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So I'm thinking of making an Eldrich Guardian (Familiar Folio) who fights with a spear and a Mighty Battle Cock (MBC) chicken familiar. Perhaps 10th-level with 25-point buy.
I'm looking for advice on how to optimize my MBC so as to have it function as a secondary combatant, if not a primary one.
Right off the bat I'm thinking I would have to give my fighter LOTS of hit points since my familiar only gets half. That means taking the Toughness feat, having a high Constitution score, and pouring all of my favored class bonuses into hit points. Perhaps a gnome for the Constitution bonus too? It seems to fit the odd-ball nature of the overall concept, and he can ride his MBC into battle.
I figure the familiar can also take the Toughness and Mauler's Endurance feats to boost his hit points by 23 or so, which isn't shabby.
At 10th-level, the MBC will have a relatively high strength (especially if I give it magic items), all of my fighter's combat feats, and a full base attack bonus. It's armor class is pretty pitiable though, thanks to its low Dexterity. The leaf armor from Familiar Folio for birds will bring it up a couple of points, but it's going to need more.
Which makes it not worthless. How do I take it from "not worthless" to "awe inspiring" battle engine of destruction?
The player takes Mauler's endurance, not the familiar. And I asked and people said that toughness wouldn't work for a familiar.
Toughness raised your hit points, a familiar's hit points are based on your hit points. How wouldn't toughness add to the hit points of the bird?
He was saying taking toughness on the bird, and that wont help at all. the player taking toughness and the player taking Mauler's Endurance are feats the player can take that have an effect on the familiar.
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Consider a few combat styles? Your familiar will have a decent intelligence score (especially if you got eldritch heritage:arcane), so maybe even Kirin Style (with style master) *might* be useful.
The vital strike chain might be worth it, since you only have 1 bite attack, or you can *try* to focus on some sort of AoO generation technique. Bull Rushing comes to mind, with the Paired Opportunists feat. (EDIT: Nevermind, bull rush has a size requirement.) Grappling would be humorous, but already hard to do for PC's specialized in such.
Most, if not all, teamwork feats are also combat feats, along with style feats, so maybe there's some inspiration there?
Don't forget teamwork feats. Your familiar should qualify for these as well (from what I've seen in another thread). This means that you and your MBC could tandem charge, penetrating the enemy with spear (or lance) and beak, then you Outflank your foe so as to stab precisely with Precision Strike. Bawk Bawk baby.
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Wing Buffet sounds like a delicious choice.
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I played a Magus with a chicken as a familiar. The party always loved when my cock went into battle.
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He was saying taking toughness on the bird, and that wont help at all. the player taking toughness and the player taking Mauler's Endurance are feats the player can take that have an effect on the familiar.
Actually, I was trying to take them on both. There's no doubt that any increase to my own hit points benefits the bird, and the bird would still get 3 HP from his feat if nothing else (which is what I was assuming since they don't have too many actual hit dice).
Dungeon Master: Why did you name your chicken "Embassy"?
Player: Because he's my ighty attle ock.
Dungeon Master: Because he's your...? Em. Bah. Seh... Oh...
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Reminds me of that giant rooster that humanoid hedgehog rode on that Jim Henson's weird fairy tales show in the 80s.
Can you re-skin a dinosaur?
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Tribal Scars will pick you up 6 hitpoints. Then you have to be Kellid. Perhaps you have Wooly Cock?
Does it have to be an Eldritch Guardian? A Spirit Binder whose loved one was a ranger or something gets full BAB with the familiar and - this is important - a few extra feats for the familiar. Take the right spells and you can spend the binders' actions buffing the MBC into a MBT.
Edit: Ah right, sharing combat feats. Well, a one level dip might still be worth it.
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I was once going to make a Gnome Summoner who had an eidolon called the Magic Cock. If you want to ride the cock during battle I'd advise taking Mounted Combat and Trick Riding since this will greatly reduce the chance of your cock getting damaged by monsters. This is especially useful against touch attacks. You wouldn't want to be defenseless when somebody whips out a gun and tries to shoot your cock.
You could also consider investing in the Bodyguard feat as another way to help keep your cock up during tough encounters. Since Bodyguard is a Combat feat your cock would get it too and could return the favor by protecting you as well. If you both wear Benevolent armor you should be able to achieve a significant AC boost.
Since you're getting UMD as a class skill you'll also be able to take advantage of scrolls and wands to help you and your cock. A wand of False Life might not be a terrible investment given the long duration. I suppose that Mirror Image might also be helpful. Even a lowly 1st level spell like Grease could be help prevent enemies from grabbing your cock.
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He was saying taking toughness on the bird, and that wont help at all. the player taking toughness and the player taking Mauler's Endurance are feats the player can take that have an effect on the familiar.Actually, I was trying to take them on both. There's no doubt that any increase to my own hit points benefits the bird, and the bird would still get 3 HP from his feat if nothing else (which is what I was assuming since they don't have too many actual hit dice).
