INTEREST CHECK: City of the Drow (3.5) [LOOKING FOR PLAYERS]

[Snake]

From Savage Species, copied verbatim

And yes this IS a legitimate way to use it since it can be applied to humanoids too and I believe half-drow count as humanoids :3

Feral Template provides:

HD 10 at first level
+10 Land speed
Natural Armor of +6
2 Claw attacks at 1d8 each
Special Attacks:

1-3 HD: Improved Grab
4-7: Pounce
8-11: Rake
12+: Rend

Special Qualities:

1-3 HD: 60 ft Darkvision, Fast Healing 2
4-7: 60 ft Darkvision, Fast Healing 3
8-11: 90 ft Darkvision Fast Healing 4
12+: Darkvision 120' Fast Healing 5

Ability Adjustments: +4 Str, -2 Dex, +2 Con, -4 Int, +2 Wis (Already included)
LA +1

[ulthakptah]

The HD thing changes your monster hit dice if you have any to d10s, like if you had hit dice in undead your d12's turn to d10's

Anyway if your armlets of armor are like the item bracers of armor they give an armor bonus which wouldn't stack with your chainshirt. Also I'm fairly certain something is wrong with your base saves.

[Snake]

you add base saves from multiclassing together. And the Armor bonus from teh armlets acts like bracers of armor and provides deflection type AC I believe.

If they didn't what point would there be in any martial class having them?

[Krayz]

I know for a fact that the Bracers are an armour bonus, not a deflection bonus, because I had to figure that out for my monk.

And seriously, I'm going to need to rework my character entirely if I let this guy through. 200+ HP and saves that beat the shit out of anyone else in the game...

[Snake]

Huh really? Well Fuckshit! I didn't know that, the book I have said it's a deflection bonus akin to a ring of protection. Gues I have to remove it or change it somehow.

wait, a dastana or a shield counts as an armor bonus so why not the bracers? Or do they count as "shield" bonus?

and the huge HP comes from fighter class giving a d10 per level and thayan gladiator giving d12 per level I just maxmized the numbers to make it easier than rolling all of them.

[Zaer Darkwail]

Thanks info about magic academy. Anyways feral indeed is cheesy template but if GM is okay with that then ok, that case half-drow is somesort house pet or something which is fed and held in cage (if asked my char referance).

Also one way get around spellfire feat is to use supernatural abilities (love reserve feats) or use conjurations. Or old fashioned 'pepper with arrows' approach done by telekinesis. But considering spellfire ability it's most likely my char could had capture the feral half-drow for some experiments to research about spellfire :). Also perhaps help fuel the beast into frenzy with spellfire and sic it towards foes and watch fireworks.

Anyways +200 HP is heck a lot for a drow :P. Anyways if wondering some monk ideas and builds I could share some my ideas Krayz.

Anyways bracers of armor are giving 'armor' bonus. But dastana or something gives shield bonus indeed and I have ruled on my table bracers of armor can count either as shield or armor bonus (depending on enchant).

[Krayz]

Fuck. My. Life.

That would explain it.

Read Zaer's suggestion on HP; that's the one we're going with. And even with that, I'll still need to rebuild. I don't actually play much, so I'm just not set to compete with these kinds of characters, lol.

And some help with monks would be a life-saver, Zaer. See above sentences, lol.

EDIT: I think my one issue is that the LA just seems so low...

[ulthakptah]

Bracers of armor are for classes that don't wear armor like spellcasters and monks. There isn't much point to having bracers of armor and armor. For a defection bonus the most common item to use is a ring of protection.

Anyway When muticlassing you need to think of saves less like a number and more like a progression of numbers. When it comes to base saves there are two types good saves and bad saves. Good saves start off with 2-1/2 and go up by 1/2 every level. Bad saves add 1/3 every level. I know prestige classes say that the first level in them gives +2 to a save on the chart, but that is only for if you have never had a class with that as a good save. If it wasn't like that a wizard for instance could take a one level dip into every prestige class and have a base will save of 42 by level 20.

What I'm trying to say is that a 13th level character can at most have a base save of 8, not 12

[Snake]

I changed the "bracers of armor" to "armlets of shielding" which functionally give deflection bonus like a ring would, just size to fit the arm/bracer slot and worm around the upper arm.

Feral is balanced that's why it's so Low. the ability scores amoutn to a +2 max. and you gain claw attacks adn special extraordinary but normal attacks the Fast healing and DV are what give it the +1 I think

and teh char isn't a caged beast, he' was sold into slavery by his matron mother to conceal the fact he's a half-breed and became feral while under the chains and whips of the thayan masters. Until he escaped using the spellfire to absorb their restraining spells and working with other escapees and vanished into the underdark.

and Ultha, that's not what the PBH and DM's manual say~ they both say to add them together.

