Character Concept: Build Request/Help

[Avalon2099]

Hello Playgrounders,

I am in a bit of a dilemma, now I run two different Faerun games on alternating Fridays after work and I told my lovely fiancé I would help her build her character as she struggles being new to the game, she has no clue how to make a character for my current game as it's a Gestalt level 3, with VOP benefits no penalties, game takes place during spellplague so magic is largely screwed and it's not expected that a magic user type class arcane/divine be played, at least pure ones.

Now she's got a concept and I would work it out and hammer the details but alas I am at work on a busier night than usual.

Her concept is she wants to play a strongheart Halfling with a animal companion/mount she can ride, she's gotten in her backstory that a Titan intermingled with her line (I was shocked but it's workable) she likes the Halfling outrider PrC and wants to charge from mount back as well as shoot her bow effectively. She's incorporating flaws and took the reduced personal speed thing and wrote it into her backstory as a persistent necrotic wound from a monster attack in her youth.

Again any ideas on how to throw all this together? I would do this bit I'm at work on iPhone and I promised I'd have her character done before the game tonight,

I humbly request your assisstance, thank you in advance :)

[playswithfire]

Well, if she wants an animal companion at level 3, the official options I can think of are druid and the Wild Cohort (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/re/20031118a) feat.
On further thought, there's also the nature bard (http://dandwiki.com/wiki/UA:Bard_Variant) from UA which can be gestalted with paladin or crusader for good CHA synergy and, perhaps in the first case, the Devoted Tracker feat; or with fighter/ranger for appropriate bonus feats.

If you'll indulge homebrew (and some shameless self promotion), the Huntsman (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=183826#post10181050) class provides a ranger-level animal companion and access to the (also homebrewed, not by me) Iron Rain (archery) and Twin Spirit (mounted) martial disciplines and gives a bonus feat at 3rd level that adds DEX to damage with Iron Rain weapons instead of STR. Gestalt it with fighter for feats and better hit die or with rogue/scout for more skill points and precision damage.

[Heatwizard]

I'd start with Fighter 3//Ranger 3. There's a whole load of feats you'll need to be pulling in, and Fighter will do the heavy lifting there; Ranger 2 can get you one as well, and at Ranger 4 you can trade out the animal companion(go ahead and take wild cohort) for the ability to make every enemy you hit flanked(Distracting Attack, PHB2 page 55). Plus, you get access to spells, and there's a couple nice ones scattered across splatbooks. I woudn't take it further then that, though.

[Biffoniacus_Furiou]

Absolutely use Druid, with the Halfling Druid substitution levels from Races of the Wild. There weren't any drawbacks to using divine magic during the Spellplague, it actually became far more widespread, plus he should be able to lend quite a bit of versatility to the party. Get Natural Bond in Complete Adventurer with a 'level -3' companion, you can add your own bonuses and penalties in the most beneficial order so it will negate the -3. Pick up one level of Beastmaster (CV) to get an extra +3 to your effective level, and then take your Halfling Outrider levels on the same side of the gestalt progression as Druid and Beastmaster are on.

Use the Major Titan Bloodline (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/variant/races/bloodlines.htm) for that titan heritage, and take all three of the bloodline levels at your 2nd, 3rd, and 4th character levels. Those get added onto your levels in other classes for level-dependent abilities, such as caster level, animal companion progression, initiator level, wild shape HD, etc. At Druid 2/ Bloodline 3/ Beastmaster 1/ Halfling Outrider 1, he'll count as a 16th level Druid for his animal companion's benefits. Once his effective level would exceed 20 he could use the epic progression (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/epic/classProgressions.htm#epicDruid) or just switch to a more powerful creature with a higher 'level -X' attached.

I'd take Warblade along side of it. Go Warblade 1/ Fighter 1/ Warblade 18, those Bloodline levels will add +1 initiator level at that Fighter level, and he should be able to take Weapon Supremacy at level 18. With that Titan Bloodline he'll be able to wield a gargantuan size two-handed hammer at level 12, so at that Fighter level pick up EWP: Greathorn Minotaur Greathammer (MM4), even a small size version deals 1d10 base damage with a 19-20/x4 crit. At level 12 he can get a gargantuan version and wield it without penalty, which would deal 6d6 damage. Get some sort of extraplanar container to store it in, so the small size character can pull out a gargantuan hammer from nowhere to crush an unsuspecting opponent!

