| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| Darkmeer |
Posted - 23 Jun 2007 : 06:12:10
Okay, I am currently fixated on character concepts versus the rules. And I'm really having some fun with my ideas, and would like to share my favorite (KEJR has seen this one). I'll add more as I come up with them, but if you have any you'd like to share, please do.
The concept is a Dwarven Cleric of Moradin or Haela Brightaxe, likely a Shield Dwarf. No surprises there.
The thought is along the lines of a "fire & brimstone" style of cleric. One that literally believes "All the dead shall rise up to destroy the dwarven enemies." This extends to other races, and his beliefs also mean that he doesn't really like the idea of raising the dead. "Your time comes, and your body then serves Moradin/Haela."
To pull this off, The feats: Heretic of the Faith (pretty simple there), and Veil of Cyric (again simple).
The dwarf will be Lawful Evil, and strive to "help" all dwarfkind by hunting down enemies. When an enemy falls, he/she/it is recruited into Moradin's army as a skeleton/relatively unintelligent undead. The fun part comes because the cleric turns and rebukes undead, rather than dominates them. So, the cleric destroys some of his own "allies" or "soldiers," proving that "the mortal coil is just too weak to see the purity of my soul."
Kind of a stretch, but it would be fun to play a deranged cleric...
What do you think? Any suggestions? Any concepts you want to share?
/d |
| 19 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| Darkmeer |
Posted - 10 Jul 2007 : 02:15:20
Well... erm.
Gondsman Fire Giant?
Lantan + Fire Giant Cleric of Gond = fewer gnomes?
Sorry, couldn't resist.
In all actuality I agree with your statement KEJR.
/d |
| KnightErrantJR |
Posted - 10 Jul 2007 : 01:20:09
Hm . . . if I were going the fire giant route, I might go with a fire giant cleric of Gond. Craftsmanship is big (no pun intended) with fire giants. Plus, I can still remember the giants working on the weapons in The Adventures of Baron Munchausen . . .
Oh yeah, and clerics and fire giants go together well, since fire giants consider great craftsmen to be holy men, and its not uncommon for fire giants to aspire to learning clerical skills as well as mastering their own crafts. |
| Darkmeer |
Posted - 09 Jul 2007 : 23:51:01
A thought.
A Fire Giant cleric of Helm. As generally lawful creatures, I can see it happening. They're reasonably intelligent, and defending one's own or those that cannot might actually fit in some (but not all) fire giant societies. High ECL, but possibly worth it?
/d
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| Darkmeer |
Posted - 07 Jul 2007 : 04:45:04
Markustay,
I like the Druid of Kossuth. I can actually see a druid into a master of radiance from Libris Mortis here. Mind you, the flavor would be different in that they channel the "Undiluted purifying flames" from The Elemental Plane of Fire (Kossuth's home plane) itself.
As to the "Ultimate Badass Mage:"
I would recommend looking into a Monk/Wizard/Enlightened Fist.
A straight Monk 4-5 and 15 levels of wizard also nets you a wizard who can stand alone or with his/her spells, and even that medium base attack bonus is good for something at those higher levels.
Kyrene:
The 1/2 Drow orphan...
Do you build any family history (even being an orphan, she would have family). Was her mother drow or human? Does she care, or does she just want to be away? Those questions just pop into my head.
As to the Chaotic Evil (further CE) character, do you play in evil groups? If not, how has she evolved from CE to another alignment? I have difficulty myself with evil characters as a player (certainly not as a DM, mwa hahahahahaha... ahem), and I'm always curious to see how others portray them.
/d |
| Wooly Rupert |
Posted - 05 Jul 2007 : 23:45:29
quote:
Originally posted by Dhomal
Hello-
Well - i'd be curious as to the one documented case of reincarnation in the Realms... :)
Dhomal
It was in the otherwise forgettable Netheril trilogy. I don't recall the character's name, but it was, as I recall, an elf who was later reincarnated as a half-elf. Conveniently, she was reincarnated at just the right time: her human lover jumped ahead in time after her death, and he met her reincarnated adult self at the spot he jumped to. |
| Rinonalyrna Fathomlin |
Posted - 05 Jul 2007 : 23:06:10
quote:
Originally posted by Wooly Rupert
Why is fire an anathema? Fire is a force of nature, and, even in forests, it does have its place: cleaning out debris and undergrowth and allowing for a renewal of growing things. Remember, fire is not always regarded as a destroyer. Sometimes it is also regarded as a cleanser.
And druids need not always be caretakers of temperate forests, either. |
| Dhomal |
Posted - 05 Jul 2007 : 05:41:20
Hello-
Well - i'd be curious as to the one documented case of reincarnation in the Realms... :)
Dhomal |
| Wooly Rupert |
Posted - 05 Jul 2007 : 03:54:38
quote:
Originally posted by Markustay
A Druid of Kossuth: His faith allows Druids, but fire should be Anathema to the stereotypical version of this class.
Why is fire an anathema? Fire is a force of nature, and, even in forests, it does have its place: cleaning out debris and undergrowth and allowing for a renewal of growing things. Remember, fire is not always regarded as a destroyer. Sometimes it is also regarded as a cleanser.
quote:
Originally posted by Markustay
Another spin could be a pair of star-crossed lovers who died during the Crown Wars, and one came back as a Dwarf and the other an Avariel. Instead of Earth, the Elf could be a water/Air Elementalist specializing in 'Cold Magic'.
Even though there is one documented case of reincarnation in the Realms, it's something I'd prefer to leave out -- it really goes against the current afterlife structure. And in this case, you'd have to explain why neither soul traveled to Arvandor, or why the Seldarine handed one of their souls over to the Morndinsamman. |
| Markustay |
Posted - 04 Jul 2007 : 20:17:42
This is a concept that is not really so much mine, but something that was put together in a recent discussion on the WotC boards -
A Druid of Kossuth: His faith allows Druids, but fire should be Anathema to the stereotypical version of this class. However, we came up with a 'heretic' concept; a druid who believes so strongly in the natural order that ANYthing unnatural he is offended by. That means burning out villages started out in wilderness regions, including Elven ones (he cosiders their 'tree-shaping' an abomination). Also, he would embrace the 'cleansing' aspect of fire, and Kossuth's renewal aspect. I also toyed with the idea of a Druid/Sand Elementalist living in the Utter East, embracing mixed traditions from North and South (Zakhara). His Spin would be a 'Druid of the Salt', since in Arabic cultures Salt = Life, and in Alchemy (a tradition started in the Middle-East), 'Alchemist's Fire' actually refers to salt. He could have all kinds of weird desert-based spells, plus healing/harming magic based on adjusting a person's 'salt' (life), and also use some of the corrosive aspects of Salt, which tie-in well with Fire (but part of the natural order of decay and renewal).
Another idea of mine that never sees fruition is the ultimate 'badass' mage. I always hated the fact that level 1 mages could be killed by a really bad toe-stubbing. Basically, they cast a light spell at the beginning of the adventure, and then they are just dead weight for the next 24 hours (at least in 2e). So I decide to have a half-Elf that poses as a Shou Human (he always wears a cap to hide his points), and learns the ways of a Monk, then a Duelist, and perhaps a little Swashbuckler (lots of AC bonuses here), BEFORE becoming a Mage. Back story is that he grew up in Thesk during the Tuigan War, and became enamored of the eastern fighting style from some of the Shou immigrants. After a few levs of Monk, he becomes a student of a Swordmaster (Duelist) in the port town he grew up in, and in a strange twist of fate he is picked-up by a pirate ship and given the choice "join my crew or die", which he does (he is LN). After some misadventures, he manages to save the entire crew during a sea battle by grabbing a wand from the enemy wizard... and then pointing it and using it to kill a bunch of foes. This 'natural talent' leads him to study under a local 'Sea-Mage'.
I just love the idea of a lev 1-3 Mage running out of spells and cornered by a few Orcs, and then turning into a whirling machine of death with his bare hands (or staff). With the right stats, his choice of PrCs (Shou diciple a must) should make him nigh untouchable. Of course, this build requires about 12 levels before even becoming a mage, so it might just make a more fun NPC then character.
Love the 'intelligent monster' concepts guys, I've always been a big fan of that. I always pictured them as an aberration in their society - either a throwback from an earlier more advance version of the creatures, or a throw-FORWARD - a creature who represents what the race would be like a 1000 years from now. The Orcs from RoD, the Sharakim, make for a fine example of this idea pushed to its logical conclusion.
Perhaps the Gnoll could be a reincarnation from Urgnarash, the Gnoll kingdom that once occupied the Shar. 
