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View Full Version : [3.5] Building a Fey/Elf character from a picture!



rypt
2010-02-18, 11:16 AM
So I actually found this picture in a thread somewhere else on these forums and immediately thought to myself, "I have to make a character out of this."

http://www.wizards.com/magic/images/cardart/LRW/Naths_Elite_640.jpg

Pretty sweet right!? They are a race of elves from a Magic: The Gathering setting.

I'm building this character for a rather unique Eberron PbP campaign. Any 3.5 WoTC material is allowed (no Dragon Magazine). I can select my own starting level (was looking for mid level, 8-12ish) and stat generation (within reason; no 584 point-buy!). It could be gestalt, but I would prefer not to unless I absolutely cannot make it work otherwise. Flaws are fine.

Starting with race, it seems like the best options are fey-templated elves (half-fey or feytouched), or Killoren (from RoTW). The templated (half-fey in particular) elves seem more faithful to the source, but I would be looking at a heavy CON penalty. The Killoren are relatively flexible, but seem a little blah mechanically.

I see the character as living in, and being a protector of, the forests of Aerenal or the Eldeen Reaches. If I went with the Killoren, I'd probably go with the Eldeen Reaches and have him be associated with the fey court. Its a toss up for the elf, though the dark and mysterious aspects of the Aerani are intriguing.

In terms of a build, given the equipment they carry, they seem to be martially oriented, so I was thinking either a gish or a ToB build. They also appear to be heavily camoflouged, so I've been trying to find ways to do either while having hide and move silently as class skills, but thats proving to be very restrictive.

The elf option seems like it would fit well with an Eternal Blade, but half-fey changes my type to Fey so I wouldn't be able to progress that PrC once the template is applied. Its less clear to me if feytouched changes my type or not, so that might be a possibility. Revenant blade also seems like a possibility, though that looks like it would lead to a lot of charging which is something I've had enough of. Its rather boring to just charge over and over again.

On the gish side, I think its important to note that the elves from the source are very nature-oriented. I briefly explored using druid casting as a base, but it seems like the druid options would require using wild shape which I do NOT want to use. The inspiration here is mostly aesthetic, so going through all this just to turn into a bear seems to defeat the purpose. Theres also the archivist as another way to get druid spells, but again, I don't see all that many gish options there. Falling back on arcane casting, are there any PrCs out there that progress arcane casting while maintaining some sort of nature-y flavor?

If you've read all this, you've probably figured out I'm pretty picky and indecisive. Nevertheless, I'm hoping you guys have some ideas that I haven't considered yet, be it races, classes, feats, flavor, whatever!

Starbuck_II
2010-02-18, 11:20 AM
Have you considered a Elf with Fey Bloodline?

the humanity
2010-02-18, 11:23 AM
half bauriar(spelling?) and ranger seems about right to me.

you may need to make some items for these guys, that spear looks like a slasher and the shield looks both light and huge. not to mention green armor, the only green metal I can think of is Baatorian green steel... probably an unlikely candidate.

Edge
2010-02-18, 11:26 AM
Rich's fey-related feats (http://www.giantitp.com/articles/3CsX278ZDGQQ62al3RP.html) may be of some interest if you intend to pick up some druid levels.

If homebrew's acceptable, then Krimm Blackleaf has an elven subrace (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=2279940&postcount=2) that uses the same picture, as well as a Tome of Battle/druid gish (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=101648) PrC.

rypt
2010-02-18, 11:28 AM
Have you considered a Elf with Fey Bloodline?

I had not thought of that. That is certainly a viable option for a race. I'm not sure how the DM will interpret the bloodline rules though. They tend to be implement slightly differently by different people.


half bauriar(spelling?) and ranger seems about right to me.

you may need to make some items for these guys, that spear looks like a slasher and the shield looks both light and huge. not to mention green armor, the only green metal I can think of is Baatorian green steel... probably an unlikely candidate.

Half-Bauriar? Is that a race or a template? I'm not familiar with it. Ranger too simple! :smalltongue:

As for the equipment, there is armor made from leaves in RotW I believe, which is perfect. The weapon would probably be a glaive. I'm not exactly sure how to handle the shield...I might just forgo the shield altogether.


Rich's fey-related feats (http://www.giantitp.com/articles/3CsX278ZDGQQ62al3RP.html) may be of some interest if you intend to pick up some druid levels.

If homebrew's acceptable, then Krimm Blackleaf has an elven subrace (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=2279940&postcount=2) that uses the same picture, as well as a Tome of Battle/druid gish (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=101648) PrC.

Aha! Thats the thread where I first saw the image! Unfortunately, no homebrew material is allowed.

Ormagoden
2010-02-18, 11:50 AM
Half-fey template (flavor it to get a horn attack if need be)

Looks like leafweave armor to me and maybe some darkwood or bone weapons?

