The beginners guide to Bearington

[Swaoeaeieu]

I am sorry playground, it is time for some more Bearington...

In short: I am a (relatively) new player, had an idea for a bear riding a bear barbearian (the usual). But when i went looking the almost infinite number of threads and puns overwhelm me, i have a few questions.

1) How can i play as a bear? Best would be a polar bear, who can talk and wield weapons/armor. Also, class levels. I know of some options like awakend or antropomorphic. even a race called Urskan. I just don´t know how playing an animal would work with ability scores etc.

2) I would like Bearington to be acompanied by his wife (Bearbara). Who is his mount/companion. but yet again, i dont know jack about mounts or animal companions. How do i get a bear that is big enough to ride as soon as possible?

2.5) getting a mount like that can be achieved trough wild cohort or sometimes leadership is what i understand. But how does that/those feat work?

I am not looking for the ultimate bear themed PC. riding on bears, changing into bears, throwing bears etc. I just want a surly polar bear who adventures with his wife. (Is saying he mounts his wife in this case apropriat?)

puns are welcome, advice even more.

[Callin]

This all seems Bearable.

[Fouredged Sword]

The build was something like Druidic Avenger x / Bear warrior 1 / Sentinel of Berri X / Bearlord X

Leadership at level 6 can get you an awakened bear barbarian x / bear warrior x as a cohort.

Wild Cohort can get you bears as well, a black bear at 7th, a Brown bear at 10th, a Polar bear at 13th, or a Dire Bear at 16th.

As a druid you can summon bears and turn into a bear. As a bear warrior you become a bear when you get angry. As a sentinel of berri you worship bears, and as a bearlord you are a leader of bears.

[KillingAScarab]

Is saying he mounts his wife in this case apropriat?Be prepared for a gutter-minded night at the gaming table. However, the largest problem I see with that is... she's large. So are you. A mount needs to be a size category bigger. If you were a black bear, you would be medium.

Second problem which comes to mind springs from how your character is treating the wife, who I guess isn't an awakened/anthropomorphic/whatever just like your character.

Wild Cohort is described in a WotC article here (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/re/20031118a). That was the first of a series of four (https://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/re/20031118x) which also included some feats, animal tricks and two prestige classes.

[Flickerdart]

Awakened animals are not playable, because they have no LA. Your best bet would probably be a were-bear, which is its own template with a listed LA. The template has instructions on how to convert an animal into a were-creature.

[Swaoeaeieu]

Be prepared for a gutter-minded night at the gaming table. However, the largest problem I see with that is... she's large. So are you. A mount needs to be a size category bigger. If you were a black bear, you would be medium.

Second problem which comes to mind springs from how your character is treating the wife, who I guess isn't an awakened/anthropomorphic/whatever just like your character.


Black bear is of course an option, but i was going for the panserbjorn look (golden compass anyone?). What if his wife is polymorph-any-object'ed into larger version of herself?

And who are we to question their love? :smallwink:


Awakened animals are not playable, because they have no LA. Your best bet would probably be a were-bear, which is its own template with a listed LA. The template has instructions on how to convert an animal into a were-creature.

Why isn't awakend playable? And does anyone know if antropomorphic would work/can explain how it works?

[lunar2]

doesn't savage species have something on ad hocing an LA? it will probably be too high, but then at least you can assign an LA to play the character.

but yeah, were black bear (to be a medium bear) druid with a brown, polar, or dire bear companion. exalted companion from book of exalted deeds can get you a celestial bear companion, so it could be your wife while avoiding the morality issues of marrying a non-sentient animal. or an ubermount build with an urskan as your paladin's mount/animal companion.

[Flickerdart]

Why isn't awakend playable?
Monstrous races are only playable if they have a listed level adjustment - the measurement of how much more powerful they are than a standard race. Awakened creatures do not gain this metric, and thus cannot be used by player characters.

[Bubzors]

haha this reminds me of this little gem:

http://www.funnyjunk.com/funny_pictures/3611547/Sir+Bearington/

[Sovereign88]

This all seems Bearable.

bearly :smallbiggrin:

[Swaoeaeieu]

I just read the part in savage species about antromorphs, and polar bear is actually on the list. It is LA +3, medium and i states that these creatures can be played as a character. so huzaa, i can play a polar bear who rides a brown one.

