Military Games Act II: Mounted Defense

[PoeticallyPsyco]

Mounted Defense!
AKA Saving Pandora

Hello, and welcome back to the Military Games optimization challenge! Here, rather than building a single character that is showcased solo across it's lifespan, we build armies of low level characters that must work together to achieve their goals.

Our first round (chaired by liquidformat) dealt with the famous Battle of Thermopylae, the last stand of 300 Spartans against a numerically superior foe. I'm continuing the tradition of stealing themes from famous battles of history and film, and this round is inspired by everyone's second favorite franchise to use the word Avatar in its title.

Spoiler

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That's right, you the builders must create an army designed to hold off, stop, and generally thwart an invading army that is superior to you in both numbers and resources before they can reach a vital location and enact a ritual to blow it to smithereens. But you have one advantage that they sorely lack: nature is on your side, and so you have mounts!



Barracks:

- All 1st party books (and web enhancements) are valid resources. The exception is variant rules (e.g. level adjustment buyoff, gestalt, item familiars, or taint) as these create an uneven playing field. 3.0 content is allowed, unless the content was later updated to 3.5, in which case use the updated stuff or risk a penalty in Elegance. Dragon Magazine content is not allowed, except when updating a 3.0 product to 3.5 (as was the case with Oriental Adventures).

- Leadership, Undead Leadership, Dragon Cohort, and anything else along those lines is disallowed for reasons of sanity and fairness. Wild Cohort is allowed. While I don't think any exist, it is possible that there are unproblematic ingredients that can be accessed at the levels we are working with that require one of these forbidden feats as a prerequisite; in that case, you may take them, but do not receive any benefit from them besides qualifying for the unproblematic ingredient.

- You have one hundred level 1 units, ten level 2 units, and one level 3 unit to work with (you may name them as you desire). As with the 1st round, you may have up to 2 different types of unit within each category For instance, 40 of your level one units could be rangers riding horses, and the other 60 could be fighters riding rust monsters. All 111 units must be the same race, though multiple subraces are allowed.

- All individuals in the army must a) have a mount and b) use it regularly.

- The Druid class is forbidden for this round, unless the Animal Companion is traded away via Alternate Class Features (ACFs) or Racial Substitution Levels (RSLs). That would be too easy.

- Each level 1 grunt has 300gp to spend on equipment, each level 2 corporal has 900gp, and the level 3 sergeant has 2,700gp. Unlike the first round, higher brackets may spend their money on their lower level subordinates, so you effectively have 41,700 gp to spend on the army, including equipment and mounts.

- Use the Elite Array for ability score generation (15, 14, 13, 12, 10, 8).

- Last but not least, while this round is inspired by the defense of Pandora, the actual environment may be chosen by each entrant (you are not restricted to flying mountains and forests); just remember that the invading army is assumed to be well equipped for, well, invading your chosen environment. Likewise, you may also choose how you go about stopping the invading army; anything from raiding their supply train to crushing them in open battle is on the table, though judges might rate some strategies lower in the Competence category if they feel they would be ineffective.



Deadline:

2.5 weeks seems like a fair amount of time; the deadline is Sunday, January 26th, at 10:00 pm Arizona Time. Submit builds to me, the chairman, via private message; I will post them all simultaneously to ensure anonymity. Format the title of your PM as "Military Games Act II, Mounted Defense: [build name]". If the build is too long for a single PM, divide it up, but make sure you label each part!

Example PM Title: Military Games Act II, Mounted Defense: The Eagles are Coming! (part 1/3)



Judgment:

Judges have until a week after the entries are posted (February 2nd) to post their judgments to the thread; if no judges have posted by that point, the first judge to post will be the only one whose scores are used. Entries will be judged in 3 categories, each on a 5 point scale.

• Originality measures how unexpected the entry is. Does it use unexpected ingredients, combine them in unexpected ways, or just go about the challenge with an unexpected approach? Note that the Crusader class was exceptionally popular last round; utilizing it this round will likely result in Originality penalties.
• Competence measures how powerful the entry is, both in a vacuum and with regards to the specific round; in this case, how strong a mounted army is it? How effective would it really be at stopping an invading army? Does it cover its weaknesses, or could it be undone by three well placed bars of soap?
• Elegance measures how 'fair' and 'mechanically pretty' the entry is. Do the units qualify for all the feats they've taken? Does the build rely on debatable, iffy interpretations of rules text? Does it take liberties with the definition of "mounted army" or other rules of the competition? Does it feel like an army that could actually exist in the D&D world, rather than something that was thrown together with no consideration for anything but what the most powerful combinations are?

Spoiler: Sample Unit table (with code below)

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Basically, these should look almost exactly like monster manual entries. Like this orc entry, for example. Put class features in Special Attacks (and/or Special Qualities if you find that more appropriate). Replace "Treasure" with "Gear". You can delete Organization, Challenge Rating, Environment, Advancement, and Level Adjustment.

Unit	Unit's Name (level X)
Size/Type	Unit's Size/Unit's Type
Hit Dice	Unit's Hit Dice (unit's HP)
Initiative	+X
Speed	X ft
Armor Class	X (bonuses and penalties), Y flat-footed, Z touch
Base Attack/Grapple	+X/+Y
Attack	[Attack name 1] +X [melee or ranged] (damage/critical) or [Attack name 2] +Y [melee or ranged] (damage/critical)
Full Attack	[Attack name 1] +X [melee or ranged] (damage/critical), [Attack name 2] +Y [melee or ranged] (damage/critical); or [Attack name 3] +Z [melee or ranged] (damage/critical)
Space/Reach	X ft/Y ft
Special Attacks	[list your special attacks here]
Special Qualities	[list your special qualities here]
Saves	Fort +X, Ref +Y, Will +Z
Abilities	Str A, Dex B, Con C, Int D, Wis E, Cha F
Skills	[skill 1] +X, [skill 2] +Y, etc.
Feats	[List feats here]
Equipment	[Equipment 1] (cost), etc.
Alignment	[list alignment here]

Spoiler: And here's the code for you to copy and paste

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[table="class: head alt1 alt2"]
[tr]
[th][B]Unit[/B][/th]
[th][B]Unit's Name (level X)[/B][/th]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]Size/Type[/td]
[td]Unit's Size/Unit's Type[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]Hit Dice[/td]
[td]Unit's Hit Dice (unit's HP)[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]Initiative[/td]
[td]+X[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]Speed[/td]
[td]X ft[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]Armor Class[/td]
[td]X (bonuses and penalties), Y flat-footed, Z touch[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]Base Attack/Grapple[/td]
[td]+X/+Y[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]Attack[/td]
[td][Attack name 1] +X [melee or ranged] (damage/critical) or [Attack name 2] +Y [melee or ranged] (damage/critical)[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]Full Attack[/td]
[td][Attack name 1] +X [melee or ranged] (damage/critical), [Attack name 2] +Y [melee or ranged] (damage/critical); or [Attack name 3] +Z [melee or ranged] (damage/critical)[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[tr]
[td]Space/Reach[/td]
[td]X ft/Y ft[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]Special Attacks[/td]
[td][list your special attacks here][/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]Special Qualities[/td]
[td][list your special qualities here][/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]Saves[/td]
[td]Fort +X, Ref +Y, Will +Z[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]Abilities[/td]
[td]Str A, Dex B, Con C, Int D, Wis E, Cha F[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]Skills[/td]
[td][skill 1] +X, [skill 2] +Y, etc.[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]Feats[/td]
[td][List feats here][/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]Equipment[/td]
[td][Equipment 1] (cost), etc.[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]Alignment[/td]
[td][list alignment here][/td]
[/tr]
[/table]

This is my first time running a competition, so feel free to ask questions below! I'll be happy to answer them, or even change the rules if there's enough demand or a compelling enough reason for it. I'm also going to try to keep improving readability, so feel free to comment on that as well.



Frequently Asked Questions:

Q1: The DMG says that mounts should have a CR no higher than 3 less than their rider (4 less for flying mounts). Do we have to hold to that?

