Playble 33-40 (or so), PvP nevertheless, I'm not stopping you from trying 1-40 one could try one's luck at PvM, too
This is a rip off of cdaulepp's old build (see below). I, however, felt that it wasn't optimized - for my taste, at least - and so I'm posting this now. I also feel that my format is better This build really deserves some added publicity. Rakshasa is my favourite shape, BTW
Results from pulse cap's build searcher: Druid 5/Wizard 24/Shifter 11 by Sbully Drow Devistator /Druid 5/Shifter 17/Wizard 18 by WarriorCleric Druid 5/Shifter 12/Wizard 23 by Wendrae_Trebor Rakshasa /Druid20/Wizard8/Shifter12 by Wildeyes
Casters, I dare you _________________ "... C'est un pays plus nu que la terre polaire — Ni bêtes, ni ruisseaux, ni verdure, ni bois!
Or il n'est pas d'horreur au monde qui surpasse La froide cruauté de ce soleil de glace Et cette immense nuit semblable au vieux Chaos; ..."
Edited By FinneousPJ on 06/01/06 20:22
Okay, I think I'm going to have to add this.
Pros:
Immune to 8th level spells and below
Can cast Spell Mantles to temporary absorb all spells
Is an epic Wizard
Epic Mage Armor works wonders when shifted (also castable when shifted)
Epic Warding (castable when shifted)
Greater Ruin (castable when shifted)
Unlimited Ice Storms per day, 78 damage maximized
Can be played un-shifted, too (see the third point!)
High saves, especially vs. Spells
Pretty decent HPs for a caster
Good AC
Cons:
Since you're a Wizard, your Ice Storm is a level 4 spell; thus, Globe of Invulnerbility will make your opponent immune to it. At this point you can try your Rakshasa Dispel Magic. If that doesn't work, you'll basically have to unshift to kill him.
Even though you're a Shifter, the only form really usable is Rakshasa, so the supposed versatility on that part is non-existant
Loses a lot of AC flat-footed
I think you people can think of more Cons, eh?
Edited for adding forum codes _________________ "... C'est un pays plus nu que la terre polaire — Ni bêtes, ni ruisseaux, ni verdure, ni bois!
Or il n'est pas d'horreur au monde qui surpasse La froide cruauté de ce soleil de glace Et cette immense nuit semblable au vieux Chaos; ..."
Edited By FinneousPJ on 06/01/06 21:22
Quote: Douglas Crews' Shifter FAQ on 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
That's all. Maybe. _________________ "... C'est un pays plus nu que la terre polaire — Ni bêtes, ni ruisseaux, ni verdure, ni bois!
Or il n'est pas d'horreur au monde qui surpasse La froide cruauté de ce soleil de glace Et cette immense nuit semblable au vieux Chaos; ..."
+14 vs. Spells (NOTE: with a Fortitude save of 49 vs. Spells, even Implosion will only work on a roll of 1)
Okay, I figure that's a bit too much, namely the +12 DEX. So, let's say +6 DEX and change Reflex save to 27. And yet, I feel that they don't include the Raks save bonus, so make them 37/29/35. Now, that should be all _________________ "... C'est un pays plus nu que la terre polaire — Ni bêtes, ni ruisseaux, ni verdure, ni bois!
Or il n'est pas d'horreur au monde qui surpasse La froide cruauté de ce soleil de glace Et cette immense nuit semblable au vieux Chaos; ..."
About time Finn. Thought you were gonna rant until I fell asleep.
It takes some time between your builds, but now you have made one that would be a thorn in the side of casters. Well, your AC could keep you alive long enough to be a pain vs everyone else too. The Icestorm would be meaner with 30 Druid levels though. That loss of damage (and AC from not being Monk) is compensated by the wizard-spells like mantles and damage shields at least.
Smooth Finn, but next time, try to leave some room for others to post in your builds too
Oh, and the true seeing of Raks is real nice, had forgotten about that..... _________________ Dragonlance ROH is back, better than before! and I spend a little time here WoG
About time Finn. Thought you were gonna rant until I fell asleep.
It takes some time between your builds, but now you have made one that would be a thorn in the side of casters. Well, your AC could keep you alive long enough to be a pain vs everyone else too. The Icestorm would be meaner with 30 Druid levels though. That loss of damage (and AC from not being Monk) is compensated by the wizard-spells like mantles and damage shields at least.