[Krayz]

Did you change the price to the equivalent of a ring of protection of the same bonus?

[Snake]

Yeah I did. I just don't have as much left in comparison.

[Krayz]

That was just intended as a friendly reminder, mate. If I seem a little surly, it's because I'm intimidated :P And I don't like being intimidated, lol.

[Snake]

Heh well. imagine how a half-drow in a city of people that look at him as less than them feels in that aspect? *laugh*

It's alright. I tabulated it out and I could afford it, I just have little to nothing really left, maybe a couple hundred GP

[ulthakptah]

How do your claws have the vampiric quality? I thought imbue natural weapon only gave you one ability.

[Snake]

the beast claws weapon from Savage species. when used by someone who already has a claw attack it does teh normal damage for them +1d6 and the vampiric quality was added to it (it's a +1 spiked gauntlet normally, but allows for someone with a natural claw attack (and counts as a +2 weapon) to use THAT instead of the normal spiked gauntlet damage but it counts as a weapon stil so thus can be enchanted.

[Medical Miracle]

Hello everyone! I’ve always loved Drow interactions, so I was excited to see this game. I've read through the thread and spoken to Krayz, and it looks like I'll be joining you game as the second Matron Mother. Hooray!

So far this is what I was thinking off for my Mother; a mentally unstable, paranoid schizophrenic, manic depressive type individual. She mistakes her sickness with the word of Loth at times. She isn't stupid or unwise, just severely off kilter. She's dangerous mostly due to her unpredictability. She'll also be obsessed with arachnids, and arachnid symbolism. Partly because they give her comfort, partly because she assigns much more divinity to spiders then most other priestesses do. I'm thinking she'll actually enjoy it when one of her daughters kills her, the young must devour their mother if they wish for strength. I’ll probably make my stronghold very confusing, build like a web tangle.

Love to hear what you guys think!

[Zaer Darkwail]

Yeah, I would rule that you get magic beast HD and +1 LA. Like 3-5 magic beast HD being feral creature. Also thayan gladiator is nasty as it improves his natural weapons and I myself would ban spellfire as it makes any char with high Con immune to magic (or at least spells which ask SR).

Anyways the formula for HD is max each pairless level and in paired levels it is 75% total result (so 1/4 less from max). With HD it go;

d4=3
d6=4.5
d8=6.5
d10=7.5
d12=8.5

Now I know folks do not like count fractions but it's easy to count them. Just round it down and add +1 HP per 2 HD/class level. Meaning normal drows get +6 HP added after adding rounded down fractions.

Now some monk advice; I would recommend pick a monk supporting PrC as most things gained as monk in later levels are not worth it. Also by lore drow monks should focus to be assassin alike or special stealthy enforcers for matron mothers. Instead relying traditional rogue/assassin route monk is more straightforward killer. Some PrC's and reasons to pick them;

Dragon Descendant; Gives access to some nice constant buffs (and class levels stack for unarmored dmg, unarmored AC and unarmored speed). In 7th level gain kind of 'stances' which you can take as swift action. One gives immunity to fear, +2 attack and dmg and allows treat firsts as chaotic aligned and magical. Second one is suitable for assassinations (reduced penalty to stealthy checks while moving full speed and +2d6 sneak attack). Third gives ray attack. Fourth gives save bonus and DR/cold iron. In pinnacle could use combat reflex gain AoO vs attacks attempted vs you (and later on combine two stances). Plus some nice mental fortitude stuff.

Source; Dragon Magic. Asks to have dragon ancestor and blood in veins (dragongrace is cheap feat to get in).

Tattooed Monk (source; Complete Warrior): A lots good stuff in this PrC. You can get cherry pick from dozen nice abilities by your preferance. Need waste one feat slot for endurance but that is good for athletic sport stuff what monks are well known. You get 4 tattoos and each level counts stack for unarmed dmg, unarmored bonus and unarmored speed. Example tattoos;

Bamboo, Bat, Bellflower and Butterfly; Add +4 bonus either Dex, Con, Wis or Cha to last 1 round per level PrC 4/day.

Centipede; Shadow Walk 1/week, can be useful to travel fast in underdark and not harassed most creatures.

Chameleon; Alter self 4/day lasting 7 hours per transform. Do I need remind several nice shapeshifted forms you could take boost yourself in battle or answer situations (need flight? Become a winged elf. Need disguise? Change to person you want).

Crane; Immunity to normal diseases, poison and aging.

Dragon; Able breathe fire as if taken elixir of fire breath 4/day

Falcon; Immune to fear, allies 10'ft gain 4+cha mod bonus saves vs fear.

Lion; Able smite 4/day, +4 hit and +7 to dmg.

Monkey; Gain +4 bonus sneaky rogue skills (climb, escape artist, hide, move silently, tumble, disable device, open lock, sleight of hand).