But how do i get the mount the quickest? paladin gets a mount at level 5 and a druid would only get it at level 7 i think. are there ways of getting a mount/companion earlier?

[Flickerdart]

But how do i get the mount the quickest? paladin gets a mount at level 5 and a druid would only get it at level 7 i think. are there ways of getting a mount/companion earlier?
Beastmaster is probably the way to go here - you can get in at level 6, and it combines levels in every class that grants a companion +3 to determine your effective level. So a Druid 3/whatever 2/Beastmaster 1 is effectively a 7th level Druid for the purpose of the pet.

Then add the Natural Bond feat, which increases your effective level of druid by 3 (up to your hit dice). So a Druid 1/whatever 4/Beastmaster 1 would have an effective Druid level of 8 (since bonuses stack in whatever order is most favourable) meaning that you only need to devote 2 levels and a feat to get your brown bear.

[Swaoeaeieu]

Beastmaster is probably the way to go here - you can get in at level 6, and it combines levels in every class that grants a companion +3 to determine your effective level. So a Druid 3/whatever 2/Beastmaster 1 is effectively a 7th level Druid for the purpose of the pet.

Then add the Natural Bond feat, which increases your effective level of druid by 3 (up to your hit dice). So a Druid 1/whatever 4/Beastmaster 1 would have an effective Druid level of 8 (since bonuses stack in whatever order is most favourable) meaning that you only need to devote 2 levels and a feat to get your brown bear.

So i have been looking for this for the past 2 days and you just give me the exact build i was looking for? You sir, are my new favorite playgrounder.

So with the +3 LA from being a polar bear, this build would work for a level 9 character? or am i counting something wrong?

[Swaoeaeieu]

And does this bear mount also 'level up' like a normal animal companion even if i dont take anymore druid or beastmaster levels? i am guessing no, but i there is a lot of plusses to druid level stuff going on with the beastmaster and that feat.
how exactly would the combo work?

[KillingAScarab]

And does this bear mount also 'level up' like a normal animal companion even if i dont take anymore druid or beastmaster levels?If just take the wild cohort feat instead, it is based upon your character level. You can have whatever classes you want, the cohort continues to improve, as the article outlines.

[Swaoeaeieu]

but with the cohort feat i can only take a companion as if i was a druid 3 levels lower. so i would have to be a level 13 before bearington can meet his wife.
or can you stack the natural bond feat?

[Platinum Piece]

AFB right now, but isn't there a race in Frostburn that is bear-esque?

[Gnaeus]

That is Urskan, mentioned by OP. They are really neat if you like Golden Compass, but their racial HD makes them hard to play.

OTOH, while many people think of Frozen Wildshape as "Cryohydra form", I personally think of it more as "Urskan Form" myself.

[Swaoeaeieu]

yes, the Urskan. large bear like species with +4 LA.
it's large so it would be even harder to find a mount. and it is a really high LA. So antropomorphic polar bear suits the purpose better.

Edit: so this is what it feels like to be ninja'd. interesting...

[Urpriest]

So i have been looking for this for the past 2 days and you just give me the exact build i was looking for? You sir, are my new favorite playgrounder.

So with the +3 LA from being a polar bear, this build would work for a level 9 character? or am i counting something wrong?

Level 11. You're forgetting the two racial hit dice.

[Swaoeaeieu]

so character level is racial HD + any level adjustment + classes? i thought it was just LA plus classes.

But still, a level 11 character is pretty low for the concept. right? or could it be done any lower?

[Urpriest]

so character level is racial HD + any level adjustment + classes? i thought it was just LA plus classes.

But still, a level 11 character is pretty low for the concept. right? or could it be done any lower?

Yeah, ECL=RHD+LA+class level. If you weren't familiar with that and you're planning on playing a monster character, you really ought to read my Monster Handbook.

Level 11 is pretty high for the concept, really, given how straightforward the concept is.

The central question is, would you be ok with being a guy who can turn into a bear whose wife is a bear? Or do you have to be a bear permanently? Note that if you're a guy who turns into a bear, it's pretty easy to be a bear essentially 24/7.

[Swaoeaeieu]

The central question is, would you be ok with being a guy who can turn into a bear whose wife is a bear? Or do you have to be a bear permanently? Note that if you're a guy who turns into a bear, it's pretty easy to be a bear essentially 24/7.

