You just gained a level in real life: 2021 edition!

[Troacctid]

How will Dragon Cohort work? I presume that like Leadership, I'll pick one of my IRL cohorts and give them class levels and whatnot. Presumably this will turn them into a Dragon. But will the Dragon be a Wyrmling with class levels? Will it be a Dragon of the same age as the person I selected? Of the same age category the person? Does this restrict me to choosing someone young enough to fit within the ECL limit of my Dragon Cohort Leadership?

Presumably Undead Leadership lets me pick one of my dead IRL cohorts and give them an undead template + class levels. Is that correct? Not the best way to Rezz a relative, but it's better than nothing.

No, you would pick one of your friends who is already a dragon (or undead), and they would become a cohort.

About BoVD sacrifice rules?

And Pact Certain / Insidious? ( Fiendish Codex )

No.

never posted in one of these before but ....

commoner 16 (growing up)
artificer 6 (construction)
fighter 13 (army)
artificer +13 (construction)
rogue 13 (bum)
Commoner +1 (retired)

guess that makes me 62 like my birth cert. says

;-D))))))

This is your first year, so you'd be level 1. Did you want to go with commoner?

Got it. So we're using game rules instead of RL rules for that at least. How about the Diplomacy (and Charm+Diplomacy) working on RL folks without PC class levels (aka NPCs)? Did that also work under strict RAW, or was it houseruled to work differently?

No, remember the FAQ:

Most things work the way they'd be expected to work in an actual fantasy world, so if one interpretation of a rule would break established D&D canon if it were true, and another wouldn't, the latter one is more likely to be correct.

Inertial armor provides no protection from disease in the fantasy world, so why would it do so in our world?

[Powerdork]

I've changed to become a MASKS NPC who can suffer only one condition.

Nah, but here we are in the d20 subforum, and avowed gets a damage increase at level 3. I've felt spiteful all year.

Spoiler: Third-party Pathfinder

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New choices: Spark of Divinity as a feat to be able to cast bless, simply because I want good people to be blessed; weatherproofing clause, so I can chill anywhere, basically, and so can the people who stay with me.
Skill ranks up.

Human shadow avowed 3
Medium outsider (human, native, psionic)
Move 30 (+15 if in shadow, useable only at end of move), constant detect magic, night watch (see below)
Abilities: Strength 13, Dexterity 8, Constitution 11, Intelligence 12, Wisdom 9, Charisma 12.
AC 9 (-1 Dex; +4 after moving 30 feet), CMD 12 (+1 Str, -1 Dex, +2 BAB), Fort +4, Ref +0, Will +2. HP 10-24 (3d8).
Traits: Mixed Blood (Outsider) (Dreamscarred Press's Bloodforge), Life of Toil
Feats: Unlocked Talent (expansion), Ancestor's Breath (cone of sonic 3d6, DC 11, Bloodforge), Pactbound Guardian (red panda familiar), Spark of Divinity (bless 1/day, Bloodforge)
Pulse Shapes: aether beam 2d6 (Ref 12 half), aether blade +2 touch (2d6+1 untyped; crits: 20/4d6+2 untyped), aether bolt +1 ranged touch in 60 ft. (2d6 untyped; crits: 20/3d6 untyped).
Clause: lock and key (creates an arcane lock and I'm aware if it's opened within a mile, and I can decide whether it deals 2d6 untyped damage (Ref 11 half) to those nearby who bypass it, magic trap DC 13), reveal your secrets (basically dragonfire adept's magic insight crossed with scholar's touch and amanuensis), weatherproofing (the classic protection from the elements and friendly fire), bonus clause night watch (touch: subject can see in darkness, even magical darkness, for 24 hours)
Skills (18 + 3 Int + 3 favoured class + 3 human): Acrobatics +7, cross-class Climb +2, cross-class Disable Device +4, Disguise +7, Knowledge (the planes) +1 (untrained), Linguistics +7, Perception +5, Sense Motive +5 (add +1 when seeing their shadow), Spellcraft +7, Stealth (pact skill) +8.

As for the 3.5 AU: Double damage breath weapon and Breath of the Night seem potent. I've got senses like nobody's business.

