Serving second: Chef Akalsaris
Coronus, the Crocodile Tosser
Celebrity Guest Star 1: Oh!! Look! Something is going on in that corner!
Celebrity Guest Star 2: How odd! It seems he is some kind of ranged attacker!
Books used:
[spoiler]Complete Adventurer (Beastmaster, Natural Bond, Brutal Throw)
Complete Warrior (Hulking Hurler)
Spell Compendium (Wild Runner, Bite of the Werebear)
Planar Handbook (Natural Heavyweight)
Eberron Campaign Setting (Horrid Elephant)[/spoiler]
Questionable stuff: this character only qualifies for Hulking Hurler while under the effects of spells that increase his size to large.
5th level build: Coronus, CN Human Druid 5
Flavor: [spoiler]Coronus the Spear is the son of the noble Caeneus, an invulnerable warrior who was killed by centaur. Raised by centaurs in Caeneus' honor, Coronus scorns humanity, preferring to live in unspoiled nature, leading his kin in wild celebrations to Ixion, their savage god of warfare and nature. Since his birth, he has been bonded to Cerberus, a mighty riding dog!
[/spoiler]
How he works: [spoiler]at low levels, Coronus throws spears at opponents and utilizes Entangle and other low-level control spells. He is probably the party's primary healer and crowd control at these levels, and with some barding his dog works as a decent tank. Depending on the game, he might control several animals (either trained in the wild or purchased, especially wartrained animals), and spend part of combat directing those minions. At 5th level, he gets 3rd level spells, which means he is automatically badass. Unlike most sane druids, Coronus takes Draconic Aspect at 5th level, because he has a plan for something starting at 7th level...[/spoiler]
Stats: 25PB
[spoiler]Str: 13 (+1)
Dex: 8 (-1)
Con: 16 (+3)
Int: 8 (-1)
Wis: 18 (+4)
Cha: 8 (-1)[/spoiler]
Racial abilities: as a standard human
Skills: (4)
[spoiler]Concentration 8 ranks
Handle Animal 8 ranks
Survival 5 ranks
Knowledge (Nature) 5 ranks
Listen 3 ranks[/spoiler]
Feats:
1st char: Point Blank Shot
1st human bonus: Brutal Throw
3rd char: Weapon Focus: Javelin
Class abilities:
[spoiler]Spontaneous Casting (Summon Animal)
Animal Companion (Crocodile)
Nature Sense
Wild Empathy
Woodland Stride
Trackless Step
Resist Nature's Lure
Aspect of the Dragon 1/day (ACF: Dragon Magic)[/spoiler]
Suggested items: purchasing wartrained animals (750g for a rhino? Sign me up!) is nearly always a good bet. Otherwise, standard low-level gear.
10th level build: Coronus, CN Human Druid 8/Hulking Hurler 2
Celebrity Guest Star 1: Ah! Now I see! He takes his animal companions...
Celebrity Guest Star 2: And throws them?!
Flavor: [spoiler]Coronus was imprisoned upon the Isle of Circe, a powerful enchantress who controls the shapes of men. During his escape, he stole many of her secret charms, and subsequently learned how to take the shape of others - allowing him to fulfill his greatest wish - to achieve the form of the centaurs he once lived alongside! Armed with his new-found powers, Coronus abandoned his studies of druidism, reveling in his powerful new form! Unfortunately for Cerberus, the loyal dog soon found himself abandoned for Gomek the Giant Crocodile. [/spoiler]
How he works: [spoiler]at this level, Coronus can cast Wild Runner 3/day, for 80 minutes/spell. In centaur form with his belt and Draconic Aspect, he has a strength of 28, and can throw up to 2,400 pounds with overburdened heave (as a large quadruped).
Now, according to Wikipedia's entry on crocodiles, "larger species can reach over 4.85 m (16 ft) long and weigh well over 1200 kg (2,640 lb)." That means that Coronus can toss Gomek the Giant Crocodile at a foe, dealing 15d6 damage - before Gomek begins to chomp down on the poor bastard.
