Given some of the results gleaned from my experimentation with the Lycanthrope and Feral templates (aka; it can be done better, a lot better), I've moved on to races and classes instead in the hope that I can get the same sort of result, but substantially better.
Again, here's the basic breakdown of what I am attempting to accomplish;
- A capable and credible melee combatant with access to maneuvers.
- The ability to rage.
- Damage and combat based around tooth and nail.
- The ability to shapeshift into a Lycanthrope hybrid form (or similar form).
- A character who hides his true nature under the guise of "I'm just a Fighter.", but if provoked enough or when entering combat, immediately sheds any false civility and relishes the beast within. While primarily a roleplaying element, to NPCs (effectively everyone but the party) he's just "that one with the sword" instead of a slavering beast, and will not even openly admit it to the party (despite the obvious fact they'll have seen it many times).
What I am not trying to accomplish;
- Any form of cheese (infinite attacks from Warshaper, Iron Heart Surging away the sun, for example) are a no go, for the obvious reason any DM who isn't intentionally messing around will never allow it.
- Perfect Min/Max; the character in question should absolutely pose a credible threat, but should also be flavorful in the sense personality and design aren't sacrificed to be "the absolute best".
So far, from my studies, I've come across several great solutions to issue of building a Lycanthropic style combatant;
Content Thus Far
- The Weretouched: "Shifters"
-- This race has some great potential from the get go for the entire design based off the fact they are direct descendants of pure Lycanthropes intermingling with humans, but still with the potential to be even better than their Lycanthrope ancestors. The fluff, feats, PrCs, and ACFs all work really well, as they seemed to intend (barring a few huge screw ups by WotC, but those are fortunately entirely avoidable for this race).
-- Shifting: it stacks with rage, is fueled with feats (some of which are pretty solid) that increase duration and uses per day in addition to being pretty good themselves some times, and grants pseudo-Lycanthropic fluff elements such as physical qualities.
-- Notes: Hard to get much closer to being a Lycanthrope when you already are the descendant of one. Throw in some good feats, PrCs, ACFs, and the Shapechanger subtype, and this just looks like good news for this concept.
- The Barbarian
-- Rage: because a Raging Shifter who then Shifts gets to stack these bonuses is just awesome, in addition to all the greatness that comes with even a single level of Barbarian like the HD, the aforementioned Rage, and the decent skills for this sort of design.
-- Whirling Frenzy (UA ACF): (+4 Strength, +2 AC bonus as Dodge, +2 Reflex), throw in Ettercap Berserker feat, and gain +6 Constitution and +2 to saving throws against poison. (Credit goes to Amechra for this suggestion.)
-- Notes: Likely just a single level dip, solely for Rage and or Pounce.
- The Warblade
-- Tome of Battle: Just... Maneuvers, stances, counters and boosts. You all are very familiar with exactly why these are good. Oh, and then there's Iron Heart Surge, Moment of Perfect Mind, Action Before Thought and a handful of other absolutely synergistic and fun abilities that goes with just how hard a werebeast should be to put down.
-- Refresh Mechanic: Handful of novel, effective abilities which refresh as a swift action when combined with an attack or part of a thematic flourish; roar and refresh.
-- Notes: The cover class (because he can say he's "just a Fighter", and look the part, all while being significantly better than a Fighter), gives solid BAB, access to maneuvers, and has some solid class features like Weapon Aptitude.
- The Ranger
-- Sadly, of all base classes, I've little to say about the Ranger for this prospective build aside from its a Ranger. Sure, Favored Enemy (Humans) makes sense, as does Wild Empathy (sadly will be redundant)* and Track, but the real reason I even bothered was for the full BAB, the decent skill points, and the access to Knowledge (Nature), Survival (and Balance)**; with another ACF, that wasted Ride skill is now the much, much better Tumble skill. Made decent as a dip by all the ACFs.
-- * Voice of the City (Cityscape ACF): From Cityscape supplement, basically allows the character to convey and recognize basic information ("Halt!", "Put down your weapon!") even if they do not understand or know the language, and provides attempts at trying to communicate in same situations. Overall, a new feature that removes redundancy and has fair odds of being useful at least once; fine by me. (Credit goes to Elevevated Beat for this suggestion.)
-- ** Balance Skill (Shifter Ranger ACF): Adds Balance to the list to help avoid those nasty grease spells. (Credit goes to Elevevated Beat for this suggestion.)
-- Tumble Skill (Skilled City-Dweller ACF): Replaces Ride with Tumble; much more useful for positioning, and adds into the "animal agility" theme which comes secondary with the weretiger. (Credit goes to Elevevated Beat for this suggestion.)
-- Notes: Just a single level dip for the full BAB and skills; everything else is just "eh" and a very minor nicety. Absolutely the first and only real candidate on the cutting block right now.
- The Weretouched Master
-- Ignoring the errata. I'm fortunate enough to have a DM who would make that exception for me.
-- Weretouched I (Tiger): Claws go up a damage die, and get +2 more Strength while Shifting. Given how often this character can Shift, and for how long, this is effectively permanent in combat.
-- Wild Empathy: I get a +4 bonus to communication attempts with my feline friends, and regain my Wild Empathy which was traded away for the Voice of the City ACF.
-- Bonus Shifter Feats: Getting Extra Shifter Trait (Longtooth) and Improved Natural Attack (Bite) as my actual talents makes this even better, because now I get Great Rend and Shifter Multiattack via bonus feats for free. In the words of NeoSeraphi, "Tigers have claws and teeth, so why should you only get one or the other when you shift?"
-- Weretouched II (Tiger): I get Pounce, meaning if my Barbarian can be of the Spirit Wolf (for that lovely + to hit while flanking) or remain Jaguar simply for the speed boost.
-- Frightful Presence: If I end up throwing Rage + Shifting + Alternate Form in front of a bunch of mooks or commoners, I sure as hell want them to be afraid of me. For everyone else (literally the rest of the world), that tingle up their spine should be the moment they think twice when they effectively automatically pass the save.
-- Alternate Form: Effectively I get a free Polymorph spell that shapeshifts me into a tiger or a Lycanthropic hybrid tiger form, all while my gear still remains effective and I keep my thumbs. Oh, and then there's the absurd stat adjustments from this. Add in the fact that this form might even qualify as a Large creature (tigers are large, hybrid weretigers are large), and the silliness ensues.
-- Notes: Unless there is something way better than Weretouched Master given the goals, this is a major chunk of the build.
- The Warshaper
-- All it takes the aspiring Shifter to become part of my eventual "True Shifter" concept is a measly +4 BAB.
-- Morphic Immunities: Immunity to crits and stunning, just because I blew Shifting? I'll absolutely take that. No one likes dying.
-- Morphic Weapons: This is just a given for why I think the Warshaper is one of the four major wheels this wagon rolls on. All it costs for me to boost my natural weapons (or add more) is a move action (or two)? Yes.
-- Morphic Body: Shifting + Rage + Alternate Form + Morphic Body + Morphic Weapons + Pounce
-- Morphic Reach: Threatening everything in 10 feet is just amazing.
-- Morphic Healing: Fast Healing 2 is nice in combat, and out of combat, I can essentially heal myself back to full just by waiting and messing around with the Concentration check (given Concentration should already be decent for this build's concept), bringing myself back to full without any real help.
-- Notes: Just like Weretouched Master, Warshaper is one of the cornerstones for this concept, although I might ditch the 4th level of the class, given all it does is provide healing, but between it and DR 2/Silver, I'll take a fair bit less of abuse, and not need much attention in out of combat healing.
- Feats
-- Thus far, the feats I am pretty much guaranteed to use are; Imp. Natural Attack (Claws), Extra Shifter Trait (Longtooth), Imp. Natural Attack (Bite), Shifter Savagery, Great Rend, and Extra Rage.
- Flaws
-- Shaky: If I need pickup a bow in this build concept, I'm already in trouble. Needless to say, I'll still carry one around.
-- Vulnerable: I don't think the Warblade-Barbarian-Ranger-Warshaper-Weretouched Master-OtherClassesINeedToFind really cares about that 1 less AC. In fact, hitting him more is probably a good thing. I'm sure he'll be happy to meet you face to face.
Current Build
- This is where I really need well versed input from you guys. This current build is likely to have some sort of glaring error (such as an illegal combination of feats, insufficient skill points, natural attacks not functioning with maneuevers, claw/bite damage stacking poorly or some other flaw) because I am not super familiar with all of the mechanics and nuances of 3.5e. I am, however, learning slowly but surely, and the best way for me to learn is for you to point those out and offer suggestions.
- This build likely can get better optimization, for example, dropping Ranger for something more useful, but will still get me that +1 BAB and some decent skill points to drop into Knowledge (Nature) and Survival. The goal is to get into the PrCs as early as possible.
- I love the Barbarian's Rage, if only for the fact it boosts the hell out of things I want, but if Ferocity, Whirling Frenzy, etc, are better, go for it with your suggestion.
- This build has a lot of missing levels I'd like to fill. Warblade might just be the answer post both PrCs, but if there's a PrC that would help build the synergy for this character such as amping up damage, rage, shifting, etc, I'd love to see your answer.
Class (ACF) (Level) (FEAT (Rank): Feat Name)
Race (Shifter: Razorclaw) (+2 Dexterity, -2 Intelligence, -2 Charisma) (Shift: +2 Strength, Claw = 1d4 + 1 per 4 levels)
NoClass (1) (FLAW 1: Vulnerable = Power Attack)
NoClass (1) (FLAW 2: Shaky = Imp. Natural Attack (Claws))
Ranger (Shifter ACF/Skilled City-Dweller (Tumble) ACF/Voice of the City ACF) (1) (FEAT 1: Steadfast Determination) (Credit goes to Nanshork for this gem.)
Barbarian (Whirling Frenzy ACF) (2)
Warblade (3) (FEAT 2: Ettercap Berserker)
Warblade (4)
Weretouched Master (5)
Weretouched Master (6) (FEAT 3: Healing Factor)(FEAT Bonus: Extra Shifter Trait (Longtooth))
Weretouched Master (7)
Weretouched Master (8) (FEAT 4: Shifter Savagery)(FEAT Bonus: Shifter Multiattack)
Weretouched Master (9)
Warshaper (10)
Warshaper (11)
Warshaper (12)(FEAT 5: Imp. Natural Attack (Bite))
Warshaper (13)
<NoClass> (14)
<NoClass> (15) (FEAT 6: Extra Rage)
<NoClass> (16)
<NoClass> (17)
<NoClass> (18) (FEAT 7: Great Rend)
<NoClass> (19)
<NoClass> (20)
Warblade Maneuvers
- Punishing Stance (IH Stance)
- Disarming Strike (IH Strike)
- Iron Heart Surge (IH Standard Action)
- Iron Heart Endurance (IH Boost)
- Moment of Perfect Mind (DM Counter) (Cannot Concentrate while Raging)
- Action Before Thought (DM Counter) (Cannot Concentrate while Raging)
- Claw at the Moon (TC Strike)
Build Questions
1. Is the current build viable and legal, given what I've put forward about it? How can it be improved?
2. What is a better, more effective alternative along these lines? Razorclaw seems to be the way to go from the start, picking up Longtooth traits via feats later, given I get a +2 Strength bonus instead of a +2 Dex bonus, and 2 claw attacks versus 1 bite.
3. Are there any better combinations of feats I could use given this character's current build? I absolutely need to be able to Shift/Rage more than once a day, ideally 3; I don't mind having more Shifting than Rage, however.
4. Any better, or more effective maneuvers to play with? I'm having some minor difficulty figuring out what is great besides Iron Heart Surge, Moment of Perfect Mind and Action Before Thought (to nullify my weaknesses such as low Will/Reflex/CC ability).
5. Thicket of Blades + Morphic Reach is good news for me, I imagine? Throw in that Alternate Form might be Large, I am guessing this is a truly lovely set up?
6. What do I need to do to up my DPR? The more I fulfill that striker roll, the better, along with increasing any synergy between the classes and PrCs I have in mind.
7. What sort of equipment should I favor and or outfit myself with?
10. (See below)
- Combat Initiates:
-- 1st turn: Shift + Rage + Alternate Form (what sort of action is this, standard?) ?> Morphic Weapons (Claws) ?> Morphic Weapons (Bite)
-- Does the above work? I'm happy to let everyone else immediately jump into the fray and preoccupy the enemy while I buff up and then lead in with a charge after to exploit flanking bonuses/debuffs/distracted enemies/etc.
-- Given Alternate Form is based on Polymorph, and is a standard action as a spell, I can only use application set of Morphic Weapons, correct?
-- Once an attack is altered by Morphic Weapons, how long does it last? Until the Alternate Form and or Shifting ceases? It says nothing about persisting them (I admittedly will never persist these outside of combat, given the character's motives and persona.)
11. The current party is likely to be;
-- Two-Weapon Human Ranger (Low Opt)
-- Archer Halfing Ranger (Low Opt)
-- Gnome Bard (Low Opt)
-- Melee Halfing Rogue (Medium Opt)
-- Human Crusader (Medium Opt)
-- "True Shifter" (Medium-Specialist Opt) (Me)
-- A Cleric (or Druid) (High Opt) (Even some minor shenanigans)
Any suggestions within that given the group? The DM is introducing a plot device which is a "save point" more or less, seeing as he wants to throw around several BBEGs with plenty of minibosses who can pretty much wreck us. There's a Spot check involved to realize the artifact is "ready to save" (if we all die, we go back in time, or the survivor can force the reset), so if we all die without noticing it, we go way back. He's not looking to be a "killer DM" so much as he wants us to play around with the bad guys, have to retreat at times, and find solutions other than "rush in and kill everything". Rarely ever has hostile spell casters, and when they are present, almost always single class Clerics, or even more rarely, spell slinging monsters.
I know its a lot to read, but there's few people out there (that's why I came here) who really can help me build something like this and really get it running. Thank you for your time.
