Best Stats for Lowest ECL

[The Souljourner]

What's the best stat modifiers you can get for the lowest ECL? I'm looking for something ECL 3 or less, and modifiers mainly to the physical stats. Half dragon is +8 strength and +2 con, which is not too bad, but there must be better.

Anything WoTC is fine... anything non-WotC is ok, but in that case, I might as well just something up myself.

-The Souljourner

 

[Corinthi]

Anthromorphic Baleen Whale from Savage Species. I forget the exact ECL, but it's /low/ for the stat pimps. I don't have the book in front of me, but it was the most abusive thing I could find when helping a friend make a 3.5 cheese character.

+9 Natural Armor and around +16 to different stats, as I recall, but I could be mistaken.

 

[GiantInThePlayground]

No ECL, just 3 Monstrous Humanoid Hit Dice for +8/+4/+4/+0/+4/+0. If you don't mind being a large-sized whale-man, it's the way to go.

In an absurd "this can't be right" kind of way.

 

[Corinthi]

That's right, it's ECL 0, but 3 HD of Monsterous Humanoid. For the meager price of 3 levels worth of class abilities, you get +8 Str, +4 Dex, +4 Con, +4 Wis, and nine points of Natural armor. You get a +8 racial bonus to swim checks and the ability to take 10 on all swim checks, you can hold your breath for a ridiculous amount of time, and you're size large. And Monsterous Humanoid levels aren't too bad. Fighter BAB with Good Fort and Reflex.

And enormous bang for the buck. A friend asked me to make him a 15th level fighter type using the best cheese I could find in 3.5.

The Anthromorphic Baleen Whale 12th level Fighter Spiked Chain Master Tripping/Grappling abomination hit the table. That character was just awful.

Nothing I'd ever allow in my games. Ugh.

 

[Naar]

Yes, the anthropomorphic baleen whale's ECL is just plain wrong. Something that is slightly less silly is the Incarnate Construct Maug, which is also ECL 3. If I'm remembering correctly, it's a Large Giant which moves at 40' and gets +10 Str, +4 Dex, +2 Int, +2 Cha, +7 natural armour, 10' reach and Alertness as a bonus feat. It has two HD, but it gets Outsider skill points for those.

 

[Thresher]

I think anyone turning up with an anthro-animal should probably be chased away (or maybe shot), damn furries...

Anyhow.
I reckon for sheer bashy factor the Ogre if you advanced him with Sav-Species progression would be a pretty worthy fighter or barbarian. Admittedly you wouldnt be starting at a full ogre's stats at level 4 (Im assuming your wanting to start around there with an ECL3?).
So he drools
So he's ugly
So he's a halfwit

Starting off-
+2Str, -4Int, -4Cha (hmm no wisdom? wanne be a cleric )
Speed 40ft (ooh! 50 if you go BarBar!)
Darkvison 60ft, Automatic languages: Giant
Level 1
1D8HD, +0BAB, +2 Fort, 2+Int x 4 skills, 1Feat, +3Nat armour
Level 2
2D8HD, +1BAB, +1Fort, 2+Int Skills, +2Str, +2Con
Level 3
3D8HD, +2BAB, +1Ref, +1Will, 2+Int Skills, 1 Feat, +4Nat armour
Level 4
NoHD, No BAB, No Skills +2Str, +2Con
Level 5
4D8HD, +1BAB, +1Fort, 2+Int Skills, Large Size, Reach 10ft, +2Str, -2Dex
Level 6
NoHD, No BAB, No Skills, +2 Str, +5 Natural Armour.

But he hits stuff really, really hard and he's tough!
By the time you've finished lard-lad by level 6 he should be a pretty fearsome animal.

Well, thats what I reckon anyway.

 

[The Souljourner]

If you don't mind being a large-sized whale-man, it's the way to go.

*lol* For some reason I just can't stop laughing at this line!


BTW, ECL *includes* the monstrous hitdice, Level Adjustment does not (ECL = HD + LA).

And although the whale seems a little over the top, I don't think it's that bad. Then again, I think most of the ECLs are way too high.

Incarnate Construct Maug sounds interesting... what's a Maug? MMII I assume?

