Gruftzwerg
2023-05-22, 01:43 AM
Welcome to my newest build showcase. After having released a warlock's ubermount build (https://forums.giantitp.com/showthread.php?647962) it's now time to showcase a Dragonfire Adept's ubermount build. For that we have some prominence from Enternia over here. And all of em serve as a mount (Orko's rider is an invisible Imp familiar). He-man will ride Battlecat, while being ridden by Orko. And Orko's familiar is riding him. So expect a lot of silliness going on in this triple ubercharger build.
That being said, expect that He-man will attempt to become the strongest human shaped creature there is (dunno if I really hit the record here. let me know if there is any higher STR build in humanoid form out there)
As always, beware of the optimization level and talk to your DM before attempting to play this build. Once the build unfolds, the dmg output is really broken (we are talking about 3 uberchargers here).
Orko's stats:
Race: Human
Region: Cormyr (for regional feat)
Alignment: L-N (for the Imp familiar)
STR: 14 (+5 Wish; + 6 item = 25max)
DEX: 14
CON: 16 (+2 Human Paragon; +5 lvlUp; +5 Wish; +6 item = 34 max)
INT: 10
WIS: 14
CHA: 10
DFA 4 / Human Paragon 3 / Fighter 1 / Waverider 1 / Windrider 10 / Warblade 1
Winrider conversion to 3.5:
The "Appraise Mount" and "Mount Proficiency" abilities can't be replicated in 3.5.
The former because we have standardized stats for mounts/monsters.
The latter, because you don't designate a mount to your Ride skill anymore. There are no penalties for "similar mounts" and "dissimilar mounts" anymore. Sole the +2 Competence bonus to avoid being unseated prevails.
Finally, everybody can now ride unusual mounts (note: not unfamiliar mounts!). You just need to take a -5 penalty on your ride check for that.
LVL
Class
BAB
For
Ref
Wil
Skills
* = cross class
Feats
Features
1st
Human Paragon
+0
+0
+0
+2
Concentration: 4
Handle Animal: 4
Knowledge (Nature): 4
Ride: 4
UMD: 4
Wild Cohort
*Saddleback*
Wild Cohort: Heavy Horse
Adaptive Learning: UMD
*Human Bonus Feat*
2nd
DFA
+0
+2
+0
+4
Handle Animal: 5
Knowledge (Nature): 5
Ride: 5* (+2)
UMD: 5
Breath Weapon 1d6
Dragontouched
Endure Exposure
3rd
DFA
+1
+3
+0
+5
Handle Animal: 6
Knowledge (Nature): 6
Ride: 6* (+2)
UMD: 6
Mounted Combat
Breath Effect:
Frost Breath
Scales +2
4th
DFA
+1
+3
+1
+5
Handle Animal: 7
Knowledge (Nature): 7
Ride: 7* (+2)
UMD: 7
Breath Weapon 2d6
Detect Magic
5th
DFA
+2
+4
+1
+6
Handle Animal: 8
Knowledge (Nature): 8
Ride: 8* (+2)
UMD: 8
Dragonkin
6th
Human Paragon
+3
+4
+1
+7
Concentration: 5
Handle Animal: 9
Knowledge (Nature): 9
Ride: 9
UMD: 9
*Obtain Familiar* (--)
Improved Familiar (--)
*Bonus Feat*
Breath Weapon 3d6
7th
Human Paragon
+4
+5
+2
+7
Concentration: 6
Handle Animal: 10
Knowledge (Nature): 10
Ride: 10
UMD: 10
Ability Score Bonus: +2 CON
Humanoid Shape
Summon Familiar: Imp
Wild Cohort: Fleshraker
8th
Fighter
ACF:
Dragonscale Husk
ACF: Exotic Shield
+5
+7
+2
+7
Handle Animal: 11
Ride: 11
UMD: 11
Mounted Archery
*Fighter Bonus Feat*
Draconscale Husk
Exotic Shield: Rider's Shield
9th
Waverider
+6
+9
+2
+9
Handle Animal: 12
Ride: 12
UMD: 12
Bounded Familiar
Waverider Mount:
Whale (Cachalot Whale) (https://www.d20srd.org/srd/monsters/whale.htm)
Mounted Weapon Bonus +1 (trident)
Trident Charge
10th
Windrider
+7
+11
+2
+11
Handle Animal: 13