[Avalon2099]

I like these ideas for the one that takes the Titan bloodline, could you give me a short progression of how it would look and what to take at what levels? Say 1-5 or if your feeling generous 1-10?

[Flame of Anor]

Just as a spelling FYI, if your lovely fiancé is female, it's spelled fiancée.

[Avalon2099]

Just as a spelling FYI, if your lovely fiancé is female, it's spelled fiancée.

You sir are right, I hadn't realized it indeed is fiancée

[Biffoniacus_Furiou]

I like these ideas for the one that takes the Titan bloodline, could you give me a short progression of how it would look and what to take at what levels? Say 1-5 or if your feeling generous 1-10?

It would probably be Druid 1/ Bloodline 3/ Druid 1/ Beastmaster 1/ Halfling Outrider 10/ Druid 4// Warblade 1/ Fighter 1/ Warblade 18. If possible, also pick up Wild Cohort (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/re/20031118a) and dismiss the initial animal to apply the benefits of the feat to your existing animal companion. Also, if the animal companion doesn't also gain the benefits of VoP, give it that feat so it will; its HD will be so far above the party level it will be a more powerful combatant than most of the monsters you fight.

[Avalon2099]

It would probably be Druid 1/ Bloodline 3/ Druid 1/ Beastmaster 1/ Halfling Outrider 10/ Druid 4// Warblade 1/ Fighter 1/ Warblade 18. If possible, also pick up Wild Cohort (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/re/20031118a) and dismiss the initial animal to apply the benefits of the feat to your existing animal companion. Also, if the animal companion doesn't also gain the benefits of VoP, give it that feat so it will; its HD will be so far above the party level it will be a more powerful combatant than most of the monsters you fight.

Oh she will like this! So if I am understanding correctly she gets her 1st animal companion at Druid 1, her second with the Wild Cohort Feat and a third with Beast master? For a total of three or just the one gained through Wild Cohort? What variant is being taken for Druid 1 instead of animal companion in this case?

[Biffoniacus_Furiou]

Oh she will like this! So if I am understanding correctly she gets her 1st animal companion at Druid 1, her second with the Wild Cohort Feat and a third with Beast master? For a total of three or just the one gained through Wild Cohort? What variant is being taken for Druid 1 instead of animal companion in this case?

There is one animal pet total, initially obtained via Druid 1, but later dismissed to be replaced by an animal off the 'level -3' list. You can apply the 'level -3' first, then add Natural Bond's +3 bonus, to have a net -0 for the stronger companion choice.

Beastmaster also grants the Animal Companion class feature, thus it stacks with your Druid levels for the animal's extra HD and other benefits. It also adds an additional +3 to your effective Druid level for its benefits, which can be added on after the bonus from Natural Bond. Thus your original companion is that much stronger.

Halfling Outrider levels also stack on top of those class levels, so your animal companion's benefits continue to progress.

Bloodline levels can be cheesy when used with multiple classes which advance the same class feature: "Include the character's bloodline level when calculating any character ability based on his class levels." Thus, when the character is at Druid 1/ Bloodline 3, he'll count as a 4th level Druid for the Animal Companion class feature. At Druid 2/ Bloodline 3/ Beastmaster 1, he'll count as a 5th level Druid and a 4th level Beastmaster for the Animal Companion class feature. Those levels stack, and Beastmaster adds an additional +3, so when the character is level 6 the animal companion class feature bonuses will be granted to his pet as though he was a 12th level Druid. At Druid 2/ Bloodline 3/ Beastmaster 1/ Halfling Outrider 1, he'll count as a 5th level Druid, 4th level Beastmaster, and 4th level Halfling Outrider, which all stack and gain the extra +3 from Beastmaster. Thus when the character is level 7 the animal companion class feature bonuses will be granted to his pet as though he was a 16th level Druid. This is because the three Bloodline levels get added to the number of levels he has in each of those classes, and then his effective class levels in each of those classes get added together for his animal companion class feature.

