Well I have had this same idea forever so I thought what the heck why not make a character that I think would be very interesting to play so here’s the deal I would like to hear what you guess think, what you can add, and your comments over all about the character.
So the lets picture us in the middle of the Rainforest.... The Forest is out of control in its growth it’s almost impossible to walk through or even see 20 feet in front of you its so humid! Calls ring out from all direction Birds, Monkeys, and all sorts of un-nerving things everywhere at once! This is where Samir was born. He has lived hear for all of his life till now. Now he seeks to show other peoples how to be apart of nature and not in or with nature, Samir would tell you that you are just as much an animal as a rat and that they should be treated with as much respect as you would give a fellow humanoid, He wants the peoples who must cut the trees down, Mine, and burn to learn what there doing not only hurts the material plane but everyone in the material plane, including Humanoids! If you were to look on Samir you would be very confused because you could very well see he is a Dwarf or is he? He is as short as a Dwarf, a tall Dwarf but short for most other races, but where he should be wide and thick he is almost slender! No, wait you can see the thick chest but gosh he is just thin, well athletic but just not as big as most Dwarfs, and where the heck is his beard! No beard? It doesn’t even look as if he shaves just tha.. Wait! There’s no hair anywhere on his body! Ok there must be something wrong Samir’s tan. Dwarfs aren’t tan! No they stay underground so long they glow that’s how they light there towns right? They cant see in the Dark they just are so white they glow! But no Samir is tan… why would you have said he was a Dwarf… ahh his face is much like a Dwarfs wide, Square, Harsh.. Well he’s one weird Dwarf he doesn’t even have a axe or hammer he uses a halberd and spears Ha! He has a net too and where most dwarfs wear heavy armor and high shields this Dwarf wears only studded leather. Out of a tree jumps a large fat cat bear thing but before we can move Samir say’s playfully “This is Kibibi, not to worry or grow weary she will not harm you as long as you not harm me.”
Samir will be start as a level 2 Ranger level 1 Druid (is that good? Any cool prestige classes?)
Samir is also a Dwarf but I was wonder what minor changes I could make to this particular Dwarf race which has changed so much in the area they have called home.
(So a help on his people really, and why they are why they are)
I am giving Samir a Binturong for an animal companion more info on them at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bearcat (I also need to make stats for this so any ideas would be great)
This is the character I need help on more about him, quirks, and such!
You guys are awesome and always have very intelligent, creative things to say so I cant wait to hear what you guys can think up to help me with my Idea block on where to go from here, Thanks!
So its that bad eh?
wow!
With regards to your jungle dwarves, there's a proposed environmental subrace in Unearthed Arcana which can also be found here. If nothing else, that might give you a starting place in figuring out what they can do and, by extension, how they get by in the jungle as well as how and why they've learned their traditional methods, and so on and so forth.
As for the character, I tend to steer clear of overlapping classes like Paladin/Clerics and Druid/Rangers because the complementary and stacking abilities of the ranger (continuation of your wild empathy) don't really make up for the hit to your animal companion, wild shape, and spellcasting abilities. A Ranger/Scout or Ranger/Rogue might be interesting if the Ranger can't hold your interest, or if you really wanted to focus on the Animal Companion you might look into the Beast Master class in the Complete Adventurer, or even the Arcane Heirophant's Familiar Companion for Druid/Arcanists. Actual stats for the thing I can't really help you with, I'm afraid. Creating new monsters isn't among my strong suits.
I'm loving the bearcat!!! There is a bearhound in MMIII, that might work. I do believe that it would need some turning, but it is very close. I do agree about over lapping abilities. You might want to try the Drudic Avenger variant from Unearth Arcana.
Fizz
Alright I havent had time to look at the books you guys pointed out but I will totally check it out later tonight when I get home thanks you guys for the help I just wish everyone had something to say about it lol