Ride: 13
UMD: 13
Chosen Mount: (our waverider mount)
Empathic Link
Mount Proficiency
Wild Cohort: Tiger
11th
Windrider
+8
+12
+2
+12
Handle Animal: 14
Ride: 14
UMD: 14
Mount Assistance
Mount Feat 1
12th
Windrider
+9
+12
+3
+12
Handle Animal: 15
Ride: 15
UMD: 15
Tremendous Charge
*Power Attack*
*Bonus Feat*
Mount Healing
13th
Warblade
+10
+14
+3
+12
Concentration: 8 (+2)
Handle Animal: 16
Ride: 16
UMD: 16
Battle clarity (Reflex saves)
Weapon Aptitude
Stance: Leading the Charge
Maneuvers:
Steel Wind
Iron Heart Surge
Mithral Tornado
14th
Windrider
+11
+15
+3
+13
Handle Animal: 17
Ride: 17
UMD: 17
15th
Windrider
+12
+15
+3
+13
Handle Animal: 18
Ride: 18
UMD: 18
Cleave
Mount Feat 2
Mount Friendship
16th
Windrider
+13
+16
+4
+14
Handle Animal: 19
Ride: 19
UMD: 19
17th
Windrider
+14
+16
+4
+14
Handle Animal: 20
Ride: 20
UMD: 20
*Combat Reflexes*
*Bonus Feat*
Mount Link
18th
Windrider
+15
+17
+4
+15
Handle Animal: 21
Ride: 21
UMD: 21
Greater Cleave
19th
Windrider
+16
+17
+5
+15
Handle Animal: 22
Ride: 22
UMD: 22
Mount Feat 3
Mount Luck
20th
Windrider
+17
+18
+5
+16
Handle Animal: 23
Ride: 23
UMD: 23
This template can be added with some time and gold investment (via Handle Animal) to Cringer and Adam. Regarding the time.. Note that due to Orko using his wild cohort and special mount, they don't need to be reared, sole trained. The sole lil problem here is the Handle Animal DC (25+HD for Magical Beasts like He-man). Even at lvl 9 that is a DC of 39. For that we will abuse a scroll/wand of Guidance of the Avatar (+20 to a single skill roll): take 10 + 12 ranks + 20 = 42
The template gives some nice stuff:
* Proficiency with light, medium and heavy armor: gives the needed protection without wasting feats.
* gives the rider a +2 circumstance bonus on all Ride checks
* +10 speed: always nice for ubercharger builds
* +1 HD: improves the feat and skill progression.
* +3 STR & CON: He-man and Cringer both welcome this lil untyped bonus.
* +2 WIS: He-man may not be the brightest one (max INT:9) but always has some wise words for the end of the episode (base WIS 14 +2 = 16 max). This is especially true for Cringer (INT:2; WIS: 12 +2 = 14 max).
We start out with a simple Heavy Horse (https://www.d20srd.org/srd/monsters/horse.htm) to have a mount for our medium sized human. At lvl 7 we can exchange it to a Fleshraker and ride it as a Kobold (Humanoid Shape).
Finally at lvl 10 we exchange it a last time to get a tiger (https://www.d20srd.org/srd/monsters/tiger.htm). With a tiger we have a -9 effective lvl penalty for its progression. Thus it gets up to +5HD, +2 STR, +5NA and Evasion.
We will also add the Warbeast template via Handle Animal to him. The most important things here are the +1HD and the +3 STR.
This gives the tiger 2 ability score increases and 2 feats from the additional HD.
Battlecat now has up to 28 STR (23 +2 +3) without gear.
As feats we will pick Tunnel Fighting first to be able to fight in tight spaces without penalty (e.g inside of buildings). With the other we take Martial Study: Wolf Fang Strike. The latter is sole to access "Sudden Leap" via Tiger Claw Bracers (see items). That allows for a single swift action jump per encounter. As the main mount this is a very nice ability to have, even if it comes very late.
Invest all skillpoints into jump (1 / bonus HD = +6 ranks max).
We pick a Cachalot Whale as base animal here and name it Adam (turns into a Magical Beast!). Note that the waverider mount allows SLA to be shared (which is special compared to how share spell works for familiars and animal companions). This allows Orko to share Humanoid Shape with Adam to transform him into a Human (He-man). Note that Humanoid Shape keeps your ability scores. Since Adam's/He-man's progression is a bit overloaded, I made a separate table for him. (you can also have a separate Humanoid Shape for "Adam" if you want the fluff to be able to switch between him and He-man).
CLVL = Orko's character lvl
A. HD = Adam's total HD, 12 base and +1 from Warbeast (Note: as magical beast HD = BAB)
STR = Strength total; 35 base +3 from the Warbeast template
AC = Adam's Armor Class total in humanoid form (includes +1 DEX)
Waverider total bonuses
Windrider total bonuses
Ability Score increases from HD is also totaled to keep the same format
* = Mount Bonus Feat from Windrider
CLVL
A. HD
Feats
Features
STR
AC
9
15
Weapon Prodiency:
Bastard Sword
+2 STR; +2HD; +2NA; INT:6
Improved Evasion
Share Spells
Eempathic Link
Share Saving Throws
40
13
10
17
+2 STR; +2HD; +4NA
+1 STR @ 16HD
43
17
11-13
19
Mounted Combat
*Power Attack*
+3 STR; +4HD; +4NA; INT:7
Speak with creatures of
its kind
44
19
14
21
Cleave
+2 STR; +4HD; +6NA
+2 STR @ 20 HD
45
21
15-16
23
*Close Quater Fighting*
+4 STR; +6HD; +5NA; INT:8
Fast Movement
46
22
17-18
25
Gr. Cleave
+4 STR; +6HD; +8NA
+3 STR @ 24 HD
49
24
19
27
*Combat Reflexes*
+6 STR; +8HD; +6NA; INT:9
Spell Resistance
51
25
20
29
Spirited Charge
+4 STR; +8HD; +10NA
+4 STR @ 28 HD
52
27
Adam's He-man's Skills:
The main skill to push is Ride to defend Battlecat from attacks. (+17 ranks)
________________
We start out as a simple horseman with some natural affinity to using magic items (UMD is a class skill for all classes).
Saddleback allows to always take-10 for Ride checks. But the real deal is that every round we can reroll a failed Reflex save with a Ride roll for either one or both (Orko & his mount).
Soon Orko unlocks his draconic breath weapon. Endure Exposure protects his allies from his breath. Detect Magic and Identify at will are always handy. Mounted Combat allows Orko to make a Ride check once per turn to avoid a melee attack against his mount.
We exchange the horse temporary for a fleshraker. To be able to ride it, we will turn into a Kobold via Humanoid Shape. Finally we summon an Imp as familiar. It will serve as rider for Orko (note the shared skill ranks for familiars). For the meanwhile this will be our combat formation.
Dragonscale Husk provides Orko with a nice armor bonus (counts as medium armor, but doesn't have any arcane spell failure %). It starts with a +6 armor bonus, which increases up to +10 on the later leves. It also provides up to 10 resistance against acid, cold, electricity, and fire at later levels. Pick blue dragon for your scale color to match Orko's skin color.
With a Rider's Shield Orko can share his shield bonus with his mount.
We get a Cachalot Whale as a new mount and name it Adam. With Humanoid Shape we can compress his stats unchanged into a humanoid form. As He-man he sole wields a Bastard Sword (if you wanna ignore the full and go for power, pick a lance instead).
The fleshrake gets now exchanged to a tiger. Cringer/Battlecat can now serve as mount for He-man.
With Tremendous Charge Orko can abuse He-Man's super high STR modifier for his dmg rolls with a lance on a mounted charge.
Bounded Familiar is a nice defensive option. 1/day you can save your familiar from dying to HP dmg by taking it instead. And the familiar can do the same for Orko 1/day.
We get a small but very nice selection of maneuvers for Orko.
Iron Heart Surge is a nice panic button and is just priceless.
Both Steel Wind and Mithral Tornado are standard actions that can be used during a mounted charge. Note that the mount uses the charge action and that the rider sole counts as charging. The rider can spend his actions as he wants and still count as charging. Thus these maneuvers can be excecuted during a mounted charge. Steel Wind allows to attack 2 enemies at full BAB and Mithral Tornado all enemies around you. Note that neither one excludes itself from Cleave procs (like the Whirlwind feat would do as example). Kill the squishy enemies first and stack all cleave attacks on the biggy for the total overkill.
And while we are at Cleave, both He-man and Orko get Greater Cleave. This will ensure that everything in reach will die.
________________
10 Wish scrolls (for Orko)
Share +5 to STR & CON with He-man and Battle Cat (and even your unnamed Imp familiar if you want).
+6 STR & CON item (for Orko, He-man & Battle Cat)
Together with the insight bonus from wish, He-man can push his STR score to a total possible maximum of 63.
That is a +26 STR modifier and a 2h dmg bonus of +39! Combined with a BAB of +29 He-man should always hit his target. There should still be some room for Power Attack, while still hitting every attack. The CON is nice for the extra HP and Orko's breath DC.
+2 Knight's Sword >> +5 Valorous (He-man)
This is a special bastard sword that deals double damage on a mounted charge. Valorous adds another charge multiplier.
Combined with Spritited Charge and a flying dive, He-man can get up to a x5 charge damage multiplier.
+1 Griffonlance of Goring >> +5 Valorous (Orko)
Buy a Griffonlance of Goring for Orko to get Spirited Charge for free. Improve it to +5 and add the Valorous special ability (another charge multiplier)
Since Tremendous Charge has a minimal chance to destroy the lance (in our case a natural rolled 1 on the save), consider talking to your DM if Riverine or Auroroum as material can bypass that problem. By strict RAW they don't, but the fluff implies they should. Otherwise have a bottomless bag filled with spare lances..^^
+5 Valorous Necklace of Natural Attacks (Battle Cat)
see above
Riding Boots (for Orko & He-man)
Gives +5 competence bonus to Ride and Ride-By-Attack. The extra mobility after a charge is nice. Also provides another charge multiplier with lances. Orko can get up to a x6 multiplier for his lance (lance x2; Spirited Charge x3; Riding Boots x4; Valorous weapon x5; flying dive/charge x6).
Battle Bridle (attached to Orko for his Imp familiar)
Gives the Imp familiar "Mounted Combat" and thus allows it to make Ride checks to avoid a melee attack per turn against Orko. Remind you that Orko shares his skill ranks with his familiar.
Tiger Claw Bracers: Sudden Leap (Battlecat)
These give access to the Sudden Leap maneuver which allows for a swift action jump each encounter. As the main mount in our combo, this is a nice mobility item.
Phoenix Cloak (mainly for Orko but also optional for Battle Cat)
Fly all day with perfect maneuverability. If you buy also one for Cringer, this enables the trio to make diving charge attacks for another charge multiplier.
+5 Full Plate (optional for "Battle Armor He-man" ^^)
Pick any material (mithral/adamantine/..) you like since He-man has sole 13 DEX. Add any amor special abilities you like.
Barding - Mithral Breastplate +5 (Battlecat)
For a tiger it is more like a blackplate I guess^^.
Wands
Besides from "Guidance of the Avatar" pick anything you like. Our invisible Imp familiar can also use these to buff allies while remaining hidden/invisible.
Hat of Many Spells (fluff option for Orko)
Presto's hat from the animated series. It's basically a rod of wonders with some extra gadgets (exchange a prepared spell to one from spellbook and some free meta). The main purpose here is to resemble Orko's mischievous magic.
Crown of the North Wind (alternative optimized hat option for Orko)
Allow Orko to use the secondary effects of some metallic dragons for his own breath (either paralyze, sleep or weakened).
Perl of Speech (Battlecat)
For the fluff. But remind you that the INT:2 is still limiting here.
Final Words
I hope you enjoyed this silly build. He-man can achieve up to 63 STR. Imho a fitting score for the title strongest man of the universe. And the best part is, Orko can abuse the STR too. Add Charge multipliers all over the place and you get some broken damage output.
Battlecat, He-man and Orko can all avoid a melee attack per turn with a Ride check made by the rider. Orko's rider is invisble all day long and doesn't take any offensive actions to remain invisible. Imho a safe combo.
