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View Full Version : [4E] Help me build/story a Deva Wizard/Invoker? Please?



Mnymosene
2009-06-19, 07:09 PM
So the idea of mystic theurges sounded really cool. But the campaign we're planning is 4E, so they're a no go for exactly. I wanted to try multiclassing, using the new hybrid rules that came out on DDI, but the DM is only allowing single role multiclassing, as he's unsure about how things play and wants to test it out a bit first. So I'm going for Wizard/Invoker. Also, honestly I'm not the best player. I'm not great at tactics and while I can roleplay ok, I'm bad at having a background and something the character is working towards. I'd love some help, both with the flavor bits and the actual mechanics.

The campaign won't be for a while, so I don't know much about the world yet, but geographically I think we're just stealing Western Europe-ish, for climates and such.We're starting at level one.

What I have so far:
Deva
STR 8
CON 12
DEX 10
INT 18
WIS 18
CHA 10

Feat: Hybrid Talent Option: Arcane Implement Mastery (Orb)
At Will: Thunder Wave, Grasping Shards
Encounter: Icy Terrain
Daily: Sleep OR Binding Invocation of Chains

It's easier for me to get help IRL on mechanics than on character. Thanks much!

HamsterOfTheGod
2009-06-19, 08:21 PM
So the idea of mystic theurges sounded really cool. But the campaign we're planning is 4E, so they're a no go for exactly. I wanted to try multiclassing, using the new hybrid rules that came out on DDI, but the DM is only allowing single role multiclassing, as he's unsure about how things play and wants to test it out a bit first. So I'm going for Wizard/Invoker. Also, honestly I'm not the best player. I'm not great at tactics and while I can roleplay ok, I'm bad at having a background and something the character is working towards. I'd love some help, both with the flavor bits and the actual mechanics.

The campaign won't be for a while, so I don't know much about the world yet, but geographically I think we're just stealing Western Europe-ish, for climates and such.We're starting at level one.

What I have so far:
Deva
STR 8
CON 12
DEX 10
INT 18
WIS 18
CHA 10

Feat: Hybrid Talent Option: Arcane Implement Mastery (Orb)
At Will: Thunder Wave, Grasping Shards
Encounter: Icy Terrain
Daily: Sleep OR Binding Invocation of Chains

It's easier for me to get help IRL on mechanics than on character. Thanks much!

Well that's a pretty blank slate. It's hard to build a backstory withou knowing waht you want or what your campaign world is like. But how about this for an easy but workable backstory: don't have one!

You're an immortal deva born again and again to fight evil...or whatever. You have the memory of a thousand lifetimes.

So keep your past mysterious. You are just here now. When you need to recall a fact you just go "I remember when I was a ..." But if people ask you where you are from just change the topic.

It's sort of like being Dr Who not that you have to play it exactly like that.

Mnymosene
2009-06-19, 08:29 PM
The Dr. Who suggestion is brilliant. The campaign world isn't properly made up yet. I know the country will be at war and we'll be helping in some capacity other than just the regular army. (We're doing to campaign as a welcome home thing for someone getting home from active duty)
I guess I was wondering how people make up a good personality. I never know what to do during the "you're in town, how do you spend your time?" phases of the game other than buying supplies, which we usually don't roleplay for regular items. (It's always assumed everyone can just buy trail rations, and so forth in any town).

DSCrankshaw
2009-06-19, 08:43 PM
If you're not sure, play a Deva's who's just been born. You start as an adult, but you're pretty much a blank slate. You don't know who you are yet, and although you've lived 1000 lifetimes, you can't quite remember any of them. Everything is familiar, but everything is also knew. You're seeing it again for the first time, with new eyes, literally.

Mnymosene
2009-06-19, 10:59 PM
So, I got a bit smarter and found some personality tables, and decided I'm going to be a hypochondriac, as it adds something to do. Anything associated with that? I'm planning on excessive use of prestidigitation.

Thank you, by the way, it helps to hear other people's ideas.

HamsterOfTheGod
2009-06-19, 11:58 PM
Hypocondriach is good especially with your deva past life experiences.

I think hypocondriac is best played for comic relief as it juxtaposes with the typical adventuring lifestyle. But it fits with your classes in that your a blaster/controller, that is you do not like to get your hands dirty.

And also it's easier if you develop some catch phrases or mannerism.

For ex

Dm: ok the monster are dead

Player: we search the bodies for the evil amulet

You: not me, I can't touch them

Player: but we have to see if they have the evil amulet?

You: yes but I can't get sick

Thajocoth
2009-06-20, 12:02 AM
If this is the standard point buy, you forgot to spend 2 points. Unfortunately, you can only put one of the remaining points in Con.

-----

Devas, when reborn, are already adults with enough knowledge to live in the world, but no clear memory of their past lives. There's some idea there which occasionally comes through in a moment of brilliant clarity, but most of it stays fairly foggy... You could easily have just been reborn. You know your name, a few languages, how to invoke the power of your deity and how to manipulate arcane forces, but not so much your own history... With brilliant and clear exceptions.

This would allow you to combine a personality of "Well, how would I know that? I was just reborn yesterday!" with an incredible wealth of knowledge relayed with a short tale from a previous life when it's convenient, as suggested above.

Mnymosene
2009-06-20, 12:52 AM
Cantrips are my friends.

Namely mage hand and prestidigitation.

RTGoodman
2009-06-20, 01:47 AM
"Well, how would I know that? I was just reborn yesterday!"

Heh, if I ever play a Deva, I'm DEFINITELY stealing this line.


One thing I've always kinda liked for Devas are the backgrounds where you've almost achieved Nirvana (or whatever they call it) or you've almost achieved total corruption and are likely to be reborn next as a Rakshasa. So maybe your character had been slowly on that path towards corruption for several lifetimes, but after a run-in with corrupted Devas or Rakshasas last time (as they killed you) you decided to leave that path and return to good.

Xallace
2009-06-20, 09:20 AM
I like the hypochondria idea. You could probably develop a couple of obsessive compulsions pretty easily. Nothing debilitating, though; You've got an orb there, you could polish it excessively. Keep it germ-free.

So, looking at your stats, you've got below-average Strength, above-average Con, and average Dex... so you don't lift weights or play too many sports. But since you've got a little endurance there maybe your character likes running? Get up early for a jog each morning, and go for a hard run when your character gets stressed out (not during combat, of course)?

Ooh, perhaps you should have fascinations you don't entirely understand, having been re-incarnated so many times and all. Maybe find yourself figuring out plans to kill each person you meet, but stop yourself halfway, horrified that you would ever think such a thing. Or less morbidly, maybe your character is very fond of boats or sea life (by which I mean Dolphins, fish, etc), but none of your foggy memories even suggest a life at sea.

Kol Korran
2009-06-20, 11:08 AM
i mostly DM, have rarely been a player, so i'm not so sure about my advice, but here goes. a few ideas:
1) in concordance with the "reborn yesterday, can't remember past lives" idea, i suggest you check out the game "Torment", and better yet have your DM check it out, and incorporate the main themes from that game into your play. basically, you keep finding clues as to your former selves, what they did, and tried to accomplish. the ****inuity of lives does have some goal that they try to accomplish, but since each new life is accompanied by a total memory loss, then your past selves leave all kind of clues and memoires and such lygin around. the DM has to work quite a bit to make this interesting, as well as not too obvious, but it can be highly rewarding- you meet people who knew you, go to places you've been, find itsm you might have crafted in an earlier time or whatever.
this requires of your DM to be imaginative, spin a story that you might enjoy, and not be an ass. it requires of you to take interest, try to find your past, even if it's not entirely what you like. remember- you're a new Deva, you can make new choices now.

two things that can enhance this: the first one is that you have people who are interested in you being stopped, or at least not pursuing your original mission. this is just to add some sense of urgency to the tale. as well as providing extra clues.

the second thing that might enhcnae this is some creativity of your own, before the DM plans your entire past- have some trait that has followed you to this life. it could be physical (a strange mark/tattoo/ supernatural scar), behavior oriented (an exaggerated fear of fire, a speech impediment in the presence of a certain noble line, a feeling of great gratitudes towards halflings) or perhaps something else. now your DM has a hook he can use to enrich the story, and you have contributed to this as well. if this idea interests you at all, maybe i and the rest of the forumists can suggest radnom traits, and you see what you like

2) some things that help me when i'm planning my character.i first find a core idea to the character, and then ask questions based on that, trying to flesh the character a bit. then, if i have the time, i start inventing all kinds of situation and think of what my character would od in them (such as "you got back to town, what do you want to do?") to most of these id no't have an answer at first, so i decide on something totally random and stick with it. usually these help flesh out a character, with some personality traits that i didn't imagine at first (better than planning the netire character to my experience. it's more fun dealing with a character you're not entirely at home with). the more questions i go by, the less i need to use random ideas for, as the characters past choices depict the personality and how it would deal with things.
lets try the basis for your character for example. (i am deviating from the "just reborn, can't remember past lives idea for this example)

what do we know so far? your classes, you're hypochondriac (i must say it's the weirdest choice for a Deva, i was under the impression they can't get sick, but then again, maybe they can), and that you like cantrips. not much to work by a long shot, but i'll give it a go. this of course could have gone in many different routes than i've thought of:

the Deva has tried to become a master controller (wizard/invoker). it wished to control the world around it, mainly due to some vague sense-memory from a previous life where it was powerless to stop some sort of catastrophe. the pain is too great to be able to pierce through and remember what happened exactly.(a possible idea: devas stood guard to protect a place, but they were decimated by a supernatural disease unleashed amongst them, that the best arcanist couldn't find a way to counteract. this could also explains the hypochondria to a degree). but there is a strong resolution to do what one can to never be caught offguard again.

the Deva fears most of all the supernatural disease it once saw. the suffering that followed that plague, as well as the vulnerability to the race itself have left strong impressions on the deva. not knowing how it might originate, the deva avoids contact with anything it can. mage hand is used freely to touch and manipulate objects, while prestidigitation is used mostly to clean the clothes from dust and other particles. the spells have become alsmot a second nature so that they are used without thought.

still not much about personality... lets try and expand that. i imagine the deva to not stand out, try and stay away from attention. it stands at the background mostly, observing, barely moving except fot the prestidigitation fluttering around it's clothes. ok. time to ask questions:

1) why does it adventure at all? it tried remaining still, it tried finding a place to disappear from the world, but... (got stuck for a moment, so i decide on soemthing randomly) it is realy fascinated with the lives of mortals, greatly admiring their courage, the way they face life daringly knowing they will live only once. it envies this courage, since it feels sort of paralized by it's own fears. so, after some years of carefull consideration, it decides to make the move- it will join itself to an adventuring party, the most daring of all mortals, and try and gain their courage to free itself from it's own inner terror.

now i start thinking of sitations and so on. how would the deva react?
2) introductions: first of all it would most likely wait to be approached, not initiate the conversation. as long as people keep their distance it is polite, if a bit awekward, speaking formarly mostly. if someone does get close it does a few motions with it's fingers, and immediatly a mage hand interposes, willing to shake hands or whatever. "please, do not get any closer, i might be dangerous to your health". a small lie, but better than revealing the truth...

3) battle: a few ideas from a roleplay point of view: if it gets hit seriously (bloodied) it might use an action to clean itself. it would distance itself from the bleeding people in the party due to the same reasons. it might seem cowardly at battle at first, but then i suggest that it "gets some courage" from the situation, also remembering how in past lives he fought against evil (or whatever), and so become emboldened by the battle, acting somewhat "out of character". as soon as the rush of battle ends, it cleans itself properly, soemwhat shocked at what it had gone through. as more and more battles ensues, so it acts better and better. specific character development may happen at any of the following instances: when a team mate's life depend on it getting close and "dirty", when it is dropped unconcious yet is revived and is still alive, and fighting and surviving particularily gruesome/ unclean monsters.

4) loot: as was suggested, it doesn't actually touch or search the loot, more likely searching things with it's mage hand. a roleplay idea could be that it avoids using an item until it can be thoroughly cleansed (could even be a minor ritual, talk with your DM. something costing 5 gp and taking 10 minutes to an hour to cast)

5) decision making: usually refering to the bravest of the bunch, but slowly as it gains confidence, it start pushing it's own ideas around, trying to get more and more control, unwilling to leave it's fate to ther hands of others entirely.

6) at the duke's castle: i have no idea how it will respond to authority, so... (random again) it thinks that all real authority comes from women! why? maybe because the god it worshiped was a female goddess, and so it is used to think power comes from females (this for example can now be developed further, to represent the goddess and the main ideas). it utterly disregard the males, speaking directly to the wives with the utmost respect. it knows that the mortals usually have it different, but it's determined to show respect to the "proper way of things"

7) the conversation/ dealing with NPCs: again, no clear indication. so randomly... it does engage in conversations, but in an adverserial way, seeking to surpass the other's skills. it treats social encounters as contests. these confrontation being usually "clean" and involving what it thinks mostly "mental power" (whether you actually have social skills or not) it thinks it is far superior to the mortals, and it's one of the only places where it revels in being a Deva. it can even get quite nasty, something that is usually far from it's character.

8) what does it do in town? some ideas start to present themselves allready, but others are still random. some ideas that might come from what we have so far are: visit book/ ritual stores, and partly engage in reading, partly engage in removing the dust. visit a temple to the goddess, and search for what more can be done in her name, when getting more courage then slowly, tentively, volunteering in whatever passes as a hospital, trying to offer help, and deal with it's fears. also- if there is a theatre, then it likes to go, enjoying the witty dialogues, and trying to forsee the plot beforehand (a mental "challange"). also, visiting several herb stores for the components to the item cleansing ritual.
as to random things... how about, observing horses, perhaps even buying them? the Deva thinks these are truly noble creatures, the equivlanet of Devas in the animal world. it has a great love for them (when they are clean), and might wish to own a breeding ranch, maybe even use it's powers to infuse and breed some sort of celestial horses

ok, i've rambled on lloooooong enough, this could go on, and you can see there are small tidbits of information that can be added to the character, just feel free to improvise and throw things to the air. if not, you can always go with the Torment idea.
hoep this helped,
Kol.

Mnymosene
2009-06-20, 01:02 PM
Wow! Thank you very much!
I actually quite like the change in social rules idea. Not sure what deity I'll be most devoted to (we tend to decide that by group if we have more than one divine character) but we're meeting to go over characters this afternoon, so, I'll know soon.
I didn't see anything in the background text that says devas don't get sick, but maybe I didn't check enough sources?

I will certainly be stealing the past celestial plague ideas, as well as the irrational like of some race, again depending on what the rest of the party does.

The DM said I can include improvised surgical masks as part of my regular clothes on the theory that making them isn't hard with low-tech, just keeping them sterile, which magic can do.