Druid(5), Shifter(22), Shadowdancer(13), Elf

STR: 8
DEX: 18 (30)
CON: 6
WIS: 16
INT: 16
CHA: 8

Hitpoints: 240
Skillpoints: 327
Saving Throws (Fortitude/Will/Reflex): 21/22/37
Saving Throw bonuses: Spells: +2, Mind Effects: +2, Traps: +2, Fear: +2
BAB: 24
AB (max, naked): 23 (melee), 34 (ranged)
AC (naked/mundane armor/shield only): 30/33
Spell Casting: Druid(3)
Alignment Changes: 0

Animal Empathy 42(41), Discipline 21(20), Hide 43(66), Move Silently 43(63), Pick Pocket 43(53), Spellcraft 10(13), Spot 43(50), Tumble 43(53)


01: Dr(1): Luck of Heros
02: Dr(2)
03: Dr(3): Alertness
04: Dr(4): DEX+1, (DEX=19)
05: Dr(5)
06: Sh(1): Dodge
07: Sh(2)
08: Sh(3): DEX+1, (DEX=20)
09: Sh(4): Mobility
10: Sh(5)
11: Sh(6)
12: Sh(7): DEX+1, Expertise, (DEX=21)
13: Sh(8)
14: SD(1)
15: SD(2): Improved Expertise
16: SD(3): DEX+1, (DEX=22)
17: SD(4)
18: SD(5): Skill Focus: Hide
19: SD(6)
20: SD(7): DEX+1, (DEX=23)
21: SD(8): Great Dexterity I, (DEX=24)
22: SD(9)
23: SD(10)
24: Sh(9): DEX+1, Epic Dodge, (DEX=25)
25: Sh(10)
26: Sh(11)
27: Sh(12): Armor Skin
28: Sh(13): DEX+1, Epic Energy Resistance: Sonic I, (DEX=26)
29: Sh(14)
30: Sh(15): Great Dexterity II, (DEX=27)
31: Sh(16): Epic Energy Resistance: Cold I
32: Sh(17): DEX+1, (DEX=28)
33: Sh(18): Spring Attack
34: Sh(19): Epic Energy Resistance: Cold II
35: Sh(20)
36: Sh(21): DEX+1, Epic Skill Focus: Move Silently, (DEX=29)
37: SD(11)
38: SD(12)
39: Sh(22): Epic Skill Focus: Hide, Epic Energy Resistance: Sonic II
40: SD(13): DEX+1, Epic Reflexes, (DEX=30)



Red (Blue) [Green]
STR: 16 (15) [15]
DEX: 30
CON: 15 (15) [16]
WIS: 16
INT: 16
CHA: 8

R&B Hitpoints: 240 + 160 = 400
Green HP = 440

AC base = 30 + 6 (Wyrmling)
AC Potential= 65 (36 + 4 (Shadow Evade 5 rounds) + 6 (12 dex buff) +5 (one +5 armor) + 10 (Imp Expertise) + 4 (haste))
maybe 67 if Tumble buffs increase Tumble related AC.



Breath Damage:

Red 8-80 (SL/3+1)d10 fire, 15 ft cone
Blue 8-64 (SL/3+1)d8 electricity, 30 ft line
Green 12-72 (SL/2+1)d6 gas(acid), 15 ft cone

Breath DC=26 (15+(Shifter Level/2)) Reflex


True Sight
HIPS
Improved Evasion
Slippery Mind
Defensive Roll
Daze 1/day, 5 rounds DC 33 (10+dex bonus+ SD level) Will save (more with dex buff)
Shadow Evade stats:
DR 10/+3 Concealment 20% AC +4 5 rounds 3/day

Summoned Shadow Lord AC 22,Hp 132, AB 16/11/6,
* Damage 1-8+6/1-8+6/2-12+6
* Damage Immunity Increased (Cold) 100%
* Damage Immunity Increased (Electrical) 100%
* Damage Immunity Increased (Fire) 100%
* Concealed
* Damage Reduction



===========

Why I made this build:

Bored at work.
Wanted to see a Shifter build that focused on the versatility of the Wyrmling forms/elemental protections.
All other base Shifter forms are still available to use (mind the Dex Overrides). Epic Harpy and Minotaur do not overide Dex.

I suggest Green Wyrmling form with some Fire proof (20/- or more) +5 armor.

