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Chained Birds
2011-02-21, 05:47 PM
Greeting again people of GitP,

I'm attempting to make a character who specializes in stone, rock, boulder, ground, sand, acid and all other variations on the earth property. The character should be the embodyment of this element in both spells/manuevers, characteristics and traits, and fighting style.
I'm not familiar with all the books out there, so I feel I'm missing some class that would be perfect for this idea. I've noticed the Elemental Sevant class, but wonder if there is something better; so I wanted to hear some ideas from everyone about the following:

- Race (probally dwarf but not ruling out other races) a +0 LA and one that is +X LA
- Class(s) (prestige and base)
- Feats (earth based or themed feats, and/or other feats that lead up to a Lord of Stones Build)
- Other Options (items, rituals, etc.)

Greenish
2011-02-21, 05:52 PM
There's earth Shugenja, but I haven't paid much attention to the class.

Zonugal
2011-02-21, 05:54 PM
How about something like an Earth Dwarf (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/variant/races/elementalRacialVariants.htm#earthDwarves) Crusader/Deepstone Sentinel with the Mineral Warrior (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/ex/20031003e) template. Throwing on the Final Strike (http://realmshelps.net/cgi-bin/featbox.pl?feat=Final_Strike) feat can also really amp up his thematic power as should he die he immediately triggers an earthquake (as the 8th level spell).

ex cathedra
2011-02-21, 05:55 PM
What about a Dwarf Earth Shugenja [Complete Divine]/Earth Dreamer [Races of Stone]/whatever else, with the Earth Sense/Earth Spell line from Races of Stone? Throw in some source of Turn Undead (like Sacred Exorcist from Complete Divine) and you can take Earth Devotion [Complete Champion], if you're so inclined. Add a few other Earth-based PrCs to taste.

Shugenjas, if you aren't familiar, are Divine casters who have to focus on an element, and the majority of their spells are thematically linked to this element.

nedz
2011-02-21, 05:59 PM
I've been considering such options for a while (I'm running a Dwarf game) unfortunately there arn't that many.

Metal Master Druid ACF - isn't quite right. The Druid spell list is sevearly restricted for this concept.

There are a wide variety of Clerical domains which fit much better. Some even give the ability to turn or revoke elementals. Because you are only interested (probably) in a narrow subset of general clerical spells you should possibly consider the Spontaneous Cleric option from (UA) or a favoured soul

Earth Dreamer (RoS) is a full casting 5 level PrC which is a good match.

Runesmith (RoS) is a fullcasting 10 PrC which is aimed at Dwarven Wizards.

Summon Elemental Reserve Feat (CM) is an obvious choice for a fluffy.

Chained Birds
2011-02-21, 06:21 PM
Earth Dreamer and the earth dwarf (mineral template +1) is a nice combo. I'm a little hesitant to pick up shugenja though.

Zonugal
2011-02-21, 06:30 PM
Earth Dreamer and the earth dwarf (mineral template +1) is a nice combo. I'm a little hesitant to pick up shugenja though.

Runesmith is a very good selection in addition to earth dreamer if you want a character that can plant himself while throwing around earth spells. You just have to watch our for the mental attribute penalties with Mineral Warrior.

Zaq
2011-02-21, 06:34 PM
I just got done playing a character just like this. Spirit Shaman gives you the Druid spell list with at least 50% less brokenness. The Druid spell list can be very earth-based if you know what to look for. (Instead of a normal dwarf, use the Gold Dwarf from DMG p. 171; they take a DEX penalty instead of a CHA penalty.) Add Contemplative (Earth domain) and Earth Dreamer as desired. My GM let me change Holt Warden to Earth Warden and use the Earth domain instead of the Plant domain (given that they're basically just different focuses of the Druid spell list), so ask about that. It's not strictly necessary, though.