Ocean; No need to eat, sleep nor drink.

Scorpion; 4/day forces foe use lowest stat instead highest stat to affect attack roll instead Dex or Str. So ogre uses Int instead Str to determine does he hit or not.

Spider (needs stunning fist); Makes a contact poison attack with save DC 10 + PrC level + Con mod. First and second dmg is 2pts con dmg. Uses stunning fist charge.

Tiger; 4/day allows for 7 rounds +1 bonus attack rolls and +1d6 extra dmg per hit.

Tortoise; 4/day can use skill as if monk had 7 ranks in it (even skills which cannot be used untrained).

Wasp; Can 4/day cast haste on self, lasts 7 rounds.

White Mask; Immune detect thoughts, detect lies and any method determine monk's alignment. Also +10 to all bluff checks.

Now some feats;

Defensive throw (dodge, improved trip, improved unarmed strike, combat reflex, complete warrior); Foe which you have dodge misses you, you trip him as response and it counts as AoO spend.

Paralyzing Fists (Wis 15, Stunning Fist, Drows of the Underdark); Hit twice in row with stunning fist and foe failing twice save vs it. Foe is then paralyzed for 1d2 rounds.
Note; There is Freezing Life-Blood feat from Complete Warrior which allows do paralyzing attack directly (spending stunning fist) and lasts 1d4+1 rounds, but has high +10 BAB requirement.

Pain Touch (complete warrior); Round after target recovers from stunning fist they are nauseated for 1 round (automatically).

Roundabout Kick (complete warrior); Crit with unarmed attack and you get to do additional unarmed attack with same attack bonus (very situational but if dice is lucky it hurts a lot).

Weakening Touch (complete warrior); Spend stunning fist, no dmg but foe suffers -6 to Str for 1 min (a automatic debuf?!).

Now a variant note; In PHB II there is variant for flurry of blows called Decisive Strike. It allows do single attack as full round action (two attacks in 10th or 12th monk level) which do double of normal unarmed strike dmg. Why care? It doubles any dmg adds to these attacks! Double str, double power attack bonus, everything.

Also tip; get martial gloves from magic of faerun. It allows use gloves as unarmed combat aids which you can enchant to give weapon enchant bonuses to your fists (including +1, +2, +3, flaming, unholy etc). Costs a base +1 pair a 4,000gp. Advance working same as adding enchants to two weapons.

[Zaer Darkwail]

Hello everyone! I’ve always loved Drow interactions, so I was excited to see this game. I've read through the thread and spoken to Krayz, and it looks like I'll be joining you game as the second Matron Mother. Hooray!

So far this is what I was thinking off for my Mother; a mentally unstable, paranoid schizophrenic, manic depressive type individual. She mistakes her sickness with the word of Loth at times. She isn't stupid or unwise, just severely off kilter. She's dangerous mostly due to her unpredictability. She'll also be obsessed with arachnids, and arachnid symbolism. Partly because they give her comfort, partly because she assigns much more divinity to spiders then most other priestesses do. I'm thinking she'll actually enjoy it when one of her daughters kills her, the young must devour their mother if they wish for strength. I’ll probably make my stronghold very confusing, build like a web tangle.

Love to hear what you guys think!

Just note that paranoid schizophrenic is rather standard mental issue with matron mothers and must have for survival :). Anyways your matron sounds quite unstable but canny sort. As rule in the game all matron mothers need 6 divine caster levels so how you thinked to do it? A straight up cleric or take some PrC for it?

Anyways what would be your house speciality? Like in our present first one specializes in information gathering, blackmail and some skilled figthers and have two mines as income sources and so forth. Anyways how she express her obsession for arachnids? House architecture design, have lots arachnid pets, have (*gasp*) driders and arachnids as lovers?

[ulthakptah]

the beast claws weapon from Savage species. when used by someone who already has a claw attack it does teh normal damage for them +1d6 and the vampiric quality was added to it (it's a +1 spiked gauntlet normally, but allows for someone with a natural claw attack (and counts as a +2 weapon) to use THAT instead of the normal spiked gauntlet damage but it counts as a weapon stil so thus can be enchanted.

Okay, smart move there.

However I did look up the base save for multiclass characters in the players handbook and it said they are "cumulative" as in you add your levels of classes up with the good and bad saves to see where they are on the good bad save table. That's why there is a good bad save table. See Table 3–1: Base Save and Base Attack Bonuses.

[Medical Miracle]

Just note that paranoid schizophrenic is rather standard mental issue with matron mothers and must have for survival :). Anyways your matron sounds quite unstable but canny sort. As rule in the game all matron mothers need 6 divine caster levels so how you thinked to do it? A straight up cleric or take some PrC for it?