And since CON is the mainstat of the build, Orko and his familiar have some decent HP values. Same goes for He-man with his 29HD.
As always, an update may follow and I would appreciate any kind of feedback. Let me know what you think about the build.
That being said, expect that He-man will attempt to become the strongest human shaped creature there is (dunno if I really hit the record here. let me know if there is any higher STR build in humanoid form out there)
As always, beware of the optimization level and talk to your DM before attempting to play this build. Once the build unfolds, the dmg output is really broken (we are talking about 3 uberchargers here).
Orko's stats:
Race: Human
Region: Cormyr (for regional feat)
Alignment: L-N (for the Imp familiar)
STR: 14 (+5 Wish; + 6 item = 25max)
DEX: 14
CON: 16 (+2 Human Paragon; +5 lvlUp; +5 Wish; +6 item = 34 max)
INT: 10
WIS: 14
CHA: 10
DFA 4 / Human Paragon 3 / Fighter 1 / Waverider 1 / Windrider 10 / Warblade 1
Winrider conversion to 3.5:
The "Appraise Mount" and "Mount Proficiency" abilities can't be replicated in 3.5.
The former because we have standardized stats for mounts/monsters.
The latter, because you don't designate a mount to your Ride skill anymore. There are no penalties for "similar mounts" and "dissimilar mounts" anymore. Sole the +2 Competence bonus to avoid being unseated prevails.
Finally, everybody can now ride unusual mounts (note: not unfamiliar mounts!). You just need to take a -5 penalty on your ride check for that.
LVL
Class
BAB
For
Ref
Wil
Skills
* = cross class
Feats
Features
1st
Human Paragon
+0
+0
+0
+2
Concentration: 4
Handle Animal: 4
Knowledge (Nature): 4
Ride: 4
UMD: 4
Wild Cohort
*Saddleback*
Wild Cohort: Heavy Horse
Adaptive Learning: UMD
*Human Bonus Feat*
2nd
DFA
+0
+2
+0
+4
Handle Animal: 5
Knowledge (Nature): 5
Ride: 5* (+2)
UMD: 5
Breath Weapon 1d6
Dragontouched
Endure Exposure
3rd
DFA
+1
+3
+0
+5
Handle Animal: 6
Knowledge (Nature): 6
Ride: 6* (+2)
UMD: 6
Mounted Combat
Breath Effect:
Frost Breath
Scales +2
4th
DFA
+1
+3
+1
+5
Handle Animal: 7
Knowledge (Nature): 7
Ride: 7* (+2)
UMD: 7
Breath Weapon 2d6
Detect Magic
5th
DFA
+2
+4
+1
+6
Handle Animal: 8
Knowledge (Nature): 8
Ride: 8* (+2)
UMD: 8
Dragonkin
6th
Human Paragon
+3
+4
+1
+7
Concentration: 5
Handle Animal: 9
Knowledge (Nature): 9
Ride: 9
UMD: 9
*Obtain Familiar* (--)
Improved Familiar (--)
*Bonus Feat*
Breath Weapon 3d6
7th
Human Paragon
+4
+5
+2
+7
Concentration: 6
Handle Animal: 10
Knowledge (Nature): 10
Ride: 10
UMD: 10
Ability Score Bonus: +2 CON
Humanoid Shape
Summon Familiar: Imp
Wild Cohort: Fleshraker
8th
Fighter
ACF:
Dragonscale Husk
ACF: Exotic Shield
+5
+7
+2
+7
Handle Animal: 11
Ride: 11
UMD: 11
Mounted Archery
*Fighter Bonus Feat*
Draconscale Husk
Exotic Shield: Rider's Shield
9th
Waverider
+6
+9
+2
+9
Handle Animal: 12
Ride: 12
UMD: 12
Bounded Familiar
Waverider Mount:
Whale (Cachalot Whale) (https://www.d20srd.org/srd/monsters/whale.htm)
Mounted Weapon Bonus +1 (trident)
Trident Charge
10th
Windrider
+7
+11
+2
+11
Handle Animal: 13
Ride: 13
UMD: 13
Chosen Mount: (our waverider mount)
Empathic Link
Mount Proficiency
Wild Cohort: Tiger
11th
Windrider
+8
+12
+2
+12
Handle Animal: 14
Ride: 14
UMD: 14
Mount Assistance
Mount Feat 1
12th
Windrider
+9
+12
+3
+12
Handle Animal: 15
Ride: 15
UMD: 15
Tremendous Charge
*Power Attack*
*Bonus Feat*
Mount Healing
13th
Warblade
+10
+14
+3
+12
Concentration: 8 (+2)
Handle Animal: 16
Ride: 16
UMD: 16
Battle clarity (Reflex saves)
