Gnome Fighter

[Prophet2b]

Hey, I'm going to be playing in a campaign that takes place in a low magic world, and I wanted to try my hand at something a bit different: Gnome Fighter.

I'll focus primarily in ranged weapons. My ultimate goal is not to become the biggest, baddest bash 'n smash fighter that I can possibly be. I want a character with some class and style and that can deal a decent amount of damage. That means I want to plan out my bonus feats and feats in advance.

I'll be starting at level 2. Also, my Dex will probably be my highest stat, which means I won't be able to wear heavy armor. It'd kind of defeat the purpose of having high Dex.

Any ideas as to how I might develop my character? Feats? Anything?

We can either roll stats or do 28 point buy-in. I haven't decided which one I'm going to do, yet. If I do 28 point, I need to figure that out, too...

 

[Vorput]

Well, I'll get the ball rolling- but character optimization isn't my forte.

With 28 point buy...

STR: 16 (14)
DEX: 16
CON: 14 (16)
WIS: 8
INT: 10
CHA: 8

Would me the min-maxing way to go in my mind. You could also do a 12 strength (down from 14), but the +1 damage with that mighty bow isn't something to scoff at... but in that case you could increase your thinking stats a bit more.

Good medium armor will be useful, and with a fighters BAB and a gnomes con boost, you'll probably be able to do melee when neccesary.

Feats which spring to mind are rapid shot, many shot, precise shot, Improved Critical (eventually), etc. PHB2 had some good archery feats... I think... if I remember correctly.

A downside will of course be small weapons deal less damage than larger ones...

This is a good thread on the issue (though not in relation to a gnome specifically):
http://www.enworld.org/showthread.php?t=96563

Vorp

Edit: Also found this thread on gnomes: http://www.enworld.org/showthread.php?t=63193

 

[Jdvn1]

I'd have recommended using Gnome for TWFing (with their free exotic proficiency), while Halfling (with their +1 to thrown weapons) synergizes better with ranged weapons.

Unless you mean you want to use a bow.

 

[The Thayan Menace]

Boom!

Prophet2b:

Does your campaign allow smokepowder weapons?

-Samir

 

[Storyteller01]

MGP's Quintessential Gnome has some good ideas.

The giant killer prc climbs on large creatures and dishes out SA damage while 'riding the bronco' (the class gets +1d6 every other level). You get AC bonuses for being out of reach, and they lose their dex bonus against you. Their 5th level ability (the last level) allows them to do them same to medium creatures.

-A truely evil thought: hold your action until one of your targets buddies trys to smack you off (some dumb critter is bound to try it, if you have a DM with a sense of humor) then jump at the last moment. Very gnomish.

The tripper prc is a monk based class designed on getting opponents on the ground. You get bonuses to Improved trip, your concidered medium for the checks, and you get bonuses and AoO's against prone opponents. You also don't suffer penalties for fighting prone. Your 10th level ability (the last level) allows you to knock a target over with a touch attack.

 

[Zaruthustran]

With your bonus to AC and Con, you make a better melee fighter than ranged fighter. Plus, size-agnostic damage bonuses are easier to come by with melee.

You could go:

Str 12 (14)
Dex 14
Con 16 (14)
Int 16
Wis 8
Cha 8

Start as a swashbuckler. At 2nd level you'll be at + 6 melee attack with a masterwork finessable weapon (+2 BAB, +2 Dex (finesse), +1 size, +1 masterwork).

At third level you'll get your Int bonus to damage, in addition to your Strength bonus and any bonus from your magic weapon. Your little third level gnome will be poking people for +4 damage, same as his hulking half orc fighter friend with 18 Str.

For feats, check out the giantkiller feats. After third level go Fighter or Templar for Weapon Specialization. Or Ranger and pick up TWF so you can leverage your Int bonus to damage across multiple attacks.*

With your high Int and the swashbuckler skill set, you'll be able to contribute outside of combat as well.

-z

* note that if you do multiclass, you should spread out your levels so as to avoid XP penalty, or just grin and bear the penalty until the levels match up.

 

[FalcWP]

Well, you aren't worried about being the biggest badass around, so... why not a crossbow? As a fighter, you'll have feats to spare, which makes Rapid Reload much less of a hassle. A light crossbow with rapid reload ends up being similar to a longbow. Constantly look for gadgets to improve your crossbow, such as scopes, new materials, etc. Take Exotic Weapon Proficiency to use a repeating crossbow. There's a feat in the PHB II (Crossbow Sniper) that lets you add half your dexterity bonus to your damage with a crossbow, and lets you increase your maximum range for sneak attacks with a crossbow (obviously, that bit would require multiclassing with a class that had sneak attack), while the Arms and Equipment Guide had a Gnome Crossbow Sight.

Throwing Hammers might be an interesting alternative for a ranged gnome fighter.

You get the Hooked Hammer proficiency for free, so Two Weapon Fighting could be an option - possibly as your backup strategy when you need to enter melee. You should already have a good Dexterity score, so the Two Weapon Fighting chain should be simple enough. If you don't go with two weapon fighting, weapon finesse is your friend for melee, unless you're blessed with an unusually high strength.

Obviously, you would want the Point Blank Shot chain. Iron Will and, to a lesser extent, Lightning Reflexes can be good feats for you. You'll want the five feats for your favorite weapon (Weapon Focus through Greater Weapon Specialization, and Improved Critical), and possibly for your backup weapon as well. Quickdraw is another good one for a ranged fighter, although if you go with a throwing weapon (say a throwing axe) it isn't as important.

 

[Legildur]

Mounted Archery could be an interesting choice. Your main issue would be the survivability of your mount.

As for ability generation, I'd be inclined to go for the rolling method. 28 point buy isn't particularly generous. The odds of rolling something less than a 28 PB that wouldn't be discarded as per the guidelines in the PHB are reasonably low. On the other hand, PB does let you precisely customise the distribution.

 

[Vorput]

As for ability generation, I'd be inclined to go for the rolling method. 28 point buy isn't particularly generous. The odds of rolling something less than a 28 PB that wouldn't be discarded as per the guidelines in the PHB are reasonably low. On the other hand, PB does let you precisely customise the distribution.

Isn't 28 point buy listed in the DMG as being for a 'tougher' campaign?

Vorp

 

[Legildur]

Isn't 28 point buy listed in the DMG as being for a 'tougher' campaign?

Yep. It is. But it doesn't mean that the DMG is right