Xathrax's page

Oh, that's what I get for looking at potential monsters in an Excel spreadsheet. I didn't notice that those were 3rd party monsters.

So while looking at the possible monsters that I could morph into I was mostly looking at large animals, but when I was checking out magical beasts later on I found something truly scary:

Cave Leech.
Riptide Horror.

So... umm.... 9 and 12 natural attacks? Also looking at the attack bonuses the tentacles are not considered as secondary attacks. Also has grab AND reach.

So if you build a character with morphing in mind such as a Dragon Disciple you can reasonably achieve ~28-30 Str by the time you are able to cast Beast Shape III which means that the 1d4 die of the tentacle doesn't matter since you will be adding +10 from Str or more if you are power attacking or using amulet of mighty fists for some extra d6s. I do have to admit that when you run into DR you will probably cry.

Also an Oracle with the Dark Tapestry mystery has this:

Many Forms (Su): As a standard action, you can assume the form of a Small or Medium humanoid, as the alter self spell. At 7th level, you can assume the form of a Small or Medium animal, as beast shape I. At 11th level, you can assume the form of a Small or Medium magical beast, as beast shape III. At 15th level, you can assume a variety of forms, as greater polymorph. You can use this ability for 1 minute per day per oracle level. This duration does not need to be consecutive, but it must be spent in 1-minute increments. You must be at least 3rd level to select this revelation.

Along with the favored class bonus of the Aasimar which would allow Beast Shape III at level 8:
Oracle Add +1/2 to the oracle's level for the purpose of determining the effects of one revelation.

So is it just me or this is very strong? What if the alchemist shares an infusion with the Barbarian that enrages and delivers 12 attacks with insane bonuses?

Yeah no,

the ability to cast a 2nd level spell is not the ability to cast second level spells.

When I was asking about a similar thing I got this helpful link:

PDT has stated that one spell that you can cast more than once is good enough.

Not sure why some people are upset about getting MT at level 4. You are still 0.5 and 1 spell level behind and you don't progress any class features. You do get far more flexibility, but you get worse ability scores due to needing 2 different ones for casting. I don't think there is anything overpowered here.

However I'd be very interested to hear about original or optimized builds.

Well, wouldn't that still allow you to qualify after taking Cleric 1/Wizard 3? Still 2 levels earlier.

Wait a moment... since the tiefling has Darkness which is both on the Cleric and Wizard lists as a level 2 spell does this allow him to be a Mystic Theurge without having 3 level of cleric and wizard?

Claxon wrote:

Preferred Spell doesn't qualify you by itself.

The requirement is "the ability to cast 1st level arcane spells without preparation". So you would have to take it at least twice. That would then probably allow you to qualify.

PDT has stated that one spell that you can cast more than once is good enough.

So to get a Wizard into DD, either Preferred Spell or an appropriately leveled SLA will work just fine.

Thanks! That is massive help!

He = me :)

For what I was trying to achieve the EK is not really good.

The Dragon disciple at level 4 gives you 3AC, 4Str, a breath weapon, a feat and d12 HD.
The EK gives you a feat, sucks up an additional caster level and has d10 HD.

If you compare these they are miles apart. Being proficient with weapons and armor is kinda pointless if I'm going to polymorph. Instead if I just go with more wizard levels I get to add +4 to a stat as a swift action and an additional spell level. In my mind this easily makes me a better melee combatant since I get access to better morphing spells.

LazarX, you can't compare the Eldritch Knight with the Dragon Disciple. You don't get lots of extra ability scores, you don't get natural armor and you MUST multiclass as a wizard to qualify. So that's against every single point I made. Also why does Preffered Spell not qualify? It gives you the ability to spontaniously cast.

Hello everyone,

While they aren't terribly efficient I am a fan of polymorph spells. The idea of turning into something scary seems quite fun to me.

The Dragon Disciple seems really great for this purpose as it's an easy +4 STR, additional natural armor and an amazing d12 HD.

While the sorcerer is the intended fit I don't like being an entire spell level behind as opposed to just 0,5. So what I'd like is to use the wizard instead. The Enchancement wizard gives an easy +2 to a physical ability score already at level 5 which is very nice.

The obvious problem is not having the ability to cast 1st-level arcane spells without preparation. So my question is - is there any way around it by level 5? After searching for a bit myself I see the Preffered Spell feat which seems to fit. Is there any reason this wouldn't work? Also perhaps there is some other way to achieve the same result? Keep in mind that I don't want to mix in a 3rd class.

If this works my next question would be if there are any feats/items that would let me progress my arcane school/bloodline since I can only progress one at a time. I am only aware of Robe of Arcane Heritage and of no feats.

Thanks for your time!

Do you think it's worth it? Multiclassing potentially into a 4th class just to deal a bit more damage? Power attack alone achieves what 2 dragon style feats do + feral combat training.

Anyone got any more suggestions? I'm still looking for some creative ways to use vestigial arms.

Dasrak, thanks that helps. I might still be fine with taking 1d6 damage since I'll have plenty or armor and hp.

Name Violation, you are right. I'll probably switch the order of feats around a bit to fix that. Should still be able to get all of them in the end.

Hello everyone!

My first post here :) Going to be a bit lengthy.

I know that the concept of making an alchemist/barbarian for a +8 Str using Feral Mutagen is not a new concept, but I really liked the idea so wanted to create my own version of this. I would like to have a good balance between a cool concept and efficiency. This will be 20 point buy and level 8.

Initially I thought it would be really cool to get 2 Vestigial Arms and get more abilities that grant claw attacks for a total of 4 claws, but as far as I understand that doesn't work that way.

The idea of the character is that he is a medicine man in a barbarian tribe, but as he discovers the feral mutagen the tribe rejects him after they see his monstrous form so he is left to fend for himself. He is quite savage so he intimidates opponents by growling, howling(Dazzling Display,Intimidating Prowess) and since I have lots of skill points I can easily max intimidate. Not sure where else to put the points other than Perception. Probably 1 point in Str skills, but not sure what else.

The character will be a half-orc with Sacred Tattoo since that seems to fit the theme pretty well.

I am thinking of Barbarian 2/Alchemist 6

Str 16 + 2 racial
Dex 16 + 2 from level advancement
Con 14
Int 13
Wis 10
Cha 7

Traits:
1. Berserker of the Society
2. Undecided(probably + to a saving throw or initiative)

Feats/abilities:
1st Level(Beastmorph alchemist ) - Weapon Focus(claws)
2nd Level(Beastmorph alchemist) - Feral Mutagen(discovery)
3rd Level(barbarian) - Dazzling Display
4th Level(barbarian) - Fiend Totem, Lesser(rage power)
5th Level(Beastmorph alchemist) - Intimidating Prowess
6th Level(Beastmorph alchemist) - Extend Potion(discovery)
7th Level(Beastmorph alchemist) - Combat Reflexes or Toughness
8th Level(Beastmorph alchemist) - Spontaneous Healing(discovery)

as an alternative I am thinking Barbarian 2/Lore Warden Fighter 2/Alchemist 4

This would give me 3 free feats and I could go for:

Feats/abilities:
1st Level(Beastmorph alchemist) - Weapon Focus(claws)
2nd Level(Beastmorph alchemist) - Feral Mutagen(discovery)
3rd Level(barbarian) - Dazzling Display
4th Level(barbarian) - Fiend Totem, Lesser(rage power)
5th Level(Beastmorph alchemist) - Intimidating Prowess
6th Level(Beastmorph alchemist) - Extend Potion(discovery)
7th Level(Lore Warden) - Combat Expertise,Improved Trip,Combat Reflexes
8th Level(Lore Warden) - Greater Trip

Now I don't really care much for having higher level extracts since I'll mostly do melee so being able to charge, trip with a massive bonus and make an AoO when they fall/stand up seems REALLY awesome. Lower mutagen duration does suck and not being able to take the wings discovery sucks as well so perhaps someone could comment? I get an extra 1 point of BAB too.
With 4 natural attacks keeping I could easily trip 2 opponents, hit both due to AoO, hit them again with the remaining 2 attacks with them having the -4 AC penalty due to being prone AND smack them again when they are standing up(4 AoO due to Combat Reflexes). With Belt of Giant Strength I will have 28 Str so that's +9, +7 from BaB, +4 from Feats, +1 from Weapon Focus if I trip with claws for a total of +21 to trip not counting cases where I will have enlarge person cast. That should ensure that most stuff will fall even on a fairly low roll. Now I have almost convinced myself that this is the better option :D

Now I have a bunch of rules questions. I did find some topics that talk about this, but I couldn't find a definite answer:

1. Is drinking an extract always a standard action? Reason I'm asking is if I can bypass the full round required for enlarge person. I'm just drinking a vial so there is no full round of casting, right?

2. I want to purchase a caster level 20 potion of Stoneskin and use it with the Alchemical Allocation spell so that I never waste it. This gives me 200 minutes duration + 200 minutes from the Extend Potion discovery letting it last slightly over 6,5 hours. Does this really work that way? 400 minutes of DR/10 absorbing 200 damage as a level 2 spell even with the cost of the potion and it taking 2 standard actions seems insane. But I cannot think of a reason why this wouldn't work. I want to do a similar thing to a potion of Barkskin.

3. I want to use a Vicious Amulet of Mighty Fists. Will the Stoneskin absorb the 1d6 damage dealt to me? If so I'm looking at some monstrous damage. 2x 3d6+9 claws at +17 are probably already making the other melee characters jelly while I also have bite/gore. The self damage kinda fits the savage theme as well. If I get my hands on a +2 Amulet of Mighty fists I'd make it Vicious and Furious.

4. Does Amplify Elixir stack with Extend Potion? My gut says no, but I'm used to seeing a comment that it doesn't stack with X like the Unlife Healer ability of the Undead Lord.

5. Do you require to activate the wings discovery to start flying? I remember our GM ruled that the Witches fly hex would take a standard action to start up, but my understanding is that since the wings aren't natural after you fly for x minutes you get tired and need to rest before flying again.

6. Can anyone think of something cool you could do by taking 2x Vestigial Arm? Other than holding a shield. The idea of having 4 arms is really sweet, but not being able to add natural attacks makes it less awesome. I'd take City-Raised for the Whip proficiency and trip people from 15ft away from time to time if I don't feel like moving. But that doesn't seem worth it.

Ok, I'm done! Thanks for reading if you got this far :D Any suggestions regarding skills, feats, gear that would help optimize or improve the theme would be very welcome.