Smooth Finn, but next time, try to leave some room for others to post in your builds too
Oh, and the true seeing of Raks is real nice, had forgotten about that.....
Umm... I am honoured by your post, sir.
The main reason I wanted Wizard was, actually, Epic Warding and EMA. I get almost the same AC my Druid 27/Shifter 10/Monk 3 has (though he doesn't have IE and still has more AC, bleh ). He does 84 damage, and a Druid 30 would do 90. I don't think it's that big a difference
Just for comparison, the Empowered Ice Storm in this build would deal 19-117 damage, average being 58.5. _________________ "... C'est un pays plus nu que la terre polaire — Ni bêtes, ni ruisseaux, ni verdure, ni bois!
Or il n'est pas d'horreur au monde qui surpasse La froide cruauté de ce soleil de glace Et cette immense nuit semblable au vieux Chaos; ..."
Nice, Finn. Very nice: echo the Grim re: mage killer, and how! Ice storm's not so bad, considering you can cast as a Rak and there's no save on that; while there's always magic and elemental resistance of course, epic wiz has high SR if you need to change back (i.e., to cast other spells and/or should the need arise to avoid those holy avenger/blessed weapon carrier - OUCH!). Could go a bit higher in shifter if you want (I shall defer to our wise and often quoted Grim on that), but you get a staff and acid breath as a rak too, yes? That ice storm, though, ....
Nice AC, some really great buffs, including extra skills, and can always self-buff before shifting - TRES Cool!
Edited By Robert Tyr on 06/01/06 22:27
Quote: Posted 06/01/06 22:24:38 (GMT) -- Robert Tyr
Could go a bit higher in shifter if you want (I shall defer to our wise and often quoted Grim on that)
That'd only hinder the build, IMO, as it would lower my caster level and I'd have to drop some of the Epic Spells. I could, however, pick Undead Shape if I were to do that. I don't think it'd be all that useful, with my 21 BAB'n'all that _________________ "... C'est un pays plus nu que la terre polaire — Ni bêtes, ni ruisseaux, ni verdure, ni bois!
Or il n'est pas d'horreur au monde qui surpasse La froide cruauté de ce soleil de glace Et cette immense nuit semblable au vieux Chaos; ..."
Okay, I think I'm going to have to add this. Cons:
Since you're a Wizard, your Ice Storm is a level 4 spell; thus, Globe of Invulnerbility will make your opponent immune to it. At this point you can try your Rakshasa Dispel Magic. If that doesn't work, you'll basically have to unshift to kill him.
Change that to a pro. My understanding is that Rak Ice penetrates Globe. Unless the use of Wizard levels in a Rak build changes that? _________________ The following statement is true. The above statement is false.
Change that to a pro. My understanding is that Rak Ice penetrates Globe. Unless the use of Wizard levels in a Rak build changes that?
This guy casts it as a Wizard spell. If you were a, for example, Druid 27/Shifter 10/Monk 3, then you'd casting it as a Druid, i.e. as a fifth level spell. At that point it would not be absorbed, but for this fellow here, it is. _________________ "... C'est un pays plus nu que la terre polaire — Ni bêtes, ni ruisseaux, ni verdure, ni bois!
Or il n'est pas d'horreur au monde qui surpasse La froide cruauté de ce soleil de glace Et cette immense nuit semblable au vieux Chaos; ..."
Quote: Posted 06/01/06 22:38:39 (GMT) -- FinneousPJ This guy casts it as a Wizard spell. If you were a, for example, Druid 27/Shifter 10/Monk 3, then you'd casting it as a Druid, i.e. as a fifth level spell. At that point it would not be absorbed, but for this fellow here, it is.
Thankyou very much I wasn't aware of that. _________________ Some Forum Members believe respect is a right and should be freely given. Myself: I work on a point-buy system, and today my friend you're all out of credit...
if that's the case (re: casts as a wiz and not as a druid), then yes, you want that high wiz, epic spells and the SR, too. I understand that Raks can storm ice at will, pretty much unlimited, would that be true also if cast not as a druid/shifter but as a wiz?
Either way, great concept, and really neat build!
btw, your bab/undead comment- cute! And not a good option re: those weapon/holy avenger cleric & pally types - um, um, .... oops!
