Okay some people have posted druid/shifter/monk builds, but I have one that I think is special . This build focuses completely on one shape: Rakshasa. This build attains IIRC 90 AC with +6 items, epic damage reduction III and the most powerful unlimited use/day ice storm. This build also takes advantage of many of the shifter bonuses.
Quote: Straight from the Shifter FAQ @ GameFaqs; ST:17 DX:20 CN: IN: WS: CH: AC: 27 (+12 Natural +5 DX) HP: +30 To Hit: BAB+8 Attacks: +5 Rakshasa Staff 1d6+3 (20/x2) +1d10 fire +5 bludgeoning Special: Save Universal +2 True Seeing DR 15/+5 Spell Immunity: 0th through 8th level spells Knockdown, Dodge Dispel Magic, unlimited use Ice Storm, unlimited use Mestil's Acid Breath, unlimited use Discipline +5, Hide +10, Move Silently +11, Spellcraft +15, Spot +10 Blessed weapons will kill you, no saving throw Unarmed: No Merge: Weapon, Armor, Items
From this, we see that Rakshasa does NOT override your CON bonus, gives a nice bonus to several nice skills and has built in true seeing. But most importantly, Rakshasa has level 0-8 spell immunity.
Race: you have two choices here. You can either do Dwarf or Gnome. They both get +2 CON, which is important, and they only differ slightly from there. If you choose Dwarf, you'll have a -2 CHA penalty, so you'll be f'ugly, but if you choose Gnome, you'll have a –2 STR penalty, so you’ll be encumbered all the time, unshifted. Other things to consider: Dwarf gets a +2 save on all spells, which help against 9th level and epic spells, while Gnome gets a +2 concentration bonus.
Class levels: druid/shifter/monk 28/11/1, pre-epic druid/shifter 12/8. This distribution gets you the most powerful maximized Icestorm possible for Rakshasa shape, and, if you take monk at 40 no EXP penalty.
Stats: start by pumping everything into wisdom. Doing this allows you to get Outsider shape at lvl 24, which is the soonest possible. Starting/ending: STR: 6/6 DEX: 8/8 CON: 17/22 WIS: 18/26 INT: 14/14 CHA: 8/8
Epic feats: great WIS I, great CON II, outsider shape, epic DR III, greater spell penetration (epic druid feat), epic spell penetration (epic druid feat).
Skills: Concentration: max - 1 Discipline: max Hide: max Move silently: max Spellcraft: max - 1 Tumble: max
Hide and move silently are not really needed, but you get a nice bonus from rakshasa shape that’s worth taking advantage of.
Playing this build: Leveling is actually easier than it may seem. Even though you don’t get monk AC WIS bonus until the end, you still have an amazing CON bonus, and still very decent AC. The hardest leveling will probably occur from lvl 13 (when you stop taking pure druid), until lvl 24, when you finally get outsider shape. By level 23, you will want to have 10 shifter and 25 WIS (24 base + greater WIS I), so that on your next level, you can use your general feat to get outsider shape as a shifter. Facing cold immunes later is not so much of a problem as it would seem. Unshifted, you can cast a variety of powerful non-ice elemental spells, and you still have a pretty powerful animal companion, summon IX, and elemental swarm. PvP, this is where you excel. Only a pure caster can dispel your buffs easily, but you will destroy a pure caster every time because of your spell immunity. Fighters you will probably destroy as well: they have to roll a 20 to beat your 90 AC. Probably your hardest matches will be fought against archers and a monk/paladin combo with bless weapon. This build can be tweaked against archers though, by just taking another monk level for deflect arrows.
Edited By Kail Pendragon on 10/10/07 13:57
Most PW's restrict monk usage with shifters due to the exploited ac bonus. What then?
Use a different build then. _________________ Come visit the Epic Builders Guild for all the character info you could ever want or need: Click Here
Or use sbully's rakshasa build.
I have seen Gonji use his shifter Sil Rashka to a deadly effect in the PW Story mod Athas Reborn. As focused and nasty foe as I have ever had the pleasure of killing.
Sorry, but I'm not quite sure how this build works in PVP. I someone can kill you instantly with a blessed weapon, what is your defense? I guess you can just not shift, but since that's where the power comes from in this build, what do you do? Against AI monsters, I guess it would work well, since most monsters don't bless thier weapons. _________________ Amaryllis Reborn forums
If more of us valued food and cheer and song above hoarded gold, it would be a merrier world. J. R. R. Tolkien
Quote: Posted 06/27/05 08:40:49 (GMT) -- Ackrax
Sorry, but I'm not quite sure how this build works in PVP. I someone can kill you instantly with a blessed weapon, what is your defense? I guess you can just not shift, but since that's where the power comes from in this build, what do you do? Against AI monsters, I guess it would work well, since most monsters don't bless thier weapons.
You could use another shape maybe? You have three main power shapes in this build: Rak [the domo] Slaad [good elemental resistance, distance damage with spittle] Azer Chieftain [a good little commander for most spots. fire resistance built in]
I would suggest getting a little more familiar with the elementals too, as they have some good abilities.
Granted your build is focussed on one shape, but don't get fooled into thinking that is your only avenue..
Edited By Khandahr on 06/27/05 10:34
I belive death ward will block blessed weapons from killing you. _________________ A Man of War who treads the world's roads alone, as I do, must be quick. Long ago I learned to strike swiftly and without scruple. I trouble no man without cause, but one who attacks me had best resolve himself to die!
Actually this form does have 2 main weaknesses. The first... It is an Outsider. Which makes it subject to be turned.. which sucks by the way...
Second.. you are not immune to level 9 spells.
Just thought this should have been noted.
Turning a lv 40 outsider isnt easy at all, also a lv 40 rakshasa has quite good saving throws and rather a lot of hit points, the rak form gets a bonus to spellcraft as well, this takes saving throws versus spells very high (typical spellcraft in rak form will be around 60). I think that aside from the blessed weapon thing, generally speaking its near untouchable versus other casters.
This seems to be an amazing build, but could someone who has alot of spare time, work out the leveling order of this cahracter. The classes and feats and when to take them for the best result. And how to reach 90 AC.
You can't take Greater Spell Penatration as an Epic Druid Feat...Yep, should have tested this before making it on my PW lol.
You can't take Greater Spell Penatration as an Epic Druid Feat...Yep, should have tested this before making it on my PW lol.
Oh, I'm sorry. I'm going to take advantage of your dismay, however, and guide you to a few of my own builds:
Generic Rakshasa with Dragon Shape, does what it says really Generic Rakshasa, optimized for Rakshasa shape - no DS Arcane Rakshasa, a Rakshasa with 24 Wizard levels, that yield a full array of Wizard spells and three Epic Spells. I found the build very enjoyable _________________ "We keep our Feast of Feasts, sure of our bourne, Our aims self-same: The Guest of Guests, friend Zarathustra, came! The world now laughs, the grisly veil was torn, And Light and Dark were one that wedding-morn."
