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mhamza
Seeker
United Kingdom
73 Posts |
 Posted - 06 Jul 2014 : 14:56:38
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I was wondering if someone could work out a chosen of Selvetarm with stats and abilities? I checked the list of templates for 3.5e but there's no mention of any Chosen of Selvetarm there and I'm trying to put this together for a game I'm playing.
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Edited by - mhamza on 06 Jul 2014 18:12:52
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TBeholder
Great Reader
2482 Posts |
Posted - 06 Jul 2014 : 18:47:31
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| I doubt he would bother. Why would he do it? And besides does a semi-obscure demigod without his own kip on the planes (the write up had him living in Lolth's domain) have spare power to invest (and risk) to begin with? |
People never wonder How the world goes round -Helloween
And even I make no pretense Of having more than common sense -R.W.Wood
It's not good, Eric. It's a gazebo. -Ed Whitchurch |
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mhamza
Seeker
United Kingdom
73 Posts |
Posted - 06 Jul 2014 : 18:51:35
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quote:
Originally posted by TBeholder
I doubt he would bother. Why would he do it? And besides does a semi-obscure demigod without his own kip on the planes (the write up had him living in Lolth's domain) have spare power to invest (and risk) to begin with?
Maybe he wanted to find a way to get out of Lolth's grasp, but thought it was too risky to do it personally so he entrusts a mortal to find out how. Maybe he wants to gain worshipers, enough to challenge Lolth herself, albeit in her status as an intermediate deity rather than a greater one so he grants some of his power to one of his priests in order to convert other drow. Just because he's a demigod doesn't mean he can't have an active prescence in the realms. |
Edited by - mhamza on 06 Jul 2014 19:22:30 |
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Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
USA
36912 Posts |
Posted - 06 Jul 2014 : 23:16:22
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quote:
Originally posted by mhamza
quote:
Originally posted by TBeholder
I doubt he would bother. Why would he do it? And besides does a semi-obscure demigod without his own kip on the planes (the write up had him living in Lolth's domain) have spare power to invest (and risk) to begin with?
Maybe he wanted to find a way to get out of Lolth's grasp, but thought it was too risky to do it personally so he entrusts a mortal to find out how. Maybe he wants to gain worshipers, enough to challenge Lolth herself, albeit in her status as an intermediate deity rather than a greater one so he grants some of his power to one of his priests in order to convert other drow. Just because he's a demigod doesn't mean he can't have an active prescence in the realms.
Those are all viable options, but the point being made is that he doesn't have such a huge amount of power that he can go investing it in a risky venture like that. There are plenty of options for him to do those things you address without dumping some of his meager divine essence into a vessel that can easily fall into Lolth's hands. |
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Irennan
Great Reader
Italy
3813 Posts |
Posted - 07 Jul 2014 : 00:07:36
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Since he wants it for a game, then it could make for a cool campaign for him.
Despite having limited 'divine power', Selv could decide that it is convenient to create a chosen to avoid making his intentions and moves obvious to Lolth, and could even make a deal with other deities who may be interested in helping him escaping Lolth's control (like Eilistraee or Vhaeraun, even if he isn't exactly 'friend' with his father), in order to prevent the Spider Queen from getting her hands on such a drow.
I'm afraid I can't help with the stats, tho. I'm quite rusty with any D&D edition rules at this time. |
Mathematics is the art of giving the same name to different things. |
Edited by - Irennan on 07 Jul 2014 00:49:53 |
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mhamza
Seeker
United Kingdom
73 Posts |
Posted - 07 Jul 2014 : 20:51:33
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quote:
Originally posted by Wooly Rupert
quote:
Originally posted by mhamza
quote:
Originally posted by TBeholder
I doubt he would bother. Why would he do it? And besides does a semi-obscure demigod without his own kip on the planes (the write up had him living in Lolth's domain) have spare power to invest (and risk) to begin with?
Maybe he wanted to find a way to get out of Lolth's grasp, but thought it was too risky to do it personally so he entrusts a mortal to find out how. Maybe he wants to gain worshipers, enough to challenge Lolth herself, albeit in her status as an intermediate deity rather than a greater one so he grants some of his power to one of his priests in order to convert other drow. Just because he's a demigod doesn't mean he can't have an active prescence in the realms.
Those are all viable options, but the point being made is that he doesn't have such a huge amount of power that he can go investing it in a risky venture like that. There are plenty of options for him to do those things you address without dumping some of his meager divine essence into a vessel that can easily fall into Lolth's hands.
