vageta31
2011-02-06, 10:19 PM
Hey guys, this might run long but I'm super excited. I've never played pnp D&D before and I've finally gotten my chance. I've watched it be played back in around `91, played RPGs since the NES days and still playing them now(hate jrpgs, love sandbox medieval ones) and always loved everything about D&D, though strangely I'd never had a chance to play it.
So I'm out with people from work last Friday having beers and somehow someone brought up LARPers and we were having a good laught about it, then it switched to D&D. Long story short 4 of us decided we wanted to play and got 2 others involved. A week later (friday night) we were rolling chars! DM is a first time DM though he played a 4 year campaign through his college years and is very familiar with the rules. He is also super excited and motivated to make this fun. 3 of the guys have played D&D 2.0 in the past and me and one other guy are totally new.
Funny thing is I've already gotten a huge grasp of the rules due to my game playing (NWN2, KOTOR, etc..) so my basic lacking is the actual experience of playing it pnp style. So ...
My homework is to create my character background and also to come up with kind of my career path. DM wants to tailor the game to our backgrounds and have an idea of what are characters are going to be. I'm on a total roguish kick right now so I went Rogue. Here are the basic guidelines:
Party
1 Human Rogue (me)
1 Dwarf Cleric
1 Gnome Wizard
1 Half-Orc Fighter
1 Human Ranger
We're sticking pretty basic the first time out, nothing too esoteric at least in the beginning. Basically a classic party. I went rogue because I knew we'd need one and because I enjoy playing the stealthy guy that can have some DPS when properly planned and executed.
Rolling was very strict (no point buys), just role 4d6 6 times and pull out the lowest. No re-rolls.
I got 9,7,15,17,14,15.
Obviously dex to 17, con to 15 for hps, int 14/15 for skill points(skill monkey and future class feat), which leaves the rest. I had originally thought to put in 15 to str then 9 wis, 7 cha. Take a hit on my already low wis saves but could do Iron Will with human bonus feat. The cha is whats bothering me. The only other possible face we have is the cleric whom I despise due to the totally awesome rolls 3 17's and nothing below 12!
Anyways here's my dilemna. I don't want to just fight, I'd like to be able to be a face and sweet talk, gather information and bluff sometimes. Can I get away with a low CHA if I boost those skills with lots of points? Or would it be better to lower another stat and get CHA to 14 so I can get a boost to those skills?
I'm going to talk to my DM at work tomorrow and I think I'll be able to talk him into letting me lower 2 of my higher rolls a point each and put them into the lower ones leaving me with 10,8,15,17,14,15. I'm also going to see if he's okay with "Complete Fighter" and "Complete Scoundrel" so that I can bring in swashbuckler and daring outlaw. I love the idea of the class and can make use of my high int. We never actually discussed everything that will be allowed but he said he's getting his books out of storage and mentioned having some of these so I doubt it will be an issue.
Looking at something like Rogue 4/Swashbuckler x. Just enough Rogue to get the starting skill points, trapfinding and 2D6 SA, then switch to swashbuckler for the bigger hit die. My thinking is I'll be a better fighter with more hps, great dodging ability while still having a good portion of my rogue talents. The ranger is going ranged so it'll be me and the half-orc doing most of the melee. I need to be able to survive a bit more than a pure rogue if things don't go well for a round or two.
Anyways this all comes down to point allocation. I want to be able to bluff and gather information when needbe, not to mention use magical device, so I really don't like the idea of using CHA as my throw away stat. Unless someone with experience can tell me I can make up for it in pure skill points and not really ruin my chances. For RP purposes however with an 8 cha even if I get lucky rolls does it fit the whole "dashing swashbuckler" angle? I mean it's -1 vs +2 on any cha skills, will it make a huge diff in the long run?
My thinking is with swashbuckler I get the "insightful ??" skill to use my high int as bonus damage so I can do with lower str. If I bring str to 10 and get no modifier, I can put the CHA as a +2 and then deal with the -1 will saves. I can get Iron will as my bonus feat at lvl 1 and make up for that. Just wondering if the high CHA will truly help me or if I should say screw cha, rely on skill points and put that high roll into WIS so I don't burn a feat.
