[3.5] Building a Better Paladin

[Archpaladin Zousha]

Hullo everyone! For those of you who may remember my other 3.5 Building threads, I need your expertise once again. I've spoken with my DM about the upcoming sequel campaign that I'll be playing in, and I've learned that most of the old build ideas I had will no longer work, since the most of the humanoid races, such as humans, dwarves and elves, have become extinct. The playable races in the new campaign are halflings, changelings, feytouched, planetouched, goblins and hobgoblins. Because of this, most of my initial plans have been officially canned. I'm looking to make a new build now, that will hopefully be tough enough to survive the rigors of the post-apocalyptic D&D world.

I'm thinking of making an aasimar paladin who later takes at least 1 level of sorcerer and then becoming a Dragon Disciple. I was thinking of Bronze, since I think bronze dragons are awesome, and we've run into electricity-vulnerable enemies in the past campaign, but I'm certain there are better colors to choose from that I had ignored. The catch is that a lot of rules in this campaign are different. First of all, no one is starting as a PC class. Our DM has ruled that since heroes in this day and age are rare as heck, and there are no guilds to train the PC classes, everyone will start as a member of an NPC class and then multiclass into a PC class once they recieve the proper training. This is especially true of paladins and wizards, who are essentially like the Jedi were in the Original Trilogy. I'm starting as an aasimar aristocrat, since aristocrats get better equipment and it's kind of hard to imagine an aasimar as a commoner. Secondly, we don't do experience points, instead levelling up after each game session. This means that things such as favored classes and how they affect EXP distribution aren't going to have much effect on the way the character levels. Third, we don't have arcane spell failure or spell components, so I'll be able to cast sorcerer spells in my heavy armor with no problem. All PCs start with the following stats to be distributed as they please: 15, 14, 13, 12, 11 and 10. Racial bonuses and penalties are added to these stats wherever they are plugged in. Also, knowledge (arcana), knowledge (religion) and knowledge (the planes), all get lumped into one skill called knowledge (mystical), which makes entry requirements of certain Prestige classes easier. How would I assemble the build from first level on? I'm trying to keep what I use restricted to the Core 3.5 books only. I may resort to using things from the SRD in a pinch, but any non-core stuff has to be approved by my DM an I'd like to keep that to a minimum please.

Given the nature of the stat distribution, the best setup seems to be:

15 STR
11 DEX
12 CON
10 INT
15 WIS
16 CHA

I'm also pondering taking the Leadership feat when I can, to get a cleric cohort. I'd like to use a bastard sword, if I can, but if that's not going to work, I'll understand.

Any advice? Do you need more information about the house rules?

[erikun]

So I take it you're basically ignoring LA? Because otherwise, a Lv. 1 Aasimar aristocrat would be equal to a Lv. 2 Halfling commoner.

It looks like you'll be entering Dragon Disciple at level 6 either way, as all you need is Draconic as a language and 8 ranks in Knowledge (Mystical). As such, Aristocrat 1/Paladin 3/Sorcerer 1/Dragon Disciple X looks to be your best bet. Perhaps going up to Paladin 5-6, for a few more special abilities, but Paladin 3 seems to have most of what you're looking for in the class.

[tiercel]

Well one obvious question depends on aasimar LA in your game -- are aasimar considered LA+0, LA+1, are you using a LA 0 variant, do you allow LA buyoff....?

I'd think that you could probably dump Wisdom; if you aren't going to stick with paladin you don't need it for casting, and it doesn't do much else for you. If you are going to go for Pal4 it's worth having Wis 12 but not more. Moving your 13 out of Wis can slightly boost your Dex (worth it even in full plate, plus opens up the Dodge tree of feats if you care) or even your Int (if you are thinking of the Combat Expertise feat tree).

With your campaign's Knowledge houserules, you'll be able to get into DD as fast as Ari1/Pal3/Sor1/DD X, but you might want to consider sticking around for Pal4 to gain Turn Undead (if you can access some [Divine] feats to turn that turning into something useful -- this is non-Core though, requiring Complete books), and a tiny bit of Pal spellcasting (bless weapon).

The question is, what do you want to do with this build? You'll have Pal-boosted saves, a bunch of sorta-ok other paladin front loaded stuff, level 1 Sor spells (make sure you really like the 2, presumably buffing, spells you pick, since you will be able to cast them a lot with DD bonus slots)... and a breath weapon that goes off your decidedly mediocre Con.

If you just want to be hard-hitting draconic tank type, and if you aren't committed to the idea of Paladin per se, and if you can venture outside Core long enough to go PHB2, you could instead decide to make your character Ari1/F1/Duskblade3/DD, which gives you an extra feat, Duskblade melee channeling (so those tons of 1st level spells can at least burned into damage, though they will be standard action attacks). This also cures some of your MAD; you only need Int 11, and Wis and Cha become dump stats, so you're probably happier with, say, hobgoblin than aasimar (e.g. Str 15 Dex 15 Con 16 Int 11 Wis 12 Cha 10) -- which also gives you a heftier DD breath weapon, not to mention more hp.

If you want to be a more "mystic warrior" then Eldritch Knight is probably better suited than Dragon Disciple, though if you have to eat an NPC level and LA and have to enter EK through sorceror, it's going to be a bit painful getting there.

[Archpaladin Zousha]

Well one obvious question depends on aasimar LA in your game -- are aasimar considered LA+0, LA+1, are you using a LA 0 variant, do you allow LA buyoff....?
If I remember correctly, aasimar will still be considered LA+1, so I'd start as the equivalent of a level 2 character. Either our DM will delay my levelling up once so I'm in step with the party or I'll just be a bit higher than the rest of the party. Our last group was rather unbalanced in terms of levels, since some of us had to miss out on sessions or died and were brought back to life over the course of the session, and thus missed out on levelling up. Case in point, my last character barely made 15th level, while others made it to twenty, and one guy never even made it to second level, since he missed so many sessions and each session he came to he had terrible luck.

[Keld Denar]

How about this...instead of just 1 level of sorcerer, lets make it a LOT.

Paladin2/Sorcerer4/Spellsword1/AbjurantChampion5/SacredExorcist8 brings you home to 20. On a LESSER Aasimar chassis, we see our feats play out like thus:

1 Power Attack
3 Practiced Spellcaster
6 Combat Casting (prereq...blech)
9 LAW DEVOTION
12 Verstatile Spellcaster
15 Minor Shapeshift
18 Arcane Strike

Last 4 feats are pretty much interchangeable, depending on what ability you value most.

That'll give you a pretty powerful character. Really comes into play at 6 when you get your first 2nd level spells, and goes uphill from there. Its survivable at low levels, kickass at higher levels, and gods gift to melee combat at even higher levels. You have ranged attacks with Whirling Blade, you have mobility with Fly + Heart of Air, you have crazy defenses with Greater Mirror Image and Minor Shapeshift, offense with Power Attack + Law Devotion + Arcane Strike. Use a Bastard Sword 2handed, or really any bladed weapon. A Glaive would be pretty spectacular as well!

Simple, potent, versatile, paladiny. What more do you want?

Edit...blah, you'd have to take an NPC level? Um, you could build the same build off that. Aristocrat1/Pally2/Sorcerer4/Spellsword1/AbjChamp5/SacEx7. Almost as good...blech...

[Dacia Brabant]

Simple, potent, versatile, paladiny. What more do you want?

Divine Might. :smallamused:

It's a very good build though, I would definitely choose that 10 times out of 10 if the other option was anything to do with Dragon Disciple. You can always call yourself that in your roleplaying of the character without taking levels in an arcane PrC that gives no caster levels.

Of course if he's limited to Core or SRD content that makes it considerably harder, made all the moreso by having to burn a level in an NPC class and then one more on a point of LA. I would go with Halfling personally if you can swing Strongheart Halfing for the bonus feat (not Core, I know, but if Changelings are in I say why not), take your 1 level in Aristocrat and then go Sorc 6/EK 10/Sorc 9, and forget about Pally because it doesn't do what you're trying to do (multiclass casting) very well in a Core only game.

[ericgrau]

Paladin / dragon disciple is actually a fairly strong build when stuck with core. I'd limit yourself to 1 sorc level to focus on the melee aspects of a dragon disciple. A bastard sword consumes a feat for 1 damage, so you probably can't afford to lose the feat compared to other options. But if that's what you really want, it's not the worst thing in the world. A warrior would give you a stronger start than an aristocrat, since it gives full BAB. But everything else is just as good for an aristocrat and you do get some skills and a good will save, so it might be worth it for at most 4 levels. If you find yourself short on paladin spells later on, then keep in mind you can still use scrolls and wands.

Pick up a good melee weapon and a composite longbow as a backup. Early on as NPC class you can use a sling or a thrown weapon as a backup, to get your str bonus to damage.

For feats I'd get weapon focus plus whatever else tends to come up in your games, or any strategy you like using like tripping. If you really don't know what to get, then dodge and improved initiative are ok general purpose feats. Just about all the combat feats, i.e. not skill or spell or turning or travel or etc. feats, can be good in the right combat situation. For example in a campaign I'm in an ally's blind fight proved useful when I dumped a sleet storm on top of him. Then his enemies only saw driving sleet with the occasional spurt of blood shot in their direction.

[Keld Denar]

Eh, Bastard Sword is alright if you aren't planning to 1hand it. Its only about 1 point of damage behind a Great Sword, and has more style points, IMO. Just PLEASE don't spend the feat on it. Use it 2handed.

Also, I've been playing a similar character, and honestly, I'm not liking Divine Might that much. Its REALLY TU intensive. Sure, it gives you some bursty burst, but Law Devotion gives you more bang for your TU buck. Say you have 4 encounters a day. Thats 9 TU attempts to use Law Devotion in each of them. Thats 9 rounds of Divine Mighting, or ~2 rounds per combat. So Law Devotion gives you +3/+5/+7 to hit, depending on level. Channeling that through Power Attack gives you +6/+10/+14 damage respectively, per hit, every combat, for 10 rounds. Divine Might is based on your Cha. If you have a 22 Cha before level 10, you'd be getting +6 damage per hit for 2 rounds instead of 10. If you have a 30 cha between 10 and 14, you'd be getting equal damage, again for only ~2 rounds/combat. IF you had a 38 cha from 15 on, you'd equal the damage output from Law Devotion.

Now, granted, you could have both, but by the time you are dropping 9 TU attempts to use Law Devotion, you only have a couple left to use in actual combat. Great if you know its a "boss" encounter and you want to dump all your resources as fast as possible to get him dead, but bad if you have more than 2-3 encounters a day, since you don't ever want to be without the ability to use Law Devotion because its that good. IMO, for as much as you'd use it after squeezing what you can from Law Devotion, Divine Might is not really worth it.

[Archpaladin Zousha]

How about this...instead of just 1 level of sorcerer, lets make it a LOT.

Paladin2/Sorcerer4/Spellsword1/AbjurantChampion5/SacredExorcist8 brings you home to 20. On a LESSER Aasimar chassis, we see our feats play out like thus:

1 Power Attack
3 Practiced Spellcaster
6 Combat Casting (prereq...blech)
9 LAW DEVOTION
12 Verstatile Spellcaster
15 Minor Shapeshift
18 Arcane Strike

Last 4 feats are pretty much interchangeable, depending on what ability you value most.

That'll give you a pretty powerful character. Really comes into play at 6 when you get your first 2nd level spells, and goes uphill from there. Its survivable at low levels, kickass at higher levels, and gods gift to melee combat at even higher levels. You have ranged attacks with Whirling Blade, you have mobility with Fly + Heart of Air, you have crazy defenses with Greater Mirror Image and Minor Shapeshift, offense with Power Attack + Law Devotion + Arcane Strike. Use a Bastard Sword 2handed, or really any bladed weapon. A Glaive would be pretty spectacular as well!

Simple, potent, versatile, paladiny. What more do you want?

Edit...blah, you'd have to take an NPC level? Um, you could build the same build off that. Aristocrat1/Pally2/Sorcerer4/Spellsword1/AbjChamp5/SacEx7. Almost as good...blech...

A solid one as always, Keld, but as I said, I'm trying to keep to core with this one, since I won't be bringing my 3.5e books to college with me (to keep my mother soothed and because this campaign won't start till second semester). What's a lesser aasimar? Just how many books are required for this build to work? Remember, I don't really NEED the levels of Spellsword if all I'm getting it for is the reduced ASF, since in our DM's campaigns, there is no ASF. If you're proficient in the armor type, you can cast in it.

[Flickerdart]

Lesser Aasimar are just like Aasimar except they're not Outsiders and they don't have the LA.

[Archpaladin Zousha]

But they get everything else? The +2 WIS and CHA? The resistances? Everything except being an outsider?

[Flickerdart]

But they get everything else? The +2 WIS and CHA? The resistances? Everything except being an outsider?
I believe so, yes. Aasimar are very weak for +1 LA.

If you think that's overpowered, here (http://wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/sp/20040213a) is an Aasimar racial class, which you don't have to finish or even start. The "base" Aasimar has no WIS bonus, Light instead of Daylight and Resist 2 to the elements that full Aasimar have Resist 5 to. Everything else is identical.

[Frosty]

But they get everything else? The +2 WIS and CHA? The resistances? Everything except being an outsider?

Yep. The outsider part is pretty huge if you abuse Alter Self and Polymorph.

[Thrawn183]

Might I suggest True Strike? It's great for those occaisions where you get a surprise round. Other than that... I'm still thinking of 1st level spells that you'd want to cast again and again and again.

Shocking grasp might work, you'll have the attack bonus and eventually you can pick up a spell storing weapon.

[Keld Denar]

And Lesser Aasimar's don't get the +2 wisdom, IIRC, just the +2 Cha. Which is fine for your desires.

Spellsword IS needed, unfortunately, to be optimal. If you took 1 more level of Sorcerer, you still wouldn't have the BAB you need to get into AbjChamp, so you'd need 2 more, and if you just took another Pal level...well, you'd be better off not, Pal3 is kinda dead unless you are continuing on to Pal4 to get TU. This way gets you the best BAB and best caster levels possible, along with picking up all the freebies and Cha synergy from Pal2

So yea...
Complete Warrior - Spellsword
Complete Mage - Abj Champ, Minor Shapeshift
Complete Champion - Law Devotion
Complete Divine - Sacred Exorcist
Spell Compendium - TONS of spells
Races of the Dragon - Versatile Spellcaster
Complete Arcane - Arcane Strike, Practiced Spellcaster
Players Handbook II - More Spells

Yea, with the exception of SpC, you only need a couple of items form each book. What we used to do in Living Greyhawk is just photocopy the 1-2 pages you need of each source. Its legal for personal reference. In fact, it was endorsed by the RPGA (part of WotC) because in Living Greyhawk you aren't allowed to use a spell/feat/class/item UNLESS you own the book, and lugging 50+ pounds of books around at a place like Gencon, or other gaming con, is painful. Just figure out what you'll need, copy it, and stick it in a folder next to your PHB and your character sheets. Just don't give away or sell that folder, cause thats a no-no!

[Doc Roc]

My advice is to go read the various paladin optimization threads that thoroughly populate 339. would you like links?

[Eldariel]

And Lesser Aasimar's don't get the +2 wisdom, IIRC, just the +2 Cha. Which is fine for your desires.

Don't confuse Lesser Aasimars to the racial progression. Level 1 of the racial progression doesn't get Wis-boost (but is an Outsider). Lesser Aasimar has the Wis-boost and all Aasimar-goodies...except for the Outsider-type which can either be a huge loss (if your game allows Polymorph-line) or a small loss (if it doesn't; at that point the only "loss" is that you're affected by Humanoid-targeting spells, which happen to include Enlarge Person which happens to be pretty good).

Make no mistake, the racial progression is stronger for a character such as Paladin/Sorcerer that doesn't give a damn about Wisdom and might want the protections and magical benefits of the Outsider-type, but Lesser Aasimar is a viable alternative too.

[aje8]

And Lesser Aasimar's don't get the +2 wisdom, IIRC, just the +2 Cha. Which is fine for your desires.
Actually they do.... they get everything except the outsider type.

EDIT: Ninja'd

[Archpaladin Zousha]

And Lesser Aasimar's don't get the +2 wisdom, IIRC, just the +2 Cha. Which is fine for your desires.

Spellsword IS needed, unfortunately, to be optimal. If you took 1 more level of Sorcerer, you still wouldn't have the BAB you need to get into AbjChamp, so you'd need 2 more, and if you just took another Pal level...well, you'd be better off not, Pal3 is kinda dead unless you are continuing on to Pal4 to get TU. This way gets you the best BAB and best caster levels possible, along with picking up all the freebies and Cha synergy from Pal2

So yea...
Complete Warrior - Spellsword
Complete Mage - Abj Champ, Minor Shapeshift
Complete Champion - Law Devotion
Complete Divine - Sacred Exorcist
Spell Compendium - TONS of spells
Races of the Dragon - Versatile Spellcaster
Complete Arcane - Arcane Strike, Practiced Spellcaster
Players Handbook II - More Spells

Yea, with the exception of SpC, you only need a couple of items form each book. What we used to do in Living Greyhawk is just photocopy the 1-2 pages you need of each source. Its legal for personal reference. In fact, it was endorsed by the RPGA (part of WotC) because in Living Greyhawk you aren't allowed to use a spell/feat/class/item UNLESS you own the book, and lugging 50+ pounds of books around at a place like Gencon, or other gaming con, is painful. Just figure out what you'll need, copy it, and stick it in a folder next to your PHB and your character sheets. Just don't give away or sell that folder, cause thats a no-no!

I have all those books except Races of the Dragon. What does Versatile Spellcaster do? I'll see what my DM says...He was willing to approve most of this stuff before (I was the only one really using non-core sourcebooks.) It'll probably take a lot of RP time though. One of his newer rules is that since the adventuring guilds that trained people in PC classes no longer exist, you have to spend a number of years as a squire or apprentice to a person who is a member of that class, and for paladins that is very rare. I'll need to roll some dice to see how many years I spend training. I just hope I roll low.

[Archpaladin Zousha]

My advice is to go read the various paladin optimization threads that thoroughly populate 339. would you like links?

Yes, please!

[Keld Denar]

I have all those books except Races of the Dragon. What does Versatile Spellcaster do?
It allows you to spend 2 spell slots of the same level to cast any 1 spell 1 level higher than the 2 slots you burned. So...you can convert 2 0th level spell slots into a 1st level spell slot, or 2 3rd level spell slots into a 4th level spell slot. Its decent, but not vital. Better for classes like Beguilers, because of their mechanics, but still good.



I'll see what my DM says...He was willing to approve most of this stuff before (I was the only one really using non-core sourcebooks.) It'll probably take a lot of RP time though. One of his newer rules is that since the adventuring guilds that trained people in PC classes no longer exist, you have to spend a number of years as a squire or apprentice to a person who is a member of that class, and for paladins that is very rare. I'll need to roll some dice to see how many years I spend training. I just hope I roll low.
Oh...one of those DMs...I hope all that "training" time happens out of character. It also kinda contradicts almost all of the flavor of Sorcerers, since they are supposed to be mostly "inate talent". Yea....you've had an interesting string of DMs, eh?

[Doc Roc]

Beep... (http://forums.gleemax.com/showpost.php?p=15409941&postcount=10)
Beep.... (http://forums.gleemax.com/showthread.php?t=858849)
BEEP! (http://forums.gleemax.com/wotc_archive/index.php/t-723308)

[Archpaladin Zousha]

Oh...one of those DMs...I hope all that "training" time happens out of character. It also kinda contradicts almost all of the flavor of Sorcerers, since they are supposed to be mostly "inate talent". Yea....you've had an interesting string of DMs, eh?

String? This is the same DM that I was talking about when I made those other posts. I can post a copy of his new house rules, if that helps.

[Archpaladin Zousha]

Thank you, Tidesinger. I appreciate the gesture, but there are a few things that may be problematic.

Beep... (http://forums.gleemax.com/showpost.php?p=15409941&postcount=10)
I have the BOED, but my DM told me point-blank that I couldn't use it. That was one of the few books he actually DIDN'T let me use.

Beep.... (http://forums.gleemax.com/showthread.php?t=858849)
I have this thread bookmarked, but I have difficulty using it because it reccomends items from a lot of books I don't have.

BEEP! (http://forums.gleemax.com/wotc_archive/index.php/t-723308)
Interesting, but not really the flavor I'm looking for, and half-orcs have died out in the current campaign setting anyway.

[Archpaladin Zousha]

Another question. In which book, is the information on the lesser aasimar found?

[Dacia Brabant]

Another question. In which book, is the information on the lesser aasimar found?

Players Guide to Faerun.


Also, I've been playing a similar character, and honestly, I'm not liking Divine Might that much. Its REALLY TU intensive. Sure, it gives you some bursty burst, but Law Devotion gives you more bang for your TU buck. <maths snipped>

That's very true about Divine Might being Turn Undead intensive, and Law Devotion is extremely good I won't argue, but doesn't it eat up your Swift action each round you use it? I could be misreading the feat (WotC's needed an editor for years) and even if I'm not it's not a big deal if you don't have other things to use Swift actions on, but Pallies do have some nice spells and there's plenty of neat things in the MIC, too, that do.

Divine Might, on the other hand, even though it only lasts one round, is a free action.

[Archpaladin Zousha]

Players Guide to Faerun

Nuts. Another book I don't have. Any other place I might find it?

[Keld Denar]

Law Devotion only burns your swift action on the round you activate it, and on any round where you want to swap it from an AB bonus to an AC bonus. Otherwise, you activate it and set it to your AB, then leave it there while you power attack away.

[Eldariel]

Nuts. Another book I don't have. Any other place I might find it?

It's very simple though. They're identical to MM Aasimar, except are Humanoid (Native)s and thus subject to both, spells that affect outsiders and spells that affect humanoids (so they're banishable and all that). One of the few things you can run without the book.

[erikun]

Nuts. Another book I don't have. Any other place I might find it?
Are you talking about this?

...here (http://wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/sp/20040213a) is an Aasimar racial class...

[Darrin]

Are you talking about this?

Not quite the same thing. Lesser Aasimar from PGtF are humanoids with the planetouched (or rather extraplanar) subtype. This makes them vulnerable to both charm person and banishment. The +2 Wis and +2 Cha stat bonuses are still intact with no LA.

If you use the Savage Progression racial class levels (the link to the WotC article), then those are full-blooded Outsiders, so you're immune to charm person, can have lots of fun with Alter Self cheese, and are proficient in all martial weapons, among other things. To offset the LA +1, however, the only get +2 Cha, a weaker SLA, and weaker energy resistances. You can pick up the +2 Wis, daylight 1/day, and better energy resistance by taking the racial class level later.

But you don't have to (and if you're a caster, probably don't want to). Unlike monster/template class levels in Savage Species, you can take your racial class levels whenever, or not at all.

[Archpaladin Zousha]

It's very simple though. They're identical to MM Aasimar, except are Humanoid (Native)s and thus subject to both, spells that affect outsiders and spells that affect humanoids (so they're banishable and all that). One of the few things you can run without the book.

Okay. So the LA goes away just by changing their type? Why is that?

[Eldariel]

Okay. So the LA goes away just by changing their type? Why is that?

Because it makes them vulnerable to both, spells/effects that target humanoids and ones that target outsiders. It also takes away lots of the boons of Outsider-type like automatic proficiency in all martial weapons and awesome Alter Self/Polymorph-forms.

[Archpaladin Zousha]

Oh, I see. I think my DM will definately go for that. I'm waiting for a reply e-mail from him right now.

[Archpaladin Zousha]

I have a few more questions about the build. What is it's general style? Is it a tank? A spell-slinger? What spells does it rely on the most? What should its Sacred Exorcist enemy be, demons or undead? A build is all well and good, but I've come to understand that you can have the best build in the business and still die if you don't know the strategies that build focuses on.

[Keld Denar]

Well, you aren't a Blaster, let me tell you that. In fact, I would even suggest to the point that you don't get any damage spells, unless you have a Spell Storing weapon, in which case something like Combust or Vampiric Touch would be good. Other than that, mobility, buff, and defensive spells are great. I love the spell Whirling Blade, and use it often with my gishy characters, provided they are using a slashing weapon. Gives you a ranged weapon without having to actually swap weapons. Range is only 60' though.

Here is a Sorcadin (http://www.myth-weavers.com/sheetview.php?sheetid=145736) I built not long ago for a PbP game. Check out his gear and feats and spells.

The 2 best defensive spells you'll have are Shield (once you take AbjChamp levels) and Greater Mirror Image. GMI alone will protect you pretty well in many cases. You can also pick up an Animated Shield at some point and have both your armor and shield buffed with Magic Vestiments.

For your SacEx favored enemy, that really is up to you and your DM. By the time you start taking levels in it, you'll be pretty high level (13th+) so you'll have a pretty good idea what kinda foes you'll be facing. Its a rather small bonus though, and you might not even remember to apply it!

[Archpaladin Zousha]

So it's a mace user? That's interesting. I've wanted to experiment with different kinds of weapons, and I think a mace'd be kinda cool.

[Keld Denar]

Its an Executioner's Mace, the only weapon EVER printed ANYWHERE that is both Slashing (needed for Whirling Blade) and Bludgeoning (needed for Greater Mighty Wallop). Its from Dragon Mag #133. I'd use something else, but there literally isn't anything else. I'd go with a slashing weapon if you can't use that one though. Whirling Blade is just too awesome. Greater Mighty Wallop is fun, but not really neccesary.

[Eldariel]

Well, you aren't a Blaster, let me tell you that. In fact, I would even suggest to the point that you don't get any damage spells, unless you have a Spell Storing weapon, in which case something like Combust or Vampiric Touch would be good. Other than that, mobility, buff, and defensive spells are great. I love the spell Whirling Blade, and use it often with my gishy characters, provided they are using a slashing weapon. Gives you a ranged weapon without having to actually swap weapons. Range is only 60' though.

Here is a Sorcadin (http://www.myth-weavers.com/sheetview.php?sheetid=145736) I built not long ago for a PbP game. Check out his gear and feats and spells.

The 2 best defensive spells you'll have are Shield (once you take AbjChamp levels) and Greater Mirror Image. GMI alone will protect you pretty well in many cases. You can also pick up an Animated Shield at some point and have both your armor and shield buffed with Magic Vestiments.

For your SacEx favored enemy, that really is up to you and your DM. By the time you start taking levels in it, you'll be pretty high level (13th+) so you'll have a pretty good idea what kinda foes you'll be facing. Its a rather small bonus though, and you might not even remember to apply it!

I also want to point out that if Book of Exalted Deeds is allowed (which is very fitting for this type of a character - Paladins in general), Greater Luminous Armor [Sacred spell] also benefits greatly of Abjurant Champion, and vastly improves your AC provided you can cure the ability damage it deals (something as simple as Wand of Lesser Restoration will do; you'll have the Cha to Use Magic Device even cross-class).

Also, obviously Arcane Strike.

[Archpaladin Zousha]

Arcane Strike is part of the build Keld has made, but I've said already that BOED was one of the books that was explicitly not allowed.

[Archpaladin Zousha]

Its an Executioner's Mace, the only weapon EVER printed ANYWHERE that is both Slashing (needed for Whirling Blade) and Bludgeoning (needed for Greater Mighty Wallop). Its from Dragon Mag #133. I'd use something else, but there literally isn't anything else. I'd go with a slashing weapon if you can't use that one though. Whirling Blade is just too awesome. Greater Mighty Wallop is fun, but not really neccesary.

You mentioned that bastard swords are acceptable if you dispense with the proficiency feat and just wield it with two hands? I was pondering doing something like that. I'm hoping to have my character get horribly disfiguring burn scars when his sorcerer powers first manifest, then dress up in black adamantine fullplate with a face-mask helmet, a la Darth Vader without the whole mass-murdering Dark Side thing.

[Keld Denar]

Yea, the difference between a Great Sword and a Bastard Sword when wielded 2handed is 1.5 damage per hit, average (5.5 vs 7). This might make a difference at level 1 or 2, but past level 5 or so, it won't be as important. If you prefer a Bastard Sword to a Great Sword for flavor reasons, it hardly gimping yourself. Both are slashing weapons, so you can Whirling Blade with them, which is fun. Both have the same crit range, which is fun. If you were even interested, you could size down a little more to the Falcheon (average 5) and pick up the tasty 18-20 crit range. That'll actually probably hit harder than the Great Sword when crits are averaged in due to PA and other bonuses multiplying well on critical hits.

[Archpaladin Zousha]

I suppose it really doesn't matter. I really prefer straight swords to curved ones though.

I've sent a list of what the build requires to my DM to see if he'll go for it. If anyone out there has Races of the Dragon, could you perhaps post what it says about the Versatile Spellcaster feat, please?

[Archpaladin Zousha]

Okay, I got an e-mail back from my DM. Here's what he says:


Let's not use races and feats from books we don't have. Nix on the
lesser aasimar and Versatile Spellcaster. I know the spellsword is
OK, because I approved it for Jamie, back before she decided to go
full bard; I'll have to look at the books for the other feats, classes
and spells. (Except Law Devotion, natch!) If you can narrow down the
spells you want to one or two must-haves per class level, that would
be great; I don't know how much time I'll have for game review come
this winter. And be careful about taking on too many prestige
classes: too many high (or even average) rolls for "time spent in
training", and the world will catch on fire while you're trying to
pursue that perfect build. (Of course if you can find a way to shut
down that Clockwork device in orbit, you won't have to worry about
that...)

You'll be roleplaying your break-out of acne I MEAN SORCERY, and
probably at least a little of your paladin training, over the course
of the campaign. Would the scars have any impact as far as game
mechanics, or is it a cosmetic/roleplaying issue?

He won't need to see Law Devotion, since that's something I showed him earlier with my last character. He decided it was okay, but that I could only take one devotion feat, so I opted for Knowledge Devotion that time. Law Devotion's definately okay. Spellsword is okay too, since he approved that for someone else. Is there a way to work around the lack of lesser aasimar and Versatile Spellcaster?

[Keld Denar]

lol, your DM has screwed up rules for multiclassing/training/whatever. It sounds like a pain in the butt and doesn't really contribute any "depth" to the game. Thats kinda lame.

As far as NOT being a lesser aasimar, thats fine. Pick a race with the LEAST LA and RHD as you can from his list, regardless of ability scores unless its a HUGE hit to Str, Con, or Cha.

The loss of Versitile Spellcaster isn't bad. Its a pretty good feat, giving you more bang for your lower level spell-slot buck, but its not vital.

As far as spells, check out the ones my sorcadin has, and go from there. You won't need Greater Mighty Wallop, since you won't be using a bludgeoning weapon, so swapping that for Greater Magic Weapon would be wise, provided noone else in your group has it.

Anyway, good luck with your character and all the pointless restrictions your DM puts on it.

[Myrmex]

Anyway, good luck with your character and all the pointless restrictions your DM puts on it.

It seems the restrictions have a definite point, though I think the DM could have gone about it a better way.

[Archpaladin Zousha]

Would you like me to post the houserules here? They're kinda long, but if it helps clear things up...

[Myrmex]

Sure.




stuffstuffstuff

[Archpaladin Zousha]

The Exodus Campaign:
House Rules

Welcome back to Thule! This campaign is set 150 years after your last game together, and a lot has changed. For starters, the character requirements are now: a “First Degree” PC belonging to one of the NPC classes, with the appropriate starting gold (12.5 g.p. for commoners, 50 for adepts, 75 for experts or warriors, and 270 for aristocrats). See Chapter Four of the DMG for details on NPC classes. The only available races for new PCs are halflings, changelings, feytouched, planetouched, goblins, hobgoblins and kobolds: you’ll see why as you read on. Abilities are still set at “15 down”.

If you like, you can play any of your old PCs or cohorts who survived, if they’re under Eleventh Degree. Those characters will have to take an appropriate age penalty (see Chapter Six of the PHB), and it is assumed they have spent all their gold from the last campaign; though they will have lost some gear in the chaos of the last century, they can keep up to 17,000 g.p. worth of equipment.

Knowledge (History)

In your last game, the Five Godslayers and their companions destroyed the Clockwork Spirit, teleporting back to Ys just before its death throes. Lake Leman erupted with the force of 100 million hydrogen bombs, in a fireball 125 miles wide…from Ft. Pern to Lionhill. Hurricane-force winds and Richter 10 earthquakes swept back and forth across Thule, destroying even the strongest fortifications and bunkers beneath the fireball, and knocking down more fragile wood and brick structures as far away as Avalon, Raum, Saragaze and Vina. Within the next hour, as the molten rock from the explosion came back to Earth, a world-wide firestorm reduced every green thing to ashes, and anyone not safe below ground or beneath the waves was cooked alive.

Soot from the conflagration, and dust from the initial blast, stayed in the upper air for an entire year: “The Year of Endless Night”, the last year of the Age of Kings. Contrary to the warnings of many druids and farmers, the lack of sunlight made the world no colder, for the ancient artifact later called the Clockwork Skylight was still at its senseless work. Indeed, though their hive mind had been broken, most of the Clockwork Servants still functioned, under the guidance of the two surviving Clockwork Seraphs. Humans, merfolk, orcs and elves under their care – willing collaborators as often as prisoners – were whisked off to some far-distant world. (This was the first migration of many, for which the new age was named the Age of Exodus.) The other races in their territory, not falling under their peculiar directive, were left to starve.

And starve they did, they and the rest of Thule. For no sooner had the day broken through again, than thunderclouds gathered on every horizon, delivering poison rather than life-giving rain. It has since been discovered by the Clockwork Scholars that the heat of the Spirit’s detonation worked some dread alchemy in the sky, filling it with vaporized acid…and what goes up, must come down. For a century, this “Bitter Rain” poisoned the lakes and the oceans, scorched the trees and the crops, and dissolved brick, mortar and stone. In this same century, refugees from Outremer and other places in the Mysterious East, and Terra Incognita in the south, poured into Thule. And the Skylight still warmed the world, almost two degrees a year, every single year…

Many races vanished altogether during this terrible time: the gnomes, dwarves, centaurs, bugbears and troglodytes, along with any humans, elves, orcs or merfolk who had survived the Endless Night. As they died out, so did their gods: Corellon Larethian, Eadro, Garl Glittergold, Gruumsh, Hruggek, Laogzed, Moradin, and Skerrit. The seventeen surviving deities fled the known cosmos in fear, followed by their demigod servants (who now included the kobold Talisun). Demons, devils, and other outsiders who had been left to their own devices, established realms on the Material Plane, which became the new Great Powers as Armorica and Alsara collapsed. A new type of creature began to appear, the “aberration”, and it was not long before they too began to build petty states among the ruins. Finally, the followers of Talisun carved out a place for themselves around the crater that marked the Sundering of the World, and a handful of dwarves in Tauria were changed into the wretched derros of Diirinka.

Civilization has persisted, after a fashion, for the past fifty years. Though the glory of the Age of Kings is lost forever, new lands have been revealed; cities have been built; jungles and plantations have spread across Thule. But the average global temperature is now 140° F – 180° on the Equator, as low as 50° at the tops of Arctic mountains – and still climbing steadily. The druids’ prophecies, and the Scholars’ calculations, give forty years until the whole world is hotter than a boiling kettle: indeed, deserts now reach as far north as Two Boars and Sebast, and the newly discovered lands used to be at the bottom of the sea! A true hero has never been needed more than now…

Knowledge (Geography)

As before, there are nine nation-states on the continent of Thule: Arborea, Baator, Beulah, Carceri, Celestia, Diirinka, Mirkwood, the Elder Realms, and the Wasteland of Eliot. And as before, Knowledge (Geography) rolls for your own country are DC 10, rolls for an ally are DC 15, rolls for an enemy DC 20, and rolls for anyone else DC 25.

Unlike in the original campaign, you may choose any of these kingdoms you want, though some will make better sense for your character’s race. Arborea is under the rule of the Three Titans (Aglaea, Thalia and Euphrosyne), Celestia is ruled by the Three Angels Solar (Faith, Hope and Charity), Baator by the Four Pit Fiends (Whispers, Lies, Sin, and Death the Younger), and Carceri by the Four Balors (War, Famine, Pestilence, and Death the Elder). Beulah is governed by an aberration known only as “the Beholder”, and Mirkwood by the King of the Spiderfolk (a more sensible version of MM I driders). The Elder Realms are a sort of freewheeling libertarian democracy, populated mostly by kobolds, changelings and lycanthropes, centered on Lake Sunder. Eliot, spread out over the barrens south of the Alpesh and Balca Mountains, is a patchwork of goblin and hobgoblin tribes fighting each other for dominance; currently the strongest are the Ghraba, Hatia and Jebel, though there are half-a-dozen others nibbling at their authority.

Naturally, Arborea and Celestia are allied, as are Beulah and Mirkwood; the outsiders of the former are at war with the aberrations of the latter. Arborea and Celestia are also at war with Baator and Carceri, which also happen to be at war with each other: without the evil gods to keep them focused, the 9,000-year-old truce ending the Blood War was ignored by both demons and devils. The Wasteland is too lawless to befriend or battle anyone; because of their key location, the Elder Realms are nominally allied to everyone, except the Wasteland. Diirinka is technically at war with everyone, though most of its battles are against Celestia.

Also unlike the original campaign, the intricate system of state guilds and cults has collapsed. While this means you will only have to pay taxes to your government (again, ten times your ECL in gold), it also means that becoming a hero is a lot harder.

Knowledge (Local)

There are now only ten characters high enough to register on legend lore (not counting balors, titans and such). You already know one: the elven bard Alyssel of Arborea. Her second husband was an eladrin she met in her youth, and she is now grandmother to almost a hundred aasimar. Despite having some cause for happiness, she is in lifelong mourning for her lost people and gods, and always goes veiled, draped in black from head to toe. At Seventeenth Degree and over 260 years old, she is both the oldest and most powerful mortal in Thule…and one of perhaps a dozen elves on Earth who survived the famines of the Bitter Rain. Other famous names include the aasimar paladin Prester John of Celestia, the tiefling cleric Hamilcar of Carceri, the hobgoblin fighter Jebel Tariq of Eliot, and the werewolf Lord Ulfsark of the Elder Realms.

Without the old guilds, the path of the paladin and the way of the wizard are preserved through one-on-one mentoring, during which the novice must work as an indentured servant for however long the mentor deems “necessary for training”. (This depends on a dice roll based on your desired class, between two and four d6.) It is not easy to find a hero in the first place: even 150 years after the Sundering, the population of Thule is a fraction of what it was in the Age of Kings. Also, not all heroes are willing to take on a pupil, and none will accept more than two or three at a time. In short, nobody starts out their adult lives in a heroic class…including your PC.

Assuming you can find your own personal guru, any core class is open to you, though multiclassing is still difficult. For each new class you take, you have to find a new mentor, and go through indentured servitude all over again, losing another 2 to 24 years. There is also a new core class loosely based on the Eberron artificer, the “Clockwork Scholars”. See the accompanying attachment for details.

Knowledge (Mystical)

Knowledge (Mystical) still replaces Knowledge (Arcana), Knowledge (the Planes), and Knowledge (Religion). And it’s still applied to all the old mystical creatures, as well as the new aberrations. Catoblepas, nagas and will-o-wisps are now aberrations, as per MM I; apparently, the Spiderfolk King accepted them into Mirkwood in return for some unspeakable service.

When the last of the gods departed a century ago, the planes they had maintained sank back into the Astral, forcing the resettlement of all outsiders on the Material Plane. These are now the only two planes that exist. The monk no longer has “Empty Body”, and the following spells no longer work: banishment, commune, contact other plane, dismissal, ethereal jaunt, etherealness, maze, Leomund’s chest, Mordenkainen’s mansion, phase door, project image, rope trick, shades, shadow conjuration, shadow walk, shadow evocation, and simulacrum. Astral projection, gate and plane shift can only take you to the Astral Plane, which is now timeless, infinite, static, and zero-gravity. It is also a major positive-dominant plane, and a major negative-dominant plane; characters killed there are automatically resurrected as an aberration, with all their class levels.

A word on positive and negative energy: Since outsiders are “composed of the essence of their native plane”, they need a way to sustain themselves if they are cut off from it. In “Exodus”, this is provided by the Gates of Horn and Ivory in the middle of Lake Sunder, which harness the power of the Clockwork Spirit’s temporal vortex to tap the latent energies of the Astral Plane. Without the Gates, neither angels nor demons could survive, and positive- or negative-themed spells could not work.

In the gods’ absence, divine characters now follow abstract philosophies; thus there are “paladins of Freedom”, “clerics of Vengeance”, “druids of Nature” and so on. See the “Deity, Domains and Domain Spells” section for clerics in the PHB.

Knowledge (Nature)

Knowledge (Nature) is still applicable to animals, oozes and plants, vermin, though the giants have gone extinct, along with certain familiars (specifically cats, hawks and weasels). Companions for druids and rangers are somewhat restricted by which animals survived the mass extinction, as are summoned creatures for all classes, though some Asian and African creatures migrated to Europe.

The ideal organisms to survive an event like the Sundering would be small, heat-tolerant omnivores and generalists, which reproduce rapidly, and live underground or underwater. Species with a majority of these traits squeezed through: they include badgers, bats, doppelgangers, lizards, monkeys, octopi (both common and giant), rats, ravens, snakes, sphinxes, stirges, and toads. In addition, most oozes, plants and vermin endured. There are also many new kinds of animal, or rather very old kinds: before the Gates were built, the temporal vortex brought beasts from the farthest past into the Elder Realms. Some are prehistoric versions of life that has now perished, such as the squid-like ammonites or the ancient elephant Deinotherium, while others are truly bizarre: the bearhounds, the giant dragonflies, the axebeak birds.

And, obviously, the Liopleurodon. The magical Liopleurodon.

The summon monster spell now summons the following dragons, fey, magical beasts and monstrous humanoids:
I: stirge
II: sprite (grig), sprite (nixie)
III: grimalkin, redcap, satyr (without pipes)
IV: cockatrice, doppelganger, dryad, spriggan
V: satyr (with pipes), sprite (pixie without dance)
VI: basilisk, fossergrim, sirine, sphinx (hieraco-), sprite (pixie with dance)
VII: glaistig, wendigo, wyvern
VIII: nymph, oread, scorpionfolk, sphinx (crio-)
IX: sphinx (gyno-)
[/LIST]
The summon nature’s ally spell now summons the following animals, oozes, plants and vermin:
I: Archaeopteryx/hawk, badger, bat, Deinogalerix/dire rat, Eohippus/dog, Ichthyosaurus/porpoise, lizard, monstrous centipede (tiny), monstrous scorpion (tiny), monstrous spider (tiny), Pterodactylus/eagle, rat, raven, ammonite/squid, toad, viper snake (small)
II: Arthropleura/monstrous centipede (large), Brontoscorpio/monstrous scorpion (medium), Gastornis/axebeak, Hipparion/mule, Meganeura/giant dragonfly, octopus, shrieker fungus, viper snake (medium)
III: Constrictor snake, Cyclotothorax/crocodile, Lystrosaurus/boar, monitor lizard, Paleonictis/dire weasel, viper snake (large)
IV: assassin vine, dinosaur (cryptoclidus), Gerrothorax/dire toad, Pterygotus/monstrous scorpion (large), Pyroraptor/dinosaur (deinonychus), violet fungus, viper snake (huge)
V: yellow musk creeper
VI: Constrictor snake (giant), Eotyrannus/dinosaur (megaraptor), Mosasaurus/whale (orca), ochre jelly, snowflake ooze
VII: Compsognathus/needletooth swarm, dread blossom, Leedsichthys/whale (baleen), shambling mound
VIII: Amphicyon/bearhound, Basilosaurus/whale (cachalot), black pudding, Deinotherium/elephant, dinosaur (allosaurus), dinosaur (elasmosaurus), Polacanthus/dinosaur (ankylosaurus)
IX: Megalosaurus/dinosaur (tyrannosaurus), Ornithocheirus/dinosaur (quetzalcoatlus), treant

The planar ally and planar binding spells still call outsiders and elementals.

Lesser planar…: angel (movanic deva), archon (hound), archon (justice), archon (lantern), bacchae, barghest, demon (mane), devil (imp), devil (lemure), devil (succubus), dwarf ancestor, eladrin (coure), eladrin (bralani), elemental (small), elemental (medium), genie (janni), hellhound, nightmare, sylph, triton, yeth hound
Planar…: angel (astral deva), angel (monadic deva), archon (owl), archon (sword), archon (trumpet), archon (warden), asura, couatl, demon (blood fiend), devil (erinyes), devil (hellcat), eladrin (firre), eladrin (ghale), eladrin (shiradi), elemental (large), genie (djinni), genie (efreeti), moon dog, night hag, rakshasa, salamander
Greater planar…: archon (throne), angel (planetar), devil (malebranche), devil (pit fiend), eladrin (tulani), elemental (huge), elemental weird

See the “Age of Kings” document for rules about animate dead, create undead, create greater undead, other “summon” spells, and construct creation.

Knowledge (Dungeoneering)

Following the chaos of the Sundering, the monetary economy has largely collapsed; new coins are no longer minted, and old guineas and shillings have to be melted down into gold and silver bars before shops will accept them. (In fact, the one-pound silver bar, or “pound sterling”, is the closest thing to currency in Thule these days; an aristocrat’s starting wealth comes to 54 pounds sterling.) Merchants prefer to barter for equipment, gems, trade goods, etc. Obviously, equipment associated with extinct races is no longer manufactured, such as elven chain and dwarven plate: you may be able to negotiate an even higher price for such rare items. New mines have opened up while some old ones have closed, while trade routes have shifted or petered out altogether. See “Goods and Equipment” for local availability of non-magic items.

More to come...

[Archpaladin Zousha]

The Exodus Campaign:
The Age of Kings

If you’re new to Valentine-style D&D, or simply lost the “Thule” house rules, this is what you missed…

Thule in Space

“Thule” (as in “Ultima”…) is Europe, circa 105,000 A.D. Its inhabitants consider it the center of the Material Plane – and therefore the Cosmos – directly connected to the Astral Plane and the Ethereal Shadow. (The Astral Plane in turn is connected to the Celestial Plane and the Fiendish Abyss, the homes of the outsiders and sources of positive and negative energy.) At the time of the “Thule” campaign, a new ice age was in full swing, and the glaciers had advanced and retreated several times in known history. The towns of Moskov and Varsov, for example, were plowed under by the ice 700 years before, while Vina, at the edge of the tundra, was once warm enough for vineyards. There were also land bridges connecting Great Britain with Ireland and France, Norway with Demark, Italy with Sicily, Corsica with Sardinia, and Greece with Crete and Turkey. Glacial lakes and shrunken seas were the main bodies of water. Thule was bordered by the Great Sea (the Atlantic Ocean), the Mysterious East (Asia), and Terra Incognita (Africa). The latter was the home of fanatical elves called the Alsarans, while the Mysterious East was home to bull- and devil-worshipping dwarves – the Taurians – and a mixture of dwarves and elves called Outremer. All of these outsiders were either hostile or unknown to the nations of Thule.

With only one exception, all of these nations were kingdoms (the Hyperboreans of modern Poland and the Ukraine called themselves an empire, but could not control their erstwhile subjects in Russia, the Sarmatians). That exception was Adriatica – today’s Greece and Italy – a democracy of gnomes and halflings experimenting with Renaissance-level technology. While a patchwork of dwarf kingdoms were scattered over Thule’s mountain ranges, the two most powerful countries were the human theocracy of Armorica, in western Thule, and the elven magocracy of Sylvania, in eastern Thule. The continent’s total population (not counting Alsaran invaders in Spain) was 3.5 million (1.5 million of whom lived in Armorica); its largest city was the metropolis of Ys, with 50,000 people. To put this in perspective, Thule was no more populous than Connecticut, and all of its cities were smaller than LaCrosse.

Thule in Time

The oldest civilizations known to PCs (and then only with a DC 25 Knowledge [History] check) were the Nibelung dwarves and Iberian halflings, whose empires were 9,000 and 6,000 years old respectively. Anything before about 90,000 A.D. – including the rise of the gods, the evolution (or devolution) of trolls, elves, dire wolves and so on, and of course the fall of Western Civilization – is lost in the mists of time. The days of the Nibelungs and Iberians, when the gods walked among men and the first heroic guilds were founded, are known as the Age of Gold; it was followed by the Age of Magi, from 5,000 to 3,400 years before the campaign. All sorts of spells and magical artifacts were invented, the major kingdoms of Thule were founded, and various demigods and lesser deities ascended from the ranks of ordinary mortals. Unfortunately, the disastrous Dragon Wars and the codification of magic under Otto, Tasha and other famous spellcasters ended this glorious age, and it was followed in turn by the Age of Kings.

The Age of Kings saw the break-up of the Hyperborean Empire, and its eventual absorption by Sylvania. Every country suffered the ravages of monsters (like the tarrasque of Armorica and the dragon Y Ddraig Goch), the collapse of trade routes, and the rise of demon cults and bandit clans. (The worst of the latter, the Sarmatian orcs and goblins, actually united in the last decades of the Age of Kings, and posed a serious enough threat to the great kingdoms that they united in building the Long Wall to stop their raids.) Naturally, the situation was further complicated by wars and alliances between the various states. The end of the Age of Kings came when Sylvanian troops, under the command of King Aramil Amnodel, awoke constructs called the Clockwork Servants, in a mithral mine on the Adriatican-Sylvanian border. Within five months, the hundred-millenium-old constructs had destroyed every kingdom in Thule except Sylvania and Armorica, and with their foothold secure, awakened their god at Lake Leman near Fort Pern. This “Clockwork Spirit”, armed with weapons from the mythical Age of Ashes, proceeded to ally with the demons and devils – since both wished to overthrow the existing world order, and both appreciated the value of pain – and crushed the forces of Amnodel and Armorica’s king, Leon IV. At literally the last moment, eight brave heroes…more-or less…entered the Clockwork Spirit’s sanctuary at Lake Leman and killed it; those who survived were known forevermore as the “Godslayers”. This is the point at which “Exodus” begins.

Heroes of Thule

Until the end of the Age of Kings, heroic classes were trained at state-sponsored guilds: for instance, Sylvania trained druids, rangers and wizards, while Armorica trained clerics, paladins and bards. Given Thule’s small population, such heroes were naturally scarce; each country had only one character of Level 15, or “the Fifteenth Degree” as the locals said. Before the Godslayers, heroes of the Sixteenth Degree and up had not been seen for decades. As you might expect, even mid-level spells like animate objects, atonement, raise dead, and reincarnate were rare.

For the approximately 300 heroes between Eleventh and Fifteenth Degrees, Knowledge (Local) or the legend lore spell was the best way of identifying them, and remains so in “Exodus”. Such heroes were tempting prizes for outsiders, fey, and elementals: since the souls of the deceased were reborn as such creatures, depending on their alignment and level, converting powerful mortals to your side was a clever investment. With the collapse of the planes in the Age of Exodus, it is no longer certain where mortals end up when they die…nor outsiders, fey and elementals, for that matter! But creating undead, and interrupting the natural course, is still a fundamentally evil act, and destroying undead is still fundamentally good.

Both heroes and NPCs could ride mounts, as per the rules in the DMG: any creatures one or more sizes larger than your character, with a CR at least three levels lower than your ECL (or at least four, if the creature can fly). Wizards and sorcerers could use any familiar from the PHB, though not the variants from the DMG. Druids could pick any animal-type creatures of half their druid level for a companion (except a few that did not exist in either modern or Ice Age Europe), while rangers could pick any such animal of one-fourth their level. While most of the “summoning” spells worked as normal, create undead summoned ghouls at caster level 14 and below, and mummies at level 15 and above. Create greater undead summoned wraiths at level 15 and below, spectres at levels 16 and 17, drowned at levels 18 and 19, and jahis at level 20 or above. Animate objects was available to bards, clerics, druids, sorcerers and wizards, which was useful for building constructs (see below).

Constructs and Equipment in Thule

Both in the Age of Kings and the Age of Exodus, the availability of magic items relies on community size: only 1st-level in in hamlets and villages, up to 2nd-level in small towns, up to 3rd-level in large towns, and so on. Beyond 5th-level or 6th-level, you must create or discover such items yourself. Both ages are also dominated by cottage industry and local manufacture: a country without any mithral mines will not have mithral shields on the shelves. But if you do find a mithral shield, you can sell it for full price in a mithral-poor country…whereas merchants elsewhere will only take it for half its value.

Constructs are fairly common in Thule, acting as housekeepers, bodyguards, and even siege engines. Any constructs built by a given kingdom can be bought for the cost of the raw materials, plus the cost of animate objects (a sixth-level spell) and the cost of any “programmed” spells. To build a construct of your own, you need to establish a workshop worth 500 g.p., then buy the raw materials yourself. A DC 10 + CR Craft check must be made to fashion its body; to animate the body, animate objects must be cast on it, followed immediately by a Knowledge (Mystical) check of DC 10 + CR. This creates a construct with the standard hit points, abilities and so on, but no spells or spell-like abilities. These must be “programmed” into the construct by casting them during its creation, followed by a Knowledge (Mystical) check just as before. One spell may be programmed for each level in the construct’s CR: a homunculus or bogun can cast only one spell, and that just once, while a juggernaut or stone golem can have eleven spells which it can cast just once, or nine spells it can cast once and two spells it can cast twice, or…etc. Constructs cast spells at the programmer’s level. Since this ability is potentially very powerful, constructs cannot be built with additional hit dice.

PCs and NPCs may build the following constructs:

Bogun: CR 1; requires hair, mud and compost (no cost)
Homunculus: CR 1; requires a mandrake root, clay and ashes, spring water, and one pint of blood (total 50 g.p.)
Dread guard: CR 2; requires masterwork banded mail, a masterwork small steel shield, and a longsword (total 459 g.p.)
Topiary guardian (medium): CR 3; requires a sculpted shrub and rare balms (total 800 g.p.)
Equine golem: CR 5; requires hardwood timber from a single tree over 100 years old (total 400 g.p.)
Caryatid column: CR 6; requires a +2 bastard sword and 1,000 pounds of marble (total 20,000 g.p.)
Flesh golem: CR 7; requires special unguents and six corpses (total 500 g.p.)
Topiary guardian (large): CR 7; requires a sculpted shrub and rare balms (total 2,400 g.p.)
Bronze serpent: CR 10; requires 1,000 pounds of bronze (total 1,500 g.p.)
Brass golem: CR 10; requires 1,000 pounds of brass (total 1,500 g.p.)
Clay golem: CR 10; requires rare oils and 1,000 pounds of clay (total 1,500 g.p.)
Iron golem: CR 13, requires rare tinctures and 5,000 pounds of iron (total 10,000 g.p.)
Stone golem: CR 11; requires magic powder and 3,000 pounds of granite (total 5,000 g.p)
Juggernaut: CR 11; requires 50,000 pounds of granite (total 5,000 g.p.)
Wicker man: CR 11; requires special herbs, alchemical oils, and 800 pounds of vines and timber from oaks and darkwood trees (total 23,000 g.p.)
Topiary guardian (huge): CR 12; requires a sculpted shrub and rare balms (total 4,600 g.p.)
Slaughterstone behemoth: CR 15; requires a single 10,000 pound block of quartz crystal (total 10,000 g.p.)
Ironwyrm golem: CR 17; requires rare elixirs and 5,000 pounds of iron (total 25,000 g.p.)

Thule Miscellanea

There is no penalty for shooting into melee. I never understood why a raging barbarian with an axe is less dangerous to his friends than a sharp-eyed ranger with a bow.

I have no patience for arcane spell failure or non-proficiency penalties. If you’re not proficient with it, you can’t use it. But I have no patience with having to rack up half-a-dozen weapon proficiencies just to use your own gear either. Exotic Weapon Proficiency counts for all exotic weapons, Martial Weapon Proficiency counts for all martial weapons, and so forth.

I have met exactly one DM who bothered with experience points; all the rest operated by DM fiat. That seems like a perfectly sensible system to me. Expect to level up at the end of each game you attend and survive, unless you do something that would normally cost you experience.

Likewise, I have met exactly one DM who bothered with spell components. Except in extraordinary cases, I will follow the majority. (But don’t expect NPCs to cast free spells for you, just because they don’t need components. Time is money…)

As far as I’m concerned, Knowledge (Arcana), Knowledge (the Planes), and Knowledge (Religion) are all the same thing: whenever any of these would be called for, just roll Knowledge (Mystical). (Bards, clericks, monks, paladins, sorcerers and wizards all have it as a class skill.) Note that this new skill can be applied to constructs, dragons, elementals, magical beasts, outsiders, undead…and fey and monstrous humanoids, since Thule considers them all to be creatures of the “a-wizard-did-it” variety.

Knowledge (Nature) can be applied to animals, plants, vermin and giants; oozes are also included, since they are considered to be mutant fungi or slime molds. Remember that as mere Level One characters, you won’t know very much about the enemies you face. Each time you meet a new kind of monster, make a DC 10 + CR check to remember your guild hall training. If you fail, your character will be totally ignorant of its special attacks, qualities and spell-like abilities…even nasty ones like breath weapons and petrifying stares. (The same applies for monsters covered by Knowledge [Mystical]).

[Archpaladin Zousha]

I don't know how to post the equipment stuff, since it's on an Excel spreadsheet.

[Archpaladin Zousha]

THE CLOCKWORK SCHOLAR
Over the past few decades, a few hundred tinkers and thinkers have grouped together into an informal fraternity, dedicated to unearthing the mysteries of the lost civilizations from the Age of Gold and the Age of Ashes. The greatest of these civilizations was that of the Clockwork Servants, and their special concern for these dangerous constructs has earned them the name "Clockwork Scholars".

Scholars have a particular affinity for creating constructs and artifacts, eventually learning how to summon Clockwork Servants of their own, and even enhancing their bodies and minds with arcane implants. While they are neither spectacular combatants nor versatile spellcasters, they are fast, tough, and have an uncanny proficiency with strange or forgotten weapons.

Hit die: d10

REQUIREMENTS
Abilities: Intelligence is necessary for both the scholar's spells and extra skill points, which are absolutely vital. Dexterity is also very helpful, since scholars are best at unarmored, ranged combat.
Alignment: Any lawful.

CLASS SKILLS
Balance (Dex), Climb (Str), Craft (Int), Heal (Wis), Hide (Dex), Intimidate (Cha), Jump (Str), Knowledge (geography) (Int), Knowledge (history) (Int), Knowledge (mystical) (Int), Listen (Wis), Move Silently (Dex), Search (Int), Sense Motive (Wis), Spot (Wis), Survival (Wis), Swim (Str), Tumble (Dex)
Skill points at first level: (2 +Int modifier)*4
Skill points at each additional level: 2 +Int modifier

BASE ATTACK BONUSES
Level 1: +0
Level 2: +1
Level 3: +2
Level 4: +3
Level 5: +3
Level 6: +4
Level 7: +5
Level 8: +6/+1
Level 9: +6/+1
Level 10: +7/+2
Level 11: +8/+3
Level 12: +9/+4
Level 13: +9/+4
Level 14: +10/+5
Level 15: +11/+6/+1
Level 16: +12/+7/+2
Level 17: +12/+7/+2
Level 18: +13/+8/+3
Level 19: +14/+9/+4
Level 20: +15/+10/+5

SAVING THROWS
Level 1: +0 to all
Level 2: +0 to all
Level 3: +1 to all
Level 4: +1 to all
Level 5: +1 to all
Level 6: +2 to all
Level 7: +2 to all
Level 8: +2 to all
Level 9: +3 to all
Level 10: +3 to all
Level 11: +3 to all
Level 12: +4 to all
Level 13: +4 to all
Level 14: +4 to all
Level 15: +5 to all
Level 16: +5 to all
Level 17: +5 to all
Level 18: +6 to all
Level 19: +6 to all
Level 20: +6 to all

SPECIAL
Level 1: Clockwork Summon, Fast Movement
Level 2: -
Level 3: +2 to Intelligence
Level 4: -
Level 5: -
Level 6: +2 to Dexterity
Level 7: -
Level 8: -
Level 9: +2 to Wisdom
Level 10: Iron Will
Level 11: -
Level 12: +2 to Strength
Level 13: -
Level 14: -
Level 15: +2 to Charisma
Level 16: -
Level 17: -
Level 18: +2 to Constitution
Level 19: -
Level 20: Clockwork Savior

SPELLS PER DAY
As the standard sorcerer.

CLASS FEATURES
Weapon and Armor Proficiency: Scholars are proficient with all exotic weapons.

Spells: A scholar casts arcane spells, which are drawn from the scholar spell list (see below). She can cast any spell she knows without preparing it ahead of time. To learn or cast a spell, a scholar must have an Intelligence score equal to at least 10 +the spell level. The Difficulty Class for a saving throw against a scholar's spell is 10 +the spell level +the scholar's Intelligence modifier. Like other spellcasters, a scholar can cast only a certain number of spells of each spell level per day. Her base daily spell allotment is given in Table 3-16 of the "PHB". In addition, she recieves bonus spells per day if she has a high Intelligence score (see Table 1-1 of the "PHB").

Clockwork Summon: A scholar can obtain a Clockwork Servant. Doing so takes 1d20 days. If the Clockwork Servant dies or is dismissed by the scholar, she may gain a new one after another 1d20 days. The construct serves as assistant and bodyguard; though it is not equipped with any possessions, it will remain within 50 feet of the scholar at all times, and defend her with its natural attacks and programmed spells.

The scholar can communicate telepathically with the Clockwork Servant, and give it simple commands, such as "heal this character" or "attack that monster". It can also be keyed to perform specific tasks at specific times, or when certain conditions are met. It will not obey the commands of anyone except the scholar, nor will it move over 50 feet away from her, even if she tells it to do so.

At 1st to 5th level, the Clockwork Servant is a Scarab, with a 1d2 multitool. At 6th to 10th level, the Clockwork Servant is a Surgeon, with four 1d4 claws. At 11th to 15th level, the Clockwork Servant is a Soldier, with two 1d6 masterwork saps and two 1d3 masterwork whips. At 16th to 20th level, the Clockwork Servant is a Serpent, with a 2d8 slam and a 4d6 bite.

Fast Movement: A scholar's land speed is faster than the norm for her race by +10 feet. This benefit applies only when she is wearing no armor, light armor, or medium armor and not carrying a heavy load. Apply this bonus before modifying the scholar's speed because of any load carried or armor worn. For example, a halfling scholar has a speed of 30 feet, rather than 20 feet, when wearing light or no armor. When wearing medium armor or carrying a medium load, her speed drops to 20 feet.

Implant Bonuses: Starting at 3rd level, a scholar adds two points to a given ability score every three levels. For example, a scholar adds two points to her Intelligence score at 3rd level, two points to her Dexterity score at 6th level, and so on. This is in addition to ability points gained every fourth level, and ability points gained or lost with age.

Iron Will: A scholar gains Iron Will as a bonus feat at 10th level.

Clockwork Savior: At 20th level, the scholar permanently becomes a construct. Her type changes to construct, and as a result she gains low-light vision, darkvision out to 60 feet, immunity to all mind-affecting effects and sleep effects, immunity to all death effects and necromancy effects, and immunity to poison, paralysis, stunning and disease. She is not subject to critical hits, nonlethal damage, ability damage, ability drain, fatigue, exhaustion or energy drain. She no longer suffers penalties for aging and cannot be magically aged. Any aging penalties she may already have suffered, however, remain in place. Bonuses still accrue, and the scholar still dies of old age when her time is up.

SPELL LIST
0th-Level: detect magic, detect poison, flare, know direction, touch of fatigue
1st-Level: alarm, cure light wounds, expeditious retreat, magic missile, remove fear, shield
2nd-Level: blindness/deafness, cure moderate wounds, darkvision, invisibility, locate object, obscure object, pyrotechnics, scorching ray
3rd-Level: clairvoyance, cure serious wounds, fireball, sleet storm, stinking cloud
4th-Level: arcane eye, detect scrying, greater invisibility, ice storm
5th-Level: cloudkill, mind fog, prying eyes, teleport
6th-Level: animate object, disintegrate, true seeing
7th-Level: control weather, mass invisibility, reverse gravity
8th-Level: clone, sunburst, temporal stasis
9th-Level: gate, meteor swarm, teleportation circle

[Archpaladin Zousha]

I also don't have the map, since that's a JPG, and I don't know how to post those.

That's everything he sent to me in his first e-mail.

[Archpaladin Zousha]

So...any new advice in light of this information?

[Draz74]

So...any new advice in light of this information?

Use [spoiler] tags? :smallwink:

[Archpaladin Zousha]

Point taken. I've edited the posts to have spoiler blocks. Sorry about that. :smallredface:

[Archpaladin Zousha]

So...no new advice?

None of the racial propositions seem to work well.

Halflings are small, so they aren't going to be very powerful in melee.

Changelings I'm not sure of, since I don't have the Eberron books.

Feytouched are most likely out, since I don't have the book with them in it and I'm pretty sure they have an LA too.

Planetouched are out, since they have that damn level adjustment.

Goblins are not only small, but they have a strength penalty on top of that. Definately no.

Hobgoblins have a level adjustment, so they're out.

Kobolds are small, so they're probably out. Besides, someone else is probably gonna play one, and I don't like it when there are two of the same race in a party. Just a little hang-up of mine.

It seems like all of the races either have some kind of level adjustment or they're a small race, which are ineffective for the kind of character I want to build. And even if they aren't they're just plain ugly. What am I gonna do?!

[Myrmex]

Small races get the advantage of riding mounts in dungeons. -2 str isn't a big deal when you get triple damage on charges.

I would go with halfling. When you're casting bite of the weretiger, -2 str really isn't going to matter.

[edit]
-2 str isn't that big of a deal. It's -1.5 damage for two handing a weapon, -1.5 from smaller weapon dice, and -2 damage from having one less to attack. But you get +1 to hit for being small, so that's +2 damage. On average, your halfling will be doing -3 damage per swing, which is fairly trivial.

[Archpaladin Zousha]

So instead of being an intimidating Darth Vaderesque figure I'm a Lord Dark Helmetlike comic relief? :smallconfused:

[Archpaladin Zousha]

Small races get the advantage of riding mounts in dungeons. -2 str isn't a big deal when you get triple damage on charges.

I would go with halfling. When you're casting bite of the weretiger, -2 str really isn't going to matter.

[edit]
-2 str isn't that big of a deal. It's -1.5 damage for two handing a weapon, -1.5 from smaller weapon dice, and -2 damage from having one less to attack. But you get +1 to hit for being small, so that's +2 damage. On average, your halfling will be doing -3 damage per swing, which is fairly trivial.

MEchanically sound though it may be, I have some serious doubts in the coolness department. I've never been able to picture halfings as badass warrior-mages clad head to toe in black plate armor.

[Myrmex]

Then suck it up and eat the level adjustment.

[Archpaladin Zousha]

What exactly is the problem with level adjustment anyway?

[Ernir]

What exactly is the problem with level adjustment anyway?

You are doomed to be a level behind everyone who doesn't have any. Especially bad for someone who wants to act like a badass, being badass is hard when everyone else is effectively higher level.

Unless the DM allows "LA buyoff". If that is allowed, LA +1 is not such a great pain at all.

[Archpaladin Zousha]

What's LA buyoff?

The way levelling works in our campaign, which I believe is described in the DM's documents, is that at the end of the session, everyone levels up. If you died and were revived, instead of having a negative level, you just don't level up at the end. If you are not present, then your character is away from the group doing something else, and does not level up. It's a bigger concern about missing games or dying rather than just LA, since even a character with a non LA race can miss sessions due to schedule conflicts, or can die.

Granted, I find this a big pain in the neck at times, especially when the DM decides to give me a level-dependent treasure. In our last campaign, my paladin recieved a big reliquary that couldn't be opened by anyone who wasn't ELC 15. Since my paladin had bitten it in some of the previous battles, and was wavering around level 13, the DM generously pulled some true ressurections out of his DM hat, first by sending three Solars to personally ressurect him after his first death, and then having the Spirit of the Western Lands show up and do a true ressurection for him in exchange for slaying a big ol' dragon. At least the DM made up for it by having one of the items in the reliquary once I got it open be the Book of Exalted Deeds.

[erikun]

Reducing Level Adjustments (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/variant/races/reducingleveladjustments.htm)

LA ends up really kicking you in the end. While others are moving onto level 20 and getting the last of their abilities, you're just moving onto level 19. What's more, it takes you the same time to do so - the LA counts as a level for XP/CR purposes, and so will always hold you back.

In fact, LA is the worst of both world. You could as a higher level for XP, requiring more to level up. You could as a higher level for CR, meaning you don't get any more than the rest of the party. LA doesn't add to BAB, saves, or skill points. LA doesn't apply to Hit Dice, meaning opponents tread you as a lower level for Holy Word-like effects. LA doesn't apply to caster level, leaving you behind there too.

[Archpaladin Zousha]

Yeah, but our DM doesn't use XP. I just said he lets us level up at the end of a session if our characters have participated in it and haven't died.

[Archpaladin Zousha]

I'm beginning to wonder if I should play a paladin at all. The race selections just don't seem conducive to playing a strong paladin-based build.

[Myrmex]

I don't think LA is going to matter, if you level 1/session. You're basically getting a free level, since there's no experience, right? You level in discrete intervals.

[Kylarra]

Actually, with the way your leveling works, a level adjustment might either a) not matter or b) just be like having died once already which might end up not mattering anyway.

[Archpaladin Zousha]

I don't think LA is going to matter, if you level 1/session. You're basically getting a free level, since there's no experience, right? You level in discrete intervals.

That is correct.

[Archpaladin Zousha]

So I presume it's now mostly a matter of getting approval from the DM then?

[Myrmex]

Well, it looks like you got your Aasimar, without having to deal with that LA. Nice.

[Archpaladin Zousha]

Thank you. Now I need to wait and see him to get him to approve all the other stuff.