Roahin's Main Character Builds, page 1 - Forum (2024)

Orc Axemaster
Role: Melee Damage / Teamfighter
Race: Half-Orc
Alignment: Any
Final Build: Slayer 10 / Rogue 10

Build Notes: Occasionally, I'll want to build a character around a racial ability or weapon, like the above Dueling Sword build. Orcs get automatic proficiency with the Orc Double Axe, a thoroughly awful weapon. It's a double weapon which means it needs a high dexterity for the two-weapon fighting feats, but it's not finessable so you need a good strength. This normally means going Ranger to backdoor into the feats with lower dexterity, but two-weapon fighting builds need additional dice to really shine - energy enchants, sneak attack, etc.
That's where the Slayer comes in. Ranger weapon style feats and innate rogue sneak attack. This build is also going to favor Teamwork and critical strike feats heavily, as will be explained below. Since the build is going to need a decent Dexterity and Orcs get a racial bonus to Perception, we're going to take advantage of that and have him take a secondary role as a lockpicker.

Starting Stats
Slayer-1
16 Strength
16 Dexterity
14 Constitution
10 Intelligence
14 Wisdom
10 Charisma
Skills: Athletics +1, Mobility +1, Trickery +1, Perception +1
Feats: Weapon Focus (Orc Double Axe)
Notes: Slayer levels will only give us enough free feats for the base two-weapon fighting tree, but not enough for Double Slice, which we're going to want. So Dexterity needs to be at least 15. Rather than leave it at an odd number forever, it's set to 16 and Strength loses a tiny bit on the back-end for now.

Leveling Stats
Level 2 - Slayer 2
Skills: Athletics +1, Mobility +1, Trickery +1, Perception +1
Feat: Combat Style Feat (Two-Weapon Fighting)

Level 3 - Rogue 3
Skills: Athletics +1, Mobility +1, Trickery +1, Lore (Nature) +2, Perception +1
Feat: Double Slice, Sneak Attack +1d6
Notes: Why Rogue? Slayer only really offers 10 levels of use, anything past that is generally substandard to Rogue. The sooner we take Rogue levels, the sooner Trickery is a class skill and can be used. So, why Rogue over Thug? The build doesn't use any Persuasion, but it DOES have a lot invested into Perception.

Level 4 - Slayer 3
Attributes: Strength +1
Skills: Athletics +1, Mobility +1, Trickery +1, Perception +1
Feats: Sneak Attack +2d6

Level 5 - Slayer 4
Skills: Athletics +1, Mobility +1, Trickery +1, Perception +1
Feat: Accomplished Sneak Attacker, Combat Trick (Precise Strike), Sneak Attack +3d6
Notes: Ideally, Jaethal or someone else has Precise Strike too and every flanking attack (and all your attacks should be flanking) will now have another +1d6 damage on top of your sneak attack. I strongly recommend if you're going to use Nok-Nok to give him Teamwork feats too. These two synergize unbelievably well with one another and you'll find them mowing down rows of enemies together like a warm knife through butter.

Level 6 - Slayer 5
Skills: Athletics +1, Mobility +1, Trickery +1, Perception +1
Notes: The Slayers sneak attacks confer Studied Target on the enemy now, increasing his attack/damage bonus by +1 making subsequent sneak attacks easier to land. This is why we shy from power attack, the higher your attack the more you're going to land.

Level 7 - Slayer 6
Skills: Athletics +1, Mobility +1, Trickery +1, Perception +1
Feat: Outflank, Combat Style (Improved Two-Weapon Fighting), Sneak Attack +4d6
Notes: With Precise Strike, you have a potential to add 20d6 dice of additional damage every round now. Trolls generally have pretty low AC, so you should just be seeing them melt as you approach.

Level 8 - Slayer 7
Attribute: Strength +1
Skills: Athletics +1, Mobility +1, Trickery +1, Perception +1

Level 9 - Slayer 8
Skills: Athletics +1, Mobility +1, Trickery +1, Perception +1
Feat: Improved Critical (Orc Double Axe), Combat Reflexes

Level 10 - Slayer 9
Skills: Athletics +1, Mobility +1, Trickery +1, Perception +1
Feat: Sneak Attack +5d6

Level 11 - Slayer 10
Skills: Athletics +1, Mobility +1, Trickery +1, Perception +1
Feat: Critical Focus, Combat Style (Greater Two-Weapon Fighting)
Notes: This is the last necessary Slayer level. Luckily, Slayer and Rogue levels stack for unlocking high level Rogue abilities.