-The Souljourner

 

[Felix]

Feral Template from Savage Species...
For a LA +1 you get (IIRC) natural weapons, fast healing, natural armor (i think), pounce, rend, +4 STR, +2 DEX, +4 CON, -4 INT, and big ugly scary gnashing teeth! LOOK AT THE BONES!

I can't wait till I run some PC's through the tribe of feral humans I have lurking in the mountains... heh heh.

 

[Naar]

Maugs are from the Fiend Folio. They're a bunch of mercenary constructs who have a thing about grafting stone 'improvements' to their bodies.

With respect to the Feral template, the benefits you get are based on your monster HD, not that from classes. Or so Rich Redman says, anyway. Your Feral humans are out of luck, it seems.

 

[FrankTrollman]

Orc.

They suck, but since an Orc Barbarian/Rogue dishes out more damage and hits more than the Ogre who's been thrown around on this thread it's obviously the best deal.

Then again, I think most of the ECLs are way too high.

Yep. The best Physical Stats you can have come from Polymorph Any Object - that costs 1200 gold pieces at your local Mage's guild and doesn't have a Level Allowance at all.

-Frank

 

[GiantInThePlayground]

*lol* For some reason I just can't stop laughing at this line!

Heh. Well, the main disadvantage of the anthropomorphic balleen whale is the unbelievable soul-crushing stupidity of actually playing one. I mean, you have to be pretty far gone down the path towards the Insane Side of the Force to seriously consider playing Whale-Boy in an actual campaign. I sometimes think WOTC created them to be so good on paper as a kind of warning sign to other players: "Well, we got this new player, but he wants to be a anthropomorphic baleen whale. I think we might have to dump him."

Oh, and I think a whale-lover would be a "slippery" not a "furry."

 

[Spatzimaus]

Heh. Well, the main disadvantage of the anthropomorphic balleen whale is the unbelievable soul-crushing stupidity of actually playing one.

Heh, you should play "After the Bomb", the GURPS post-apocalyptic one where most people are playing animals that have been mutated into sentience. We played it three times, for fun. First time, I was a mute telepathic gorilla mechanic. Second time, an incredibly hyperactive ferret commando (for when you want to sneak REALLY FAST!). Third time, an octopus whose job was as driver of the team's armored car.
The ferret was my favorite. It's like a Halfling Monk; it just shouldn't work, but it does.

As for D&D, I have a hard enough time when people want to play a Half-Ogre. They don't care that they're a freak who'll be shunned by every peasant with half a brain, because look at those stats! So, if someone wanted to play WhaleBoy, I'd just laugh.

 

[frankthedm]

I think anyone turning up with an anthro-animal should probably be chased away (or maybe shot), damn furries...

Please shoot them!

 

[Hypersmurf]

That's right, it's ECL 0, but 3 HD of Monsterous Humanoid. For the meager price of 3 levels worth of class abilities, you get +8 Str, +4 Dex, +4 Con, +4 Wis, and nine points of Natural armor. You get a +8 racial bonus to swim checks and the ability to take 10 on all swim checks, you can hold your breath for a ridiculous amount of time, and you're size large. And Monsterous Humanoid levels aren't too bad. Fighter BAB with Good Fort and Reflex.

Depending on the DM, you might also get a Tail attack... which opens the door to the Prehensile Tail feat in Savage Species

With the stat bonuses, they don't make terrible monks, either - I have one in play in a Savage Species PbEM at the moment, but the game is crawling pretty slowly, so I haven't had a chance to see how he works in action.

Remember - Anthro-Animals have a flat 10 Int, so the Expertise chain is closed to you until you can arrange to increase your Int somehow. That's why I like the monk route - Improved Trip without the Expertise prerequisite, which lets you pick up Knockdown.

-Hyp.

 

[Endur]

The Kraken from the MM is only CR 12.

If you can play level adjustment +5, I'd go for a Troll. Regeneration, Scent, Rend, Awesome natural weapons, and better strength, dex, and con than an Ogre.

 

[Hypersmurf]

The Kraken from the MM is only CR 12.

That has very little to do with its ECL.

It has 20 Hit Dice, and you have to add LA to that...

-Hyp.