Bearing down Bear Swarms: Too much to Bear?

[PlzBreakMyCmpAn]

I forebear this no more. Warning, this load-bearing build is going to get grizzly. I bearily finished it. I'd say its unbearable but I still can't help bearing a grin. Prepare for pandamonium!

aka:Yo dawg bear, I heard you like bears with your bears so we transformed some bears on top of your bears.


I present Teddy Bearington, the bipolar leader of the bear calvary.

Non-class Bearings:
Anthropomorphic black bear (SS217) level-drained once with both LA bought off
+8str, +2dex, +4con, nat=2 bearbarian is favored class

immediately after first LA2 buyoff:
level-drained afflicted http://www.d20srd.org/srd/monsters/lycanthrope.htm#werebearwerebear (brown (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/monsters/bearBrown.htm) bear) + http://www.d20srd.org/srd/monsters/direBear.htmdire bear quasilycanthrope (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/mb/20040721a)
+16str, +2dex, +8con, +2wis, nat+2 or =7, lowlight, scent, DR10/silver

Lastly get dire reincarnated into a dire bear as specifically allowed for humanoids in Drag Mag 100 4th page of web supplement.

Knowledge Focus(Handle Animal & Craft)
Skill Focus (Handle Animal) [flaw 1]
Mounted Combat [flaw 2]

Worship a bear god to suit flavor.

Mantle of Rage (http://www.wizards.com/dnd/files/MagicItems.pdf) is more optimal than bear totem (CC46) Barbearian 1 (improved grab instead of fast movement)

The Bear Build:

Soneblessed 3 (RoS123) which gives +2con. Entered via PMBC Prereq Handbook RAW early entry shenanigans
Shape soulmeld (Broodkeeper's Heart) [DragMag350 86] feat

Beastmaster 1 → Black (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/monsters/bearBlack.htm) bear

Druid (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/classes/druid.htm) 1 UA domain variant (madness domain [ECS107] via THE FURY!)

Ironsoul Forgemaster 10: [non-evil craft 8, know arc 2] +9 meldshaper levels
Natural Bond for Black bear from Druid level
Power Attack
Share Soulmeld feat (MoI41) for spell-sharing mount and AC within 5'

Bear Warrior 5 [CW16] which gives +16str, +2dex, +8con instead of the +4str&con from rage
Frantic rage (FoE 147) for that +16 as dex not str

A few other feats easily gotten via the PBMC Prereq Handbook (http://brilliantgameologists.com/boards/index.php?topic=7061.0)'s Free Feat Diet:
Shared Fury (RotW152) so that rage benefits Animal Companions
Wild Cohort (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/re/20031118a)
Mounted Fury (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/re/20031125a)
Improved Unarmed strike (if you want to fight with your bear hands)
Leadership: All cohorts and followers must be anthro-bears to ride in the bear calvary.

The Beary Total for the PC:
Anthropomorphic Black bear
Brown bear Lycanthrope
Dire bear Quasilycanthrope
Wild Shape into Brown bear (via Wildshape Amulet and if needed Skin of Kaletor.)
If you really want Vow of Poverty to carry only the bear essentials), grab the Divine Minion template and another LA+2 template for level draining cheese.
Rage into Brown bear
Grizzly Claws feat
bear Fang feat (mutually exclusive with unarmed strike to fight with your bear hands) if you want, but not that owlbear feat – not cool enough.
Use your druid spellcasting to talk with (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/speakWithAnimals.htm) all the bears.
Bite of the Were-bear Spell (via custom item with enough charges per day for your bear crew)
also via item Summon Nature's Ally IV To summon 1d4+1 black bears
Swarm subtype via Broodkeeper's Heart for a bear Swarm
Total Stats: +24str, +24dex, +22con, while raging, +2wis, nat=9

The total for the four minions starting first with the bear that is ridden:
Warbeast dire/Brown bear with Bite of the Were-bear meshed into the bear Swarm and turned into a Brown bear gaining its physical stats again thanks to Mounted Fury.

Wild cohort Dire/Polar bear with Bite of the Were-bear meshed into the bear Swarm. Note that if you do not want the swarming action, Silverwood Arcanist (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/re/20031209a) would benefit from Mounted Fury as well.

Beastmaster Brown bear Animal Companion with Bite of the Were-bear turning into a Brown bear and then gaining the swarm subtype to join the bear Swarm.

Druid Brown bear Animal Companion with Bite of the Were-bear turning into a Brown bear and then gaining the Swarm subtype to join the bear Swarm.

Remember that the PC and the bear minions are all in the triple swarm (easy by the squeeze rules). How's that for a kodiak moment?

Gulag Check:
"From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent bear it away." Matthew 11:12

Not to polarize the discussion, but did I miss anything? :smallcool:

[The Glyphstone]

Yes, under the Feats section: Improved Unarmed Strike, so you can fight with your bear hands, and Vow of Poverty, so you carry around only the bear essentials.

