| Post/Author/DateTime | Post |
|---|---|
| Living_Chaos11-14-07, 10:56 AM | Since I love mixing up the races and adding some templates herre and there to my characters, it's about time for that loaded question. What is your favourite Template and what class do you think it fits best! I'm going to throw in Dustform for a Desert Wind Swordsage and Draconic of Paladin, Fighter, Warblade, Crusader or Barbarian (and of course Sorcerer or Duskblade). |
| Spikes01k11-14-07, 11:07 AM | Feral Template Mixed with Dragon born is also cool. |
| Silverclaw11-14-07, 12:53 PM | The Dark creature template is really really cool for sneaky characters... |
| GreatOne11-14-07, 01:39 PM | I think the Half-Celestial and Half-Dragon templates are great. I have mixed both of them before and the char was such a badass |
| Japan_the_cougar11-14-07, 04:03 PM | Feral Template Mixed with Dragon born is also cool. I've seen this, and it's a beast. No, literally, the guy had like a 4 int, but the most rediculous strength. Personally, I really love the Half-Farspawn template from LoM. Flavorwise, it's really good on an alienist or flux adept, but I made a really sick kobold dread necromancer with that and the aberrant feats. I also like the dustform template, but my only issue is the fact that a lucky crit kills it instantly. Then again, that problem hasn't stopped me from wanting to play a nashrou. :D Also, Living spell with Mordenkain's Sword, Apocalypse from the Sky (sonic), and Crushing Fist of Spite, and the Sentry ooze template. The thing has sick saves and can deal enough damage on a single attack to kill itself. |
| snakeman83011-14-07, 05:20 PM | Half-Toaster! Now getting serious. The Dark template is amazing on a stealthy character (or a dwarf so you can move 30ft in heavy armor) and has a nice, affordable LA. Phrenic has some nice psi-like abilities built into it and a manifester level equaling your HD. Half-celestial/fiend do this too, but for twice the LA. In addition, you get some nice mental boosts. Demilich: 'nuf said. Tauric can be used to get some fun abilities. |
| larry_the_titan11-14-07, 05:36 PM | Feral Template Mixed with Dragon born is also cool. Considering this doesn't work since your character would lose everything when your base race turned into a Dragonborn short of the stat mods and the change to your movement speed. Maybe I am reading it wrong but an over all +2 total for your stats and a plus +10 land speed for a LA +1 might sound worth it but to me I don't think it sounds like a monster. Unless you can find a way to gain the Feral template after transforming into a Dragonborn. Personally I think a Dragonborn Goliath which has +4 Total for your stats and Powerful build for a LA +1. Or Dragonborn Catfolk which has a +6 Total for your stats and a base land speed of 40 for a LA +1. Remember Dragonborn is a Transformation Template that takes effect after all Inherent templates such as Feral. With the Dragonborn template your race would lose everything of value of any race short of Stat mods, Powerful Build, HD, Skills and Base movement Speeds. Things lost include Natural Armor, Special Abilities, Spell-Like Abilities, Extraordinary Abilities and Natural Attacks. I think the Half-Celestial and Half-Dragon templates are great. I have mixed both of them before and the char was such a badass I agree the Half-Celestial Template has some powerful abilities but Half-Dragon is Weaker then it should for one reason and one reason only. Read the Description of its Breath Weapon. It states that the DC of the Breath weapon is 10+Con Mod+'1/2 Racial HD'. That little issue of Racial HD means that Class Levels don't Effect the DC of your Breath Weapon unlike Dragonborn. Ok now for my Templates of preference: For Characters Phernic EPH Half-Celestrial MM1 Half-Farspawned LoM Half-Janni Sandstorm Shadow Creatures LoM Spell Warped MM3 Fun for monsters Tauric Creature Living Spell |
| Rulebook11-14-07, 06:07 PM | Pseudonatural... they're just creepy! |
| zook1shoe66611-14-07, 07:07 PM | 1. Feral 2. Tauric 3. Half-Machine |
| Mr_Arcane11-14-07, 09:52 PM | I would love to use a dustform creature but aside from the obvious weakness, the one thing that I hate is that they are your average constructs, as in no CON or INT scores. You could give them those scores but they would take a hit to them (-2 probably) and/or the living construct subtype, whichever is better. Tauric seems like a lot of fun and I might ask my friend to let me play it sometime. Probably a tauric elf/snake, like the one preseneted in Bastards and Bloodlines. Bad news is that I have to do some slight rule reconstruction for that one. There's probably a lot more I could add, but I shall spare everyone the details. |
