Giant Owl PC [Archive] - Wizards Community

Giant Owl PC [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
Myst_the_Moonscout
08-24-05, 02:42 AM Hi there. I'm fiddling around with monster characters and I'd like to construct a giant owl pc, preferably a wizard (3.5), but I'm not sure how to go about it.

I will roll stats using the tables in the DM guide but character level is another thing. There's no ECL listed for a giant owl (hardly surprising) and the formula presented in the DM guide for determining it is confusing (or maybe I'm just sleep deprived). Should I just ignore that for now and let whichever DM attempts to take it on deal with it?

The other problem is, of course, the lack of hands for spellcasting. I'd like to create a level one spell that conjures two disembodied hands to form the somatic components. The caster would have to pass a concentration check to manipulate the hands correctly which I'm hoping would offset the some of the potential abusiveness of such a spell.

On another matter, do owls' feet have enough dexterity to scribe scrolls?

This may seem silly but I really like the image of an owl wizard sitting in an old gnarled tree leaning over a spellbook. No pointed hats. Any thoughts?
nyaif36
08-24-05, 04:54 AM my advice is quite simply this: do not play monster characters (i know this will be heavily debated and i do not mean no monster characters, just take it really easy) and confusion will usually be avoided, and do not dump it on a dm, we really do not like that, but if you must play an owl take still spell or something, but i guess making a spell with spectral hands would work, i still don't like it though.
Myst_the_Moonscout
08-24-05, 02:24 PM I realize that every character made is subject to DM approval and have plenty of playable standard characters, I just wanted to make something different just for fun. I highly doubt the owl will ever see serious play but one can hope.

I have heard several complanits about the various systems for determining ECL which I why I'm asking if anyone knows of any reliable ones. The formula presented in the DM guide is hit dice + character level + LA. That would make my owl 4 + 4 + LA. It's the LA i'm having a problem with. As a relativly mudane creature it would fall under +1 or +2 but how much would the ability to fly nudge that up? I'd rather not leave it up to the DM but the two I know have vastly different outlooks on monster creatures.
Dhar Sedai
08-24-05, 03:35 PM You might need SS to get the acurate way of making LA, but the most important parts is:
unbalanced Ability modifiers: +1LA per 5
Reach: +1LA per 5 ekstra feet
nat armor +1LA per 5
New movespeeds + 0/1 depending on campaign...(if it's no sea, swim don't get, no air to fly in, nothing for flying etc...)
Evil Weevil
08-24-05, 04:44 PM The best way to achieve this would be to go with an Owl Lycanthrope, a Were-Owl. The lycan rules are much easier to understand and it would give you exactly what u are looking for.
Myst_the_Moonscout
08-25-05, 12:51 AM According to Savage Species, a giant owl has an LA of +3 (maybe +4)
+1 for natural armour
+1 for a fly speed worse than good
+1 for being able to attack more times per round than a fighter of equal HD.

The fourth point may come from unbalanced ability scores but both the DMG and SS don't do a very good job of explaining what "balanced" ability scores are supposed to be. Does that mean a modifier total of zero?

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Myst_the_Moonscout 08-24-05, 02:42 AM	Hi there. I'm fiddling around with monster characters and I'd like to construct a giant owl pc, preferably a wizard (3.5), but I'm not sure how to go about it. I will roll stats using the tables in the DM guide but character level is another thing. There's no ECL listed for a giant owl (hardly surprising) and the formula presented in the DM guide for determining it is confusing (or maybe I'm just sleep deprived). Should I just ignore that for now and let whichever DM attempts to take it on deal with it? The other problem is, of course, the lack of hands for spellcasting. I'd like to create a level one spell that conjures two disembodied hands to form the somatic components. The caster would have to pass a concentration check to manipulate the hands correctly which I'm hoping would offset the some of the potential abusiveness of such a spell. On another matter, do owls' feet have enough dexterity to scribe scrolls? This may seem silly but I really like the image of an owl wizard sitting in an old gnarled tree leaning over a spellbook. No pointed hats. Any thoughts?
nyaif36 08-24-05, 04:54 AM	my advice is quite simply this: do not play monster characters (i know this will be heavily debated and i do not mean no monster characters, just take it really easy) and confusion will usually be avoided, and do not dump it on a dm, we really do not like that, but if you must play an owl take still spell or something, but i guess making a spell with spectral hands would work, i still don't like it though.
Myst_the_Moonscout 08-24-05, 02:24 PM	I realize that every character made is subject to DM approval and have plenty of playable standard characters, I just wanted to make something different just for fun. I highly doubt the owl will ever see serious play but one can hope. I have heard several complanits about the various systems for determining ECL which I why I'm asking if anyone knows of any reliable ones. The formula presented in the DM guide is hit dice + character level + LA. That would make my owl 4 + 4 + LA. It's the LA i'm having a problem with. As a relativly mudane creature it would fall under +1 or +2 but how much would the ability to fly nudge that up? I'd rather not leave it up to the DM but the two I know have vastly different outlooks on monster creatures.
Dhar Sedai 08-24-05, 03:35 PM	You might need SS to get the acurate way of making LA, but the most important parts is: unbalanced Ability modifiers: +1LA per 5 Reach: +1LA per 5 ekstra feet nat armor +1LA per 5 New movespeeds + 0/1 depending on campaign...(if it's no sea, swim don't get, no air to fly in, nothing for flying etc...)
Evil Weevil 08-24-05, 04:44 PM	The best way to achieve this would be to go with an Owl Lycanthrope, a Were-Owl. The lycan rules are much easier to understand and it would give you exactly what u are looking for.
Myst_the_Moonscout 08-25-05, 12:51 AM	According to Savage Species, a giant owl has an LA of +3 (maybe +4) +1 for natural armour +1 for a fly speed worse than good +1 for being able to attack more times per round than a fighter of equal HD. The fourth point may come from unbalanced ability scores but both the DMG and SS don't do a very good job of explaining what "balanced" ability scores are supposed to be. Does that mean a modifier total of zero?