riddles
2009-01-30, 05:57 AM
i'm going to be getting back into playing again soon and i'm looking at creating a lycanthrope as i thought it might be fun.
first: i'll be able to get the level buy off rules, so arguments for and against natural/afflicted would be great. i like natural because the DR is considerably better but it would be much harder to buy it off early.
second: the animal. low HD with good benefits. i would love something where i could turn into the animal form for a bit of tomfoolery/sneakery/usefulness outside of combat.
current candidates are riding dog and black bear.
riding dog: i get +4 to all physical stats from the riding dog, and it's a medium creature, which means my hybrid form can wear my armour. +6 to natural armour (dog is +2, lycan gives another +2) is also really useful. the lion totem barbarian pounce ability will let me power attack with a greataxe and my bite attack. which is awesome. track is also a bonus feat, which should eat up my feats.
black bear: still a medium creature, so armour is good. stats are better for combat - +8STR, +2DEX, +4CON. BUT, natural armour is worse (+4 instead of +6), it's an extra HD that i have to suck up with crap bab, saves and the rest. i'm also a bit concerned about the primary attack of the black bear being a claw. as far as i can tell, i won't be able to use that when i attack with a two handed weapon and the bear's bite is at -5, meaning i'll need the multi attack feat. there's also the issue of whether i can hide a bear in an urban setting. it's doable, though
so, could anyone advise me on this? i'll probably build a charger/pouncer build. the black bear doesn't have improved grab so grappling might be out. i am open to other suggestions though.
first: i'll be able to get the level buy off rules, so arguments for and against natural/afflicted would be great. i like natural because the DR is considerably better but it would be much harder to buy it off early.
second: the animal. low HD with good benefits. i would love something where i could turn into the animal form for a bit of tomfoolery/sneakery/usefulness outside of combat.
current candidates are riding dog and black bear.
riding dog: i get +4 to all physical stats from the riding dog, and it's a medium creature, which means my hybrid form can wear my armour. +6 to natural armour (dog is +2, lycan gives another +2) is also really useful. the lion totem barbarian pounce ability will let me power attack with a greataxe and my bite attack. which is awesome. track is also a bonus feat, which should eat up my feats.
black bear: still a medium creature, so armour is good. stats are better for combat - +8STR, +2DEX, +4CON. BUT, natural armour is worse (+4 instead of +6), it's an extra HD that i have to suck up with crap bab, saves and the rest. i'm also a bit concerned about the primary attack of the black bear being a claw. as far as i can tell, i won't be able to use that when i attack with a two handed weapon and the bear's bite is at -5, meaning i'll need the multi attack feat. there's also the issue of whether i can hide a bear in an urban setting. it's doable, though
so, could anyone advise me on this? i'll probably build a charger/pouncer build. the black bear doesn't have improved grab so grappling might be out. i am open to other suggestions though.