Consolidated Binder Handbook (3.5e Guide)/Low Levels

Low-level strategies
You have to decide what party role you’ll need to help out. Below L3, the arcanist role won’t be available to you, nor healing below 5. At 8th and above, you can check out the Combo section above and decide what will be most useful for you, and focus on that strategy. Here’s some non-combo strategies that I’ve found to work:

Basics
In a 28 point buy, you’d want a 14 Cha, 14 Dex, 14 Con, 12 Int, 12 Str, and 8 Wis. You Wis modifier doesn’t really help except in the case of Buer’s tracking ability and if you are sporting a non-Malphus scouting vestige, trying to cover that role. You get immunity to Fear at 6th, Mindblank if you bind Haures, and Will is your best save. If you had more points to spend (maybe because you are human and don’t need a 14 Int), put them into Str and/or Dex. All your leveling points should go into Cha, though, as your special abilities become more and more keyed off of them and you end up depending on them more.

If you have to start at L1, take Improved Binding. Its too good to not invest in. Your bonus feat, if you have one, depends entirely on your party role, but you can never go wrong with Improved Initiative on any character, really. Unless your DM disallows it, play a neutral or evil, non-chaotic Binder: neutral or evil will allow you to Rebuke Undead with Tenebrous, and Knights of the Sacred Seal can't be chaotic.

Races
Racial preferences are highly dependent on what role you expect to do the most of. Its written in the PHB that Humans always are decent at everything they do, and it seems particularly true with Binders. Racial choices are really tricky with this class.


 * Humans are always a good choice with the extra feat, and with the extra skill points you can afford to roll with a lower Int. My favorite choice.
 * Strongheart Halflings, likewise, add another feat, and the +2 to hit w/ thrown weapons and +1 AC make for some unusual combinations, like *Haagenti, for example.
 * Dwarves are great low-level Binders, despite the Cha hit, simply b/c they can tank with Savnok and keep their full movement. Desert Dwarves from UA are a slightly better choice, since you can keep your Cha high.  Auto-search becomes useful when you can bind Ashardolon at high level, or if you get +Search magic items.
 * Elves get longsword and shortsword proficiency, and the weapon focus with a shortsword is great at 3rd level when you can bind Paimon. The Con penalty hurts.  Star  Elves are better than normal elves.  Auto-search becomes useful when you can bind Ashardolon at high level, or if you get +Search magic items.
 * Half-elves receive special mention, because they can get ridiculously high diplomacy checks if they dip Marshall.
 * Spellscale make decent Binders, but the “ritual” benefits won’t help at all.
 * Dragonborn Spellscale Binders get +2 Cha for -2 Dex, and can get flying, which a Binder can only do through one vestige or magic items. You could also take the breath weapon, which, although weak, does allow you to qualify for breath weapon feats that you can apply to Amon’s fire breath.
 * Whisper Gnomes are just awesome stealth-based creatures. Whisper Gnomes do take a penalty to Cha, which sucks.
 * Karsites are a +2 LA race from Tome of Magic. They receive all Martial Weapon proficiencies, SR, Spell Healing, can’t cast spells, and receive all the Human bonuses as well.  It is a no-brainer to use one in a LA buyoff game.
 * Anthrompomorphic Ape (Savage Species) have no LA, and only 2 HD. Get +6 DEX, +4 WIS, +2 STR, +3 Natutal Armor, Climb speed 30, 3 naturals attacks.  They're great for a Paimon focused build, or in a Swordsage multiclassed concept.  Add in Shadow Blade for more craziness.

Skills
You should max Diplomacy and Intimidate, but you also need 5 ranks in 3 other skills for synergy bonuses (Bluff, Sense Motive, Kn:Religion), and Gather Information is a really useful skill as well to expedite play. The skills you should ignore completely are Decipher Script, Concentration, Profession, and Craft. A rank in the other knowledge skills would be great, but only after many levels have passed (you can use Naberius for any trained only 0 rank skills, if you need it). Put 4 ranks in Bluff so you can bind Naberius: he's too useful. Make sure to learn the language Giant, for Haagenti.

Cross-class skill selections of use are Ride if you need it for combat riding, which is nice but you get a huge bonus to the ability with Andras, and your Dex should be decent. Use Magic Device is great if you are higher level and just burning through skills to use (if you have all your synergy bonuses, for example). UMD is particularly useful if you want to play the healing role beyond 8th: Wands of Shield Other + Dahlver-Nar's Shield Self + Buer's Fast Healing is pretty damn powerful, but that's a known combo, and not really low-level.

Equipment
Your initial equipment should be a Morningstar, a standard adventurers kit, studded leather armor, a light crossbow or sling, a longspear, and a dagger or sickle (just for zombies), and a Cure Light Wounds scroll for someone to cast on you, or even a potion if you can afford it.

