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Amiel
2009-05-30, 06:27 AM
Okay, prior to starting on Tempus or the other requested deities, I wanted to try my hand at something else; this was also an opportunity to become further familiar with Pathfinder rules, as future deities will invariably also be built using said rules.

And now for something completely different.
Hope you like this version of the ever trusty Drizzt! :)
I'm operating under the premise that total feats equals (HD/2)+1.

Drizzt Do’Urden, of House Daermon N’a’shezbaernon
Barbarian 1/Fighter 10/Ranger 6 of Mielikki
Medium Humanoid (Drow, Elf)
Hit Dice: 1d12 + 10d10 + 6d10 + 34 (137 hp)
Initiative: +10 (+6 Dex, +4 Improved Initiative)
Speed: 80 ft. (16 squares)
Armor Class: 27 (+10 armor, +6 Dexterity, +1 dodge), touch 17, flat-footed 21
Base Attack/CMD: +17/+18; Combat Maneuver Bonus: 24
Attack: Icingdeath +24 melee (1d6+6 + 1d6 cold/15–20/x2 + 1d6 cold) and Twinkle +26 melee (1d6+8/15–20/x2)
Full Attack: Icingdeath +24/+19/+14/+9 melee (1d6+6 + 1d6 cold/15–20/x2 + 1d6 cold) and Twinkle +26/+21/+16 melee (1d6+8/15–20/x2)
Space/Reach: 5 ft./ 5 ft.
Special Attacks: Spell-like abilities, spell resistance 28, spells
Special Qualities: Ambidexterity, animal companion (Guenhwyvar), armor training, bravery, drow traits, fast movement, favored enemy (goblinoids +4, magical beasts +2), favored terrain (cold), hunter’s bond (Guenhwyvar), rage, track, weapon training, wild empathy
Saves: Fort +16, Ref +15, Will +8 (+11 against fear)
Abilities: Str 13, Dex 22, Con 15, Int 17, Wis 17, Cha 14
Skills: Acrobatics +20, Climb +10, Escape Artist +8 (+10 with ropes), Handle Animal +9, Intimidate +5, Knowledge (dungeoneering) +8, Knowledge (geography) +3, Knowledge (nature) +12, Perception +21, Ride +10, Sleight of Hand +12, Stealth +21, Survival +18, Use Rope +12
Feats: Agile Maneuvers, Blind Fight, Combat Expertise, Combat Reflexes, Daylight Adaptation, Deft Hands, Dodge, Double Slice B, Endurance B, Greater Two-Weapon Fighting, Improved Initiative B, Improved Two-Weapon Fighting, Mobility, Quick Draw, Spring Attack, Two-Weapon Defense, Two-Weapon Fighting, Two-Weapon Rend, Weapon Focus (scimitar), Weapon Swap B
Environment: Mithral Hall or Icewind Dale, the Sword Coast North
Organization: Unique (solitary) or pair (Drizzt and Guenhwyvar) or party (Companions of the Hall)
Challenge Rating: 19
Treasure: Standard plus Icingdeath, Twinkle, bracers of blinding strike, onyx figurine of wondrous power, +4 mithral chain shirt
Alignment: Chaotic Good
Advancement: ––
Level Adjustment: +2

Combat

Armor Training (Ex): Drizzt gains added protection from the armor he is wearing. While wearing his mithral chain shirt, he benefits from a further +2 armor bonus to armor class and a -2 reduced armor check penalty.

Drow Traits: Drizzt receives a +2 bonus on sight- and sound-based Perception checks. Drizzt is immune to magic sleep effects and gets a +2 racial saving throw against spells and spell-like abilities. He has darkvision out to 120 ft.

Favored Terrain (Ex): Whenever Drizzt is within tundra or otherwise glacial environments, he receives a +2 bonus on Knowledge (geography), Perception, Stealth and Survival skill checks. Likewise, he gains a +1 bonus on initiative checks when in this terrain. These benefits have not been factored into the statistics block above.

