Now that I have the answer about the interaction of obese and slow and steady I want to plan a build I might play in giantslayer.
The idea is a dwarf that is so fat he gains natural armor and DR by having it. After some time he becomes so big that he can/has to use oversized weapons (powerful build) and eventually might really become large sized.
His customizations will mainly go into abilities that support this idea. Obese, brawn, hardy, powerful build, improved damage
Disclaimer: I am rather overweight myself and do not intend to belittle or insult obese people in any way with this build.
Dwarf aberrant aegis 1
Alternate racial traits: Mountaineer, rock stepper, surface survivalist
Traits: Blooded, roll with it (not so much roll with it but cushion it), +1
Drawback: Misbegotten (isn't being obese a deformity that interferes with your movement?)
STR: 18 (+2 brawn)
DEX: 12
CON: 16
INT: 13
WIS: 14
CHA: 6
Feats:
Level 1: Power attack
Class abilities: (*free customizations)
Level 1: VIM, Transformed body, Brawn*, Hardened strikes*, Obese, stalwart
Equip: Studded leather armor, Longaxe, dwarven, boulderhelmet, dwarven
HP: 15 (10 +3con +1obese +1favoured class)
AC: 15 (+1dex, +1 nat, +3 armor)
DR: none yet
Dwarf aberrant aegis 5 (perhaps a dip for heavy armor?)
Alternate racial traits: Mountaineer, rock stepper, surface survivalist
Traits: Blooded, roll with it (not so much roll with it but cushion it), +1
Drawback: Misbegotten (isn't being obese a deformity that interferes with your movement?)
STR: 19 (+2 brawn +1 level)
DEX: 12
CON: 16
INT: 13
WIS: 14
CHA: 6
Feats:
Level 1: Power attack
Level 3:
Level 5:
Class abilities: (*free customizations)
Level 1: VIM, Transformed body, Brawn*, Hardened strikes*,
Level 2: Intimidate, DR2/-, Darkvision*
Level 3: Invigorating suit, reconfigure (1/day)
Level 4: Augment suit (1)
Level 5: Damage reduction (3/-), psionic form, reconfigure (2/day)
Customization: Obese, stalwart, powerful build, improved DR, energy resistance
Equip: Studded leather armor, Longaxe, dwarven, boulder-helmet, dwarven
HP: 57 (32 +15con +5obese +5favored class)
AC: 16 (+1dex, +2 nat, +3 armor) Don't know what kind of armor I will have by then.
DR: 5/- (3base, +1obese +1improved DR
Any suggestions?
I apologize for answering a question with another question, the character concept looks solid enough, but what do you want to do with it? Having some sort of direction would help with making suggestions for where you should go with it. Do you see it as an alternative to something like the invulnerable rager, or a more defensive tank-y type, etc.
No need to apologize.
First I like the concept. What I want to do with it is be a melee damage dealer who can take a good amount of punishing before going down.
By using a reach weapon combined with a boulder helmet I can threaten adjacent + 10ft. But I don't want to specialize in a certain weapon because via powerful build I can use large weapons and I hope to find a nice one now and then from the giants we kill.
In most games I played so far equip was somewhere from slightly below WBL to far far below WBL. With this build I can get an enhancement bonus to my physical stats without it costing money.
Your comparison to the invulnerable rager comes close. But I want to try to find a certain balance between damage and tankyness.
If I do not see any "better" suggestions I guess I'll take steel soul as 3rd level feat and combat reflexes as 5th level feat.
An Obese Aberrant Aegis - I'm wondering what the motivation is to role play as an average role player?
An Obese Aberrant Aegis - I'm wondering what the motivation is to role play as an average role player?
I get to be a dwarf and I get to do cool things and be strong and fit despite being fat. No couch potato but a fat guy beating up bad guys and climbing like a mountain goat.
The 3rd level feat will be steel soul and the 5th level feat will be combat reflexes. And I will take a 1 level dip into feral hunter at level 3
Dwarf aberrant aegis 4 / feral hunter 1
Alternate racial traits: Mountaineer, rock stepper, surface survivalist
Traits: Blooded, roll with it (not so much roll with it but cushion it)+1
Drawback: Misbegotten (isn't being obese a deformity that interferes with your movement?)
