Swashbuckler

[VillageGreenWitch]

I apologize for the shameless thread necromancy - but could someone please enlighten me about how to build a Swashbuckler (12), Assassin (10), Invisible Blade (5), Monk (3) ?

I especially don't get the Monk part here - is it really just for the kama profiency?

Thanks in advance.

[Theodore01]

Here a monk dip has quite some benefits - speed, flurry, evasion (+opens EW), Wis-bonus to AC and ki-step !

[chad878262]

I apologize for the shameless thread necromancy - but could someone please enlighten me about how to build a Swashbuckler (12), Assassin (10), Invisible Blade (5), Monk (3) ?

I especially don't get the Monk part here - is it really just for the kama profiency?

Thanks in advance.

The monk is not really required, but the idea behind the build is you get:
- DEX, INT (max 5) and WIS to AC. So with let's say 30 DEX (26+4), 20 INT (16+4) and 16 WIS (13+3 item) you are getting +18 AC... So 10 + 16 (Armor/Deflection/Dodge/Natural) + 18 (DEX, INT, WIS) + 3 (Tumble) + 1 (LoH) = 48 with just epic gear as a baseline (and even more against one opponent with dodge/sb dodge). If you also consider buffs like IMA and Shield, this is one of the ways you can build a PTWF PC that gets very high AC

- There are very good kama's in the epic shop that synergize well with STR and DEX poison DC 18.

- Epic Precision from SB12 + 5d6 sneak damage from Assassin.

- As stated Monk also gives evasion, and in one less level than going SB16.

- 26 BAB + flurry of blows means you get 15 APR, 16 with haste so you can actually get 6 death attacks out of HiPS when hasted and 5 normally. And with focus on max Bluff and bluff gear, you can do massive damage against any enemies you can consistently land feint against.

So essentially it is a good mix of offense and defense. It will not kill epic caster mobs in the first flurry like a maxed sneak dice type of sneak attack character, but has better AC and better AB. With Combat Insight it also does better damage with the attacks after the first flurry and can have enough AC to stand there and keep attacking, so over the course of the full round might come close to competing DPR wise with a heavier sneak dice build.

That is the why... The how boils down to SB and Monk for first 6 levels to qualify for Assassin, then Assassin until you have TWF/Feint and qualify for IB. At level 20 you would want to be SB6/A8/M3/IB3 as HiPS is still your best defense against spell casters. Then you would want to prioritize SB to 12 for Epic precision and finish out the build with IB and Assassin.

Obviously Drow, Tiefling and Air Genasi make the most easy/optimized path, but you by no means need to go for 16 INT to maximize things here. Plenty of room for other races and non-stat optimization while still being quite effective.

Hope this helps.

Edit: not air genasi as they get wis penalty

[VillageGreenWitch]

Thank you, Theodore01 - and especially thank you, chadchangingnumbers.

I am suprised to say the least - I thought for the monk abilities to work you need to 2 out of 3 levels of monk?
So this is not true fpr the abilities you mentioned?
Really interesting to know.
And thank you for the detailed build suggestions, too.

[Svabodnik]

The 2/3 monk level thing is specifically for the Intuitive Attack feat, which allows a monk to use their WIS modifier for attack bonus when using kamas, quarterstaves, or unarmed, but only as long as they maintain a predominantly monk-focused build. As this is would be a DEX-focused build going for Perfect 2WF, it's not as limited, and a large portion of the monk's benefits can be picked up with a quick dip.

[VillageGreenWitch]

Ah, okay.
Thank you for the clarification!