Slashing Fury (TWF Scimitar Build) (3.5e Optimized Character Build)
Introduction
PLEASE DON'T EDIT THIS! LEAVE NOTES UNDER NOTES SECTION BELOW AND I WILL FIX IT.
This optimization is one that uses the classes barbarian, fighter, dervish, and tempest, the last two being prestige classes. It ends up with an astounding 20 attacks at 20th level. The overall damage of the build isn't the highest I've ever seen, but you get to hit a lot, so I like the trade off.
References
Player's Handbook
Player's Handbook II
Complete Warrior
Complete Adventurer
Unearthed Arcana
Items
No items are needed, but I'd recommend the Manuals for the different physical attributes, a belt of giant strength, gloves of dexterity, boots of striding and springing, scabbards of keen edges, and some good scimitars. You have to use light armor for some of the class features. Also picking up wounding scimitars will make your DM facepalm if you hit with at least half of your attacks in one round, in a few rounds you should also be able to drop anything with high DR/-
Progression
Starting Ability Scores (Before Racial Adjustments): Highest go to STR and DEX. High CON is always good, and the mental stats are all only used for skills. In the original run of my character we were playing 2 17's, 2 16's, and 2 15's, so my stats looked like this: 17 17 16 16 15 15, and I put 2 points in DEX, then 2 points in STR, and then my last point in CON for leveling bonuses.
Race: Whatever you want. I played a human for the extra feat, but you can play whatever you want.
| ECL | Class/HD/LA | Base Attack Bonus |
Saving Throws | Feats | Class Features |
Special | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fort | Ref | Will | ||||||
| 1st | Barbarian | +1 | +2 | +0 | +0 | Two Weapon Fighting | Fast Movement (+10ft.), Whirling Frenzy 1/day (Alternate Rage) | 2 skill points in Perform (Dance), and 2 in Tumble |
| 2nd | Fighter | +2 | +4 | +0 | +0 | Bonus Feat (Dodge) | ||
| 3rd | Fighter | +3 | +5 | +0 | +0 | Bonus Feat (Mobility) | 1 more skill point in both Perform (Dance) and Tumble | |
| 4th | Fighter | +4 | +5 | +1 | +1 | Combat Expertise | ||
| 5th | Fighter | +5 | +6 | +1 | +1 | Bonus Feat (Weapon Focus (Scimitar)) | ||
| 6th | Dervish | +6/1 | +6 | +3 | +3 | Dervish Dance 1/day, Movement Mastery, Slashing Blades, AC Bonus +1 | I would strongly suggest continuing to put points in Perform (dance), because it adds to the duration of your Dervish Dance | |
| 7th | Dervish | +7/2 | +6 | +4 | +4 | Improved Two Weapon Fighting | Fast Movement (+15ft.) | |
| 8th | Dervish | +8/3 | +7 | +4 | +4 | Spring Attack, Dervish Dance 2/day | ||
| 9th | Dervish | +9/4 | +7 | +5 | +5 | Dance of Death | ||
| 10th | Dervish | +10/5 | +7 | +5 | +5 | Melee Weapon Mastery (Slashing) | Fast Movement (+20ft.), Dervish Dance 3/day, AC Bonus +2 | |
| 11th | Dervish | +11/6/1 | +8 | +6 | +6 | Improved Reaction | ||
| 12th | Dervish | +12/7/2 | +8 | +6 | +6 | Elaborate Parry, Dervish Dance 4/day | ||
| 13th | Dervish | +13/8/3 | +8 | +7 | +7 | Greater Two Weapon Fighting | Fast Movement (+25ft.) | |
| 14th | Dervish | +14/9/4 | +9 | +7 | +7 | Tireless Dance, Dervish Dance 5/day, AC Bonus +3 | ||
| 15th | Dervish | +15/10/5 | +9 | +8 | +8 | A Thousand Cuts | ||
| 16th | Tempest | +16/11/6/1 | +11 | +8 | +8 | Slashing Flurry | Tempest Defense +1 | |
| 17th | Tempest | +17/12/7/2 | +12 | +8 | +8 | Ambidexterity | ||
| 18th | Tempest | +18/13/8/3 | +12 | +9 | +9 | Tempest Defense +2, Two Weapon Versatility | ||
| 19th | Tempest | +19/14/9/4 | +13 | +9 | +9 | (Whatever You Want(I took TWD)) | Ambidexterity II | |
| 20th | Tempest | +20/15/10/5 | +13 | +9 | +9 | Tempest Defense +3, Two Weapon Spring Attack | ||
Highlights
The build gets 4 attacks from BAB, three off hand attacks, one from whirling frenzy, one from dervish dance, and one from slashing fury, but they are all doubled when using a thousand cuts, which comes out to twenty. You also get a huge land speed. AC can get pretty massive too, if you have the right items.
Munchkin-Size Me
The Kensai alternate class feature (originally from Dragon magazine Special Updates Series # 1 of 3) would give you four more attacks, but would cut your to hit rating by a bit.
Notes
There is a flaw in this build, for Melee Weapon Mastery: You also need Weapon Specialisation in a Slashing Weapon.
The Dervish class feature specifically states "A Dervish cannot perform a Dervish Dance while under the effect of a Rage or Frenzy ability" - Pg 26 Complete Warrior. Which means that either you have to Rage after you begin to Dance or you can't Dance and Rage at the same time, Whirling Frenzy may not be Rage but it is an equivalent "Whirling frenzy is otherwise identical to the standard barbarian rage in all other ways" and "A character can’t use whirling frenzy at the same time that he uses any other form of rage (or similar ability)", now I would rule that Dancing is NOT similar to Rage but some DMs might but you probably can't do both at the same time - OmegaXicor -13/Nov/2011 - 13:23
No where does it ever state that an extra attack is granted by the Dervish's Dervish Dance ability. -Kelso 1/26/2012 @14:08
Critical threats below 20 do not automatically hit. So a improved critical scimitar will still only hit automatically on a natural 20. Mr.Axe 1/3/2013
why put 2 in str and 2 in dex for a 19 in both(+4) when you could say do 3 in str and 1 in dex for a 20(+5) and 18(+4). also thousand cuts is once per day. LokiTheHarvester (talk) 22:19, 15 May 2013 (MDT)
Very few GMs will allow stats as high as you suggest, which are insanely high. Consider how this character would look if a 25 or 28 point build, it ends up being a glass cannon because you need/want 4 stats due to feat requirements and role.
DM Counters
Monsters with damage reduction and/or high AC prove more difficult for this build. (High AC can be countered with improved critical scimitar, so you should have about six critical hits every round against anything you can crit, but against creatures immune to crits you are out of luck.)
If the character does not have flight access then flying monsters screw it over.
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