STR: 19 (+2 brawn +1 level)
DEX: 12
CON: 16
INT: 13
WIS: 14
CHA: 6
Feats:
Level 1: Power attack
Level 3: Steel soul
Level 5: Combat reflexes
Class abilities: (*free customizations)
Level 1: VIM, Transformed body, Brawn*, Hardened strikes*,
Level 2: Intimidate, DR2/-, Darkvision*
Level 3: Orizons, feral focus, nature training, wild empathy
Level 4: Invigorating suit, reconfigure (1/day)
Level 5: Augment suit (1)
Customization: Obese, stalwart, powerful build, improved DR
Equip: Studded leather armor, Longaxe, dwarven, boulder-helmet, dwarven
HP: 56 (33 +15con +4obese +4favored class)
AC: 16 (+1dex, +2 nat, +3 armor) Don't know what kind of armor I will have by then.
DR: 4/- (3base, +1obese +1improved DR)
I'd actually drop the combat reflexes, your Dex is only 12. Given the AP is based on giants, they will have reach and not need to be adjacent to you to attack. And you'd only get the one extra from your Dex regardless. It seems a waste.
I'd suggest something like Extra Customization (utility: evasion, ranged attack, push, etc as needed), Psionic Weapon (damage: +1 each attack or burst +2d6 with focus), Speed of Thought or Up the Walls (mobility: faster speed or maneuverability).
You are right about combat reflexes. It's so common, that every build with a reach weapon needs it.
About customizations: Evasion will be of little use because of my bad ref save. ranged attack is one the aberrant can't take and once I hit aegis level 4 I can use my augment suit to get customizations I need for a short time.
I'll take a look at the suggested feats but I do not want to take too many psionic feats because the GM agreed to let the aberrant fly if we treat psi like magic (knowledge psi = knowledge arcana and so on).
But thanks for the advice.
Edit: Psionic weapon and speed of thought look good. But as we start at level 1 and my feats for 1 and 3 are set I still have some time. More so as it's still some time before we start. The GM has to finish another game first.
I like your idea -- very colorful, I picture Bombur from LOTR when you described him.
You'll definite want to invest in a psychoactive skin of the proteus (quasi-permenant size changes) at your earliest opportunity.
Once you reach 9th level, you can use Increased Size customization and reallocate the skin to other uses.
You'll also want to enchant whatever weapon you plan on using -- my recommendation would be gloves of the beast and enchanted through amulet of mighty fists -- with the impact enchantment (per lead blades).
The Reach customization will also be one you'll want to pick up at 7th level.
Thanks for the input.
I considered taking the armored hulk but I'm not really convinced. Rage is great and not losing a point of BAB is good, too.
But I really like the permanent animal focus. +4 to perception out of combat and a +2 enhancement bonus to one of the stats I have not boosted with customizations yet. And should I ever need to jump, swim, climb I just switch the bonus to the corresponding focus. Plus the option of having some spells*.
And should I decide to take the raging route I guess I'll dip into earth elemental steelblood bloodrager. For one level that nets the same benefits as the armored hulk, plus corrosive weapons three times per day while raging.
*lead blades would combo nice with powerful build and a big weapon like the longaxe.
It might seem strange, but if you are considering Psionic Weapon, I'd suggest swapping it and Power Attack.
Why?
Because PA will give you a penalty to hit for some extra damage(more on a 2h). Psionic Weapon will give you a constant damage bonus without the penalty on any weapon. And if you really want your hit to count you can use your focus for the 2d6 extra. Then next round use an action to regain it.
Pushing PA to 5th where it increases via BAB seems to make more sense. To me it is just a matter of PA having a drawback and pushing it back to where it is least problematic (magic items to help mitigate the penalty, etc). Lower levels is where the penalty hurts the most, where all the 1's and 2's add up and mean something.
The +1 to damage might not seem like much, but being able to get into flank or any other beneficial position where you will most likely hit and put out what amounts to a critical hit on demand is where the feat shines. Your normal damage +2d6 will generally be enough to drop all but the most difficult enemies, so just be sure to "stack the deck" when you use it to make sure it is most likely to hit.