What would the changing method be? something like a were bear of wild shape druid? And the 24/7 part, could that really be possible or do you still have to change back to sleep everyday?

Fluff wise i like it better if he just is a bear to start with. but i would also like it if its a lower ECL so the fun starts sooner.

[lunar2]

were black bear is LA+2 and 3 rhd, so 5 levels to be a medium bear. pick up an urskan as a cohort for your wife at level 11. or druid 2, beastmaster 1 +natural bond and exalted companion feats gets you an effective druid level of 9 at ecl 8, so you can get a celestial bear animal companion.

if your DM will allow awakened animals, then awakened black bear for you, awakened brown or polar bear for her.

[Swaoeaeieu]

earlier in this thread i learned that you can't play as an awakend animal beacause they have no LA.

a were black bear is 5 levels and so is an antromorph polar bear. and the polar bear had better stats then a black bear. I dont know what de were part of a werebear does for stats. i am asuming here...

[Urpriest]

What would the changing method be? something like a were bear of wild shape druid? And the 24/7 part, could that really be possible or do you still have to change back to sleep everyday?

Fluff wise i like it better if he just is a bear to start with. but i would also like it if its a lower ECL so the fun starts sooner.

The advantage to Druid would be that you get everything online by 8th level and are a strong character anyway. A Druid 8's Wild Shape lasts for 8 hours, so you can sleep in Wild Shape, and with three uses per day you're a bear 24/7.

Thinking about it, you can probably manage an Anthropomorphic character as well. Anthropomorphic Black Bear has 2RHD and LA +2. An Anthropomorphic Black Bear Druid 3/Beastmaster 1 with the Natural Bond feat has the animal companion of a 9th level Druid, provided your DM lets you apply Natural Bond before the Beastmaster bonus (which he should). Such a character would be ECL 8, so the same level the Druid manages it. If you can wait a level you can be were-polar bear instead. If you care about being truly a bear, this route is probably better, but the Druid route will make you a more well-rounded and capable character. You can also replace the Druid in the Anthropomorphic build with another class that gets an Animal Companion, such as a Fey variant Bard.

[lunar2]

earlier in this thread i learned that you can't play as an awakend animal beacause they have no LA.

a were black bear is 5 levels and so is an antromorph polar bear. and the polar bear had better stats then a black bear. I dont know what de were part of a werebear does for stats. i am asuming here...

by raw, you can't. but your dm can always just ad hoc an la, and then that would be the simplest method.

[Swaoeaeieu]

The advantage to Druid would be that you get everything online by 8th level and are a strong character anyway. A Druid 8's Wild Shape lasts for 8 hours, so you can sleep in Wild Shape, and with three uses per day you're a bear 24/7.

Thinking about it, you can probably manage an Anthropomorphic character as well. Anthropomorphic Black Bear has 2RHD and LA +2. An Anthropomorphic Black Bear Druid 3/Beastmaster 1 with the Natural Bond feat has the animal companion of a 9th level Druid, provided your DM lets you apply Natural Bond before the Beastmaster bonus (which he should). Such a character would be ECL 8, so the same level the Druid manages it. If you can wait a level you can be were-polar bear instead. If you care about being truly a bear, this route is probably better, but the Druid route will make you a more well-rounded and capable character. You can also replace the Druid in the Anthropomorphic build with another class that gets an Animal Companion, such as a Fey variant Bard.

So there are some good options out there. I saw Bearry more as a melee character (he is a bear, he should maul people) so full druid maybe isn't the best option fluff wise, but still a good one :)
Does anyone have a list of some sort of all the classes/classvariants that get an animal companion?

@ lunar2: awakend might be more trouple then solution, it would give me a bear with some good mental stats, and because he is a bear will also have big str and con. so the LA would have to be +4 or 5 at least. wich leaves me with a large creature, so i would have to find an even bigger bear as my mount.

@ Urpriest: you are the expert at played monster characters and i couldn't find this/wasn't paying enough attention. But how do feats work in this case? A feat for every 3 levels normaly. does that mean that the 2HD for antropomorph poal bear count as the first 2 levels. so when i take on level of druid at 'level' 3, i get a feat? and does LA influence amount of feats?

[Duke of Urrel]

This may be a little off-topic, but if you haven't read Jasper Fforde's quirky crime fantasy The Fourth Bear, you should.

