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Janette | Gallard | Logan | Vandala | Umoja | Finch | Inshula | Lastri | Chir Darkflame | Soeravora Aeravand | Belueth the Calm | Grykk Bannersworn | Quarrel | Ribsmasher | Septimund | |
Janette, F LG Aasimar Favored Soul 12, Stormlord 10, Paladin 5, Divine Champion 2
I've designed the leader to be a kind of hybrid divine caster / righteous crusader. Favored Souls, apart from a select few spells, aren't really suited for offensive spellcasting. They're definitely more along the lines of healers and buffers. They can heal or buff as much or as little as needed.
Five Paladin levels is enough give the character the Divine Grace power, which will increase saving throws, and to allow the character to use the Divine Might and Divine Shield powers.
The key perk of a Stormlord is the ability, without limit, to add extra electrical and sonic damage to a spear (or darts or shurikens if you're so inclined). Keep in mind that one of the benefits of playing a Favored Soul is getting the Weapon Focus feat for free at third level. As Weapon Focus (Spear), or shuriken or darts if that's your preference, is a prerequisite to unlocking the Stormlord prestige class, Favored Soul and Stormlord are a rather neat fit for each other. Taking it further, Favored Souls, given their lack of offensive spell options, should be really developed as warrior priests who once in a while may need to pause to perform healing or buffing functions. The Stormlord is even more of a fit on that note. Adding Divine Shield and Divine Might will augment this character's combat prowess even further. She can defend herself with Divine Shield if she gets swarmed. The divine damage from Divine Might will stack with the electrical and sonic damage provided by the Stormlord, at least during certain prolonged fights where she may want to use both abilities.
Furthermore, it is important to select Hoar as this character's patron deity. Hoar is the only deity that is both available for selection by a lawful good character, and has spear as her favored weapon. In other words, Hoar is the only deity that makes it possible to combine Favored Soul, Stormlord and Paladin abilities into the same character.
A few levels of Divine Champion are thrown in towards the end in order to get some desired bonus feats.
*Evil* It is entirely possible to construct an evil mirror version of this build that uses Blackguard levels instead of Paladin levels. The Blackguard levels allow the addition of Divine Might and Divine Shield, as well the Dark Blessing ability that parallels the Divine Grace ability. The Aura of Despair ability will also reduce by -2 the saving throws of any enemies within a 10' radius of the character. That won't help the Blackguard / Stormlord personally, but it will help other spellcasters who target enemies surrounding the character. If you want to construct such a build, keep in mind that you'll need to satisfy the prerequisites for the Blackguard prestige class (evil alignment, Power Attack, Cleave, 5 points in Hide) in addition to the prerequisites for the Stormlord. That means that you'll probably have to vary on the level up order that I show below, since the Blackguard levels will have to wait until you've obtained the prerequisites. Also, you'll need to replace one of the feats indicated below with Cleave. The Leadership feat is a natural candidate for being replaced with Cleave, although if you're playing in SoZ that will mean somebody else besides the Blackguard / Stormlord may need to take the Leadership feat.
Stats
After that, she adds to Strength during her 24th and 28th level ups. This raises her Strength to 21 in combination with taking the Great Strength feat four times during her epic levels. A Strength of 21 is another prerequisite for Epic Divine Might.
Lastly, I raise Charisma to 22 during the 28th level up, so that Janette's power increases further in response to having an even-numbered Charisma score.
Skills
Feats
1st level (Favored Soul 1): Toughness - Adds a few extra hit points, which is always welcome. It's also a prerequisite for the Stormlord prestige class.
2nd level (Paladin 1): No feat selected.
3rd level (Paladin 2): Monkey Grip - Allows Janette to wield a spear with one hand along with a shield in the other hand, albeit with a -2 penalty to attack rolls. However, a Stormlord will eventually be able to add a +3 enhancement bonus to a spear that will stack with any enhancement bonus that the spear already has. In a real sense, that allows me to take advantage of the Monkey Grip feat without any penalty at all so to speak.
