Aburame Shino [Archive] - Wizards Community

Aburame Shino [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
Andarious
02-06-06, 09:06 PM I've been looking for a way to build this forever and the other night I cracked open the Underdark book and I saw it, Vermin Keeper!

Finally a way to get vermin form with the swarm type!

Anyone who is a big Naruto fan and or good with character optimization any creative and constructive input is welcome.

So far big weakness seems to be area spells (duh). I'm looking for a way to get Evasion or better still Improved Evasion and a decent Reflex save some monk levels would suffice say 2 (And would add Wis to AC) and that allows for 3 other levels.

Aburame Shino
LN Human Druid 5/Vermin Keeper 10/+X?

Feat ideas so far include Child of Winter, Iron Will, Natural Spell, Lightning Reflexes, Track, Dive For Cover (if the DM doesn't rule that an entire swarm becoming prone is absolutely rediculous, come on bugs that flip over when you fireball them is awesome!)

Skills: A lot of ranks in Handle Animal, Knowledge Nature, and Survival suit well.

Who is Shino (A note for those that know nothing about Naruto): He's a creepy guy that is a big hive of bugs. Shino is cold, calculated and very loyal to his clan and friends. In combat he doesn't hesitate to use diversion or other tricks one might consider dirty, but doesn't have any particular bloodlust.

Other needs: Swarm(Virmin) types 20 or fewer HD and some decent abilities. Scarab Beetle Swarm from Fiend Folio as well as some of the others in the book are quite nice.
Fine-Huge Sized Virmin with exceptional abilities.
A good Small-Large Virmin for the Virmin Companion, if at all posible one with the Scent ability as well, so it can be trained to track, in which case I can ditch Track as unnecisary for the character.
RadicalTaoist
02-06-06, 09:27 PM I admit this is system-focused, but you may want to ask DisposableHero. He's more Naruto-educated than I, and has already made several interesting conversions.
Andarious
02-06-06, 09:47 PM Yeah yeah I know before I posted I was on the phone with him, but thanks RT *lol* We were talking about other ways to get into Vermin Keeper, like a level of Abolisher. I think I pretty much dragged him back to the CO boards after he first gave up on them, yes you can blame me or you can blame him for me in a lot of ways too.
Lyinginbedmon
02-07-06, 06:26 PM What I'd like to know about with Shino is the Bug Clones, where he uses large numbers of insects to group together and change colour to imitate a person (Usually himself). This could be achieved with Simulacrum with a little twist on the descriptive text, but it's probably better done with Mirror Image. So, if we want it unprepared that's about 4 levels of Sorcerer to get it, or 3 with Wizard.
SoulGamit
02-07-06, 06:49 PM Or extra spell

Wouldn't a Changling Whatever 5 / Master of Flies 10 be a better shino, it's all about the swarms.

Oh, and technically you'd need to also mimic his bug jar ability, in which a bunch of bugs swirl around him like an upside down bowl, blocking everything in their path (or at least a bunch of wax bees). One could say master of flies accomplishes this also.
Andarious
02-07-06, 07:19 PM Where would one find Master of Flies?
Also, on the topic I had to solving the big week point of becoming a swarm, Combat Medic does the job but doesn't really suit the flavor unless there's a way of explaining that he uses the bugs to heal people (like maggots eating away rotting flesh so that good flesh isn't infected).
SoulGamit
02-07-06, 10:59 PM Changling Monk 2 / Psion 3 / Master of Flies 10

And master of flies is a PrC in Savage Species.
Gerdreg
02-08-06, 07:43 AM Master of Flies requires a little bit of conversion as the spells the forms imitate have been updated in 3.5 but it is still a fun class to play.
Andarious
02-09-06, 04:48 PM Not seeing the awesome in Master of flies, it's alright but it has a very limited selection of forms and is 3.0, not to mention no caster level advancement (not actually important I'll admit for the flavor of the character). Perhaps though since it does get the form early taking just a few levels would suit nicely for a more monk or ninja heavy build.
Andarious
02-10-06, 07:10 AM So I've recently heard that when wild shaping you use your HD for all HD dependant effects. Does this mean when a Level 15 character becomes a swarm that swarm does 3d6 damage unless specified to do more or less than swarms of their own HD? So at 16 HD it deals 4d6 minimum, and at 21 5d6? If that's the case then the Master of Flies is doing just fine I guess as far as damage dealt goes.
Gerdreg
02-10-06, 08:03 AM Not seeing the awesome in Master of flies, it's alright but it has a very limited selection of forms and is 3.0, not to mention no caster level advancement (not actually important I'll admit for the flavor of the character). Perhaps though since it does get the form early taking just a few levels would suit nicely for a more monk or ninja heavy build.

