20 point system but +1 to any stat every lvl - Downloaded from the Wizards Community, all coding removed by Solauren

20 point system but +1 to any stat every lvl

Post/Author/DateTime Post
#1
xyfor
May 12, 2009 16:25:02 My dm has us using a character with only a 20 point build but every level we can put a point into any stat we want. I took advantage of this to make a dragon fire adept with 31 con and 10 in all other stats, since all a dfa needs is mostly con in order to support everyhing else about his character. I'm wonderign though what other type of character that could make really good use of this house rule btw were startign at lvl 9 and have 36,000 gold.
replies would be appreciated
#2
stolide
May 12, 2009 16:32:57 Any spellcaster...
#3
xyfor
May 12, 2009 16:41:53 thats true i also though about a druid for that reason so i could have a insanely high wisdom and just stay in animal form
#4
jgumbyrx
May 12, 2009 22:38:36 i would probably see this as an opportunity to really tweak a MAD character -- especially with starting at 9th level (though starting at lower levels would suck for a while). as for the druid, depending on the concept and direction/build, loading everything in to your wis may not be such a great idea -- a druid has way too much versatility to only worry about spells.
#5
maddcow2k
May 12, 2009 22:55:17 A druid with 10's across and 31 Wis isn't too shabby. Just make sure you go first by taking 'Yondalla's Sense from Races o' Wild p152 3.5 to add your Wis to your initiative. Take improved initiative, that's about +14 right there, assume your animal companion is a hummingbird, it's another +4, so +18 altogether, then just turn into whatever the hell you want. Since I'm in the boat that polymorph/wild shape etc... does change your stats, you don't have to worry about your other stats.

Take 2 flaws, and the trait aggressive and you have +20 initiative. Plus a large amount of flaws to work with. Your race is up to you. If you are allowed, you could take something that adds wisdom to your reflex save, like the Illumian (Uurhuun).

Another suggestion, make a factotum character, put EVERYTHING into Int, and get feats and class abilities that make your Int your saves, attack rolls, initiative and so forth. You would have a crap load of skills and be universally good at a lot of things and be really well balanced since your Int bonus affects everything.

You can see what you can work with on the X stat to Y bonus here. http://forums.gleemax.com/showthread.php?t=1143941
#6
sofawall
May 12, 2009 23:11:01
A druid with 10's across and 31 Wis isn't too shabby. Just make sure you go first by taking 'Yondalla's Sense from Races o' Wild p152 3.5 to add your Wis to your initiative. Take improved initiative, that's about +14 right there, assume your animal companion is a hummingbird, it's another +4, so +18 altogether, then just turn into whatever the hell you want. Since I'm in the boat that polymorph/wild shape etc... does change your stats, you don't have to worry about your other stats.

Take 2 flaws, and the trait aggressive and you have +20 initiative. Plus a large amount of flaws to work with. Your race is up to you. If you are allowed, you could take something that adds wisdom to your reflex save, like the Illumian (Uurhuun).

Another suggestion, make a factotum character, put EVERYTHING into Int, and get feats and class abilities that make your Int your saves, attack rolls, initiative and so forth. You would have a crap load of skills and be universally good at a lot of things and be really well balanced since your Int bonus affects everything.

You can see what you can work with on the X stat to Y bonus here. http://forums.gleemax.com/showthread.php?t=1143941

Isn't that for familiars, not animal companions?
#7
eldritch_lord
May 12, 2009 23:46:05
Isn't that for familiars, not animal companions?

It is indeed; it's from the Dragon article on alternate familiars. Druids are out of luck in that department.
#8
xyfor
May 12, 2009 23:55:17 thanks for the answers there great i'm gonna check on the factorum again as i'm not that familiar with it. Since the idea of being a hard hitting skill monkey sounds very appealing
#9
sofawall
May 13, 2009 0:03:32 I strongly recommend Factotum. I'm playing one right now, and even without having used many abiltities I'm skill monkey extraordinaire, and smacking things around, to boot.