Edited By Robert Tyr on 06/01/06 23:07
Quote: Posted 06/01/06 23:03:10 (GMT) -- Robert Tyr
if that's the case (re: casts as a wiz and not as a druid), then yes, you want that high wiz, epic spells and the SR, too. I understand that Raks can storm ice at will, pretty much unlimited, would that be true also if cast not as a druid/shifter but as a wiz?
Or il n'est pas d'horreur au monde qui surpasse La froide cruauté de ce soleil de glace Et cette immense nuit semblable au vieux Chaos; ..."
thanks for sharing - graphics are always nice, and that looks pretty darn good
Only comment I'd add, as such, is to watch out for those blessed holy weapons ... Raks are really vulnerable to them (not sure if raks even get a saving throw; they might, but still, very vulnerable); and uh, undead shapes won't help there either. So yeah, epic wiz . . .
Nice, Finn.
Edited By Robert Tyr on 06/01/06 23:37
Quote: Posted 06/01/06 23:30:36 (GMT) -- Robert Tyr
Only comment I'd add, as such, is to watch out for those blessed holy weapons ... Raks are really vulnerable to them (not sure if raks even get a saving throw; they might, but still, very vulnerable); and uh, undead shapes won't help there either. So yeah, epic wiz . . .
True enough about the Blessed Bolts (Bolts are the only weapon that get the Slay Rakshasa ability). You're right, there's no saving throw, it's an instant death. IIRC, you don't even have to penetrate my Epic Warding, only hit and it's bye-bye. Then again, most Clerics/Paladins do not focus on Crossbows _________________ "... C'est un pays plus nu que la terre polaire — Ni bêtes, ni ruisseaux, ni verdure, ni bois!
Or il n'est pas d'horreur au monde qui surpasse La froide cruauté de ce soleil de glace Et cette immense nuit semblable au vieux Chaos; ..."
insta-death-:o
Heh, hears ya; just shift back to epic wiz, I should think (um, 'cause ya just know, those cross-bow wielding divine folks are just crawling all over the place ... tee hee). That'd be my "two-cents" --
very cool build!
Edited By Robert Tyr on 06/02/06 00:11
Arrrr....should read . . . .
... BUT TO BE ON THE SAFE SIDE, MIGHT NOT WANNA BE PLAYING IN THE CRYPTS ...That'd be my "two-cents" -- LOL arrrrrrrrrr
(sorry bout that).
Edited By Robert Tyr on 06/02/06 01:00
Nice build!
Low Discipline on the server I play a lot on would be the death of you unfortunately (all bigby spells customized to use discipline based check, so the 9th level one would get ya).
I have to admit, I don't like much the Rakshasa shift, as its attack capabilities are very low for a caster, anyway, you did a fine job empowering the shape, the AC is good, the epic spells are a great addition, I'm just thinking, wouldn't it be good to have Spell Penetration feats? as Ice Storm doesn't has save but does have SR, and your SR penetration should be low... I'd be guessing that a high Cleric/Druid could be able to resist it with their SR buff, which should give them a killing edge, of course, tactics on it, de-shift and use Mords, you should have several Mords just in case, Mords rule...
Quote: Casters, I dare you
Beware what you're asking for, I've killed Rakshasas with spells (ok, I lied, I never use casters, and never fought a Rakshasa with a caster, but someone I know did it... or at least claimed he did... I never tested it and I'm not so sure if I should believe him, but he said he used Maximized IGMS and it worked perfectly).
I have to admit, I don't like much the Rakshasa shift, as its attack capabilities are very low for a caster, anyway, you did a fine job empowering the shape, the AC is good, the epic spells are a great addition, I'm just thinking, wouldn't it be good to have Spell Penetration feats? as Ice Storm doesn't has save but does have SR, and your SR penetration should be low... I'd be guessing that a high Cleric/Druid could be able to resist it with their SR buff, which should give them a killing edge, of course, tactics on it, de-shift and use Mords, you should have several Mords just in case, Mords rule...
Quote: Casters, I dare you
Beware what you're asking for, I've killed Rakshasas with spells (ok, I lied, I never use casters, and never fought a Rakshasa with a caster, but someone I know did it... or at least claimed he did... I never tested it and I'm not so sure if I should believe him, but he said he used Maximized IGMS and it worked perfectly).
