Lets Get Templated

[Xynphos]

I have a friend and we like to challenge each other quite often. I guess its kind of like a rivalry.

The challenge this time is to make a ECL 20 character with only one class level.

That's right. A whopping +19 LA.

The problem is that I'm stumped. I am hoping that the Playground can help with this.

All books are allowed, but no dragon mags.

Thanks in advance.

[Vortling]

You may find this (http://community.wizards.com/go/thread/view/75882/19869266/Master_Template_List) helpful. Might be considered cheating in your competition.

[Aegis013]

Here's some templates you may consider.
+0 LA Dragonborn of Bahamut (Races of the Dragon)
+0 LA Necropolitan (Libris Mortis)
+0 LA Spell-stitched (Complete Mage)
+1 LA Blooded One (Unapproachable East)
+1 LA Dark (Tome of Magic)
+1 LA Draconic (Races of the Dragon)
+1 LA Evolved Undead (Libris Mortis)
+1 LA Feral Template (Savage Species)
+2 LA Phrenic (Expanded Psionics Handbook)
+2 LA Shadow (Lords of Madness)

Here are some templates that I've used in the past and found to be pretty neat when I used them. I usually didn't go to +3 or higher though. You might also consider a race that has LA or RHD.

[Igneel]

Dragonwrought Kobold (aged to Adult minimum) + Vampiric Dragon (+5 LA, Draconomicon) + Vampire Lord (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/mm/20021018a) (according to Master List a +0 LA, even though it doesn't have a LA Entry, not even a -) + Entropic (+2 LA, Planar Handbook) is an interesting +7 LA in my opinion. For the rest, easiest method is Evolved Undead or Spell-stitched.

[Darth Stabber]

:smallcool:Saint (BoED): lots of useful abilities, including wis to ac, and immunity to 3 energy types.
Sacred watcher(BoED): gives you the ever strange deathless type, and incorporeality, which if your friend doesn't have it, is great.
Ghost(SRD): as above but undead, also both of these guys offer the nice ability of reforming 24hrs later when destroyed, giving you morale points if nothing else.
Mineral Warrior(underdark): beefy template with strength, con, natural armor and DR.
half illithid: if you roll up a good grapple monkey you can instadeath anything 1 headed and alive.
Phrenic:because it's just that good
Half minotaur:another beefy template
Chameleon: gives you some nice hide bonuses and a tongue for delivering touch spells, not great, but only 1 LA if you are going the kobold route.
Dark: more hide bonus, HiPS, move silently bonus, +10ft to all speeds.
What ever the template psion uncarnate gives: technically listed as a template is XPH, gives you all those nice benefits of incorporeality, but keeps you con score, ditches your strength but gives you CHA to damage, great for pixies.
Feral:questionable template but with massive benefits.
HalfX: can be nice if you're after something specific. For the real fun go with half force dragon. .5celestial and .5fiendish usefull as well.

Starting races
Pixie: nice stats, comes with free weapon finesse.

Venerable dragonwrought kobold sorcerer (with lore drake): great starting place, giving you 3 effective levels of sorcerer. If you can pick greater draconic mysteries that's 4th lvl of sorcerer without gaining an actual level (and second level spells). Huge mental stat buffs.

If you are

[Xynphos]

Thanks for the advice guys. I am trying to avoid kobold's though. We've had bad experiences with them in the past.

The master list helps.

I'm thinking a:

Feral, Lolth-touched, Grummish-blooded, Mineral Warrior, Fiendish, Dark Creature, Shadow Creature, Half-Dragon, Swordwraith, Dracolich, Orc Fighter1.

[Flickerdart]

Keep in mind that without any HD, stuff like Phrenic or Half-Fiend isn't worth it at all, because you get only one of the SLAs.

[Kuulvheysoon]

Thanks for the advice guys. I am trying to avoid kobold's though. We've had bad experiences with them in the past.

The master list helps.

I'm thinking a:

Feral, Lolth-touched, Grummish-blooded, Mineral Warrior, Fiendish, Dark Creature, Shadow Creature, Half-Dragon, Swordwraith, Dracolich, Orc Fighter1.

Come on, add White Dragonspawn to that list. Who doesn't want Sorc1 casting for 'free'?

[Xynphos]

Does anyone know if there is a template that gives polymorph and/or shapechange?

[White_Drake]

It's really cheesy, but if this is mostly theoretical it won't matter; if you make a warforged, and then give him incarnate construct template you'll have -2 LA.

[Igneel]

Does anyone know if there is a template that gives polymorph and/or shapechange?