Weapon Aptitude
Stance: Leading the Charge
Maneuvers:
Steel Wind
Iron Heart Surge
Mithral Tornado
14th
Windrider
+11
+15
+3
+13
Handle Animal: 17
Ride: 17
UMD: 17
15th
Windrider
+12
+15
+3
+13
Handle Animal: 18
Ride: 18
UMD: 18
Cleave
Mount Feat 2
Mount Friendship
16th
Windrider
+13
+16
+4
+14
Handle Animal: 19
Ride: 19
UMD: 19
17th
Windrider
+14
+16
+4
+14
Handle Animal: 20
Ride: 20
UMD: 20
*Combat Reflexes*
*Bonus Feat*
Mount Link
18th
Windrider
+15
+17
+4
+15
Handle Animal: 21
Ride: 21
UMD: 21
Greater Cleave
19th
Windrider
+16
+17
+5
+15
Handle Animal: 22
Ride: 22
UMD: 22
Mount Feat 3
Mount Luck
20th
Windrider
+17
+18
+5
+16
Handle Animal: 23
Ride: 23
UMD: 23
This template can be added with some time and gold investment (via Handle Animal) to Cringer and Adam. Regarding the time.. Note that due to Orko using his wild cohort and special mount, they don't need to be reared, sole trained. The sole lil problem here is the Handle Animal DC (25+HD for Magical Beasts like He-man). Even at lvl 9 that is a DC of 39. For that we will abuse a scroll/wand of Guidance of the Avatar (+20 to a single skill roll): take 10 + 12 ranks + 20 = 42
The template gives some nice stuff:
* Proficiency with light, medium and heavy armor: gives the needed protection without wasting feats.
* gives the rider a +2 circumstance bonus on all Ride checks
* +10 speed: always nice for ubercharger builds
* +1 HD: improves the feat and skill progression.
* +3 STR & CON: He-man and Cringer both welcome this lil untyped bonus.
* +2 WIS: He-man may not be the brightest one (max INT:9) but always has some wise words for the end of the episode (base WIS 14 +2 = 16 max). This is especially true for Cringer (INT:2; WIS: 12 +2 = 14 max).
We start out with a simple Heavy Horse (https://www.d20srd.org/srd/monsters/horse.htm) to have a mount for our medium sized human. At lvl 7 we can exchange it to a Fleshraker and ride it as a Kobold (Humanoid Shape).
Finally at lvl 10 we exchange it a last time to get a tiger (https://www.d20srd.org/srd/monsters/tiger.htm). With a tiger we have a -9 effective lvl penalty for its progression. Thus it gets up to +5HD, +2 STR, +5NA and Evasion.
We will also add the Warbeast template via Handle Animal to him. The most important things here are the +1HD and the +3 STR.
This gives the tiger 2 ability score increases and 2 feats from the additional HD.
Battlecat now has up to 28 STR (23 +2 +3) without gear.
As feats we will pick Tunnel Fighting first to be able to fight in tight spaces without penalty (e.g inside of buildings). With the other we take Martial Study: Wolf Fang Strike. The latter is sole to access "Sudden Leap" via Tiger Claw Bracers (see items). That allows for a single swift action jump per encounter. As the main mount this is a very nice ability to have, even if it comes very late.
Invest all skillpoints into jump (1 / bonus HD = +6 ranks max).
We pick a Cachalot Whale as base animal here and name it Adam (turns into a Magical Beast!). Note that the waverider mount allows SLA to be shared (which is special compared to how share spell works for familiars and animal companions). This allows Orko to share Humanoid Shape with Adam to transform him into a Human (He-man). Note that Humanoid Shape keeps your ability scores. Since Adam's/He-man's progression is a bit overloaded, I made a separate table for him. (you can also have a separate Humanoid Shape for "Adam" if you want the fluff to be able to switch between him and He-man).
CLVL = Orko's character lvl
A. HD = Adam's total HD, 12 base and +1 from Warbeast (Note: as magical beast HD = BAB)
STR = Strength total; 35 base +3 from the Warbeast template
AC = Adam's Armor Class total in humanoid form (includes +1 DEX)
Waverider total bonuses
Windrider total bonuses
Ability Score increases from HD is also totaled to keep the same format
* = Mount Bonus Feat from Windrider
CLVL
A. HD
Feats
Features
STR
AC
9
15
Weapon Prodiency:
Bastard Sword
+2 STR; +2HD; +2NA; INT:6
Improved Evasion
Share Spells
Eempathic Link
Share Saving Throws
40
13
10
17
+2 STR; +2HD; +4NA
+1 STR @ 16HD
43
17
11-13
19
Mounted Combat
*Power Attack*
+3 STR; +4HD; +4NA; INT:7
Speak with creatures of
its kind
44
19
14
21
Cleave
+2 STR; +4HD; +6NA
+2 STR @ 20 HD
45
21
15-16
23
*Close Quater Fighting*
+4 STR; +6HD; +5NA; INT:8
Fast Movement
46
22
17-18
25
Gr. Cleave
+4 STR; +6HD; +8NA
+3 STR @ 24 HD
49
24
19
27
*Combat Reflexes*
+6 STR; +8HD; +6NA; INT:9
Spell Resistance
51
25
20
29
Spirited Charge
+4 STR; +8HD; +10NA
+4 STR @ 28 HD
52
27
Adam's He-man's Skills:
The main skill to push is Ride to defend Battlecat from attacks. (+17 ranks)
________________
We start out as a simple horseman with some natural affinity to using magic items (UMD is a class skill for all classes).
Saddleback allows to always take-10 for Ride checks. But the real deal is that every round we can reroll a failed Reflex save with a Ride roll for either one or both (Orko & his mount).
Soon Orko unlocks his draconic breath weapon. Endure Exposure protects his allies from his breath. Detect Magic and Identify at will are always handy. Mounted Combat allows Orko to make a Ride check once per turn to avoid a melee attack against his mount.
We exchange the horse temporary for a fleshraker. To be able to ride it, we will turn into a Kobold via Humanoid Shape. Finally we summon an Imp as familiar. It will serve as rider for Orko (note the shared skill ranks for familiars). For the meanwhile this will be our combat formation.
Dragonscale Husk provides Orko with a nice armor bonus (counts as medium armor, but doesn't have any arcane spell failure %). It starts with a +6 armor bonus, which increases up to +10 on the later leves. It also provides up to 10 resistance against acid, cold, electricity, and fire at later levels. Pick blue dragon for your scale color to match Orko's skin color.
With a Rider's Shield Orko can share his shield bonus with his mount.
We get a Cachalot Whale as a new mount and name it Adam. With Humanoid Shape we can compress his stats unchanged into a humanoid form. As He-man he sole wields a Bastard Sword (if you wanna ignore the full and go for power, pick a lance instead).
The fleshrake gets now exchanged to a tiger. Cringer/Battlecat can now serve as mount for He-man.
With Tremendous Charge Orko can abuse He-Man's super high STR modifier for his dmg rolls with a lance on a mounted charge.
Bounded Familiar is a nice defensive option. 1/day you can save your familiar from dying to HP dmg by taking it instead. And the familiar can do the same for Orko 1/day.
We get a small but very nice selection of maneuvers for Orko.
Iron Heart Surge is a nice panic button and is just priceless.
Both Steel Wind and Mithral Tornado are standard actions that can be used during a mounted charge. Note that the mount uses the charge action and that the rider sole counts as charging. The rider can spend his actions as he wants and still count as charging. Thus these maneuvers can be excecuted during a mounted charge. Steel Wind allows to attack 2 enemies at full BAB and Mithral Tornado all enemies around you. Note that neither one excludes itself from Cleave procs (like the Whirlwind feat would do as example). Kill the squishy enemies first and stack all cleave attacks on the biggy for the total overkill.
And while we are at Cleave, both He-man and Orko get Greater Cleave. This will ensure that everything in reach will die.
________________
10 Wish scrolls (for Orko)
Share +5 to STR & CON with He-man and Battle Cat (and even your unnamed Imp familiar if you want).
+6 STR & CON item (for Orko, He-man & Battle Cat)
Together with the insight bonus from wish, He-man can push his STR score to a total possible maximum of 63.
That is a +26 STR modifier and a 2h dmg bonus of +39! Combined with a BAB of +29 He-man should always hit his target. There should still be some room for Power Attack, while still hitting every attack. The CON is nice for the extra HP and Orko's breath DC.
+2 Knight's Sword >> +5 Valorous (He-man)
This is a special bastard sword that deals double damage on a mounted charge. Valorous adds another charge multiplier.
Combined with Spritited Charge and a flying dive, He-man can get up to a x5 charge damage multiplier.
+1 Griffonlance of Goring >> +5 Valorous (Orko)
Buy a Griffonlance of Goring for Orko to get Spirited Charge for free. Improve it to +5 and add the Valorous special ability (another charge multiplier)
Since Tremendous Charge has a minimal chance to destroy the lance (in our case a natural rolled 1 on the save), consider talking to your DM if Riverine or Auroroum as material can bypass that problem. By strict RAW they don't, but the fluff implies they should. Otherwise have a bottomless bag filled with spare lances..^^
+5 Valorous Necklace of Natural Attacks (Battle Cat)
see above
Riding Boots (for Orko & He-man)
Gives +5 competence bonus to Ride and Ride-By-Attack. The extra mobility after a charge is nice. Also provides another charge multiplier with lances. Orko can get up to a x6 multiplier for his lance (lance x2; Spirited Charge x3; Riding Boots x4; Valorous weapon x5; flying dive/charge x6).
Battle Bridle (attached to Orko for his Imp familiar)
Gives the Imp familiar "Mounted Combat" and thus allows it to make Ride checks to avoid a melee attack per turn against Orko. Remind you that Orko shares his skill ranks with his familiar.
Tiger Claw Bracers: Sudden Leap (Battlecat)
These give access to the Sudden Leap maneuver which allows for a swift action jump each encounter. As the main mount in our combo, this is a nice mobility item.
Phoenix Cloak (mainly for Orko but also optional for Battle Cat)
Fly all day with perfect maneuverability. If you buy also one for Cringer, this enables the trio to make diving charge attacks for another charge multiplier.
+5 Full Plate (optional for "Battle Armor He-man" ^^)
Pick any material (mithral/adamantine/..) you like since He-man has sole 13 DEX. Add any amor special abilities you like.
Barding - Mithral Breastplate +5 (Battlecat)
For a tiger it is more like a blackplate I guess^^.
Wands
Besides from "Guidance of the Avatar" pick anything you like. Our invisible Imp familiar can also use these to buff allies while remaining hidden/invisible.
Hat of Many Spells (fluff option for Orko)
Presto's hat from the animated series. It's basically a rod of wonders with some extra gadgets (exchange a prepared spell to one from spellbook and some free meta). The main purpose here is to resemble Orko's mischievous magic.
Crown of the North Wind (alternative optimized hat option for Orko)
Allow Orko to use the secondary effects of some metallic dragons for his own breath (either paralyze, sleep or weakened).
Perl of Speech (Battlecat)
For the fluff. But remind you that the INT:2 is still limiting here.
Final Words
I hope you enjoyed this silly build. He-man can achieve up to 63 STR. Imho a fitting score for the title strongest man of the universe. And the best part is, Orko can abuse the STR too. Add Charge multipliers all over the place and you get some broken damage output.
Battlecat, He-man and Orko can all avoid a melee attack per turn with a Ride check made by the rider. Orko's rider is invisble all day long and doesn't take any offensive actions to remain invisible. Imho a safe combo.
And since CON is the mainstat of the build, Orko and his familiar have some decent HP values. Same goes for He-man with his 29HD.
As always, an update may follow and I would appreciate any kind of feedback. Let me know what you think about the build.