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View Full Version : What are good creatures to make effigies out of?



Enochi
2008-10-27, 11:25 AM
Hey all I just made an Effigy master and I am trying to find a good creature to my an effigy out of. I know I can stack 2 million templates on one to make it vastly overpowered but I know that wont fly with my dm so I am looking for a nice large creature with 8-10 HD roughly to use. Thanks for your help in advance.

Tengu_temp
2008-10-27, 11:30 AM
Your dead sister. Not necessarily imba, but creeps the other players out and that's what matters!

jcsw
2008-10-27, 12:32 PM
Tengu_Temp's avatar.

But seriously, try a Girallon, 4 Arms means 4 attacks.
Try to persuade your DM to let you change its feats, cause seriously, Toughness?! Also try to get improved grab somehow...

Starbuck_II
2008-10-27, 12:44 PM
Hey all I just made an Effigy master and I am trying to find a good creature to my an effigy out of. I know I can stack 2 million templates on one to make it vastly overpowered but I know that wont fly with my dm so I am looking for a nice large creature with 8-10 HD roughly to use. Thanks for your help in advance.

Sugar and spice and everything nice with a little nuetronuim-X.
Then you create: the power puff girls!

TheCountAlucard
2008-10-27, 12:55 PM
I agree, girallon's not a bad choice. You want your effigy to be able to dish out as many attacks as possible.

Iku Rex
2008-10-27, 01:23 PM
A cave troll (MM3, 9+HD) makes a good effigy.

A rukanyr (FF, 7+HD) has an obscene number of attacks.

A wyvern (7+HD) is a good flying effigy. (Currently planning to build a Gargantuan wyvern effigy as the party's mobile headquarters.) Get a manticore (6+HD) if you want artillery and flight.

TakeV
2008-10-27, 01:47 PM
Tyrannosaurus. Simply for the mental picture of riding into battle on a huge, clockwork dinosaur. Bonus points if you have wands of fireballs, which you rain fiery death upon your foes.

Lochar
2008-10-27, 01:48 PM
Ten headed Cryo/Pyro-Hydra.

monty
2008-10-27, 02:21 PM
Tyrannosaurus. Simply for the mental picture of riding into battle on a huge, clockwork dinosaur. Bonus points if you have wands of fireballs, which you rain fiery death upon your foes.

http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2008/10/8/ (possibly NSFW)

Ganurath
2008-10-27, 02:31 PM
I personally favor a bullette. Burrow speed on a construct means you have free transportation anywhere on the Material Plane, and it's decent in combat to boot.

Enochi
2008-10-27, 03:51 PM
Alot of interesting ideas im looking into alot of them. Though I have one more thing to ask. What is a good one to have that is Medium size or smaller so that is can follow me into most dungeon and houses?

Hawriel
2008-10-27, 03:55 PM
An effigy is just a reprisentative likness. A figrine, statue, painting drawing of any creature or object are effigies. You can make an effigy of any thing. Why not just look in the Monster Manual and pick a monster you like and go with that.

NeoVid
2008-10-27, 03:56 PM
For the heavy hitters, my EM used a Chimera and a Gulgar.

For the Small ones he kept in a Bag of Holding for emergencies, advanced Redcaps. They're fey, so I had to template them to a creature type I could actually make effigies of.

Glimbur
2008-10-27, 04:14 PM
An effigy is just a reprisentative likness. A figrine, statue, painting drawing of any creature or object are effigies. You can make an effigy of any thing. Why not just look in the Monster Manual and pick a monster you like and go with that.

He's probably referring to the Effigy Master class from... not sure, maybe Complete Arcane or Complete Mage or some such. It makes mechanical versions of a monster, and is limited by hit dice. One cheesy thing which the OP has already refused is the fact that many templates, like half dragon, don't add hit dice but do add power so you can RAW stack them on to create an uber-creature.

On topic... a flyer to carry you, perhaps an ogre or some such to carry you in dungeons if Large size isn't an issue, and an ooze for sheer absurdity factor. Unless that's illegal.

The Glyphstone
2008-10-27, 04:37 PM
I've always wanted to play a Tiny sized Artificier/Effigy Master and make myself a Roc effigy, complete with a cockpit in the head to steer it from. Then I start strapping on the custom items to boost maneuverability, add weapons...

Unfortunately, it'd be absurdly expensive to make an 18HD effigy.

Zenos
2008-10-27, 04:39 PM
I've always wanted to play a Tiny sized Artificier/Effigy Master and make myself a Roc effigy, complete with a cockpit in the head to steer it from. Then I start strapping on the custom items to boost maneuverability, add weapons...

Unfortunately, it'd be absurdly expensive to make an 18HD effigy.

But a magical jet fighter is awesome.

The Glyphstone
2008-10-27, 04:43 PM
But a magical jet fighter is awesome.

Well, obviously...

Ok, now I have to figure out how much this thing would actually cost...

61,000 GP for the body. A custom item of constant Cloud Wings and another of constant Greater Wings of Air...Command-word activated items of Fireball on the wingtips, and a command-word activated item of Magic Missile (or Missile Storm) on the beak...

Lochar
2008-10-27, 04:50 PM
25k + 18k, or 43k, plus 1440 XP.

Craftable at Caster Level 13 if you have all five levels of Effigy Master, since you add class level to CL.

The Glyphstone
2008-10-27, 05:04 PM
So, 43K for the main effigy.

