Ultimate beatstick template?

[Swaoeaeieu]

Hi playground!

The recent creation of the warhulk handbook got me thinking about what the best beatstick could be. and what templates it could have. I don't intend this as a playable character. This should be some 'dumb' creature a DM could throw at his players in a cage fight scenario.

So the question: What template (or templates) fit the theme? And what would a rediculous stacking of templates look like here?

i myself already found the ridiculous combo of half minotaur, half ogre, half troll, feral, mineral warrior. But i can just feel that the playground can come up with even more ridiculous creatures.

Also: what whould a good base creature be for this?

[BowStreetRunner]

Well, there is always the Troll Half-Dragon, with the dragon variety being either immune to acid or fire.

[Eslin]

Symbiote with the host being a quasilycanthrope dragonborn water orc, guest being a dread blossom swarm, take a fiend of possession dvati as your cohort and have one control your armour and another control you.

One character, four bodies in one, goddamn unkillable. Take levels of whatever appeals to you, free entry into warshaper makes that one particularly appealing.

Similar to the troll example above, you're now immune to damage if you can find fire and frost immunity (templates or class levels will do the trick).

Regeneration, damage reduction, a whole host of immunities, immune to single target spells. Use incarnate construct warforged and warforged juggernaut if you want even more immunities.

[Swaoeaeieu]

Symbiote with the host being a quasilycanthrope dragonborn water orc, guest being a bloodpetal swarm, take a fiend of possession dvati as your cohort and have one control your armour and another control you.

One character, four bodies in one, goddamn unkillable. Take levels of whatever appeals to you, free entry into warshaper makes that one particularly appealing.

Similar to the troll example above, you're now immune to damage if you can find fire and frost immunity (templates or class levels will do the trick).

that is just... wow. i was just thinking of increasing ability scores and making it hit things harder. but this is brilliant.


Regeneration, damage reduction, a whole host of immunities, immune to single target spells. Use incarnate construct warforged and warforged juggernaut if you want even more immunities.

Doesn't an incarnate construct lose al its feats and special ability's?
Could you get an inherrited template when a construct becomes 'fleshy'?

[Fouredged Sword]

For simple fun a Feral half Minotaur water orc can be a lot of fun. Take flaws to add Toughness and Troll-Blooded for regeneration 1. LA buy off allows 20 levels.

Then go berzerker varrient of barbarian so you rage at 5*Cl hp without limit. Now get burning rage for the fire subtype while raging. Then preform a ritual of planer alignment for the earth subtype and acid immunity.

[Sgt. Cookie]

Symbiote with the host being a quasilycanthrope dragonborn water orc, guest being a bloodpetal swarm, take a fiend of possession dvati as your cohort and have one control your armour and another control you.

I think you mean Dread Blossom Swarm. Bloodpetal doesn't exist.

You also forgot to mention you get three extra feats to play with.

If you're going Barb, Frozen/Blazing berserker (Frostburn/Sandstorm respectively), you get the Cold/Fire subtypes while raging.

[Deaxsa]

I think you mean Dread Blossom Swarm. Bloodpetal doesn't exist.

You also forgot to mention you get three extra feats to play with.

If you're going Barb, Frozen/Blazing berserker (Frostburn/Sandstorm respectively), you get the Cold/Fire subtypes while raging.

...but can you get both?

[Snowbluff]

Insectile. Put the extra hands on your weapon, and you get .5 Str to damage for each extra hand.

Cleric is best Warhulk entry.

[Dusk Eclipse]

Without going into extreme cheese, I would say that Half-minotaur is one of the best templates for any kind of beatstick.

[Sgt. Cookie]

...but can you get both?

Yes. Yes you can.

[Swaoeaeieu]

Insectile. Put the extra hands on your weapon, and you get .5 Str to damage for each extra hand.

Cleric is best Warhulk entry.

do you really get to choose where you put extra hands? not just on your torso?

why is cleric best?



Without going into extreme cheese, I would say that Half-minotaur is one of the best templates for any kind of beatstick.

cheese is ok. no lactose intolerancy in this thread. Minotaur is the really cool.