Now if only I'd stop rolling so many ones...
#10
jgumbyrx
May 13, 2009 0:11:33 yeah, animal companions don't do anything for your initiative -- at least AFAIK.

Since I'm in the boat that polymorph/wild shape etc... does change your stats, you don't have to worry about your other stats.

well, i guess it would only matter what boat the DM is in (i happen to be in the one that uses the errata -- and i have my reasons).

Take 2 flaws, and the trait aggressive ...

again, that will depend on the DM -- i mean, the OP is about an actual game (i, for one, am very reluctant to allow much from UA -- i mean, after all, it really is just a random collection of house rules).
hey maddcow, i'm not trying to dog on you -- just pointing-out variables that my be in play. (otherwise, good suggestions).
#11
jgumbyrx
May 13, 2009 0:41:27
I strongly recommend Factotum. I'm playing one right now, and even without having used many abiltities I'm skill monkey extraordinaire, and smacking things around, to boot.

Now if only I'd stop rolling so many ones...

have you taken FoI at all? i'm looking at possibly playing a factotum in an upcoming game, as i'm curious as to how well it actually plays (though it looks like it could be loads of fun). the thing is, the dm for that game is, at best, luke-warm on the FoI; and i'm not sure how well the class will fair without it. thoughts?
#12
maddcow2k
May 13, 2009 1:43:27
yeah, animal companions don't do anything for your initiative -- at least AFAIK.

well, i guess it would only matter what boat the DM is in (i happen to be in the one that uses the errata -- and i have my reasons).

again, that will depend on the DM -- i mean, the OP is about an actual game (i, for one, am very reluctant to allow much from UA -- i mean, after all, it really is just a random collection of house rules).
hey maddcow, i'm not trying to dog on you -- just pointing-out variables that my be in play. (otherwise, good suggestions).

No worries. I think I remember somewhere about trading your familiar in for an animal companion and/or vice versa. I'll have to dig it up. Of course it's up to the GM about what rules he does/doesn't allow, I was just giving a few suggestions that I would try to run by with ;) Lemme see if I can dig up that familiar/animal companion clause.

I can't seem to find it, and I should have hit the Sack a couple of hours ago, but you can always take the Obtain Familiar feat (Although I think it requires arcane spell casting), you could always dip one level into wizard or sorc for the familiar and a few crappy 0th level spells. Although that might not be the most optimal. There is a PrC in Races of the Wild that melds an animal companion WITH a familiar even if you do not have a familiar, but you need to be able to cast 3rd level arcane spells and that's something I don't want to work on at the moment. I'm gonna hit the sack, good luck!

Edit: Okay, you're in luck, the last page I was looking at had it. You can take a substitution level via this errata http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/we/20070228a and get the Urban Companion. It more or less replaces animal companion with a familiar, and it has a bunch of bonuses that it takes as you level up. The benefits of Urban Companion are:

Urban Companion

The fearsome animal companions who accompany some casters in the wild are indeed a boon in combat, but a hulking wolf or creeping tiger is out of place in an urban environment. Some characters believe that small and subtle is of greater value than massive and mighty.

Class: Druid or ranger.

Level: 1st (druid) or 4th (ranger).

Replaces: If you select this class feature, you do not gain an animal companion.

Benefit: The character gains the companionship of a smaller but far more intelligent creature than she otherwise would have. This is identical to the sorcerer's ability to summon a familiar (PH 52), including all benefits granted and gained by the familiar, except as noted below. Her functional level for determining the abilities of the companion is equal to her druid level or one-half her ranger level.

* She does not lose experience points if her urban companion is slain, and she requires only 24 hours to replace one who is lost.

* Her urban companion has total hit points equal to 3/4 her own hit points, rather than half as per a familiar.

* The urban companion gains the ability to speak with other animals of its kind when she has an effective master level of 1st, rather than 7th.