A1: Nope! I didn't even know that was a guideline when I created the competition, and it would make for a rather boring one.


Q2: How do we price fancier mounts?

A2: To use a creature as a mount, it must have a RAW price. Many viable creatures have listed in their description the price for young, eggs, and training. The Arms and Equipment Guide provides a lot of these, and some of them are very cool; I highly recommend checking them out. For creatures without that, the Warbeast template provides prices for creatures that have it based on HD, so you can give your desired mount the template if it's a valid base creature and then use those prices. As to which price is most appropriate, if the rider unit(s) can reliably (by taking 10) make the Animal Handling DCs for training, you don't have to pay for the training, just the price for the young animal/egg (unless it has the Warbeast template, which has its own pricing rules).

NOTE: You can also sidestep this question entirely by acquiring a mount through class features, feats, or similar, and then spending all that gold on swanky gear for the mounts and units.


Q3: What are the rules on LA?

A3: Standard. You can use it for the level 2 and level 3 units, but they then get less class levels/HD as appropriate. LA buyoff is not in play. Maybe someday we'll switch to the CR system like the Villainous Competition, but for now let's keep it simple.


Q4: What's up with this Warbeast template you keep mentioning? You can use it to put a RAW price on any animal or vermin, right, making them legal for the competition? What about dinosaurs? What about templated creatures?

A4: "Warbeast" is a template found in the Monster Manual II. For the purposes of this competition, we're treating it as an inherited template (not an acquired one like I initially thought), and yes you can apply it to dinosaurs, dire animals, and whatnot (as long as they have the "animal" type). In some cases this may result in a cheaper cost than specified in, for instance, the Arms & Equipment guide. You may use the Warbeast cost in this case. As for template stacking (putting multiple templates on the same creature)... while I'm tempted to put a flat ban on it, I can think of a few cases where it would be reasonable, so I'm just going to say that judges are encouraged to look disfavorably on stacking templates with Warbeast for the purposes of more power.

[White Blade]

How do we go about acquiring mounts? Do we just pick it ourselves or do we buy it?

[Anthrowhale]

Presumably, you have to buy your mounts.

This does make the variation in starting wealth amongst level 1 classes fairly important.

[PoeticallyPsyco]

You can buy your mount with starting money, or get one through class features.

You don't have to care about the starting money for each class: every entrant gets 41,700 gp to spend on their army (kind of arbitrary, yes, but I got it from WBL for the level 2s and level 3 + 300gp for each level one grunt). In fact, I think I'm going to bold that section of the rules text, since it's arguably the most important single line in there.

[ciopo]

am I right ot assume Elite array as it was for the army challenge #1?

How do we go in guesstimating what a mount cost for any creature that would qualify as the mount but hasn't a price to buy esplicitly listed somewhere? Like for example most of the creatures listed on DMG page 205

[ciopo]

Also about "unusual mounts", Given what is written on DMG page 205, the strictest reading of that part is that any mount other than horse can't be of a CR higher than CL-3, so f that's what we go by, we can have horses and only horses, as the game host, I'd like you to set some guidelines on this.

[ciopo]

After some more research now that I'm not at work anymore, the only reference I found to pricing mounts is on the 3.0 warbeast template (MM II, page 219)
"The market price of a warbeast is a
function of its Hit Dice: 50
gp/HD for a warbeast
of 3 HD or less, or 100
gp + 75 gp/HD for one
of 4 HD or more"

But I'm back at thinking about CR limit , because givne the initial inspiration of Avatar, we have the precedent of having hte leader having a mount with a higher CR than himself :P

So yeah, I'd like a "official for this contest" ruling about pricing and CR limits

[daremetoidareyo]

What are the rules on LA?

[PoeticallyPsyco]

Excellent questions! I added a FAQ section (complete with answers, no less), and I'll also answer them here.

am I right ot assume Elite array as it was for the army challenge #1?

How do we go in guesstimating what a mount cost for any creature that would qualify as the mount but hasn't a price to buy esplicitly listed somewhere? Like for example most of the creatures listed on DMG page 205

For the first bit, you're absolutely right, we're using the Elite Array (added that to the Barracks section). As for the second, see below.

Also about "unusual mounts", Given what is written on DMG page 205, the strictest reading of that part is that any mount other than horse can't be of a CR higher than CL-3, so f that's what we go by, we can have horses and only horses, as the game host, I'd like you to set some guidelines on this.

I'd actually completely forgotten about those guidelines, but since they are guidelines and not rules, I'm waiving the CR guidelines for this contest. People in the real world use elephants, and I'm pretty confident that few of those people are level 10. For that matter, people in the real world use tanks. Plus, adhering to them would make for a pretty samey list of entries.

But I'm back at thinking about CR limit , because givne the initial inspiration of Avatar, we have the precedent of having hte leader having a mount with a higher CR than himself :P

So yeah, I'd like a "official for this contest" ruling about pricing and CR limits

To use a creature as a mount, it must have a RAW price. Many viable creatures have listed in their description the price for young, eggs, and training. Many of these can be found simply in the Monster Manual, but I'd like to shout out The Arms and Equipment Guide for providing a lot more; if you need inspiration for the comp I'd recommend looking there. For creatures without that, the Warbeast template provides prices for creatures that have it based on HD, so you can give your desired mount the template if it's a valid base creature, and then use those prices. As to which price is most appropriate, if the rider unit can reliably (by taking 10) make the Animal Handling DCs for training, you don't have to pay for the training; this also applies for the Warbeast template (for base creatures with separate listed prices).

What are the rules on LA?

Normal LA rules. Your level 2 and level 3 units can have positive LA, but that reduces the number of class levels/HD they can have. LA buy-off is not in play.

[ciopo]

To use a creature as a mount, it must have a RAW price. Many viable creatures have listed in their description the price for young, eggs, and training. Many of these can be found simply in the Monster Manual, but I'd like to shout out The Arms and Equipment Guide for providing a lot more; if you need inspiration for the comp I'd recommend looking there. For creatures without that, the Warbeast template provides prices for creatures that have it based on HD, so you can give your desired mount the template if it's a valid base creature, and then use those prices. As to which price is most appropriate, if the rider unit can reliably (by taking 10) make the Animal Handling DCs for training, you don't have to pay for the training; this also applies for the Warbeast template (for base creatures with separate listed prices).

I'm looking at the 3.5 MM I right now, to horses to avoid spoiling ideas by mentioning any other kind of creature, and it does not have a price listed, neither do other creatures I've checked out.
(Obviously I know a horse price is listed in the PH)

A clarification about the Animal Handling DC : You mean to say if taking 10 is enough to cover the DC of the training, we can "pay 0" for the mount? I guess this counts for rearing it up from when it was young .

Can I use the MM guidelines for improving monsters for making size-appropriate mounts? to be clear : if I'm scaling down a large creature to medium size to for example represent riding it's youngs, when the youngs aren't statted, I'd apply a reversed medium to large size change ( so -8 str, +2dex, -4con, -2natural armor, +1AC and +1 attack bonus , 3/4 HD)

Also see PM about warbeast template

[PoeticallyPsyco]

I'm looking at the 3.5 MM I right now, to horses to avoid spoiling ideas by mentioning any other kind of creature, and it does not have a price listed, neither do other creatures I've checked out.
(Obviously I know a horse price is listed in the PH)

Huh, I remembered there being more trainable animals in MMI, but there are actually only 6 with listed prices, none of them in the animal section. For animals that don't have prices listed in the PHB, the DMG, or other sources, you may be stuck with applying the Warbeast template and paying that price.

A clarification about the Animal Handling DC : You mean to say if taking 10 is enough to cover the DC of the training, we can "pay 0" for the mount? I guess this counts for rearing it up from when it was young.

Not quite. All the creatures with listed prices in the MMI and AEG list the price for "young" and in some cases also for "egg", in addition to the cost for a trainer. If your units can meet the DCs to rear the animal and train it for what you want it to do, you don't have to pay the price for a professional trainer and can just pay for the egg or young.

Similarly, if your units can meet the DC to apply the Warbeast template themselves, you can pay for the unmodified version of the creature rather than using the price after it became a Warbeast.


EXAMPLE: Using one I sincerely doubt we'll see, Megaraptors have a listed egg price of 13,000 gp, a training cost of 2,000 gp, and if the Warbeast template were applied would have 9HD and thus cost... 775 gp if you buy one? Note to self, need to come up with a house rule to make that more consistent. But it works for the example.

If your unit has a +13 to Handle Animal (perhaps through use of Aid Another and masterwork tools, though judges may penalize these in Elegance if they seem unreasonable), you can "rear a wild animal" on the megaraptor (DC 23 for 8HD) and also easily meet the DCs for teaching it tricks, so you only need to spend 13,000 gp for the egg and not an extra 2,000 gp for a trainer.

EDIT: Turns out you can't train a creature into a warbeast; I misread the template. Deleted the second paragraph of this section, going to edit the main post now.

Can I use the MM guidelines for improving monsters for making size-appropriate mounts? to be clear : if I'm scaling down a large creature to medium size to for example represent riding it's youngs, when the youngs aren't statted, I'd apply a reversed medium to large size change ( so -8 str, +2dex, -4con, -2natural armor, +1AC and +1 attack bonus , 3/4 HD)

I'm going to leave that one to the judges. It is homebrewing and thus typically frowned on, but in that case it's also detrimental, which tends to get more of a pass. I will note that there's no rule against riding a creature that's more than one size larger than you, so you may not need these modifications in the first place.

[PoeticallyPsyco]

A problem that I didn't anticipate has cropped up. The Warbeast template can be applied to a lot of large, rare creatures (mainly dinosaurs) that are quite expensive in the Arms & Equipment guide... and gives them a much lower cost after being improved by the template.

First of all, is this actually a problem? Should people be able to get dinosaurs trained for war relatively cheap, or does that invalidate other options? And if it is a problem, should it be fixed by raising the price once you get over a certain HD or just saying you can't use the Warbeast prices above a certain HD, or even just with dinosaurs?

[Hellpyre]

If your unit has +19 to Handle Animal, it can also meet the DC for training the megaraptor into a Warbeast (20 + new HD after the template = 29). That means you can spend the 13,000 gp for the egg instead of the 775 gp for an already trained Warbeast Megaraptor... though until I come up with a fix for that, you probably wouldn't want to

Another problem. You can't train a creature into a Warbeast. They have to be bred (per the template), they just also happen to have different training requirements from untemplated creatures.

[PoeticallyPsyco]

Another problem. You can't train a creature into a Warbeast. They have to be bred (per the template), they just also happen to have different training requirements from untemplated creatures.

Right you are, I misread that part of the template to mean you could train normal creatures into warbeasts.

[Hellpyre]

For what it's worth, if you added the cost of a warbeast as the cost for a specialized breed, you get rid of the other problem. But that gets in to ruling on specifics for the competition, which is its own can of worms.

[PoeticallyPsyco]

Just about one week left, though if there is enough demand I will of course add an extension.

We've already got one entry in, and I'm thinking of doing one myself that won't be in the running for medals, just displayed for fun. How are other people doing?


EDIT: Also, added another FAQ question on the Warbeast template; specifically, possible loopholes/abuses that as Chairman I'm allowing, discouraging, or forbidding.

Q4: What's up with this Warbeast template you keep mentioning? You can use it to put a RAW price on any animal or vermin, right? What about dinosaurs? What about templated creatures?

A4: "Warbeast" is a template found in the Monster Manual II. For the purposes of this competition, we're treating it as an inherited template (not an acquired one like I initially thought), and yes you can apply it to dinosaurs, dire animals, and whatnot (as long as they have the "animal" type). In some cases this may result in a cheaper cost than specified in, for instance, the Arms & Equipment guide. You may use the Warbeast cost in this case. As for template stacking (putting multiple templates on the same creature)... while I'm tempted to put a flat ban on it, I can think of a few cases where it would be reasonable, so I'm just going to say that judges are encouraged to look disfavorably on stacking templates with Warbeast for the purposes of more power.

[jdizzlean]

following to read, but this is outside my area of building :)

[WhamBamSam]

I have everything basically figured out. I just need to actually get around to actually writing it up.

[PoeticallyPsyco]

We're approaching the deadline... how's it going?

[PoeticallyPsyco]

I've got two builds in my inbox, which is not quite enough for the competition. In addition to that, the site has been experiencing technical difficulties this last week or so. In light of these facts, I'm adding an extension to the deadline. Would three days (Wednesday) be enough?

[WhamBamSam]

I should be able to finish by Wednesday. I've got my idea worked out, just need to write it up now that I have access to the formatting and money totals again.

[PoeticallyPsyco]

Awesome! Not only is The Long Dark over, the competition is back on!

Date for the reveal is tentatively set for this Wednesday, then.

[PoeticallyPsyco]

Okay, let's do this! No posts for a bit please; want to have all three entries in a row.

[PoeticallyPsyco]

Build 1:

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The Short Kings of Mullhorand

Though primarily the descendants of escaped slaves from Thay, this tribe of stronhearts bear traces of the god-kings of Mullhorand. They strike at break-neck speed, slicing through whole battalions in the blink of an eye.

Spoiler: Army and Finances

Show

Unit	Captain Pat (Otherworldly Strongheart Halfling Wizard 3)
Size/Type	Small Outsider (Tiny Outsider in Imp form)
Hit Dice	3d4+6 (13 HP)
Initiative	+2
Speed	30 ft (20 ft, 50 ft fly (perfect) in imp form)
Armor Class	13 (+1 size, +2 Dex) or 23 (+2 size, +2 Dex, +4 Armor, +5 Natural) with Alter Self and Mage Armor, 11 or 21 flat-footed, 13 or 14 touch
Base Attack/Grapple	+1/-1 (-5 in Imp form)
Attack	Masterwork Halberd +4 melee (1d6+1/x3)
Full Attack	Masterwork Halberd +4 melee (1d6+1/x3)
Space/Reach	5 ft/10 ft (5 ft in imp form)
Special Attacks	Spells
Special Qualities	Animal Companion (Eagle)*, Fighter Bonus Feat, Focused Transmuter (Ban Evocation, Necromancy, Enchantment), Outsider traits
Saves	Fort +2, Ref +2, Will +2
Abilities	Str 12, Dex 15, Con 14, Int 15, Wis 8, Cha 10
Skills	Ride +5, Handle Animal +3, Concentration +10, Spellcraft +9
Feats	Otherworldly, Mounted Combat, Ride-By Attack, Spirited Charge
Equipment	Masterwork Halberd, Masterwork Item of Concentration, Exotic Military Saddle (Eagle)
Alignment	CG

*If the Animal companion ACF is considered against the spirit of the Druid ban, a tiny familiar, such as a Hawk can share Pat’s Alter Self spell and become a Darkmantle, so that he will still have a small-sized flying mount.

Unit	The Lightning Lions (Mullhorandi Divine Minion of Anhur Strongheart Halfling Cloistered Cleric of Anhur 1)
Size/Type	Small Outsider (Large Outsider in Lion form)
Hit Dice	Unit's Hit Dice (unit's HP)
Initiative	+1 (+3 in Lion form)
Speed	30 ft (40 ft in Lion form)
Armor Class	12 (+1 size, +1 Dex) or 15 (-1 Size, +3 Dex, +3 Natural) in Lion form, 11 or 12 flat-footed, 12 touch
Base Attack/Grapple	+0/-6 (+9 in Lion form)
Attack	In Lion form: Claw +5 melee (1d4+5)
Full Attack	In Lion form: Claw +5 melee (1d4+5), Claw +5 Melee (1d4+5); and Bite +0 melee (1d8+2)
Space/Reach	5 ft (10 ft in Lion form)/5 ft
Special Attacks	Turn Undead, Spells, Fast Wild Shape (Lion), In Lion form: Pounce, Rake 1d4+2
Special Qualities	-
Saves	Fort +4, Ref +1 (+3 in Lion Form), Will +3
Abilities	Str 6, Dex 12, Con 15, Int 12, Wis 13, Cha 14
Skills	Knowledge (Arcana) +5, Knowledge (Local) +5, Knowledge (Nature) +5, Knowledge (The Planes) +5, Knowledge (Dungeoneering) +5, Knowledge (Religion) +5, Concentration +6
Feats	Cheetah’s Speed, Travel Devotion, Chaos Devotion, Strength Devotion, Knowledge Devotion
Equipment	-
Alignment	CG

All 10 Lieutenants are Lightning Lions.

Unit	Chariot Driver (Strongheart Halfling Totemist 1)
Size/Type	Small Humanoid
Hit Dice	1d8+2 (6 HP)
Initiative	+2
Speed	30 ft
Armor Class	19 (+1 Size, +2 Dex, +4 Armor, +2 Shield), 17 flat-footed, 13 touch
Base Attack/Grapple	+0/-4
Attack	Heavy Shield +1 (1d3)
Full Attack	Heavy Shield +1 (1d3)
Space/Reach	5 ft/5 ft
Special Attacks	Soulmelds, Wild Empathy
Special Qualities	Illiteracy
Saves	Fort +4, Ref +4, Will +0
Abilities	Str 10, Dex 15, Con 15, Int 8, Wis 10, Cha 14
Skills	Handle Animal +11 (+17 with Riding Bracers with an essentia, +19 with Chariot Rider’s Motivate Charisma), Spot +4, Listen +4
Feats	Skill Focus (Handle Animal), Animal Affinity
Equipment	Heavy Shield, Chain Shirt, Masterwork Item of Handle Animal
Alignment	CG

x35

Unit	Chariot Rider (Strongheart Halfling Marshal 1)
Size/Type	Small Humanoid
Hit Dice	1d8+1 (5 HP)
Initiative	+2
Speed	20 ft
Armor Class	17 (+1 Size, +2 Dex, +4 Armor), 15 flat-footed, 13 touch
Base Attack/Grapple	+0/-3
Attack	Lance +1 Melee (1d6+1/x3), or Longbow +2 Ranged (1d6+1/x3)
Full Attack	Lance +1 Melee (1d6+1/x3), or Longbow +2 Ranged (1d6+1/x3)
Space/Reach	5 ft/10 ft
Special Attacks	Minor Aura (Motivate Charisma)
Special Qualities	-
Saves	Fort +4, Ref +2, Will +2
Abilities	Str 13, Dex 14, Con 13, Int 8, Wis 10, Cha 14
Skills	Diplomacy +11, Handle Animal +8, Ride +6
Feats	Skill Focus (Diplomacy), Chariot Combat, Chariot Archery
Equipment	Lance, Longbow, 20 Arrows, Chain Shirt
Alignment	[list alignment here]

x35

Unit	Pit Crew (Strongheart Halfling Wizard 1)
Size/Type	Small Humanoid
Hit Dice	1d4+2 (4 HP)
Initiative	+2
Speed	30 ft
Armor Class	13 (+1 Size, +2 Dex), 11 flat-footed, 12 touch
Base Attack/Grapple	+0/-5
Attack	-
Full Attack	-
Space/Reach	5 ft/5 ft
Special Attacks	Spells, Abrupt Jaunt
Special Qualities	Focused Conjurer (Ban Evocation, Necromancy, Abjuration)
Saves	Fort +2, Ref +2, Will +2
Abilities	Str 6, Dex 14, Con 14, Int 15, Wis 10, Cha 12
Skills	Ride +4, Handle Animal +3, Concentration +6, Craft (Varies) +6
Feats	Cloudy Conjuration, Wild Cohort (Riding Dog), Scribe Scroll
Equipment	Military Saddle (Riding Dog)
Alignment	CG

x30

Total Cost of units’ equipment: 14830
35 two-man chariots for small riders with sideswipe blades: 14000
90 Warbeast Cheetahs: 13500
Total: 42330
The excess 630gp can either be made up by removing the Chariot Drivers’ shields or by dedicating Pit Crew Craft skills to the production of relevant mundane items.

Spoiler: Playtips

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Cheetah Chariots, let’s go. The 35 pairs of Totemists and Marshals man chariots. 30 of these chariots are pulled by two warbeast cheetahs, while the remaining 5 are pulled by the Divine Minion Clerics in Lion form. Chariot blades get a free attack with a bonus based on how far the chariot has travelled that round if the driver makes a DC 20 Handle Animal check. With Riding Bracers, feat investment, and the boost from their Marshal Co-Pilot’s Motivate Charisma, the Totemists can make this check trivially. With sprinting cheetahs pulling the chariot for increased movement, the chariot blade numbers get pretty insane (capable of trivially carving up enemies that would ordinarily be far beyond a pair of level 1s with CR2 mounts). The cheetahs themselves and the Marshal can also put up respectable charge damage at the end of the sprint. Since cheetahs can only sprint once per day, the Pit Crew wizards standing by nearby on their Riding Dogs can provide fresh cheetahs to those chariots with Benign Transposition – with the added bonus of being able to drop a debuffing cloud on any nearby enemy that’s still alive with Cloudy Conjuration – so that the chariot crew can do their thing again on the following round. The Cleric-pulled chariots are even better, with unlimited Cheetah’s Speed fueled by Divine Minion’s at-will Fast Wild Shape so as to never need a pit crew and added maneuverability and juice for the engine via turn-fueled Travel Devotion. The Clerics can also do some out of combat healing, and can use their other devotion feats for boosted melee ability or in to punch through barriers in a pinch with Strength Devotion, and the wizards can toss out the usual low-level BFC and much beloved if enemies try to close with them or they have a free turn from pit crew duties.

The commander is something of a wild card. He has the Otherworldly feat via the Mullhorandi Royal option in Champions of Valor (Celestial-Attended Birth would also work), giving him the Outsider type for martial proficiency and the ability to take Outsider forms with Alter Self. This allows him to take the form of an Imp or another Tiny Outsider and ride on his Eagle Companion. From there he can either fling BFC at a safe distance or charge in on his diving eagle with a Spirited Charge attack, or a Whirling Blade spell. In the latter case, the rules for mounted charging are such that all the Whirling Blade attacks will count as charge attacks and gain the benefits of Spirited Charge, carving out an entire line and potentially creating a lane in an enemy formation for a chariot to slice through.

Spoiler: Sources

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Champions of Valor: Mullhorandi Royal Otherworldly option, Anhur
Complete Mage: Cloudy Conjuration
Complete Divine: Knowledge Devotion, Travel Devotion, Strength Devotion, Chaos Devotion, Cheetah’s Speed
Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting: Strongheart Halfling
Monster Manual II: Warbeast
Player's Guide to Faerun: Otherworldly
Sword & Fist: Chariots, Chariot Combat, Chariot Archery
Spell Compendium: Whirling Blade
Web: Divine Minion of Anhur, Wild Cohort
Everything else is in the SRD.

[PoeticallyPsyco]

Build 2: Electric Boogaloo

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The Driftwell is an intense concentration of natural divine energy about 100 miles in diameter. Aside from attracting divine spellcasters of all types, the Driftwell has many secondary effects.

Plants tend to grow very well near the Driftwell, with forests in particular growing particularly tall and well-developed exotic trees.

Animals in the Driftwell take on many traits of plants via a slow 'drift' that occurs over years of time.

Humanoids in the Driftwell similarly 'drift' towards animals, taking on their traits and eventually gaining the ability to fully transform into animals.

Time itself is distorted in the Driftwell, with 'eddies' that catch up unsuspecting travelers and deposit them a day/week/month/year/decade/century/millenia hence. These time eddies move slowly throughout the Driftwell, so inhabitants can both avoid and actively use them. Aside from a potent natural hazard, the time eddies have preserved many species throughout the years as their short natural lives skip through millenia of time.

