Fist of the Forest / Bear Warrior - Downloaded from the Wizards Community, all coding removed by Solauren

Fist of the Forest / Bear Warrior

Post/Author/DateTime Post
#1
MickeyMacAttack
Oct 22, 2010 20:11:55 So I knew about the bear warrior from Complete Warrior, neat class but giving up manufactured weapons for the dinky 1d4 claw and 1d6 bite attacks seemed silly to me. I just found the Fist of the Forest class and well they seem to go really well together. The only thing I dont understand is how does the unarmed damage increase when you combine the two?

I was interested in making something like a dwarf barbarian 2/fighter 2/FotF 3/bear warrior 5, however I would like to know a few things.

First how does the unarmed damage ability from the FotF increase the bear warriors natural weapon damage (I know at first level the black bear form attacks are 1d4 and 1d6 and then at level 5 the brown bear form is 1d8 and 2d6, I would assume this is because the brown bear is considered large)

Secondly feats I could take to improve my unarmed damage (I am assuming unarmed and natural attacks are considered the same in this respect) such as improved natural attack is rather straight forward in that it simply ups the damage die but feats like superior unarmed strike are a bit more vague.

Over all the combination seems really good when you add in these feats I just dont quite understand how the damage would add up.

Can someone please explain?

Thanks.
#2
dandu
Oct 22, 2010 20:23:56 An unarmed strike and a natural weapon are different things. Your unarmed strike damage does not increase your natural weapon damage.
#3
MickeyMacAttack
Oct 22, 2010 21:22:42 In that case, what would be the best route to beefing up the damage with natural weapons for bear warrior?

I know improved natural weapons would be one way but are there any others? Warshaper would give me the ability to increase my natural weapons to an additional size category.

Am I basically just reaching for something that isnt there?
#4
dandu
Oct 22, 2010 22:21:20 Warshaper is probably your best bet, aside from taking more levels of Bear Warrior and becoming a giant bear.
#5
MickeyMacAttack
Oct 23, 2010 0:56:13 Would taking a level of monk enable me to apply the bonuses from unarmed damage?
#6
aelryinth
Oct 23, 2010 12:30:38 No. but it would let you apply your Wis to AC, if you are not wearing armor. You'd be better off with a level of swordsage...you could wear light armor, and you'd get a usable stance or two.

===Aelryinth
#7
uhm_hoi
Oct 27, 2010 9:56:12
A very nice way to increase damage as a bear warrior is combine it with a dungeon crasher fighter
barbarian1/fighter6/bearwarrior1/warschaper2/bearwarrior+4 with vow of poverty does pretty well.
#8
MickeyMacAttack
Oct 27, 2010 11:47:06 I have been playing around with it in my head and I think I will basically be going monk 2/barb 2/fighter 1/FotF 3/Bear Warrior 1/ Warshaper 2/ Bear Warrior 4/ XXX 5

I was only going to take a single level in monk but Evasion sounds pretty nice to have in bear form.

If I only take 1 level of monk then I would throw in another fighter level

I kind of hate having to wait until 9th level to get bear form but the BAB requirement is what it is so not much I can do. The only problem I see with this is my character is going to be pretty weak up until I get that first level of FotF.

Also for anyone who has ever played a FotF how did you deal with the requirements to get in (having to be accepted by the green guardians)? I am familiar with classes with racial pre-reqs but I dont even know what this falls under since I would assume they would be campaign specific and not simply exist everywhere.

Thanks by the way for all the suggestions so far.
#9
The_Crimson_Dawn
Oct 27, 2010 13:55:21 Looks like you are going Kung-Fu Panda. Going bear will increase your unarmed damage because of your size increase and you can do unarmed strikes and add in your natural attacks. Unless your DM does not like Kung-Fu Panda.
#10
MickeyMacAttack
Oct 27, 2010 14:28:33 Well I dont really see that happening, my DM is pretty laid back about these things and I havent seen him ban any PrCs yet and by comparsion I think BW is pretty tame compared to what I have seen people do with some things.

