I'm starting playing in a non-Free Archetype game soon, and have decided on a Hold-scarred Orc for 12HP with a Plant Eidolon, starting at level 1.
Is it better to invest in Grapple or Trip? I'm still awaiting feedback on what the rest of the party chooses and I'm not overly invested in anyone in particular so if they choose trip I'll go grapple and vice versa.
I'm leaning on a personal level towards Trip; it can be used with Tendril Strike, Reflex tends to be easier to target, and Weighty Impact is available at 10th while the
Grasping Limbs needs 12th, clashing with Towering Size so one will need deferring until 12th. I'll need to choose whether to delay but open to suggestions as to investing instead on Grapple also. If I do go Grapple, I'm assuming Large with Gran is better than simply Huge with Grapple?Also, I'm not exactly sold on any of the Level 1 or 2 feats; they kinda feel just "there" making up space rather than significantly contributing, but also happy to be proven wrong.
- Alacritous Action is nice I guess to put itself front and centre and earn flanks for the rest of the party.
- I don't know what enemies we're facing to know if Energy Heart is useful.
- Extend Boost, just generically nice for action econ
- Ranged Combatant - I'm going for reach; I'll probably get more out of increased movement, otherwise I'd find a different creature to be a ranged turret.
- Expanded Senses - Being able to see is nice if it's dark, but again, just feels a bit feat taxy when I'm one of the few characters with enough limbs to just carry a torch.
- Magical Understudy - I like that I get more than 5 spells known eventually, but all my feats are largely spoken for until 14th, and I'm not sure if there are primal cantrips to make it worthwhile until then as they have to defensive or utility. Glass Shield and Guidance maybe?Feat Progression is 2nd (Open), 4th Shrink Down, 6th Eidolon's Opportunity, 8th Hulking Size, 10th (Trip Feat/Open), 12th Towering Size, 14th (Open/Grasping Limbs)....
Hello,
I love the plant Eidolon - even if his abilities are pretty bland until lvl 17, they translate into one of the most powerful and most adaptable playstile.
Trip is usually better than grapple in a combat situation, unless:
- You want to be a tank (grapple a melee away from your friends and he can only attack you).
- You're fighting a caster or someone with manipulate actions
- You try to stop someone from escaping or moving for tactical reasons.
But why choose ? In order to lean into the adaptability I mentioned before, being able to BOTH trip and grapple is awesome. Not only because both manoeuvers are great in their own way, but also because they target different saves. Trip is reflex and Grapple is fort, so you're better off tripping this giant and grappling this caster.
So this would be one feat right off the bat to get a 1d8, trip, grapple attack.
As for your feats:
- Alacritous action is kind of a trap. It's good to have, but it's a status bonus so a wand of 2nd level Tailwind is a cheap and efficient replacement (heck, even 1st level Tailwind is enough for a long time).
- Energy heart is great because you have two different attacks. So you can get fire on your secondary attack to trigger all those weaknesses, and still have your main attack whenever you encounter fire-proof opponents.That's the best of both worlds.
- Extend Boost is ok-ish, but would be much better for an active eidolon like Beast or Dragon. As a plant summoner, you'll often be better off casting spells, and your eidolon will probably attack once or max twice a
- Magical Understudy is only interesting if you plan on taking Magical adept (free source of heals/buffs). If you don't, it's pretty useless - if the targets are too far from you, you should probably move, not make your plant eidolon cast.
Which brings me to a very important point: you didn't get Tandem Movement, which is probably the only mandatory feat in the whole list. I wish it were embedded in the chassis but it's not and so it's a feat tax. Take it, seriously - if you don't, you'll gimp yourself pretty hard (and you'll die if you ever have to flee a fight).
You're taking shrink down to offset hulking size and Towering size. That's one way to go, but for me I'd rather go with evolution surge. Sure, it costs 1 focus point and 2 actions instead of 1 action, but:
1) You have THREE more feats to play with, which is kinda huge.
2) Your Eidolon is bigger sooner
3) Your Eidolon being medium makes it much easier in cramped spaces.
4) Plant Eidolon already has some nice reach, so there are fights where you don't even need to make him large or huge.