[Fouredged Sword]

half minotaur Tauric Bull Minotaur!

[Snowbluff]

do you really get to choose where you put extra hands? not just on your torso?:smalltongue:

What I mean is you can hold a weapon made for more hands with the 4 extra hands you would get, which would increase your damage bonus from Strength.




why is cleric best
The Divine Power Spell make your BaB equal to your HD, which covers the lost BaB from Warhulk.

[ZamielVanWeber]

I was going to say Incarnate Feral Mineral Warrior Warforged, but I am totally outgunned.

[Swaoeaeieu]

What I mean is you can hold a weapon made for more hands with the 4 extra hands you would get, which would increase your damage bonus from Strength.

The Divine Power Spell make your BaB equal to your HD, which covers the lost BaB from Warhulk.

I never heard of 6 handed weapons? must have very long hilts.

what level spell is divine power? the spell might be the best thing for Warhullk but don't the classes clash flavor wise?


I was going to say Incarnate Feral Mineral Warrior Warforged, but I am totally outgunned.
The way i read incarnate construct is that you would lose all feats and whatnot. a incarnate warforged just makes a featless human. Or am i interpreting this wrong?

[Snowbluff]

I never heard of 6 handed weapons? must have very long hilts.Yeah. The weapon would just be one made to facilitate your hands, while being a regular weapon otherwise, IIRC.




what level spell is divine power? the spell might be the best thing for Warhullk but don't the classes clash flavor wise?It's a 4th level spell.

Cleric is always correct fluffwise. Just worship a war god like Kord.



The way i read incarnate construct is that you would lose all feats and whatnot. a incarnate warforged just makes a featless human. Or am i interpreting this wrong?

You would keep all of the stat adjustments.

[Swaoeaeieu]

Cleric is always correct fluffwise. Just worship a war god like Kord.

You would keep all of the stat adjustments.

Of course. i always keep thinking of clerics as goody mcgoodguy priests. silly me.

so only the stat boosts from warforged? nog adamantine plating, cool immunities. but some nice stats for -2 LA isnt too shabby.
Be and ex warforged with homesickness. incarnate warforged renegade mastermaker.

[Qc Storm]

Multi-headed is a good one, if your monster has a bite. Gives many things for very little CR. Including hit dices, extra bites, and weapon focus (bite).

Legendary is also pretty crazy for its CR. It gives you a choice of many abilities, and among other things, increases strength by 10.

As an example, I modified a bland Megaraptor with this.

The result is a monster with 269 HP, 4 bite attacks that deal 2d6+14, the pounce ability, extremely high saving throws, poison on every bite with a nearly impossible fort save, permanent spell turning, and other wonderful things.

It's only CR 10.

[Azoth]

Titanic Creature of Legend Lolth Touched Vecna Blooded Feral Half Minotaur Quasilycnthrope Goliath!

Gargantuan (treated as colossal)
Immune to divination
Immune to fear
Immune to transmutation
Massive Str + Con
Good DR, Nat Armor, Fast Healing
Reach for Days

[Snowbluff]

so only the stat boosts from warforged? nog adamantine plating, cool immunities. but some nice stats for -2 LA isnt too shabby.
Be and ex warforged with homesickness. incarnate warforged renegade mastermaker.Yes.

Well, what you do is add on other templates first. For example, the Mineral Warrior Feral Warforged would have the cumulative stat bonuses from the 2 templates and the race. For 0 LA.

[Ramza00]

Cleric is best Warhulk entry.

why is cleric best?

The Divine Power Spell make your BaB equal to your HD, which covers the lost BaB from Warhulk.
If you don't mind playing really evil, you can get divine power for 24 hours (without using spells) by sacrificing an intelligent creature due to the sacrifice rules. Must make a dc 25 knowledge religion check and make the sacrifice on an altar. For more info see here and BOVD
http://brilliantgameologists.com/boards/index.php?topic=10885.0

[Urpriest]

Consider Lycanthrope. It's not great for players, but as a DM it's a great low-CR adjustment way to add lots of hit dice. Were-Battletitan, for example, is something like 36HD for +6 CR.