What do you guys think? It's my first time out and I know some things will matter more than I realize and some will matter less. My goal is a han solo/mad martigen style guy. Fancier fighter that can smooth talk, but of course has weaknesses. If I go with lower CHA I'd be more of a brawler but not so pretty or silver tongued. I can do either, I'd like opinions on which might suit me better. I can tell already that our DM isn't going to do only dungeon crawls, he wants NPC interaction in town to get information and such.
Option 1 -Handsome, silver tongued, cinematic swashbuckling anti-hero.
Str 10
Dex 17
Int 14
Con 14
Cha 14
Wis 8
Feats: improved initiative, Iron will(to help weak saves) or can do it later on and just hope I don't have to roll for many will saves until I get a few levels under me.
Pros:
-High cha for NPC interaction and use magical device rolls
-Fits my character idea better
-Party probably needs a face (or not?)
Cons:
-Low wis so have to burn a feat to make up for it (or not?)
-Wasted feat will make my fighting ability lag behind option 2
-No str bonus to add to damage along with the SB special feat
Option 2 - Man of little words, speaks with actions but tougher in a fight guy.
Str 14
Dex 17
Int 14
Con 14
Cha 8
Wis 10
Feats: two weapon fighting, improved initiate
Pros:
-Str bonus to attack damage (can hold more weight too)
-Wis has no negative mod so can skip iron will and get a combat feat
-A bit more survivable at early levels as I could take down a monster faster, thus getting hit less.
Cons:
-Low cha means weak rolls on bluff/feint and UMD
-Doesn't fit my ideal character bio though for the better survivablity it may not matter.
I'm leaning towards option 1, hoping that we get in situations where my bluff and such might make a difference. However since I've never played a pnp rpg before I'm not sure how much these number will end up mattering.
Is taking iron will get my will save to +1 worth it at lvl 1 or can I just hope to get a magic cloak at some point to make up for it thus not burning the feat?
Is +str modifier going to matter if I lose it to cha? With two weapon fighting and SA will it actually be worth it, especially with int bonus as well?
Are there good cha magic items that are fairly cheap to help with cha rolls so I can still be a decent face even with the better fighting of option 2?
So many decisions! :P Sorry to drag this out but I'm super excited and want my first attempt at pnp to be enjoyable and sure don't want to get this guy killed after all this time working on him!
So I'm out with people from work last Friday having beers and somehow someone brought up LARPers and we were having a good laught about it, then it switched to D&D. Long story short 4 of us decided we wanted to play and got 2 others involved. A week later (friday night) we were rolling chars! DM is a first time DM though he played a 4 year campaign through his college years and is very familiar with the rules. He is also super excited and motivated to make this fun. 3 of the guys have played D&D 2.0 in the past and me and one other guy are totally new.
Funny thing is I've already gotten a huge grasp of the rules due to my game playing (NWN2, KOTOR, etc..) so my basic lacking is the actual experience of playing it pnp style. So ...
My homework is to create my character background and also to come up with kind of my career path. DM wants to tailor the game to our backgrounds and have an idea of what are characters are going to be. I'm on a total roguish kick right now so I went Rogue. Here are the basic guidelines:
Party
1 Human Rogue (me)
1 Dwarf Cleric
1 Gnome Wizard
1 Half-Orc Fighter
1 Human Ranger
We're sticking pretty basic the first time out, nothing too esoteric at least in the beginning. Basically a classic party. I went rogue because I knew we'd need one and because I enjoy playing the stealthy guy that can have some DPS when properly planned and executed.
Rolling was very strict (no point buys), just role 4d6 6 times and pull out the lowest. No re-rolls.
I got 9,7,15,17,14,15.
Obviously dex to 17, con to 15 for hps, int 14/15 for skill points(skill monkey and future class feat), which leaves the rest. I had originally thought to put in 15 to str then 9 wis, 7 cha. Take a hit on my already low wis saves but could do Iron Will with human bonus feat. The cha is whats bothering me. The only other possible face we have is the cleric whom I despise due to the totally awesome rolls 3 17's and nothing below 12!
