Heres a challenge. Not sure if this has been done before so i'll ask. A druid that actually uses the wolf form constantly to fight. No more than 10levels of druid. No PM/RDD/Sorc/Cleric/SD/Shifter
On a world with +5 top equip (same as my other post) Doesn't have to be an uber killer just something thats got good AC and can hit its enemies (Dex possibly)???
Well the 10 druid level max really hurts as you get improved shapes at level 12 (which is a 12 str, 2 con and 4 ac difference)how about a 12 druid/6 monk/22 assassin, max wisdom for ac, leave str and dex pretty low (since they'll be overidden by shapeshift anyways)and put as much as you can into intelligence for your death attacks, pick feats as needed but armor skin and great wisdoms sound good.
Or perhaps druid12/barbarian16/assassin12, the ac will be lower than the monk build and you'll get less apr but you'll be able to use terrifying rage while in wolf form and you'll get a higher ab.
if you insist on the 10 level max for druid just replace with more levels in one of the other classes
Edited By nhaislip78 on 04/05/07 23:48
Quote: Heres a challenge. Not sure if this has been done before so i'll ask. A druid that actually uses the wolf form constantly to fight.
Any reason for that? the bear is definitely stronger, that 10 Druid maximum is just wrong, take 12 by any means for improved animal shapes.
Anyway, if you want AC then go WIS based with Monk, shift overrides STR, DEX and CON, so you have to increase WIS, INT or CHA, all the rest is a waste. You could also go Paladin or Blackguard with Divine Shield and Divine Might, say, a Druid 12 / Monk 9 / Paladin 19, that way both your WIS and CHA will net bonus AC while shifted, and bonus saves as well.
Bard is also a good one, Bardsong gives some AC, AB and damage, you also get some other useful buffs and a great skillset with UMD, Tumble, Discipline, etc.
Oh, one thing, animal shapes are terrible for DR breaching purposes, I think it counts as non-magical weapon, but I'm not entirely sure, I just know it doesn't gets past Stoneskin, so it's not very good to go PvP 40 with an animal shape.
Edited By Thaxll'ssyllia on 04/06/07 04:08
If you are stoneskined, you can pierce other creature's stoneskin if you use natural weapons. I know it's weird, but that's how it is. I had a character that had to resort to punching stoneskined mages.
Here's a build. It uses 14 Druid levels, the rest are Monk. If you don't take 12 Druid, then that is just silly. You could modify the build if you wish.
You can't dev crit with an animals creature weapon. You can't Weapon Focus/specialize an animals creature weapon. You can't add poison to a creature weapon (see assasin/blackguard affinity to do that).
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So, as a big bad wolf, you'll have to think of HOW you are actually going to do damage. Expecting to rely only upon biting is not going to work.
A wolf Bard would be a good idea. You can curse song and have wounding wispers to counter attack with when they hit you.
A barbarian Rage Wolf would RP nice as a werewolf theme.
Both Divine Might and Divine Wrath (well, Divine Shield as well) are feats, so they can be activated while shifted. Divine Wrath may be only once per day and for a short duration, but it's probably the strongest buff you can use while shifted (assuming lots of CoT levels, like a Druid 12 / Monk 2 / CoT 26).
Stun and KD aren't really damage sources, they work to allow sneak attack though. Druid/Monk shifters do make great stunners.
Barbarian rage is actually not that useful, a Druid can self buff STR to cap with Empowered Bulls Strength + (Extended) Blood Frenzy + (Extended) Aura of Vitality. I greatly recommend more Druid levels for buffing purposes, at least about 16; Premonition works as well for breaching purposes like you said Stoneskin does? if so it's much better than Stoneskin.
You could even go as far as 22 Druid levels for Infinite Wildshape...
26 Monk levels like in the build Bromium just made is a waste, it only adds a bit of AC, you'd better go CHA based Paladin with Divine Might and Divine Shield which is also able to cast (Extended) Divine Favor at full power and good CHA buffs as well, your damage will be respectable then.
Barbarian rage is actually not that useful, a Druid can self buff STR to cap with Empowered Bulls Strength + (Extended) Blood Frenzy + (Extended) Aura of Vitality. I greatly recommend more Druid levels for buffing purposes, at least about 16; Premonition works as well for breaching purposes like you said Stoneskin does? if so it's much better than Stoneskin.
The barbarian rage was't for the str boost so much, (although if you only take 10 or 12 druid it does help) but for the terrifying rage, you can get the dc very high and a frightened creature makes for very easy death attacks.
So many mentions of Divine might and -shield here, and none states the obvious.
A druid/Monk is a must more than anything a must in such a build and the only availible alignment for that is LN. That makes both BG and Paladin impossible. There's nowhere near all servers that allows alignment changes, and in many it's at best quite tricky. That leaves cleric for Divine might/shield and that's okay, but you will not have the CHA as a bonus to saves. _________________ We are sons of Odin, and the fire that we burn inside is the legacy of warrior-kings who reign above in the sky I will lead the charge, my sword into the wind Sons of Odin fights to die and live again
Heh heh, you got me. I've made a few of those starting straight Paladin to get Divine feats ASAP and BAB, then just go evil rampage killing style to try to become neutral along the good-evil axis, which is normally easier than lawful-chaotic axis. It's relatively simple following that line, but true, impossible on some servers. However, Divine Might is still one of his best chances for damage in such a build and he stated no Cleric, so it's pretty much Paladin or nothing.
Supposing you can't change alignment at all, I agree sneak or death attack is going to be one of your best choices.
Divine Might