The class definatley cannot fill one of the four main roles, but it does offer alot to a full group. Their ability to summon (and later turn into) swarms provides a constant source of damage over a sizeable area (at higher levels) while remaining relatively safe. This disrupts spellcaster and allows the party to stay at range and make melee monster charge thru the swarms to get to them. If I have time, I'll try to fing the 3.5 update I made. It's not anything homebrewed, it's essentially just replacing the relevant spells with their 3.5 counterparts. As a 6 pt. skill class, they also make good skill monkeys.
Gerdreg
02-10-06, 09:02 AM Here is what you would need to make the class 3.5 ready. The conversion guide can be found here... http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/dnd/20030718a but basically it's just changing the spells to 3.5 equivalents.

Level 1 - Summon Swarm, As the Master of Flies version can only summon vermin swarms, the only type of swarm you may summon with Summon Swarm is a Spider Swarm. The 3.5 Spell can summon rats, bats, or spiders, and rats and bats are animal typed swarms. (PH3.5 pg. 289, MM3.5 pg. 239)

Level 2 - Swarm Shape (Summon Swarm), As above, the only type of form the MoF may change into is a Spider Swarm. Remove the flying movement rate and maneuverability. (PH3.5 pg. 289, MM3.5 pg. 239)

Level 5 - Swarm Shape (Insect Plague), The MoF can change into a Locust Swarm. (PH3.5 pg. 244, MM3.5 pg. 239)

Level 8 - Swarm Shape (Creeping Doom), The MoF can change into a Centipede swarm. (PH 3.5 pg. 215, MM3.5 pg. 238)

Now here's an interesting tidbit. "In all other respects, the swarm shape is identical to the druid's wild shape ability." This may make the character eligible to enter other PrCs like Nature's Warrior and Warshaper. Nature's Warrior would be my preference if you entered MoF via Druid. Claws of the Bear and Nature's Weapon will improve your automatic swarm damage and Wild Growth will make you even more difficult to destroy while in a swarm shape.

