bear warrior

[dalcartis]

Can anybody tell me about the bear warrior. How does the bear warrior compare to the druid forms? Is it more powerful (like better ac for example)

Is the bear warriors power based off total char level?

I know one is restriced to use of it during rages.

The main question is it worth it, especially if one takes some unarmed feats or side kick?

[darkstorme]

Well, unarmed feats don't make any sort of difference to Bear Warriors in bear form, simply because... well, they have claws, and animal attacks.  They don't need to know how to kill with their hands.  Claws.

In terms of "Power".. what precisely do you mean?  If you're talking about PrC-specific abilities, then no, it's not total character level - it's just your level in Bear Warrior.  If you're talking about attacks/round, BAB, and all those other lovely things, those are calculated using total level, but are independant of the PrC.

Better AC is relative.  A Shifter's forms can outpace a Bear Warrior's forms quite quickly; and for good reason!  A Bear Warrior is a brutal warrior in his own right - Shifters sacrifice a lot of the brute strength fighter approach in order to gain so much flexibility of form.  Whether one is more powerful than the other... well, a Dire Bear is remarkably tough.  Not as tough as epic shifter forms, to be sure, and it doesn't have regeneration, but it has colossal strength.  There are, as with any class, plusses and minuses - and it's the story that matters, really.  Which would you RATHER play?

As for.. um.. "side kick"?  If you mean Circle Kick, you need Improved Unarmed Strike just to take it.

[miltonyorkcastle]

Right on Darkstorme. The Question is, does it sound fun to play? Really, all classes can get around in combat at high levels, and the bear ~warrior~ is no exception. Comparing it to druid forms seems less to the point, since a druid's form's are not solely meant for combat, like the bear warrior's.  And yeah, if you haven't, read about it on LORE, and you can compare the Druid and the Bear Warrior yourself. Both classes and all their special abilities are explained.

[Jearick Hgar]

Well i suppose i could devulge some of the secrets of the bear warrior....  1) bear warriors rock, completely and utterly. i have 30 str and over 200 hp when in bear form, not to mention i get more ac as well.  2) Druids < Bear warrior  3) shifters < Bear Warrior  4) Tath > you.   so ya in conclusion, bear warrior rocks socks.

[Witch Hunter]

So Tath bragged a day or two until a shifter came, turned into a red dragon and ate him.


I'm not sure why you get more AC in bear form, because it doesn't make sense to me that your armor and shield meld into it.... but meh, even with all your ac goodness a druid with an earth elemental form will kick your ass :p

Especially because they can cast Premonition, Energy Buffer and Regeneration... making your attacks rather useless.

[osxmallard]

From LORE:
Specifics: At first level, a Bear Warrior can transform himself into a Black Bear 1x/day. At fourth level, he can become a Grizzly Bear 2x/day, and at eighth level he can take the fiercesome form of a Dire Bear as many as 3x/day.

Use: Selected. The transformation can only take place while in rage.

So how long does the bear form last?  Since the form can't be dispelled and it lasts until the user unselects the form, what is the purpose of the number of times per day it can be used between rest periods?

[Witch Hunter]

It lasts until canceled lol

[Talan Va'lash]

A druid is a totally different class than bear warrior. (sometimes the obvious needs to be stated.)

A druid is a caster, a bear warrior is a warrior class PrC. Accordingly, druids have lotsa spells while bear warriors are better meleers.

The comparison isn't really valid, it's like, which is better, fighter or rogue.. well, they do different things.

[Lalaith Va'lash]

Talan Va'lash - 3/9/2007 6:13 AM it's like, which is better, fighter or rogue.. .

 Rogue......
  Oh wait, you didn't want an answer.
  But back on topic, I think it depends on your play style to which is better for you. And as sombody else said, which is more fun for you to RP.

[Falonthas]

no not until cancelled
 forms last a certain amount of time per class level

which is why when i shift i can spend 18 hours in form before i have to return to my natural form

if i read it right bear warriors are the same but more restricted cause they have to be raged to shift
so rage plus shift plus lvl 2 bear warrior means a 2 hour game time bear or when you shift out

[Falonthas]

and talan you know a druid rather well who would whoop any bear warrior behind using her babybear form
so its not that they are better melee

[miltonyorkcastle]

As far as i know there is no time limit on the bear warrior form shift, so, no, they are not like druids in the sense of duration. However, if there is a time limit, would a bear warrior (or someone who can look at the script) please let me know, and I'll update LORE's description.