| Spikes01k11-14-07, 10:48 PM | I've seen this, and it's a beast. No, literally, the guy had like a 4 int, but the most rediculous strength. Personally, I really love the Half-Farspawn template from LoM. Flavorwise, it's really good on an alienist or flux adept, but I made a really sick kobold dread necromancer with that and the aberrant feats. I also like the dustform template, but my only issue is the fact that a lucky crit kills it instantly. Then again, that problem hasn't stopped me from wanting to play a nashrou. :D Also, Living spell with Mordenkain's Sword, Apocalypse from the Sky (sonic), and Crushing Fist of Spite, and the Sentry ooze template. The thing has sick saves and can deal enough damage on a single attack to kill itself. What people don't realize is Pounce with Dive Attack.... WITH huge flip-in claws |
| Spikes01k11-14-07, 10:51 PM | Considering this doesn't work since your character would lose everything when your base race turned into a Dragonborn short of the stat mods and the change to your movement speed. Maybe I am reading it wrong but an over all +2 total for your stats and a plus +10 land speed for a LA +1 might sound worth it but to me I don't think it sounds like a monster. Unless you can find a way to gain the Feral template after transforming into a Dragonborn. Personally I think a Dragonborn Goliath which has +4 Total for your stats and Powerful build for a LA +1. Your just as full of it then sense you would lose powerful build. Plus you could obtain the feral template AFTER the dragon born process.... My RP reason was that I had some Fang dragon blood in my that got awakened when I went through the process. Plus there is alway the ritual to obtain the template in the same book! |
| FrostWolf11-15-07, 08:06 AM | Lycanthropy. On a psy Warrior, lots of fun. I'm also a fan of half troll. |
| larry_the_titan11-15-07, 10:26 AM | Your just as full of it then sense you would lose powerful build. Plus you could obtain the feral template AFTER the dragon born process.... My RP reason was that I had some Fang dragon blood in my that got awakened when I went through the process. Plus there is alway the ritual to obtain the template in the same book! I see you still have not Read the Sideboard about turning into a Dragonborn which States Powerful Build is one of the Few traits you keep. Also RP reasons are basically House Rules here on the boards. I know a great deal about the D&D but once you throw house Rules in it is not the same game. I discuss everything on the boards as by the Rules as Writen (RAW for those of us who have been here very long). If I am doing something with a house rule I normally point out such when I post. There is only one thing I hate about the Dragonborn Template and it has to do with Dwarves. They end up with a -2 to there Stats Total they are stuck with a Base 20 land speed and don't get to retain their never slowed trait. That I would House Rule so it was different personally. Thx for pointing out that I missed mentioning Powerful Build line in the Description of Dragonborn. |
| elondir11-15-07, 10:42 AM | Phrenic. Half-Elemental is cool too. |
| DreamerInsane11-15-07, 01:16 PM | White Dragonspawn. Sick, sick stuff. |
| kiss_the_kobold11-15-07, 02:45 PM | what book is the Dark creature template in? |
| snakeman83011-15-07, 03:27 PM | Dark template is from Tome of Magic, Chapter 2. |
| Spikes01k11-15-07, 03:40 PM | I see you still have not Read the Sideboard about turning into a Dragonborn which States Powerful Build is one of the Few traits you keep. Also RP reasons are basically House Rules here on the boards. I know a great deal about the D&D but once you throw house Rules in it is not the same game. I discuss everything on the boards as by the Rules as Writen (RAW for those of us who have been here very long). If I am doing something with a house rule I normally point out such when I post. There is only one thing I hate about the Dragonborn Template and it has to do with Dwarves. They end up with a -2 to there Stats Total they are stuck with a Base 20 land speed and don't get to retain their never slowed trait. That I would House Rule so it was different personally. Thx for pointing out that I missed mentioning Powerful Build line in the Description of Dragonborn. Adding a template on top of dragon born is completely possible. There is the ritual transformations in savage species book. The feral template works on humanoids of dragon blood line. Grant it I did miss the not on powerful build though, thanks for the 411. |
