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Ultimuh
2010-02-19, 01:32 PM
So I got a few questions..

I am currently running a game with my brothers. (actually, two games but this question is about 1 of the games I am planning).
And its the 3.5 edition of the books we have. (DMs gide, Monster and player manual.)

So I have made a Hobgoblin Fighter level 7 with blackguard level 1 prestige class. :smallamused:

The first question is if it is an interesting choise (or a good idea at all) for such a beast-man race to be a blackguard.


And the second question requires abit of explanation first..

I have been planning for this character to be sort of an Overlord (guess what game I was inspired by.)
ruling over a castle, some land and lesser goblinoids.
(By the way, is this also an interesting idea to build on?
Anyway, I'm derailing..)

So the thing is.. whenever I get myself to make the map. (my brother wanted a mountain of sorts to start his lair)
I find myself scrapping the map because I simply cannot get my ideas on paper, is there anything I can do to make this work?
(Or a dungeon maker utility for Pc I can use?) :smallconfused:

I'd apreciate any comments, ideas and help.

Croakamancer
2010-02-19, 01:39 PM
There are several utilities you can use to make a map. One of the questions though is if you're willing to pay for it. Free utilities you can use are rather rarer.

I'm not sure what sort of feedback you want on your other ideas (if you're interested in doing something, it is, by definition, interesting), but with more specifics, I'd be happy to help

Anxe
2010-02-19, 01:40 PM
Here's a free one you can use. Just scroll down to the one called Dungeon Crafter.

http://www.thievesguild.cc/downloads/index.php?dlsection=2

valadil
2010-02-19, 01:53 PM
S
The first question is if it is an interesting choise (or a good idea at all) for such a beast-man race to be a blackguard.

(By the way, is this also an interesting idea to build on?
Anyway, I'm derailing..)


Interesting is whatever you say it is. If you find that character interesting, your enthusiasm will translate into the game. You could run the most complex character in the world but if you find him boring, that would translate as well. Go with what interests you and the game will benefit from it.

I think a beastman who is civilized enough to be an overlord is a reasonable idea. As a player I've seen it before, so I might be bored. But I am not your players. This will be cool for them.

What sort of map are you talking about? Did you want to make an overview of the area, showing everything within 100 miles? Or were you trying to design the interior of the guy's castle?

Ultimuh
2010-02-19, 02:59 PM
Here's a free one you can use. Just scroll down to the one called Dungeon Crafter.

http://www.thievesguild.cc/downloads/index.php?dlsection=2

Thanks Anxe, I will look into that.



Interesting is whatever you say it is. If you find that character interesting, your enthusiasm will translate into the game. You could run the most complex character in the world but if you find him boring, that would translate as well. Go with what interests you and the game will benefit from it.

I think a beastman who is civilized enough to be an overlord is a reasonable idea. As a player I've seen it before, so I might be bored. But I am not your players. This will be cool for them.

What sort of map are you talking about? Did you want to make an overview of the area, showing everything within 100 miles? Or were you trying to design the interior of the guy's castle?




Yes, I am trying to build the moutain-castle from inside-out, using the entrance as a starting point. But I tend to run into dead ends while trying to get my ideas printed onto the empty sheet of paper.

FirebirdFlying
2010-02-19, 03:03 PM
Don't try to do it exactly first. Draw out big things - just make big, ugly circles for, oh, a storeroom. Say, I want a throneroom somewhere here, and draw it in. It doesn't have to be there in the end, but even simply throwing stuff down helps astronomically when designing things.

Gorbash
2010-02-19, 03:13 PM
Wait, wait, wait... Fighter lvl 7?

NEVER take odd levels of fighter (because you don't get anything). Fighters only come in 2,4 and 6 varities. :smallwink:

valadil
2010-02-19, 03:28 PM
Yes, I am trying to build the moutain-castle from inside-out, using the entrance as a starting point. But I tend to run into dead ends while trying to get my ideas printed onto the empty sheet of paper.

I find it's more helpful to make a list of features in the castle than to actually draw out the whole thing. What rooms are in the castle? Write them all out. THEN position them and connect them with various hallways.

