Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 daiyouko Oct 11, 2009 15:35:08	Alright, so my DM is starting a new campaign next week.  He has told us point blank that he's going to be doing everything in his power to kill us, and to break our characters to combat this.  I was originally going to just do a monk, but I always play them.  Therefore, I've decided to play either a Druid or a Ranger.  I'm just not sure which yet. Now, here are the rules that he gave us: We're starting at tenth level. We're allowed to ignore up to a +4 Level Adjustment We're allowed to use ANY book that we can find. And we are given 100,000 GP for magic items.   Now, I've played monks for the past year, and before that clerics.  I have no idea how to optimize a ranger or a druid, and so I've come to you, the Wizards community.  Could you please help?
#2 Endarire Oct 11, 2009 15:47:59	An optimized Druid10 is better than a Ranger10 or a Ranger multiclass.  There's even a Druid Handbook!
#3 bruceleeroy Oct 11, 2009 15:53:58	Can you only use one race/template for that level adjustment? or can you use as many templates as you want until the LA reaches +4?
#4 daiyouko Oct 11, 2009 16:28:28	He hasn't said specifically, but it's been accepted among the players that the +4 LA can be a combination of both an unusual race and template.
#5 daiyouko Oct 11, 2009 16:50:59	Oh, I forgot to add. He gave us stat scores of 18, 18, 18, 16, 16, 16
#6 felgoroth Oct 11, 2009 16:57:59	Play a doppelganger or a satyr, you get a bonus to almost every ability.
#7 bruceleeroy Oct 11, 2009 17:50:40	And some racial HD dragging you down like an anchor bolted to your bunghole.   Play a PIXIE. No racial HD +4 LA -4 Str, +8 Dex, +6 Int, +4 Wis, +6 Cha Greater Invis at will DR 10/ cold iron SR 15 + class level some other stuff that doesn't really matter   if you can manage to acquire mind blank, even true seeing won't work against you. 10 levels of your favorite full caster (for eminent survivability, I prefer divine).
#8 Endarire Oct 11, 2009 19:04:42	Because no one expects a flying invisible pixie to turn into a 6-armed dire lion with a triceratops horn and fall out of the sky, dive-bombing a target with his equally invisible dire eagle.
#9 daiyouko Oct 11, 2009 21:16:31	I'm am amused to no end by that imagery... but i'm not sure if it's possible.  If it is... I SHALL DO IT.
#10 Endarire Oct 11, 2009 21:32:11	Pixie Druid10 1: Improved Initiative 3: Natural Bond (Complete Adventurer) 6: Natural Spell 9: Leadership Natural Bond treats your animal companion as 3HD higher to a max of your HD.  Get a dire eagle companion (Races of Stone 185) so you can fly.  Feed it a potion of invisibility or have someone buff it. Before battle, Wild Shape into a dire lion. Cast master air, wings of air, girallon's blessing and charge of the triceratops on yourself. (Each is in Spell Compendium.) Persist these spells if you can, such as taking Leadership at L9 and getting an Incantatrix cohort. (See Player's Guide to Faerun for Incantatrix.) I'm going simple for your Incantatrix cohort: Gray Elf Generalist Domain Wizard5/Incantatrix3. Get him +41 Spellcraft and he can take 10 to Persist any buff of level 5 or less. If you 'only' have +38, he can persist level 4 or less. Alternatively, make a Hood (newer and board-screwed version). Done correctly, you can do hundreds of damage per round at level 10.  You could even have your cohort take Leadership at L6 to nab a Hood cohort-cohort.
#11 cru Oct 12, 2009 3:38:22	Pixie is a decent flier on her own, no need for an aerial companion. I would see pixie druid rather as a master summoner, staying invisible and hidden, letting her summons to do the dirty job. 12 Str 26 Dex 18 Con 22 Int 22 Wis, +2 levels, +6 item = 30 22 Cha AC 31: 10 + 8 (dex) + 1 (size) + 11 (monk's belt) + 1 (NA) touch AC: 30 DR 10/cold iron greater invisibility at will SR 25 (15+class level) equip: 13000 - monk's belt 36000 - periapt of wisdom+6 8000 - ring of the beast (complete champion), treat SNA as 1 level higher 43k free feats: SF conjuration, augment summoning, flyby attack, natural spell usual tactics: summon something, buff summons and pet with animal growth, watch the show consider some reserve feat to rain death from afar cast via flyby attack, returning to a safe place (with cover) each round wild shape is only used for utility (to get swim/burrow speed, to break through adamantine walls, etc.) Edit: To break the game, consider druid 5/planar shepherd 5 (Faiths of Eberron)