Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 Baad007 Nov 24, 2013 10:39:31	Hi All. I am relatively new to D&D  and have just started playing with a group on a whim after FNM so I really didn't have time to research a ton before building my character. At the moment I am a level 4 Elf Ranger in a campaign where when we started, we were in a magicless area, so I am a magicless ranger. The trade off was 2 extra feats with which I took Natural Bond and took a Dire Bat as an animal companion which I have used as a mount to fight from the air that I have enjoyed.   My question is what seems to be the best path to go going forward: I am about to hit level 5 and after starting to do some research about what I want to do, I realized I took the wrong feats to be able to go to Skylord (DM has no issue with it) at level 7 (Took Animal Affinity over Mounted Archery (Derp) so will have to spend my level 6 feat on that and can't get the exalted feat for Skylord until 9 (Likely Nemeis since an Exalted Companion is provided by the Skylord Class anyway; question on this later)). I am thinking about going to Beastmaster at level 6 and staying there until I can get to that Exalted Feat and the extra Animal Companion before starting Skylord levels. Are there any classes I should look at or other considerations I should make to be able to maximize my ranged damage from the skies?   Also, If I do everything as stated above, would I have both my Ranger animal companion AND the Skylord mount? Could I/Would I have to make the Skylord mount my permanent Animal companion? Same question to the Exalted Animal Companion Feat. And also concerning the Exalted Animal Companion Feat, if it does replace my normal Ranger Animal Companion, would my Natural Bond Feat add the +3?   Thanks for your assistance.
#2 Maat_Mons Nov 24, 2013 11:42:27	As per page 39 of Book of Exalted Deeds, exalted feats are supernatural, unlike virtually all other feats, which are extraordinary.  So whatever exalted feat you take, you won't be able to use it in this dead magic zone you're adventuring in.  You might still be able to use things that have the feat as a prerequisite, like the skylord class.  I'm not sure about that.     If your DM allows the retraining rules from Player's Handbook II, you can actually exchange one of your existing feats for a different one.  There are various limitations to it.  You can read about it starting on page 191 of that book.
#3 Tempest_Stormwind Nov 24, 2013 12:05:27	Maat_Mons wrote:
#4 Slagger_the_Chuul Nov 24, 2013 19:08:15	Tempest_Stormwind wrote:
#5 Baad007 Nov 25, 2013 10:49:48	@Maat Mons: We started in a no-magic zone but have crossed over to a magical zone, so that wouldn't be the issue. I will need to ask about his feelings toward the premise of the exalted nature of the feats in the campaign as as far as we are currently aware, all of the deities of the realm are dead. When I asked him, he said it was ok, but he may not have realized what it meant so I will definitely ask for more clarification. I was unaware of the retraining thing so I will definitely ask about that.   @Tempest_Stormwind: What classes did you have in mind? I would definitely be interested if I could find something that provides me with a style of gameplay that allows me to be a deadly marksman from on high from the back of my animal companion better than the Skylord. Like I said, new here so not sure if I missed something that achieves what I am aiming for better than what I have found.    Any input on the Exalted Animal Companion/Nature's Bond interpretation?   Edit: After looking at it and speaking to my DM who is ok with the Retraining rules, I am really considering making the change from Animal Affinity to Skill Focus: Handle Animal so I can do the Beastmaster at 6 (getting Mounted Archery there as well), leveling there until level 9 (getting the Beast Master Extra Animal Companion and the Exalted Feat (be it Nemesis or the Exalted Animal Companion Feat pending interpretations on how that works with Nature's Bond), then going Skylord at 10. Thoughts/Opinions/Concerns I am missing?   Another question: How do Selection of Feats and choosing a class for a level work? If I were to change Animal Affinity to Mounted Archery now, could I select Skill Focus: Handle Animal at 6 and still be able to take Beast Master at 6?
#6 Tempest_Stormwind Nov 25, 2013 12:52:22	Baad007 wrote:
#7 Baad007 Nov 27, 2013 20:07:53	I guess my question now is how much bettter is beast master at 6  through 9 and taking Skylord at 10 vs staying at ranger until level 8 and taking Skylord at 8 (Ride and Handle Animal Skill requirements are 10 each and Max Ranks in those dont hit 10 until level 7. At first glance it looks like I would probably be better off going straight to Skylord since taking the 6th level in Ranger gets me the Manyshot feat as opposed to druid levels, Speak with Animals and the extra companion.   Has anyone ever played a Cragtop Archer or a modified template for it? Interested to know if it would be worth it to try to convince the DM to let me adapt the class for my aerial archery. Something along the lines of changing requirements like  the climb ranks to ride ranks, Mountain Warrior Feat to Mounted Archery and changing some things concering the class like changing adept climber to something like Eyes of the Eagle from the Skylord PrC, Changing Arcing Shot to the Peerless Archer's Sharpshooting, and changing Mountain Skin to the Deepwood Sniper's Concealment Reduction.