Divine Grace - A second level of Paladin provides the Divine Grace, which confers a bonus to saving throws that equals Janette's Charisma ability modifier.
4th level (Paladin3): No feat selected.
5th level (Favored Soul 2): No feat selected.
6th level (Favored Soul 3): Weapon Focus (Spear) - Automatically obtained upon reaching the third level of Favored Soul, and because Spear is the favored weapon of Hoar. One of the prerequisites for unlocking the Storm Lord prestige class is thus unlocked. This is what I meant when I said combining Stormlord, Favored Soul and Paladin together pretty much necessitates choosing Hoar as the patron deity.
Great Fortitude - And here's the last remaining prerequisite for Stormlord.
7th level (Favored Soul 4): No feat selected.
8th level (Favored Soul 5): No feat selected.
9th level (Favored Soul 6): Leadership - So that I can pick up Finch later on.
10th level (Stormlord 1): No feat selected.
11th level (Stormlord 2): No feat selected.
12th level (Stormlord 3): Power Attack - Not so much for its own sake. It's a prerequisite to Divine Might and Divine Shield.
13th level (Stormlord 4): No feat selected.
14th level (Stormlord 5): No feat selected.
15th level (Paladin 4): Divine Shield - It's on the fourth level of Paladin that Janette gains access to the Turn Undead. Both Turn Undead and Power Attack were prerequisites to accessing the Divine Shield and Divine Might feats. Divine Might gives her the option of adding a deflection bonus to armor class equivalent to her Charisma modifier bonus, and for a number of rounds equal to her Charisma modifier bonus. Can be a very useful option in particularly intense fights. Note that if I want to select Divine Might or Divine Shield, I need to take a Paladin level at the same level during which I select a feat. In this case, I took the fourth Paladin level when Janette had reached her 15th level of experience.
16th level (Stormlord 6): No feat selected.
17th level (Stormlord 7): No feat selected.
18th level (Paladin 5): Divine Might - Gives her the option of adding bonus divine damage to her melee attacks equivalent to her Charisma modifier bonus, and for a number of rounds equal to her Charisma modifier bonus. Can be a very useful option in particularly intense fights. I need to take a 5th Paladin level during the 18th level-up in order to be able to select Divine Might.
19th level (Stormlord 8): No feat selected.
20th level (Stormlord 9): No feat selected.
21st level (Divine Champion 1): Great Strength +1 - I hit Charisma 21 on my previous level up, so now it's time to close in on the other prerequisite for Epic Divine Might, a Strength score of 21.
I chose Divine Champion at this point for a specific reason, which I describe just below.
22nd level (Divine Champion 2): Improved Critical (Spear) - With my last two levels of Stormlord, I have accomplished certain things. One, the enhancement bonus to my spear from having Stormlord levels is raised to +3. Second, my shocking weapon power now adds sonic damage as well. Furthermore, my spear will inflict an extra +2d8 electrical damage and an extra +2d8 sonic damage on a critical hit.
That is why I now take the opportunity to add the Improved Critical (Spear) feat with two Divine Champion levels. I now want to maximize critical hits with my spears, which in turn will maximize the chances of shocking and sonic burst damage triggering on critical hits.
23rd level (Stormlord 10): No feat selected, but Janette now gains the Extended Storm Avatar power.
Note that it is possible for Janette to acquire the Hellball epic spell. To do so, she would have to take her last Stormlord spell during a level-up when an epic feat selection is possible (e.g. 25th or 27th) and when her Spellcraft skill rank is at least 30. It is an option, but I'm not big on it since Janette's saving throw DC won't be that great, even with the +5 bonus to DC. And besides, Umoja is a far better option for unleashing a Hellball.
24th level (Favored Soul 7): No feat selected.
25th level (Favored Soul 8): Great Strength +3 - Continuing to climb towards the other prerequisite for Epic Divine Might.
26th level (Favored Soul 9): No feat selected.