Level 12 - Rogue 2
Attributes: Strength +1
Skills: Athletics +1, Mobility +1, Trickery +1, Lore (Nature) +2, Perception +1
Feats: Opportunist
Notes: Between Opportunist, Outflank and incidental AoOs, Combat Reflexes is a long time coming.

Level 13 - Rogue 3
Skills: Athletics +1, Mobility +1, Trickery +1, Lore (Nature) +2, Perception +1
Feats: Seize the Moment, Sneak Attack +6d6
Notes: You get Finesse Training at this level which really doesn't offer any advantages. I find Handaxe is an appropriate selection, but chances are you're never going to use it.

Level 14 - Rogue 4
Skills: Athletics +1, Mobility +1, Trickery +1, Lore (Nature) +2, Perception +1
Feats: Combat Trick (Blind Fight)
Notes: You get debilitating injury at this level, I'd strongly recommend taking Bewildered. It drops the targets AC by 4 which is functionally adding +4 to all your attacks and ensuring more Sneak Attacks.
You're heading into the endgame now where constant gaze attacks pummel the party. Blind Fight becomes a necessity for melee characters at this point.

Level 15 - Rogue 5
Skills: Athletics +1, Mobility +1, Trickery +1, Lore (Nature) +2, Perception +1
Feats: Tiring Critical, Sneak Attack +7d6

Level 16 - Rogue 6
Attribute: Strength +1
Skills: Athletics +1, Mobility +1, Trickery +1, Lore (Nature) +2, Perception +1
Feats: Crippling Strike

Level 17 - Rogue 7
Skills: Athletics +1, Mobility +1, Trickery +1, Lore (Nature) +2, Perception +1
Feats: Exhausting Critical, Sneak Attack +8d6

Level 18 - Rogue 8
Skills: Athletics +1, Mobility +1, Trickery +1, Lore (Nature) +2, Perception +1
Feats: Improved Evasion

Level 19 - Rogue 9
Skills: Athletics +1, Mobility +1, Trickery +1, Lore (Nature) +2, Perception +1
Feats: Toughness, Sneak Attack +9d6

Level 20 - Rogue 10
Attribute: Strength +1
Skills: Athletics +1, Mobility +1, Trickery +1, Lore (Nature) +2, Perception +1
Feats: Dispelling Attack

Your final build has a BAB of 17, so very little attack bonus was lost in the exchange, and you ended up with a lot more skills, a lot more rogue feats, and quite a bit higher Sneak Attack. And just like that, the formerly awful Orc Double Axe becomes an absolute enemy abattoir.

Where and when can I find Orc Double Axes?
Here are the ones I know for certain of:
*A MW Orc Double Axe is available for sale from Oleg in the Outskirts for 400g.
*A +1 Orc Double Axe can be found in Fangberry Cave in the Outskirts.
*A +1 Shock Orc Double Axe is available for sale from the Kobold Merchant in the Troll Lair in South Narlmarches for 8300g.
*After Varnhold Vanishing the Skeletal Salesman will sell a Flaming Orc Double Axe +2 for 18,500g.
*The unique Double Axe "Atrocities" (+3 Extends Barbarian Rage 4 Rounds) is available at the southeastern corner of the Flintrock Grasslands in northern Glenebon
*A +4 Orc Double Axe is available for sale from a Trade in the Rushlight Tournament in Pitax for 32,000g.
*The unique Double Axe "Faterender" (+5, hitting with both heads will deal an additional 1d10+STR) is available in the Ornate Ruins in eastern Pitax

The better Double Axes are the Shock and Flaming ones for the extra damage per hit. Even Faterender's damage is every other hit, so they end up falling behind the wayside. Interestingly, Varrask the Wildfist, the Orc Artisan that specifically offers to build you Orcish items does not make any kind of Orc Double Axe.