This book, the sequel to The Big Over Easy, follows Detective Chief Inspector Jack Spratt and Sergeant Mary Mary of Berkshire's Nursery Crime Division (NCD), as they solve nursery-rhyme related crimes. In The Fourth Bear, they have a lot to do with anthropomorphic bears who have an over-fondness for porridge, but in other respects are just like ordinary bears – for example, in regard to what they proverbially do in the woods. These "persons of dubious reality (PDRs)" (like Spratt and Mary, who are nursery-rhyme characters themselves) are known as "ursines" and fight against the prejudice of the human community, which they call "ursism."

If you're fond of puns generally, you'll love Jasper Fforde, because he creates puns whose careful set-up spans several chapters. Very rewarding!

[Fouredged Sword]

Melee druid? Sounds like a job for the Druidic Avenger ACF. Give your druid the ability to rage for bonuses to strength and constitution!

[Swaoeaeieu]

This may be a little off-topic, but if you haven't read Jasper Fforde's quirky crime fantasy The Fourth Bear, you should.

This book, the sequel to The Big Over Easy, follows Detective Chief Inspector Jack Spratt and Sergeant Mary Mary of Berkshire's Nursery Crime Division (NCD), as they solve nursery-rhyme related crimes. In The Fourth Bear, they have a lot to do with anthropomorphic bears who have an over-fondness for porridge, but in other respects are just like ordinary bears – for example, in regard to what they proverbially do in the woods. These "persons of dubious reality (PDRs)" (like Spratt and Mary, who are nursery-rhyme characters themselves) are known as "ursines" and fight against the prejudice of the human community, which they call "ursism."

If you're fond of puns generally, you'll love Jasper Fforde, because he creates puns whose careful set-up spans several chapters. Very rewarding!

Oh boy! that does sound like something i would enjoy :D

slightly more on topic: i have a (startup) build!
(ECL) -character level- class+classlevel [feat]
(4-5)1-2Anthropomorphic polar bear. 2 HD [Power attack]
(6) 3- druid 1 [natural bond]
(7) 4- whirling frenzy barbarian 1
(8) 5-
(9) 6- Beastmaster 1 [Exalted Companion]

I would make him a bear totem barabarian, but he already gets the grapple improvements for being a bear. Maybe one level for toughness? Or make it a bear with some issues and make him worship lions?
So i want him to be more of a fighter then a druid. should i continue with barbarian level at level 5 or go another route?

what do you guys think?

of course the wife gets warbeast training so they can cause pandamonium together.

[Urpriest]

So there are some good options out there. I saw Bearry more as a melee character (he is a bear, he should maul people) so full druid maybe isn't the best option fluff wise, but still a good one :)
Does anyone have a list of some sort of all the classes/classvariants that get an animal companion?

@ lunar2: awakend might be more trouple then solution, it would give me a bear with some good mental stats, and because he is a bear will also have big str and con. so the LA would have to be +4 or 5 at least. wich leaves me with a large creature, so i would have to find an even bigger bear as my mount.

@ Urpriest: you are the expert at played monster characters and i couldn't find this/wasn't paying enough attention. But how do feats work in this case? A feat for every 3 levels normaly. does that mean that the 2HD for antropomorph poal bear count as the first 2 levels. so when i take on level of druid at 'level' 3, i get a feat? and does LA influence amount of feats?

You get a feat every three hit dice, whether those hit dice come from your race or class levels. LA doesn't give you feats. This should all be pretty clearly laid out in my Monster Handbook, by the way (if it isn't, let me know, I'm always trying to polish the wording to get it more clear).

In terms of other classes with animal companions, Fey Bard is the only non-Druid base class I can think of at the moment that does it. There's a Wizard variant that gets an animal companion, but it's at half level like a Ranger's. There may be some other variants that could help in Dragon Magazines or Forgotten Realms books, though.

And by the way, Druid can definitely be a combat character, as can Bard! There's a lot of support out there for Druidic or Bardic melee.


Melee druid? Sounds like a job for the Druidic Avenger ACF. Give your druid the ability to rage for bonuses to strength and constitution!

Unfortunately gives up animal companion, defeating about half the point of having Druid in the first place.


