Help! I've been REINCARNATED as a BEAR

[Van Dyksun]

Heh. Yah, but it's that damn level loss that really kills you every time you die. Death has a to have a little sting, you know.

There's always a wish spell some day in the future.

 

[Liminal Syzygy]

A character was reincarnated as a centaur in my campaign and there was no end of complaining by the other players that he was too powerful and was overshadowing their characters. Even though I was adding ECL they were still unhappy as they said that he got those levels earlier than them (and thus was getting a "bonus" through his death).

The party dwarf fighter 6 was particularly upset, as I can understand. The druid (who was reincarnated) now had a 22 STR and had three attacks to use with this massive STR, making him a better fighter than his dwarf character, who had dedicated himself to the fighter class for six levels.

 

[Tom Cashel]

Even though I was adding ECL they were still unhappy as they said that he got those levels earlier than them (and thus was getting a "bonus" through his death).

Whiners. I would have killed them all and said, "There. Now you're even."

 

[ced1106]

take some levels of monk.. then do Bear Kung Fu!!!

Yeah! Bear Fu! Be the bear!

Is the bear in the MM? Surely it has to have skills related to its improved ability to smell, climb, etc.. Think of the bear as a new class. If you don't like what you're playing, then turn him into a secondary character and roll up a new one. I mean, you **were** killed, right??

I checked ENWorld's creature compendium, and could only find the Gorilla Bear. I gets a +5 Natural AC, and +4 to sensory checks (Listen, Spot): http://www.enworld.org/cc/converted/beast/gorilla_bear.htm

Q: "What's a bar stool?"
A: "It's whut Davy Crockett stepped in!"
-- Redd Foxx


Cedric.
aka. Washu! ^O^

 

[Van Dyksun]

Oh, I'm playing the bear, for sure

Here's current stats:

Bear, 8th level Clr3/Rgr2/Rog3
HP 80
AC 17 before any armor bonus

Str 24
Dex 20
Con 19
Int 13
Wis 16
Cha 11

Fort 10
Refl 10
Will 9

Base Melee +13/+8
Base Ranged (bears throw things, you know) +11/+6

(Skills over +10)

Climb +14
Jump +10
Listen +14
Move Silently +11
Spot +24
Swim +15
Wilderness Lore +11

Speed 40 feet

Special ability: Scent

Attacks are good, but claw damage is only d4 and bite is d6. On the other hand, it's always +8 to the claw and +3 to the bite.

 

[Skaros]

Re: Oh, I'm playing the bear, for sure

Here's current stats:

Bear, 8th level Clr3/Rgr2/Rog3
HP 80
AC 17 before any armor bonus

Str 24
Dex 20
Con 19
Int 13
Wis 16
Cha 11

Fort 10
Refl 10
Will 9

Base Melee +13/+8
Base Ranged (bears throw things, you know) +11/+6

You're probably better off using the natural attack progression than your extra attacks from BAB.

This would look like: Claw/Claw/Bite +13/+13/+8 I believe.

Anyone want to correct my understanding of how the BAB and the natural attack progression combine? I know you don't get any extra attacks from high BAB in ADDITION to the natural attacks.

Normally, the natural attacks use the full attack bonus for the primary attacks, and subtract 5 from that for the secondary attack.

So I took the character's BAB as the base, added his strength bonus, and then subtracted 5 for the secondary attack.

-Skaros

 

[Van Dyksun]

I believe I get another primary attack (a secondary claw attack). Check out the advancement and improvement information for animals in the SRD:

Advancement

This book lists only the weakest and most common version of each creature. The Advancement line shows how tough the creature can get, in terms of extra Hit Dice. (This is not an absolute limit, but exceptions are extremely rare.)

Improvement

As its Hit Dice increases, the creature's attack bonuses and saving throw modifiers might improve, and it could gain more feats and skills, depending on its type.

A normal black bear has 3 HD, which means it doesn't get any extra attacks other than the three normal. But Bear (me) is an 8 HD (8th level) character, so I should get the extra attack, just as I gained additional feats and skills as I increased in class level.

At least, that's my reasoning.

 

[shilsen]

I believe I get another primary attack (a secondary claw attack).

A normal black bear has 3 HD, which means it doesn't get any extra attacks other than the three normal. But Bear (me) is an 8 HD (8th level) character, so I should get the extra attack, just as I gained additional feats and skills as I increased in class level.

At least, that's my reasoning.

Nope. Check out the dire bear, with 12 HD. It still gets the same number of attacks. For creatures with attacks from multiple limbs (and a bite, as in this case), an increase in BAB does not provide iterative attacks.

 

[Van Dyksun]

A dire bear is an entirely different animal. Its hit dice simply reflect this: it's a large animal, it has a strength of 31, it has improved grab, the damage from its claws and bite are doubled, it has a natural armor of +7. If a dire bear gained additional hit dice/levels, it would also obtain another attack.

A black bear with 12HD doesn't become a dire bear. It's a black bear with improved attacks, feats, and skills, just like a humanoid character.

Read the SRD under advancement and improvement again. It's pretty clear.

 

[Brekki]

Creatures using their natural attack routine never get additional attacks.

It is explained in the DnD-Faq (http://www.wizards.com/dnd/files/DnDFAQv09062002.zip) at the beginning of "Combat and Initative".