+4 Free LA (Maximizing Strength for melee damage)

[LadyLexi]

So, my D&D crew is back to the table with a new game. 3.5 with 4 Free LA. DM is new to the group and is comfortable with bending rules but is equally comfortable with coming up with rulings on the spot. Flavor often weighs heavier than rule.

I'd like to put together a high melee damage dealer, but still be able to be a beautiful character (Half-Minotaur Goliaths are hideous).

Any recommendations for templates/races that would give a big boost to strength? (I think a reflavored Lolth-touched for another deity may be allowed). We have 8 levels to play with, so if I need to fit in a template or more expensive race, it could be fit in with class levels.

[bekeleven]

Mineral Warrior makes you look shiny! And Feral (http://media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/67/a7/fc/67a7fca30f3eaa17e5d532f04519167d.jpg) can be pretty.

[OldTrees1]

Do you like Scales?

Race Bahamut-touched Dragonborn (Half-Ogre Half-Minotaur Goliath)
Class Goliath Barbarian 1
+26 Str (+32 when in Mountain Rage)

Dragonborn removes the gore attack and replaces the Goliath pockmarked skin. In the end you look like a large sized scaled human.

[Biffoniacus_Furiou]

If you want to use only a single template, Half-Goristro (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/we/20060630x&page=1) (scroll down) probably gets you the most bang for your buck: +8 Str, +6 Con, +2 Cha, +5 natural armor, half-fiend traits, two slam attacks that each deal 1.5 Str damage, and a size increase (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/improvingMonsters.htm#sizeIncreases) for an additional Str +8, Con +4, and +2 natural armor if you go from medium to large.

[Zweisteine]

Dragonborn is bad hen you have free LA. It takes far too much away.

How about a Stony (mineral warrior) Half-Minotaur, Half-Ogre (both from dragon mag 313) Water Orc? That's netted you +14 strength, a bunch of other nice stuff, and you still have a spare point of LA.

Total ability adjustments: +14, 0, +8, -8, -4, -6
So yeah, you'll be a certified Blind Ugly Idiot™, but you'll be able to throw cows.

EDIT:
Lesser Azerblood or, even better, Lesser Zenythri is a good base race as well. Thu o Lu have +2 strength, but they don't penalize your mind.

[OldTrees1]

Dragonborn is bad hen you have free LA. It takes far too much away.
Strangely Goliath Barbarians are an exception. What Dragonborn removes (powerful build) is replaced by Large size (mountain rage)

Also you can always use inherited templates if you are looking for racial abilities that Dragonborn would not keep (See Bahamut-touched).

[Zweisteine]

Ah, but if ou have free LA 607 could be eying amazing racial abilities with it, which would disappear under dragonborn.

[Zetapup]

A cheesy way to get around the charisma penalties of the various templates suggested above is to use the symbiotic template from savage species. The character uses the physical scores (str, dex, con) of the host and the mental scores (int, wis, cha) of the guest, so I'm sure there are ways to abuse that.

Aside from that, feral (also from savage species) doesn't have a cha penalty (although it does have an int and a dex penalty) so it could work for what you want.

Half dragon, from the monster manual, gives a solid bonus to str and a lower bonus to cha. I normally wouldn't suggest it, but since you have four free LA, it's not too bad.

[OldTrees1]

Ah, but if you have free LA 607 could be eyeing amazing racial abilities with it, which would disappear under dragonborn.

O.O
What would you do with a free 20 LA? (Besides making a Mongrelfolk)

[Sian]

something something Lolthtouched? +6str +6con for a measly +1LA

[Forrestfire]

Lolth-Touched, Half-Minotaur, Savage Progression Half-Dragon 2... Changeling :smallwink:

+24 Str, -2 Dex, +14 Con, Large size, a gore attack, claws and a bite attack, +5 natural armor... And, most importantly, the ability to make it all disappear and just be an especially tall person of whatever race you feel like, without losing your stats. You can put your best score into Charisma and rely on the racial bonuses to physical stats to do the heavy lifting, then go to town... Just make sure to duck under doorframes (because even with the one foot reduction from Minor Change Shape, you'd still be seven feet tall at minimum. Not too bad, though).

Now, for a possible (silly, but effective*) character idea, one neat thing could be to go Warlock 6/Spirit Lion Totem Barbarian 1/Chaos Monk 1. Take the Eldritch Claws feat, and at level 8, you can pick up the Beast Strike feat as your monk bonus feat, using the Martial Monk ACF from Dragon (this gives some nice damage stacking). Pick up Fell Flight as your lesser invocation from the warlock levels, and then pick up whatever else for your other invocations. You'll also want to grab Multiattack (and probably Improved Multiattack, if you're using flaws to get extra feats). Assuming fractional BAB, you've got a +6/+1 base attack bonus. Your full attack routine, just from BAB and the racial strength bonuses, is something like:


Unarmed Strike +17/+12 melee (1d8+4d6+12) and Gore +17 melee (1d8+6) and Claws +17/+17 melee (4d6+6) and Bite +17 melee (1d8+6)

... plus power attack and charging bonuses and the like.