[Jearick Hgar]

Falonthas - 3/9/2007  5:26 AM

and talan you know a druid rather well who would whoop any bear warrior behind using her babybear form
so its not that they are better melee

not true at all. while Shifters and druid shift into an animal/creature and assume it's stats, the bear form's stats are ADDED to the bear warrior's. my weapon is adde to the attack as well, not to mention all my item stats are retaine din the form. and all of this IMPROVES with bear warrior levels. in 6 levels i'll have a dire bear form adding a godly amount of str and con to my stats, not to mention the ac and the saves it gives too.

there's mroe i'm sure i'm forgetting but i don't want to make bear warriros sound godly and ahve them become the new flavor of the week. Just trust me, they aren't week, and are imo the best frontliners. now we can't heal or anything, so obviously we're group dependant, but with a group, i don't see much being better at melee with ab ear warrior, unless you got several levels mroe than it.Being level 11 myslef, i'm sure any epic level druid can kick my arse, but a druid my level i don't think can out frontline me, i mean Barbarians are made for being meat shield afterall...

[Witch Hunter]

A level 20 bear warrior vs a level 20 druid would lose though... considering after the druid buffed you'll be dealing anywhere between 0 and 1 damage

[Falonthas]

druids stats are added as well

[miltonyorkcastle]

Alright, if we're going to have a "who's better than who" argument here, take it to PM's as it doesn't belong in the forums.

Really, who gives a flying flip whether Druids are better at combat than Bear Warriors? Both classes, like all others, need support to function at their peak. And both are fun, interesting classes to play that lend to good RP. Leave it at that.

[Millan]

Jearick Hgar - 3/9/2007  2:01 PM

Falonthas - 3/9/2007  5:26 AM

and talan you know a druid rather well who would whoop any bear warrior behind using her babybear form
so its not that they are better melee

not true at all. while Shifters and druid shift into an animal/creature and assume it's stats, the bear form's stats are ADDED to the bear warrior's. my weapon is adde to the attack as well, not to mention all my item stats are retaine din the form. and all of this IMPROVES with bear warrior levels. in 6 levels i'll have a dire bear form adding a godly amount of str and con to my stats, not to mention the ac and the saves it gives too.

there's mroe i'm sure i'm forgetting but i don't want to make bear warriros sound godly and ahve them become the new flavor of the week. Just trust me, they aren't week, and are imo the best frontliners. now we can't heal or anything, so obviously we're group dependant, but with a group, i don't see much being better at melee with ab ear warrior, unless you got several levels mroe than it.Being level 11 myslef, i'm sure any epic level druid can kick my arse, but a druid my level i don't think can out frontline me, i mean Barbarians are made for being meat shield afterall...

The shifter gets a ton of neat things like this too. Keep in mind the game mechanics and what the NWN machine can do. Go read up on shifters. The epic shifter in a gargoyle form gets like 35/+6 DR. Then if you gain the dragon or construct forms it is nasty. In the Shifter forms you retain armor, weapons (unarmed feats if you are unarmed), and you gain bonuses that stack to your stats along with the base of the forms.

[AeonBlues]

I think the most important points have been made.

I do have some clarifications to make.

When a druid shape shifts, certain stats remain the same, but certain stats take on the shape.  For instance, my characters STR and CON go up in bear form, but both go down in small black cat form.

Weapon, jewelry, and armor bonuses carry over when shifting.  Only the highest armor bonuses carry over though.  Not all shifter forms get jewelry bonuses, and one at least only get the primary weapons bonuses.  Note that if you have a oak spear with a level 3 electric enchantment, then the +1 effect and the 1d6 elemental damage is all the shifts.  The 1D8 base damage from the weapon does not shift.

Glove bonuses carry over to basic druid animal shapes.  These shapes use "unarmed attacks".  This is not true for most if not all of the Shifter's shapes.

All shifter shapes eventuality get infinite times per day.  Druids get to shift more 3, 4, 5 times per day with basic animal shapes based on level progression, and can take Infinite advanced wild shape as a feat.  

If you see a druid shift into a big dragon, then this is 9th level spell called shapechange.  This spell is also available to wizards/sorcerers as a level 9 spell.  To get the epic dragon shape, a character needs a WIS of 30.  You do the math and tell me what level your druid will have to be.

I will be submitting my character for PrC shifter levels in the very near future.  I am not doing this because a shifter is uber powerful.  To be honest, I think a 18th level druid is more powerful then a 12 druid / 6 shifter.  I think think a shifter is uber fun to play.

That being said, if I was fighting a bear warrior in the arena. I would cast a hold monster spell at him, and let his DC 23 Will save decide the out come of our battle.

AeonBlues

[darkstorme]

miltonyorkcastle - 3/9/2007  3:16 PM
? Both classes, like all others, need support to function at their peak. And both are fun, interesting classes to play that lend to good RP. Leave it at that.

Hear hear!

[Witch Hunter]

AeonBlues - 3/9/2007  2:59 PM
If you see a druid shift into a big dragon, then this is 9th level spell called shapechange.  This spell is also available to wizards/sorcerers as a level 9 spell.  To get the epic dragon shape, a character needs a WIS of 30.  You do the math and tell me what level your druid will have to be.

We were refering to the epic feat "Dragon Shape" which turns the shifter into an ancient dragon