The 'Crazy Dwarf' ideas are cool too. For the original, I just keep picturing the Wonder Twins from the old cartoon series The Super Friends.
"Thunder-Twin Powers activate!" 
Together they could combine their powers for unique 'volcanic' magic.
Another spin could be a pair of star-crossed lovers who died during the Crown Wars, and one came back as a Dwarf and the other an Avariel. Instead of Earth, the Elf could be a water/Air Elementalist specializing in 'Cold Magic'.
Then you could call the two "Fire & Ice". They could start out not knowing who they are, but for some bizarre reason are attracted to one another. When they get their memories back, or discover who they were, it could lead to a very awkward situation, especially to "the folks back home". |
| Kyrene |
Posted - 04 Jul 2007 : 11:11:00
quote:
Originally posted by KnightErrantJR
"Oh my yes, but we did kill quite a few orcs that day. If I remember correctly, the tribal shaman implored us to make an rather vivid example of the orc raiders, and thus we happened upon the idea of hanging them with their own entrails. My but that is a task that is much more simply to conceive of than to execute, but then again, I would imagine that any truly innovative measure of proactive deterrence cannot be achieved without a good deal of applied engineering."
Thanks KEJR, this just made my day reading. It's thoughts like that, that should make it into Realms novels really.
***
One of my favourite concepts is an orphaned half-drow. I've played her a lot of times, each time trying to see how she evolves from her chaotic evil rogue start at level one. She always has high intelligence and/or wisdom, therefore is a little atypical chaotic evil in that she thinks before she acts, although often acting in a chaotic fashion anyway. Perhaps her biography should speak for itself:
"The waiflike Nita is an orphan -- her mother taking refuge in <settlement X> after fleeing from a drow slave trade near <place Y>. Being half-drow, she long bore the odium of others and is therefore often found in the company of outcasts, misfits or half-breeds like herself, stray animals or simply alone enjoying the solitude." |
| Darkmeer |
Posted - 01 Jul 2007 : 07:05:49
quote:
Originally posted by KnightErrantJR
And now for something completely different . . . and perhaps a bit less . . . ahem . . . Grim?
At any rate, Darkmeer and I were discussion the renegade gnoll from Thay "concept." Gnolls are a bit more civilized in Thay than elsewhere in the Realms. It would make for an interesting character to have a fairly well educated, martial warrior gnoll that did something to get it into trouble in Thay, and has fled its homeland. Not only would said gnoll have to deal with people assuming that he would be a slavering, demon worshiping predator, but he would also likely have some of the natural cynicism of Thay, even if he wasn't evil.
Another one that I always toyed with was a bugbear barbarian that speaks in a cultured, erudite voice, speaks multiple languages, reads scandalous local chapbooks and novels, and carries a pair of spectacles to read with. Most people that would meet him and speak with him would have a hard time seeing him as a barbarian, but as soon as combat strikes, he turns into a foaming, raving fiend (a good candidate for Frenzied Berserker actually). Then as soon as his rage is over, and the fight is done, he props himself up next to a tree, pulls out a book, and reads himself to sleep.
Yeah, part of the bugbear idea comes from Beast from the X-Men. There might also be a sort of running, underlying theme that perhaps the bugbear is reincarnated from a more educated, less savage person, but that old personality doesn't fully evince itself. All the while, during discussions he would go into vivid, but scholarly, descriptions of how savage his tribe was and the acts they commited.
"Oh my yes, but we did kill quite a few orcs that day. If I remember correctly, the tribal shaman implored us to make an rather vivid example of the orc raiders, and thus we happened upon the idea of hanging them with their own entrails. My but that is a task that is much more simply to conceive of than to execute, but then again, I would imagine that any truly innovative measure of proactive deterrence cannot be achieved without a good deal of applied engineering."
And then of course, this one would be harder to pull off. A pair of dwarves (which would mean you needed to get another player to go along with this) that were Thunder Twins, one of which has fire themed spells, the other of which has earth themes spells. This one is harder to pull off, since it requires not only another player to go along with the idea, but throws two sorcerers into the group.
Hey now, I like Grim!
Anyhoo,
The gnoll could use some work, seeing as at first level his "class" would actually be gnoll, using the rules from Races of the Wild. I can actually picture a well-spoken gnoll from there, still balancing it's own inner lusts for flesh & anger management. The thought that something is unsavory to the Thayans really strikes me as odd.
