Author Topic: Good druid wildshape/animal companions with poison (but not the fleshraker).  (Read 5920 times)

Offline Mnemnosyne

  • DnD Handbook Writer
  • **
  • Posts: 90
    • View Profile
I'm building a Druid, and I don't want to go quite as far as taking that exceedingly powerful Fleshraker Dinosaur as either a primary wildshape form or my animal companion.  I would like to get something I can enhance with Venomfire that is a tad less excessively powerful than the Fleshraker.  Are there any good choices that are solid and also have poison?  Particularly around level 5, but higher levels matter too so I can upgrade as needed.
-Do you honestly think that we believe ourselves evil? My friend, we seek only good. It's just that our definitions don't quite match.-
Ailanreanter, Arcanaloth

Offline Mooncrow

  • DnD Handbook Writer
  • ***
  • Posts: 983
  • The man who will be Pirate King
    • View Profile
I'm building a Druid, and I don't want to go quite as far as taking that exceedingly powerful Fleshraker Dinosaur as either a primary wildshape form or my animal companion.  I would like to get something I can enhance with Venomfire that is a tad less excessively powerful than the Fleshraker.  Are there any good choices that are solid and also have poison?  Particularly around level 5, but higher levels matter too so I can upgrade as needed.

There are a few options, but I'm just going to say, if you're using venomfire, it doesn't matter in the slightest what you pick. 

Legendary SnakeMMII (according to Dragon 351)
Monstrous Spiders - requires Vermin CompanionECS
Vipers - baseline

those are the other ones I know of.
« Last Edit: November 11, 2011, 02:59:09 PM by Mooncrow »

Offline Basket Burner

  • Legendary Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 1072
  • I break Basket Weavers.
    • View Profile
The problem is that every venomous creature except the Fleshraker really doesn't have anything going for it except for the poison. So you'd be using Venomfire, just to get it on the same level as non poisonous creatures.

Offline Mooncrow

  • DnD Handbook Writer
  • ***
  • Posts: 983
  • The man who will be Pirate King
    • View Profile
The problem is that every venomous creature except the Fleshraker really doesn't have anything going for it except for the poison. So you'd be using Venomfire, just to get it on the same level as non poisonous creatures.

When it does CLd6, it doesn't need to be good in any other way.

Offline Basket Burner

  • Legendary Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 1072
  • I break Basket Weavers.
    • View Profile
The problem is that every venomous creature except the Fleshraker really doesn't have anything going for it except for the poison. So you'd be using Venomfire, just to get it on the same level as non poisonous creatures.

When it does CLd6, it doesn't need to be good in any other way.

Fireball would like a word with you.

See, in addition to poisonous creatures not having anything going for them except their poison, they also only have one poisonous attack. And that means you get xd6 only once. Just like a Fireball. Consider what sort of measures you have to go through to make Fireball worth using. Now consider the equivalent for Venomfire is multiple poisonous attacks. And the only thing that does that is the Fleshraker.

Offline Mooncrow

  • DnD Handbook Writer
  • ***
  • Posts: 983
  • The man who will be Pirate King
    • View Profile
The problem is that every venomous creature except the Fleshraker really doesn't have anything going for it except for the poison. So you'd be using Venomfire, just to get it on the same level as non poisonous creatures.

When it does CLd6, it doesn't need to be good in any other way.

Fireball would like a word with you.

See, in addition to poisonous creatures not having anything going for them except their poison, they also only have one poisonous attack. And that means you get xd6 only once. Just like a Fireball. Consider what sort of measures you have to go through to make Fireball worth using. Now consider the equivalent for Venomfire is multiple poisonous attacks. And the only thing that does that is the Fleshraker.

Hours /level and haste would like word with you. 

Also, snake's swiftness if for some reason you don't have haste.

Oh, and you get to add venomfire to all of your poisonous summons for extra cuteness, not to mention your own.

Venomfire > any animal companion optimization you want to name.
« Last Edit: November 11, 2011, 04:19:40 PM by Mooncrow »

Offline Mnemnosyne

  • DnD Handbook Writer
  • **
  • Posts: 90
    • View Profile
Yeah, venomfire is vastly superior to any direct damage spell because it pretty much keeps on giving all day.  Even on an animal with a single bite/poison attack it's going to do vastly more damage than the most optimized fireball spell unless the animal gets killed early on.

I see the lack of poison AND general capability in the same creature is going to be an issue...probably better to have a more generally capable animal companion and save the poison/venomfire for when I really need it, making use of it via wildshape.  The Legendary Snake might be nice once my druid is high enough level for that to be an option though, will need to be kept in mind.  Thanks.
-Do you honestly think that we believe ourselves evil? My friend, we seek only good. It's just that our definitions don't quite match.-
Ailanreanter, Arcanaloth

Offline Mooncrow

  • DnD Handbook Writer
  • ***
  • Posts: 983
  • The man who will be Pirate King
    • View Profile
I think there might be a couple more, I'll keep an eye out while I'm working on the AC list.

Offline Mooncrow

  • DnD Handbook Writer
  • ***
  • Posts: 983
  • The man who will be Pirate King
    • View Profile
A couple more for you:

SwindlespitterMM3 - can take it at level 1, has a cone poison spray, usable every 1d4 rounds... congratulations, your own dragon.

Giant Banded LizardSand - can take it at 13th level, only gets poison attacks on a full attack, but does have 2 poison attacks as secondaries.