FishAreWet
2010-02-18, 11:55 AM
Half-fey template (flavor it to get a horn attack if need be)

Or just take Half-Satyr.

rypt
2010-02-18, 11:55 AM
Or just take Half-Satyr.

Thats from Dragon Magazine, which as I noted in the first post, is not an allowable source.

FishAreWet
2010-02-18, 11:58 AM
Thats from Dragon Magazine, which as I noted in the first post, is not an allowable source.

Oh, right. Then refluffing Half-Fey to lose wings but gain a Gore attack seems very fair.

Or be a straight up Satyr with Fey or Plant Bloodlines.

Starbuck_II
2010-02-18, 12:00 PM
I had not thought of that. That is certainly a viable option for a race. I'm not sure how the DM will interpret the bloodline rules though. They tend to be implement slightly differently by different people.


I suggest RAB (rules as balanced)- Bloodline don't count as ECL for gaining XP, but they do change your level.
(RAW they don't change ECL for all level based things including XP need for gaining a level so it works as free level.)

Heliomance
2010-02-18, 12:01 PM
You might be interested in the Dread Commando from (IIRC) Heroes of Battle. Form what I remember, it's a martial class focused around getting in with no-one seeing you, stabbing up the enemies, and getting out, leaving only the dead bodies to let anyone know you were ever there.

rypt
2010-02-18, 12:37 PM
Oh, right. Then refluffing Half-Fey to lose wings but gain a Gore attack seems very fair.

Or be a straight up Satyr with Fey or Plant Bloodlines.

Oh, I'm actually glad you mentioned the wings as that is something I forgot to mention as a potential issue in the first post. Those elves in the picture definitely do not have wings and I've been meaning to talk to the DM about that aspect of the half-fey template.

imperialspectre
2010-02-18, 12:57 PM
The horns aren't suitable for use as weapons, so there's no need to include them in mechanics. Picking a wild elf or wood elf (from Races of Feyrun) could give you the mechanics easily, and you could go from there.

rypt
2010-02-18, 01:15 PM
The horns aren't suitable for use as weapons, so there's no need to include them in mechanics. Picking a wild elf or wood elf (from Races of Feyrun) could give you the mechanics easily, and you could go from there.

I wasn't necessarily planning on using the horns as weapons, but I still thought it would be reasonable to provide a legitimate reason for the existence of the horns. I think the picture evokes certain exotic quality that justifies them being more than just a mundane elven sub-race.

Starbuck_II
2010-02-18, 01:34 PM
They look like Tieflings with the horns not elves.

hiryuu
2010-02-18, 01:44 PM
They look like Tieflings with the horns not elves.

You can't see their feet here; they've got deer toes.


http://www.wizards.com/magic/images/mtgcom/fcpics/taste/db1_LorwynElves.jpg


...I think this is where I differ from a lot of folks. To me, this is just a reflavored elf in appearance, and that's about it.

Flickerdart
2010-02-18, 01:49 PM
And Tieflings can have cloven feet, too. It works.

FishAreWet
2010-02-18, 01:56 PM
I think Teifling is a good call. Take a Teifling and change everything red to green.

Sinfire Titan
2010-02-18, 02:06 PM
I think Teifling is a good call. Take a Teifling and change everything red to green.

Lesser Teifling. No LA.

The lower Cha is personality-based (because these particular Elves are murderous pricks that make Drow look calm). Seriously, read the two books for that set. None of them are Good-aligned save for the main character (and even he follows the Good is not Nice trope to a T).

rypt
2010-02-18, 02:12 PM
Lesser Teifling. No LA.

The lower Cha is personality-based (because these particular Elves are murderous pricks that make Drow look calm). Seriously, read the two books for that set. None of them are Good-aligned save for the main character (and even he follows the Good is not Nice trope to a T).

Do they use magic?

Sinfire Titan
2010-02-18, 02:16 PM
Do they use magic?

Somewhat, but Darkness isn't one of them. Factotum, Spirit Shaman, Druid (especially that one, if you keep up with the card game), and occasionally Cleric.

rypt
2010-02-18, 02:20 PM
Somewhat, but Darkness isn't one of them. Factotum, Spirit Shaman, Druid (especially that one, if you keep up with the card game), and occasionally Cleric.

Druid definitely seems like the best fit magic-wise. I was trying to make a druid gish that didn't revolve around wild shape (which lead me to archivist), but I couldn't get very far.

Sinfire Titan
2010-02-18, 02:25 PM
Druid definitely seems like the best fit magic-wise. I was trying to make a druid gish that didn't revolve around wild shape (which lead me to archivist), but I couldn't get very far.

Ask if you can sub out for Shapeshift, then reflavor. They did have mounts, but they were not bound to them.


BTW, I'm not kidding about the prick part. These guys make Jin Kisaragi (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Pantheon/Mentalism) look nice by comparison.

rypt
2010-02-18, 02:42 PM
Ask if you can sub out for Shapeshift, then reflavor. They did have mounts, but they were not bound to them.


