Too many arms?

[Arctura42]

Just an idea I had rolling around, but here goes:

Are we allowed to apply the Arachnoid Template from Underdark and not have our character become neutral evil, or does that make it unbalanced?

Because an Arachnoid Thri-Kreen Totemist would have more natural weapons than I am capable of describing in any sufficiently awesome phrasing.

So that was the one thing I put in my notebook today. Not so much that, it started with a Draconic Arachnoid Human Crusader (I had like 2 whole pages of story for him - though he makes me depressed sometimes), and simply tacked this idea on the side. The other thing was a silly doodle that went something like this:

Tiny Greatsword = Light weapon
Small Greatsword = 1-handed weapon
Medium Greatsword = 2-handed weapon
Large Greatsword = ...4-handed weapon??
Huge Greatsword = 8-handed weapon! (limit of the Thri-kreen Arachnoid)
Gargantuan Greatsword = 8-handed weapon and Strongarm Bracers!
Colossal Greatsword = 8-handed weapon and Strongarm Bracers and Monkey Grip?!

Not too sure if I'm allowed to do that, just wrote it down for laughs. Anyway, back to making weird builds.

[Keld Denar]

3.5 doesn't really work like that anymore. Savage Species (a book published so late in 3.0 that its considered 3.25 or something), has rules for putting multiple hands on a weapon.

Ironically, it also has a magic item called Gloves of Man, which allows you to wield weapons with limbs not normally alowed to wield weapons. That means that all of the arms you get from Insectile, Totemist, the tentacles you get from Illithid Grapple, Deepspawn, and Totemist, and any other limbs you might somehow aquire can all grip a single weapon. You need a specially made weapon (again, see Savage Species), but you get +.5x you Str mod for each hand past the 2nd. With Gloves of Man, you have potentially 10+ more hands, giving you 6.5x +Str mod or something silly. Then just pump Str and watch your damage increase geometrically.

[Arctura42]

But I can do everything else right? That was my main question, though I'm definitely going to look into getting that item.

[Zeta Kai]

Ask the Hecatoncheires.

[Arctura42]

Ask the Hecatoncheires.

He's got an excuse. He's got 52 racial hit die, that's got to be worth something.

[Nada Rakshasa]

Not to be a "Debbie Downer", but isn't the Arachnoid template limited to creatures of Animals or Magical Beasts?

[Makiru]

Not to be a "Debbie Downer", but isn't the Arachnoid template limited to creatures of Animals or Magical Beasts?

It also doesn't have a level adjustment, making it unusable for PCs anyway.

Also, as I recall...wait, I was thinking of the Arms of Man (also SS) that gives limbless creatures arms. Yeah, no, Gloves of Man combined with an arbitrary number of limbs works out dangerously well. Just don't expect to have many other magic items.

[2xMachina]

If you're using SS, Insectile.

No natural weapons, but can hold weapons.

[Arctura42]

However, taking the Draconic Template makes you into a magical beast.

Is it really true that I can't use it because it has no level adjustment? I thought that just meant that it was LA +0. Is that not what it means?

[Escheton]

No it does not, and part of you must be fully aware of that already.

Insectile gives you otherwise non-functional hands/arms. You can hold something, but you can't attack with them.

Magic of ebberron has an item that gives you 1 extra arm that you can pump infusions in to make more alive/usefull.

[Greenish]

Is it really true that I can't use it because it has no level adjustment? I thought that just meant that it was LA +0. Is that not what it means?

LA +0 means LA +0. LA – means the template/monster is not suitable for players.