The most common incursions into the Driftwell involve lumberers seeking the exotic woods which flourish here. These are usually killed or chased off, although the more exotic trees tend to survive deeper into the Driftwell for this reason.

Sometimes adventurers seek out exotic animals or to study the time eddies or the Driftwell itself. Adventurers can be welcome so long as they are respectful of the Driftwell. In fact, Geomancers have learned to accelerate the drift. Disrespectful adventurers who capture animals or damage the forest are typically hunted down and executed in very short order.

There have been several major attempts to conquer the Driftwell which have always foundered on the awakened might of the Driftwell's inhabitants. To best deal with these incursions, the Driftwell's Defenders company was created. Driftwell's Defenders is usually dispersed into different squads which patrol various sectors, with the squads breaking down into pairs.

The wild inhabitants of the Driftwell have mostly learned to avoid members of the company due to the pervasive use of wild empathy and, if that does not work, the potent and rapid response to any attacks. Newcomers are not necessarily so learned. When the pair encounters a challenge beyond their abilities, one stays in observation while the other returns to the squad. When the squad is not enough the entire company can assemble and mount a response in a couple day's time.

Spoiler: Rules notes

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I'm modeling the Driftwell's effects on humanoids as the Hengeyokai race (Oriental Adventures, page 10). This was originally LA+1 but updated to LA+0 in Dragon Magazine #318 with the loss of the shapechanger type. In a nutshell, Hengeyokai have 3 forms: humanoid, humanoid with animal characteristics, and animal with the ability to change form 1+character level times/day. All equipment is lost when changing into animal form and recovered when converting back.

I'm modeling the drift effect on animals as the Woodling template (MM3, page 197). We'll also use the warbeast template (MM2, Page 219) so the note about template stacking is relevant. I'm proceeding anyways here, because it fits the drift flavor, and because I was already looking into it.

Woodling is exceptional for mounts because it plugs many defensive holes including immunity to mind-affecting effects. Without it, Ray of Stupidity is a low level nearly automatic take down against any animal (Int 2 or less by definition). Immunity to mind-affecting also does great things for the weak will save.

I'm also assuming access to essentially any non-aquatic animal for the purpose of mounts.

The basic element of the Driftwell's Defenders is a Spirit Shaman Hengeyokai (Sparrow) riding a Warbeast Woodling Clawfoot (Eberron Setting) Dinosaur.

Spoiler: Spirit Shaman Hengeyokai (Sparrow)

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Hengeyokai (Sparrow) Spirit Shaman 1
Size/Type Fine Humanoid or Medium Humanoid (Shapechanger)
Initiative +6 or +3 (+2 Marshal)(+1 Dragon Shaman)
Senses:

Armor Class 22 (+8 size +6 Dex) (+1 Marshal) or 18 (+3 Dex, +3 Armor, +2 Shield)(+1 Marshal), Touch 13, Flat-Footed 15
Hit Dice 1d8+2 (7hp) (Marshal DR 1/- Dragon Shaman Resist 5 Fire/Acid/Cold/Lightning + Retributive 2 Fire/Acid/Cold/Lightning + Fast heal 1 if < 1/2 hp)

Speed 1'(+5' Marshal)/fly 50' (average) or 20' (+5' Marshal)/fly 20'(average)
Space 0.5 ft/0ft or 5 ft/5 ft

Attack None or shortbow+3(+1 Marshal) ranged (1d6 (+1 Marshal)(+1 Dragon Shaman)) or club+2(+1 Marshal) melee (1d6+2 (+1 Marshal)(+1 Dragon Shaman)) or longspear+2(+1 Marshal) melee (1d8+3(+1 Marshal)(+1 Dragon Shaman))
Full Attack as Attack
Special Attacks -

Saves: Fort+3 or +2(+2 Marshal), Refl+3 or +6(+2 Marshal), Will+2(+2 Marshal)
Abilities Str 1 or 15, Dex 23 or 16 (=14+2), Con 10 or 12, Int 8, Wis 11=13-2, Cha 10
Special Quaities Spirit Guide (Alertness), Wild Empathy
Feats Mounted Combat
Skills Ride 12 (+6 Dex +4 ranks +2 Warbeast)(+2 Marshal), Spot+6(+2 Marshal)(+1 Dragon Shaman), Handle Animal+6
Cost Weight weight(on trooper)
items 279.1 66 59
War Woodling Clawfoot 150
Exotic Riding Saddle 30 30

Leather Barding 20 15
Studded Leather Armor 25 20
Heavy Wooden Shield 7 10

Club 0 3
Shortbow 30 2
Arrows (100) 5 15
Longspear 5 9

Waterskin 1 4
Trail Rations4 days 2 4
Bedroll 0.1 5
Saddlebag 4 8

Spoiler: Warbeast Woodling Clawfoot

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Warbeast Woodling Clawfoot (Eberron Campaign setting, Page 279)
Size/Type Medium Animal
Initiative: +3 or +6 (when ridden) (+2 Marshal)(+1 Dragon Shaman)
Senses: Low Light Vision, Scent, Listen+12, Spot+12

Armor Class 25 (+3 Dex, +10 Natural, +2 Armor)(+1 Marshal), Touch 13, Flat-Footed 22 (Mounted Combat up to +34)
Hit Dice 3d8+12 (25hp) DR 5/Slashing, Vulnerability to Fire (Marshal DR 1/- Dragon Shaman Resist 5 Fire/Acid/Cold/Lightning + Retributive 2 Fire/Acid/Cold/Lightning + Fast heal 1 if < 1/2 hp)

Speed 50' (+5' Marshal)
Space 5 ft/5 ft
Base Attack +2 / Grapple +7
Attack Talons +7 (+1 Marshal) Melee (1d8+5(+1 Marshal)(+1 Dragon Shaman))
Full Attack Average on hit: 28.5(+5 Marshal)(+5 Dragon Shaman)
Talons +7 (+1 Marshal)Melee (1d8+5(+1 Marshal)(+1 Dragon Shaman)), 2 Foreclaws +7 melee(+1 Marshal) (1d3+2(+1 Marshal)(+1 Dragon Shaman)), Bite +7(+1 Marshal) melee (1d6+2(+1 Marshal)(+1 Dragon Shaman)), Slam +7(+1 Marshal) melee (1d6+2(+1 Marshal)(+1 Dragon Shaman))
Special Attacks

Saves Fort +7(+2 Marshal), Refl+6(+2 Marshal), Will+3(+2 Marshal)
Abilities Str 20, Dex 17, Con 18, Int 2, Wis 14, Cha 10
Special Qualities immunity to poison, magic sleep, paralysis, polymorph, stunning, and mind-affecting. Not subject to extra damage from critical hits, Entangle 1/day, Summon Nature's Ally II 1/day
Feats Multiattack, Improved Multiattack, Light Armor (Bonus), Medium Armor (Bonus), Heavy Armor (Bonus)
Skills Hide+16(+2 Marshal), Jump+24, Listen +12(+2 Marshal)(+1 Dragon Shaman), Spot +13(+2 Marshal)(+1 Dragon Shaman), Survival+11(+2 Marshal)

Light carry capacity: 133 lbs.

Since the Clawfoot is only medium size, it functions as a steed when the rider is in sparrow form. For long distance travel, riding in sparrow form is preferred to flying since it keeps predators from accosting the sparrrow. In combat, riding is often preferred since the clawfoot moves with the rider's initiative (+6!) and because the rider can use the mounted combat feat to generate an AC up to 34 against 1 hit/round.

Near to opponents, the sparrow forms an incredible scout with a hide of 22 due to it's fine size and excellent dexterity. All troops are trained to recognize and interpret sparrow-song signals enabling stealthy communication. The clawfoot itself is also extremely stealthy with a Hide 16, Listen 12, and Spot 13.

For combat, several strategies exist.

Spoiler: combat strategies

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(1) Against opponents incapable of ranged combat, the sparrow can transform into a flying humanoid and shoot them with arrows.

(2) Against opponents with weak defenses, the Clawfoot can hide in their path using ambush tactics to devastate quickly with 5 attacks/round and Improved Multiattack to make them hit reliably. In an ambush situation, the sparrow typically often rides initially to provide direction (initiative bonus of +6), but then can transform while airborn into a flying humanoid form that adds to the melee with a longspear or arrows.

(3) Combat prowess can be augmented by a number of spells (by the shaman) or the 1/day Entangle SLA of the Clawfoot. Example spells include:
Beastland Ferocity (if the clawfoot lowers it's immunity)
Enrage animal (if the clawfoot lowers it's immunity)
Snowsight
Magic Fang or Shilelagh (against incorporeal opponents)
Lesser Vigor (for healing)
Note that spirit shamans only have 1 retrieved spell/day so multiple
spirit shamans can fruitfully trade castings.

(4) Even against tough opponents the Clawfoot is an exceptional brawler putting out 5 attacks/round with the AC to simply power through many combats.

(5) Luring opponents into a time eddy is a standard tactic in the Driftwell. Leading opponents into a 1-week driftwell allows all of Driftwell's Defenders to assemble for their exit.

Training the animals of the Driftwell is extra challenging due to the Woodling template. Wild Empathy is the only method available to make an animal friendly enough to be trainable. Each animal is trained to:

1. Attack Anything (2 tricks) //that's what they are there for.
2. Down (1 Trick) //Retreat is a possible tactic.
3. Defend (1 Trick) //The riders are relatively delicate
4. Track (1 Trick)// Useful for finding intruders
5. Work (1 Trick). // The company can build it's own fortifications.

Each squad of 10 is commanded by a seargent Hengeyokai (Badger) Marshal 2 or Ranger 1/Dragon Shaman 1 riding a Warbeast Woodling Hunting Bat (MMII, page 66).

Spoiler: Warbeast Woodling Hunting Bat

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Warbeast Woodling Desmodu Hunting Bat
Size/Type Large Animal
Initiative +6 (Dex)(+2 Marshal)(+1 Dragon Shaman)
Senses: Low Light Vision, Listen+15(+2 Marshal), Spot+15(+2 Marshal), Blindsight 120', Scent

Armor Class 28 (+6 Dex, +10 Natural, -1 Size, +3 Armor)(+1 Marshal), Touch 15, Flat-Footed 21, (Mounted Combat up to +34)
Hit Dice 6d8+30 (57hp) DR 5/slashing Vulnerability to Fire (Marshal DR 1/- Dragon Shaman Resist 5 Fire/Acid/Cold/Lightning + Retributive 2 Fire/Acid/Cold/Lightning + Fast heal 1 if < 1/2 hp)

Speed 30 ft(+5' Marshal) / Fly 60' (Good)
Space 10ft/5ft
Base Attack +4 / Grapple +16
Attack Bite +12(+1 Marshal) Melee (1d8+12(+1 Marshal)(+1 Dragon Shaman))
Full Attack Average on-hit: 99(+6 Marshal)(+6 Dragon Shaman)
Bite +12(+1 Marshal) Melee (1d8+12(+1 Marshal)(+1 Dragon Shaman) + Trip) and Slam +7(+1 Marshal) (1d8+4(+1 Marshal)(+1 Dragon Shaman))
Special Attacks: Free trip on bite attack, Great Flyby attack to bite 6 opponents in a row.

Saves Fort +9(+2 Marshal), Refl+7(+2 Marshal), Will+5(+2 Marshal)
Abilities Str 26, Dex 22, Con 20, Int 2, Wis 18, Cha 7
Special Qualities immunity to poison, magic sleep, paralysis, polymorph, stunning, and mind-affecting. Not subject to extra damage from critical hits, Entangle 1/day, Summon Nature's Ally II 1/day, Speak with Plants 3/day
Feats Flyby Attack, Great Flyby Attack (Savages Species page 35), Combat Reflexes, Light Armor (Bonus), Medium Armor (Bonus), Heavy Armor (Bonus)
Skills Hide +11(+2 Marshal), Listen+14(+2 Marshal)(+1 Dragon Shaman), Spot+16(+2 Marshal)(+1 Dragon Shaman), Move Silently +10(+2 Marshal)

Light Carry capacity: 612lbs

Spoiler: Marshal 2 Hengeyokai(Badger)

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Hengeyokai (Badger) Marshal 2 or Ranger 1/Dragon Shaman 1
Size/Type Tiny Humanoid or Medium Humanoid (shapechanger)
Initiative: +3 (Dex)(+2 Marshal)(+1 Dragon Shaman)
Senses:

Armor Class 19 (+3 Dex, +3 Armor, +2 Shield)(+1 Marshal), Touch 14, Flat-Footed 16
Hit Dice 2d8+2 (11 hp) or 1d8+1d6+2 (10hp) (Marshal DR 1/- Dragon Shaman Resist 5 Fire/Acid/Cold/Lightning + Retributive 2 Fire/Acid/Cold/Lightning + Fast heal 1 if < 1/2 hp)

Speed 30ft(+5' Marshal)/ Burrow 10'
Space 5 ft/5 ft

Attack Shortbow+4(+1 Marshal) ranged (1d6(+1 Marshal)(+1 Dragon Shaman)) or club+2(+1 Marshal) melee (1d6+1(+1 Marshal)(+1 Dragon Shaman)) or longspear+2(+1 Marshal) Melee 1d8+1(+1 Marshal)(+1 Dragon Shaman)
Full Attack As Attack
Special Attacks

Saves Fort+4(+2 Marshal), Refl+3(+2 Marshal), Will+2(+2 Marshal)
Abilities Str 13, Dex 16 (=14+2), Con 12, Int 8, Wis 8=(10-8), Cha 15
Special Quaities
Feats Mounted Combat
Skills Ride 12 (+3 Dex +5 Ranks +2 Warbeast +2 Mwk Saddle)(+2 Marshal), Spot +4(+2 Marshal)(+1 Dragon Shaman)
Cost Weight On trooper
items 834.1 106 49
Adv War Wood Hun Bat 550
Mwk Exotic R. Saddle 80 30

Studded Leather Barding 100 40
Studded Leather Armor 25 20
Dastana 25 5
Heavy Wooden Shield 7 10

Club 0 3
Shortbow 30 2
Arrows (100) 5 12 3
Longspear 5 9

Waterskin 1 4
Trail Rations 4 days 2 4
Bedroll 0.1 5
Saddlebag 4 8

The Hunting Bat mounts are useful in several ways.

1. They provide flying transport. The hunting bat is even strong enough to lift the clawfoot mounts one at a time.
2. They have excellent sense including Scent, Blindsight 120', and Spot 16.
3. Using the Great Flyby Attack Feat and their special attack, they can damage and trip 6 foes/round making them significantly more potent combatants than the already potent Clawfoot foot soldiers.

The badgers provide auras that benefit the whole squad in combat. To maximize the use of auras, the army recruits seargents with different auras amongst 6 possibilities:
Hardy Soldiers: DR 1/- and Art of War: Disarm/Trip/Bull Rush/Sunder +2
Motivate Ardor: damage+1 and Demand Fortitude: Fort +2
Motivate Attack: melee attack+1 and Force of Will: Will+2
Motivate Care: AC+1 and Motivate Dexterity: Dex checks+2
Motivate Urgency: Land speed+5 and Motivate Wisdom: Wis Checks+2
Steady Hand: Ranged attack+1 and Watchful Eye: Refl +2

The Dragon Shaman auras also differ amongst 4 possibilities including:
Resistance to Fire 5, Vigor (fast heal 1 if <1/2 hit points), or Retributive 2 fire damage
Resistance to Cold 5, Damage bonus+1, or Retributive 2 Cold damage
Resistance to Acid 5, Listen/Spot/Initiative+1, or Retributive 2 Acid Damage
Resistance to Electricity 5, Vigor (fast heal 1 if <1/2 hit points), or Retributive 2 electricity damage
These bonuses are situational and so left out of creature statistics. Instead, I added adjacent reminders.

Squad level tactics are similar to what pairs of foot soldiers can deal with a couple additions.

Spoiler: squad tactics

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The sergeants can burrow at 10'/round which can be increased to 30'/round if a foot soldier casts "Rapid Burrowing" on them. This enables shelter for the whole company and the possibility of an ambush from below by the squad.

The Hunting Bats can use Summon Nature's Ally II as an SLA to summon 1d3 wolves behind enemy lines to add to the chaos of battle.

The captain of the company is a Karl, a Spirit Shaman 3 Hengeyokai (Sparrow) riding Spike, an Advanced Warbeast Woodling Fleshraker (MMIII) dinosaur that was raised from the egg to be a supermount.

Spoiler: Spike

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Advanced Warbeast Woodling Fleshraker
Size/Type Large Animal
Initiative +3 or +6(mounted)(+2 Marshal)(+1 Dragon Shaman)
Senses: Low Light Vision, Scent

Armor Class 23 (+3 Dex, +15 Natural, +5 Armor, -1 Size, -9 Shocktrooper)(+1 Marshal), Touch 3, Flat-Footed 26, Up to +38 via Mounted Combat
Hit Dice 12d8+72 (126hp)DR 5/Slashing, Vulnerability to Fire (Marshal DR 1/- Dragon Shaman Resist 5 Fire/Acid/Cold/Lightning + Retributive 2 Fire/Acid/Cold/Lightning + Fast heal 1 if < 1/2 hp)

Speed 60' (+5' Marshal)
Space 10 ft/5 ft
Base Attack +9 / Grapple +22
Attack Claw+18(+1 Marshal) Melee
Full Attack Average on hit: 163 on Charge(+6 Marshal)(+6 Dragon Shaman)
2 Claws +18(+1 Marshal) (1d6+27(+1 Marshal)(+1 Dragon Shaman) +Poison) and Bite +16(+1 Marshal) (1d8+22(+1 Marshal)(+1 Dragon Shaman)) and Tail +16(+1 Marshal) (1d8+22(+1 Marshal)(+1 Dragon Shaman)+Poison) and Slam+16(+1 Marshal) (1d8+22(+1 Marshal)(+1 Dragon Shaman))
Special Attacks Poison (DC 22, Dex 1d6/Dex 1d6), Leaping Pounce, Rake +15 (1d8+23)(+1 Marshal)(+1 Dragon Shaman)

Saves Fort +14(+2 Marshal), Refl+11(+2 Marshal), Will+7(+2 Marshal)
Abilities Str 28, Dex 17, Con 22, Int 2, Wis 16, Cha 12
Special Qualities immunity to poison, magic sleep, paralysis, polymorph, stunning, and mind-affecting. Not subject to extra damage from critical hits, Entangle 1/day, Summon Nature's Ally II 1/day, Speak with Plants 3/day, Summon Nature's Ally IV 1/day, Command Plants 1/day
Feats Multiattack, Power Attack, Improved Bull Rush, Shock Trooper, Leap Attack, Light Armor (Bonus), Medium Armor (Bonus), Heavy Armor (Bonus)
Skills Hide +14 (+16 in forests)(+2 Marshal), Jump +34

Light carry capacity: 1200lbs

Spoiler: Captain Karl

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Hengeyokai (Sparrow) Spirit Shaman 3
Size/Type Diminutive Humanoid or Medium Humanoid (Shapechanger)
Initiative: +6 or +3 (+2 Marshal)(+1 Dragon Shaman)
Senses:

Armor Class 22 (+8 size +6 Dex)(+1 Marshal) or 20 (+3 Dex, +5 Armor, +2 Shield)(+1 Marshal), Touch 13, Flat-Footed 17
Hit Dice 3d8+3 (16 hp) (Marshal DR 1/- Dragon Shaman Resist 5 Fire/Acid/Cold/Lightning + Retributive 2 Fire/Acid/Cold/Lightning + Fast heal 1 if < 1/2 hp)

Speed 20'(+5' Marshal)/20'Fly(average)
Space 5 ft/5 ft

Attack Small Bow+5(+1 Marshal)(1d6(+1 Marshal)(+1 Dragon Shaman)) or Longspear+3(+1 Marshal) (1d8(+1 Marshal)(+1 Dragon Shaman))
Full Attack as Attack
Special Attacks

Saves Fort+4(+2 Marshal), Refl+4(+2 Marshal), Will+4(+2 Marshal)
Abilities Str 1 or 13, Dex 23 or 16 (=14+2), Con 10 or 12, Int 8, Wis 13=15-2, Cha 10
Special Qualities
Feats Surrogate Spellcasting, Mounted Combat
Skills Ride 16 (Dex+6, Rank+6, Warbeast+2, Mwk Saddle+2)(+2 Marshal)
Cost Weight Trooper Weight
items 2609.1 119 49
Spike Fleshraker 1000
MWk Exotic Riding Saddle 80 30

Masterwork Chain Shirt Barding 550 50
Masterwork Dastana Barding 250 10
Chain Shirt Armor 100 25
Dastana 25 5
Heavy Wooden Shield 7 10

Club 0 3
Shortbow 30 2
Arrows (100) 5 12 3
Longspear 5 9

Waterskin 1 4
Trail Rations 4 days 2 4
Bedroll 0.1 5
Saddlebag 4 8
Wand,Obscuring Snow (6 charges) 540

Spike is an apex face eater, with a full suite of ubercharger feats, leaping pounce, and a potent dex-damaging attack. Spike has an exceptional Jump and is a capable ambush predator that can hide in wait. Spike's leaping pounce is quite capable of taking out many significant opponents through damage (up to 175 expected damage), pinning (grapple+22), or poison (3d6 Dex damage with a DC of 22) in a single round. Furthermore, unlike most uberchargers, Spike can do it round after round via leaping---automatically succeeding on standing long jumps of 15'. Also, unlike most uberchargers, Karl can make a ride check to increase the AC 1/round against an attack that otherwise hits. Spike is trained to use Shocktrooper constantly in combat (statistics reflect this).

The most important tactical ability of Karl is casting Obscuring Snow either via spell or a secondhand wand. The Obscuring Snow + Snowsight (which any Spirit Shaman can cast) combo provides something like invisibility for every ally, which even True Seeing cannot penetrate.

The assembled company also benefits from the many overlapping auras of the sergeants which substantially amplify the company's robustness and combat ability.

Karl also has access to second level druid spells which are of course very useful. These are best left detailed elsewhere, aside from noting that Mass Snake's Swiftness can generate an impressive amount of damage in the right situation.

[PoeticallyPsyco]

Build 3: ...with a Vengeance

---

Premise : Many generations ago, great great great (great great)(and great) grandfather managed to ingratiate himself to a mighty and naive druid that thought every race deserved a chance to prove they aren't always evil.. the fool!
Now the tribe thrives on stolen druidic knowledge, especially after making a deal with those stinky black skinned elves from the cave with the shiny rocks in the middle of the webbed forest.
But now nearby pinky cities got wind of the shiny cave! they come en masse thinking we are little weak goblins ...

FOR WE ARE GOBLINS!
Racial traits shared by everybody that are relevant :
-2 str +2 dex -2 chance
+4 racial bonus to move silently and ride
small size, 30feet movement speed, 60feet darkvision

Spoiler: level 1 unit

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Unit	Initiate of the many legs (druid level 1)
Size/Type	small humanoid
Hit Dice	1d8+1 (6 HP)
Initiative	+7
Speed	30(50) ft
Armor Class	16(18) (3 dex 1 size 1, 2 armor or 4 natural), 13(15) flat-footed, 14 touch
Base Attack/Grapple	+1/-3(+3/-1)
Attack	[Small club] +1 [melee] (1d4+1/x2) or [Small Sling] +3 [ranged] (1d3/x2) or [Bite] +3 [melee] (1d6+4)
Full Attack	[Small club] +1 [melee] (1d4+1/x2) or [Small Sling] +3 [ranged] (1d3/x2) or [Bite] +3 [melee] (1d6+4)
Space/Reach	5 ft/5 ft
Special Attacks
Special Qualities	Shapeshift ACF (PHII page 48 , values in parenthesis), darkvision 60ft
Saves	Fort +3, Ref +3, Will +3
Abilities	Str 12(16), Dex 17, Con 12, Int 10, Wis 13, Cha 6
Skills	Handle Animal +2, Ride +7, Spellcraft +4, Spot +5,Move Silently +7
Feats	Improved Initiative
Equipment	Sling and 20 stones (2sp), Club (0gp) , small leather armor (10gp), medium warbeast monstrous spider mount (150gp)
Spell Prepared	1st level, everyone 1 x lesser vigor, then a mix of utilities (Entangle, Goodberry, Obscuring mist, Camouflage,pass without trace and so on depending on need of the day)
Alignment	Neutral Evil

Shapeshift : at will swift action to morph into a predator form (preference : small monstrous spider), NA increases by 4, and a +4 ehn bonus to str, gain bite attack of 1d6+ 1-1/2 str

Spoiler: level 2 unit

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Unit	Cleric of the many legs (cleric level 2)
Size/Type	small humanoid
Hit Dice	2d8+2 (12 HP)
Initiative	+7
Speed	30ft
Armor Class	16 (3 dex 1 size 1, 2 armor), 13(15) flat-footed, 14 touch
Base Attack/Grapple	+2/-2
Attack	[Small Club] +2 [melee] (1d4+1/x2) or [Small Sling] +4 [ranged] (1d3/x2)
Full Attack	[Small Club] +2 [melee] (1d4+1/x2) or [Small Sling] +4 [ranged] (1d3/x2)
Space/Reach	5 ft/5 ft
Special Attacks
Special Qualities	Rebuke Undead
Saves	Fort +4, Ref +3, Will +4
Abilities	Str 12, Dex 17, Con 12, Int 10, Wis 13, Cha 6
Skills	Concentration +6, heal +6, Move Silently +7, ride +7
Feats	Improved Initiative
Equipment	Sling and 20 stones (2sp), club (0gp) , small leather armor (10gp), medium warbeast monstrous spider mount (150gp)
Spell Prepared	1st level, Bless, Lesser Vigor , Shield of faith
Alignment	Neutral Evil

Spoiler: level 3 unit

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Unit	Lorekeeper of the many legs (Bard level 3)
Size/Type	small humanoid
Hit Dice	3d6+3 (15 HP)
Initiative	+6
Speed	30ft
Armor Class	15 (2 dex 1 size 1, 2 armor), 13 flat-footed, 13 touch
Base Attack/Grapple	+3/-1
Attack	[Small Club] +3 [melee] (1d4+1/x2) or [Small Sling] +4 [ranged] (1d3/x2)
Full Attack	[Small Club] +3 [melee] (1d4+1/x2) or [Small Sling] +4 [ranged] (1d3/x2)
Space/Reach	5 ft/5 ft
Special Attacks
Special Qualities	as a level 3 bard
Saves	Fort +2, Ref +5, Will +2
Abilities	Str 12, Dex 15, Con 12, Int 10, Wis 8, Cha 13
Skills	perform(oration) +7,hide +8,move silently +12,spellcraft +6,diplomacy +7, ride+6
Feats	Improved Initiative
Equipment	Sling and 20 stones (2sp), club (0gp) , small leather armor (10gp), Large warbeast monstrous spider mount (400gp)
Spell known	1st level, Grease, Expeditious retreat, Ventriloquism
Alignment	Neutral Evil

Spoiler: mounts

Show

Unit	Medium warbeast monstrous spider, hunter variety
Size/Type	small vermin
Hit Dice	3d8+6 (21 HP)
Initiative	+3
Speed	50 ft, climb 20 ft
Armor Class	14 (3 dex 1 natural), 11 flat-footed, 13 touch
Base Attack/Grapple	+3/+3
Attack	Bite +4 melee (1d6+2 plus poison)
Full Attack	Bite +4 melee (1d6+2 plus poison)
Space/Reach	5 ft/5 ft
Special Attacks	Poison, Web
Special Qualities	Darkvision 60 ft., tremorsense 60 ft., vermin traits
Saves	Fort +5, Ref +3, Will +1
Abilities	Str 14, Dex 17, Con 15, Int 0, Wis 12, Cha 2
Skills	Climb +13, Hide +7, Jump +12, Spot +9
Feats	Weapon Finesse

Poison : DC 12 fort save for 1d4 str damage initial and secondary
web : Enviroment, DC 20 spot check, DC 13 escape artist or DC 17 strenght check to break free, each 5ft square of web has 6 HP at DR 5/-

Unit	large warbeast monstrous spider, hunter variety
Size/Type	small vermin
Hit Dice	4d8+8 (28 HP)
Initiative	+3
Speed	50 ft, climb 20 ft
Armor Class	14 (-1 size +3 dex +2 natural), 11 flat-footed, 12 touch
Base Attack/Grapple	+5/+11
Attack	Bite +6 melee (1d8+5 plus poison)
Full Attack	Bite +6 melee (1d8+5 plus poison)
Space/Reach	10 ft/5 ft
Special Attacks	Poison, Web
Special Qualities	Darkvision 60 ft., tremorsense 60 ft., vermin traits
Saves	Fort +6, Ref +4, Will +2
Abilities	Str 18, Dex 17, Con 15, Int 0, Wis 12, Cha 2
Skills	Climb +15, Hide +3, Jump +14, Spot +9
Feats	Weapon Finesse

Poison : DC 13 fort save for 1d6 str damage initial and secondary
web : Enviroment, DC 20 spot check, DC 14 escape artist or DC 18 strength check to break free, each 5ft square of web has 12 HP at DR 5/-

Tribe belongings
111 x small leather armor 1110gp
110 x medium warbeast monstrous spider 110*(50*3HD) =16500gp, they were bought from a drow trainer that had the vermin trainer feat, making it possible to order/control them
1 x large warbeast monstrous spider 1*(75*4HD+100) = 400 gp, bought from the same drow trainer as above
1 x wand of hallucinory terrain 21000gp
16 x scroll of resist energy(fire) 2400gp
leftover 290gp for living/daily utilities

Enviroment : Gloomy forest

Modus operandi : hit and run, taking advantage of "high ground" by way of the spider climb speed. a normal hunting party will be 1 cleric and 10 druids. There would be at least 2 prepared entangle in one party, but probably more.
Upon spotting hostiles, the tactic will depend on a number of factors, such as amount of enemies and presence of spellcasters, but in general:
Hostiles will be entangled from as far away as possible, then will not be engaged before making sure of what ranged/spellcasting abilities the hostile have. Melee combat is avoided as much as possible, but if the situation looks like an engagement in melee can't be avoided the druids will cast vigor on themself right before the start of the melee.
It is more likely that after the first entangle, the hostile force will not be engaged. at intervals of (potentially hours) more entangles will be thrown their way to make them consume resources (spell slot) , while preparing/guiding them toward ambush spots where the spider webs were previously laid and concealed.
If hostiles are numericalyl superior, divide and conquer will be attempted.
The tribe remembers the terrible evil of 5th+ level arcane casters, and thus purchased a stash of resist energy scrolls to deal with such an individual should one come by. The probable course of action is to buff up some spiders with resist energy plus other useful buffs on the individual that ideally will have some of his slots already expended on previous hit and run encounters.
Hallucinory terrain wand used by the bard is the ace in the hole, used sparingly when met with overwhelming numbers that will be estimated to take too much other daily resource to entangle/divide

[PoeticallyPsyco]

Okay, that's all three!

[Anthrowhale]

Who is going to judge?

[PoeticallyPsyco]

Any one interested in judging?

[Quentinas]

I can judge , but i need to read the format (and the previous judging)