Rage (Ex): With shimmering fires in his lavender eyes, Drizzt may draw upon his primal ferocity and call upon his alter persona of the Hunter. During his rage, Drizzt gains a +4 bonus to his Strength and Constitution, a +2 morale bonus on Will saves, and a -2 penalty to Armor Class. While raged, Drizzt cannot use any Charisma-, Dexterity-, or Intelligence-based skills or any ability that requires patience or concentration.
During his rage, Drizzt has the following statistics instead of those given above; hp 171; AC 25, touch 15, flat-footed 19; Full Attack Icingdeath +26/+21/+16/+11 melee (1d6+8 + 1d6 cold/15–20/x2) and Twinkle +28/+23/+18 melee (1d6+10/15–20/x2); SV Fort +18, Will +10; Str 17, Con 19; Skills: Climb +12.

Ranger Spells per Day: 1st – calm animal. Drizzt casts spells as a 3rd level caster. Save DC = 13 + spell level.

Spell-Like Abilities: 1/day – dancing lights, darkness, faerie fire. Caster level 16th. Save DC = 12 + spell level.

Weapon Training (Ex): Drizzt’s tutelage and training under Zaknafein and his tenure within Melee-Magthere means his proficiency with weapons greatly exceeds the norm. He receives a +2 bonus on attack and damage rolls while wielding heavy blades and benefits from a +1 bonus to attack and damage rolls while wielding light blades.

Bracers of Blinding Strike: Taken from the deceased House Baenre Weaponmaster, Dantrag, this powerful magic item confers different abilities depending on the body slot it occupies.
When worn as bracers, these bracers of armor +5 give the wearer free access to the Improved Initiative feat. In addition, the wearer may, as part of a full attack option, make additional attacks at the wielder’s full base attack bonus. This benefit does not stack with cumulative effects, for example, wearers with the bracers will not additionally benefit from weapons of speed or a haste spell.
When occupying the boot slot, these anklets effectively double the speed of the wearer. It likewise grants Improved Initiative as a virtual feat but disallows additional attacks. In addition, wearers gain a +1 dodge bonus to Armor Class and Reflex saves.

Icingdeath: Cold forged to a diamond edge from hard-packed ice taken from a glacier, this beautiful weapon has a silvery blade and gem-encrusted pommel. Its hilt is crafted from adamantine and is sculpted into the likeness of the toothed maw of a great hunting cat. Icingdeath is a +3 evil outsider bane keen frost band scimitar that constantly protects Drizzt from fire, extinguishing fires in its radius and hungering for more flames to absorb.

Twinkle: Presented to Drizzt from Malchor of the Harpells as a replacement for a lost scimitar, this priceless gift was forged by elves in the magic of the powers of starlight, moonlight, the mysteries of elven souls, rainbows and imbued with everything they hold dear. This +5 defending keen scimitar has a single star-cut stapphire set in its pommel and glows a softly blue when it detects danger nearby. Calling Twinkle by its name elicits a radiant sapphire shine from within, this glow trails light when Drizzt wields it in combat.

Morty
2009-05-30, 08:48 AM
Looks like a good transition to Pathfinder. I'd have to look up the Pathfinder rules more closely, but for now I have one objection: you gave Drizzt +2 level adjustment drow get in D&D 3.5, but with core races being stronger in Pathfinder, I think drow deserve this LA even less than before. Just throwing it out there.

Lappy9000
2009-05-30, 09:03 AM
H8 :smallmad:



Don't get me wrong; the stats look fine and I think you've done a good job. I'm just....not the biggest of Drizzt fans.

Spiryt
2009-05-30, 09:18 AM
H8 :smallmad:



Don't get me wrong; the stats look fine and I think you've done a good job. I'm just....not the biggest of Drizzt fans.

"H eight"?

You are saying you're short Drizzt fan?


;)

Ouranos
2009-05-30, 10:55 AM
iIf i'm not mistaken, rangers in 3.5 have d8 hit die, not d10.

Spiryt
2009-05-30, 11:00 AM
iIf i'm not mistaken, rangers in 3.5 have d8 hit die, not d10.

It's Pathfinder, where they have d10.

Amiel
2009-06-03, 07:59 AM
Looks like a good transition to Pathfinder. I'd have to look up the Pathfinder rules more closely, but for now I have one objection: you gave Drizzt +2 level adjustment drow get in D&D 3.5, but with core races being stronger in Pathfinder, I think drow deserve this LA even less than before. Just throwing it out there.

Thanks!
Heh, it's a relic from WotC's previous edition. The new Pathfinder LA for drow is hard to quantify as Paizo has yet to release any solid numbers; I've basically extrapolated from what the new elves get and strapped on the abilities of the drow (Drizzt has lost the penalties of light blindness; incidently, we may not even see drow in Pathfinder as they seem to be the intellectual property of Wizards....then again, maybe we can). The truth is out there.