Keld Denar
2011-02-21, 06:39 PM
There's a dwarf druid PrC I'm trying to remember the name of. Fax Celestis is always talking about it. I forgot the name! It has a lot of Earth Elemental themed abilities, IIRC. Its not Earth Dreamer or Stone Lord...I think it might have been in an Eberron book.

Grrrrr.....

Zaq
2011-02-21, 06:42 PM
There's a dwarf druid PrC I'm trying to remember the name of. Fax Celestis is always talking about it. I forgot the name! It has a lot of Earth Elemental themed abilities, IIRC. Its not Earth Dreamer or Stone Lord...I think it might have been in an Eberron book.

Grrrrr.....

Do you mean Stonespeaker Guardian? That's goliaths instead of dwarves, but . . .

nedz
2011-02-21, 06:50 PM
There's also the slightly odd Stonelord class from CWar, which is aimed at Fighters or Rangers, but can get you maximise ?
Actually it has a large selection of powers, but there mainly just earth flavoured.

dark.sun.druid
2011-02-21, 06:55 PM
Just a thought, you could add the Blue Dragonspawn template from the Dragonlance campaign setting book. You would get the Earth subtype, along with some powerful special abilities (Line of Lightning, Cast as 1st Level Sorcerer, +7 Natural Armor, etc...). All of the colors are different, but I believe Blue is +3 LA.

Chained Birds
2011-02-21, 07:43 PM
Earth Dreamer and Runesmith seem like a good waste of 10levels once I get the requirements. Buts what's the best starting class? Druid? Shaman? Other?

Master Thrower
2011-02-21, 07:50 PM
Stonelord might be what your looking for in the CW(?) It grants earth based powers and is only open to dwarfs

Silva Stormrage
2011-02-21, 08:05 PM
If you want homebrew this homebrew Avatar world would work. Earthbender is pretty much exactly what you want.

http://theanteheroes.com/Avatar%20d20/BendingChapter.pdf

Dralnu
2011-02-21, 08:09 PM
If you have access to arcane spellcasting, there's a couple spells that fit the theme: fist of stone (punch people with a rock fist), earthern grasp (snare people), giant's wrath (throw boulders), and of course wall of stone. All except for the last one are from spell compendium.

EDIT: If you're doing everything earth-related and not just stone there's even more options. Spell Compendium definitely has a bunch of metal / acid spells that you should look into. Sandstorm likely has sand-related spells too.

Being an arcane spellcaster that specializes in an element is elegant and can be surprisingly effective.

Zonugal
2011-02-21, 08:17 PM
Earth Dreamer and Runesmith seem like a good waste of 10levels once I get the requirements. Buts what's the best starting class? Druid? Shaman? Other?

Wu Jen might be a nice, although unorthodox, entrance.

Clepto
2011-02-21, 10:37 PM
If you have access to it, the Blackclad from the Iron Kingdoms could work as well. It's a druid PrC that specializes in an element, then kicks city-dweller ass.

Chained Birds
2011-02-21, 10:44 PM
If you have access to it, the Blackclad from the Iron Kingdoms could work as well. It's a druid PrC that specializes in an element, then kicks city-dweller ass.

It that from dragon magazine or a book?

Clepto
2011-02-21, 11:19 PM
It that from dragon magazine or a book?

It's the Iron Kingdoms campaign setting, from Privateer Press. It's 3rd party, but it's mostly compatible with normal 3.5. It's the basis behind the Warmachine and Hordes tabletop wargames, and it's designed to be run more-or-less as a stand alone book, with only limited involvement from the 3.5 material (the setting fluff is pretty specific, and bans a lot of things).

Unfortunately, it's been out of print for a couple years, so there's not much chance at getting it without amazon/ebay. Check your FLGS, particularly if there's a decent number of Warmachine players, they might have one collecting dust. I heard somewhere that Privateer Press may be selling it in .pdf format as well, so you might check their main site (privateerpress.com).

Blackclad isn't a great suggestion, but it fits the theme of what you're looking for if you can get a hold of it.