A continuous Cloud Wings costs 12,000 GP, or 6,000 GP and 480 XP. A continuous Greater Wings of Air costs 112,000 GP or 56,000GP and 4,480 XP.

That's a bit pricy, but since we're just having fun anyways, we can cut both of those by 30% if we make them only function for Constructs, and build them directly into the effigy. That cuts the Cloud Wings down to 4,000 GP and 320 XP, and the Wings down to 33,600 GP and 2,688 XP.

Now for weapons?

monty
2008-10-27, 05:11 PM
So, 43K for the main effigy.

A continuous Cloud Wings costs 12,000 GP, or 6,000 GP and 480 XP. A continuous Greater Wings of Air costs 112,000 GP or 56,000GP and 4,480 XP.

That's a bit pricy, but since we're just having fun anyways, we can cut both of those by 30% if we make them only function for Constructs, and build them directly into the effigy. That cuts the Cloud Wings down to 4,000 GP and 320 XP, and the Wings down to 33,600 GP and 2,688 XP.

Now for weapons?

By my calculations, they'd be 4200 and 336, and 39200 and 3136. Are you sure you did that right?

Lochar
2008-10-27, 05:16 PM
So, 43K for the main effigy.

A continuous Cloud Wings costs 12,000 GP, or 6,000 GP and 480 XP. A continuous Greater Wings of Air costs 112,000 GP or 56,000GP and 4,480 XP.

That's a bit pricy, but since we're just having fun anyways, we can cut both of those by 30% if we make them only function for Constructs, and build them directly into the effigy. That cuts the Cloud Wings down to 4,000 GP and 320 XP, and the Wings down to 33,600 GP and 2,688 XP.

Now for weapons?

Continuous use, unlimited charges 'wands' of Orb of Electricity/Fire at the wing joints for single fire, same type of 'wands' of Enlarged Fireball and Energy Sub acid enlarged fireballs for AoE effects, and high CL magic missile in the beak for a gatling gun.

monty
2008-10-27, 05:21 PM
high CL magic missile in the beak for a gatling gun.

Too weak. CL 20 Isaac's Greater Missile Storm (from NWN). Enlarged, Widened, Maximized, and/or Empowered, as desired.

Ranis
2008-10-27, 05:27 PM
Cave Troll Effigies will absolutely murder EL12 PCs.

....what? I needed to kill the barbarian.

ocato
2008-10-27, 06:18 PM
A quick glance at a few books reveals that I don't know what the maximum level effigy a creator can make. I assume it's the caster level of the creator? Other than the max HD bump and a few bonuses okay bonuses, I have a hard time seeing why one wouldn't make an Artificer and take the Craft Construct feat instead. I'm not trying antagonize the thread, I'd much rather be enlightened because I don't quite seem to 'get it'.

monty
2008-10-27, 06:34 PM
Other than the max HD bump

That seems like it'd be significant on its own.

Moff Chumley
2008-10-27, 07:52 PM
The Roc jet sounds kickass. Just spell it as ROC, and you're on your way.

Shades of Gray
2008-10-27, 08:01 PM
Hydras (due to their regeneration ability not being blocked by effigy restrictions) can regenerate.

Ravens_cry
2008-10-27, 08:07 PM
Hydras (due to their regeneration ability not being blocked by effigy restrictions) can regenerate.
A regenerating construct?:smallconfused:
Weird. . .

Iku Rex
2008-10-27, 08:19 PM
What is a good one to have that is Medium size or smaller so that is can follow me into most dungeon and houses?You can get a Large creature into most dungeons and houses. I've played a Large PC, I'm playing an artificer with a cave troll effigy right now, and I've never had any major problems with size. At worst the effigy will have to "squeeze (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/combat/movementPositionAndDistance.htm#terrainandObstacle s)" to fit (2 squares instead of 4).

That said, a 8HD (max) deinonychus dinosaur from the MM is a decent choice. Give it girallon's blessing (SpC, lv3) and watch it charge-pounce-rend opponents to pieces. If you can build a 13 HD creature, the legendary ape from MM2 is pretty good. You probably don't have Craft Construct, but if you do, the nimblewright (MM2, see update booklet) is a fairly powerful Medium humanoid-shaped construct.

Iku Rex
2008-10-27, 08:22 PM
Hydras (due to their regeneration ability not being blocked by effigy restrictions) can regenerate.Uh, no.

The hydra (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/monsters/hydra.htm)'s fast healing is a special quality. All special qualities are lost.

Enochi
2008-10-27, 10:33 PM
I heard there is a feat that lets me reduse the cost of effigies any idea where I can find it? Also the reason I didnt make an Artificer is as a rule our dm has is that you start your first character with class and race out of the core book. You can add spells and classes from other sources after 1st level.

Iku Rex
2008-10-27, 10:43 PM
I heard there is a feat that lets me reduse the cost of effigies any idea where I can find it? Extraordinary Artisan from the Eberron Campaign Setting. "When determining the gold piece cost in raw materials you need to craft any item, reduce the base price by 25%."

(Magical Artisan from Player's Guide to Faerun has a similar effect, except it only works for one item creation feat.)

Temp.
2008-10-27, 10:59 PM
Extraordinary Artisan from the Eberron Campaign Setting. "When determining the gold piece cost in raw materials you need to craft any item, reduce the base price by 25%."It might be worth noting that this doesn't reduce time or Experience costs of crafting; there are two other feats for that in the same book (Exceptional Artisan and Legendary Artisan, repsectively). That isn't to say that time costs always matter or that experience costs ever do.