Natural attacks as secondary weapons would simply be treated with a -5 penalty to attacks (or -2 with multiattack feat) correct?
#11
dandu
Oct 27, 2010 15:37:23
I have been playing around with it in my head and I think I will basically be going monk 2/barb 2/fighter 1/FotF 3/Bear Warrior 1/ Warshaper 2/ Bear Warrior 4/ XXX 5

I was only going to take a single level in monk but Evasion sounds pretty nice to have in bear form.

If I only take 1 level of monk then I would throw in another fighter level

Try Ranger1/Barbarian2/Ranger2/Horizon Walker1/Fist of the Forest3/Bear Warrior1/Warshaper4/Bear Warrior6

Barbarian: Spirit Lion Totem ACF (Pounce), Wolf Totem alternate class (Improved Trip)
Ranger: Trap Expert ACF (trades Track for Trapfinding and Disable Device, Strongarm Ranger ACF (Power Attack instead of TWF)
Horizon Walker: Desert Terrain (immunity to what would normally bring fatigue)

Take Steadfast Endurance for Con to will saves and immunity from crit failing a fortitude save, Multiattack, and Snap Kick.

Buy an Amulet of Mighty Fists (Since a Necklace of Natural Weapons only applies to one type of natural weapon)
#12
MickeyMacAttack
Oct 27, 2010 15:51:14 What books are those ranger alternates in?

I have always wondered why so many people take a dip in ranger, it cant be for track as while useful I cant see it being worth multiclassing for.
#13
dandu
Oct 27, 2010 16:28:34 Strongarm Ranger is from Dragon.

Ranger's good for skills. You get tons of skills. You can even get Tumble, if you trade Ride in for it.
#14
MickeyMacAttack
Oct 27, 2010 18:19:24 Ah yes that would be a problem, the DM allows just about every book but doesnt like dragon magazine.
#15
dandu
Oct 27, 2010 19:33:14 Point out that it's far from broken to get Power Attack instead of Two Weapon Fighting.
#16
The_Crimson_Dawn
Oct 27, 2010 23:18:15 The ride trade into tumble is actually from the cityscape web enhancement so it may still be useable for you.
#17
MickeyMacAttack
Oct 28, 2010 12:04:49 Certainly some good things to think about.