Anyway, Warlock has Cha synergy for the 'beauty' aspect, and some generally useful invocations. It also gives you an alright ranged attack that's harder to miss with, because it's a touch attack, so you don't need to put much into Dex. Fell Flight also gives you a fly speed, so now you can fly while running around being pretty, shooting energy blasts, and being a superpowered martial artist (http://img2.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20110903164909/dragonball/images/thumb/c/ce/ZarbonVsVegetaII..png/280px-ZarbonVsVegetaII..png)... and when you feel like making an intimidate check, you should just return to your true, scaly, bulky form (http://img2.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20100424153815/dragonball/images/1/1b/ZarbonTransformsVsVegetaNV.png).

*This entire build may or may not be an excuse to suggest playing Zarbon.

[Banaticus]

Those are boring choices. Go with something that nobody else is even remotely likely to choose and blow them all out of the water. Using http://dnd.freeminded.org/tables/DnD3.5Index-Templates.pdf I picked out the following three templates with a total level adjustment of +4:
Half-Fey/Half-Minotaur/Saint You get the following:
Str+4
Dex+2
Con+2
Int-2
Wis+6
Cha+8

Presuming you started as a Medium race, you become Large, your abilities change accordingly, and you get +10' to your movement
You get butterfly wings that let you fly twice as fast as your movement with a maneuverability of Good
Natural Armor+2
DR 5/cold iron, becomes DR 5/cold iron or magic at 4th level, DR 5/cold iron or evil at 8th level, DR 5/ cold iron and DR 10/evil at 12th level
fire resistance 10
Immune to Acid, Cold, Electricity, Petrifaction, Enchantment spells & effects
Low-light vision
Darkvision 60'
+4 racial save vs poison
+2 DC to everything you cast that allows a saving throw and to all abilities which give others a check
Permanent Tongues spell
Add Wis bonus to AC as insight bonus
Fast healing 2
Protective Aura, 20' circle of light that can be activated as a free action and acts as a double strength Magic Circle Against Evil and a Lesser Globe of Invulnerability
Charm Person at will
Scent ability
+2 racial bonus to Search, Spot, Listen
Gain a Gore attack
+4 bonus on checks to escape a Maze attack and to know which direction is north

Holy Touch – the Saint’s melee attacks do +1d6 Holy damage vs.
Evil creatures (or +1d8 vs. Evil Undead or Evil Outsiders). Any
Evil creature that attacks the Saint with a Natural Attack takes
the same amount of damage.
Able to cast Guidance, Resistance, Virtue, and Bless at will at
Character level.

HD Ability
1-2 Hypnotism, 1/day; Faerie Fire –or– Glitterdust,1/day
3-4 Detect Law, 3/day, Sleep –or– Enthrall, 1/day
5-6 Protection from Law, 3/day;
Tasha’s Hideous Laughter or Suggestion, 1/day
7-8 Confusion –or– Emotion, 1/day
9-10 Eyebite –or– Lesser Geas, 1/day
11-12 Dominate Person –or– Hold Monster, 1/day
13-14 Mass Invisibility, 1/day
15-16 Geas/Quest –or– Mass Suggestion, 1/day
17-18 Insanity –or– Mass Charm, 1/day
19+ Otto’s Irresistible Dance, 1/day

Follow a class progression like: http://dungeons.wikia.com/wiki/Triple_Stat_Tripper_(3.5e_Optimized_Character_Buil d)

Or go with http://forum.rpg.net/archive/index.php/t-319930.html and build up a super Diplomat. You could toss in half-nymph -- it's a +2 level adjustment, so swap something out. That'd give you permanent "look at me and become Shaken" (unless you make your save based on my uber high Cha).

http://dnd-wiki.org/wiki/Sacred_Fist_of_the_Silver_Flame_(3.5e_Optimized_Ch aracter_Build) combines monk/paladin to really take advantage of your +Wis and +Cha bonuses -- basically take your Wis subtract 10 and that's how much of a touch AC bonus you have.

Or look at http://www.minmaxboards.com/index.php?topic=4369.0 and the Cha section for alternative class builds ideas.

This just sort of maximizes Cha. You could also go with any other stat or set of stats. Don't just look for whatever makes you the biggest and strongest super idiot like almost everyone else will be going for.

[Sian]

look at the requirements of Saint ... you need to have at least 3 exalted feats and be level 6, and a boatload of fluff supporting it ... its not a template you can take 'merely' because you think its cool, nor can you inherit it

[Forrestfire]

Also, Half-Fey is +2, not +1. That list has a lot of typos, as I've found when I reference it sometimes :smallfrown:

[Particle_Man]

Stonechild might be nice. You have 4 racial HD, but outsider HD ain't so bad. +8 str & con, +2 int (nice for warblades), immune to acid and poison. I think you get blindfight (so warblade going for master of nine could be interesting).

[Summerstorm]

Hm, if someone wouldn't mind 6 racial hitdice (Animal) i would say Feral (LA+1) Were (+2/+3 LA) Bear.

Large, +16 Strength +2 Dex +8 Con +2 Wis, +a lot of goodies for werebear when you transform (Hybrid or Bear)
+4 str, -2dex, +2 con, -4 Int, +2 Wis for feral

After that take levels in Warshaper (+4 Str, +4 Con, Fast healing 2)
and Warhulk (if allowed) +2 Str/Level

At level 18 or so you would have a natural +44 Strength on top of rolled, enhancement and such. Not the best possible, but pretty fun, i guess

[Urpriest]

If you want to use only a single template, Half-Goristro (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/we/20060630x&page=1) (scroll down) probably gets you the most bang for your buck: +8 Str, +6 Con, +2 Cha, +5 natural armor, half-fiend traits, two slam attacks that each deal 1.5 Str damage, and a size increase (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/improvingMonsters.htm#sizeIncreases) for an additional Str +8, Con +4, and +2 natural armor if you go from medium to large.

If you go with the size increase stuff, it's one of the best choices period. That setup gives you +4 Str per LA, which is a ratio only surpassed by Lolth-Touched and the Dragon Magazine Half-Minotaur and Half-Ogre, and only met by Goliath and Feral. That said, if you've got access to Dragon templates and their size increase wonkiness then a Feral Lolth-Touched Half-Minotaur Half-Ogre Wild Dwarf gives +30 Str.

As for the beauty aspect, most of these races (Half-Minotaur included) can have a sort of savage beauty. Look up the Minotaurs of Krynn, or how they're treated in Magic the Gathering. If you're looking for a more effeminate standard of beauty then it will be trickier to find options, but in that case you might want to aim to get most of your damage from somewhere other than Str anyway.

[Aliek]

Half-minotaur, half-ogre, lolth touched, is some easy +22 STR for +2 LA, I believe.

So far so good, now what?
I might be pretty wrong here, but let us take the half-golem template :smallbiggrin:
If we're a half-iron golem there's +12 str right there. With quite a ton of drawbacks, I know.
But while we've become constructs, let's get incarnate construct, shall we?

So, right now, that's +34 str for +0 LA(half-golem has no listed LA tough, so that's probably not RAW-legal but it lists a way of becoming one, so that's what I'm going with), but loads upon loads of penalties. We can get rid of them by becoming dragonborn.

Thus, let's get those +4 LA filled up -I was thinking of a combination of Feral, mineral warrior and some other stuff, but feral turns you into a monstrous humanoid so it might be a problem.

Let's just go with the half-goristro, for that nice +16 :smallbiggrin: thus +50 strength

By then I don't think being a changeling can help(Dragonborn removing that trait), but an item of disguise self perhaps?

Edit: Of course, if changeling is out of question, water orc is probably the way to go, with +54 str plus point-buy. Considering a 18 base, a lv1 pouncebarian could charge for about 200 damage with battle jump feat :smallbiggrin: A bit more if you use a lance and mounted combat and another mounted combat feat(spirited charge?)

[Urpriest]

Half-minotaur, half-ogre, lolth touched, is some easy +22 STR for +2 LA, I believe.

So far so good, now what?
I might be pretty wrong here, but let us take the half-golem template :smallbiggrin:
If we're a half-iron golem there's +12 str right there. With quite a ton of drawbacks, I know.
But while we've become constructs, let's get incarnate construct, shall we?

So, right now, that's +34 str for +0 LA(half-golem has no listed LA tough, so that's probably not RAW-legal but it lists a way of becoming one, so that's what I'm going with), but loads upon loads of penalties. We can get rid of them by becoming dragonborn.

Thus, let's get those +4 LA filled up -I was thinking of a combination of Feral, mineral warrior and some other stuff, but feral turns you into a monstrous humanoid so it might be a problem.

Let's just go with the half-goristro, for that nice +16 :smallbiggrin: thus +50 strength

By then I don't think being a changeling can help(Dragonborn removing that trait), but an item of disguise self perhaps?

Edit: Of course, if changeling is out of question, water orc is probably the way to go, with +54 str plus point-buy. Considering a 18 base, a lv1 pouncebarian could charge for about 200 damage with battle jump feat :smallbiggrin: A bit more if you use a lance and mounted combat and another mounted combat feat(spirited charge?)

Half-Golem was updates in the 3.5 update pamphlet to have LA --.

[John Longarrow]

For a high melee damage dealer, I wouldn't go strength.

Pixie.

+8 Dex, +4 Wis. Go swordsage. You can grab Shadow hand to use your dex for damage, you get free weapon finesse, and at 4th you get Wisdom to damage. Not as much pure damage as some of the BIG builds, but definitely Beautiful and DEADLY. Going pure sword sage you should be +11/+6 to hit and +6 on damage with either unarmed strike or a spiked chain before you add in your normal 10+ stats. Grab improved unarmed strike and superior unarmed strike to make your unarmed damage based off of your character level regardless of size and start BEATING PEOPLE with your pretty little invisible fists of fury.

Best of all, you get to look GOOD doing it!

[Yogibear41]

Were-Bear and lolth touched reflavored for what ever god you worship. Bear is win. :smallsmile: