D&D 3E/3.5 3.5 Ranger (maybe?) character help

[Snapdragyn]

Background:

- Not yet known what books are available - let's assume all; I can narrow down as needed.
- Stats not yet determined, so if a suggestion relies on specific stats please mention that.
- I've already read the Ranger Handbook & gotten some good ideas there, just looking for more specific thoughts.

I'm getting ready to start in a new campaign, & have been playing with the following character concept:

- 'Wilderness' guy, human, tribal rather than civilized.
- Found & raised an animal, now hunts with it (hoping the DM will allow fluff to be divorced from mechanics here; would like a sabertooth or lion but there are certainly better stat options, particularly bears).
- Overall sort of a combination of a 'Tarzan of the savanna' & Dar (the Beastmaster).

Pieces I'm thinking about:

- Ranger as the basis of the build for an animal companion in a melee-oriented character.
- Not a caster (so variant ranger from Complete Champion that subs in some feats instead of spells). I recognize this weakens the character, but spells just don't fit the concept I have in mind.
- Melee not ranged. Might be suboptimal, but fits my concept better.
- Beastmaster PrC - duh. Might go 1 level only (the later pets don't seem that great), might go 5 to boost the primary animal companion a bit while keeping good BAB.
- Possibly a bit of rogue? The damage boost of a bit of sneak attack wouldn't be bad, & with an AC trained to flank it should be available often.
- Possibly a level dip in a barbarian variant from Complete Champion? Yes, the ever popular Lion Totem for pounce (love the idea of full attack on a charge), but also maybe the Whirling Rage (I think it's called? I'm AFB) for an extra attack while raging rather than the normal stat changes.

Problems I'm having narrowing things down:
- TWF (since it's available) or 2hr (since it does better damage; just throw the combat style stuff into ranged for when that's required). For TWF I envision a savage dagger-wielder pouncing on a foe & STAB STAB STAB!!! For a 2hr, probably still charging in - Leap Attack - probably go w/ longspear for the combo of reach & retaining a primitive theme. Would Leap Attack & the pounce feature of the Lion totem barb stack?
- How much of which classes? Like I said, I picture a ranger base for the AC + melee, but how much do I go w/ that vs. Beastmaster PrC vs. Rogue for sneak attack vs. Barbarian for extra (whirling?) rage?
- Any ideas I'm missing that could still fit the overall concept? Maybe a slight shift into a more stealthy ambush type guy? I did debate going the halfling outrider riding an animal companion route, but just wasn't into that concept. I'm also not at all keen on skirmishing, so Swift Hunter (great though it is) wouldn't work for me either.
- Am I completely off in hoping this character/companion duo will bring something worthwhile to the table in combat? Should I refocus him into more of a non-combat support role (perhaps take Able Learner so that w/ a minimum 1 level dip into Rogue he could keep those types of skills maxed while still advancing as mostly Ranger)?
- [Edit] Reason for the thread title - would the same concept, including no spellcasting & a fairly well progressed Animal Companion, be better built in a completely different way?

A couple of build ideas I have so far (not fully feated out to 20):

Rogue 1 (for skills at start)/Ranger 4/Beastmaster 1/Ranger 14
Known feats: Skill Focus (Handle Animal (PrC prereq), Natural Bond (+3 to effective druid level only for determining stats of AC - not for determining which is available), of course Weapon Focus (whichever weapon), probably Vexing Flanker (extra +2 to hit while flanking).
- 1d6 sneak for a bit of extra damage
- Maxes out w/ an effective druid level of 13 for determining which AC is available, & 16 for the stats of the pet
- Perhaps a better build for TWF, w/ the chance of getting sneak attack more often that way?

Rogue 1/Ranger 4/Beastmaster 5/Rogue 3/Ranger 7
Similar to above, ends up with animal companion of same strength w/ the Natural Bond feat
+ Adds another die of sneak & Uncanny Dodge, gains 1 hp average
- Loses 1 BAB, 1 Favored Enemy, 1 of the non-spellcasting ranger variant feats, & 2 skill points

or going a bit differently:

Barbarian 1 (for hp)/Ranger 4/Beastmaster 5/Barb 3/Ranger 7
- Full BAB progression
- (Whirling?) Rage 2/day, almost certainly take Extra Rage feat
- Animal companion maxes out same as above w/ the Natural Bond feat
- Probably focus more on STR for this build & go w/ a 2h weapon for Power Attack, Leap Attack, Cleave etc. Ranger combat style feels a bit wasted then (& totally so if I jump into medium armor for more survivability), but might be a better damaging character.

 

[RUMBLETiGER]

-What books do you have available?

-How "natural" do you want this build to be? would supernatural abilities like shapeshifting (Bear Warrior comes to mind) or a Totemist (Magic of Incarnum) be within or far outside your character concept?

-What Race? Shifter characters (Eberron) could rock at this, and open access to a number of feats that could help.

-Do you have any insight into what characters would be in the rest of the party, and how much would that info influence your character design?

-In addition to melee combatant, what other roles could you see this character filling? Skillmonkey? Scout?

 

[Snapdragyn]

- As stated in the OP, I don't know what books are available. As a good guess, let's say core + the Complete series.

- Shapeshifting doesn't really fit the concept I have in mind for this one (though I've done it on others). MoI I expect to be out for allowed materials.

- Race human, as stated in the OP.

- I don't know the rest of the party yet. I might need to cover the rogue-type roles, & if so would go for at least 1 level of rogue + Adept Learner feat (if allowed) to cover that. If the party has everything but a healer, obviously I'm OOL on using this guy for this campaign, heh.

- I could see him being skill-monkey if needed, but don't want to sacrifice too much to do that unless the party really needs it. Likewise I could see him scouting (& that should be easier w/o sacrificing much if anything).

 

[Dandu]

Do you think it is a good idea for your animal companion to be in melee range?

 

[Snapdragyn]

At 20th, it should have an unbuffed naked AC of 20 or 22, which will probably be higher than mine would be under the same conditions. Of course, I'll be pretty poor keeping both of us in magic gear (which may a vote for a 2hr build, just to save on buying 2 weapons).

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

(Not a CharOpper, so take my suggestions with some NaCl.)

1) seems like the Greatspear would be a nifty weapon for the build, 2 Hd, 2d6 damage, reach and range 10' (if you need it). While you might not want to use the whole Combat Reflexes feat tree, CR would let you get some aitional use out of this oversized spear. Add some armor spikes for fun & close-in work, or take the Short Haft feat.

If you go this route, you can still get some use out of the ranged fighting style, especially if you load up an everfull quiver with more spears & javelins, etc.

2) I wouldn't touch the Rogue for this: too much overlap to be of much benefit, and the precision damage of sneak attack, while tempting, seems alien to the core concept. I'd just go with your Rgr/Brb/Beastmaster build.

 

[Wyvernhand]

There are alternative Ranger combat modes in one of the Dragon magazines. Basically just swaps the feats around. There is one called Strong Arm, which gives Power Attack in place of TWFing. That might be a good one to ask for if you end up going the 2HF route. I'm sure you can find exerpts to it if you google around hard enough.

 

[Dandu]

I think Barbarian would be better for this character than Rogue. Two Weapon Fighting is not wasted if you pick up a reach weapon and have armor spikes as your offhand weapon, in case someone gets close.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

(I forgot that part. )