Feats and Martial Manuvers Help

[Tokuhara]

Friday, I'm going to run the following build:

Race: Hengeyokai (Fox)
Class: Warblade 4 / Warshaper 3 / Shapeshifter 1 / MoMF 7 / Warshaper 2 / Warblade 3

My DM has already given me the green light to play this disturbing combination, but I am not sure what feats/martial maneuvers I should use. Any Help?

I'm starting at level 5 and any books are allowed (plus the Dragon Magazine update for OA). I plan on being primary melee and using a Katana/Longsword

[Tokuhara]

Bump? I kinda gots to know

[DownwardSpiral]

Uhmm, was there any particular direction you wanted to go? Since your going Hengeyokai, it would make sense to at least have a smidgen of Tiger Claw things, no? Especially if you have more than one natural attack in fox form.

Diamond mind is always good. And then try to get one of the stone dragon maneuvers that punches through all hardness and dr. Just in case, you know? Another good maneuver is White Raven Tactics. Give up your turn so that your party member can go.

For feats, it sort of depends on what maneuvers you take. Just avoid obvious traps and you should be alright. Worse case scenario take like the meld from MoI that gives you a ranged attack. Again, just in case.

Just a warning, something that's commonly looked over in Warshaper is that all the class features only work in a form other than yourself. Just fyi. I know I missed it the first time.

[Greenish]

I plan on being primary melee and using a Katana/LongswordTwo weapons or re-skinned longsword?

[The-Mage-King]

Maneuvers: Go with Tiger Claaw stuff if it's two weapons (or even if it isn't, given your levels), and a combination of Diamond Mind and Iron Heaart, since you seem to be going Samurai in style. Stone Dragon's "X Mountain Hammer" strikes +Iaijusu Focus are always nice too.

[Hirax]

Warshaper 4 and 5 aren't worth it, just move back into warblade sooner, or another martial adept class.

[NecroRick]

How do you qualify for Warshaper at level 5?

Doesn't it have a skill pre-req of 8 ranks?

[Greenish]

How do you qualify for Warshaper at level 5?

Doesn't it have a skill pre-req of 8 ranks?No, it doesn't. It only requires 4 BAB and Special.

[Tokuhara]

Okay, to better clarify:

I will be using a katana or a longsword (if I can squeeze the feat for Exotic Weapon Proficiency)

I qualify for Warshaper at 5 because I have the Shapechanger subtype, like lycanthropes

I am following a skeleton build posted on wizards a while back (http://community.wizards.com/go/thread/view/75882/19862546/Shapeshifter_:_The_Epitome)

I will be mostly in hybrid/animal form in combat, using either my sword or my natural weapons to combo my martial maneuvers

Once I take my MoMF levels, I'll be shifting between fox, Cave Troll, War Troll, and whatnot depending on the opponents I face. Near Epic, a Legendary Monstrous Dire Bear with a Breath Weapon isn't out of the question.

This is my party make-up:

Myself
A female Lythari Wild Elf Ranger
A male Human Wizard
A Warforged Paladin
A male Ratling Rogue (playing him as a "Ninja")
A female Half-Elf Favored Soul
A male Half-Orc Barbarian

Basically, I'm a primary damage-dealer alongside the barbarian, the Paladin tanks, the Rogue is secondary damage and skillmonkey, the Favored Soul is a Band-Aid dispenser/undead killer, the wizard does his wizard thing, and the Ranger is our "Autoturret"

[Cog]

Near Epic, a Legendary Monstrous Dire Bear with a Breath Weapon isn't out of the question.
As far as I'm aware, there's no Practiced Spellcaster equivalent for Wild Shape. With your build, you're limited to 8 HD forms.

[Tokuhara]

As far as I'm aware, there's no Practiced Spellcaster equivalent for Wild Shape. With your build, you're limited to 8 HD forms.

Shapeshifter says that my forms HD are based on my ECL, thus I can be many cool things. Heck, I don't even think there IS an 8HD Giant/Aberration/Outsider

[Cog]

Hm. I read through the full OA original, and through the update where it said "exactly like the druid's wild shape ability"... and missed where it went on to be not based on class level after all. That could be read as merely an additional restriction, but yeah, I guess that's the intent after all.

[The-Mage-King]

Shapeshifter says that my forms HD are based on my ECL, thus I can be many cool things. Heck, I don't even think there IS an 8HD Giant/Aberration/Outsider

Illithid is the Aberration one. Not that bad, either.


Kyton is for Outsider. And I'm pretty sure there's a Giant like that...

[Tokuhara]

Illithid is the Aberration one. Not that bad, either.


Kyton is for Outsider. And I'm pretty sure there's a Giant like that...

Right, but for now I have a souped-up fox form and a Naruto-esq two-tailed hybrid (yes, my DM is having it so whenever I'd get a new spell level I grow another tail)

[Person_Man]

Shapeshifter says that my forms HD are based on my ECL, thus I can be many cool things. Heck, I don't even think there IS an 8HD Giant/Aberration/Outsider

Do you have a citation for this? I just reread the original in Oriental Adventures, and it states that it works "exactly like the druid's wild shape ability." The druid's wild shape ability is limited by your druid class level. There is no language about it being based off of ECL or your combined hit dice. Did it change in the errata?

[Cog]

Do you have a citation for this? I just reread the original in Oriental Adventures, and it states that it works "exactly like the druid's wild shape ability." The druid's wild shape ability is limited by your druid class level. There is no language about it being based off of ECL or your combined hit dice. Did it change in the errata?

It changed in the Dragon Magazine update. The restriction is at the end of the wild shape ability's second paragraph, and while it could be read as an additional restriction, it'd be entirely redundant if so.

[Tokuhara]

So, if I go a combo of Tiger Claw, Diamond Mind with a splash of Iron Heart and Stone Dragon, I'll be set?

[Lateral]

Yep. Diamond Mind is very strong, and Tiger Claw has good synergy; Iron Heart is great for either focusing on or splashing, so splashing is a good idea even if you don't take much. (Take Iron Heart Surge at the very least, and decide with your DM what it does and does not affect.) Stone Dragon isn't great for the most part, but it has a few gems- notably Mountain Hammer and Mountain Tombstone Strike. Both of them have no prerequisites, and are very nice.

For stances, you should take mostly Tiger Claw for low-level stances, and at higher levels you'll want Diamond Mind stances. Don't take any Stone Dragon stances (they pretty much suck), but you may want Punishing Stance from Iron Heart at low levels.

Myself
A female Lythari Wild Elf Ranger
A male Human Wizard
A Warforged Paladin
A male Ratling Rogue (playing him as a "Ninja")
A female Half-Elf Favored Soul
A male Half-Orc Barbarian

Just real quick; do you know what the source is for Lythari in 3.5? I've been trying to find it.

[Tokuhara]

Yep. Diamond Mind is very strong, and Tiger Claw has good synergy; Iron Heart is great for either focusing on or splashing, so splashing is a good idea even if you don't take much. (Take Iron Heart Surge at the very least, and decide with your DM what it does and does not affect.) Stone Dragon isn't great for the most part, but it has a few gems- notably Mountain Hammer and Mountain Tombstone Strike. Both of them have no prerequisites, and are very nice.

Just real quick; do you know what the source is for Lythari in 3.5? I've been trying to find it.

The plan was to split generally even between DM and TC styles with a dabble in 1-2 SD and IH maneuvers.

and Lythari is essentially Werewolf with no hybrid form. IIRC, it was posted in Races of Faerun, but in a pinch, you can use Werewolf and change the forced alignment to CG