| Tordak11-15-07, 03:55 PM | 1. Half-Golem 2. Death Knight 3. Monster of Legend MM2's templates rock. (However they are not meant for character) |
| epifreak11-16-07, 05:05 PM | I've always been fond of the wraith template out of Savage Species. As for where to take them, I managed to pull off an EL 16 that had good odds of sucessfully con damaging a CR 20 red dragon to death once, so I don't suppose you can really fail with that one. Alternately, I've always wanted to play a 1/2 celestial blackguard. The fallen angel motif evokes such powerful emotional reactions that I just love it. Going back to undead, swarmshifter (LM) makes me smile. I'm in the process of rolling up what I've dubbed the Ghost of the Desert, a dry lich (Sandstorm) with swarmshifter sand, beetles, and scorpions. He'll be set as a villian in a little anything goes 20+ gestalt campaign I'm to be running soon. I've also always liked the winged template. It's nothing too fancy, but I've always wanted to play a winged character, probably a human or elf: nothing too out there. Basically, I'd go winged archer, possibly elven cleric archer. The kicker is that nobody, not even the character knows why he's got wings. He's got two perfectly normal parents, and tracing his geneology back several generations reveals nothing. Should be fun fodder for whatever DM I expose that one to. |
| Shishi-Peacemaker11-18-07, 02:35 AM | In one of our parties, There is a Dwarf (Paladin, Crusader, Kensai, Deep Stone Sentanel) with the Sainthood templet from the Book of Exalted Deeds, and he is unstoppable in melee combat. He does pretty good when fighting casters too. Ranged combat is his only anoyance, besides that, He is very powerful (in our character duels, he has 18W-3L, and that is against a differant class almost every time, sometimes against high HD monsters). He credits his Templet for his powerful build. He even wants a house-rule to raise the templet's level one step to get futher ablities. Besides that, I'm also a fan of bloodlines, gotta Barbarian10/Frenzied Berserker10 w/ a Red Dragon Bloodline. He kicks some serious ass. Bloodlines FTW!!! |
| SilentOne11-18-07, 02:50 AM | Each time I hear Saint brought up as an amazing template I always wonder if people are actually using it correctly. If it's just an amazing +2 LA, then of course it's uber powerful, but it requires something like 3 of your feats to be Exalted, perfect record with regard to your Exalted status, and character level 6, along with (I think) essentially a minor miracle. Not the easiest thing to slap on any character, and one that I know many of the people I play with could never handle without losing the template (and the feats) within seconds. |
| nightside_samurai11-18-07, 03:36 AM | I know it's from a Dragon Magazine but Half-Minotaur is awesome. You get the bonuses from the template itself plus the increase in size grants you some awesome bonuses to strength. I'm going to be playing a Half-Minotaur Goliath Barbarian in my wife's upcoming campaign, he's going to be sick. :) |
| Spikes01k11-18-07, 09:47 AM | I see you still have not Read the Sideboard about turning into a Dragonborn which States Powerful Build is one of the Few traits you keep. I have found NO such side bar in the races of dragon book. |
| akinckillerchris11-18-07, 10:03 AM | insectile, feral, garillons blessing(spell) perma'd , take imp nat att and the monster feat for two weapon fighting (improved of course) you have 16 attacks at 2D6+str each after 2 succesfull hits you rend if you hit all 16 times 8rends total he makes good use for reaping maulers (as his atacks are considered light weapons) good as fighter and a archer if you wanna go that route he can hold 4 bows and attack with all 4 full bab (unless theres rules saying no...i havent seen any on this) so theres 16 bow shots of course at neg 2 to each shot (shortbows i think mite count as light weapon if not take oversized two weapon feat! and if theres a imp take that too!!! but if not w/e) still my fav char so far if they dont then -4 but u got 16 shots..ur gonna hit unless ur broken then darn..its only a full LA of 3 (dont know full price of garillons blessing perm'd i believe its 2gold per xp of spell 500 xp 1k gold 1000xp 2k gold i believe not sure dont sue) |
| larry_the_titan11-18-07, 10:58 AM | I have found NO such side bar in the races of dragon book. Page 10. Races of the Dragon In 'The Mechanics of Rebirth' Size:You retain your original size. If the original race had Powerful Build as a racial trait, it is also retained. I found it fairly easy, though you may call is something else besides a sidebar. |