Coronus can still act as a decent spell-caster and out-of-combat healer as well, and his animal companion is still almost as strong as that of a druid of his level. [/spoiler]
Stats: 25PB
[spoiler]Str: 13 (+1)
Dex: 8 (-1)
Con: 16 (+4)
Int: 8 (-1)
Wis: 18 (+4)
Cha: 8 (-1)[/spoiler]
Skills:
[spoiler]Concentration 11 ranks
Handle Animal 11 ranks
Survival 5 ranks
Knowledge (Nature) 5 ranks
Listen 7 ranks
Jump 4 ranks[/spoiler]
Feats:
[spoiler]1st char: Point Blank Shot
1st human bonus: Brutal Throw
3rd char: Weapon Focus: Javelin
6th char: Power Attack
9th char: Skill Focus: Handle Animal[/spoiler]
Class abilities:
[spoiler]Spontaneous Casting (Summon Animal)
Animal Companion
Nature Sense
Wild Empathy
Woodland Stride
Trackless Step
Resist Nature's Lure
Draconic Aspect 3/day [/spoiler]
Equipment: [spoiler]as before, Coronus is not particularly dependent on equipment other that strength-boosters. If starting at this level, I would spend my 49k as so:
36k on a Collar/Necklace of Strength +6 (eventually you might give this to an animal companion)
4.5k on a Wand of Wild Runner
6k on Strongarm Bracers (MIC, use items as if 1 size larger: potentially allows colossal items to be thrown)
2k on Gauntlets of Extended Range (MIC, doubles range of thrown weapons)
1.5k on various adventuring items and crud.
Buy a wand of Enlarge Person for your party arcanist if you want to throw your crocodile around when you're out of 4th level spells. A bag of holding or portable hole to hold your ammunition might come in handy as well.[/spoiler]
Sweet spot build (level: 12th): Coronus, CN Human Druid 8/Hulking Hurler 2/Beastmaster 2
Celebrity Guest Star 1: LOOK OUT!
*CRASH* as a dire bear flies past them!
Celebrity Guest Star 2: Quick, cut to the commercial!
Flavor: [spoiler]Realizing the emptiness in a life devoted to throwing heavy rocks, Coronus begins to search for another meaning in life. He cannot bring himself to fully abandon the life of a warrior, but he returns to his natural roots and starts down the path of animal-tossing with increased fervor. Sadly, Gomek just can't satisfy Coronus' mad desire to throw heavy omnivores, so he is dumped aside in favor of Buri the Dire Bear.[/spoiler]
How he works: [spoiler]at this level, Coronus has Natural Heavyweight, so he can toss 4,800 (that's 27d6) pounds of animal around with impunity. That's more than gaint crocodiles max out at, and sadly less than the 26,000 pounds that elephants can hit, so let's shoot for an undersized dire bear - at 12HD, this thing is probably going to be hitting harder than Coronus (well, after the round that he tosses it for 27d6, anyhow).
Coronus can still act as a sub-par spell-caster and out-of-combat healer as well, and his animal companion is now stronger than that of a druid of his level. [/spoiler]
Stats: 25PB
[spoiler]Str: 13 (+1)
Dex: 8 (-1)
Con: 17 (+4)
Int: 8 (-1)
Wis: 18 (+4)
Cha: 8 (-1)[/spoiler]
Skills:
[spoiler]Concentration 11 ranks
Handle Animal 14 ranks
Survival 5 ranks
Knowledge (Nature) 5 ranks
Listen 12 ranks
Jump 4 ranks[/spoiler]
Feats:
[spoiler]1st char: Point Blank Shot
1st human bonus: Brutal Throw
3rd char: Weapon Focus: Javelin
6th char: Power Attack
9th char: Skill Focus: Handle Animal
12th char: Natural Heavyweight (double carrying capacity) [/spoiler]
Class abilities:
[spoiler]Spontaneous Casting (Summon Animal)
Animal Companion
Nature Sense
Wild Empathy
Woodland Stride
Trackless Step
Resist Nature's Lure
Draconic Aspect 3/day
Alertness[/spoiler]
Equipment: same as the previous level, plus anything you can think up to increase strength.
15th level build: Coronus, CN Human Druid 8/Hulking Hurler 2/Beastmaster 5
Celebrity Guest Star 1: Ooh, five levels of beastmaster! You know what that means?
Celebrity Guest Star 2: Yes! Now he has low-light vision!
Flavor: continuing down the dark, twisted path of the animal-tosser, Coronus steps up to the plate with Tiberius the Dire Tiger, second cousin to the dreaded Nemean Lion.
How he works: [spoiler]Now Coronus has a second animal companion (hello Bellapheron, my soon-to-be-flying heavy horse!)