Dhomal--
The split personalities would be a great thing, but you'd really have to work it out with the DM before you went forward with it.
As to the "separated switching bodies" idea:
This is an excellent concept. I really like this idea more than I can say. It provides a player with a chance to be in two places at once, literally. I'd roll a d% and see if the other dwarf was sleeping at that moment (higher percentage of likely when in the same "region"). Even better would be a male/female crossover like that. That could be very interesting and embarassing all at once!
Now, for the next concept from me:
A half-drow werebear (black, thus medium). I picture a worshipper of Selune or Eilistrae that is trying to become more than just a monster. I see a long road ahead, especially since the general populace doesn't like werecreatures that much, and they like drow even less. After getting through the level adjustment, I'd definitely go cleric or druid with it. More likely cleric, simply because it fits the theme better. I'd really like to see someone get angry about a hybrid bear/half-drow wielding a Greatsword brandished with the symbol of Eilistrae (pressing "oh crap" button now). Intimidating and fun to RP, even if I'm not a big Drow fan.
And
A Lantanese Gnome. A craftsman of the highest order, he/she has a supply of smokepowder, and a firearm. I'm thinking a Fighter/Wizard (Illusionist?) or Fighter/Cleric with levels in the inventor prestige class (can't remember name off hand). Basically he/she is trying to be more than an annoyance, perhaps with a "silence" spell simply attached to the firearm... He is the paragon of progress, someone who loves to tinker and enjoy his craft. I'd even go so far as to say that he'd take levels in Expert simply for the class skills to make the "craftsman" part of the concept work. I've always liked firearms, and I think this concept could actually work.
/d |
| KnightErrantJR |
Posted - 01 Jul 2007 : 03:00:46
Oooo, good spin on the dwarf idea . . I liked that. |
| Dhomal |
Posted - 01 Jul 2007 : 02:34:36
Hello-
Some interesting ideas. :)
One thought that might make for something interesting - going off of your last idea KEJR -
Take ONE dwarf - give him a specialized form of multiple-personality disorded - and let the player make the two separate 'Thunder Twins' - Th dwarf IS actually both - he was born to parrents that SOoo wanted to be blessed with twins - and when he was not... well - he Became twins...
You could make a roll every time he sleeps and wakes up as to who he will be.. or if he was knocked unconscious...
This way - you would still only have 'one' sorcerer - and their duality would not be overballancing with shifts in mid-sentance etc.
You could even go so far as to have both personalities have names - but similar enough taht its difficult to tell who is 'present' for the other PCs.
And - on the other hand - you could have there actually BE two dwarves - one that never fully developed - lurking Inside the dwarf's body... That could make for an interesting discovery - and a series of adventures to try and 'free' the dwarf (either one, really).
Or perhaps.... there was a twin birthing - but they were (reason unknown) separated immediately. BOTH dwarves suffer from this 'multiple personality' disorder - but in actuallity - are switching back and forth - but nobody (or very few) know that they each had a twin - and its not obvious... until they happen upon someone who has known the Other twin - and perhaps knows that they have a scar on their face or somesuch - that does not match.. the trick with Two dwarves separated like this is - they still Act like they are insane a bit - or they would start to be like "Wait - I was not sleeping here last night!" etc...
Just some ideas... :)
Dhomal
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| KnightErrantJR |
Posted - 01 Jul 2007 : 00:45:21
And now for something completely different . . . and perhaps a bit less . . . ahem . . . Grim?
At any rate, Darkmeer and I were discussion the renegade gnoll from Thay "concept." Gnolls are a bit more civilized in Thay than elsewhere in the Realms. It would make for an interesting character to have a fairly well educated, martial warrior gnoll that did something to get it into trouble in Thay, and has fled its homeland. Not only would said gnoll have to deal with people assuming that he would be a slavering, demon worshiping predator, but he would also likely have some of the natural cynicism of Thay, even if he wasn't evil.
Another one that I always toyed with was a bugbear barbarian that speaks in a cultured, erudite voice, speaks multiple languages, reads scandalous local chapbooks and novels, and carries a pair of spectacles to read with. Most people that would meet him and speak with him would have a hard time seeing him as a barbarian, but as soon as combat strikes, he turns into a foaming, raving fiend (a good candidate for Frenzied Berserker actually). Then as soon as his rage is over, and the fight is done, he props himself up next to a tree, pulls out a book, and reads himself to sleep.