Oh boy! that does sound like something i would enjoy :D

slightly more on topic: i have a (startup) build!
(ECL) -character level- class+classlevel [feat]
(4-5)1-2Anthropomorphic polar bear. 2 HD [Power attack]
(6) 3- druid 1 [natural bond]
(7) 4- whirling frenzy barbarian 1
(8) 5-
(9) 6- Beastmaster 1 [Exalted Companion]

I would make him a bear totem barabarian, but he already gets the grapple improvements for being a bear. Maybe one level for toughness? Or make it a bear with some issues and make him worship lions?
So i want him to be more of a fighter then a druid. should i continue with barbarian level at level 5 or go another route?

what do you guys think?

of course the wife gets warbeast training so they can cause pandamonium together.

Since by default a polar bear only gets Improved Grab with its claws, you might still want Bear Spirit Totem so you can do it with your bite or with a weapon (or unarmed strike if you pick up Improved Unarmed Strike later).

Pounce is kind of weird in Mounted Combat: you technically don't charge since you don't move on your own, your mount charges and you receive "the bonus gained from the charge". It's up to your DM whether that includes Pounce. If not, Wild Plains Outrider (Complete Adventurer) would let you make a full attack when your wife takes a single move, while stacking for your wife's advancement.

For level 5, Barbarian could give you Improved Trip if you were ok with mixing in some wolf-veneration, while another level of Druid would help your wife advance faster. You could also just grab Fighter to get a bonus feat so you can take Improved Unarmed Strike and fight with your Bear hands.

At later levels you'll want to get Extra Rage eventually to get around the sad 1 rage/day situation. Consider Bear Warrior. If your DM is ok with Whirling Frenzy counting as Rage for it, a single level will give you significant stat boosts and the prestige of being a bear who gets so angry he turns into a bear.

By the way, the whole "making your animal companion into a Warbeast thing" is more than a little dubious. If you compare the 3.0 handle animal rules with the "Training a Warbeast" section of the template, you'll see that the section is probably referring to training a warbeast to serve you rather than training an animal so that it becomes a warbeast.

[Swaoeaeieu]

You get a feat every three hit dice, whether those hit dice come from your race or class levels. LA doesn't give you feats. This should all be pretty clearly laid out in my Monster Handbook, by the way (if it isn't, let me know, I'm always trying to polish the wording to get it more clear).

Since by default a polar bear only gets Improved Grab with its claws, you might still want Bear Spirit Totem so you can do it with your bite or with a weapon (or unarmed strike if you pick up Improved Unarmed Strike later).

Pounce is kind of weird in Mounted Combat: you technically don't charge since you don't move on your own, your mount charges and you receive "the bonus gained from the charge". It's up to your DM whether that includes Pounce. If not, Wild Plains Outrider (Complete Adventurer) would let you make a full attack when your wife takes a single move, while stacking for your wife's advancement.

For level 5, Barbarian could give you Improved Trip if you were ok with mixing in some wolf-veneration, while another level of Druid would help your wife advance faster. You could also just grab Fighter to get a bonus feat so you can take Improved Unarmed Strike and fight with your Bear hands.

At later levels you'll want to get Extra Rage eventually to get around the sad 1 rage/day situation. Consider Bear Warrior. If your DM is ok with Whirling Frenzy counting as Rage for it, a single level will give you significant stat boosts and the prestige of being a bear who gets so angry he turns into a bear.

By the way, the whole "making your animal companion into a Warbeast thing" is more than a little dubious. If you compare the 3.0 handle animal rules with the "Training a Warbeast" section of the template, you'll see that the section is probably referring to training a warbeast to serve you rather than training an animal so that it becomes a warbeast.

The feat part of the handbook is quite clear on it. I was just asking to be sure.

after some reading i still dont really see the point of grappling apart from taking prisoners i guess, so i wont waste a feat on doing it.

DM will have to decide if pounce works while mounted, but it still takes a few levels to get the mount so it might come in handy before hand, it is better then fast movement anyway... I also adapted the build to inculde wild plains rider, i really like that PrC for Bearry, had to take a level in ranger and fighter to get the feats. Wich makes the build kind of cluttered, having six different classes and all. In the previous build i did not take into account that beastmaster needs skill focus handle animal, so i filled level 5 with fighter.

I reread the warbeast template and i now see that you can't train an animal to be a warbeast, so no upgrading the wife past celestial i guess.

newest build:

(4-5) 1-2 Anthropomorphic polar bear. 2 HD [Power attack]
(6) 3- druid 1 [natural bond]
(7) 4- whirling frenzy barbarian 1
(8) 5- fighter 1 [skill focus (handle animal)]
(9) 6-Beastmaster 1 [Exalted Companion]
(10) 7-ranger 1
(11) 8-fighter2 [mounted combat]
(12) 9-wild plains rider 1[]
(13) 10- WPL 2
(14) 11-WPL 3
(15) 12-[]


Even though he has a lot of different classes, i think they all fit the character i have in my mind. Now he meets his wife around ECL 9 and really gets the teamwork going at ECL 14. The later levels i am thinking about more barbarian or druid levels. Bear warrior sound fun but there will be a point when there are too many classes in a person right?

What would be a good feat for 9th level? Something for mounted combat or something to increase his dmg or rages?

i would love some input, i always get stuck at the later levels.

[lunar2]

So there are some good options out there. I saw Bearry more as a melee character (he is a bear, he should maul people) so full druid maybe isn't the best option fluff wise, but still a good one :)
Does anyone have a list of some sort of all the classes/classvariants that get an animal companion?

@ lunar2: awakend might be more trouple then solution, it would give me a bear with some good mental stats, and because he is a bear will also have big str and con. so the LA would have to be +4 or 5 at least. wich leaves me with a large creature, so i would have to find an even bigger bear as my mount.

@ Urpriest: you are the expert at played monster characters and i couldn't find this/wasn't paying enough attention. But how do feats work in this case? A feat for every 3 levels normaly. does that mean that the 2HD for antropomorph poal bear count as the first 2 levels. so when i take on level of druid at 'level' 3, i get a feat? and does LA influence amount of feats?

nah, you wouldn't have an LA higher than 2 if your dm has any clue what he is doing. you get no really good special abilities, just some moderately big strength and con stuck to an animal HD. also, black bears are medium, while brown, polar, and dire bears are large. so you be a black bear, and your wife be one of the other 3.

[Urpriest]

The feat part of the handbook is quite clear on it. I was just asking to be sure.

after some reading i still dont really see the point of grappling apart from taking prisoners i guess, so i wont waste a feat on doing it.

DM will have to decide if pounce works while mounted, but it still takes a few levels to get the mount so it might come in handy before hand, it is better then fast movement anyway... I also adapted the build to inculde wild plains rider, i really like that PrC for Bearry, had to take a level in ranger and fighter to get the feats. Wich makes the build kind of cluttered, having six different classes and all. In the previous build i did not take into account that beastmaster needs skill focus handle animal, so i filled level 5 with fighter.

I reread the warbeast template and i now see that you can't train an animal to be a warbeast, so no upgrading the wife past celestial i guess.

newest build:

(4-5) 1-2 Anthropomorphic polar bear. 2 HD [Power attack]
(6) 3- druid 1 [natural bond]
(7) 4- whirling frenzy barbarian 1
(8) 5- fighter 1 [skill focus (handle animal)]
(9) 6-Beastmaster 1 [Exalted Companion]
(10) 7-ranger 1
(11) 8-fighter2 [mounted combat]
(12) 9-wild plains rider 1[]
(13) 10- WPL 2
(14) 11-WPL 3
(15) 12-[]


Even though he has a lot of different classes, i think they all fit the character i have in my mind. Now he meets his wife around ECL 9 and really gets the teamwork going at ECL 14. The later levels i am thinking about more barbarian or druid levels. Bear warrior sound fun but there will be a point when there are too many classes in a person right?

What would be a good feat for 9th level? Something for mounted combat or something to increase his dmg or rages?

i would love some input, i always get stuck at the later levels.

Skill Focus (Handle Animal) isn't a Fighter Bonus Feat. You could swap around Power Attack for Skill Focus Handle Animal and the build would work though.

I'd grab Extra Rage as your 9HD feat. Only raging once per day is just not bearable.

Edit: Grappling is tricky to get much value out of. You deal less damage, but your target deals almost none unless they happen to have the right kinds of weapons, and is more vulnerable to your allies. That said, grappling benefits a lot from size increases, which you want to avoid since they would make you too big for your wife. So in general you're probably better off skipping the grappling.

[Swaoeaeieu]

Ok i switched power attack and handle animal. Extra rage does come in quite usefull. Especially at that level. Only raging once per day at ECL 12 is quite a boring barbarian.