If you're drawing a blank or always coming up with the same castle, I highly recommend googling for something like "D&D castle map." You don't have to use the layouts you find, but you'll get ideas for different rooms you can have. A cursory search I just did shows that castles often have chapels. Historically they probably had one chapel, but in a D&D game with lots of gods you might have several. Are they positioned near each other for convenience or apart to keep the differently minded clerics from arguing? You could easily justify a half dozen rooms spread all over the castle for a particularly pious ruler.

Lin Bayaseda
2010-02-19, 04:03 PM
Wait, wait, wait... Fighter lvl 7?

NEVER take odd levels of fighter (because you don't get anything). Fighters only come in 2,4 and 6 varities. :smallwink:
Well, he couldn't take the PrC after only 6 fighter levels because of the requirement of 5 ranks Hide (cross-class :smallmad:). But yes, the 7th level doesn't have to be a fighter level. Fighter 6/Barbarian 1/Blackguard 1 would work even better. Gains a couple of HP, rage 1/day, fast movement, at the exchange for .... well, actually at the exchange for nothing.

Yora
2010-02-19, 05:18 PM
Make it Fighter 6/Rogue 1. Makes it so much easier to get 5 ranks in Hide and increases Sneak Attack by 1d6. All you lose is +1 base attack bonus and 2 hit points. Better make it Rogue at 1st level and then 6 levels of fighter to get a lot more skill points.
Or Ranger. Also more skill points and Hide as a class skill, and Favored Enemy against humans for example.
But barbarian is also a nice idea to get the extra speed and Rage once per day.

There are a lot of good choices. Anything but Fighter 7. :smallbiggrin:

But then, you're players won't be able to notice any real difference, so Fighter 7/Blackguard X will also do the job as well as any other combination. It's not the very best option how to make such a character, but especially when you're new to the system, it might be a better idea to do things in a simple way that you understand, before following specialized advice for character optimization by people who have build NPCs for 10 years.

Sinfire Titan
2010-02-19, 05:31 PM
Or take Martial Study (any Shadow Hand maneuver) to get Hide as a class skill.

Ultimuh
2010-02-19, 07:57 PM
Ok, I followed the advice and made him a lv 6 fighter / lv 1 barbarian / lv1 Blackguard.
I actually like the idea. :smallamused:

Thanks!

And I apreciate all the advice of how to make the dungeon.
I have however been thinking about telling my brother to make his own castle (since he's the one ruling it anyway :smallbiggrin: ).
Since he wanted a mountain.. I will give him a 200ft (or taller) mesa which he could hollow out as much as he wants (or atleast how much his.. underlings are willing to work for him).

But by all means, I like more advice on how to handle things.

I will ask more questions later as further.. complications most likely will appear during the game. :smallsmile:

AslanCross
2010-02-19, 08:12 PM
Actually, I thought the hobgoblins were fairly civilized when compared to orcs. In the default setting they're just XP fodder, but in at least one setting they had a glorious empire that fell before humans became ubiquitous. I never thought of them as beastmen, and I've always liked running them as villains. They're capable of being intelligent and powerful combatants.

Ultimuh
2010-02-20, 01:53 PM
Actually, I thought the hobgoblins were fairly civilized when compared to orcs. In the default setting they're just XP fodder, but in at least one setting they had a glorious empire that fell before humans became ubiquitous. I never thought of them as beastmen, and I've always liked running them as villains. They're capable of being intelligent and powerful combatants.

Well, I was refering to their looks compared to the basic PC races and similar humanoids. :smallsmile:

deuxhero
2010-02-20, 01:55 PM
Make him a fighter 6/backguard 2 and tell your players they can take Blackguard with 5 ranks in intimidate instead of taking hide ranks for a class that wears heavy armor. Prehaps make him a thug+sneak attack fighter (UA, in the SRD) so he can use one of the blackguard abilites (sneak attack) at a lower level.

Give him a wand or two of some blackguard spells you want to use. While his real casting level would be low, he can still use wands to make his class more distinct. Oh, give him a wand of death knell and have him use it on negative HP minions.