Wyrlming Breath does not have a dependence on AB, nor is it affected by SR. The flip side to this nice side is that a foe with Improved Evasion will be very hard to overcome. I would suggest a Medusa Gaze in that case.
Red, Blue and Green Wrymlings are the ones that do not override Dex, so I would stick with those. That is why I took two EEDR Cold feats. Two Sonics where taken because I can protect vs the other stuff with different forms.


Tactics:

Shadow Evade yourself, HIPS, line up your bad breath for best effect, Expertise mode, Breath. Hips, line up, Expertise, Breath. Wash/Rinse/Repeat.


With Epic Dodge, you'll evade that first counterattack. The 65 AC will help vs the other attacks (which will be easier to dodge since they will be 5AB lower each).

This not an instant kill build, this is a sneak attacker build that can bypass AB/SR issues.

Know your Foe and you can select a good form to overcome it. Of course, if your foe has TS then it will be harder to overcome, but not impossible. Just watch out for those Dev Crit shots, your fort is to low to counter that.

I took Pick Pocket just for the fun of it. You can PP your foe out of useful items and then go in for the kill. Monsters/Bosses sometimes have misc items then use in combat for healing, taking them would be best.

If your server nerfs PP, then Dump those points into other locations (buffing Spellcraft would be good to improve Spell saves).

A quick shot of Innertial Barrier from your Mindflayer form with grant you 10/+7 DR for 7 rounds. Beats the 10/+3 from the Shadow Evade, but do a Shadow Evade also for the AC boost and Concealment.


22 Shifter levels were taken because Shifter 22 has an Epic Feat and the Breath of a Green Wyrmling is /2.

13 SD levels were taken because SD has an Epic feat at 13.

5 levels left over for the Druid min req.

Edited By Bromium on 12/20/06 20:06

Very cool build! This looks like it would be alot of fun to play and effective in multiple senarios. I think it might be especially fun to RP as a Wyrmling that pretends to be an Elf Interesting, although it's very weird, you don't take the usual shift feats, I think the Drow form has sneak attack, some form did, of that I'm sure, I'm not big fan of shifters.

Why don't you take Weapon Finesse? you state that Minotaur and Harpy don't override DEX, so you should take advantage of it. Also, Spring Attack is quite a useless feat, drop it for something else, if you never fight melee, maybe some more Energy Resistance...

Epic Dodge on shifts sounds great, I might try it on other shifting options.

Edited By Thaxll'ssyllia on 12/21/06 03:49

Quote: Posted 12/21/06 03:37 (GMT) -- Thaxll'ssyllia

Interesting, although it's very weird, you don't take the usual shift feats, I think the Drow form has sneak attack, some form did, of that I'm sure, I'm not big fan of shifters.

Why don't you take Weapon Finesse? you state that Minotaur and Harpy don't override DEX, so you should take advantage of it. Also, Spring Attack is quite a useless feat, drop it for something else, if you never fight melee, maybe some more Energy Resistance...

Epic Dodge on shifts sounds great, I might try it on other shifting options.

The Kobold Comando has HIPS and Sneak. (But that form is not the focus of this build.)

I did not take Weapon Finesse because the main attack of this build is the breath weapon. That would not use Finesse at all. Any form that would benefit from it most likely already has it as a bonus feat. Harpy is useless so you won't be using that form. Minotaur has a Great Axe so you won't be finessing that either.

I know that Spring Attack may seem useless, but I do believe that it is useful for this build. The main tactic is to be a sneak attacker with your breath weapon. That means that you will be disengaging from battle to HIPS. Spring Attack will prevent AoO on yourself. Sure you can rely on a Tumble roll to handle that for you, but with Spring Attack, you don't have to chance it. They simply will not get an AoO.

=====

Shifters are all about being Different and versatile. There are many builds that are popular: Rak, Risen Lord, Cheese Monk added for AC, etc...

Shifters are also notorious for having really bad AB as compared to other builds. But one of the things that Shifters get, are attacks that bypass AB and SR issues. Breath Weapons are often overlooked. It's true that since it is Elemental Damage (Fire/Cold/Acid/Elec) that it can be absorbed with spells/items, but spells will only last so long before they wear out. And a Wyrmling can breath all day long.

Breath attacks are a 1 / round attack. So this is a slow kill process. Daze them if you can, summon some meat shields, but you'll most likely attack and hide over and over.

like I said. bored at work and rolled up a "different" build. A modified Tumble score of 14 or higher duplicates perfectly the effects of the Spring Attack feat. Don't bother with it. hmmm... I never knew it was a fixed DC check. Thanks for pointing that out.

yup, guess that frees up a feat.