Anyways what would be your house speciality? Like in our present first one specializes in information gathering, blackmail and some skilled figthers and have two mines as income sources and so forth. Anyways how she express her obsession for arachnids? House architecture design, have lots arachnid pets, have (*gasp*) driders and arachnids as lovers?

Oh believe me, I know. She's crazier than most is what I was getting at, even to the point where some of her own daughters might not fully understand her motivations and ramblings. I wish the aracnomancer wasn't arcane only, curses! I think I'm going full Cleric, I'm not really trying to make a super powerful character. Don't get me wrong, I've been playing D&D for 8 years, she won't be underpowered or anything. I'm just going for more of a story driven build.

As for specialties? At the moment, all I know is that the House will have very prevalent assassins to call upon, perhaps even a secret school or guild within the House organization, and the will be an arachnid hatchery in the lower levels of the House proper. I suppose I was thinking that their House would have an unusually strong alliance with Driders, though it isn’t a fact that she wishes to be common knowledge. As for the “expression of obsession” as it were. Pretty much everything you said and more; the house will be build with a perplexing web motif. Spiders will almost move in swarms throughout the House, as well as having them be frequently crawling on her. There will be some sinister aspects about her lovers and many children, but we’ll just leave that up to the imagination for now. >:)

I`ll be on latter tonight if anyone wants to take about anything in more detail.

[Zaer Darkwail]

Well, if you want to be spider possesive you can be cleric with spider domain and have spells which allow you turn to a spider (or spider like spells). But actual PrC about being having obsession about spiders sadly is the arachnomancer :/. But it could be your cohort maybe? A house mage which has spider obsession like yourself XD. Or drider perhaps? They count CR 10 and so are suitable for 10th level cohorts (up to GM that one). Drider would count as decent sorcerer.

Anyways if you want go arachnomancer....one route would be cleric 3/wizard 3/mystic theurge 3 and then 3 levels as arachnomancer. You get 6 levels as divine spellcaster but you have 6 levels as arcanist which should be enough qualify to enter arachnomancer (and get some spidery aspects ;)). Once done with PrC in higher level you could finish it by taking levels as mystic theurge (and so improve divine and arcane spellcasting.

[Medical Miracle]

Actually, I think I've got my build all figured out now, but thanks for the help. As a side note I know a way to do that build way more efficiently, only losing one level of divine spell casting and getting into Arachnomancer at level 7. PM me if you want to know the secrets of a super cheesy Mystic Theurge!

If any of my children decide to play an Arachnomancer, I can tell you that you'll be favoured. ;)

[Zaer Darkwail]

I do like know your trick :). PM me how you enter arachnomancer in 7th level while having 6 divine caster level (practiced spellcaster feat does not count; you need able to cast 3th level spells).

[esclavage]

First off, hello to Medical Miracle - our other Matron Mother.   ;D. Welcome and hope we have fun in soap opera dramas together.  Of course, this opens up all the other players and we should pick and choose the sides accordingly.  Or maybe other characters start rolling in now that we have two factions and ways to drive story.

To that end, ulthakptah - I think it could be very interesting if my Matron adopted you into the House.  It plays well into the favored status I mentioned earlier to you.   Like his exploits were impressive enough that she moved to acquire him.  Perhaps even at the ire of another House who wanted him dead.

Krayz, I think the angle of son - perhaps the firstborn would be good.  Once again, there can be Lird'yl's fear that Lolth seems to favor him most in the House.  Like compared to the first daughter, it is obvious he has the greater capacity.  And if only he had been a daughter, the future of the House would be secure.  But instead he is a male. :P

But all these are now open because we have got another Matron so put forth other schemes and ideas.

Also, Snake from an RP standpoint your feral half-drow would almost seem unallied.  Like he is a one man wrecking ball and chaotic element in the city outskirts.  So it almost feels like a me against the world attitude.  Which might be fine or might be disruptive to the game.

As for my Matron, I had thoughts of her being a true believer of Lolth as stated by the feat but wracked by doubts and fears though she wouldn't let others know since it seems outwardly Lolth is not so much for her.  But if we wanted to take this in a different direction I am fine with her representing the less faithful faction to Lolth, hence the half-drows in her House.  A place for the misfits of the city if you will.

Then I'd replace the True Believer feat with something else.  This could work because we have got Medical Miracle representing the other extreme.

And one last thing, for HP do we add plus 6 regardless?  Because my fractions make one whole number at the end.

[Zaer Darkwail]

Well, if you round down the fractions like 7.5 = 7 so the missing fraction bonuses could be simply adding +3 to total HP what you got that far.

The system is basically this; 2th, 4th, 6th, 8th, 10th and 12th level you get fractional HP number based on HD as I showed before. You round down the fraction and add it as usual. But after your done 12th level you add +3 as 0.5x6=3.

Note; I earlier said +6 but I realized it cannot be as you get fractions from six levels and not full HP point ><. My bad.