SPOILER ALERT
Didn't Siamorphe (who was a demi-god) have a Chosen in the Sentinel?, if so what's stopping Selvetarm from having one? |
Edited by - mhamza on 07 Jul 2014 20:57:57 |
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Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
USA
36912 Posts |
Posted - 07 Jul 2014 : 21:38:11
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Power-wise, nothing... But Siamorphe doesn't have a superior that she hates -- she has no superior at all. There is a huge difference between her making a Chosen for some reason, and the idea of Selvetarm doing the same as a gambit against his considerably more powerful superior.
Selvetarm making a Chosen to use against Lolth involves taking some of his limited power and putting it at risk from the very deity he wants to use it against.
Siamorphe doesn't have that risk. |
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Demzer
Senior Scribe
880 Posts |
Posted - 07 Jul 2014 : 22:07:05
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Well if the final goal is to escape Lolth's clutches than Selvetarm could surely find a limited amount of cooperation from Vhaerun and Eilistraee, since his desertion would weaken Lolthite society.
Considering the followers of Selvetarm serve as bodyguards, temple guards, escorts and strike forces for the Lolthites, if they started cooperating with their foes their help would be invaluable to Vhaerunites and followers of Eilistraee. Keeping in mind that until mayor screw ups happens the Lolthites will completely overlook their Selvetarran lackeys as the sources of their troubles, blaming those on rival priestesses, rival houses and rival churches first.
In exchange for all these help the followers of Selvetarm could get a lot from the churches of Vhaerun and Eilistraee.
Even if the siblings don't want to cooperate there can be a host of demonic agents willing to undermine Lolth's power in the Abyss, devils looking for some support in the Blood War and weaknesses to exploit, heck there can even be Zanassu's loyalists still looking for a way to resurrect their fallen patron.
There can be a lot of fun playing all the various factions interested in Selvetarm/Zanassu one against the other, each one would have its goal: Vhaerun may want to kill him, Eilistraee to redeem him, demon cultists to sacrifice him to free Zanassu's essence, ecc ... .
But the first step for all these plots to get to fruition is get Selvetarm out of Lolth's shadow (since you can't do any of those things while under the eyes of a greater deity), exactly what he himself wants (in this campaign idea, if i'm not mistaken).
So Selvetarm could get a lot of support from a wide variety of factions, and if he gets some support and starts working on his own freedom then getting himself a Chosen as a backup-avatar/secret-weapon would be a sensible thing to do. |
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TBeholder
Great Reader
2482 Posts |
Posted - 07 Jul 2014 : 22:12:31
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quote:
Originally posted by mhamza
Didn't Siamorphe (who was a demi-god) have a Chosen in the Sentinel?, if so what's stopping Selvetarm from having one?
It's a big step and some risk. Why do it at all?
In the end, there's still no reason why he would. To even consider such a gamble a deity needs a task where a high-end agent is necessary because lesser means don't cut it. And creation of one more foothold is typically done via normal mortal priest or at most a visionary prophet with some extras. Even proxies are reserved for something special, and they are often one-shot, giving a (former) mortal complete control is worth the trouble only as a long-term investment.
Moreover, such power-ups at all are only good as an edge over other mortals or to openly maintain balance of power when someone else already does it.
Conversely, stamping one's agent with glowing "The bearer of this represents Me! ___(signature)" on the forehead is kind of counterproductive for missions where attention is undesirable. And that's what such divine boosts essentially are, to other powers and their high-ranked minions. And clandestine struggles with other powers are going to have a better chance if one at very least does not actively try to attract attention, or better with some plausible deniality or uncertainty - thus via servants as obscure (preferrably in "beneath notice" way) as possible.
Specifically in Selvetarm's position, using someone he can't write off as an overzealous minor heretic if caught would be... unwise. |
People never wonder How the world goes round -Helloween
And even I make no pretense Of having more than common sense -R.W.Wood
It's not good, Eric. It's a gazebo. -Ed Whitchurch |
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Irennan
Great Reader
Italy
3813 Posts |
Posted - 07 Jul 2014 : 22:16:23
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quote:
Originally posted by Demzer
Well if the final goal is to escape Lolth's clutches than Selvetarm could surely find a limited amount of cooperation from Vhaerun and Eilistraee, since his desertion would weaken Lolthite society.
Considering the followers of Selvetarm serve as bodyguards, temple guards, escorts and strike forces for the Lolthites, if they started cooperating with their foes their help would be invaluable to Vhaerunites and followers of Eilistraee. Keeping in mind that until mayor screw ups happens the Lolthites will completely overlook their Selvetarran lackeys as the sources of their troubles, blaming those on rival priestesses, rival houses and rival churches first.
In exchange for all these help the followers of Selvetarm could get a lot from the churches of Vhaerun and Eilistraee.
Even if the siblings don't want to cooperate there can be a host of demonic agents willing to undermine Lolth's power in the Abyss, devils looking for some support in the Blood War and weaknesses to exploit, heck there can even be Zanassu's loyalists still looking for a way to resurrect their fallen patron.
There can be a lot of fun playing all the various factions interested in Selvetarm/Zanassu one against the other, each one would have its goal: Vhaerun may want to kill him, Eilistraee to redeem him, demon cultists to sacrifice him to free Zanassu's essence, ecc ... .
But the first step for all these plots to get to fruition is get Selvetarm out of Lolth's shadow (since you can't do any of those things while under the eyes of a greater deity), exactly what he himself wants (in this campaign idea, if i'm not mistaken).
So Selvetarm could get a lot of support from a wide variety of factions, and if he gets some support and starts working on his own freedom then getting himself a Chosen as a backup-avatar/secret-weapon would be a sensible thing to do.
Yeah, this. However I think that the OP wanted the chosen to have a major role in the 'getting free from Lolth' part. A mortal invested with some powers by Selvetarm (maybe not outright a chosen, but with the possibility to become one in future) could act like an agent in such a situation, and it could make for a good game. |
Mathematics is the art of giving the same name to different things. |
Edited by - Irennan on 07 Jul 2014 22:26:45 |
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Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
USA
36912 Posts |
Posted - 07 Jul 2014 : 22:26:07
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quote:
Originally posted by Demzer
Well if the final goal is to escape Lolth's clutches than Selvetarm could surely find a limited amount of cooperation from Vhaerun and Eilistraee, since his desertion would weaken Lolthite society.
Considering the followers of Selvetarm serve as bodyguards, temple guards, escorts and strike forces for the Lolthites, if they started cooperating with their foes their help would be invaluable to Vhaerunites and followers of Eilistraee. Keeping in mind that until mayor screw ups happens the Lolthites will completely overlook their Selvetarran lackeys as the sources of their troubles, blaming those on rival priestesses, rival houses and rival churches first.
In exchange for all these help the followers of Selvetarm could get a lot from the churches of Vhaerun and Eilistraee.
Even if the siblings don't want to cooperate there can be a host of demonic agents willing to undermine Lolth's power in the Abyss, devils looking for some support in the Blood War and weaknesses to exploit, heck there can even be Zanassu's loyalists still looking for a way to resurrect their fallen patron.
There can be a lot of fun playing all the various factions interested in Selvetarm/Zanassu one against the other, each one would have its goal: Vhaerun may want to kill him, Eilistraee to redeem him, demon cultists to sacrifice him to free Zanassu's essence, ecc ... .
But the first step for all these plots to get to fruition is get Selvetarm out of Lolth's shadow (since you can't do any of those things while under the eyes of a greater deity), exactly what he himself wants (in this campaign idea, if i'm not mistaken).
So Selvetarm could get a lot of support from a wide variety of factions, and if he gets some support and starts working on his own freedom then getting himself a Chosen as a backup-avatar/secret-weapon would be a sensible thing to do.
He could get a lot of support without setting aside a portion of his divine essence, too.
I just don't think it's plausible to deliberately weaken yourself as a move against a stronger foe - especially when you risk that weakness being permanent.
Note that I don't have a problem with the idea of Selly trying to get out from under Lolth -- I just don't see him handing her an opportunity to permanently remove some of his power as anything approaching a reasonable approach to that goal.
It's like a guy with no armor and only a dagger, fighting a longsword-wielding guy in plate mail -- and the armorless dude decides his best chance of victory is to drop the dagger. |
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Seethyr
Master of Realmslore
USA
1253 Posts |
Posted - 08 Jul 2014 : 06:49:26
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Why not start out with a 10th level Drow Judicator?
From there, I really don't know how to stat up a Chosen. |
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Edited by - Seethyr on 08 Jul 2014 06:50:22 |
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Eilserus
Master of Realmslore
USA
1446 Posts |
Posted - 08 Jul 2014 : 13:48:08
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| He had a Chosen in one of the Lisa Smedman novels, can't remember which one at the moment though. And it was a Judicator. Had a white spider web like tattoo on his body that glowed at times if I recall. I believe it was his bid to get away from Lolth and when she found out she didn't like it very much. I remember a scene where this Judicator recruited a bunch of driders to his cause. ;) |
Edited by - Eilserus on 08 Jul 2014 13:49:27 |
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mhamza
Seeker
United Kingdom
73 Posts |
Posted - 08 Jul 2014 : 16:14:10
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quote:
Originally posted by Eilserus
He had a Chosen in one of the Lisa Smedman novels, can't remember which one at the moment though. And it was a Judicator. Had a white spider web like tattoo on his body that glowed at times if I recall. I believe it was his bid to get away from Lolth and when she found out she didn't like it very much. I remember a scene where this Judicator recruited a bunch of driders to his cause. ;)
Was that a Chosen? I thought he was the leader of the Judicators. |
Edited by - mhamza on 08 Jul 2014 16:26:16 |
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Eilserus
Master of Realmslore
USA
1446 Posts |
Posted - 08 Jul 2014 : 19:39:56
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| I could be wrong because it's been a few years, but that's what I thought. |
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Seethyr
Master of Realmslore
USA
1253 Posts |
Posted - 09 Jul 2014 : 04:37:11
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quote:
Originally posted by Eilserus
He had a Chosen in one of the Lisa Smedman novels, can't remember which one at the moment though. And it was a Judicator. Had a white spider web like tattoo on his body that glowed at times if I recall. I believe it was his bid to get away from Lolth and when she found out she didn't like it very much. I remember a scene where this Judicator recruited a bunch of driders to his cause. ;)
It was without a doubt in the Lady Penitent series, though I forgot which one exactly. Perhaps it was Sacrifice of the Widow because I don't think he lasted long in the series. In the meantime, here is a nice piece on deviantart that might help you visualize your chosen/judicator...
Drow Judicator
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Edited by - Seethyr on 09 Jul 2014 04:37:57 |
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mhamza
Seeker
United Kingdom
73 Posts |
Posted - 09 Jul 2014 : 17:50:20
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quote:
Originally posted by Seethyr
quote:
Originally posted by Eilserus
He had a Chosen in one of the Lisa Smedman novels, can't remember which one at the moment though. And it was a Judicator. Had a white spider web like tattoo on his body that glowed at times if I recall. I believe it was his bid to get away from Lolth and when she found out she didn't like it very much. I remember a scene where this Judicator recruited a bunch of driders to his cause. ;)
It was without a doubt in the Lady Penitent series, though I forgot which one exactly. Perhaps it was Sacrifice of the Widow because I don't think he lasted long in the series. In the meantime, here is a nice piece on deviantart that might help you visualize your chosen/judicator...
Drow Judicator
Thanks for the link, and I have an idea on how the Chosen is supposed to look and fight, but I'm not sure as to the abilities and stats |
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Diffan
Great Reader
USA
4471 Posts |
Posted - 09 Jul 2014 : 19:33:18
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quote:
Originally posted by mhamza
quote:
Originally posted by Seethyr
quote:
Originally posted by Eilserus
He had a Chosen in one of the Lisa Smedman novels, can't remember which one at the moment though. And it was a Judicator. Had a white spider web like tattoo on his body that glowed at times if I recall. I believe it was his bid to get away from Lolth and when she found out she didn't like it very much. I remember a scene where this Judicator recruited a bunch of driders to his cause. ;)
It was without a doubt in the Lady Penitent series, though I forgot which one exactly. Perhaps it was Sacrifice of the Widow because I don't think he lasted long in the series. In the meantime, here is a nice piece on deviantart that might help you visualize your chosen/judicator...
Drow Judicator
Thanks for the link, and I have an idea on how the Chosen is supposed to look and fight, but I'm not sure as to the abilities and stats
From a mechanical perspective, you can take inspiration from the 3 "official" rules on Chosen. We have the Chosen of Mystra, listed in the FRCS block. We also have the Chosen of Bane, written in the Faiths and Pantheons supplement. A third was Chosen of Denier (for Cadderly) as a web-enhancement (liked above).