[Biffoniacus_Furiou]

Use a variant Half-Fiend (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/we/20060630x&page=1) based on a Goristro (FC1). That gives Str +8, Con +8, and a size increase up to huge, among other benefits. Throw it on top of a Water Orc (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/variant/races/elementalRacialVariants.htm#racesOfWater) Half-Minotaur, and you've got a huge beastie with Str +32 for a +5 LA.

[Swaoeaeieu]

Well, what you do is add on other templates first. For example, the Mineral Warrior Feral Warforged would have the cumulative stat bonuses from the 2 templates and the race. For 0 LA.

But feral is inherrited, and can't go on constructs. Or can you get inherrited templates after incarnate construct?

[Wings of Peace]

Race: Warforged Scout

Templates: Amphibious [Sto 136], Arctic [DR #306, pg. 62], Dragonborn (Wings Aspect) [RDr, pg. 8], Half-Minotaur [DR #313, pg. 94], Half-Ogre [DR #313, pg. 95], Incarnate Construct [SS, pg. 121]

Edit: Are we ignoring level adjustments here? Because this build is designed under the assumption that level adjustment is a relevant thing.

[Swaoeaeieu]

Race: Warforged Scout

Templates: Amphibious [Sto 136], Arctic [DR #306, pg. 62], Dragonborn (Wings Aspect) [RDr, pg. 8], Half-Minotaur [DR #313, pg. 94], Half-Ogre [DR #313, pg. 95], Incarnate Construct [SS, pg. 121]

Edit: Are we ignoring level adjustments here? Because this build is designed under the assumption that level adjustment is a relevant thing.

LA is not important. I myself am looking for cool creatures a DM can throw at his players. but playeble creatures are cool too. so either way is fine.

for the Scout i have the same questions as before. Can warforged take inherrited templates since they are made, not born. Or does the incarnate construct means they are 'born' and at that point get inherrited templates?

[Eslin]

Well, logically incarnate constructs can breed with each other.

Warforged can permanently assign themselves gender - incarnate a male and female warforged, when they have a child it'll be an incarnate construct warforged.

That's how you justify templates like half-minotaur - incarnate construct warforged has sex with opposite gender minotaur, offspring is half-minotaur incarnate construct warforged.

Which you should dump in the wild to make it feral, and give it the monster of legend template for a massive stat boost, the fire or cold subtype and immunity to two of acid, electricity, fear, poison, polymorphing, or mind-affecting effects - pick whichever your creature is not already immune to.

Alternately, just make the character a ghost of level fifteen or higher with the rest in peace condition that cannot be fulfilled, and now it's not killable barring very specific anti undead prestige classes.

[Story]

I don't think it's possible to apply an inherited template after Incarnate Construct by the rules, but hey, you're the DM.

[Eslin]

So if an incarnate construct breeds, does it somehow pop out a warforged instead of an incarnate construct warforged?

Regarding whether it can breed or not - if there's ever any doubt, either use a wish spell or have it screw a dragon. Half dragon can be applied to pretty much anything, therefore a dragon can breed with pretty much anything.

[Slipperychicken]

You know how Half Minotaur tells you to reference those ridiculous size increase tables, in addition to the listed stat buffs? Put it on a Strongheart Halfling (LA 0). You get a human bonus feat, better stat boosts, and wind up at Medium size before other templates. If you can use the Dragon Magazine Half Ogre (as opposed to the Savage Species one), it also references that table and gets really brutal when stacked on a Half Minotaur Strongheart Halfling.

Yeah. You wind up with Large size, a human bonus feat +18 Strength, +8 Con, -4 Int, -Cha, I think the Dex either evens out or is a -2, +4 Natural armor, 40ft base speed, a gore attack, Endurance (or was it alertness?) as a feat, some skill buffs you don't care about, and you can discern north and have a +4 to escape maze. All for the low low price of +2 LA.

[Immabozo]

Wow, I am honored that you made a post inspired by me handbook. I'm gonna have to include to templates and sure covered here!

[Fyermind]

Troll blooded or some other form of regeneration is important on a beat stick.

If you want it to not get screwed by a mid level party, it needs to have some form of flight that allows hovering.

High HP and saves, immunities, and resistances are more important than high AC.

You don't want to just drop hundreds of points of damage on them. You want to drop significant damage and debilitating effects. There are ways to add bullrush, trip, daze, sunder (if you are really mean) and several attacks to every one of your shots. I haven't found a good way to add entangled, but that would be another fun one.

[Azoth]

Entangled is easy to get with the use of items. Also, as a DM or Player, I have never once felt bad about dropping sunders on things. As a player, sometimes it is better to be alive than a few thousand richer. As a DM just make certain to compensate for it in the loot at some point. It is a bit fun to watch players scramble when the Barbarian's axe gets snapped like a twig by a combat brute.

[Snowbluff]

You know how Half Minotaur tells you to reference those ridiculous size increase tables, in addition to the listed stat buffs? Put it on a Strongheart Halfling (LA 0). You get a human bonus feat, better stat boosts, and wind up at Medium size before other templates. If you can use the Dragon Magazine Half Ogre (as opposed to the Savage Species one), it also references that table and gets really brutal when stacked on a Half Minotaur Strongheart Halfling.

Yeah. You wind up with Large size, a human bonus feat +18 Strength, +8 Con, -4 Int, -Cha, I think the Dex either evens out or is a -2, +4 Natural armor, 40ft base speed, a gore attack, Endurance (or was it alertness?) as a feat, some skill buffs you don't care about, and you can discern north and have a +4 to escape maze. All for the low low price of +2 LA.
Uh, no. Play a Human. These two template don't assign LA if you already Large, correct?

[Wings of Peace]

LA is not important. I myself am looking for cool creatures a DM can throw at his players. but playeble creatures are cool too. so either way is fine.

for the Scout i have the same questions as before. Can warforged take inherrited templates since they are made, not born. Or does the incarnate construct means they are 'born' and at that point get inherrited templates?

By the rules Warforged of any variety should be able to take inherited templates on the grounds that their being constructed is a fluff distinction. The living construct subtype does not forbid inherited templates so no direct rules contradictions occur.

I would have to look up the exact text in the monster manual but the order in which the templates in this build are applied to the character hinges on some text in the monster manual that says the templates can be applied at any time, in this case that time is "before the inherited template is applied".

If you're looking for monsters a dm can throw at their players I would probably mark the Protean (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/epic/monsters/hagunemnon.htm) as one of the strongest published options due to it's Alter Shape ability.

[Story]

Except that Incarnate Construct is an acquired template, and all inherited templates must be applied before any acquired templates are.

Warforged can take inherited templates just fine, but you'll lose most of the benefits once you take IC.

[Wings of Peace]

Except that Incarnate Construct is an acquired template, and all inherited templates must be applied before any acquired templates are.

This is the portion of the build I was referring to that takes a very literal interpretation of acquired templates being able to be added "any" time.

[Swaoeaeieu]

Uh, no. Play a Human. These two template don't assign LA if you already Large, correct?
But humans aren't large, they are medium right? so it would still be +1 LA for both templates.


Except that Incarnate Construct is an acquired template, and all inherited templates must be applied before any acquired templates are.

Warforged can take inherited templates just fine, but you'll lose most of the benefits once you take IC.
But most inherrited templates give a list of monster types it can apply to, construct isn't one of em most of the times. Can a warforged still take them even if they dont have parents to inherrit anything from?

IC might take away the cool specials. but you keep the glorious stat increases. wich is always nice.

[Snowbluff]

But humans aren't large, they are medium right? so it would still be +1 LA for both templates.


You become Large when you take one, and you don't change size for the other, so it's +1 LA, IIRC.

[Chronos]

I think the reason for starting with a halfling is that both of those templates give extra bonuses when you increase in size, and a halfling would increase in size twice, not just once. Sure, you'll pay the extra +1 LA, but it's probably worth it.