H8 :smallmad:


Don't get me wrong; the stats look fine and I think you've done a good job. I'm just....not the biggest of Drizzt fans.

Haha and thanks!
Well, Drizzt is actually quite well written, the character is original and the backstory is intriguing. And the combat scenes are well choreographed and described. The bad taste and feeling is probably due to the veritable plethora of Drizzt clones running around, ruining the originality and depth of the character.

How about renaming this to...Drizzt and Friends. I've also wanted to build Artemis Entreri and Jarlaxle for one. And people seem to like Bruenor.


Hmm, incidently, Drizzt seems to lack Perform (angst), Perform (melodrama), Perform (soliloquy) and Profession (diary writer).


iIf i'm not mistaken, rangers in 3.5 have d8 hit die, not d10.


It's Pathfinder, where they have d10.

This is correct. On the whole, the classes in Pathfinder got boosts, either in terms of class abilities or increases to base HD, and skills.

Zeta Kai
2009-06-03, 10:28 AM
How about renaming this to...Drizzt and Friends. I've also wanted to build Artemis Entreri and Jarlaxle for one. And people seem to like Bruenor.

Hmm, incidently, Drizzt seems to lack Perform (angst), Perform (melodrama), Perform (soliloquy) and Profession (diary writer).

You should build Cattie-Brie; then they could make Perform (protracted courtship) checks. :smallwink:

Ouranos
2009-06-03, 12:31 PM
Agreed, if my math is right she and Drizzt were only close (after she hit adulthood) for like 15 years before they finally got togethor? She's only known him for like 30 years if, again, my math is right.

Hawriel
2009-06-03, 01:43 PM
Icing death is just a frost brand. Never in the books was it harmed evil or outsiders more than other creachers.

Cattie Brie and Drizzt's romance took place after Wolfgare left and ended up in Luskan. She was probobly 28 years old.

Morty
2009-06-03, 01:53 PM
How about renaming this to...Drizzt and Friends. I've also wanted to build Artemis Entreri and Jarlaxle for one. And people seem to like Bruenor.


If you don't mind, could I try and stat out Obould Many-Arrows? As for the LA - well, we'll have to wait until Pazio announces their decision, but I'd advise to drop at least one point of LA and give him a level of Fighter in its place.
I've read only one book with Drizzt in it, myself, The Silent Blade. It wasn't good, but it wasn't very bad either, although it would improve a lot if someone ripped off all pages with Drizzt's journal. Ugh. I also suspect many of the bad dialogues were the translator's fault.

Amiel
2009-06-04, 04:53 AM
You should build Cattie-Brie; then they could make Perform (protracted courtship) checks. :smallwink:

With a name like that and similar to a cheese no less, what can go wrong?
Although that'd mean that they'd both have to have the skill in question. They're probably also have need of the following: Perform (awkward juxtaposition), Perform (awkward silence), Perform (failed romance intuition) ultimately ending with Perform (acknowledged juxtaposition).


Icing death is just a frost brand. Never in the books was it harmed evil or outsiders more than other creachers.

Well, it was an attempt to realistically portray Icingdeath's devastating efficiency in meting out punishment to Errtu and the marilith that Drizzt fought. It was also an attempt to shore up the CR deficiency and the disparity between their CRs. I believe that RA Salvatore alluded to Icingdeath being a bane both to fire creatures and evil creatures; merely having the frostband property wouldn't have hurt Errtu or the demons to the extent that it did.

You'll note that the defending property of Twinkle's was never described in the novels, yet he has the enchantment both in 2e and 3e.


If you don't mind, could I try and stat out Obould Many-Arrows? As for the LA - well, we'll have to wait until Pazio announces their decision, but I'd advise to drop at least one point of LA and give him a level of Fighter in its place.
I've read only one book with Drizzt in it, myself, The Silent Blade. It wasn't good, but it wasn't very bad either, although it would improve a lot if someone ripped off all pages with Drizzt's journal. Ugh. I also suspect many of the bad dialogues were the translator's fault.

No, I don't mind, go right ahead.
Well, Drizzt is already benefiting from the enhanced Pathfinder elf along with the drow subtype atop of everything; his total class levels have also been increased to 17, rather than remaining at the 16 total as before.

