Iron Chef E6 Appetizer Edition, Round XLII

[Venger]

Aerial combos were a mistake

NE Raptoran Druid 5/Stormlord 1

Spoiler: introduction

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Once upon a time, a young raptoran was positively incensed about something, Living in the mountaintop homes of the raptorans, he was… unsatisfied, with ruling over the sky. He was unsatisfied with not being able to fly without a special rite. This young raptoran would find a way.

And so he studied the air currents. Those who had followed the Way of the Four Winds had mastered the use of their wings, yes, but he would do better than them. He could glide upon his wings like the mighty eagles, soaring above the air for a limited time. No matter, he could find a way to gain altitude.

Watching the folk in the deserts below their mountain home, Ja’dee mastered the use of many tools that he found strange- particularly, the Javelin. Though he quickly adapted to it’s use, and turned it indeed into a rapid hail of death from above, where he belonged.

And it was by watching the air-currents that he first learned the simplest of spells- the power to induce the winds to carry him up, to blow him higher so that his wings could flourish. But still, he had no way to hold his newfound height, no way to keep himself on the air once his wings had found the height

The answer came when he looked again at the eagles- one of them, following him around, was helpful enough. After intense training and practice, he could perform a trick they had learned from observing human circuses- as much as the ground-dwellers disgusted him- and the eagle could just muster the strength needed to push him up a few feet. It was barely anything, but he could glide farther with it’s help.

As his mastery of magic and experience with his eagle grew- he met a roadblock. A lightning strike, sent by some kind of priest intending to invade their land. They quickly fell to his Javelins, but the experience was… interesting. The god of storms and thunder? What could be better for a professed master of the skies? This “Talos” grew increasingly prominent in his dreams, until he could feel the stormlord’s vibrating rage in each and every Javelin that left his talons.

A second eagle was found and quickly trained- now he could glide fast, as fast as his peers could fly. With his magic, his eagles, and his Javelins in hand, Ja’dee was ready to scourge the surface

Spoiler: ”The Build”

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Level	Class	Base Attack Bonus	Fort Save	Reflex Save	Will Save	Skills	Feats	Class Features
1st	Druid (Deadly Hunter, Wasteland Druid)	=+0	=+2	=+0	=+2	Concentration 4, Handle Animal 4, Survival 4, spot 4	Great Fortitude, Track (B),	Animal companion, nature sense, wild empathy, AC bonus, Swift Movement, Swift Tracker, Favored Enemy (Humanoid: Human)
2nd	Druid	=+0	=+3	=+0	=+3	Concentration 5, Handle Animal 5, Survival 5, Spot 5	Sand Skimmer (B)
3rd	Druid	=+1	=+3	=+1	=+3	Concentration 6, Handle Animal 6, Survival 6, Spot 6	Weapon Focus (Javelin)	Trackless Step
4th	Druid	=+2	=+4	=+1	=+4	Concentration 7, Handle Animal 7, Survival 7, Spot 7	Heat Endurance (B)
5th	Druid	=+3	=+4	=+1	=+4	Concentration 8, Handle Animal 8, Survival 8, Spot 8
6th	Stormlord	=+3	=+6	=+1	=+6	Concentration 9, Handle Animal 9, Survival 8, Spot 8	Endurance	Enhanced Javelins (+1), Resistance to Electricity 5

Epic Feats
Zen Archery
Point Blank Shot
Far Shot
Wild Cohort
Dead Eye
Plunging Shot
Quick draw
Wild Talent
Psionic Shot
Psionic Meditation

Spoiler: Level 1:

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You're a Druid! Your companion is an Eagle and you have a permanent (Average maneuverability) 20 foot flight. Allow me to explain:

Raptorians glide at 20/ per 5 feet fallen. Cast the spell Updraft at the start of the day- have your Eagle companion attack you, shove attack. Let it hit, fail the shove, get pushed 5 feet up (ensure your Eagle is below you). Glide 20 feet, repeat. You are now gliding everywhere, congrats! Your AC isn’t horrible without armor and you have some other minor benefits, but everyone at low levels is kinda sucky.

Spoiler: Level 2-4:

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Your caster level has increased and you have more Druid spells. Whoop de do, this level doesn’t have a ton of changes
3: Pick up Javelins! Buy darkwood Javelins if you can, and cast brambles on them for more damage
4:remarkably similar to level 2: not very much changes, you just get a bit better at a variety of things because Druid casting is good.

Spoiler: level 5:

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Several things exploded in the background, here. You just got actual flight, but who cares when you can glide everywhere at a rate of 20 feet? You have just gained Call Lightning, which you will use as much as you can because it’s an awesome and thematic spell. Other Druid third level spells exist, but I’m not sure why you’d take any of them when call lightning exists

Spoiler: level 6:

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Welcome to stormlord! All your Javelins get +1 enhancement bonuses, and you get better Druid casting, which is great. Your Javelins are surprisingly accurate for your abhorrent BaB, which is good! Because the damage is about to explode.

Spoiler: Feats; Zen Archery, Point Blank shot, Far Shot

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These three feats just generally empower your Javelins. Zen archery gives you a +2 to hit, far shot means you can be higher in the sky, and Point Blank shot gives you a bonus for staying close to the ground. also, they’re prerequisites for a bunch of stuff

Spoiler: Wild Cohort: Eagle

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Another Eagle to follow you around and shove attack you 10 feet in the air each round between you. I’m reasonably sure this allows you to move 40 feet per turn now, and if you could already do that because glide doesn’t require you to drop 10 feet, you can now control your altitude without needing Updraft!

Spoiler: Dead Eye, Plunging Shot, Quick Draw:

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Gliding does not require a move action, but you’ll want that for the next feat section. Quick draw frees up your move action. Plunging shot is a given, it just helps you deal damage (and better damage than point blank shot) dead eye just increases your damage again- which you’ll need.

Spoiler: Wild Talent, Psionic Shot, Psionic Meditation:

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Move action focus, expend focus to deal extra damage. Simple, quick, and a load of extra damage. Overall, you’re hitting at +9 and dealing 3d6+7 damage if you attack from 30 feet above someone with all these feats, which isn’t bad when you have infinite 40 feet flight and 6th level druid casting

Spoiler: Sources

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Raporan, Plunging Shot: Races of the Wild
Wild Cohort: Web
Huntsman: Unearthed Arcana
Wasteland Druid: Sandstorm
Updraft: Spell Compendium
Brambles/Spikes: Complete Divine
Dead Eye: Dragon Compendium
Zen Archery: Complete Warrior
All else: SRD content