This player character build (druid 8/ monk 4/ shifter 28) is designed so that the shifted forms benefit from monk levels. Those levels provide access both to the monk's unarmed attack progression for shapes that attack with creature weapons and to monk AC bonus to take advantage of the high wisdom the build must have to access several of the epic shapes. The unarmed shapes that benefit from monk attack progression include all except minotaur, drider, drow, lizardfolk, kobold, risen lord, azer, and rakshasa.
Basics[]
Race: elf
Abilities: (final scores in parentheses)
- Strength: 13
- Dexterity: 15
- Constitution: 6
- Wisdom: 18 (32)
- Intelligence: 12
- Charisma: 8
The physical abilities are kept low because they will be overridden when shifted. Strength and dexterity have been raised above the absolute minimum in order to qualify for great cleave and circle kick (respectively).
Alignment: lawful neutral (needed both for druid and monk)
Level progression[]
Classes by character level
- 1: druid
- 2: monk
- 3: druid
- 4: monk
- 5: druid
- 6: monk
- 7: druid
- 8: monk
- 9: druid
- 10–17: shifter
- 18–20: druid
- 21–40: shifter
Classes are multiples of 4 at character level 20 to maximize base attack, and the alternating classes at low levels delays the onset of the multiclass penalty.
Ability increases
- All ability increases are in wisdom.
General feats by character level
- 1: alertness (prerequisite for shifter)
- 3: weapon focus (unarmed strike)
- 6: circle kick
- 9: power attack
- 12: great cleave
- 15: improved critical (unarmed strike)
- 18: dodge
- 21: epic weapon focus (unarmed strike)
- 24: epic prowess
- 27: armor skin
- 30: mobility
- 33: spring attack
- 36: great wisdom II
- 39: dragon shape
Shifter epic bonus feats by character level (shifter level in parentheses)
- 25 (13): undead shape
- 28 (16): outsider shape
- 31 (19): great wisdom I
- 34 (22): construct shape
- 37 (25): great wisdom III
- 40 (28): great wisdom IV
Skills
This build receives 215 skill points over its 40 levels.
The skills most important for this build are the following. Skill ranks are listed first, with the score modified by the relevant ability in parentheses.
- animal empathy 43 (42) available to only druid and shifter
- concentration 43 (41; changes when shifted)
- discipline 21 (22; changes when shifted) class skill for only monk
- spellcraft 23 (24) class skill for only druid
- tumble 20 (22; changes when shifted) class skill for only monk
This leaves 46 unused skill points. These could be spent on hide or move silently.
Stats[]
Attack bonus
In the absence of magical enhancements, whether from items or spells, this character's attack bonus (AB) when unarmed is composed of the following elements at level 40.
- 25: base attack bonus
- +1: strength modifier
- +4: feats (weapon focus and epic prowess)
30 AB, for attacks per round of +30/+27/+24/+21/+18, becoming +28/+25/+22/+19/+16/+28 with flurry of blows.
If the character is permitted gear that provides a +12 bonus to strength (increasing the strength modifier by 6), the attacks per round with flurry of blows become +34/+31/+28/+25/+22/+34. If the character is additionally permitted to reach the +20 attack bonus cap and acquires haste, the attacks per round become +54/+51/+48/+45/+42/+54/+49. However, reaching the attack bonus cap can be problematic for this character since unarmed shapes typically do not merge weapon properties, and glove properties never merge.
These values will change due to overridden strength and size, and due to loss of weapon focus bonuses, when shifted:
- −1 (illithid)
- +0 (badger, wolf)
- +1 (boar)
- +2 (blue, black, white, green wyrmling; panther, basilisk, spectre)
- +3 (red wyrmling, medusa, vampire)
- +4 (gargoyle, harpy, manticore, slaad)
- +6 (bear)
- +7 (dire tiger, demonflesh golem)
- +8 (stone golem)
- +9 (iron golem)
- +16 (dragon)
Armor class
In the absence of magical enhancements, whether from items or spells, this character's armor class (AC) when wearing (mundane) clothing is composed of the following elements at level 40.
- 10: base AC
- +2: dexterity modifier
- +11: wisdom modifier
- +2: armor skin
- +4: tumble
29 AC, before shifting
If the character is permitted items with a +5 bonus in one of the five categories (armor, deflection, dodge, natural, or shield) as well as a +12 bonus to dexterity or wisdom, the AC total can become 44 after casting barkskin. If the character is instead permitted a +20 bonus in one category, haste, and +12 bonuses to dexterity and wisdom, the AC total can become 69 after casting barkskin. (Only one category is being considered because all item AC bonuses are converted to deflection while shifted.)
This value will change when shifted:
- +0 (bear)
- +3 (boar)
- +4 (panther, wolf)
- +6 (red, blue, green wyrmling)
- +7 (black, white wyrmling)
- +8 (badger)
- +9 (dire tiger)
- +10 (illithid)
- +11 (harpy, basilisk)
- +12 (medusa; stone, demonflesh golem)
- +14 (iron golem)
- +15 (gargoyle)
- +16 (vampire)
- +17 (slaad)
- +18 (manticore)
- +19 (spectre)
- +29 (dragon)
Notes[]
- This build has a 20% reduction of all experience earned starting at level 18, due to the multiclass penalty.