Thanks everyone.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 MickeyMacAttack Oct 22, 2010 20:11:55	So I knew about the bear warrior from Complete Warrior, neat class but giving up manufactured weapons for the dinky 1d4 claw and 1d6 bite attacks seemed silly to me. I just found the Fist of the Forest class and well they seem to go really well together. The only thing I dont understand is how does the unarmed damage increase when you combine the two? I was interested in making something like a dwarf barbarian 2/fighter 2/FotF 3/bear warrior 5, however I would like to know a few things. First how does the unarmed damage ability from the FotF increase the bear warriors natural weapon damage (I know at first level the black bear form attacks are 1d4 and 1d6 and then at level 5 the brown bear form is 1d8 and 2d6, I would assume this is because the brown bear is considered large) Secondly feats I could take to improve my unarmed damage (I am assuming unarmed and natural attacks are considered the same in this respect) such as improved natural attack is rather straight forward in that it simply ups the damage die but feats like superior unarmed strike are a bit more vague. Over all the combination seems really good when you add in these feats I just dont quite understand how the damage would add up. Can someone please explain? Thanks.
#2 dandu Oct 22, 2010 20:23:56	An unarmed strike and a natural weapon are different things. Your unarmed strike damage does not increase your natural weapon damage.
#3 MickeyMacAttack Oct 22, 2010 21:22:42	In that case, what would be the best route to beefing up the damage with natural weapons for bear warrior? I know improved natural weapons would be one way but are there any others? Warshaper would give me the ability to increase my natural weapons to an additional size category. Am I basically just reaching for something that isnt there?
#4 dandu Oct 22, 2010 22:21:20	Warshaper is probably your best bet, aside from taking more levels of Bear Warrior and becoming a giant bear.
#5 MickeyMacAttack Oct 23, 2010 0:56:13	Would taking a level of monk enable me to apply the bonuses from unarmed damage?
#6 aelryinth Oct 23, 2010 12:30:38	No. but it would let you apply your Wis to AC, if you are not wearing armor. You'd be better off with a level of swordsage...you could wear light armor, and you'd get a usable stance or two. ===Aelryinth
#7 uhm_hoi Oct 27, 2010 9:56:12	A very nice way to increase damage as a bear warrior is combine it with a dungeon crasher fighter barbarian1/fighter6/bearwarrior1/warschaper2/bearwarrior+4 with vow of poverty does pretty well.
#8 MickeyMacAttack Oct 27, 2010 11:47:06	I have been playing around with it in my head and I think I will basically be going monk 2/barb 2/fighter 1/FotF 3/Bear Warrior 1/ Warshaper 2/ Bear Warrior 4/ XXX 5 I was only going to take a single level in monk but Evasion sounds pretty nice to have in bear form. If I only take 1 level of monk then I would throw in another fighter level I kind of hate having to wait until 9th level to get bear form but the BAB requirement is what it is so not much I can do. The only problem I see with this is my character is going to be pretty weak up until I get that first level of FotF. Also for anyone who has ever played a FotF how did you deal with the requirements to get in (having to be accepted by the green guardians)? I am familiar with classes with racial pre-reqs but I dont even know what this falls under since I would assume they would be campaign specific and not simply exist everywhere. Thanks by the way for all the suggestions so far.
#9 The_Crimson_Dawn Oct 27, 2010 13:55:21	Looks like you are going Kung-Fu Panda. Going bear will increase your unarmed damage because of your size increase and you can do unarmed strikes and add in your natural attacks. Unless your DM does not like Kung-Fu Panda.
#10 MickeyMacAttack Oct 27, 2010 14:28:33	Well I dont really see that happening, my DM is pretty laid back about these things and I havent seen him ban any PrCs yet and by comparsion I think BW is pretty tame compared to what I have seen people do with some things. Natural attacks as secondary weapons would simply be treated with a -5 penalty to attacks (or -2 with multiattack feat) correct?
#11 dandu Oct 27, 2010 15:37:23	I have been playing around with it in my head and I think I will basically be going monk 2/barb 2/fighter 1/FotF 3/Bear Warrior 1/ Warshaper 2/ Bear Warrior 4/ XXX 5 I was only going to take a single level in monk but Evasion sounds pretty nice to have in bear form. If I only take 1 level of monk then I would throw in another fighter level Try Ranger1/Barbarian2/Ranger2/Horizon Walker1/Fist of the Forest3/Bear Warrior1/Warshaper4/Bear Warrior6 Barbarian: Spirit Lion Totem ACF (Pounce), Wolf Totem alternate class (Improved Trip) Ranger: Trap Expert ACF (trades Track for Trapfinding and Disable Device, Strongarm Ranger ACF (Power Attack instead of TWF) Horizon Walker: Desert Terrain (immunity to what would normally bring fatigue) Take Steadfast Endurance for Con to will saves and immunity from crit failing a fortitude save, Multiattack, and Snap Kick. Buy an Amulet of Mighty Fists (Since a Necklace of Natural Weapons only applies to one type of natural weapon)
#12 MickeyMacAttack Oct 27, 2010 15:51:14	What books are those ranger alternates in? I have always wondered why so many people take a dip in ranger, it cant be for track as while useful I cant see it being worth multiclassing for.
#13 dandu Oct 27, 2010 16:28:34	Strongarm Ranger is from Dragon. Ranger's good for skills. You get tons of skills. You can even get Tumble, if you trade Ride in for it.
#14 MickeyMacAttack Oct 27, 2010 18:19:24	Ah yes that would be a problem, the DM allows just about every book but doesnt like dragon magazine.
#15 dandu Oct 27, 2010 19:33:14	Point out that it's far from broken to get Power Attack instead of Two Weapon Fighting.
#16 The_Crimson_Dawn Oct 27, 2010 23:18:15	The ride trade into tumble is actually from the cityscape web enhancement so it may still be useable for you.
#17 MickeyMacAttack Oct 28, 2010 12:04:49	Certainly some good things to think about. Thanks everyone.