Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 edgewise_dup Apr 28, 2009 21:44:10	I need a new character for a 3.5 campaign starting next week. All sources allowed, characters start at 6th level. I don't expect us to advance past 8, the campaign is for one of our players to try DMing for the first time and he's not planning to run something long-term. Forgotten Realms setting. I'm trying to stretch myself and play a martial character, I usually play spell casters or utility. I was leaning towards Monk for flavor so I've been looking over handbooks etc for it. I find myself very attracted to the Aberrant feats from Lords of Madness, particularly Inhuman Reach and Deepspawn. But I'm torn between trying to run with those feats, or scrapping them altogether for something more broken effective. If you were building something around the Aberrant feats, for 6th-8th ECL, how would you optimize it? Or, would you not bother and go for another Martial Build entirely? I want to try something I've never tried before, so excluding fighters and barbarians, what would you suggest? The DM is the worst min/maxer of all of us so I have to be prepared for some tough enemies. He's trying to encourage me to do a Monk/Psychic Warrior build but I'm just not sold on it's effectiveness (or fun) for the level we'll be at.
#2 jameswilliamogle Apr 29, 2009 8:20:23	I like - Druidic Avenger 1 / Monk 11 / anything that is strong 8 w/ Snow Tiger Berserker, Deepspawn, Shocktrooper, Combat Brute, and the insta-rage combo.
#3 ikildkenny Apr 29, 2009 9:56:56	alternatively (based on the above build): Monk 6/Shou Disciple 5/Druidic Avenger 1/Sacred Fist 8 or swap one lvl of sacred fist for that OA class that gives you WIS to damage important feats: Improved Natural Attack, Extra Rage, (probably intuitive attack, depending on ability scores) important Items: Monk's Belt (to get 4d8 unarmed Damage @ lvl 15)
#4 tos_shai_hulud Apr 29, 2009 10:42:25	Is your DM allowing Eberron feats to be found somewhere in the Forgotten Realms? How much XP are you starting with? If Tashalatora is available to you, that drastically changes your capabilities as a monk 1/psychic warrior x. If you are starting with 15,000 XP (the minimum for 6th level), you can choose a +1 level adjusted race (like the Mineral Warrior template). This would reduce your vulnerability to attacks, and you can buy back the level adjustment so that you would effectively begin with 12,000 XP instead, and still have a +0 level adjustment. This would keep you very close to the party level while drastically increasing your power level. Alternatively, a Half-Ogre (if the Savage Species version is allowed) or the Goliath (if the Savage Species Half-Ogre is not allowed) would make for a powerful race using the same level adjustment buy-back. Now, as a monk 1/psychic warrior 4 start, you have the capacity to have incredibly high strength, decent wisdom, and enough power points to expand when you need to such that it lasts for 10 mins per level (certainly lasting throughout an entire battle). With this build, aberrant feats could definitely be worthwhile!!!
#5 edgewise_dup Apr 29, 2009 20:25:15	Thanks for the feedback so far The DM will allow anything, he says, except Warforged (someone's already played one and the consensus in the group was that it was too powerful for ECL 1). We start at 15000 XP and 7000 gold to spend on anything we want, and ~6500 extra gold to spend on a single magic item. Half-Ogre and Golianth are interesting, but I couldn't take Aberrant feats with either race, since being Humanoid is a prerequisite for those. Where is the source for Mineral Warrior?
#6 surreal Apr 29, 2009 21:01:54	Argh, forum ate my post... I'll just write in point form. - given your parameters, I think a charging pouncer is a good bet - field control requires feats, and you already spent all those on Abberant feats - lion totem barbarian for pounce - monk/psywar can pounce is better late game, but needs more feats again (monastic training and tashalatora) - I keep thinking a changeling or shifter warshaper can easily replicate the tentacles and reach and would save you three feats - a shifter barbarian2/warblade2/warshaper2 with shifter savagery is quite beastly at ecl 6 start when you stack up the shifting, raging, morphic body, and your plethora of natural attacks
#7 edgewise_dup Apr 30, 2009 0:43:43	Ack, when I found Mineral Warrior I realized I'd forgotten the one other DM requirement - no evil characters. Sort of a standing house rule because we're all just too much when we're evil . But that rules that one out unfortunately. Argh, forum ate my post... I'll just write in point form. - given your parameters, I think a charging pouncer is a good bet - field control requires feats, and you already spent all those on Abberant feats - lion totem barbarian for pounce - monk/psywar can pounce is better late game, but needs more feats again (monastic training and tashalatora) - I keep thinking a changeling or shifter warshaper can easily replicate the tentacles and reach and would save you three feats - a shifter barbarian2/warblade2/warshaper2 with shifter savagery is quite beastly at ecl 6 start when you stack up the shifting, raging, morphic body, and your plethora of natural attacks I've been looking at doing a shifter or changeling warshaper... I played a shifter barbarian once before but it was a short campaign and not at all optimized... hadn't thought about warblade, excellent idea thanks .
#8 surreal Apr 30, 2009 1:51:57	Take the 2nd warblade level at ecl 4 to pick up a 2nd level maneuver. You'll have something like a +10 Str, +8 Con, improved uncanny dodge, and as many natural weapons as your DM will let you get away with, and damaged upped by two (or three) sizes. At level 7, you can pick either another level of warshaper for the reach, or another level of warblade for a 3rd level maneuver. Actually, Bloodclaw Master might even be an option,
#9 obtusehobbit Apr 30, 2009 12:27:35	If you like the idea of the Shifter Warblade/Barbarian/Warshaper here is a link to a build I made that you might be able to get some ideas from. Uber-Shifter v2