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View Full Version : Help us make a Planar Shepherd.



Frosty
2008-04-10, 02:37 PM
I have a friend with a Druid who likes the idea of a planar shepherd, but doesn't want to overshadow other PCs. Is there a build that will do that? If not, how can we fix the Planar Shepherd to make it not overshadow others?

mostlyharmful
2008-04-10, 02:43 PM
Pick a plane you like that doesn't bend time or isn't populated by uber-powered outsiders. Other than those it's mostly a beefed up druid rather than ridunkulous-on-a-stick. (still pretty ridunkulous all things considered:smalltongue: )

If I was the DM I'd keep a limit on the number of different types of denizen my PC can shift into, and ban the spell-like abilities (all Ex and Su qualities are moooore than enough)

Sstoopidtallkid
2008-04-10, 02:44 PM
Uh, not really. Take a weak plane and you won't be any worse than a Druid, but that's one of those "Better in every way than the base class" PrC's, so essentially, you are unbreaking a Druid, but moreso. Sorry.

Frosty
2008-04-10, 04:00 PM
Well how would you change the class abilities of the PS to make it non-broken?

mostlyharmful
2008-04-10, 04:22 PM
Well how would you change the class abilities of the PS to make it non-broken?

Make it a continuation of druid. Druid is hardass enough as-is. beyound that if you want a link to the planes or outsiders can be done with initiate feats or a LA race. Don't go with PS if you don't want Incantatrixes owning the joint and charge-happy fighters and diplomancers fer chis'sakes!

Bag_of_Holding
2008-04-10, 04:32 PM
To down-power a planar shephard is not really a difficult work. Change the spellcasting progression to every even level (2nd, 4th... etc) and take away its ability to wild shape into a templated magical beast. Now you've got an underpowered Planar Shephard. It's like a mildly superior MoMF.

If you don't want to change the mechanic of the class (I don't like it either), then choose a sub-optimal plane like any other planes apart from Dal Quor (Flowing Time), Fernia (Efreeti) and Shavarath (there's a 20HD demon with CR 25 somewhere- it has a vorpal natural attack, I believe).

Although people say "Ooooh, planar shephards can use time stop, use Wish 3/day as spell-like ability and can wild shape into uber-outsiders!", that is not true.

If you go Dal Quor, you may get that 10:1 time ratio with Planar Bubble (during which you must concentrate), really good quori are quite high-level stuff. With no magical beast to wild shape into, you're no more than a standard druid until you get your Planar Bubble ability.

While Xoriat also displays a time-altering effect (60:1, actually) its only outsider inhabitants are Daelkyr (18HD) and Kaorti. Since rest of creatures are predominantly aberrations, then again you'll have to be in a high-level campaign to pull it off.

Wish 3/day per Efreeti wild shape is good, and with Pit fiend and Balor forms you're a solid fighter/semi-blaster. I can't even criticise this plane (Fernia)! Well, the only magical beast is Zezir, which ain't that uber-cool, so that might compensate a bit, eh?

Shavarath is where it gets really, really interesting. While there's no mb native to the plane, its plethora of outsiders (but funnily enough, no Balor or Pit Fiend) allows one to take advantage of various spell-like abilities of them.

Yes, you can do one of those "uber-powerful" things, but not all at once. If you don't want to overshadow your party members, regardless of which plane you choose just stick to a sub-optimal form. If you don't want to do it, then it would sound rather contradictory- does it not?

Dode
2008-04-10, 06:08 PM
Eh, I'd just take a Planeshifter from Manual of the Planes and tweak the pre-reqs so the Druid is eligible to prestige into it.