PDA

View Full Version : Help for character creation/progression



Frozen_Feet
2009-09-12, 07:59 AM
We're going to start a long-running campaign with our group, and I need to prepare a character so we can get straight to the action once the oppurtunity presents itself. I have a character cocept and a backstory thought out, but don't know how to best implement it in game mechanics. Thus, I'm asking for your help.

Please limit all suggestions to SRD. I'm in the army now, and that's the only source I'll have readily available. It's also a source my GM is guaranteed to aprove of.

Overall concept: A young, sullen warrior who eventually develops into a greedy and bitter necromancer. Relies on buffs and physical attacks in combat, using magic mainly for utility and information gathering. He has also caught the eye and favor of the local goddess of death.

These are the qualities I want the character to (eventually) have:

- Able to fight well with a spear-like reach weapon
- Possessing a decent unarmed attack
- Good intimidate, healing, survival and knowledge skills
- ability to cast necromantic or generally death-themed spells

I'm not waiting for the character to become particularly strong or optimized with these sorts of requirements, but "as good as possible" is enough.

Char creation: We're starting at level one. Stats I can allocate are 9, 13, 12, 16, 13 and 14. Race will be human and alignment Lawful Neutral. We're allowed one flaw. How much hindrance would Murky-eyed cause in the long run?

Classes: As said, I'm starting off as some sort of warrior type, and progressing to a caster. However, I have no clue which classes I should choose. I hope to enter the caster class at level 3. A dip of monk seems necessary somewhere along the line for unarmed capability.

Other: The aforementioned death goddess has the domains of sun, healing, air and death.

I'm planning to take the character all the way to level 20. A little ambition can never hurt. If any additional knowledge is needed, just ask.

AslanCross
2009-09-12, 08:09 AM
I think straight cleric would be the best bet---clerics actually make better necromancers than wizards. Spears are simple weapons and are thus usable by clerics.

The unarmed attack is pretty strange, but simply putting on gauntlets will allow you to deal lethal damage with your unarmed strikes (albeit still trigger AOOs unless you get Improved Unarmed Strike).

Kalirren
2009-09-12, 09:28 AM
Honestly, I think you're firmly in the territory of charaters which D&D, especially SRD-only D&D, handles very poorly. Solution 1 is to play straight cleric, as has been suggested before, and de-emphasize that choice in your roleplay. Solution 2, if you feel that solution 1 doesn't jive with your character conception, is to take one or two levels of Ranger (or one level of ranger and one of monk) before stepping into cleric at level 3. You may be able to talk your DM into allowing unarmed strike as a 1st-level monk (which would include IUS, but not flurry or movement) instead of Rapid Shot or TWF as a substitute for your Ranger 2 combat style bonus feat, and substituting the cleric's Diplomacy skill with Intimidate.

If you weren't playing SRD-only, you could run with Dread Necromancer to 20, but that would shut you out of the utility spells and information-gathering which you would like your character's main use of magic to be.

Yora
2009-09-12, 10:08 AM
I also have to follow the posters before me, and have to say Cleric. The class has almost everything you want it to do, except for Intimidate as a class skill. You might put 4 levels of Fighter into the mix, but it's not neccessary.