| zook1shoe66611-18-07, 11:07 AM | insectile, feral, garillons blessing(spell) perma'd also get the Beast Claws from the Savage species and add Speed and Vorpal to them ;) |
| larry_the_titan11-18-07, 08:37 PM | Well if you guys are going to make random spells permanent why don't you go for something like powerful, like bite of the werebear. Who needs a Template when you can make spells of anykind permanent. |
| zook1shoe66611-19-07, 12:32 AM | Well if you guys are going to make random spells permanent why don't you go for something like powerful, like bite of the werebear. Who needs a Template when you can make spells of anykind permanent. Bite of the Were-"" gets ugly with the feat that allows the caster to increase ALL the ability enhancement bonuses by 2. |
| Qube11-19-07, 11:08 AM | stony (mineral warrior) (+2 STR +4 CON -2 on all metal abillities; DR 8/adamantine, smite, burrow speed, LA+1) and loth touched (+6 STR +6 CON, fearless) together with frenzied beserker |
| Sledgerosaur11-19-07, 11:28 AM | Monster of legend, Woodling, and ceslestial. they are just amazingly fun to add to monsters/ play :P |
| calronmoonflower11-19-07, 05:17 PM | I personally like the draconic template. |
| gixanthrax11-19-07, 05:35 PM | Dark Shadow (from Manual of the planes) Spellwarped. especially the combination of dark and shadow on a whispergnome rogue is sick. Add one level of barbarian and you have a critter With HIPS, 75 feet base speed and a hide and move silent bonus of +16 each... |
| dawnbringer11-19-07, 06:23 PM | Where is the dark template from? Apocalyptic (From the Book of Templates) It lets you turn low CR creatures into Epic challenges and High CR creatures can turn into gods. Its a template that completely blows the creature out of the water. All hit dice become d12 and maxed, immune to all energy damage, becomes a minimum of a huge creature, speed is quadrupled, improved AC, double all stats, DR, SR, other immunites, regeneration, and a really cool special ability. If you ever wanted to make your own epic monster, this is how you do it. |
| larry_the_titan11-19-07, 07:43 PM | Where is the dark template from? Tome of magic. Also the Dark template is still not as good as the Shadow Template from Lords of Madness. |
| Grizzled Gryphon11-19-07, 09:01 PM | I made a Feral Half-Ogre Barbarian as a bad guy. I think I didn't get the CR right, though, as he charged- and killed- the parties fighter in the first round. Thankfully one of the players had that spell that brings someone back to life if cast in the same round they died (can't remember the name, I think it is Revivify??), and then the party tried for a couple of rounds to kill him, but he instead dropped the fighter again, and then dropped the cleric, and then the wizard and rogue simply ran away. Well, tried to, anyway. He chased them down and added them to his larder along with the fighter and the cleric. It was bad. |
| Grizzled Gryphon11-19-07, 09:04 PM | stony (mineral warrior) (+2 STR +4 CON -2 on all metal abillities; DR 8/adamantine, smite, burrow speed, LA+1) and loth touched (+6 STR +6 CON, fearless) together with frenzied beserker See, add those to a Feral Ogre!! Yikes...:gah: |
| larry_the_titan11-20-07, 07:17 AM | I made a Feral Half-Ogre Barbarian as a bad guy. I think I didn't get the CR right, though, as he charged- and killed- the parties fighter in the first round. Thankfully one of the players had that spell that brings someone back to life if cast in the same round they died (can't remember the name, I think it is Revivify??), and then the party tried for a couple of rounds to kill him, but he instead dropped the fighter again, and then dropped the cleric, and then the wizard and rogue simply ran away. Well, tried to, anyway. He chased them down and added them to his larder along with the fighter and the cleric. It was bad. So you built a one shot monster and you are not sure of the CR. Here are a few guide lines about CRs. If the creature base to hit is higher then the fighters AC then it CR is to low. If its base damage would take out a d8 HD for the current Level in one hit Its CR is to low. If the DC to save or die requires a PC to make a 18+ Roll with his Good save and Great stat mod, then the CR is to low. How many levels of Barbarian did you give it and what level was the party. |
| Darknight30311-20-07, 11:40 AM | afflicted were-eagle on a monk, some awesome synergies there, easily an AC machine. |