[PlzBreakMyCmpAn]

Blast! Both of those are mutually exlcusive with parts of the build. I had that in a pun list but didn't add it. Perhaps we will have to give the rest of WBL away and count that as the bear essentials. Otherwise there is no wildshaping.

That song is now in my hea

[Axinian]

Really? We have to bear another one of these threads?

[cowsay]

Beary, beary nice.

[Kaeso]

Maybe instead of bothering with LA buy-off, you can take a "lesser" race, like the lesser drow or lesser aasimar? Being a lesser antropomorphic bear would bearly make you a bear, giving you only the bear necessities to call you a bear. Still, you wouldn't have to deal with any LA so you can bear it.

[PlzBreakMyCmpAn]

Really? We have to bear another one of these threads?The is the penultimate bear thread. If you know of any better or more complete than this one, please, do link i

[Saintheart]

The is the penultimate bear thread. If you know of any better or more complete than this one, please, do link i

Then this is a load bearing thread?

[Chess435]

This thread is unbearably awesome! :smallbiggrin:

[Taelas]

Pretty sure quasilycanthrope prohibits the actual lycanthrope template being applied on top of it. :smalltongue: You'd only have the base creature's stats... but since you're using wild shape anyways, you lose those.

Can't comment on the actual build itself, as my knowledge of meldshaping is absolute nil.

Werebear Druid wild shaped into a bear and raging as a Bear Warrior is made of awesome, though. (I had the same idea (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=11272772&postcount=84) not too long ago, though mine was gestalt.)

[The Glyphstone]

This may be more mechanically solid, but Bearington Bearman the Bearbearian is still, I believe, the champion of raw bear-ness.

[Taelas]

But why sacrifice being optimized for being made of pure awesome when you can be optimized and be made of (slightly less pure) awesome?

[Woodzyowl]

This is so beary punny, its almost unbearable!

[kardar233]

But why sacrifice being optimized for being made of pure awesome when you can be optimized and be made of (slightly less pure) awesome?

Let's not polarize this discussion, k?

[Taelas]

I guess I'll just have to bear it.

[The Glyphstone]

The fact that all of these puns have been done to death makes them no less grizzly.

[Ursus the Grim]

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but as much of a Kodiak moment as this entire thread has been, I don't think the forums can bear any more puns. You probably don't care, but I am trying to enjoy my Beary Beary Kix without fear of a 404 as I peruse the forums.

That being said, I always enjoy a thread where people get to bear their humor and wit, no matter how the thread might devolve into pandamonium.

On Topic, I would support a vow of poverty, so that our bipolar bear warrior has a reason to run around bear naked.

[Hiro Protagonest]

I will pun-ish you all for your horrible jokes! I can't bear them!

[Saintheart]

Oh, stop getting so grizzly about it.

[Godskook]

The build seems polarized, and I only say so cause I don't want to panda to your unbearable ego.

[Saintheart]

I can see this thread is proving distressing to a lot of people. Perhaps if you hug a teddy bear it might help?

[PlzBreakMyCmpAn]

This may be more mechanically solid, but Bearington Bearman the Bearbearian is still, I believe, the champion of raw bear-ness.You mean this old thing (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/archive/index.php?t-140757.html)? I bear way more abilities! :smallbiggrin:

Just look at all

[The Glyphstone]

You mean this old thing (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/archive/index.php?t-140757.html)? I bear way more abilities! :smallbiggrin:

No, that's the far, far outdated version - Bearington's great-grandfather, so to speak.

The current Bearington is Anthropomorphic Black Bear Afflicted Were-Black Bear Bear Totem Barbarian/Bear Warrior/Bear Lord.

5 Animal RHD/Barbarian 2/Bear Warrior 7/Bear Lord 5, with the +4 total LA from race and template bought off by ECL20. You're a humanoid bear (race) cursed to turn into a bear (template) who worships a bear (Totem) can get really angry and turn into a bear (PrC) while talking to bears, summoning bears (both PrC), having a pet bear (wild Cohort), fighting with your bear hands (IUS/SUS), and owning only the bear essentials (VoP).

You could say that he is...loaded for bear.

[Coidzor]

This is basically going off of the idea that quasilycanthrope just rules out the kind of lycanthropy one has in one's ancestry and doesn't preclude a different type of lycanthropy?

[ShneekeyTheLost]

Yes, under the Feats section: Improved Unarmed Strike, so you can fight with your bear hands, and Vow of Poverty, so you carry around only the bear essentials.

You forgot Track so you can look for the Bear Necessities... those simple bear necessities...

[Axinian]

C'mon guys, this is bearly funny anymore.

[PlzBreakMyCmpAn]

I was missing a few things from bearlord but I have the mechanical things now.


This is basically going off of the idea that quasilycanthrope just rules out the kind of lycanthropy one has in one's ancestry and doesn't preclude a different type of lycanthropy?As long as its a different base animal on the lycanthrope it stacks with quasilycanthrope.

RAW you can even stack on multiple lycanthropes (like multiple half-dragons), but even the most crunch-centric DM would turn their nose up at

[Pokonic]

Arg, I can can bearly stand anymore puns. Stop them!