Character question

[m149307]

I am wondering if it is worth it to take Half-Ogre (+1 LA, no buyoff), with all the minuses to stats, as well as War Hulk (which has no BAB progression). Or should I go Feral and Half-Ogre (+2 LA, no buyoff) to be able to use natural weapons, get more str, and attack more then once per round? I want to create a Barbarian/War Hulk to smash things better then anyone else can. Since I am currently level 8, I would be either a Barbarian 5/War Hulk 1 (Feral, Half-Ogre) or Barbarian 5/ War Hulk 2 (Half-Ogre only). Any help/ opinions are appreciated.

[sideswipe]

war hulk does not give BAB because it instead gets +2 strength each level. this is the "+1 to hit" as well as "+1 damage" it is a different type of BAB essentially. and it has its good points and bad.

[Andezzar]

war hulk does not give BAB because it instead gets +2 strength each level. this is the "+1 to hit" as well as "+1 damage" it is a different type of BAB essentially. and it has its good points and bad.

Well there are ways around that. A skillful weapon gives you at 3/4 BAB. Taking the warhulk levels in epic gives you 1/2 epic BAB. Somehow getting Divine Power on you gives you 1/1 BAB for all your levels (and +6 STR).

[Amphetryon]

I am wondering if it is worth it to take Half-Ogre (+1 LA, no buyoff), with all the minuses to stats, as well as War Hulk (which has no BAB progression). Or should I go Feral and Half-Ogre (+2 LA, no buyoff) to be able to use natural weapons, get more str, and attack more then once per round? I want to create a Barbarian/War Hulk to smash things better then anyone else can. Since I am currently level 8, I would be either a Barbarian 5/War Hulk 1 (Feral, Half-Ogre) or Barbarian 5/ War Hulk 2 (Half-Ogre only). Any help/ opinions are appreciated.

Half-Ogre was reprinted in Races of Destiny with a +2 LA, rather than +1. Are you getting the earlier printing grandfathered in, or is RoD not in play at your table, or. . . ?

[m149307]

Ah, didn't know about the LA increase... why did it go up?

[Theobod]

Ah, didn't know about the LA increase... why did it go up?

Because martial cannot have nice things?

[Red Fel]

Yes, Half-Ogres are LA +2. But three things.

First: They're Large, Giant-type, massive boosts to Str and Con, and natural armor.

Second: LA can be bought off.

Third: Did I mention Giant-type? I did, and that's important, because Primordial Giant. Primordial Giant (Secrets of Xen'drik) can be applied to any creature with the Giant type. Such as a Half-Ogre. It applies penalties to Str and Con, but bonuses to Int and Cha. It also gets you extra skills, as well as your choice of Invisibility, Invisibility Purge, or Levitate as an at-will SLA. Oh, and did I mention that Primordial Giant is LA +0?

Spoiler: Let's run the numbers!

Show

Okay. So the Half-Ogre race in Races of Destiny gets you +6 Str, +2 Con, -2 Dex, -2 Int, -2 Cha. The Primordial Giant template gives you +4 Int, +4 Cha, -4 Str, -2 Con. Your net is +2 Str, +2 Int, +2 Cha, -2 Dex. Plus all the other goodies.

Mind you, your Int bonus won't do a War Hulk much good. But the Cha bonus will (Intimidate). Further, having that stat buffer gives you a little extra protection from spells like Ray of Stupidity. Nobody expects the War Hulk to have a brain, after all.

Also, at-will Invisibility? Invisible War Hulk? Ninja smash? How can you not?