Kill 'Em All: A Slayer's Guide
So I hear you greenhorns have come to me because you want to learn how to kill. I'll tell you right now, though: killing's not easy, and it's not pretty, either. There's a reason the people who are good at it get all the glory: you won't find many creatures that will just stand there and let you kill 'em, you've gotta earn it! And that means I'll be toughening your raw hides up until you can face creatures everyone else fears and put their heads on your trophy case! Are you in, or out? Thought so. Now listen here...
There are many different sorts of Strikers out there, so the Slayer has to bring something new and interesting to the table in order to stand out and carve out a niche. Here are some things I consider that are perks to life as a Slayer:
Slayers are tough - Most Strikers can bring the pain, but not all are equipped to handle pain coming in their direction all that well. The Slayer is not one of those Strikers. Strong armor proficiencies combined with Defender hit points combine to make bringing you down quite a bit of work. If you like being able to take it as well as dish it out, give the Slayer a look.
Slayers are reliable - Slayers can be accurate pretty much out of the box, and have some neat ways to buff themselves, as well as a host of Utility powers and class features to keep them in fights they probably were supposed to be out of. If you like being mentioned in the same breath as death and taxes, you'll be well served here.
Slayers hit hard at a moment's notice - Don't the let their seemingly simpler class design fool you - Slayers have some tricks up their sleeves, and one of them is bringing the pain to the enemy hard and fast. If you like laying down the lumber before your opponent even realizes that he's in a fight, the Slayer has something for you.
Red - Garbage, or completely overshadowed by another option.
Purple - Situationally useful, but overall pretty meh.
Black - OK. You could do worse than pick this.
Blue - Good stuff. You probably want this.
Sky Blue - You want this. Period.
Gold - Why haven't you taken this yet? A defining choice for a build, or even the whole class.
AP - Arcane Power
AV - Adventurer's Vault
AV 2 - Adventurer's Vault 2
BoVD - Book of Vile Darkness
D XXX - Dragon Magazine, issue XXX
DMA 2009 - Dragon Magazine Annual 2009
DN XXX - Dungeon Magazine, issue XXX
DP - Divine Power
DSCS - Dark Sun Campaign Setting
DSG - Dungeon Survival Guide
EPG - Eberron Player's Guide
FRPG - Forgotten Realms Player's Guide
HoS - Heroes of Shadow
HotEC - Heroes of the Elemental Chaos
HotFK - Heroes of the Forgotten Kingdoms
HotFL - Heroes of the Fallen Lands
HotFw - Heroes of the Feywild
MM - Monster Manual
MM 2 - Monster Manual 2
MME - Mordenkainen's Magnificent Emporium
MOTP - Manual of the Planes
MP - Martial Power
MP 2 - Martial Power 2
NCS - Neverwinter Campaign Setting
PHB - Player's Handbook
PHB 2 - Player's Handbook 2
PHB 3 - Player's Handbook 3
PHR: DB - Player's Handbook Races: Dragonborn
PHR: TF - Player's Handbook Races: Tieflings
PHH 1 - Player's Handbook Heroes: Series 1
PHH 2 - Player's Handbook Heroes: Series 2
PrP - Primal Power
PsP - Psionic Power
SAC - Seekers of the Ashen Crown Adventure Module
Everyone posting, and, of course...
To the last: kill them all. -Space Marine Chaplain, Dawn of War
So I hear you greenhorns have come to me because you want to learn how to kill. I'll tell you right now, though: killing's not easy, and it's not pretty, either. There's a reason the people who are good at it get all the glory: you won't find many creatures that will just stand there and let you kill 'em, you've gotta earn it! And that means I'll be toughening your raw hides up until you can face creatures everyone else fears and put their heads on your trophy case! Are you in, or out? Thought so. Now listen here...
Selling Points: Why You Would Want To Play A Slayer
There are many different sorts of Strikers out there, so the Slayer has to bring something new and interesting to the table in order to stand out and carve out a niche. Here are some things I consider that are perks to life as a Slayer:
Slayers are tough - Most Strikers can bring the pain, but not all are equipped to handle pain coming in their direction all that well. The Slayer is not one of those Strikers. Strong armor proficiencies combined with Defender hit points combine to make bringing you down quite a bit of work. If you like being able to take it as well as dish it out, give the Slayer a look.
Slayers are reliable - Slayers can be accurate pretty much out of the box, and have some neat ways to buff themselves, as well as a host of Utility powers and class features to keep them in fights they probably were supposed to be out of. If you like being mentioned in the same breath as death and taxes, you'll be well served here.
Slayers hit hard at a moment's notice - Don't the let their seemingly simpler class design fool you - Slayers have some tricks up their sleeves, and one of them is bringing the pain to the enemy hard and fast. If you like laying down the lumber before your opponent even realizes that he's in a fight, the Slayer has something for you.
This Handbook will use the following system for ratings:
Red - Garbage, or completely overshadowed by another option.
Purple - Situationally useful, but overall pretty meh.
Black - OK. You could do worse than pick this.
Blue - Good stuff. You probably want this.
Sky Blue - You want this. Period.
Gold - Why haven't you taken this yet? A defining choice for a build, or even the whole class.
This Handbook covers the following sources:
AP - Arcane Power
AV - Adventurer's Vault
AV 2 - Adventurer's Vault 2
BoVD - Book of Vile Darkness
D XXX - Dragon Magazine, issue XXX
DMA 2009 - Dragon Magazine Annual 2009
DN XXX - Dungeon Magazine, issue XXX
DP - Divine Power
DSCS - Dark Sun Campaign Setting
DSG - Dungeon Survival Guide
EPG - Eberron Player's Guide
FRPG - Forgotten Realms Player's Guide
HoS - Heroes of Shadow
HotEC - Heroes of the Elemental Chaos
HotFK - Heroes of the Forgotten Kingdoms
HotFL - Heroes of the Fallen Lands
HotFw - Heroes of the Feywild
MM - Monster Manual
MM 2 - Monster Manual 2
MME - Mordenkainen's Magnificent Emporium
MOTP - Manual of the Planes
MP - Martial Power
MP 2 - Martial Power 2
NCS - Neverwinter Campaign Setting
PHB - Player's Handbook
PHB 2 - Player's Handbook 2
PHB 3 - Player's Handbook 3
PHR: DB - Player's Handbook Races: Dragonborn
PHR: TF - Player's Handbook Races: Tieflings
PHH 1 - Player's Handbook Heroes: Series 1
PHH 2 - Player's Handbook Heroes: Series 2
PrP - Primal Power
PsP - Psionic Power
SAC - Seekers of the Ashen Crown Adventure Module
Glossary
AP - Action point.
BBEG - Big bad evil guy.
Burst/Nova/Spike Damage - Generally understood to mean the highest amount of damage a character can inflict in the space of a single round. Usually, calculations for this allow 1 round of setup before the actual damage.
CA - Combat advantage.
DPR - Damage per round, which is generally meant to mean the character's expected damage value using At-Will powers against a standard enemy of the same level (eloquently described by Adslahnit as the Official CharOp Inanimate Block of TofuTM).
E-class - Refers to the class design for Martial characters introduced in the Essentials product line, which usually focuses on basic attacks and has limited options for Encounter or Daily resources.
ED - Epic destiny.
HP - Hit points.
LX - Level X.
MAD - Multiple attribute dependency, which is defined as needing 3 or more ability scores for a given build.
MBA - Melee basic attack.
MC - Multiclass or multiclassing.
NAD - Non-AC defense.
OA - Opportunity attack.
PP - Paragon path.
RBA - Ranged basic attack.
SAD - Single attribute dependency, which is defined as a build that really only needs 1 ability score.
THP - Temporary hit points.
AP - Action point.
BBEG - Big bad evil guy.
Burst/Nova/Spike Damage - Generally understood to mean the highest amount of damage a character can inflict in the space of a single round. Usually, calculations for this allow 1 round of setup before the actual damage.
CA - Combat advantage.
DPR - Damage per round, which is generally meant to mean the character's expected damage value using At-Will powers against a standard enemy of the same level (eloquently described by Adslahnit as the Official CharOp Inanimate Block of TofuTM).
E-class - Refers to the class design for Martial characters introduced in the Essentials product line, which usually focuses on basic attacks and has limited options for Encounter or Daily resources.
ED - Epic destiny.
HP - Hit points.
LX - Level X.
MAD - Multiple attribute dependency, which is defined as needing 3 or more ability scores for a given build.
MBA - Melee basic attack.
MC - Multiclass or multiclassing.
NAD - Non-AC defense.
OA - Opportunity attack.
PP - Paragon path.
RBA - Ranged basic attack.
SAD - Single attribute dependency, which is defined as a build that really only needs 1 ability score.
THP - Temporary hit points.
References
The Fighter's Handbook, by me:
Spiked Chain Slayer, by d20danko:
The Human Slayer (Makes it Rain), by undeadpool:
The Fighter's Handbook, by me:
Spiked Chain Slayer, by d20danko:
The Human Slayer (Makes it Rain), by undeadpool:
Props to:
Everyone posting, and, of course...