Wild Cohort works similarly to the animal companion class feature, though it specifically says they're not the same and that it grants a wild cohort in addition to your animal companion. You could simply dismiss the granted wild cohort in order to recruit a different one, similar to an animal companion. You could also dismiss your current animal companion as well. Then you find a new companion, which is both your animal companion and your wild cohort, so it gains the extra HD and other benefits from both progressions. Note that he would have to wait until 7th level to recruit a 'level -3' creature as his wild cohort, though it would still only be at a -3. Thus when the character is level 7, and grants animal companion benefits as though he were a 16th level Druid, he would also grant 4th level wild cohort benefits to that same animal companion. Wild Cohort won't make much difference initially, but in the mid to high levels it will contribute a significant amount of extra HD and ability score bonuses.

At level 7 a companion which started with a base 4 HD, such as a Fleshraker dinosaur, would get +10 HD via Animal Companion and +1 HD via wild Cohort, thus it would be a 15 HD creature with a party of 7th level characters. It would gain the VoP benefits of a 15th level character, have the feats, skill ranks, HP, BAB, saves, and poison DC of a 15th level character, have a significantly higher AC than the rest of the party, etc. The animal companion would probably be able to take on and defeat any opponents the party runs into single-handedly if played to its full potential.

[Avalon2099]

Wow... That's amazing, I'll whip this up for her but I will let her try and figure it out and see what she does with it, that's amazing...I applaud you sir and very much appreciate the work you put in to help me :) others too! Thanks for the ideas.



There is one animal pet total, initially obtained via Druid 1, but later dismissed to be replaced by an animal off the 'level -3' list. You can apply the 'level -3' first, then add Natural Bond's +3 bonus, to have a net -0 for the stronger companion choice.

Beastmaster also grants the Animal Companion class feature, thus it stacks with your Druid levels for the animal's extra HD and other benefits. It also adds an additional +3 to your effective Druid level for its benefits, which can be added on after the bonus from Natural Bond. Thus your original companion is that much stronger.

Halfling Outrider levels also stack on top of those class levels, so your animal companion's benefits continue to progress.

Bloodline levels can be cheesy when used with multiple classes which advance the same class feature: "Include the character's bloodline level when calculating any character ability based on his class levels." Thus, when the character is at Druid 1/ Bloodline 3, he'll count as a 4th level Druid for the Animal Companion class feature. At Druid 2/ Bloodline 3/ Beastmaster 1, he'll count as a 5th level Druid and a 4th level Beastmaster for the Animal Companion class feature. Those levels stack, and Beastmaster adds an additional +3, so when the character is level 6 the animal companion class feature bonuses will be granted to his pet as though he was a 12th level Druid. At Druid 2/ Bloodline 3/ Beastmaster 1/ Halfling Outrider 1, he'll count as a 5th level Druid, 4th level Beastmaster, and 4th level Halfling Outrider, which all stack and gain the extra +3 from Beastmaster. Thus when the character is level 7 the animal companion class feature bonuses will be granted to his pet as though he was a 16th level Druid. This is because the three Bloodline levels get added to the number of levels he has in each of those classes, and then his effective class levels in each of those classes get added together for his animal companion class feature.

Wild Cohort works similarly to the animal companion class feature, though it specifically says they're not the same and that it grants a wild cohort in addition to your animal companion. You could simply dismiss the granted wild cohort in order to recruit a different one, similar to an animal companion. You could also dismiss your current animal companion as well. Then you find a new companion, which is both your animal companion and your wild cohort, so it gains the extra HD and other benefits from both progressions. Note that he would have to wait until 7th level to recruit a 'level -3' creature as his wild cohort, though it would still only be at a -3. Thus when the character is level 7, and grants animal companion benefits as though he were a 16th level Druid, he would also grant 4th level wild cohort benefits to that same animal companion. Wild Cohort won't make much difference initially, but in the mid to high levels it will contribute a significant amount of extra HD and ability score bonuses.

At level 7 a companion which started with a base 4 HD, such as a Fleshraker dinosaur, would get +10 HD via Animal Companion and +1 HD via wild Cohort, thus it would be a 15 HD creature with a party of 7th level characters. It would gain the VoP benefits of a 15th level character, have the feats, skill ranks, HP, BAB, saves, and poison DC of a 15th level character, have a significantly higher AC than the rest of the party, etc. The animal companion would probably be able to take on and defeat any opponents the party runs into single-handedly if played to its full potential.