I also just had an idea for 12 level feat: Leadership! Let the folks meet Bearry's son! (http://static.fjcdn.com/pictures/Sir+Bearington_943e80_3611103.jpg)

But i have to admit. I have no idea how leadership works. I hear good stuff about it on the playground, but everyone knows what it does and the srd clears up some of it but not all...

[Swaoeaeieu]

but now i see i don't need a level in ranger. i took it for the free track feat. but i already have it because i'm a bear. so instead of ranger a second level in druid.
12th level will be more beastmaster and leadership. if someone can explain it to me :D


(4-5)1-2- Anthropomorphic polar bear. 2 HD [skill focus (handle animal)]
(6) 3- druid 1 [natural bond]
(7) 4- whirling frenzy barbarian 1
(8) 5- fighter 1 [Power attack ]
(9) 6-Beastmaster 1 [Exalted Companion]
(10) 7-druid 2
(11) 8-fighter2 [mounted combat]
(12) 9-wild plains rider 1[Extra rage]
(13) 10- WPL 2
(14) 11-WPL 3
(15) 12-beastmaster 2 [Leadership?]


and with that i think i am going to introduce bearry to the DM, to see if he would like a character like this in the campaign.
thanks lads!

[Urpriest]

but now i see i don't need a level in ranger. i took it for the free track feat. but i already have it because i'm a bear. so instead of ranger a second level in druid.
12th level will be more beastmaster and leadership. if someone can explain it to me :D


(4-5)1-2- Anthropomorphic polar bear. 2 HD [skill focus (handle animal)]
(6) 3- druid 1 [natural bond]
(7) 4- whirling frenzy barbarian 1
(8) 5- fighter 1 [Power attack ]
(9) 6-Beastmaster 1 [Exalted Companion]
(10) 7-druid 2
(11) 8-fighter2 [mounted combat]
(12) 9-wild plains rider 1[Extra rage]
(13) 10- WPL 2
(14) 11-WPL 3
(15) 12-beastmaster 2 [Leadership?]


and with that i think i am going to introduce bearry to the DM, to see if he would like a character like this in the campaign.
thanks lads!

You don't have Track just from being a bear. Track is a feat the bear takes with its HD, not a bonus feat, and you have a different number of HD and take a different feat. So you still need that Ranger dip.

Leadership is pretty simple. You can get a character up to 2 levels lower as a cohort, and a bunch of lower level characters as followers, according to the table. Note that technically leadership is based on your character level, but your cohorts are limited by their ECL, which kind of sucks for a character with LA. Your DM might waive that, though. That said, Leadership is basically adding another character to the party, so it only really makes sense if you've got a small party to begin with.

[Swaoeaeieu]

You don't have Track just from being a bear. Track is a feat the bear takes with its HD, not a bonus feat, and you have a different number of HD and take a different feat. So you still need that Ranger dip.

Leadership is pretty simple. You can get a character up to 2 levels lower as a cohort, and a bunch of lower level characters as followers, according to the table. Note that technically leadership is based on your character level, but your cohorts are limited by their ECL, which kind of sucks for a character with LA. Your DM might waive that, though. That said, Leadership is basically adding another character to the party, so it only really makes sense if you've got a small party to begin with.

Once again, i stand corrected. Thanks Urpriest! ranger is back in.
Would the cohort be 2 levels lower then my class level (HD) or my ECL? And is his ECL 2 lower or his HD, if i want to make the cohort a bear too this could be usefull.

[Urpriest]

Once again, i stand corrected. Thanks Urpriest! ranger is back in.
Would the cohort be 2 levels lower then my class level (HD) or my ECL? And is his ECL 2 lower or his HD, if i want to make the cohort a bear too this could be usefull.

By RAW, the cohort would have an ECL two lower than your HD, so when you have ECL 15 and HD 12 your cohort could have up to ECL 10, or 7 HD if they happen to also be an anthropomorphic polar bear. That's...not all that useful. As a DM I would probably let you use your ECL instead, for an ECL 13 cohort, but that's not RAW.

[Swaoeaeieu]

Ok thank you, i think i now have all the answers/advice i needed for this. He might not be the bearpocalypse i saw in other threads regarding bear themed characters. but i think this one could be playable and fun.

Thanks