* When she reaches an effective master level of 7th, she can speak with animals of her companion's kind, as per speak with animals. This is a supernatural ability that functions constantly, and it requires only a free action to reactivate if somehow dispelled.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 xyfor May 12, 2009 16:25:02	My dm has us using a character with only a 20 point build but every level we can put a point into any stat we want. I took advantage of this to make a dragon fire adept with 31 con and 10 in all other stats, since all a dfa needs is mostly con in order to support everyhing else about his character. I'm wonderign though what other type of character that could make really good use of this house rule btw were startign at lvl 9 and have 36,000 gold. replies would be appreciated
#2 stolide May 12, 2009 16:32:57	Any spellcaster...
#3 xyfor May 12, 2009 16:41:53	thats true i also though about a druid for that reason so i could have a insanely high wisdom and just stay in animal form
#4 jgumbyrx May 12, 2009 22:38:36	i would probably see this as an opportunity to really tweak a MAD character -- especially with starting at 9th level (though starting at lower levels would suck for a while). as for the druid, depending on the concept and direction/build, loading everything in to your wis may not be such a great idea -- a druid has way too much versatility to only worry about spells.
#5 maddcow2k May 12, 2009 22:55:17	A druid with 10's across and 31 Wis isn't too shabby. Just make sure you go first by taking 'Yondalla's Sense from Races o' Wild p152 3.5 to add your Wis to your initiative. Take improved initiative, that's about +14 right there, assume your animal companion is a hummingbird, it's another +4, so +18 altogether, then just turn into whatever the hell you want. Since I'm in the boat that polymorph/wild shape etc... does change your stats, you don't have to worry about your other stats. Take 2 flaws, and the trait aggressive and you have +20 initiative. Plus a large amount of flaws to work with. Your race is up to you. If you are allowed, you could take something that adds wisdom to your reflex save, like the Illumian (Uurhuun). Another suggestion, make a factotum character, put EVERYTHING into Int, and get feats and class abilities that make your Int your saves, attack rolls, initiative and so forth. You would have a crap load of skills and be universally good at a lot of things and be really well balanced since your Int bonus affects everything. You can see what you can work with on the X stat to Y bonus here. http://forums.gleemax.com/showthread.php?t=1143941
#6 sofawall May 12, 2009 23:11:01	A druid with 10's across and 31 Wis isn't too shabby. Just make sure you go first by taking 'Yondalla's Sense from Races o' Wild p152 3.5 to add your Wis to your initiative. Take improved initiative, that's about +14 right there, assume your animal companion is a hummingbird, it's another +4, so +18 altogether, then just turn into whatever the hell you want. Since I'm in the boat that polymorph/wild shape etc... does change your stats, you don't have to worry about your other stats. Take 2 flaws, and the trait aggressive and you have +20 initiative. Plus a large amount of flaws to work with. Your race is up to you. If you are allowed, you could take something that adds wisdom to your reflex save, like the Illumian (Uurhuun). Another suggestion, make a factotum character, put EVERYTHING into Int, and get feats and class abilities that make your Int your saves, attack rolls, initiative and so forth. You would have a crap load of skills and be universally good at a lot of things and be really well balanced since your Int bonus affects everything. You can see what you can work with on the X stat to Y bonus here. http://forums.gleemax.com/showthread.php?t=1143941 Isn't that for familiars, not animal companions?
#7 eldritch_lord May 12, 2009 23:46:05	Isn't that for familiars, not animal companions? It is indeed; it's from the Dragon article on alternate familiars. Druids are out of luck in that department.
#8 xyfor May 12, 2009 23:55:17	thanks for the answers there great i'm gonna check on the factorum again as i'm not that familiar with it. Since the idea of being a hard hitting skill monkey sounds very appealing
#9 sofawall May 13, 2009 0:03:32	I strongly recommend Factotum. I'm playing one right now, and even without having used many abiltities I'm skill monkey extraordinaire, and smacking things around, to boot. Now if only I'd stop rolling so many ones...