Spoiler: 3.5 DFA

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Human dragonfire adept 3
Medium humanoid (human, dragonblood)
Abilities: Strength 13, Dexterity 8, Constitution 11, Intelligence 10, Wisdom 9, Charisma 12.
AC 11 (-1 Dex, +2 natural), Fort +3, Ref +0, Will +2; +3 on saves against magic sleep, paralysis, electricity. HP 7-22 (3d8-3).
Flaws: Frail (-3 hp)
Feats: Dragontouched (+1 hp, sense skill bonus), Draconic Heritage (blue) [Draconic], Draconic Knowledge +3 [Draconic], Draconic Senses +3 [Draconic]
Class feature: breath weapon 2d6 fire (Ref 11 halves), breath effect (line: lightning breath)
Invocations: Draconic Knowledge, Breath of the Night
Skills (4 + 1 human per level): Listen +9, Search +10, Spot +9, Jump +7, Climb +7
Untrained (but counts as trained): Knowledge (each) +9 (buffed)

[Conradine]

Mah, you should at least allow some XP for serial killing commoners.

[Elvensilver]

Ranger 1 makes me a Bard2/Ranger1.
Favorite Enemy - I guess vermin? Might help against bacteria and viruses, and it's never to early to invest in health. Yay for the fortitude save and the skill ranks!

[TherianTheorist]

Not sure how to spend this year's level, but definitely regret some things I put into my build from the previous year I participated in (though much of that regret is in just not thinking I'll make it to higher levels).

Then again, I'm not sure if I can even take another cleric level (possibly with changes to archtype) or if I'll have to start over this year since I both missed the last one, and have since changed usernames.

Having had more time to think about it, part of the frustration is that second level is mostly an extra first level spell each day, though there are a few really good spells out there, especially if 3rd party content is allowed.

Assuming the alternate reality where I had a year of more of level one's benefits, I'd probably spend level two getting more into hunting and all that connection with nature I always wanted and never felt like I could get. Or I'd be casting Diagnose Disease often, given what the past year was.

[Quertus]

Mah, you should at least allow some XP for serial killing commoners.

IIRC, you do get those XP (sort of)… and can use them to power XP costs. XP have nothing to do with levels in this thread series.

IIRC (darn senility).

[MinimanMidget]

Human Psychic Rogue 1
Str 9, Dex 12, Con 11, Int 13, Wis 10, Cha 8
Skills: Autohypnosis 4, Concentration 4, Hide 4, Listen 4, Move Silently 4, Open Lock 4, Sleight of Hand 4, Spot 4
Powers known: Compression (no PP to use it with, though )
Feats: Able Learner, Point Blank Shot

Of course, by next year I probably won't remember where I was going with this.

[Kalkra]

IIRC, you do get those XP (sort of)… and can use them to power XP costs. XP have nothing to do with levels in this thread series.

IIRC (darn senility).

Sadly, at least as of some previous threads, you don't get xp for killing things. It just kinda trickles in over time, (at a rate of about 20 xp per level per week, or about 1,000 xp per level per year, which is the maximum any character can have,) and there's no way to farm it.

I could be wrong about the numbers, and it's not clear what happens if you lose a level and then use a thought bottle, or get hit by a Restoration for that matter.

This is kinda the one area where things aren't intuitive, but as the OP mentioned, if everyone was just farming their way to level 20 in a week, it wouldn't be very interesting. Also, there would be a lot of dead commoners.

[holbita]

I think I am going to take a first level of Lurk. I know I want a psicrystal for sure so that leaves me with psionic classes, not planning on taking soulknife and I don't enjoy the anger management of wilders, divine mind and ardent are too close minded for my taste with their beliefs, I don't feel like doing enough instrospection to be a psion and I defenitely don't have enough wisdom to be a psychic warrior as I keep wondering where did I put the phone that is literally in front of me. That leaves psychic rogue and lurk and I enjoy playing lurk more than psychic rogue so there it is.

[Telonius]

So 2015 was an encounter that gave enough XP to level a character up to 1st.

2016, to 2nd. (This is where things started getting deadly for celebs and weird for the rest of us).

The years have been getting crazier until 2020 (the craziest one yet) gives enough XP to level us to 6th.

What forces have we been meddling with?!

[Quertus]

Sadly, at least as of some previous threads, you don't get xp for killing things. It just kinda trickles in over time, (at a rate of about 20 xp per level per week, or about 1,000 xp per level per year, which is the maximum any character can have,) and there's no way to farm it.

I could be wrong about the numbers, and it's not clear what happens if you lose a level and then use a thought bottle, or get hit by a Restoration for that matter.

This is kinda the one area where things aren't intuitive, but as the OP mentioned, if everyone was just farming their way to level 20 in a week, it wouldn't be very interesting. Also, there would be a lot of dead commoners.

I thought this was the thread that involved "XP = *experiences*". And going all "serial killer" should certainly qualify as an experience.

So 2015 was an encounter that gave enough XP to level a character up to 1st.

2016, to 2nd. (This is where things started getting deadly for celebs and weird for the rest of us).

The years have been getting crazier until 2020 (the craziest one yet) gives enough XP to level us to 6th.

What forces have we been meddling with?!

Maybe one of our future selves Wished for us to have had eventful lives?

[Kalkra]

I thought this was the thread that involved "XP = *experiences*". And going all "serial killer" should certainly qualify as an experience.

Q: How fast does xp accumulate?
A: Just to give a sense of scale for xp expenditures, you can figure a maximum of about 20 xp per level per week, assuming you are having meaningful life experiences. The amount of xp you can hold at a time is limited to your level x 1000. (This is based on the xp a character of your level could have in-game.) This is only used for xp costs, not for leveling up; to level up, you just post in the yearly thread, and that's it.

From last year's thread. I tried getting more specifics, but didn't get much.

[Quertus]

From last year's thread. I tried getting more specifics, but didn't get much.

Well, sure. I'm just saying that "going serial killer" sounds like it qualifies for those meaningful life experiences.

[Wildstag]

Multi-classing a third time would be a tad ridiculous...

Looking at my reasoning for why I take the levels I do (in 2016 and 2020) is interesting. I definitely don't think I'm the same person I was that I would (were I starting out) take Barbarian or Druid levels. I know what I like, and I know what I don't. The only things I'm certain I'd still have taken is the Non-Elite Array and the feat Wild Cohort. I'm not rebuilding though, because again, that's a tad ridiculous. ANYWAYS...

Profession would be new. I'd take a level of Druid in addition to my previous levels.

Level 3 Neutral Good Human Barbarian1/Shapeshift-Druid2

Ability Scores:

Strength 12
Dexterity 8
Constitution 10
Intelligence 9
Wisdom 13
Charisma 11

BAB and Saves:

Base Attack/Grapple: +2/+3

Saves: Fort +5, Ref -1, Will +5

Skills: Climb 4 ranks, Survival 4 ranks, Swim 4 ranks, Listen 4 ranks, Knowledge (Nature) 2 ranks, Spot 2 ranks, Profession (Wilderness Guide) 3 ranks

Spells: I would prepare Light, Mending, and Cure Minor Wounds on a regular basis. As a side note, Know Direction is hot garbage. For my 1st level spell, Endure Elements daily, Goodberry before an expedition, and either Produce Flame or Shillelagh (probably the latter) as a combat option.

0th: 1 Light, 2 Mending, 1 Cure Minor Wounds

1st: 1 Endure Elements, 1 Shillelagh

Feats: Extra Rage, Reckless Rage, Wild Cohort

Flaw: Wild (Dragon 329)

Class Features: Fast Movement, illiteracy, Rage 3/day, Nature Sense (+2 Knowledge (Nature) and Survival), Wild Empathy, Shapeshift (Predator Form: Puma), Woodland Stride

Wild Cohort: Still a Light Horse.

With Predator Form and Rage, I get 22 Strength. Pretty good for level 3 and the non-elite array.

Equipment: a really sturdy 5' staff carved from Hornbeam (this is a thing I actually have).

[Coventry]

it's time to deviate from my previous four levels, and multiclass!

This year, I would like one level in the Pathfinder Shaman class (unsworn shaman archetype).

The flexibility of this archetype to change the chosen hex each day appeals a lot to me. Having access to the first level shaman spells list is pretty nice, as well.

new combination: Summoner(Synthesist) 4/Shaman (Unsworn) 1

[Menzath]

Goodness. Is it really already this time of the year again?

I suppose first thing is a thank you to Troacctid for for posting this, and saving all the information we have posted over the years. O7

I suppose I will go with another level of Erudite(spell to power) and once again I will be lazy and leave feats, skills, powers, and attributes to next year's me.

[H_H_F_F]

I've got a question regarding attributes:

I get that they aren't supposed to represent who I am. Given that, are they purely mechanical, or will they affect me personally? Meaning, if I have an 8 in Cha, will it only mean I can't cast sorcerer spells, or will it also make me suddenly less convincing, attractive, etc?

[SirNibbles]

1 more level of Mystic Ranger. Next level I'll be immune to disease thanks to being able to take Tattooed Monk (Crane Tattoo).

Human
STR: 10
DEX: 14
CON: 9
INT: 11
WIS: 12
CHA: 8


Archivist 1

Mystic Ranger 1/Archivist 1
ACF: Voice of the City (replaces Wild Empathy)
Granted Feat: Track

Mystic Ranger 2/Archivist 1
Favoured Enemy: Human

Mystic Ranger 3/Archivist 1
Combat Style Feat: Two Weapon Fighting
DEX: 13 -> 14

Mystic Ranger 4/Archivist 1

[Alcore]

Another level of summoner.


For skills; craft (alchemy, always wanted to), profession (instant 20% productivity and pay is a win), spellcraft and use magic device.

[Troacctid]

I've got a question regarding attributes:

I get that they aren't supposed to represent who I am. Given that, are they purely mechanical, or will they affect me personally? Meaning, if I have an 8 in Cha, will it only mean I can't cast sorcerer spells, or will it also make me suddenly less convincing, attractive, etc?

The second one, but in relative terms, so the -1 modifier applies to whatever you were at already.

[Wildstag]

It's almost a shame that I replied to the thread in 2016 with less game knowledge then than I have now; or rather, that I only really discovered Mystic Ranger in the last 18 months.

I'd honestly say that given everything that I do in life, being neither particularly arcane (in a mysterious sense) or warrior-like (in the sense of being a trained fighter), I'd probably fit better as a Mystic Ranger (without multiclass). Probably a Predator Mystic Ranger for the wild-shape (which works well for the whole Shapeshift-Druid thing).

Shame about no rebuilding, tbh, because now I just have to approximate the Mystic Ranger in the years to come. That'll be a fun journey.

[Firebug]

Ok, since rebuilding a class level is off the table, let's go with retraining my 3rd level feat from Craft Wonderous to Spell Focus(Conjuration).
I'll be picking up a level of Master Specialist this time around. Human Paragon would be interesting, but I think I would have wanted to start it at level 2. I should have also started Master Specialist at 4th, but I didn't pay enough attention last year. Ideally, I would have crafted a few things from Craft Wondrous Items... like a custom workbench that gives the Craft Wondrous Item feat while working at it.

Spoiler: Firebug: Current Build

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1: Specialist Wizard(Conjuration) 1: Immediate Magic (PH2) (Enchantment, Evocation Banned)
Str: 9, Dex 10, Con 11, Wis 8, Int 13+2, Cha 12
1st feat: Extend Spell, Human: Variant +2 Int;
Concentration 4, Spellcraft 4, Knowledge(Arcana) 4, Craft(Jewelry) 4
Spellbook 0th:All(except enchantment/evocation)
Spellbook 1st: Mage Armor, Comprehend Language, Fist of Stone, Shield, Unseen Servant, Endure Elements

2: Specialist Wizard(Conjuration) 2
+1 Concentration, Spellcraft, Knowledge(Arcana), Craft(Jewelry)
Spellbook 1st: Low-light Vision, Disguise Self

3: Specialist Wizard(Conjuration) 3
3rd feat: Craft Wondrous Item -> Retrained to -> Spell Focus(Conjuration)
+1 Concentration, Spellcraft, Knowledge(Arcana), Craft(Jewelry)
Spellbook 2nd: Cloud of Knives, Invisibility

4: Specialist Wizard(Conjuration) 4
4th ability increase: +1 Int
+1 Concentration, Spellcraft, Knowledge(Arcana), Craft(Jewelry), Knowledge(The Planes)
Spellbook 2nd: Glitterdust, Cloud of Bewilderment

5: Master Specialist(Conjuration) 1
Bonus feat: Skill Focus(Spellcraft)
+1 Concentration, Spellcraft, Knowledge(Arcana), Craft(Jewelry), Knowledge(The Planes)
Spellbook 3rd: Icelance, Haste

[Troacctid]

Ok, since rebuilding a class level is off the table, let's go with retraining my 3rd level feat from Craft Wonderous to Spell Focus(Conjuration).
I'll be picking up a level of Master Specialist this time around. Human Paragon would be interesting, but I think I would have wanted to start it at level 2. I should have also started Master Specialist at 4th, but I didn't pay enough attention last year. Ideally, I would have crafted a few things from Craft Wondrous Items... like a custom workbench that gives the Craft Wondrous Item feat while working at it.

Spoiler: Firebug: Current Build

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1: Specialist Wizard(Conjuration) 1: Immediate Magic (PH2) (Enchantment, Evocation Banned)
Str: 9, Dex 10, Con 11, Wis 8, Int 13+2, Cha 12
1st feat: Extend Spell, Human: Variant +2 Int;
Concentration 4, Spellcraft 4, Knowledge(Arcana) 4, Craft(Jewelry) 4
Spellbook 0th:All(except enchantment/evocation)
Spellbook 1st: Mage Armor, Comprehend Language, Fist of Stone, Shield, Unseen Servant, Endure Elements

2: Specialist Wizard(Conjuration) 2
+1 Concentration, Spellcraft, Knowledge(Arcana), Craft(Jewelry)
Spellbook 1st: Low-light Vision, Disguise Self

3: Specialist Wizard(Conjuration) 3
3rd feat: Craft Wondrous Item -> Retrained to -> Spell Focus(Conjuration)
+1 Concentration, Spellcraft, Knowledge(Arcana), Craft(Jewelry)
Spellbook 2nd: Cloud of Knives, Invisibility

4: Specialist Wizard(Conjuration) 4
4th ability increase: +1 Int
+1 Concentration, Spellcraft, Knowledge(Arcana), Craft(Jewelry), Knowledge(The Planes)
Spellbook 2nd: Glitterdust, Cloud of Bewilderment

5: Master Specialist(Conjuration) 1
Bonus feat: Skill Focus(Spellcraft)
+1 Concentration, Spellcraft, Knowledge(Arcana), Craft(Jewelry), Knowledge(The Planes)
Spellbook 3rd: Icelance, Haste

You can't take a prestige class on the same level that you gain the prerequisites. I'm afraid that means you'll need to wait another year to take master specialist.

[Firebug]

You can't take a prestige class on the same level that you gain the prerequisites. I'm afraid that means you'll need to wait another year to take master specialist.

Hm, I read "The decision to retrain must be implemented before the benefits of any newly attained level are applied" to take that retraining is basically Step 0 in the leveling up procedure before a class is chosen for the level. And the restriction on 'you must have the prereqs already' is because normally Step 1 is choosing the class when you have no opportunity of gaining another feat/skills/etc.

[Kalkra]

It's almost a shame that I replied to the thread in 2016 with less game knowledge then than I have now; or rather, that I only really discovered Mystic Ranger in the last 18 months.

I'd honestly say that given everything that I do in life, being neither particularly arcane (in a mysterious sense) or warrior-like (in the sense of being a trained fighter), I'd probably fit better as a Mystic Ranger (without multiclass). Probably a Predator Mystic Ranger for the wild-shape (which works well for the whole Shapeshift-Druid thing).

Shame about no rebuilding, tbh, because now I just have to approximate the Mystic Ranger in the years to come. That'll be a fun journey.

The lack of rebuilding is why I was looking at Necropolititian. That being said, eventually there will be people who can cast Enervate and Restoration on you.

Hm, I read "The decision to retrain must be implemented before the benefits of any newly attained level are applied" to take that retraining is basically Step 0 in the leveling up procedure before a class is chosen for the level. And the restriction on 'you must have the prereqs already' is because normally Step 1 is choosing the class when you have no opportunity of gaining another feat/skills/etc.

I thought so too, but the very next sentence seems to indicate otherwise.

[TalonOfAnathrax]

I'm seeing people regret their previous choices, so I'll chime in too: in hindsight, I really should have picked a divine caster and not an arcane one. Arcane casting has a lot of daily utility (servants, cleaning, mobility) but it's not the best at low/mid-level divination and healing. Sure my build will theoretically cheese anything it wants at high levels, but in the mid levels I think I'm likely to regret my limited ability to heal people and/or avoid disasters. And at high levels, any Tier 1 spellcaster can do effectively anything if they're willing to put in the time and effort. Some things are easier for Clerics and some for Wizard, but ultimately there's a lot of overlap - so it's really about the low levels and mid levels.