Closest thing I can think of is the Divine Minion (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/mb/20050209a) template (varies from +1/+2 LA) that gives Wildshaping as a 11th level druid (pending on deity determines shapes).

[Darth Stabber]

Come on, add White Dragonspawn to that list. Who doesn't want Sorc1 casting for 'free'?

Actually that would be fairly useful, pick magic missile as a spell known in case his opponent tries some incorporeal shenanigans (I would, especially if I could keep ny con score).

[Khedrac]

Two other templates with huge adjustments:

Paragon +15 (which does give some extra hit points)
Pseudonatural (Epic version) +16 (up to 6HD), or +13 (7HD to 15HD) or +10

With non-core touch spells (e.g. lesser orbs) in play Pseudonatural is actually near useless - but just change the +35 Natural Armour to Deflection bonus and it becomes more viable.

I worked out the stats for a Paragon Pixie - 1HD, CR19 or 20 (with Otto's Irresitible Dance) - it's actually likely to be pretty effective with a Hide modifier of 25 and permanent invisibility - if you don't have a good spot True Seeing is not going to help!

Edit: Oops - those are CR adjustments, LA is not listed.

[Curmudgeon]

Come on, add White Dragonspawn to that list. Who doesn't want Sorc1 casting for 'free'?
That's not free; it's +1 LA. The updated Dragonspawn template is in Bestiary of Krynn, Revised, starting on page 43.

[Gavinfoxx]

There's also this:

http://brilliantgameologists.com/boards/index.php?topic=7044.0

For ideas...

I once took up 10 levels of a gestalt with a:

Divine Minion +1, Magic Blooded +0, Draconic +1, Quasilycanthrope +1, Half Air Elemental +3, Pixie +4.

You should also consider races that have high LA but no RHD. Like the aforementioned Pixie.

[Morph Bark]

+0 LA Necropolitan (Libris Mortis)

Vampire Lord (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/mm/20021018a) (according to Master List a +0 LA, even though it doesn't have a LA Entry, not even a -)

:smallcool:Saint (BoED): lots of useful abilities, including wis to ac, and immunity to 3 energy types.

These all require a minimum character level, to which you need to take into account that it's different from Effective Character Level. Furthermore, if it is houseruled that ECL = character level, then you still would need two Flaws or a Flaw and be human to get enough feats for Saint. Lastly, Necropolitan, while an LA+0 template, causes you to lose a level, which you cannot do at level 1.

[Darth Stabber]

These all require a minimum character level, to which you need to take into account that it's different from Effective Character Level. Furthermore, if it is houseruled that ECL = character level, then you still would need two Flaws or a Flaw and be human to get enough feats for Saint. Lastly, Necropolitan, while an LA+0 template, causes you to lose a level, which you cannot do at level 1.

That's the rules for adding the saint template to an existing character. The template itself has no such restriction.

[Kuulvheysoon]

That's not free; it's +1 LA. The updated Dragonspawn template is in Bestiary of Krynn, Revised, starting on page 43.

Sorry, I meant that you get the caster level without having to pay for it (in HD) - the LA still applies.

[Lateral]

...I don't get it. What's the challenge? Are you jus making a character with LA 19, or are you trying to make an LA 19 character to defeat the other person's character? If so, it's just whoever can make a hit first- with one hit die, a single hit will corpsify you. With that in mind, take some templates that pump your initiative and HP (by increasing your DEX and CON or through straight bonuses) and a template that gives you a no-save, no-attack-role attack that deals enough damage to break their faces. Go first, use that.

[Thumperganker]

Mind Flayer as a character puts you at level 15 to start after hd and la

[Darth Stabber]

Mind Flayer as a character puts you at level 15 to start after hd and la

but it has more than 1 hit die, which is part of the deal to my understanding, otherwise this would be too easy.

[Tokuhara]

I personally think a:

Half-Blue Dragon (+3) Dracolich (+4) Evolved (+4, taking it 4 times) Dark (+1) Imix-Blooded (+1) Voidmind (+3) Anarchic (+5) Incarnate (-2) Maug (+3 LA, +1 RHD)

[Xynphos]

Thanks guys.

And yes, part of the challenge is only to have one HD.

And what exactly is evolved?

[Darth Stabber]

Thanks guys.

And yes, part of the challenge is only to have one HD.

And what exactly is evolved?

Evolved undead (LM), good for adding SLAs, only costs 1 LA, and can be taken multiple times. So even if you are just a wight, you can fill in the 16 levels with evolved undead 16 times.

[Thumperganker]

If you go into MM2 i believe, you can get the legendary template, especially if the idea is to kick your friends characters ass, lots of stat points, abilities, and a +2 la, no hd,