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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Elder-Basilisk" data-source="post: 1723595" data-attributes="member: 3146">I just plugged it into the calculator--I see my problem though. I must have forgotten to change haste to 3.5 rather than 3.0. The real numbers will probably be between 87 and 60 for the single attack. For full attacks, it shouldn't make a difference though because 3.0 haste granted an extra attack action that could be used to make a single attack at the character's highest attack bonus and 3.5 grants an extra attack at the highest attack bonus on a full attack action so if you're just calculating damage for full attacks, it should be the same. Even with the reduced numbers, the only foe to survive the first full attack is the dragon. The pit fiend would survive if it had the balor's hit points but it doesn't so it gets killed. Even when you're 14th to 15th level having 10' reach is good--if only because it evens the playing field with other large foes. However, by wielding a reach weapon, that reach could be extended to 20'. And 20' reach is better than the dragon has with any natural weapon other than its bite. You clearly misread the note about pearls of power. If the character replaces his +5 holy sword with a +1 holy sword, a pearl of power 3, and a lesser rod of extend spell, he can have the effect of a +5 sword for 31k instead of 98k. Because of the possibility of off-loading a lot of his expensive armor and weapon enhancements into pearls of power, I'm not particularly concerned about being 40k over budget (though I was trying to stick to the amount and apparently miscalculated). To make the comparison fair, dropping the heavy fortification enhancement on his armor should more than make up the difference.True. However, that ignores the fact that this character is more maximized for damage than for AC. He could wear mithral armor and use the form of a stone giant to improve his AC by several more points. The Rules of the Game articles do indeed have too many errors to be decisive in this regard, however, even the DMG erratta can be interpreted to mean that base[/i] hit points don't change so, for instance if a 7th level wizard changes into a 7 HD dragon, he doesn't re-roll his 7 HD using d12s. I'm still not convinced that con changes don't change hit points. Not that it matters too much. Dumping the 5 stat increases from level into con instead of wisdom puts him in exactly the same place that the fire giant's con is anyway.I'll take your word on the ettin thing. Briefly glancing at the description, I thought it was listed as a special attack. As for the other forms, you're right that their balance of abilities is generally inferior to the fire giant's--that's why fire giant is the default form. However, there are a number of reasons to prefer them:Annis hag: better natural armor, better dex, improved grab, and rake. If you want to stop a mounted or mobile combatant, Annis is a better form than fire giant.Frost Giant: Immune to cold and vulnerable to fire. If you're fighting something that uses cold more than fire (white dragons, ice devils, a sorceror with a penchant for cones of cold, etc) it will be rather painful to be a fire giant. A frost giant, on the other hand is immune to their cold attacks.Stone Giant: Much higher dexterity and natural armor. If you want to tank rather than apply the beatdown, Stone Giant is the form to use.Gray Glutton: Being huge leads to much better grapple checks. Even after the character's strength goes down, he's still a better grappler. He also can't be snatched by collossal dragons or improved grabbed by huge creatures. That's good in some situations. Having -2 to hit for a mis-sized weapon is a pain but nothing the character couldn't handle.Athach: This is really only a good form for a different build but being able to wield a two handed weapon (huge greatsword) and a second weapon using TWF could be very useful for specialized dual wounding weapon builds or other builds that pile on the non-strength related damage.Dragon, etc: additional movement modes are often important.(For the Aasmar/Tiefling): Planetar has very good natural armor and the ability to fly at high speed with good manueverability. Flying movement has not been addressed in this thread so far but, considering that all of the CR 20 monsters except the Tarrasque can fly, it's likely to be pretty important. It also has good enough dexterity that the shapeshifting Aasmar could function quite well in a mithral breastplate or mithral chain shirt and benefit from better movement and a ring of evasion. (The dex would also come in handy for initiative and combat reflexes). Astral Devas and Trumpet Archons are very good medium forms as well--and the ability to function in tunnels, caverns, and ordinary buildings doesn't suddenly become insignificant when one hits 20th level.</blockquote>

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