From these example, I'm sure one can extrapolate some formulat for Stat boosts and extraordinary abilities. I don't know much about Selvetarm but with that knowledge and the templates mentioned above, I'll be you can come up with something. |
Diffan's NPG Generator: FR NPC Generator |
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mhamza
Seeker
United Kingdom
73 Posts |
Posted - 10 Jul 2014 : 19:13:15
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After much research and deliberation over every comment I have managed to come up with a first draft of the Chosen of Selvetarm, as always feedback would be appreciated and so without further ado I present the Chosen of Selvetarm.
THE CHOSEN OF SELVETARM
The Chosen of Selvetarm are fierce warriors and generally the highest ranked judicators in the deity's service known for their savagery and bloodlust in battle. Specifically chosen by the God of drow warriors, the Chosen prefer to train constantly in the art of war and as a result are famous among the Underdark for their skill in battle.
Weapon and Armor Proficiency: The Chosen are proficient with all simple and martial weapons, though many tend to specialize in wielding two melee weapons. Favorite combinations include sword and dagger, sword and mace, and sword and axe.
Spell-like abilites: The Chosen of Selvetarm has access to the following spell-like abilities. These can be used once per day: charm monster, charm person, command, darkness 15' radius, detect good, detect invisible, dispel magic, fly, infravision, invisibility, know alignment, protection from good 10' radius, speak with monsters, unholy word and web.
Special Attacks:
War Strike (Su): War is the ultimate expression of Selvetarm's power, so its lessons are the most important that the Chosen adheres to. As a recognised champion of the Spider that Waits the Chosen can attempt a war strike with one normal melee attack. If he hits, he deals 2d6 points of Constitution damage in addition to his regular damage. The target may attempt a fortitude save (to halve the Constitution damage.) This ability is usable once per day.
Judgment (Su): As the Chosen of Selvetarm and a high ranking member of his clergy, he is rewarded by Selvetarm with the ability to judge all creatures within 100 feet of him that he can see. Those he finds wanting are immediately targeted with a horrid wilting effect (caster level 18th; save DC 18 + drow judicator's Wis modifier). The drow judicator can base his decision on any parameters he chooses. This ability is usable once per day as a standard action.
Globe of Blades: As a special dispensation from the Spider that Waits the Chosen gains the ability to summon a tiny sphere of absolute blackness that slowly grows in size from about 1 inch in diameter to about 1 foot in diameter and then explodes in a shower of blades.
Immunities: The Chosen is immune to poison, disease, level drain and sustains only half damage from cold, electricity, and lightning attacks. He is only affected by +2 or better magical weapons.
Stats: AC -2; MV 15, Wb 21; HP 180; THACO -3; #AT 7/2 and 1 bite Dmg 2d8+poison (bite) and ld8+15 (long sword +2, +2 STR, +1 spec. bonus in long sword) and ld6+12+special (footman's mace +2, +8 STR) MR 70%; SZ L (15 feet across, 6 feet high) STR 20, DEX 20, CON 20, INT 15, Wis 18, CHA 16 Spells P: 9/9/8/7/4/3/1 Saves PPDM 3, RSW 5, PP 4, BW 4, Sp 6 |
Edited by - mhamza on 10 Jul 2014 19:20:53 |
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LordofBones
Master of Realmslore
1575 Posts |
Posted - 10 Jul 2014 : 20:04:17
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The mishmash between 3e and 2e stats is kind of painful to read, but anyway...
Horrid wilting doesn't fit the theme of judgment, I'd suggest holy word or blasphemy, or a mass version of flamestrike that deals unholy damage instead of fire.
What does globe of blades do?
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mhamza
Seeker
United Kingdom
73 Posts |
Posted - 10 Jul 2014 : 20:31:17
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quote:
Originally posted by LordofBones
The mishmash between 3e and 2e stats is kind of painful to read, but anyway...
Horrid wilting doesn't fit the theme of judgment, I'd suggest holy word or blasphemy, or a mass version of flamestrike that deals unholy damage instead of fire.
What does globe of blades do?
Like I said it's a first draft and I'm still working on it but thanks for the feedback, anyway in regards to your question it's kind of similar to the globe of darkness that drow can inherently summon but can be triggered to explode on the target and dealing 10d10 damage unless they make a save v. spells (-2 penalty) |
Edited by - mhamza on 10 Jul 2014 21:58:41 |
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Zireael
Master of Realmslore
Poland
1190 Posts |
Posted - 14 Jul 2014 : 20:19:51
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| Stat-wise, I believe there were attempts to make a chosen of Selvetarm template on the WotC forums some time ago, I might still have it on my HDD. |
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Chosen of Selvetarm
