Need Subsitute for Favored Enemy

kevin video · Post by **kevin video** » Sun Apr 05, 2009 10:03 pm

I need something to replace my Ranger's Favored Enemy, and something more than just Favored Organization or Environment. Have you ever had a DM that constantly changes enemies on you? Or lets you think you have an advantage, only to have it snuffed out from under you? In my case I find my character becoming more and more useless, and constantly retraining my enemy. Have it against orcs, we'll fight animals. Have it for animals, we'll fight outsiders. Change it to one of the outsider categories, we'll fight humans. Change it to humans, we'll fight oozes. Change it to oozes, we fight monstrous humanoids. Etc, etc, etc. Do we ever go back to any of the previous ones? Surprisingly, yes. We've fought oozes twice in 20 sessions. We've also fought animals twice, but that was twice in the same session.

Haven't seen them since. The last time I THOUGHT we were fighting animals, and it turned out the apes were outsiders. We almost never face the same type twice. I even changed it to an organization once because we were taking out an entire thieves' guild, but only lasted for three sessions. Then I changed it to aquatic because we were at sea, but then we got shipwrecked and have been on an island for almost two weeks. Can't retrain it because we're not being given the time. Needless to say, I need something permanent that can't constantly be changed on me.

I asked the DM about it, and I told him I wanted to swap it out for something. Like Sneak Attack (I've seen around the web where other DM's have done that because of the Ranger spells), or a bonus feat. He said that if I could find something that was considered "official", he'd consider it. Just like my Endurance. He finds it useless, so he let me take the Wild Defender substitute "Trackless Step" in exchange. Another player suggested that I try and petition for Hunter's Quarry, which is a 4e ability, and replaced the useless Favored Enemy ability. Because it is useless when you really think about it.

Does anyone have anything like that?

Siberys · Post by **Siberys** » Sun Apr 05, 2009 10:59 pm

To use that many types of monsters in one campaign is kind of absurd (unless he's using random encounters), otherwise Favored Enemy is quite awesome sometimes.

I will say one substitution I've used before is Alignment instead of monster type. Instead of gaining 5 favored enemy abilities, you gain 1 favored alignment, and every five levels you can choose to either change the alignment or increase the potency of the original choice, and you choose from Law, Good, Chaos, or Evil, not Neutral.

kevin video · Post by **kevin video** » Sun Apr 05, 2009 11:40 pm

That's an idea. I'll try put that past him if he says no to everything else (and he most likely will). As for the monsters, it might as well be that way. I don't know if he does it on purpose (I can think of a few people who'd say he does), but essentially if you have an advantage over something, he'll find a way to make it a disadvantage. Like if you do massive amounts of damage, or have a magic weapon, you'll face off against something with ridiculous DR and has tons of stone skin potions or spells in their arsenal.

GawainBS · Post by **GawainBS** » Mon Apr 06, 2009 4:30 am

Maybe Favoured Enemy (Arcane) is something for you: it applies the bonus against everything that has arcane spells or spell-like abilities. A surprising amount of monsters has those. It's from Complete Mage.

kevin video · Post by **kevin video** » Mon Apr 06, 2009 9:40 am

GawainBS wrote:Maybe Favoured Enemy (Arcane) is something for you: it applies the bonus against everything that has arcane spells or spell-like abilities. A surprising amount of monsters has those. It's from Complete Mage.

You know? I can't really disagree with that. A lot of things do have spell-like abilities, and even the warblade is slowly building himself up to be a mage slayer. The thing is though, does that count against clerics and psionics?

GawainBS · Post by **GawainBS** » Mon Apr 06, 2009 10:41 am

I reread the ability, and it only counts against arcane spellcasters, or invocation users (Warlocks and Dragon Fire Adepts). Sorry, my first reply was during lunchbreak at work.
Still, it's by far one of the best FE's out there. So good, that I'd take it any day. It does require one rank in Knowledge (Arcana).

kevin video · Post by **kevin video** » Mon Apr 06, 2009 11:21 am

I have to take Knowledge: Arcana anyways for the Supernatural feat that the DM wants me to take, so that'd be fine. He's agreed to give me a variant on Favored Enemy that he had on his Ranger back when the Pathfinder book first came out. Essentially, instead of retraining the ability for a week, to a different enemy, you use a standard action to watch them for a round, and gain the bonuses afterwards. It's like Quarry, but takes longer. He's also got a feat that I could take that would make it a move action instead.

