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TaintedLight
2009-04-26, 03:57 PM
I have proposed an idea to my DM for our next campaign for a twist on the regular characters I tend to play, but he is hesitant to give me the go-ahead on this. The idea is that my character, a Warforged wizard (class not yet certain) found a gauntlet during a dungeon expedition once that radiated a faint magical aura. Divinations proved worthless to identify it, but after some time it began calling to him. Eventually, the gauntlet wore down his will to the point where he put it on, and after losing a battle of wills with the spirit inhabiting the gauntlet it possessed his body.

The spirit is Saryd Hal'yak, an evil sorcerer who died centuries ago. His people were locked in a vicious war with another civilization and they were on the brink of defeat. Saryd was actually a noble soul and an honored soldier at the time, but he saw only one way to save his people. Using dark magics and unspeakable rituals, he siphoned his own soul into a suit of magical armor that he intended for his brother to wear into battle. The armor was fearsome indeed, and it certainly had the potential to turn the tide of the war if employed properly. However, his brother was horrified by the result of his brother's labors, as the techniques used in its forging had tainted the armor with a powerful evil. He smashed all but one piece of Saryd's creation, the right gauntlet, and hid it beneath the ruins of their ancestral home.

Saryd's people eventually succumbed to the might of their enemies and faded into history. Saryd watched this tragedy unfold, and the pain of watching his once-proud civilization crumble combined with his tainted gauntlet's power began to warp and twist his soul. He became angry and bitter over time as the power of the armor began to fade. This was the price he had paid for his creation: it would be a terrible force of destruction at the cost of his soul, but the magic would ebb from it with time. His world shrank as his senses started to dull, and eventually he was left to contemplate eternity in the lonely darkness of his tomb.

None of the story thus far has game mechanics attached to it, and I don't think it really needs them. After the Warforged finds the gauntlet, I thought maybe the gauntlet would have one charge and could cast heightened Monstrous Thrall on anyone who attempts to put it on for that charge, but it would have no other abilities other than being purely decorative. Whether or not Saryd's possession ends if the arm is removed or some such I'm not yet sure.

How do you guys think I can tweak this to pitch the idea a bit better?

Assassin89
2009-04-26, 04:14 PM
Is the gauntlet an intelligent item? Otherwise I have no other ideas how to pitch the item except by making a cursed item that requires its holder to fulfill a certain task. The gauntlet acts as an ordinary gauntlet at other times.

TaintedLight
2009-04-26, 04:21 PM
I suppose the gauntlet would be intelligent insofar as it hosts a consciousness, but I wasn't planning on giving it spells or spell like abilities.

Olo Demonsbane
2009-04-26, 04:24 PM
You could have a geshalt game, being a wizard//sorcerer...

Gorbash
2009-04-26, 04:25 PM
You can ask your DM to make a Weapon of Legacy out of it.

Hat-Trick
2009-04-26, 04:47 PM
You can do two things, which one you choose is up to you.

If the brother's dominant hand was his right, maybe the glove gives some sort of bonus when used to wield a weapon or some other offensive bonus? Something like giving extra damage on melee attacks.

If the Brother's dominant hand was his left, then something defensive. Maybe a bonus to AC, Saves, Miss Chance, or something.

Someone mentioned making it a legacy weapon, that could work with this idea. The actual abilities are up to you, but that's my two bits.

TaintedLight
2009-04-26, 05:00 PM
I think the main problem my DM has with this idea is that Saryd would possess knowledge of events that the other characters in the party would be oblivious to since they happened centuries ago. I suppose spending all that time locked up may have fogged his memory, but that doesn't seem to be good enough. What can I do to make this work better from a purely roleplaying angle?

Hat-Trick
2009-04-26, 05:44 PM
The important question, then, is 'Can he communicate with the host?'

If no, then said knowledge is no problem.

If yes, maybe he doesn't want to disclose it or finds no need to.

If no, but you want him to later, then the item familiar feat allows you to invest XP for things like sentience and powers in items. Basically, your character makes a mental connection that will benefit them both, you gaining the knowledge and power of the gauntlet, the gauntlet gaining influence and power. Or something like that...