If this were real, at the first big problem in my personal life I'd start regretting taking the class which makes my personal life more fun/convenient and not the class which makes me able to save others.
This thought was brought to you by a discussion with a loved one, who said "if you make me your cohort in this thing, you'd better make me a Cleric so I can avoid dying in a stupid car accident in the long wait until high levels".

On the other hand, IIRC back when I decided to start with Sha'ir I was concerned by other posters in the thread who were talking about taking over the world, and it's true that for personal safety and ability to wreck other Tier 1 casters it's hard to beat an arcane caster with access to Divine Defiance. The Sorc/Wiz spell list has a bunch of good stuff that Clerics have to deliberately build towards, so that's convenient. But how likely am I to need to fight, really? It's not like I'm planning on making big shows of magic or anything...
My IRL life is satisfying, and I'm most likely to simply keep at it with added Unseen Servant, Prestidigitation, Endure Elements and minor utility crafting (an item of continues Disguise Self is still my first priority, even three years after starting this build). The whole with great power comes great responsibility thing is real, but I know myself: I'm practical, cautious, and most likely to talk myself into waiting a decade or two until the crazy high levels before I start trying to "fix the world".
It's not like I have any idea where to start, anyway - I'm self-aware enough to know that I'd struggle to effectively implement anything if I tried it alone (and without Int- and skill-buffs). And of course the main obstacle between "1 high-level caster" and "making big steps towards fully automated luxury space communism a post-scarcity utopia" is dying at mid levels, so that's certainly an incentive towards avoiding risks until you can solve climate change or whatever.

After chatting about this sort of thing with an IRL friend, I've come to the conclusion that my current build is flawed. Sure in the short term it's a very versatile arcane caster and in the long term it's a cheese machine for all the usual Incantatrix/Dweomerkeeper reasons. But with proper use of Feats it's entirely possible to make a Chameleon build that can do the same sort of high-level shenanigans while taking lots of immediate high-value low-level dips. Start by dipping 5 classes that bring immediate benefits (Cloistered Cleric 1/Egoist Psion 1/Binder 1/Abrupt Jaunt Wizard 1/Swordsage 1 would be good for disguises and social skills and fit the Chameleon theme), but spend Feats with an eye on grabbing crafting + 9ths eventually. Then use the final 5 post-Chameleon levels to grab useful PrC abilities (Incantatrix?). Chameleon even increases two stats by +6, which is useful to meet casting stat requirements!
And of course, in hindsight I should probably have gone for some sort of Shadowcraft Mage Infinite Shadow Miracle build or something (a quick brainstorm suggests someone could make that work at level 10, even with the difficulty of becoming a Gnome). But at the time it felt "too cheesy", despite this explicitly not being a real game balanced to an actual table of players...

On second thoughts, this sort of build with a massive payoff in the mid levels seems perfect for a cohort! Grab Leadership a little late and suddenly give your cohort 10+ levels of a class like Binder (for infinite Summon Monster, healing, etc) or a detailed cheese-build, and they can reap the benefits without waiting through all those dead levels!

[H_H_F_F]

The second one, but in relative terms, so the -1 modifier applies to whatever you were at already.

That's very clear. Thank you!

[aglondier]

Is there a thread for what "you" do during the year with your leveled capabilities?

[Wildstag]

The lack of rebuilding is why I was looking at Necropolititian. That being said, eventually there will be people who can cast Enervate and Restoration on you.

Enervate could eventually be an option, but I don't see how that combination would help. I'd lose levels, sure, but I'd need a full year to properly gain a class level, which would mean that Restoration would be useless since it only restores levels lost within the last Caster-Level days. Plus, Enervation negative levels don't last long enough to train into a new class.

Nah, I'll probably just have to go Druid X (retrain out of Shapeshift when I hit 5 in the class) then maybe take non-barb full-bab class levels afterwards.

It'll be a fun exercise though, learning how to accommodate my real-world skills in a build that is starting with two levels of waste. Easier to be a lesson for the new players, y'know?

[khadgar567]

continuing from solarian so i have stelar gun and blade