GawainBS · Post by **GawainBS** » Mon Apr 06, 2009 12:03 pm

If it takes a standard action it sucks. You'd probably get more damage from an extra fullattack than from the FE bonus.

kevin video · Post by **kevin video** » Mon Apr 06, 2009 12:08 pm

GawainBS wrote:If it takes a standard action it sucks. You'd probably get more damage from an extra fullattack than from the FE bonus.

Oh no, I still get to use my full attack, it's just that it takes a round for the ability to kick in. Think of it as a spell that you don't gain any benefits from until the following round.

GawainBS · Post by **GawainBS** » Mon Apr 06, 2009 12:36 pm

My point exactly: you waste a round initiating the ability, instead of doing extra damage. The higher your base damage, the more you want to full attack.

kevin video · Post by **kevin video** » Mon Apr 06, 2009 3:19 pm

GawainBS wrote:My point exactly: you waste a round initiating the ability, instead of doing extra damage. The higher your base damage, the more you want to full attack.

True, but that's the only compromise he's giving me besides the suggestion of taking Skirmish as the Scout. So move 10ft, gain +1d6 damage, but lose my full attack. When it comes to this game, I take what I can get. As it is, I'm still not allowed Weapon Focus, so my options are limited. And chances are that if I'd taken FE: A, we'd be facing off against just regular creatures again. Anytime I get a new FE, I get an opposite opponent. I'll take the 1 round hesitation if it means I can do more than 1d8+ Str + Point Blank + Weapon Enchancement 1. I've also taken the Improved Favored that you suggest. That means a minimum of +5 damage, after I wait one round. And considering I get four attacks now, I'm taking it.

Demortis · Post by **Demortis** » Tue Apr 07, 2009 1:50 am

Even with the feat to make it a move action its still wasted... you would either have to stay out of combat or get really lucky... And taking Skirmish as the scout would be alot better then that... Move 10ft get +AC sry, that beats some chincy damage boost anyday in my book. The longer you live, the more you do. When I played in a party of nothing but Skirm's we were tearing nearly everything apart. Take Improved Skirm, from the CAdvent, I believe, move more to do more damage. Skirmish also adds to spell damage aswell, not to sure if FE does.

kevin video · Post by **kevin video** » Tue Apr 07, 2009 5:21 am

The problem is lack of attacks. Right now I've got four per round, and only one level of Favored Enemy with my Mystic Ranger. Even if I am out one round, I can make it up the following round and do 1d8+1+1+1+5 four times for everything I've got (Str, bow +1, Point Blank Shot) within thirty feet. Or, I could walk 10ft and get 1d8+1d6+1+1+1 once per round. Which do you take? Also, I saw no Improved Skirmish in Adventurer. It was in Scoundrel. Considering the damage increase, it might have been good, but you've got to move more, and considering some of the terrain we're in, that just wouldn't work. We've found ourselves in 3 ft hallways way too many times.

GawainBS · Post by **GawainBS** » Tue Apr 07, 2009 5:47 am

Skirmish is only worth it in a Swifthunterbuild, otherwise it doesn't pay off.
If taking FE:A means you'll never face Wizards, I'd certainly take it.

kevin video · Post by **kevin video** » Tue Apr 07, 2009 2:26 pm

GawainBS wrote:If taking FE:A means you'll never face Wizards, I'd certainly take it.

lol That is a very good point. I hadn't thought of it that way. Just means ridiculous monsters like the Tarrasque, and hordes of gargoyles. Honestly, I can't remember the last time we fought an arcane user. Lately it's been clerics using their damn summons.

GawainBS · Post by **GawainBS** » Tue Apr 07, 2009 2:58 pm

The Tarrasque is in fact a dead easy monster, if you have access to some sort of flight.

Siberys · Post by **Siberys** » Tue Apr 07, 2009 3:30 pm

Or two spare wish spells.

kevin video · Post by **kevin video** » Tue Apr 07, 2009 5:23 pm

GawainBS wrote:The Tarrasque is in fact a dead easy monster, if you have access to some sort of flight.

Well two of the five in the group can do that. The rest of us are just able to swim.

GawainBS · Post by **GawainBS** » Wed Apr 08, 2009 4:37 am

Siberys wrote:Or two spare wish spells.

Ofcourse, those are a necessity. I always found it strange that the so-called most powerful monster has no access to flight.

kevin video · Post by **kevin video** » Wed Apr 08, 2009 5:30 am

GawainBS wrote:Ofcourse, those are a necessity. I always found it strange that the so-called most powerful monster has no access to flight.

That's why you have a DM like ours add it to it. The group killed the original one off about two campaigns ago, so the God we had to face off again last year decided that it would bring in one from an alternate dimension. That one had the half-dragon template on it. Apparently we'll be fighting that this campaign.