Actually if the MBC is allowed to take and benefit from toughness he should have it equal to the masters level. as per the below rule his Hd = Master's level if its better then his base HD.
"Hit Dice: For the purpose of effects related to number of Hit Dice, use the master's character level or the familiar's normal HD total, whichever is higher."
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I love this idea!
You will want decent UMD, for Animal Growth Scrolls.
Actually, I was thinking of scrolls of duplicate familiar.
"So you think you can best my cock? Little did you know, I ACTUALLY HAVE TWO!"
I wonder if you can cast it over and over again for even more cock loving action.
What about the Spirit’s Gift feat?
I'm not too familiar...*snicker*...with the shaman's abilities, much less what that feat can really do.
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I love this idea!
You will want decent UMD, for Animal Growth Scrolls.
Actually, I was thinking of scrolls of Duplicate Familiar.
"You think you can best my cock? Little did you know, I ACTUALLY HAVE TWO!"
I wonder if you can cast it over and over again for a swarm of cocks.
What about the Spirit’s Gift feat?I'm not too familiar with the shaman's abilities, much less what that feat can really do.
Best one is to take Spirit's Gift and choose Stone every day for DR 5/adamantine. Battle gives an extra +2 natural armor, so that's not bad either.
Ooh. :D
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When doing tricks with animals/familiars/etc. I'm a fan of being Human for the eye for talent alternate race trait. You can put your +2 in Con, and give the Cock a nice +2 to Str! For a strong cock! Or any other attribute, if your cock wants to swing that way. Maybe you want Cha for a pretty cock, or Dex for an agile one...I mean, no one's judging.
This is my favorite thread ever.
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Wing Buffet sounds like a delicious choice.
Not if he takes toughness.
I can't do both?
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Not if you want the meat to stay tender and juicy.
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Remember to get Muleback Cords or something similar so your cock can handle heavy loads. Then even if one of the other PCs is too big to ride your cock you could at least pick them up and fly them over obstacles.
The scrolls of Duplicate Familiar sound nice though a wand would be nice if you can afford it. It looks like the Eldritch Guardian archetype could be combined with the Mutation Warrior. If so then at 4th level you could grow a Tentacle which could hold a wand as well as a buckler. The Tentacle could also have RP purposes. I’d also suggest considering the Gang Up feat since it is a Combat feat your cock and any duplicates would get to share. Stuff like Outflank and a Menacing weapon could be nice too. It also strikes me that if you took Improved Familiar to get a celestial cock it would be able to Smite Evil once a day. I wonder if duplicate familiars would have that ability too. If so that sounds like a nice buff on your otherwise fairly expensive scroll/wand of Duplicate Familiar. Of course there's the question of whether a Fighter with effective Wizard levels would qualify for Improved Familiar, but it would be easy to pick up arcane caster levels through multiclassing with or without a trait to increase caster level.
If you obtained an aurochs/bison companion with Animal Ally your PC’s saga could be a Cock and Bull Story. A Donkey companion wouldn’t be quite as good in combat but could have RP value and might be nice if you want to squeeze into tight spaces. If you could just come up with one more pet which has the Ride skill you could take Cavalry Formation to fit the cock and ass together in one 5’ square. I suppose that a low level eidolon could work for that. She could look however you’d like and ride your cock all day long. With the Skilled evolution the eidolon could be a wand jockey as well as a cock jockey. With Boon Companion you could have up to 4 levels of Summoner or really any class or mix of classes without decreasing the power of your cock. Besides supplying an obedient cock rider the Summoner dip would give you some spells to share with your cock as well as the ability to activate a pretty wide variety of wands and scrolls without even making a UMD check. Disguise Self and Alter Self might help you get your cock into areas where it otherwise might be denied access. A dip into a class which casts True Strike could be powerful for combat maneuvers.
Another multiclass option which might be fun is Monk since it makes it easier to pick up various Combat feats. If you and the cock both got the Snake Fang feat from Master of Many Styles and also took Paired Opportunist you’d both get an AoO at +4 to hit whenever an enemy missed either one of you (well, you’d need Combat Reflexes too). If you’re taking Combat Reflexes anyhow you could consider stuff like Vicious Stomp, which might be nice with Tandem Trip. Obviously there’s no way you can take all of the various feats being discussed here, but the idea of a kung-fu chicken with Crane Style and a “Chicken Wing” defense amuses me. If you want to get carried away with that you could check out Jet Li in "Last Hero in China" (way different than "Hero"...perhaps a bit sillier...just a bit...)
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It's impressive how many of you feel it's wise to bait the moderators with word-choices that are technically correct but clearly innuendo-laden. Brilliant.
I'm not a prude by any stretch of the imagination, but this is simply unwise behaviour when you know what's expected of this community.
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It's impressive how many of you feel it's wise to bait the moderators with word-choices that are technically correct but clearly innuendo-laden. Brilliant.
I'm not a prude by any stretch of the imagination, but this is simply unwise behaviour when you know what's expected of this community.
