Post/Author/DateTime	Post
ToastedAmphibian 08-06-07, 05:49 PM	I wanted to make an awakened leopard as a pc grappler. The stat adjustments seem to be Str+6 Dex+8 Con+4 Int-8 Wis+2 Cha-4 I rolled some stats using the perfered method for my group 5d6, drop the lowest 2 (Using the 37 point stat buy just seemed way to abusive here) and got the following stats before adjustment after adjustment and awaken; str:..16.....22.............22 dex:.18.....26.............26 con:.14.....18.............18 Int:..11......3(2)animal..13(14 +1 from 4th HD) wis:..17.....19.............19 cha:..13......9.............11(rolled a 2 on the d3) Now i get 6 skill points for my first 3 hd right? (2-8)min1X6 and 8 more for my awakened hit die (2+2)x2 sooo lvl1 Tumble 1 Escape Artist 1 Dodge lvl2 Hide 1 Lvl3 Move silently 1 Clever Wrestling (CW) Lvl4 Tumble 2 Hide 3 Lvl5 Escape Artist 2 Move silently 3 If i take Monk at lvl 6, i should get 6 skill points (4+2) and have Escape Artist and Tumble as call skills, so i can rase both of them to 5. I also get Unarmed strike and Stunning fist, despite the fact that i have no hands. At this point i qualify for Reaping Mauler PrC right? My next ability increase will be to bring wisdom up to 20 giving me an AC of 24 10+1nat+8dex+5wis or 25 vs my dodge target What do you guys think? is it worth it, and is my math right? Also, what would be a good choice for a lvl6 feat? I was thinking mabey "Earth Embrace" (CW) which adds 1d10 dmg when you pin something, or mabey something that lets me expend thoes stunning fist uses. Do awakened animals have favored classes? Should i have a LA, or is the lack of hands and odd body type compensate enogh? Any advice would be welcome, this is my first time considering awakened animals, so any pertinent info would be greatly apreciated. (Sorry that this post is so long)
JackSnape 08-06-07, 07:50 PM	Without going over the stats witha fine toothed comb it looks right to me, with the exception of the 5d6 method of rolling charactors :eek: I've been working with awakened animals as a DM and I find it difficult because it's a spell not a template like I'm used to I guess. I'm curiuos if you considered making your leopard a ninja or will multiclass into a ninja? It seems like a perfect fit to me. Also if you get a chance look at the anthropomorpheric animals in savage species, less racial HD, more skills, and hands :)
demroth 08-06-07, 07:52 PM	You can do that but remember a few things. Natural weapons (animals and creatures) and unarmed attacks (monk) do not stack as far as attack progression goes. Either you use the monks attacks or the animals but not both. There are trade-offs to both but the animal can come out better than the monk. I dont have my D&D books so you might have to find the feats yourself. Improved multiattack (I think) allows creatures with 3 or more attacks to use full attacks at -2 instead of -5. That means your animal has a better attack chance than the monk on any attacks after the first. Also there is a feat that can up the damage dice on one type of natural weapon (claw, bite, slam, etc). For example making a claw go from a d6 to a d8. Also if you go up in level using the animals normal progression they might be able to to get a size increase with would go a long way with grappling. The only down side might be the skill points and skill selection if you dont take an actual class. I would recommend you look the Savage Species, Complete Adventurer, or any book dealing with druids or skill based classes. You would be surprised what you can do with your animal
ToastedAmphibian 08-06-07, 07:54 PM	Heh actually i was looking for something fun to do with the reaping mauler class. My first thougth was vampire, but the +5 BAB kinda makes that hard with a +8 lvl adjustment. Minoutar dosn't work because it cant take clever wrestling. But then i saw someine in the forum talking about an awakened dog and i started looking at animals. Do the added hit die from awaken change the size of the creature? What would the ninja class add? Panther seems like a better ninja fit (Atleast flavor wise)
JackSnape 08-06-07, 08:02 PM	You can do that but remember a few things. Natural weapons (animals and creatures) and unarmed attacks (monk) do not stack as far as attack progression goes. Either you use the monks attacks or the animals but not both. There are trade-offs to both but the animal can come out better than the monk. Right monk levels won't usually pay of until about L6 (no book on hand so I'm guessing.) And the other feat you talk about is simply called improved natural attack and it's in the MM most DMs will allow it for PCs when it's appropriate. The main ability of the ninja is disappearing and going etherial, otherwise he's mostly a monk with weapons and sneak attack if I remember right. I beleive it's leopards that are called ghost cats and ghost of the jungle.
ToastedAmphibian 08-06-07, 08:11 PM	Right monk levels won't usually pay of until about L6 (no book on hand so I'm guessing.) And the other feat you talk about is simply called improved natural attack and it's in the MM most DMs will allow it for PCs when it's appropriate. The main ability of the ninja is disappearing and going etherial, otherwise he's mostly a monk with weapons and sneak attack if I remember right. I beleive it's leopards that are called ghost cats and ghost of the jungle. Actually, monks can take Improved Natural Attack [unarmed] as their attack counts as a natural weapon. Basically it takes yoru unarmed class dmg and ups it a level. Wait a minute... If a medium creature took clever wrestling as a feat, then gianed enough HD to change size, would they still qualify for reaping mauler? Seems like a loophole but should still work right? Do they still gain the benifit of having it shoudl they become large, or does it stop functioning when they no longer meet the requierments? [Like, do you stop being able to use combat expertise if your intelligence is lowerd]