Coronus can still act as a buffer and out-of-combat healer as well, and his main animal companion is still stronger than that of a druid of his level. His Listen ranks finally pass 12, so he can use Listening Lorecall to get some long-term blindsense going. He grabs Tiberius the Dire Tiger, tossing 16 HD of snarling fangs and claws at his enemies! [/spoiler]
Stats: 25PB
[spoiler]Str: 13 (+1)
Dex: 8 (-1)
Con: 17 (+4)
Int: 8 (-1)
Wis: 18 (+4)
Cha: 8 (-1)[/spoiler]
Skills:
[spoiler]Concentration 11 ranks
Handle Animal 18 ranks
Survival 5 ranks
Knowledge (Nature) 5 ranks
Listen 12 ranks
Spot 8 ranks
Jump 4 ranks[/spoiler]
Feats:
[spoiler]1st char: Point Blank Shot
1st human bonus: Brutal Throw
3rd char: Weapon Focus: Javelin
6th char: Power Attack
9th char: Skill Focus: Handle Animal
12th char: Natural Heavyweight
15th char: Natural Bond (like every other multi-classed build in this challenge, I'll bet!)[/spoiler]
Class abilities:
[spoiler]Spontaneous Casting (Summon Animal)
Animal Companion
Nature Sense
Wild Empathy
Woodland Stride
Trackless Step
Resist Nature's Lure
Draconic Aspect 3/day
Alertness
Speak with Animals 1/day
Low-Light Vision
Extra Animal Companion[/spoiler]
Equipment: At this point it's probably a good idea to improve Coronus' defenses and utility stuff, so that he's still useful to the party out of combat.
20th level build: Coronus, CN Human Druid 11/Hulking Hurler 2/Beastmaster 7
Celebrity Guest Star 1: Hey, what's got 4 legs and loves to travel?
Celebrity Guest Star 2: A flying horrid elephant!!!
Flavor: [spoiler]after a close encounter with the dreaded Stymphalian Birds, Coronus, much like Rocky Balboa, realizes that the path of the animal-tosser is self-destructive. Returning to his earlier studies of druidism, he finds himself quickly elevated to arch-druid of the centaurs.[/spoiler]
How he works: [spoiler]Now Coronus has been joined by all of the pets at the Animal Companion Farm! So he's got a crocodile, a rhinoceros, and a Horrid Elephant to throw around. He has Animal Growth now, so his animals are all ridiculously large and fat. And with Bite of the Werebear, his Strength finally got a solid boost in power, so he can toss Gigas the Elephant around for about 103d6+38, which is some consolation at least.
At this point, it's best to toss the elephant, then cast Animal Growth on it and the other pets before tossing the other two animals. The 2 loser animals won't do squat in combat, but hopefully after around 309d6+114 of damage, Coronus' enemy should be pretty close to dead anyways. [/spoiler]
Stats: 25PB
[spoiler]Str: 13 (+1)
Dex: 8 (-1)
Con: 16 (+3)
Int: 8 (-1)
Wis: 21 (+5)
Cha: 8 (-1)[/spoiler]
Final attack: BAB+17
Spells as an 11th level druid, CL 15.
Skills:
[spoiler]Concentration 15 ranks
Handle Animal 22 ranks
Survival 5 ranks
Knowledge (Nature) 5 ranks
Listen 16 ranks
Spot 16 ranks
Jump 4 ranks[/spoiler]
Feats:
[spoiler]1st char: Point Blank Shot
1st human bonus: Brutal Throw
3rd char: Weapon Focus: Javelin
6th char: Power Attack
9th char: Skill Focus: Handle Animal
12th char: Natural Heavyweight
15th char: Natural Bond
18th char: Practiced Spellcaster (Druid)[/spoiler]
Class abilities:
[spoiler]Spontaneous Casting (Summon Animal)
Animal Companion
Nature Sense
Wild Empathy
Woodland Stride
Trackless Step
Resist Nature's Lure
Draconic Aspect 4/day
Alertness
Speak with Animals 2/day
Low-Light Vision
Immunity to Venom
Extra Animal Companion
Second Extra Animal Companion[/spoiler]
Equipment: [spoiler]Now it's time to buy some Prayer Beads, plus a few metamagic wands: extend for Call of the Wild, and Quicken for Bite of the Werebear and Animal Growth, and a +1 book of Wisdom for the extra 6th level spell as well. Giving the animal companions a few items like slippers of spider-climbing or something (let the elephant fall on some people on his own power!) would also be a good idea.[/spoiler]
Final notes: Draconic Aspect isn't that crucial to the build - it just provides a good low-level boost to strength and can be switched out for wild shape again, which would grant more versatility to the build (and dire apes can throw nearly as well as centaurs at most levels). I just loved using an under-used spell along with a weak PrC.
The build, by the way, would be even more viable as a Druid 18/Hulking Hurler 2, using a legendary ape or elephant wildshape to throw your animal companion and stuff. But that's neither here nor there!
