Post/Author/DateTime	Post
AvonRekaes 01-21-08, 12:00 AM	Hello all! I've recently just made an artificer character for a new campaign, and I've already read through the Artificer FAQ. I decided that I'm going to get a beefy Iron Defender homunculus. I've taken Improved Homunculus, and improved my Iron Defender to 4 hit dice. I've decided what abilities I'm going to give him from that feat, so that's not the problem. What I need help on is deciding what feat to give him. As he has an Int score, I'm running with the assumption that he gains feats and skill points as I give him hit dice. (For the cost I'm sinking into him, he better). Currently I'm kinda stumped as to what to give my soulless killing machine. He doesn't meet the prerequisites for Improved Natural Attack yet (only has +3 BAB for 4 construct HD) nor for Improved Toughness (only has a base Fort of +1). Other than that, I can only think of Skill Focus, because he already has Weapon Focus (bite), and I'm loathe to give him anything that isn't directly combat related. Also, if anyone has any ideas for feats to give him in the future, I am allll ears.
skrap-san 01-21-08, 03:00 AM	Toughness?
Ehtiar 01-21-08, 12:56 PM	Depends where you want to go with it... If you're going to be improving the ID as you go up levels, and possibly adding more then one ID for a pack... Think of having them with the Dodge, Mobility route.. meaning they can get underfoot of the bad guys and distract them.. Rather then using them as pure soulless killing machines have them set up to flank and harry. Aka, providing "teamwork" benefits ... Or have it with the Combat Expertise, Improved Disarm/Improved Trip. Perfect way to distract annoyances while your character and the party get the proper whack-down going...
Thaliost 01-21-08, 01:41 PM	Since it has a bite attack, equivalent to a two-handed weapon, I see Power Attack a good choice. Or have it with the Combat Expertise, Improved Disarm/Improved Trip. Perfect way to distract annoyances while your character and the party get the proper whack-down going... The difficulty of a Combat Expertise is it requires Int 13, which the ID lacks. Otherwise this route is awesome.
pskought 01-21-08, 03:27 PM	Since it has a bite attack, equivalent to a two-handed weapon, I see Power Attack a good choice. I thought Natural Weapons were considered light weapons, so you couldn't Power Attack. I hope I'm wrong on that, actually, as it makes the build easier. I was tinkering with an Iron Defender build myself just this past weekend. I ended up going with Weapon Finesse (Bite) for an immediate additional +1 to hit. Then I was going to go with +1 Dex for the Attribute Bonus at 4HD, and then +2 Dex from the Improved Homunculus goodies list. I figure this gets the Initiative, Attack and AC up high enough to secondary tank. After that? I thought Store Infusion made the most sense (for self-heals, Cat's Grace or maybe Bull's Strength), followed quickly by Weapon Enhancement (to get some extra damage on the Bite Attack with Flaming or Frost). Other good feats: Improved Natural Armor, Improved Natural Attack and the Dodge, Mobility tree.
Thaliost 01-21-08, 03:55 PM	Actually I found this in the Power Attack entry: You can’t add the bonus from Power Attack to the damage dealt with a light weapon (except with unarmed strikes or natural weapon attacks) So Power Attack works, and for every point you subtract from the BAB, you gain 2 extra points of damage for a bite attack.
AvonRekaes 01-21-08, 04:13 PM	These are some pretty good suggestions. I'll have to see about asking my DM to let the Iron Defender take Improved Trip. Maybe he'll let me take a version that's identical to the trip ability wolves and combat-trained dogs get. Thaliost, I especially like your power attack suggestion, but I'm just wondering where it says that Bite counts as a two-handed weapon?
Thaliost 01-21-08, 07:13 PM	These are some pretty good suggestions. I'll have to see about asking my DM to let the Iron Defender take Improved Trip. Maybe he'll let me take a version that's identical to the trip ability wolves and combat-trained dogs get. Thaliost, I especially like your power attack suggestion, but I'm just wondering where it says that Bite counts as a two-handed weapon? I believe somewhere in the core rule books specified this issue, but cannot recall where. However, if you look at the damage dealt by a bite attack, 1-1/2 strength bonus is added, and I believe this is firm evidence that a bite attack (as a primary attack) is treated as a two-handed weapon.
AvonRekaes 01-21-08, 09:21 PM	Thanks so much for suggesting Power Attack, Thaliost. It's lead me to decide on taking Power Attack -> Improved Sunder (With an infusion to make my homunculus's bite adamantine) -> Combat Brute (Tactical feat from Complete Warrior) This should be pretty good, I think.
Thaliost 01-22-08, 01:05 AM	That's awesome. I used to take this series of feats when I was playing a black guard. It turned out to be a brilliant choice.