| wonlee7611-20-07, 11:51 AM | For Players: Feral with a monstrous class to get the Racial HD boosts out of Feral (I favor the minotaur in general for this). Mineral Warrior from the FR Underdark book. Shadowwalker from FR Unapproachable East (incredibly useful spell like abilities for a rogue/sneak type of PC). Half-Dragon for the costs is pretty decent for melee PCs. Nice boost to strength and AC. Lloth Touched from MM V? (or IV, I forget): Someones sick idea of a balanced tamplate but considering its pre-reqs, I guess this was intended to help out the low powered drow race a bit. Overpowered template for low powered PC race. |
| CrimsonDeath11-20-07, 12:05 PM | I've heard good things about putting the Primordial Giant template on a Half-Giant. Vastly improves their spellcasting or manifesting ability without changing LA. |
| Spikes01k11-20-07, 04:31 PM | Page 10. Races of the Dragon In 'The Mechanics of Rebirth' Size:You retain your original size. If the original race had Powerful Build as a racial trait, it is also retained. I found it fairly easy, though you may call is something else besides a sidebar. Ah shoot, thanks finally found it; but why did they put that in size?... |
| larry_the_titan11-20-07, 08:56 PM | Ah shoot, thanks finally found it; but why did they put that in size?... To get your answer you need to mix together an Elephant and a Rhino. |
| Orzhvo_Patriach11-21-07, 11:33 PM | I like the half templates, dragon,fiend ect. You want to have some fun? look up every template you can find and slap it on a frog, that is a very scary critter |
| Arco Versipellis11-22-07, 12:47 AM | Shadow Creature (which appears in 3.0 Manual of the Planes and 3.5 Lord of Madness). I'd stick this one anything. I like the defenses and the stealth aspects, which is important in my games. Phenric (Expanded Psionics Handbook). I have a valley of phenric t-rexes, which I gave the intelligence bump to and some meta-psi-like ability feats. I mix up the power list, too. Woodling (Monster Manual III). Nice natural armor, damage reduction, pant traits, and fire weakness. I can deal with that. Spirit Animal (Frostburn). Incorpreal dire polar bears are just cool, even if they aren't exactly dangerous. |
| Torolez11-22-07, 12:23 PM | Monster of legend looks cool. But what would the LA be on that? A legendary centaur would be an awesome one to play. Tauric rocks, so many posibilities. Half dragon is nice also. |
| larry_the_titan11-24-07, 04:12 PM | Well I was just toy around with a couple templates and found a pretty nasty combo. By placing the Sentry Ooze Template (Dungeonscape) on top of a Living Spell (MM3 or ECS) you basically give an ordinary scary monster a +5 DC to all of its abilities then give it skill points and Feats. I don't think the designers ever planned the 2 to be mixed. |
| dawnbringer11-24-07, 04:32 PM | What is the CR on that template? Living Sphere of Ultimate destruction here I come :D. |
| Pulpo11-24-07, 07:24 PM | Half-vampire one fun template and half-dragons. Celestial aberrations fun but not for pcs or serious campaigns. |
| larry_the_titan11-25-07, 01:16 PM | What is the CR on that template? Living Sphere of Ultimate destruction here I come :D. Living spells have an adjustable CRs based on the level of the Spell that they are made out of and the caster level of the spell. I made a CL 8 Sentry Living Burning Blood into a CR 10. To get that take the level of the spell Plus 1/2 the caster level +2 CR from the Sentry Template. |
| Kelmourne11-25-07, 02:46 PM | Nonono, you'r all missing the ultimate race/template/item combo. Troll, Half-Black Dragon, With ring of fire elemental command. As long as nobody knocks him unconcious and takes off his ring, he'll be invincible. But this is of course why you make him a frenzied berserker with insantaneous rage and deathless rage. Enemies will probably all be dead by the time frenzy is over and he might have regened all of his HP by then. Oh and give him some feat from MM that improves his fast healing. |
| Jamesks11-25-07, 03:22 PM | Prehaps my favorite template would be Spell-Stitched from Complete Arcana (I believe it is also in Monster Manual II), add a bit of fun to any undead with a respectable wisdom score, a must have for any lich, and turns otherwise pointless undead minions into something useful. As a big fan of necromancy and undead this is the icing on the cake as I apply it most of my intelligent minions. Other then that I guess I would have to say Worms-that-Walk, from the Epic Level Handbook. Always fun, and when the DM let me bend the rules a bit it made for a nice Druid/Vermin Lord themed character. |
| Rebel728411-26-07, 01:08 AM | I'm having difficulty locating the ferral and dragonborn templates. Can someone point me to the source? Crystal keep doesn't seem to have them :-\ |
| zook1shoe66611-26-07, 01:29 AM | Feral = Savage Species Dragonborn = Races of the Dragon |
| Rebel728411-26-07, 02:07 AM | Thank you very much |