BTW, I'm not kidding about the prick part. These guys make Jin Kisaragi (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Pantheon/Mentalism) look nice by comparison.

Yea, but thats just swapping one form altering ability for another. The point is that I want to look like a badass horned-elf-demon-thing all the time! :smalltongue:

For the gishiness, I was referring to the fact that I don't think I found a single full BAB/fullish casting PrC that was effective for a druid.

I am less concerned about duplicating their personality as I am their abilities and appearances.

zagan
2010-02-18, 03:28 PM
As a base class might i recommend the spirit shaman if you want the druid spell list without being a druid ?
The only prc that I can think off fitting the theme would be geomancer, but it's hard to qualify and a poor prc anyway.

vicente408
2010-02-18, 03:46 PM
Yeah, Lorwyn elves are total *****. Completely obsessed with beauty, also. They hunt and kill other races, and members of their own race, who don't fit their standards of beauty (called Eyeblights). At least one has rearranged an entire forest to make it more pleasing to him. They consider themselves the absolute paragons of nature's strength and beauty, and consider all other life to be beneath them.

Elves operate under a strict caste system, with the most beautiful and perfectly formed at the top. Assassins are sometimes employed to attack rivals, not by killing them but by scarring them, making them into eyeblights and therefore abominations to their fellow elves.

They use Cervins as mounts, which are like deer large enough to ride. They often hunt with Cuffhounds, a breed of wolf/canine with golden brown and honey colored stripes.

I don't know what could be used to replicate their Vinebred? Basically they cover a living being (willing or unwilling) with magical nettle-vines, increasing their strength but making them a slave to the mage who controls them. Removing the vines is fatal to the subject.

Sinfire Titan
2010-02-18, 03:51 PM
Yeah, Lorwyn elves are total *****. Completely obsessed with beauty, also. They hunt and kill other races, and members of their own race, who don't fit their standards of beauty (called Eyeblights). At least one has rearranged an entire forest to make it more pleasing to him. They consider themselves the absolute paragons of nature's strength and beauty, and consider all other life to be beneath them.

Elves operate under a strict caste system, with the most beautiful and perfectly formed at the top. Assassins are sometimes employed to attack rivals, not by killing them but by scarring them, making them into eyeblights and therefore abominations to their fellow elves.

They use Cervins as mounts, which are like deer large enough to ride. They often hunt with Cuffhounds, a breed of wolf/canine with golden brown and honey colored stripes.

I don't know what could be used to replicate their Vinebred? Basically they cover a living being (willing or unwilling) with magical nettle-vines, increasing their strength but making them a slave to the mage who controls them. Removing the vines is fatal to the subject.


I always read the Vinebred as undead.

vicente408
2010-02-18, 03:57 PM
I always read the Vinebred as undead.

Vinebred are still living while under its control. It does dramatically reduce the creature's lifespan, but I don't think it can actually control a dead creature. It doesn't work like the Golgari.

Sinfire Titan
2010-02-18, 04:02 PM
Vinebred are still living while under its control. It does dramatically reduce the creature's lifespan, but I don't think it can actually control a dead creature. It doesn't work like the Golgari.

Oh, ok.


I think the harder part is getting Moonglow (or whatever that stuff is called) poison. From the book, that stuff is powerful enough to melt your skin off just by touching the petals of the plant. Perhaps a natural form of Acid mixed with Black Lotus Extract?

vicente408
2010-02-18, 04:07 PM
Moonglove? Yeah, that's potent stuff. Wouldn't have a clue of what to stat it as.

Aren't elves immune to it though? Or are they just the only ones who cultivate it?

Sinfire Titan
2010-02-18, 04:15 PM
Moonglove? Yeah, that's potent stuff. Wouldn't have a clue of what to stat it as.

Aren't elves immune to it though? Or are they just the only ones who cultivate it?

They just cultivate it. In the first chapter of Book 1, an elf ends up nearly killing herself with the stuff.

Runeclaw
2010-02-19, 08:40 PM
I can select my own starting level (was looking for mid level, 8-12ish) and stat generation


but I would be looking at a heavy CON penalty.

This seems like a pretty minor concern given the above. Just start with enough CON so as to still have however much you want after the penalty.

rypt
2010-02-19, 08:55 PM
This seems like a pretty minor concern given the above. Just start with enough CON so as to still have however much you want after the penalty.

I think that is pretty much the exact attitude the DM is trying to ferret out by giving us so much freedom. Its not like you just give yourself 18's in all your primary attributes and move on. Think of it more like the choice between a reasonable point buy and rolling your stats.

bosssmiley
2010-02-20, 11:16 AM
http://www.wizards.com/magic/images/cardart/LRW/Naths_Elite_640.jpg

"You don't like Goatboy? Goatboy is hurt by your indifference..." :smallbiggrin:

They're just Wood Elves (or possibly Wild *) rangers.

What? You thought all those different types of Elf were cultural variations? :smallwink: