Awakened Animals

[Ruethgar]

What shenanigans can be thought of for awakened animals? One of the Dragon Magazines gave the MMI non-dino awakened animals ECL(not LA total ECL).
Lizard, Cat, Rat, Toad, Monkey are the ECL 0 ones. Monkey is of course the best, being able to get hands, 5d10 RHD, and Small size for ECL 0. But what is the most productive use of that leeway?

[Bronk]

What shenanigans can be thought of for awakened animals? One of the Dragon Magazines gave the MMI non-dino awakened animals ECL(not LA total ECL).
Lizard, Cat, Rat, Toad, Monkey are the ECL 0 ones. Monkey is of course the best, being able to get hands, 5d10 RHD, and Small size for ECL 0. But what is the most productive use of that leeway?

You could try to get the Awaken spell cast empowered and maximized... you could get 27 int. Become a wizard... profit?

[Judge_Worm]

A Monkey should only have 3 RHD, with a Class level starts it at 4 ECL. That being said, Lizard is the best at 2 RHD, tiny size, and a Dex boost. Take levels in druid, (I see no reason Natural Spell couldn't apply to your normal form, even if it isn't explicitly mentioned) wildshape into a baboon or other primate to use weapons and armor, and pretend to be the wizard's familiar most other times (for defense).

[Ruethgar]

Monkeys get up to 3 RHD normally plus the 2 from Awaken for a total 5 RHD as a Magical Beast with an ECL of 0. With a class level it starts at ECL 1. Unlike most monster entries for allowing play-ability, Awakened animals didn't get an LA listing, but rather an ECL listing which accounts for RHD.

[Judge_Worm]

Monkeys get up to 3 RHD normally plus the 2 from Awaken for a total 5 RHD as a Magical Beast with an ECL of 0. With a class level it starts at ECL 1. Unlike most monster entries for allowing play-ability, Awakened animals didn't get an LA listing, but rather an ECL listing which accounts for RHD.


But they only start out at 1 RHD. And RHD+LA+CHD=ECL. Unless this drag mag had some special rule? What issue was it?

[Ruethgar]

Dragon #293 p54 Just double checked it, and indeed their ECL is set to 0.

[Rubik]

You could try to get the Awaken spell cast empowered and maximized... you could get 27 int. Become a wizard... profit?The best part is that Polymorph and Metamorphosis both change your type.

Let's say a StP erudite/anarchic initiate 1 gets an arcane Awaken from a Child of Eberron archetype dragon and takes Metamorphosis, Empower Power, Psicrystal Affinity, and Psicrystal Containment. Metamorphosis into an animal. Double-Empowering Awaken and using chaotic surge means there's a 25% chance that you'll triple-Empower it and a 25% chance that you get Maximized and double-Empowered. And you can keep retrying until you get max rolls on everything.

[Ruethgar]

So apart from getting insane stats from augmented casting, no one can think of good use for 5d10 free RHD?

[Bronk]

So apart from getting insane stats from augmented casting, no one can think of good use for 5d10 free RHD?

Racial hit dice are something you normally try to get rid of. You could try to get your RHD taken away right away through level loss, then try to figure out if that gave you a leg up on gaining new XP for a more rapid rise in level in an actual class. I'm not sure what an ECL of -4 would actually mean though.

I guess you could be one of the Tome of Battle classes, and count half of the RHD levels towards initiator levels?

A level in Rogue and the craven feat would give you +6 damage right away...