The Silent Blade is okay, although Salvatore's latter works aren't as good as his older ones, although this does depend on the novel; the parts with Artemis in that book were the most interesting.
When I read Drizzt's novels, I tend to skip the journals...although a bad translator can ruin even a perfectly formed, grammatically appropriate sentence.

Also, avoid The Spine of the World like the plague.

timothyx
2009-06-04, 01:10 PM
The Drow are in Paizo, there's in fact an entire set of Adventures set around them Called Second Darkness...

a Listed Npc Drow Fighter 5 has a CR of 6, so I would imagine they only have a level adjustment of +1, and they do still have the light blindness and the basic spell like abilities of 1/day—dancing lights, darkness, faerie fire...

Paizo does a lot of things, but they really haven't changed the Drow at all from what I've seen, except perhaps the ECL...

Draz74
2009-06-04, 04:57 PM
I've read only one book with Drizzt in it, myself, The Silent Blade. It wasn't good, but it wasn't very bad either, although it would improve a lot if someone ripped off all pages with Drizzt's journal. Ugh. I also suspect many of the bad dialogues were the translator's fault.

The Silent Blade was ok ... not the best or the worst of the series. A pretty good representative example. That's in English, though. A bad translation can ruin any book.

I actually find Drizzt's Journals to be some of the most interesting parts of most of the books, especially the newer books where the plots have gotten less interesting and the Journal has most of the actual emotional substance of the book.

Someone else said the earlier Drizzt books are better. That's ... not entirely true. Salvatore's writing style has gotten much, much better over time. His plots, however, have gotten less dynamic (more drawn-out) and more repetitive, which is natural when you're forced to keep writing about a popular set of characters when those characters truly have run their course and done everything they were supposed to do.

The first Drizzt books, The Icewind Dale Trilogy, are classics. But even as I say that, I have to note that their plots are kinda cliche and their writing style is downright painful.

The Dark Elf Trilogy has the best plots of the series, and the writing style is much better than the Icewind Dale trilogy in spite of the books being pretty early. If anyone who doesn't like Drizzt wants to try out his best and see whether they can actually understand why he became popular, these are the books to read.

Yora
2009-06-04, 05:23 PM
True. Icewind Dale and Dark Elf are really nice FR stuff. I think everything after that is just a slow but steady decline.
Thousand Orcs was practically one single battle that stretched for 800 pages with nothing really happening during that time except some creative ways to hack orcs to pieces.

I think I read the german translations of the first two, and they were VERY bad. :smallbiggrin:

Ouranos
2009-06-04, 06:00 PM
Gotta admit though, they got REAL creative on some of those orc hackings :) Nothing like the good ol juicer :D

Amiel
2009-06-05, 08:00 AM
The Drow are in Paizo, there's in fact an entire set of Adventures set around them Called Second Darkness...

Let me rephrase what I wrote previously with...since I don't actually have the new Pathfinder drow mechanics in front of me, I'm not qualified to say what the drow may be benefiting from or lacking in; in any event the intention for the LA to remain at +2 for the time being was to serve as a placeholder, and will be changed once the stats for the Pathfinder drow is known.

It may not be a stretch to see drow benefiting from bonus ability scores, in addition to what the core elves would get, that stack rather than overlap like in 3e.


a Listed Npc Drow Fighter 5 has a CR of 6, so I would imagine they only have a level adjustment of +1, and they do still have the light blindness and the basic spell like abilities of 1/day—dancing lights, darkness, faerie fire...

Paizo does a lot of things, but they really haven't changed the Drow at all from what I've seen, except perhaps the ECL...

Mayhap you are confusing the calculation(s) involved in working out an appropriate CR variable with the calculation for LA? They are two different numericals and don't always match or even scale similarly.
Having read that, it seems drow prescribe to the same mechanics they had under WotC. The 3.5e drow had a level adjustment of +2 but increased their CRs by 1.



Someone else said the earlier Drizzt books are better. That's ... not entirely true. Salvatore's writing style has gotten much, much better over time. His plots, however, have gotten less dynamic (more drawn-out) and more repetitive, which is natural when you're forced to keep writing about a popular set of characters when those characters truly have run their course and done everything they were supposed to do.

Well, when I said that Salvatore's earlier works were better, I was speaking in a broad sense, and encompassing novels from a series of years rather than naming specific books.

Generally, writing styles do evolve as the novelist becomes settled and comfortable with his characters and/or game world; however, more often than not this tends to beat to a subtle drum. As the writer evolves with the character, or characters as the case may be, plot hooks and stories should also evolve subtly and mature emotionally.

If the point that stories involving Drizzt are becoming stale is true, than it probably should've been a good idea for Salvatore to periodically change who he is writing for; most novels involving Artemis and/or Jarlaxle are fresh and their character personalities have changed, matured and 'blossomed' over various books.
More realistically I think the situation would have been out of his hands, with WotC urging Salvatore to complete more novels involving Drizzt.


True. Icewind Dale and Dark Elf are really nice FR stuff. I think everything after that is just a slow but steady decline.
Thousand Orcs was practically one single battle that stretched for 800 pages with nothing really happening during that time except some creative ways to hack orcs to pieces.

Yes, I bought this series and must admit I was slightly disappointed with the whole affair. It was great in a few places but all in all couldn't really compare to what Salvatore had written in the past...and some of the events taking place within the novels didn't exactly conform to logic...Alustriel refusing to help...?

Also, Salvatore should really think about stopping with the ridiculous naming tradition he subscribes to in this novels; the names of the dwarves in particular.

Morty
2009-06-07, 10:30 AM
Here comes Obould, as I announced.

King Obould Many-Arrows
Barbarian 8/Fighter 7
Medium Humanoid(Orc)
Hit Dice: 5d12 + 4d10 + 27 HP (98 HP)
Initiative: +5 (+1 Dex, +4 Improved Initiative)
Speed: 40 feet (8 squares)
Armor Class: 25 (+8 Breastplate of Spell Resistance +2, +1 Dex), +3 Amulet of Natural Armor +3, +2 Ring of Protection +2 Touch 13, Flat-Footed 23
Base Attack/CMB: +15/+10/+5 Combat Manuever Bonus: +21
Attack: Flaming Greatsword +1 + 23 melee (2d6 + 11 + 1d6 Fire/17-20/x 2)
Full Attack: Flaming Greatsword +1 +23/+18/+13 (2d6 + 11 +1d6 Fire/17-20/x2)
Space/Reach: 5 ft./5 ft.
Special Attacks: None
Special Qualities: Darkvision 60 ft, Rage, Improved Uncanny Dodge, Trap Sense
Saving Throws: Fort +14, Ref +5, Will +6 (+ 8 against fear)
Abilities: Str 23, Dex 12, Con 16, Int 13, Wis 14, Cha 10
Skills: Acrobatics +12, Climb +14, Intimidate +18, Perception +18, Survival +9, Swim +17
Feats: Backswing, Cleave, Daylight Adaptation, Devastating Blow, Improved Critical(Greatsword) Improved Initiative, Overhand Chop, Power Attack, Weapon Focus(Greatsword), Weapon Specialization(Greatsword)
Environment: North
Organization: Commander of an army of 2000 orcs
Alignment: Chaotic Evil
Advancement: --
Level Adjustment: None
Equipment: Flaming Greatsword +2, Breastplate of Spell Resistance +2, Amulet of Natural Armor +3 Belt of Giant Strenght Boots of the Winterlands, Crown of Fireballs(like Necklace of Fireballs with 4 3d6 fireballs) Ring of Protection +2

Combat:

Armor Training: Obould knows how to put his armor to a good use. His breastplate gives him an additional 2 point of Armor Class while reducing the Armor Check Penalty by 2.
Bravery: King Obould isn't the one to be frightened even by magic and dragons. He gets a +2 bonus to Will saves made against fear effects.
Damage Reduction: As a seasoned orcish warrior, King Obould is almost unnaturally hardy and resilient. He gains Damage Reduction 1/-
Improved Uncanny Dodge: Obould cannot be flanked. A rogue attacking him also cannot use his Sneak Attack special ability unless he is at least a 9th level Rogue.
Moment of Clarity: Obould can control his battle rage. By spending 4 rage points, he can remove all penalties his rage iposes on him for one round.
Powerful Blow: When in rage, King Obould can harness his fury to make a devastating swing with his greatsword. By spending 4 of his rage points, he can deal additional 9 points of damage with a single attack.
Rage: When in combat King Obould can enter a state of powerful, destructive berserk that greatly improves his combat prowess. During the rage, Obould gains a +4 bonus to his Strength and Constitution, as well as a +2 to his Will saving throw, but imposes him with a -2 penalty to his Armor Class. While in rage, Obould cannot use any Int- Dex- or Cha- based skills(except Acrobatics, Fly, Intimidate and Ride) or any ability that requires patience or concentration. He has 42 rage points. While in rage, Obould has the following statistics instead of those given above: HP 116, AC 23 (Touch 11, Flat-footed 23), Full Attack: Flaming Greatsword +1 +25/+20/+15 (2d6 + 14 +1d6 Fire/17-20/x2), ST: Fort +16, Ref +5, Will +8 (+ 10 against fear), Str 27 Con 20
Renewed Vigor: King Obould's rage makes him exceptionally hard to kill. By spending 6 rage points, he can heal 1d8 + 3 hit points as a standard action.
Trap Sense: Obould gets a +2 bonus on Reflex saves made against traps and +2 dodge bonus to AC against attacks made by traps.
Unexpected Strike: King Obould becomes truly terrifying when he flies into rage, dealing powerful blows with his sword left and right. During rage, he can spent 8 rage points to make an additional attack in his full attack routine at the highest bonus. This attack does not stack with Haste or similiar effects.
Weapon Training: Obould has slain many enemies with his greatsword and is now an unquestionable master the blade. He gains a +1 bonus to attack rolls and damage rolls when using a weapon from Heavy Blades category.

King Obould Many-Arrows in all his glory. I haven't added the skills yet, but they'll be up shortly - as soon as I figure out if the x4 multiplier on 1st level is also present in Pathfinder. I gave him +2 Con and removed the Wis penalty to adjust his race to Pathfinder standards.

Amiel
2009-06-09, 07:02 AM
Looks like a good Pathfinder build.
I assume this is Obould prior to attaining those stat improvements bestowed upon him by that shaman of Gruumsh?
As is, he'd have somewhat of a difficult match-up in the person of Drizzt; especially due to the level difference, Drizzt's re-imagining (to fall in line with what has transpired in his novels), and Drizzt's sheer maneuverability.
Also, would you agree that Obould would have gained a few levels in the intervening years after his occupation of that dwarven stronghold ended?

Morty
2009-06-09, 08:14 AM
Well, I worked with his stats from the 3.0 Forgotten Realms rulebooks. I could give him few more levels though, it seems fitting for a king.

Amiel
2009-06-09, 08:21 AM
I'm thinking he should be at least within five character levels of Drizzt; the balance can shored up with Gruumsh's blessings.

Morty
2009-06-09, 08:27 AM
Well, I know he fought Drizzt, but I don't know on which point of the timeline that was; I though it might have been back when Drizzt wasn't quite so experienced. But yes, I think I'll give him few more levels. Maybe 3 levels of Barbarian and 3 levels of Fighter.

Amiel
2009-06-09, 10:53 PM
The official Forgotten Realms novel(s) time line (http://www.wizards.com/forgottenrealms/FR_Timeline.asp) seems to stop at novels published in 2000. Having said that, it can be inferred by using the FRCS in addendum to the Hunter's Blade trilogy that Obould fought Drizzt around 1372 (the current campaign year) or at least within 1369 or thereabouts.


Cool.

Morty
2009-06-10, 09:32 AM
I've decided to give Obould 3 more Barbarian levels and 3 more Fighter levels which I'll do when I feel more imaginative and inspired. This way, he'll be more of a match for Drizzt. And 15th level is fitting for a great orc king anyway.

Amiel
2009-06-10, 11:20 PM
Good stuff, looking forward to it!

I may just have to get around to building Artemis and Jarlaxle...and Kimmuriel and possibly Berg'inyon.

Morty
2009-06-11, 11:10 AM
Aaaand it's done. Obould is now 15th level. I've also added the skills, although they might be a little offf - counting skills for a high level character from scratch is a pain. His AC is a bit weak and he has no means of flying but then, he's got dozens of shamans in his army.

Amiel
2009-06-12, 05:46 AM
Now he looks like the deadly threat to Drizzt and Gerti (an ice giantess jarl) that he was as presented in the books. Good work.

For the purposes of his blessings, I think they can be represented as a once-off permanent casting of bull's strength, eagle's splendor, fox's cunning et al; essentially, all the 'buff' spells.

hamishspence
2009-06-12, 01:43 PM
I did some cross-referencing and its actually earlier. Wulfgar's return to Icewind Dale is dated 1372 in The Orc King and Grand History of the Realms. Which would suggest that the fight in The Two Swords must have taken place in 1371.

Amiel
2009-06-22, 09:02 AM
Thanks for the clarification, mate! :)

I knew I overlooked something...
Incidently, the Grand History of the Realms pdf is not on this machine...yeah, I blame that :smallbiggrin:


Either way, the battle seems to have place relatively recently - in terms of the continuous novel timeline as opposed to the fast-forward-one-hundred-years-spellplagued-broken-Forgotten-Realms.



In other news...here's a Pathfinder(ised) drow!
This version gives nods to both their 2nd edition incarnation and what they looked like in 3e.

Drow Racial Traits
+2 Dexterity, +2 Intelligence, –2 Constitution, +2 Charisma: Drow have, for centuries, ruthlessly bred for agility of body, adroitness of mind and magnetic presence. However, this determined selection has resulted in fragility of form.
Medium: Drow are Medium creatures, and have no bonuses or penalties due to their size.
Normal Speed: Drow have a base speed of 30 feet.
Darkvision: Drow can see with no light source at all and in areas of pitch black darkness out to a distance of 120 feet. This vision is black and white only and cannot penetrate globes of deeper darkness or magical darkness.
Infravision: Alternatively, drow may switch to infravision, vision that allows the drow to see temperature gradients and degrees via temperature eddies. Through this sight, drow are able differentiate between surrounding geological formations and targeted victi...er, creatures. This vision works exactly the way an infrared camera does.
Keen Senses: Drow receive a +2 bonus on sight- and sound-based Perception checks. They can make a Perception check to spot a secret or concealed door if they pass within 10 feet, regardless of whether or not they are actively looking.
Elven Immunities: Drow are immune to magic sleep effects and get a +2 racial saving throw bonus against spells and spell-like abilities.
Light Blindness: Abrupt exposure to bright light (such as sunlight or a daylight spell) blinds drow for 1 round. On subsequent rounds, they are dazzled as long as they remain in the affected area.
Dark Magic: Elves receive a +2 racial bonus on caster level checks made to overcome spell resistance. In addition, drow receive a +2 racial bonus on Appraise skill checks made to identify the properties of magic items.
Spell Resistance: Drow gain spell resistance equal to 11 + class levels.
Spell-Like Abilities: Drow, even commoners, with a Charisma of 11 or higher can use the following spell-like abilities once per day: dancing lights, darkness, faerie fire. High-born drow, those from aristocratic or royal lineage, can use the above spell-like abilities thrice per day along with levitation 3/day. The caster level equals the drow's level; caster level with feats to boost spell-casting ability can never exceed the drow's total class level. The spell DC is equal to 10 + the spell's level + the drow's Charisma modifier.
Weapon Familiarity: Drow are proficient with daggers, scourges, longswords, rapiers, hand crossbows, short swords, and treat any wapon with the word "drow" in its name as a martial weapon.
Languages: Drow begin play speaking Undercommon and Drow. Drow with high Intelligence scores can choose any of the following: Abyssal, Common, Draconic, Drow Sign Language, Elven, Gnoll, Gnome, Goblin.
Favored Class: The favored class of drow is wizard (male) or cleric (female). This choice must be made at 1st level and cannot be changed.
Level Adjustment: +2. Drow are more powerful than normal races and thus advance more slowly as they progress in levels.

Cieyrin
2009-06-22, 11:39 AM
I think Drow got a bit too much going for 'em to balance w/ the other Pathfinder races, which approach LA +1 when compared to 3.5. I propose the following changes:

Ability score bonuses of Dex +2, Cha +2, -2 Con, to differentiate them from Elves, who get +2 Int instead of Cha. Sure, Drow are smart but they're far more willful in their social maneuvering within their society, which gives them a better fit, I think.

Drop Infravision. It's a relic of a past age that confuses people nowadays more then it helps. If drow have infravision, all mentions of darkvision should also be darkvision in favor of realism instead of magic that comes with darkvision.

Spell Resistance and Highborn Drow spell-likes should probably racial feats. They get save bonuses as is and the above abilities are definitely too strong for an LA +0 Pathfinder race. Highborn Drow (http://realmshelps.dandello.net/cgi-bin/feats.pl?Highborn_Drow,Rac) was a feat previously in 3.5, so why not continue that trend, right? For SR, I'd make it a 2-3 feat chain based on Charisma and possibly Base Will Save bonuses, which would bring them up to their full SR.

Finally, Drow isn't a language unto itself; it's a dialect of Elven, like any other. Other elves can still understand drow and be understood by other elves. Their languages may have branched thousands of years ago with the betrayal of Lolth and the drow from the other elven subraces but it's not alien enough from standard Elven to warrant it being its own language.

Them's my 2 coppers. Take as you will.

Amiel
2009-06-23, 09:28 PM
I think Drow got a bit too much going for 'em to balance w/ the other Pathfinder races, which approach LA +1 when compared to 3.5. I propose the following changes:

Thanks for the reply and suggestions, mate!

When I got down to building the Pathfinder(ised) drow, the underlying aim was to retain their +2 LA from the previous edition (re-calibrated so that it fits within the revised universe), and incidently ability score increases, and re-introduce their 2e abilities.

I haven't seen Paizo's take on the svirfneblin or duergar or the drow, but these were meant to be that much more powerful (in some instances relatively speaking) than the 'regular' races, the deep gnomes especially...or so their LA +3 claims.

Where tieflings and aasimar are concerned, revising the core races so that they approach an LA of +1 and thus sit within the power of the fiendish and celestial scions actually makes rather more sense. They are descendants of powerful beings, true, but their bloodlines have become diluted to such an extent that their appearance and powers are more cosmetic than mechanical.

With the extra abilities and bonus to ability scores, I wanted to recapture the fear (without benefit of a fear aura) and fearsome (pun? you decide) reputation that the drow enjoyed and continue to enjoy.


Drop Infravision. It's a relic of a past age that confuses people nowadays more then it helps. If drow have infravision, all mentions of darkvision should also be darkvision in favor of realism instead of magic that comes with darkvision.

I actually like having an alternate mechanic in place that fits their previous incarnation, and is nostalgic and does not invalidate novels regarding the drow. I remember that when they decided to abolish infra- in favor of darkvision there was a huge uproar and backlash among the gaming populace. I wanted to provide people with choice; the drow may either or. Really there is little difference between the infrared of night vision (darkvision) and the thermal imaging of infravision.

And realism in D&D?


Spell Resistance and Highborn Drow spell-likes should probably racial feats. They get save bonuses as is and the above abilities are definitely too strong for an LA +0 Pathfinder race. Highborn Drow (http://realmshelps.dandello.net/cgi-bin/feats.pl?Highborn_Drow,Rac) was a feat previously in 3.5, so why not continue that trend, right? For SR, I'd make it a 2-3 feat chain based on Charisma and possibly Base Will Save bonuses, which would bring them up to their full SR.

Yes, I'm aware of encapsulating additional spell-likes in the form of feats, I wanted to pursue a different direction and have them retain what they had previously. Regarding the adage 'why change what is not broken,' the same can be argued of why not continue the trend of giving some drow, senior nobles in particular, at will levitation, darkness, faerie, which they did have in 2e.

Commoners should cast spell-likes once per day, while nobles would have access to more uses per day. This actually may not interfere with their LA too much.

Oh, I wasn't trying to build an LA +0 Pathfinder drow, sorry for the confusion. I suppose if I was, then they'd be known as lesser drow and mechanically inferior to what is mentioned here. I'm not sure about the likelihood of lesser drow surviving past their birth hours, as the drow ruthlessly murder all who bring shame upon their race by being overly weak, deformed or with any other failing.


Finally, Drow isn't a language unto itself; it's a dialect of Elven, like any other. Other elves can still understand drow and be understood by other elves. Their languages may have branched thousands of years ago with the betrayal of Lolth and the drow from the other elven subraces but it's not alien enough from standard Elven to warrant it being its own language.

I agree that it is a dialect of elven, having come from the same race and same linguistic roots. I would argue however that the dialect has diverged so much from its original linguistic origins and has developed in such isolation that a drow and elf conversing would never understand what the other is saying, apart from some a smattering of retained words. I would further argue drow actually has more in common with undercommon than elven.


Them's my 2 coppers. Take as you will.

Thanks for your input!