Level Adjustments and even Racial Hit Dice with some of its "Switches" (found in the Options Dialouge, hit the +1 on every of the intuitively named switches; However, with NWNs strict limits on the amount of classes - which Racial HD count as, I'd avoid activating Racial HD at all cost)

But that creates the opposite issue: Suddenly you got some immovable object on the Battlefield, near-immortal but absolutely unable to do anything worthwhile, as her obscenely high LA puts her too far behind the curve to do anything for most of her career.
Man, did WoTc do a terrible job with LA.

Might wanna consider a Catfolk or Satyr for races that are "only a bit broken" without LA and could be made to work with LA.

[ThE LoSt BoY]

Man, did WoTc do a terrible job with LA.

What exactly did WoTC ever get right?

[CyberEagle1989]

What exactly did WoTC ever get right?

The Beguiler.

Nothing else.

Ever.