As I stated above, the real power of a swarm lies in that it will only suffer significant damage from 'energy" type attacks, like spells, but anything already caught in the swarm will have a difficult time casting due to Distraction and constant damage. Also, because (for game purposes) a swarm is treated as a single creature, buffing a swarms damage with spells like Greater Magic Fang adds directly to the automatic damage they cause to all creatures engulfed by the swarm.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Andarious 02-06-06, 09:06 PM	I've been looking for a way to build this forever and the other night I cracked open the Underdark book and I saw it, Vermin Keeper! Finally a way to get vermin form with the swarm type! Anyone who is a big Naruto fan and or good with character optimization any creative and constructive input is welcome. So far big weakness seems to be area spells (duh). I'm looking for a way to get Evasion or better still Improved Evasion and a decent Reflex save some monk levels would suffice say 2 (And would add Wis to AC) and that allows for 3 other levels. Aburame Shino LN Human Druid 5/Vermin Keeper 10/+X? Feat ideas so far include Child of Winter, Iron Will, Natural Spell, Lightning Reflexes, Track, Dive For Cover (if the DM doesn't rule that an entire swarm becoming prone is absolutely rediculous, come on bugs that flip over when you fireball them is awesome!) Skills: A lot of ranks in Handle Animal, Knowledge Nature, and Survival suit well. Who is Shino (A note for those that know nothing about Naruto): He's a creepy guy that is a big hive of bugs. Shino is cold, calculated and very loyal to his clan and friends. In combat he doesn't hesitate to use diversion or other tricks one might consider dirty, but doesn't have any particular bloodlust. Other needs: Swarm(Virmin) types 20 or fewer HD and some decent abilities. Scarab Beetle Swarm from Fiend Folio as well as some of the others in the book are quite nice. Fine-Huge Sized Virmin with exceptional abilities. A good Small-Large Virmin for the Virmin Companion, if at all posible one with the Scent ability as well, so it can be trained to track, in which case I can ditch Track as unnecisary for the character.
RadicalTaoist 02-06-06, 09:27 PM	I admit this is system-focused, but you may want to ask DisposableHero. He's more Naruto-educated than I, and has already made several interesting conversions.
Andarious 02-06-06, 09:47 PM	Yeah yeah I know before I posted I was on the phone with him, but thanks RT lol We were talking about other ways to get into Vermin Keeper, like a level of Abolisher. I think I pretty much dragged him back to the CO boards after he first gave up on them, yes you can blame me or you can blame him for me in a lot of ways too.
Lyinginbedmon 02-07-06, 06:26 PM	What I'd like to know about with Shino is the Bug Clones, where he uses large numbers of insects to group together and change colour to imitate a person (Usually himself). This could be achieved with Simulacrum with a little twist on the descriptive text, but it's probably better done with Mirror Image. So, if we want it unprepared that's about 4 levels of Sorcerer to get it, or 3 with Wizard.
SoulGamit 02-07-06, 06:49 PM	Or extra spell Wouldn't a Changling Whatever 5 / Master of Flies 10 be a better shino, it's all about the swarms. Oh, and technically you'd need to also mimic his bug jar ability, in which a bunch of bugs swirl around him like an upside down bowl, blocking everything in their path (or at least a bunch of wax bees). One could say master of flies accomplishes this also.
Andarious 02-07-06, 07:19 PM	Where would one find Master of Flies? Also, on the topic I had to solving the big week point of becoming a swarm, Combat Medic does the job but doesn't really suit the flavor unless there's a way of explaining that he uses the bugs to heal people (like maggots eating away rotting flesh so that good flesh isn't infected).
SoulGamit 02-07-06, 10:59 PM	Changling Monk 2 / Psion 3 / Master of Flies 10 And master of flies is a PrC in Savage Species.
Gerdreg 02-08-06, 07:43 AM	Master of Flies requires a little bit of conversion as the spells the forms imitate have been updated in 3.5 but it is still a fun class to play.
Andarious 02-09-06, 04:48 PM	Not seeing the awesome in Master of flies, it's alright but it has a very limited selection of forms and is 3.0, not to mention no caster level advancement (not actually important I'll admit for the flavor of the character). Perhaps though since it does get the form early taking just a few levels would suit nicely for a more monk or ninja heavy build.
Andarious 02-10-06, 07:10 AM	So I've recently heard that when wild shaping you use your HD for all HD dependant effects. Does this mean when a Level 15 character becomes a swarm that swarm does 3d6 damage unless specified to do more or less than swarms of their own HD? So at 16 HD it deals 4d6 minimum, and at 21 5d6? If that's the case then the Master of Flies is doing just fine I guess as far as damage dealt goes.
Gerdreg 02-10-06, 08:03 AM	Not seeing the awesome in Master of flies, it's alright but it has a very limited selection of forms and is 3.0, not to mention no caster level advancement (not actually important I'll admit for the flavor of the character). Perhaps though since it does get the form early taking just a few levels would suit nicely for a more monk or ninja heavy build. The class definatley cannot fill one of the four main roles, but it does offer alot to a full group. Their ability to summon (and later turn into) swarms provides a constant source of damage over a sizeable area (at higher levels) while remaining relatively safe. This disrupts spellcaster and allows the party to stay at range and make melee monster charge thru the swarms to get to them. If I have time, I'll try to fing the 3.5 update I made. It's not anything homebrewed, it's essentially just replacing the relevant spells with their 3.5 counterparts. As a 6 pt. skill class, they also make good skill monkeys.
Gerdreg 02-10-06, 09:02 AM	Here is what you would need to make the class 3.5 ready. The conversion guide can be found here... http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/dnd/20030718a but basically it's just changing the spells to 3.5 equivalents. Level 1 - Summon Swarm, As the Master of Flies version can only summon vermin swarms, the only type of swarm you may summon with Summon Swarm is a Spider Swarm. The 3.5 Spell can summon rats, bats, or spiders, and rats and bats are animal typed swarms. (PH3.5 pg. 289, MM3.5 pg. 239) Level 2 - Swarm Shape (Summon Swarm), As above, the only type of form the MoF may change into is a Spider Swarm. Remove the flying movement rate and maneuverability. (PH3.5 pg. 289, MM3.5 pg. 239) Level 5 - Swarm Shape (Insect Plague), The MoF can change into a Locust Swarm. (PH3.5 pg. 244, MM3.5 pg. 239) Level 8 - Swarm Shape (Creeping Doom), The MoF can change into a Centipede swarm. (PH 3.5 pg. 215, MM3.5 pg. 238) Now here's an interesting tidbit. "In all other respects, the swarm shape is identical to the druid's wild shape ability." This may make the character eligible to enter other PrCs like Nature's Warrior and Warshaper. Nature's Warrior would be my preference if you entered MoF via Druid. Claws of the Bear and Nature's Weapon will improve your automatic swarm damage and Wild Growth will make you even more difficult to destroy while in a swarm shape. As I stated above, the real power of a swarm lies in that it will only suffer significant damage from 'energy" type attacks, like spells, but anything already caught in the swarm will have a difficult time casting due to Distraction and constant damage. Also, because (for game purposes) a swarm is treated as a single creature, buffing a swarms damage with spells like Greater Magic Fang adds directly to the automatic damage they cause to all creatures engulfed by the swarm.