27th level (Favored Soul 10): Epic Gate - If I had taken my 10th level in Favored Soul at character level 20 or below, I would have had to select some sort of bonus to energy resistance to add. But now that I'm taking my 10th Favored Soul level during the epic levels, I now have the option of using that energy resistance bonus on an epic spell instead. My choice was Epic Gate, which summons a Balor, and then another after the first one dies. My logic for having Janette take this is that the effectiveness of Epic Gate is not tied to saving throw DC, whereas I prefer a character like Umoja with a better saving throw DC to take epic spells like Vampiric Feast and Hellball.
Great Strength +4 - Taken during her usually available epic feat selection on level up. She now has a Strength score of 21, and therefore has the last remaining prerequisite for the Epic Divine Might feat.
28th level (Favored Soul 11): No feat selected.
29th level (Favored Soul 12): Weapon Specialization (Spear) - Automatically obtained upon obtaining the 12th level in Favored Soul. Perfectly sensible.
Epic Divine Might - Finally. Adds divine damage to her spear attacks that is double her Charisma bonus (+9 in Janette's case), or a number of rounds equal to her Charisma bonus. Can be added on top of her Shocking Burst if you're so inclined. The divine damage is also multiplied on critical hits. In Janette's case, that would mean 54 divine damage on a critical hit.
Spells
Contrary to my list of feats, my list of spells for Janette only applies to levels where she can take spells (i.e., I ignore, for example, paladin levels completely). Thus, the list is 20 levels long, because spellcasters only get spells for their first 20 levels in the spellcasting class.
1st level: Cure Light Wounds - Being able to use this spell multiple times during the first parts of the game can be crucial.
Remove Fear - Aside from the obvious need for healing, spells whose benefits are tied to lower numerical values (e.g. lower-level damaging spells) or that only affect certain levels of creatures (e.g. Sleep only affecting creatures of 5 HD or below) are usually not great candidates for selection. As much as possible, you want spells that will have lasting value throughout the game, even for your lower-level spell picks. Utility spells, like this one, may make better candidates.
Sanctuary - Potentially allows Janette to go about providing multiple healing spells and buffing while getting ignored.
2nd level: No spells selected.
3rd level: Doom - Can be useful for particularly powerful single targets.
4th level: Lesser Restoration - Keep in mind that ability drains and penalties will disappear following Overland Map encounters. Nonetheless, it's still useful when it comes to ability drains in dungeons.
Remove Paralysis - Can be useful to free party members who get paralyzed during fights.
Bear's Endurance - This build won't have a great DC for offensive spells, so buffs are the way to go. This could, for example, be used to buff Umoja's pet dinosaur during a dungeon crawl.
5th level: No spells selected.
6th level: Remove Blindness - A Favored Soul does best to emphasize healing and buff spells, and not so much offensive spells. The 6th level represents a prime opportunity to pick up a few of them.
Remove Disease - And again ...
Remove Curse - And again.
Bull's Strength - Another buff that can be used in dungeons.
7th level: Divine Favor - Not bad for a 1st level spell, since it can add a long-lasting +3 bonus to attack.
8th level: Greater Magic Weapon - The maximum weapon enhancement available through crafting in Storm of Zehir is +3, so this spell will have lasting value in large dungeons as it can raise the enhancement bonus to +5.
Death Ward - Janette can buff up Vandala with this whenever the party enters a dungeon. That allows Vandala to use Hellfire Blasts with impunity.
Restoration - Allows the removal of negative energy levels and attribute drains.
Magic Vestment - Much like Greater Magic Weapon, it will have lasting value in dungeons.
Silence - A possible option against enemy spellcaster.
9th level: No new spells learned
10th level: Battletide - A useful buff that simultaneously improves the party's chances of landing physical attacks, and decreasing the enemies' chances of landing physical attacks.
Spell Resistance - A long lasting buff that improves the target's spell resistance in proportion to the caster's level. Could conceivably be used to give everyone in the party hefty spell resistance prior to key battles.
True Seeing - Will allow Janette to target invisible or stealthed characters.
