Another_Poet
2010-06-20, 04:48 PM
Hi everyone,
Well after I whined to one of my IRL DMs that I never get to play in high-level adventures, he decided to host a sporadic but ongoing Eberron adventure starting at ECL 10.
For giggles I rolled up a Halfling mounted charge specialist with his very own Glidewing (pteronadon). I am still working on feats and gear and have some questions for y'all. Obviously final adjudication lies with the GM but I would like to have some sense of consensus before I pitch the build to him.
1) "Several." The Glidewing creature description says it can carry "several" halflings. How many would you rule "several" to be? It is a Large creature so normally I would imagine it can only carry 2 Small creatures (or 1 medium). But "several" implies more than two. How many would you allow on board without penalising the Glidewing?
2) Multilance? Let's say it's ruled that 4 halflings can board the glidewing. Now let's say the Glidewing is trained for the purpose of Combat Riding, and all 4 riders have the feats mounted combat, rideby attack, and spirited charge (x3 damage on lance charge). By RAW a rider on a mount technically occupies all squares that the mount occupies, so all 4 halflings can effectively hang off the same side with lances poised to strike.
Here's the fun part. The halflings with the highest initiative Delay until the slowest one's initiative comes up. The slowest one makes its Ride check to make a mounted charge (guide with knees, DC 5). Can all four halflings make a Lance attack as the mount moves past its target, each dealing x3 lance damage?
3) Druid On-Star. Let's say that I take the Leadership feat. At 10th level with +0 Cha I can get a 7th level Druid as a cohort. As a CR 3 animal, the Glidewing is roughly on par with other creatures that a Druid can take as animal companions at ECL 4 (a little strong) or ECL 7 (a little weak). Either way let's say that halfling Druids are allowed to take Glidewings as animal companions.
Would you as GM allow a druid cohort to offer his animal companion as a mount for the PC he follows? If not, would you allow it if the Druid cohort is also on board ("several halflings")? Essentially, would a non-Druid PC and a Druid cohort riding together on the Druid's animal companion seem okay to you?
4) Flight Crew. Also with a leadership score of 10, I can obtain up to five 1st-level followers. Let's assume that 4 halflings can ride the glidewing. That's my ECL 10 character, my ECL 7 druid co-pilot (who is on healing/buffing duty), and two 1st-level followers. What class would you suggest for these two 1st level followers? I am thinking Wizard just so they can use wands of evocation to do bombing runs as we go over, or a scoll of Cloudkill for biological warfare. However 1st level wizards in a 10th level dogfight are very squishy. Would strongheart halfling Fighters with Mounted Combat/Rideby/Spirited Charge be better? Barbarians with Feather Fall for rapid insertions? Rogue snipers? Backup druids? Or what?
5) Pit Crew. That leaves me with three 1st-level followers who can't ride along. What do you suggest for the ground crew? I am thinking either support characters (artificer, cleric, bard) who don't typically enter combat with me, or backups of the flight crew for when they meet their inevitable and much-deserved end. But I am open to suggestions!
(Necro clerics or DN's would be ideal so I can drop zombies into hot zones but I doubt the other players would allow it on their team.)
6) Skarf! Please share your thoughts on what the coolest-looking scarf to wear is, and which shoulder (left or right) I should valiantly toss it over as I board my flying monster for an air raid.
Any other ideas for a pteronadon flight team are welcome as well! We here at LuftHobbe thank you!!
Well after I whined to one of my IRL DMs that I never get to play in high-level adventures, he decided to host a sporadic but ongoing Eberron adventure starting at ECL 10.
For giggles I rolled up a Halfling mounted charge specialist with his very own Glidewing (pteronadon). I am still working on feats and gear and have some questions for y'all. Obviously final adjudication lies with the GM but I would like to have some sense of consensus before I pitch the build to him.
1) "Several." The Glidewing creature description says it can carry "several" halflings. How many would you rule "several" to be? It is a Large creature so normally I would imagine it can only carry 2 Small creatures (or 1 medium). But "several" implies more than two. How many would you allow on board without penalising the Glidewing?
2) Multilance? Let's say it's ruled that 4 halflings can board the glidewing. Now let's say the Glidewing is trained for the purpose of Combat Riding, and all 4 riders have the feats mounted combat, rideby attack, and spirited charge (x3 damage on lance charge). By RAW a rider on a mount technically occupies all squares that the mount occupies, so all 4 halflings can effectively hang off the same side with lances poised to strike.
Here's the fun part. The halflings with the highest initiative Delay until the slowest one's initiative comes up. The slowest one makes its Ride check to make a mounted charge (guide with knees, DC 5). Can all four halflings make a Lance attack as the mount moves past its target, each dealing x3 lance damage?
3) Druid On-Star. Let's say that I take the Leadership feat. At 10th level with +0 Cha I can get a 7th level Druid as a cohort. As a CR 3 animal, the Glidewing is roughly on par with other creatures that a Druid can take as animal companions at ECL 4 (a little strong) or ECL 7 (a little weak). Either way let's say that halfling Druids are allowed to take Glidewings as animal companions.
Would you as GM allow a druid cohort to offer his animal companion as a mount for the PC he follows? If not, would you allow it if the Druid cohort is also on board ("several halflings")? Essentially, would a non-Druid PC and a Druid cohort riding together on the Druid's animal companion seem okay to you?
4) Flight Crew. Also with a leadership score of 10, I can obtain up to five 1st-level followers. Let's assume that 4 halflings can ride the glidewing. That's my ECL 10 character, my ECL 7 druid co-pilot (who is on healing/buffing duty), and two 1st-level followers. What class would you suggest for these two 1st level followers? I am thinking Wizard just so they can use wands of evocation to do bombing runs as we go over, or a scoll of Cloudkill for biological warfare. However 1st level wizards in a 10th level dogfight are very squishy. Would strongheart halfling Fighters with Mounted Combat/Rideby/Spirited Charge be better? Barbarians with Feather Fall for rapid insertions? Rogue snipers? Backup druids? Or what?
5) Pit Crew. That leaves me with three 1st-level followers who can't ride along. What do you suggest for the ground crew? I am thinking either support characters (artificer, cleric, bard) who don't typically enter combat with me, or backups of the flight crew for when they meet their inevitable and much-deserved end. But I am open to suggestions!
(Necro clerics or DN's would be ideal so I can drop zombies into hot zones but I doubt the other players would allow it on their team.)
6) Skarf! Please share your thoughts on what the coolest-looking scarf to wear is, and which shoulder (left or right) I should valiantly toss it over as I board my flying monster for an air raid.
Any other ideas for a pteronadon flight team are welcome as well! We here at LuftHobbe thank you!!