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Nick_mi
2010-09-29, 02:07 AM
I made a previous topic at http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=169998

But basically, I am looking to optimise a changeling melee character(Ideally barbarian) that will go into warshaper. I'll let you try and decide how to utalise those nifty abilities.

These are the limits I am working with

"As for character creation, you're all start at level one. Playing races/classes outside player's handbook will require approval (changeling is fine as I said earlier). We're doing 3.5 D&D. Max HP. As for abilities...

You get one 20 and two 18's before race adjustments. The 20 represents a talent you had from birth that got developed greatly as you aged to a point beyond normalcy. I usually like letting the PCs make high powered characters so I can fee better about thrower monsters at them and not worrying about them dying. For your other abilites, roll 4d6 (minus the lowest) for the other three. Rerolls will only be if your rolls are truly abysmal."

I rolled on top of that a 14,15, and 15.

Lastly, I do start with a magical item that costs up to 1.8k. The catch is it has to be something memorial so I can't toss it away. I really have ZERO experiance with nifty magical items, so I don't have a clue where to start with that one.

Alright, thanks everybody. Also, I'm not posting this because I'm lazy and don't want to do my own digging, I'm posting because this is my first optimised campaign, and I'm still really new, so I actually NEED the help. So, thanks :)

Keld Denar
2010-09-29, 02:11 AM
Couple things.

A) SOURCES SOURCES SOURCES!!!!

B) Do note that while its technically rules-legal to grow an arbitrarily large number of natural attacks of arbitrarily large size with Warshaper, doing so will probably get you struck with a book.

C) About your best bet would be some combination of Fighter and Barb for 4 levels to get the BAB prereq, then take 4 levels of Warshaper, then something like Shou Disciple or Bear Warrior or other strong melee class. Thats...pretty much it. Tailor to suite.

EDIT: Stats: Str 20, Con 18, Dex 18, rest doesn't matter.

EDIT EDIT: Why don't YOU try to throw something together, and we'll critique it and offer suggestions. You seem to have gotten a lot of advice. You learn BEST by doing, rather than just regurgitating something someone told you on the internet.

Nick_mi
2010-09-29, 02:15 AM
Because my original idea got show down as not plausible(growing an extra set of arms to dual wield greatswords) and all I know is that I still want to go warshaper because all of those abilties seem nifty, and being a changeling with warshaper really seems like it will be fun to roleplay and improvise, but now I'm legitimately out of ideas other then barb4/warshaper4/???/no profit

Keld Denar
2010-09-29, 02:21 AM
Barbarian4/Warshaper4/X is a perfectly legitimate place to start. Sure, you could probably tweak it up a hair, but thats already not bad for a meleer. You have decent boosts to Str and Con, full FORTIFICATION, fast healing, and a couple other minor abilities, all for looking like Fred instead of George. For feats, Extra Rage and Power Attack are a GREAT place to start. Maybe splash a little Mad Foam Rager (PHBII) for that little extra diehardiness, or take Endurance > Steadfast Determination (PHBII) to boost your Will save vs very bad things.

Alternatively, if you have the 15+ Cha (which you probably will with those stats), Intimidating Rage (CWar) + Imperious Command (DotU) is a GREAT combo. When you rage, everyone loses thier turn. Slap on Immediate Rage (CWar) and you can use it to interupt other people's crap you don't like. Very effective against anything with either a mind or a brain.

Nick_mi
2010-09-29, 02:25 AM
Also, really looking for help with that item I mentioned above. :)

You also forgot the skill trick never outnumbered if I am to stun everybody. But that doesn't seem bad.

Nick_mi
2010-09-29, 10:50 AM
bring up my post

kestrel404
2010-09-29, 11:30 AM
If you're looking for a barbarian meleeist shapechanger, you may want to choose Shifter (Longtooth) instead of Changeling. It's what they're meant to do.

Build:
Barbarian 2
Fighter 2
Warshaper 4
Weretouched Master (Tiger) 5
Frenzied Berserker 7

Feats: Extra Rage, Power Attack (Fighter 1), Cleave (Fighter 2), Intimidating Rage (Before level 14), Destructive Rage (Before level 14), Leap Attack
Shifter feats: Shifter Instincts, Shifter Savagery, Ragewild Fighter, Shifter Ferocity

You get 2 shifter bonus feats from Weretouched master, and 2 fighter bonus feats (Power attack and Cleave) from fighter, so you've actually got some feats left over to play with.

As a shifter, once you get Ragewild Fighter and Shifter Ferocity, you're going to be using your natural attacks available in your shifted form most of the time - they'll be three size categories larger (because Warshaper and Shifter Ferocity stack) and keen! Plus, with weretouched master, you get Claw/Claw/Bite as your base natural attack, and then iterative attacks starting at -5. This also lets you get pounce (weretouched master 4) without using Lion Totem barbarian (which a lot of GMs won't allow).

If none of that interests you, go with the Changeling for the out of combat utility.

You may want to choose Dungeoncrasher fighter instead of a bonus fighter feat at 2nd level if you plan on getting Improved Bull rush and Shock Trooper later.

Build
Barbarian 2
Fighter 2
Warshaper 4
Frenzied Berserker 10
x 2

No shifter feats, all other feats the same.

Nick_mi
2010-09-29, 12:01 PM
Hmmm, didn't even think about shifters. I would have to get DMs approval as I think changeling might of been a bit of a strech on it's own

kestrel404
2010-09-29, 12:59 PM
Oh yes, and if you go Shifter, have your magic item be a Hat of Disguise - 1.8k, and you get disguise self at will. ;)

Nick_mi
2010-09-29, 01:24 PM
I was also thinking about maybe a masterwork mercurial great sword. It would leave some room in the price cap and maybe I could work in an enchantment, and since it has to be story-bound, I'm going to try and maybe work in that I'm already proficient with it and not have to blow a feat.

It kind of looks like I'll be using a lot of natural attacks if I go that route. Can you tell me what the final damage rolls would look like on that? I'm kind of partial to big bad weapons as I've never dealt with natural attacks before, so I'm confused what size/damage my claws/bite will end at.

true_shinken
2010-09-29, 01:53 PM
Just get an Anklet of Translocation. 1.4gp and it will never become obsolete.

Douglas
2010-09-29, 02:14 PM
Unless the DM has given you a guarantee before you even start that upgrading your starting item will be possible and even easy, a weapon or any item that you would want to upgrade is a bad choice. Unless you have that upgrade guarantee, make it a utility item of some sort that will remain useful through your entire career without being replaced by strictly superior items. true_shinken's suggestion of Anklets of Translocation is a good example.

Greenish
2010-09-29, 02:32 PM
Unless the DM has given you a guarantee before you even start that upgrading your starting item will be possible and even easy, a weapon or any item that you would want to upgrade is a bad choice.Picking Ancestral Weapon from BoED would allow one to upgrade one's weapon by sacrificing other items, which is very handy if you want to have a "relic" type of thing that also remains useful.

Otherwise, yeah, Hat of Disguise or Anklet of Translocation are both good.

Nick_mi
2010-09-29, 06:08 PM
What's BoED?

Foryn Gilnith
2010-09-29, 06:21 PM
Dukar Hand Coral, mentioned in Shax's Indispensible Haversack (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=148101) and detailed somewhere in this character sheet (http://mnemnosyne.com/D&D%20Characters/WtP/Kylari%20Saerthalynn.html)(ctrl+f for it), is a very memorable magic item, thematic for a Warshaper, and doesn't take a slot (so it can't become obsolete).

Nick_mi
2010-09-29, 07:45 PM
I'm thinking
Longtooth shifter

1 barb/2 ranger(With the shaper ACF)/3-4 fighter/5-8 warshaper/9-12 either fists of the forest or weretouched master

I think ranger first would statistically be better(due to starting skill points being higher) but I want to roleplay my character as more of a barbarian, and I want turning into a bad-assed were-man is more barbarian-esque then ranger.

And the feats I am looking at are

Improved Unarmed Strike, Superior Unarmed Strike, Multiattack, Improved Natural Attack, Beast Strike, Power Attack, Cleave,
With the skill tricks:
Never surrounded

Stats:

Str:20
Dex:20
Wis:15
Int:12
Cha:12
Con:18

Nick_mi
2010-09-30, 12:58 AM
Even when I post my build no one comments :(