Neutralize Poison - Monsters that use poison attacks are fairly common, including the Yuan-ti. The ability to call on this spell multiple times can really come in handy.
Magic Circle - Not really about the deflection bonus to armor class, since that will get overtaken by Rings of Protection +3 or other items. It's more about the +2 to saving throws and immunity to mind-affecting spells.
Fox's Cunning - So that I can create Headbands of Intellect when the time comes.
11th level: No new spells learned
12th level: Energy Immunity - Much like Qara in the OC, I know have the option of immunizing the party to a certain kind of injury during certain battles.
Stone Body - Provides +10 damage resistance and immunity to critical hits. Her Ring of Freedom of Movement will allow her to ignore the penalties that usually come with the spell.
Heal - A staple for any Favored Soul character.
Raise Dead - A potentially useful spell during a campaign where permanent death on the battlefield is a distinct possibility.
Freedom of Movement - A useful utility spell that can immunize characters against paralysis.
Blindsight - Allows a character to attack invisible characters and avoid being sneak attacked. Can be quite useful during the right battles.
I now also switch out Cure Light Wounds for Shield of Faith. The Shield of Faith spell can be useful in crafting Rings of Protection.
13th level: No new spells learned
14th level: Word of Faith - This is one of the staple weapons for the build, as it will inflict blindness or worse on all enemies within a large radius, and with no saving throw. Spell resistance is the only hope for the enemies. This spell is necessarily a staple for any Favored Soul.
Resurrection - Final death is a real possibility for the characters, so I definitely select this spell.
Greater Restoration - Can cure a target of pretty much everything except death.
Righteous Magic - Since the Strength increase comes from a size increase, it will stack with another Strength increase. Can be useful during certain battles.
Divine Favor - Allows the character to make her Base Attack Bonus (BAB) equivalent to that of a Fighter of the same character level. Again, can be useful during some fights.
15th level: No new spells learned
16th level: Fire Storm - Not that it's especially powerful in the hands of a Favored Soul for whom I have not prioritized saving throw DC, but there's not a wide array of choices for eighth level divine spells ...
Mass Cure Critical Wounds - Provides an option to recuperate hit points for several party members at once ...
Mass Death Ward - Gives Janette the option of using an eighth level spell to immunize the whole party with Death Ward instead of having to spend several 4th level spells one at a time.
Regenerate - A potentially useful option to increase resiliency during combat.
Harm - A potentially useful single-target damage spell. Don't hold your breath for 150 damage instead of 75 damage though, because of the saving throw issue.
Flame Strike - For reasons similar to taking Fire Storm.
17th level: No new spells learned
18th level: Energy Drain - Permanently drains 2 to 8 levels from a single target. Multiple castings inflict cumulative negative levels, and enough castings can kill a target outright. Can be extremely useful against particularly unique and powerful foes. In fact, it's my trump card against the Herald of Zehir.
Mass Heal - The most potent recuperative spell there is, and can bring multiple party members previously on the brink of death back to full hit points. A key target for any Favored Soul.
Storm of Vengeance - So Janette's saving throw DC won't be great. But multiple castings of this over time can really make the damage add up, and also increase the chances of stunning the monsters.
Aura of Alignment - I now have the option of raising the deflection bonus to armor class by +4 for the whole party, as well as giving them immunity to mind-affecting spells and spell resistance 25.
Ethereal Jaunt - Gives Janette the option of entering into an ethereal state, and allowing her to put up as many buffs as she pleases unnoticed before taking the offensive.
Vigorous Cycle - Gives Janette the option of conferring fast healing 3 to the entire party.
19th level: Etherealness - Will allow every party member within its radius to go ethereal. This spell conceivably allows the entire party to remain hidden, buff up to the max at leisure, and only afterwards go on the offensive.
Sunbeam - An anti-undead offensive. I don't exactly bank on this spell having the same effect in Janette's hands that it did in Qara's, but then again there aren't a lot of eighth level spells to choose from.
20th level: No new spells learned
Inventory