#10 jgumbyrx May 13, 2009 0:11:33	yeah, animal companions don't do anything for your initiative -- at least AFAIK. Since I'm in the boat that polymorph/wild shape etc... does change your stats, you don't have to worry about your other stats. well, i guess it would only matter what boat the DM is in (i happen to be in the one that uses the errata -- and i have my reasons). Take 2 flaws, and the trait aggressive ... again, that will depend on the DM -- i mean, the OP is about an actual game (i, for one, am very reluctant to allow much from UA -- i mean, after all, it really is just a random collection of house rules). hey maddcow, i'm not trying to dog on you -- just pointing-out variables that my be in play. (otherwise, good suggestions).
#11 jgumbyrx May 13, 2009 0:41:27	I strongly recommend Factotum. I'm playing one right now, and even without having used many abiltities I'm skill monkey extraordinaire, and smacking things around, to boot. Now if only I'd stop rolling so many ones... have you taken FoI at all? i'm looking at possibly playing a factotum in an upcoming game, as i'm curious as to how well it actually plays (though it looks like it could be loads of fun). the thing is, the dm for that game is, at best, luke-warm on the FoI; and i'm not sure how well the class will fair without it. thoughts?
#12 maddcow2k May 13, 2009 1:43:27	yeah, animal companions don't do anything for your initiative -- at least AFAIK. well, i guess it would only matter what boat the DM is in (i happen to be in the one that uses the errata -- and i have my reasons). again, that will depend on the DM -- i mean, the OP is about an actual game (i, for one, am very reluctant to allow much from UA -- i mean, after all, it really is just a random collection of house rules). hey maddcow, i'm not trying to dog on you -- just pointing-out variables that my be in play. (otherwise, good suggestions). No worries. I think I remember somewhere about trading your familiar in for an animal companion and/or vice versa. I'll have to dig it up. Of course it's up to the GM about what rules he does/doesn't allow, I was just giving a few suggestions that I would try to run by with ;) Lemme see if I can dig up that familiar/animal companion clause. I can't seem to find it, and I should have hit the Sack a couple of hours ago, but you can always take the Obtain Familiar feat (Although I think it requires arcane spell casting), you could always dip one level into wizard or sorc for the familiar and a few crappy 0th level spells. Although that might not be the most optimal. There is a PrC in Races of the Wild that melds an animal companion WITH a familiar even if you do not have a familiar, but you need to be able to cast 3rd level arcane spells and that's something I don't want to work on at the moment. I'm gonna hit the sack, good luck! Edit: Okay, you're in luck, the last page I was looking at had it. You can take a substitution level via this errata http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/we/20070228a and get the Urban Companion. It more or less replaces animal companion with a familiar, and it has a bunch of bonuses that it takes as you level up. The benefits of Urban Companion are: Urban Companion The fearsome animal companions who accompany some casters in the wild are indeed a boon in combat, but a hulking wolf or creeping tiger is out of place in an urban environment. Some characters believe that small and subtle is of greater value than massive and mighty. Class: Druid or ranger. Level: 1st (druid) or 4th (ranger). Replaces: If you select this class feature, you do not gain an animal companion. Benefit: The character gains the companionship of a smaller but far more intelligent creature than she otherwise would have. This is identical to the sorcerer's ability to summon a familiar (PH 52), including all benefits granted and gained by the familiar, except as noted below. Her functional level for determining the abilities of the companion is equal to her druid level or one-half her ranger level. * She does not lose experience points if her urban companion is slain, and she requires only 24 hours to replace one who is lost. * Her urban companion has total hit points equal to 3/4 her own hit points, rather than half as per a familiar. * The urban companion gains the ability to speak with other animals of its kind when she has an effective master level of 1st, rather than 7th. * When she reaches an effective master level of 7th, she can speak with animals of her companion's kind, as per speak with animals. This is a supernatural ability that functions constantly, and it requires only a free action to reactivate if somehow dispelled.