IGMS - maximized or not - will not work.
I decided to not pick the penetration feats, because I can't beat a dedicated SR build's SR anyway. The Cleric spell isn't really that much of a worry because it's dispellable, but Monks have to be dealt with... something _________________ "... C'est un pays plus nu que la terre polaire — Ni bêtes, ni ruisseaux, ni verdure, ni bois!
Or il n'est pas d'horreur au monde qui surpasse La froide cruauté de ce soleil de glace Et cette immense nuit semblable au vieux Chaos; ..."
It looks good, a nice solid rashaka build. With the wizard levels you don't have to rely solely on ice storms you also have acid breath which will work nicely against opponents who don't have evasion/good reflex saves. I think you might still have to worry about the level 9 bigby's spell I believe a level 40 caster with a maxed casting attribute has a grapple check AB in the high 60s to low 70s (caster level +casting attribute modifier+11). _________________ Two wrongs don't make a right but three lefts do.
Edited By Mithdradates on 06/02/06 07:57
Finn this looks a very nice piece of work on paper. My initial thoughts are that it does exactly what it says on the tin.
I am going to have to test this out before I comment any further. Me and Rakshasa have not got on particularly well in the past, so bear with me.
Either way, it seems like you almost completely nullify the effectiveness of arcane spells, with the possible exception of the 9th Bigby spell as Mith points out.
Finn this looks a very nice piece of work on paper. My initial thoughts are that it does exactly what it says on the tin.
I am going to have to test this out before I comment any further. Me and Rakshasa have not got on particularly well in the past, so bear with me.
Either way, it seems like you almost completely nullify the effectiveness of arcane spells, with the possible exception of the 9th Bigby spell as Mith points out.
Hats off to you sir.
He's not too bad against Divine Spells either...
Anyway, you can cast a Spell Mantle before shifting. That helps, but it will absorb all spells, even lower than ninth level, which is a shame Your Rakshasa damage reduction will absorb 15 damage from Bigby's (making it deal 0-9). A caster will still have a hard time killing you, but getting paralyzed does make you vulnerable to melee _________________ "... C'est un pays plus nu que la terre polaire — Ni bêtes, ni ruisseaux, ni verdure, ni bois!
Or il n'est pas d'horreur au monde qui surpasse La froide cruauté de ce soleil de glace Et cette immense nuit semblable au vieux Chaos; ..."
How well will this build do against dev critters? :-/
How well will this build do against dev critters? :-/
Well, basically you'll need to count on your AC. 35 Fortitude was the best I could reasonably achieve. Get some Fort+ items or just run away
EDIT: I think it's 37 Fort. Nevertheless if some RDD with a 50+ DC comes your way it's better to try and avoid melee _________________ "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."
Edited By FinneousPJ on 07/01/06 19:11
Aah yea okay I understand. Quite high fort nevertheless. Doesn't shadow shield counter it?
Aah yea okay I understand. Quite high fort nevertheless. Doesn't shadow shield counter it?
Nothing save 10 levels of PM does. _________________ "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."
By the way, you can put blessed bolt(slay Rakshasa) on "dwarfen war axes" as well as bolts. I was just making some legit items for one of my builds (ftr/DD/WM)
And when i was making my dwarfen war axe i saw blessed bolt(slay Rakshasa) on the list of things i could put on it and thought, you guys mite wana know.
Well, apparently you can; whether or not it works is another thing. And yet, since it's only supposed to be available for bolts, the item's legitimateness is questionable _________________ "With Europe liberated, the people of the world turned their attention to that old devil, the United States of America [...] We taught that monster of old the true meaning of freedom." Star Wreck
Exactly that _________________ "With Europe liberated, the people of the world turned their attention to that old devil, the United States of America [...] We taught that monster of old the true meaning of freedom." Star Wreck
This build really deserves some added publicity. Rakshasa is my favourite shape, BTW 
Or, if empowered, potentially 117 
Can't really help that, however.
if that's the case (re: casts as a wiz and not as a druid), then yes, you want that high wiz, epic spells and the SR, too. I understand that Raks can storm ice at will, pretty much unlimited, would that be true also if cast not as a druid/shifter but as a wiz? 
