PDA

View Full Version : [Party] In God We Trust



jgf
2005-05-24, 09:09 PM
In God We Trust (a.k.a. Team Cleric, a.k.a. The Hand of God, a.k.a. The Goodie Two-Shoes)

Note: I'm actually quite agnostic, but religion, spirituality, and faith (and fundamentalism and zealotry) play a large theme in the D&D world, so why not? That, and someone already took my idea of an anti-religion party. :P

Under construction. Possible characters:

Halfling Cleric[Luck,Trickery]/Rogue/Divine Trickster: the skilled character
Wild Elf Cleric[?,?]/Sorcerer: the arcane caster
Human Cleric[Good,Protection]/Hierophant
Half-Orc Monk/Barbarian: for the Belkars-type players
Gnome Bard/Cleric[Healing,Sun]: the support character (bard/healer) and undead-blaster
Wood Elf Monk/Ranger: the pseudo-druid
Dwarf Paladin/Dwarven Defender: the token Dwarf
Drow Paladin/Cleric[Strength,War]: the religious powerhouse

And, of course, they have a nemesis: an ex-Paladin Blackguard.

Some characters may be cut depending on feasibility, but it will be an exercise (for me) to make them playable and interesting.

[hr]
"It began as an experiment by the Good-aligned gods to see if they (and their followers) could cooperate despite doctrinal differences. After all, they all had one thing in common: the desire to hand Evil a can of Whoop-Ass. And so visions were conjured, divine messengers dispatched, and ad space on late-night cable TV bought. Eight deities directed one of their stalwart champions to travel to the Holy Shrine of Poli where they would meet their future comrades-in-arms and create a force that would strike fear into the hearts of evil (or at least those which had hearts but didn't have Immunity to Fear). And so Team Cleric was born.

"At first, it appeared that the gods had played a trick on them, as the congregation was the most, hmmm... eclectic group of evangelists this world had ever seen before or since. So it seemed, every major race of the sunlit realms was represented. There was even, yes, a Drow." The Bard/Cleric Soidoc Izriak suddenly breaks off his strumming and addresses the heckler. “No, Earebring is good Drow... Good sir, I would hold your tongue. If she’d heard you say that, Eare ‘twould likely run you through with her greatsword... No, under that provocation, I don’t think it would violate her alignment... Look, mac, who’s telling the story here, you or me?” He pointedly ignores the rest of his vocal critic’s rants and continues with his epic tale.

“We, er... Team Cleric, after comparing notes, collectively decided it was not a hoax and set off to right all wrongs. Their quests were bestowed upon them by their deities themselves. The stomped out assassin and thieves guilds, vanquished evil spirits and lichs, and held bake sales in aid of the orphanage’s new roof fund.

“That is not to say everything ran smoothly within the group. With so many faiths, so many races, friction was bound to occur. Indeed, some heroes were more interested to gaining power and prestige for their god than the party, and thus Good, as a whole. Therefore some ground rules were set: respect the beliefs of others and do not impose your views on them, and they will treat you with the same respect; humbly serve the other party members and their gods as you would your own (unless it would put you in extreme peril or violate your religion), and they will do the same; don’t leave the toilet seat up or face the wrath of the women. With these wise edicts in place, harmony reigned and for years evil everywhere fell to their unified swords. That is, until The Hand of God faced its greatest threat, again from within, a series of events known as The Schism.

“It was another routine quest to destroy a dimensional gate to Hades and prevent dark hordes beyond from devouring the world. What our heroic band did not know was that one of them, the human paladin Mill Arna, had been turned by Beelzebub. Sick of the dictums of the group and his order, he agreed to assist the evil god by destroying The Goodie Two-Shoes and activating the gate in return for personal power. For months, he had surreptitiously planting doubt whether they could truly trust a Drow and a Half-Orc to serve Good. At the proper time, he fanned the dispute into open conflict, splitting the party into factions of four on each side. Despite his goading, the former compatriots refused to come to blows, and seeing as they would not do his dirty work for them, Mill used the distraction to call upon the evil god. He slew the three unsuspecting friends of his who had been misled by his wicked tongue. But with surprise gone, facing four-to-one odds, and out of dark favors, Mill knew he was out of his league and dashed off to complete his nefarious scheme.

“The remnants of Team Cleric gave chase, dealing quickly with the sinister minions that had been laid in their path, and caught up with their former ally before he was able to open the gate. In the climactic battle, they narrowly thwarted the plot, but the now blackguard escaped. Severely demoralized by the death of their comrades and treachery of Mill, they lost faith in their judgment and in the party. After burying the dead, those remaining agreed to (at least temporarily) disband and return to their respective orders and regain focus.

“After much deliberation, the Good gods agreed that more gain than loss had come from the experiment, and the right course was to learn from the tragedy and move on. Team Cleric was reconvened. Tried in the furnace and united by their vow to seek justice for the slain, they forged a stronger alliance. New acolytes filled the holes in their ranks and were impressed with the sanctity of their mission. And to this day, The Hand of God strives toward their goal: to rid the world of all evil.”



Fragriago Fard
Neutral Good Female Halfling (Small humanoid)
Rogue 3rd / Cleric 3rd / Divine Trickster 7th
Hit Dice: 3d8+10d6 (48 hp)
Initiative: +3
Speed: 20 ft. (4 squares; {light armor}); base 20 ft. (4 squares)
Armor Class: ?? (+3 Dex, +1 Size), touch ??, flat-footed ??
Base Attack/Grapple: +9/+?
Attack:
Full Attack: +9/+4
Space/Reach: 5 ft./5 ft.
Special Qualities: Cleric domains: Luck and Trickery, Domain Flexibility: Trickery
Saves: Fort +7, Ref +13, Will +14
Abilities: Str 10, Dex 16, Con 10, Int 14, Wis 18, Cha 8
Skills:
Feats:
Equipment:


Fragriago (“Frag”) is a classic of why some doubt Team Cleric can retain cohesion. Orphaned at a young age, she was adopted by a thieves’ guild. But over the years, she grew increasingly dismayed at the acts she and her guildmates were ordered to complete. The last straw came when she was charged to kill an old shopkeeper, who had refused to pay his protection money, as a message to others in the town. She refused, and the guild, deciding she was no longer of use to their plans, silenced her. Or at least they tried to, and Frag sought sanctuary at a nearby temple. Many of the priests, doubting her because of her origins or fearing a trick, wanted to turn her away, but the kindhearted matron, believing in Fragriago’s sincerity, overruled them. The matron also took this as a blessing in disguise. Using her intimate knowledge of the guild, the temple clerics, in conjunction with the town’s law enforcement, uprooted the thieves’ guild and captured each of the rats as they fled the sinking ship. In return for this service, the matron agreed to introduce Frag to the ways of the order as long as they could use her “unique abilities,” which she readily agreed to. This arrangement continued for many months; happy months for Frag, but not for some of the temple, who still viewed the presence of an ex-thief as a stain on the order. The matron’s prayers were answered when their god instructed her send Frag to join Team Cleric. And so once again the Halfling left her home and found another.

Fragriago is a bit of a loner and is especially wary around those who she feels distrust her. Although lithe and graceful in motion, she is not the most beautiful halfling, and she knows it, preferring to remain disguised, hidden, or otherwise unremarkable. Base abilities: Str 12, Dex 13, Con 10, Int 14, Wis 16, Cha 8.

sktarq
2005-05-25, 02:02 AM
what no monks taking religious vows?

jgf
2005-05-25, 02:25 AM
what no monks taking religious vows?

I was thinking about that on the way home. The thing is the d20 Monk doesn't feel very religious to me, at least with respect Western philosophy. There is nothing divine about it, but is more in line with inward mediation/personal perfection. And that isn't even representative of Eastern philosophy, but rather the Western conceptualization of Eastern religions.

But I'll probably have a Monk in there somewhere. There are far too many Paladins in the current mix. If they weren't already immune to fear, they'd have an insurmountable modifier against fear spells a la Aura of Courage (unless they don't stack?).

sktarq
2005-05-25, 03:30 AM
I always considered the Eastern bit to be as much due to the name Ki strike and suchlike....have them meditate on the power of their god and the place their god wants them to inhabit (lawful traits) and presto. Religious

Glinelen
2005-05-25, 08:47 AM
You might have a problem with the barbarian/paladin because barbarians have to be non-lawfull and paladins must be lawfull good.

jgf
2005-05-25, 03:55 PM
You might have a problem with the barbarian/paladin because barbarians have to be non-lawfull and paladins must be lawfull good.

I've updated the character list, including the domains of the Clerics. Fewer Paladins and only one Monk since they can't gain levels if they take another class.

Monk works better with the Barbarian since both prefer less armor and can keep all class traits. However, the Lawful Good Half-Orc Monk turned Neutral Good Barbarian still won't be able to take any more Monk levels, and I don't know how to get around that. But I like the idea of a supposedly in-control Monk losing it in Rage and already have a backstory for it.

And I'm well aware I'm over the character limit.

Glinelen
2005-05-26, 03:54 AM
But I like the idea of a supposedly in-control Monk losing it in Rage and already have a backstory for it.

This are usually the best ideas. The story makes all the difference. :D

jgf
2005-05-28, 08:25 PM
Time to get this out of my text editor and onto the board. Backstory and the divine trickster are up. Glee!

Also, still playing around with the class combos, swapping out the Paladin/Sorcerer for a Cleric/Sorcerer and the Cleric/Ranger for a Monk/Ranger. Feats, skills, and equipment will come later...

jgf
2005-05-29, 06:25 PM
Nevermind. Between work and moving three days, I don't think I can make this competitive. The short of it:

Earebring Gella, Drow Paladin/Cleric. Captured as an infant and raised in a high elf religious order, thoroughly LG. Understands her unfortunate role in causing the Schism. Very inwardly focused and likes to use Strength and War cleric domain powers to buff herself during battle.

Riol Gendzek, Half-Orc Monk/Barbarian. The other party member who sparked the Schism. After that event, he had trouble maintaining control over his orc blood and went a little nuts (along with moving from LG to NG alignment). Still believes in his god, but can't take levels in monk anymore.

Lomonia Ju'eneren, Wild Elf Ranger/Monk. Favored enemy: Outsider(Evil) and Outsider(Choatic). Ranger specialized in archery, monk for melee combat. Cold iron and silver ki-focused monk weapons.

Soidoc Izriak, Gnome Cleric/Bard. High CHA, high turning (Sun cleric domain). Probable face man.