You have a few options here, but your first item you will look for is a masterwork buckler, as you’ll get an extra AC for no penalty, really, and enchanting it won’t take too long later when you can afford it. After that, masterwork chain shirt or breastplate, depending on your role.

Tank: 3 options:
Savnok grants you normal full-plate and DR 1/ piercing, which is pretty darn good. Go ahead and equip any shield you can afford, if you do this (except tower): shields are like auto-combat expertise, w/o proficiency, as they give +X to AC for –X to hit. You easily could have 21 AC and DR 1/piercing during your first dungeoneering experience (heavy shield, 12+ dex, savnok’s armor).

Aym grants medium armor prof and some other nice abilities. I recommend him after you can afford Breastplate, if you still anticipate the tank role being used a lot, as the only other Savnok ability isn’t useful yet. Sundering items at this level is great, if you fight lots of weak humanoids, and at double damage you are bound to do it, as well. The touch fire damage is nice, if you want to be ultra tank (equip a masterwork heavy shield, and touch attacks aren’t so bad, even with non-proficiency). The aura of flame helps out pretty well at this level. Aym’s fire aura start to lose power after about 3rd level, which is convenient b/c there’s better options then.

Haagenti allows you to use a Tower Shield, and between that and a chain shirt and a mildly decent Dex you’ll have the same AC as a Savnok user. Confusing Touch isn’t really powerful enough to justify using, until 3rd or so, but then really helps with crowd control. You equip yourself with a few Throwing Axes and a Battleaxe, and work the crowd while speaking Giant. IMO, Aym is still better than Haagenti, though, unless you find a +1 Tower Shield or something like that.

Scout:
Malphus’s Bird’s-Eye-Viewing is broken good: its in between clairvoyance/clairaudience and srying for utility. Your bird goes ahead of the party and takes 20 on all spot checks, for a base check of 23. It also has low-light vision and a Str 1, which allows 3 lbs of weight, ie, a Sunstick. There's no range on the bird. Let me repeat that: THERE'S NO RANGE ON THE BIRD. Don’t worry so much about Sudden Strike damage or Invisibility (if you get some, great, but don’t count on it). You still will be doing melee a lot: don’t worry about hiding unless you have time for it (ie, don’t slow down the party by doing it). Getting some custom+Spot items for the bird is well worth it at higher levels, if your DM allows it.

Interaction and non-scouting Chicanery:
Naberius’ Disguise Self + take 10 on Diplomacy and Bluff, plus having decent bonuses in each, should mean you can befriend just about anyone in town. Disguising yourself as the mayor or captain of the guard could get you lots of resources for your party (take 10 on the Disguise check, getting another +10 for the Disguise self ability, and +2 if you can afford a Disguise kit, for a base of 24 w/ a 14 Cha). My favorite tactic is to get forgery and Knowledge: Local as Naberius's Skill, and then disguise yourself as a local shopkeeper, buy something on credit, then dump it for cash, before switching to another identity; another option for Naberius's Skills: SPEAK LANGUAGE, which will allow you to diplomacy just about anybody. If you find yourself thrown into combat, Jedi the first round with Command to fall down, and either run to the back, using your crossbow, or just melee it out: remember, you can still be wearing all your armor. Ability healing doesn’t do much at this level, really.

Vestiges to stay the heck away from:
Ronove: no AC advantage, you have to be in combat to get use out of Improved Unarmed Strike, and your Morningstar deals more damage means don’t do it at this level. Far Hand's Bull Rush is a freaking joke. It has to be a typo: a Binder 10 can use it to do a Bull Rush with a +0 mod? Bologna: I think the ability should give a bonus equal to the Binder Level (ie, talk to your DM). Even if it gets modified, don't bind it yet. The Bull Rush can trigger the Shocktrooper and Combat Brute Bull Rush options. Leraje: the Ricochet ability just doesn’t cut it, and the superior Bird’s Eye Viewing makes Malphus the king of scouting at this level. The ability to tank pretty easily makes ranged combat subpar early on. Keep Leraje in mind when you want to Snipe at higher level, in conjunction with Malphus. Don't bind Leraje by himself. Amon: too low level to be highly effective, and the high DC combined with horns on your head make interaction with NPCs too difficult. Dahlver-Nar: Its debatable about how good he is at 1st, but imo, you don’t have enough HP to make him really effective… just yet.

Level 2
You are looking to buy a masterwork Morningstar, and if you get lucky, get a +1 bonus on your buckler. At second level, your options only increase, but access remains the same. There is one big difference in the Vestige choices.

Tank: 1 new option
Dahlver-Nar’s Shield Self ability, as has been mentioned, is brutal. With a moderate Con (14), a Masterwork Buckler, a chain shirt, and a moderate-to-good Dex (14-16), you could have an AC of 18-19, which is still good for this level. Your Pact Augmentation goes to extra temporary HP. Now, you walk into battle or just stand in the front after an opponent fails his will save, and if they hit you, its not a terrible idea. With a 14 Con, and the ½+1 HP rule, you’ll have 22 HP at 2nd level, which is awesome. Your Shield Self ability keeps you from worrying too much, as well, as it is DR / 50%, essentially. One tactic, if your allies don't want to accept Shield Self, is to target a mount or riding dog.

Level3
New access to lots of vestiges with lots of neat abilities, and you have to pick a feat! Feat choice has more to do with your party than with you, but basically every Binder wants to get into Knight of the Sacred Seal at sometime, and Weapon Focus will make a bigger difference earlier rather than later, so take it now (Morningstar is my favorite choice, but if you are an elf pick Short Sword or Rapier, if you have proficiency somehow).

Equipment-wise, you are starting to go down the same path as every other adventurer: +X weapons, +X shield, and +X armor, extradimensional storage spaces, and low-level wands.

You’ll have 24 HP standard, and if you are doing Dahlver-Nar, 29, but otherwise should be putting Pact Augmentation to your attack or initiative bonus.

Get 4 ranks in Kn:Arcana either immediately or over the next few levels, if you want to bind Karsus, and don't have Ignore Special Requirements, nor plan on taking it at 4th. Ipos also requires 5 ranks in Kn:Arcana and Religion or The Planes, but you'll want that much in Kn:Religion for the boost on Tenebrous's Rebuking, anyways.

Tank: Pseudo-Light Skirmisher:
Paimon can take your moderate Dex and push it really, really high. A starting Dex of 14, a Chain Shirt, and a Masterwork +1 buckler gets you a 20 AC. You have Weapon Finesse with Shortswords or Rapiers, and proficiency, for a bonus of +7 to hit. You also have Whirlwind attack, should you get agro, and Dance of Death is devastating: You attack everyone you move past once; no limit on the number of attacks. Get a warhorse, and you get an extra 4 squares of movement, and end up at +8 to hit if the opponent is med or smaller, for being on higher ground. This is really the best melee vestige for quite a while unless you are the only tank in the party, in which case you can squeeze out a little more AC by binding Focolor and forgetting about non-proficiency of your full-plate and tower shield, since you don’t have to attack with him. Paimon’s ability still works against “any creature you move past”, so a reach weapon works great as long as you can afford the hit to your attack bonus. You should always have Pact Augmentation in initiative when you use Paimon, as flat-footed opponents almost always means no ’s on you, and the bonus to initiative is as good as improved initiative. I can't emphasize how powerful this vestige is for the next few levels.

Scout:
Malphus’ Invisbility has become a 3 round thing, and you can actually start to afford poisons at this point. Birds Eye Viewing is still superior to Andromalius’ Locate Object, but Andy’s other abilities are nice, too. Use your discretion: if it’s a “find this” job, then use Andy, but if it’s a random dungeon crawl then use Mal.

Arcanist: 2 options:
Focalor’s Lightening blast will guarantee that you are doing something useful every round, and 3d6 damage ain’t nothing to mess with at this level. The penalties on the saves is useful, too. If you bind this guy, your goal is to have a Tower Shield and the Heaviest armor you can find (up to full-plate), and block the enemies’ way to the squishies as you blast from behind your 23 AC hide. Armor check penalties to swimming aren't as bad since you have water breathing, too.

Karsus is tricky: the use of wands, and at +2 DC, too, is really nice, but its still a little expensive for this level. I think Focalor is much better at this level for the arcanist role, but when you can start to afford Staffs, Karsus rocks much harder, since you get to use your Binder level for the staff’s effects. If you come across some heightened or higher level wands, keep them and bind Karsus for some kick-arse DC's.

Level 4
Nothing much has changed here, except you might start buying +stat items. Cha > Con > Dex >> Str > Int > Wis, for most party roles. You also should start to consider Implements of Binding.

You get a nice bonus feat: I recommend taking Expel Vestige and/or Rapid Pact Making, as you can’t afford a Vestige Phylactery, and Rapid Pact Making may, on DM interpretation, supercede the need to draw a sign, making it very fast to get vestiges you need. Don’t take Martial Weapon Proficiency, as you’ll get all for free when you take 1 level of Knight of the Sacred Seal.

Level 5
New Vestiges, New roles! You definitely want to start picking up +stat items, better armor, and even protection/resistance items.

Its time to start investing in Use Magic Device, as all your synergy bonuses should be met by now. You should have 5 ranks in Kn:Religion for Tenebrous's Rebuking bonus and 5 ranks in Kn:Arcana (assuming you didn't take Ignore Special Requirement) by now.

Cavalry
Andras, as I discovered recently, is absolutely awesome for dealing with BBEG's: your smite gets doubled when riding your warhorse, and w/ a decent Dex, your ride bonus lets you use the horse as cover for no action cost; you easily could be doing 20-30 HP a round IF you don't crit, which would get you into the 60 and above damage range. So you charge w/ the lance, getting +2 to hit, +1 on higher ground (probably), +3 BAB, +Str, +Cha, for about +10, and then use the cover action (usually > 5 on a d20, assuming 14 Dex) to get an additional +2 AC (+4 cover, -2 charge). If you hit, you do 2d8 + 2 X level + 2 X Str damage (2d8 + 14 for 14 Str); that's if you don't crit. The confound ability shouldn't really be used in combat: its more if you sneak up on people. Improved Critical is also nice if you upgraded your Rapier for Paimon (Andras also gives Rapier proficiency). Obviously, you don't use Andras in a dungeon, as the main abilities won't matter.

Healing
Buer adds the main healing support that a Binder gets, and its pretty good. You get fast healing and the ability to heal others. You also can track decently, assuming you didn’t dump Wis, or can at least assist the ranger. Do not use the 1 HP per round ability unless you need to stabilize multiple creatures: d8+5 every 5 rounds is greater than 1 point per round. You act as a melee cleric with Buer: you wear the heaviest armor you are proficient in, and the heaviest shield as well, swinging away with the best one-handed weapon you can afford. Pact Augmentation should probably go to your attack bonus.

Other / Special Mention
Tenebrous adds turning or rebuking, which is a big deal if you are encountering undead a lot, still. The important thing about rebuking is that it checks ownership only when you rebuke initially, ie, you control any rebuked creature WHETHER OR NOT you are bound to Tenebrous after getting initial control. And given the choice, always choose Rebuking over Turning: this is the main reason to play a non-good Binder, actually. Tenebrous also adds a little cold damage, and concealment, which might be useful in some circumstances. The Dimension Door ability is pretty good: the effect will last 1 round / level; its essentially a 1/day Displacement, except you get to move too. Using it to teleport next to ranged enemies is absolutely awesome.

Vestiges to avoid (unless you were going for them already)
Eurynome and Agares are of limited use. They are great for high-wooded or druid encounter type campaigns, and spiked chain builds (after causing everyone w/in 10' to fall prone), respectively. Agares does get more interesting at higher level, though, once the Elemental gets larger, and speaking any language can be useful, but Fear Immunity is worthless in a level (this may not have been realized during development: Poison Immunity would be fitting – talk w/ your DM). Eurynome’s Maul is cute if you are facing lots of Lawful creatures for some reason, and water walking could be useful (campaign specific), but the minor DR is too minor to be significant; Andras does way more damage at this level.

Level 6
Your 6th level feat is to make you better doing whatever party role you are doing the most of.

Tenebrous can now allow you to get control of Shadows and Ghouls: time for a special quest to find some o' them shades! They absolutely rock at this level. You can have a spellcaster use Summon Undead 5 to create a Shadow, which then kills a squirrel, that rises as a Shadow, that you can then attempt to Rebuke to control, too. You also are immune to fear, which is nice, but not particularly abusable in and of itself.

Level 7
Items are about the same, really.

You probably want to consider +UMD items, and boosting UMD about now. Buy a normal Heavy Pick if binding Acerak, as the Paralyzing Touch makes you able to coup-de-grace, and the X4 crit range is wicked.

Tank: 2 new options, which don't add much
Otiax becomes available, and if you don’t have a decent to hit, he’s the vestige for melee types. 20% concealment and Combat Reflexes is pretty tight, too. The other abilities are flavorful

Acerak is my second choice for melee. The Paralyzing Touch ability lasts 3 rounds at this level, which sets up Coup pretty well (heavy pick, equipped for the purpose): it basically kills when it works. Detect Undead, always activated, is nice, and the immunities are nice as well. Being Healed by negative energy helps you out a lot as well. Speak w/ the Undead is ok, but you’ll be surprised how little every single corpse you encounter will know, after you get this ability.

Arcanist or Scout
Dantalion is another good vestige for a scout: Read Thoughts is a “No surprise round for us” kind of ability, if you keep it on all the time. The +8 bonus on knowledge checks is a big part of what a Wizard can do, too, and the minor teleportation is nice as well. It also gives you some great options for general interaction abilities (using Read Thoughts, mainly), but I still feel Naberius is more useful in that regard.

Vestiges to avoid... for now:
Geryon and Balam are bad vestiges to bind by themselves. Balam’s reroll is astounding, though, if you find yourself against impossible odds, or if you are pulling some shenanigans like stealing the crown jewels or some-such, and Geryon’s flight is very useful. Both gaze attacks are good in conjunction with either each other or any melee vestige, but Geryon's is better b/c it specifies opponents.