Would it help if I pointed out that laying hens are sometimes called pullets? I mean, there's this old joke where the guy buys a cock and pullet, and this really lazy mule who sometimes stops and won't start walking again until you scratch its belly. The guy ends up asking a milkmaid to hold both chickens while he scratched his mule. You can mentally assemble your own punchline.
And to keep this post semi-topical, don't forget to buy barding. If you're sending your cock into battle, you'll want it to wear protection.
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I think the mods and some of the devs are likely reading this thread and laughing. In fact, you'd think that the inclusion of the chicken familiar was intended just for this thread to exist. And if so, well played.
Looooooooool
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I needed the laugh this thread gifted me with, so thank you all
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I am surprised and ashamed in this community...that no one has yet mentioned how best to optimize the cock versus a succubus in a grapple.
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^^^ That's easy! a grease spell is a great way to get a bonus! ^^^
This thread is a little too high brow for my crude sense of humor...
My thought would be to reskin a dino, or perhaps an axbeak or something. I also like the idea of getting a fiendish, or celestial or something template on the thing. That opens all kind of smiting from your holy cock and stuff.
Just be sure to finish everything up before you start playing, you wouldn't want to run off half... eh, you get the idea.
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I am surprised and ashamed in this community...that no one has yet mentioned how best to optimize the cock versus a succubus in a grapple.
That's because in Soviet Pathfinder, your chicken chokes you!
Evolved familiar works REALLY well combined with your chicken. It has wings, so it can take Wing Buffet for extra attacks.
That feat could also give you a tentacle for a cock.
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I am torn between mirth and shame on the war chicken thread.
Please continue so as to help make up my mind.
In all seriousness however, raptors could be/are feathered and would be a more suitable base creature for a war...bird.
Ninjaed.
In all seriousness however, raptors could be/are feathered and would be a more suitable base creature for a war...bird.
But we don't want birds here. We like the cock!
Contributor
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I once tried to theorycraft a smiting build, for a Soul Binder whose lost love, a paladin of Shelyn, had been placed in a creature to continue the fight.
I came to the conclusion that either chicken or peacock is the best way to go about this (honorable mentions go to kakapo and platypus).
Use human Eye For Talent to buff Cha to 15, and you have a semi-competent smiting familiar.
Will build this for a level 3 wizard, might post tomorrow. Or tonight, if I whip it up quickly enough!
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Where are the builds?
Meet "Hu" a simple-minded fellow with a deep love of chickens, brewing, and smashing.
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Contributor
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Okay, it's not the BEST, but here's a wizard/battle cock build at level 3! Be aware a mistake or two may have been made.
Human transmuter (spirit binder) 3
N Medium humanoid (human)
Init +2; Senses Perception +0
DEFENSE
AC 12, touch 12, flat-footed 10 (+2 Dex)
hp 29 (1d6[start]+2d6+18)
Fort +4, Ref +3, Will +3
OFFENSE
Speed 30 ft.
Melee silver dagger +0 (1d4-1/19-20)
Spells Prepared (CL 3rd, concentration +6)
2nd-bulls' strength, eagle's splendor
1st-expeditious retreat, mage armor, shield
0 (at will)-detect magic, light, prestidigitation, read magic
TACTICS
Before Combat BUFF THE CHICKEN
During Combat STAY OUT OF CHICKEN'S WAY
STATISTICS
Str 8, Dex 14, Con 16, Int 16, Wis 10, Cha 12
Base Atk +1; CMB +0; CMD 12
Feats Improved Familiar, Mauler's Endurance
Skills Knowledge (arcana, nature, planes) +9, Profession (chef) +6, Spellcraft +9 Racial Modifiers +2 Sense Motive
Languages Celestial, Common, Draconic, Sylvan
SQ eye for talent, familiar (celestial soulbound familiar named Clarissa)
Clarissa
Celestial chicken soulbound familiar (mauler)
LG Medium magical beast
Init +3; Senses Perception +1
DEFENSE
AC 19, touch 9, flat-footed 19 (+4 armor, -1 Dex, +2 natural, +4 shield)
hp 20 (3 HD)
Fort +4, Ref +0, Will +4
Defensive Abilities improved evasion
OFFENSE
Speed 60 ft., fly 20 ft. (clumsy); drift
Melee bite +8 (1d6+3)
Special Attacks smite good (+4 to hit/AC, +3 dmg)
STATISTICS
Str 16, Dex 9, Con 12, Int 6, Wis 12, Cha 19
Base Atk +3; CMB +6; CMD 15
Feats Improved Initiative, Power Attack
Skills Knowledge (arcana, nature, planes) +1, Profession (chef) +4, Spellcraft +1
Languages empathy
SQ bond forged in blood, battle form
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I would have personally gone with Foghorn, Nergal(Mesopotamian Demon Cock), Vidopnir(Norse Immortal Cock of Dawn), but that's me.
Would a build with a Permanent Anthropomorphic Animal, and a two-handed weapon of sorts, be as good, or better?
By the way, the Jersey Giant is the biggest Cock, but the Old English Game Cock is the most aggressive, and favored for Cockfights.