Yeah, part of the bugbear idea comes from Beast from the X-Men. There might also be a sort of running, underlying theme that perhaps the bugbear is reincarnated from a more educated, less savage person, but that old personality doesn't fully evince itself. All the while, during discussions he would go into vivid, but scholarly, descriptions of how savage his tribe was and the acts they commited.
"Oh my yes, but we did kill quite a few orcs that day. If I remember correctly, the tribal shaman implored us to make an rather vivid example of the orc raiders, and thus we happened upon the idea of hanging them with their own entrails. My but that is a task that is much more simply to conceive of than to execute, but then again, I would imagine that any truly innovative measure of proactive deterrence cannot be achieved without a good deal of applied engineering."
And then of course, this one would be harder to pull off. A pair of dwarves (which would mean you needed to get another player to go along with this) that were Thunder Twins, one of which has fire themed spells, the other of which has earth themes spells. This one is harder to pull off, since it requires not only another player to go along with the idea, but throws two sorcerers into the group. |
| Darkmeer |
Posted - 29 Jun 2007 : 05:05:44
quote:
Originally posted by Erik Scott de Bie
quote:
Originally posted by KnightErrantJR
Well, I told him if he ran it in my campaign, that that's pretty much a textbook case for a "false" soul, someone that claims they worship a given god (and may even have deluded themselves into thinking so, as evinced by the Veil of Cyric feat), but doesn't live up to that god's standards at all, and actually works against them.
Well, the Heretic of the Faith feat does specify that the character becomes one of the False, and goes to the wall unless specifically "saved" by direct divine intervention.
(What) Cheer(ful thought)s!
I actually quite like the concept. I tend to be one of those "I don't really want to come back from the dead" type of players. My character dies? Okay, I'll try this out next. Sadly, I have a penchant for keeping my characters alive... at least until I want them dead.
Being stuck in the wall seems strange, but I don't really mind the idea as a player. I think it shows "out of the box" thinking, and gives me a reason to keep the character alive.
/d |
| Erik Scott de Bie |
Posted - 26 Jun 2007 : 15:52:46
quote:
Originally posted by KnightErrantJR
Well, I told him if he ran it in my campaign, that that's pretty much a textbook case for a "false" soul, someone that claims they worship a given god (and may even have deluded themselves into thinking so, as evinced by the Veil of Cyric feat), but doesn't live up to that god's standards at all, and actually works against them.
Well, the Heretic of the Faith feat does specify that the character becomes one of the False, and goes to the wall unless specifically "saved" by direct divine intervention.
(What) Cheer(ful thought)s! |
| Darkmeer |
Posted - 26 Jun 2007 : 05:22:22
Next concept:
I love the idea of evil in a good party, and I'd like to find a way to make it work. The dwarf is an example of what I'm thinking, but here's the other (knight, you've seen this one too)
Human from Zhentil Keep, specifically a Zhentarim Spy (the prestige class). He's there to help infiltrate/investigate various strange goings on in the Dalelands & report his findings (we may be playing CotSQ). Pretty simple character here, with a cover identity or eight (heck, the more the merrier).
The advantage of this is that the character can do some... unsavory things to advance the adventure (as far as I see), or can do "good" to maintain his cover identity. With him investigating ruins & strangeness, there's no reason to NOT work with a good-aligned party both as allies and as cannon fodder for his/her mission.
In this one, open disclosure would be appropriate. This means all the other players would be completely aware, but there characters would not be.
/d |
| KnightErrantJR |
Posted - 23 Jun 2007 : 20:56:37
Well, I told him if he ran it in my campaign, that that's pretty much a textbook case for a "false" soul, someone that claims they worship a given god (and may even have deluded themselves into thinking so, as evinced by the Veil of Cyric feat), but doesn't live up to that god's standards at all, and actually works against them.
Although he couldn't claim the soul, I could see Abbathor being cruel enough to grant the spells to this deluded soul. He could advance dwarven kind (he is still a member of the pantheon) while still skewering Moradin's "restrictive" dogma.
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| Aureus |
Posted - 23 Jun 2007 : 13:45:19
I'm wondering where his soul goes once a dwarven waraxe "ends" his helping the dwarven people |
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