Anyways here's my dilemna. I don't want to just fight, I'd like to be able to be a face and sweet talk, gather information and bluff sometimes. Can I get away with a low CHA if I boost those skills with lots of points? Or would it be better to lower another stat and get CHA to 14 so I can get a boost to those skills?
I'm going to talk to my DM at work tomorrow and I think I'll be able to talk him into letting me lower 2 of my higher rolls a point each and put them into the lower ones leaving me with 10,8,15,17,14,15. I'm also going to see if he's okay with "Complete Fighter" and "Complete Scoundrel" so that I can bring in swashbuckler and daring outlaw. I love the idea of the class and can make use of my high int. We never actually discussed everything that will be allowed but he said he's getting his books out of storage and mentioned having some of these so I doubt it will be an issue.
Looking at something like Rogue 4/Swashbuckler x. Just enough Rogue to get the starting skill points, trapfinding and 2D6 SA, then switch to swashbuckler for the bigger hit die. My thinking is I'll be a better fighter with more hps, great dodging ability while still having a good portion of my rogue talents. The ranger is going ranged so it'll be me and the half-orc doing most of the melee. I need to be able to survive a bit more than a pure rogue if things don't go well for a round or two.
Anyways this all comes down to point allocation. I want to be able to bluff and gather information when needbe, not to mention use magical device, so I really don't like the idea of using CHA as my throw away stat. Unless someone with experience can tell me I can make up for it in pure skill points and not really ruin my chances. For RP purposes however with an 8 cha even if I get lucky rolls does it fit the whole "dashing swashbuckler" angle? I mean it's -1 vs +2 on any cha skills, will it make a huge diff in the long run?
My thinking is with swashbuckler I get the "insightful ??" skill to use my high int as bonus damage so I can do with lower str. If I bring str to 10 and get no modifier, I can put the CHA as a +2 and then deal with the -1 will saves. I can get Iron will as my bonus feat at lvl 1 and make up for that. Just wondering if the high CHA will truly help me or if I should say screw cha, rely on skill points and put that high roll into WIS so I don't burn a feat.
What do you guys think? It's my first time out and I know some things will matter more than I realize and some will matter less. My goal is a han solo/mad martigen style guy. Fancier fighter that can smooth talk, but of course has weaknesses. If I go with lower CHA I'd be more of a brawler but not so pretty or silver tongued. I can do either, I'd like opinions on which might suit me better. I can tell already that our DM isn't going to do only dungeon crawls, he wants NPC interaction in town to get information and such.
Option 1 -Handsome, silver tongued, cinematic swashbuckling anti-hero.
Str 10
Dex 17
Int 14
Con 14
Cha 14
Wis 8
Feats: improved initiative, Iron will(to help weak saves) or can do it later on and just hope I don't have to roll for many will saves until I get a few levels under me.
Pros:
-High cha for NPC interaction and use magical device rolls
-Fits my character idea better
-Party probably needs a face (or not?)
Cons:
-Low wis so have to burn a feat to make up for it (or not?)
-Wasted feat will make my fighting ability lag behind option 2
-No str bonus to add to damage along with the SB special feat
Option 2 - Man of little words, speaks with actions but tougher in a fight guy.
Str 14
Dex 17
Int 14
Con 14
Cha 8
Wis 10
Feats: two weapon fighting, improved initiate
Pros:
-Str bonus to attack damage (can hold more weight too)
-Wis has no negative mod so can skip iron will and get a combat feat
-A bit more survivable at early levels as I could take down a monster faster, thus getting hit less.
Cons:
-Low cha means weak rolls on bluff/feint and UMD
-Doesn't fit my ideal character bio though for the better survivablity it may not matter.
I'm leaning towards option 1, hoping that we get in situations where my bluff and such might make a difference. However since I've never played a pnp rpg before I'm not sure how much these number will end up mattering.
Is taking iron will get my will save to +1 worth it at lvl 1 or can I just hope to get a magic cloak at some point to make up for it thus not burning the feat?
Is +str modifier going to matter if I lose it to cha? With two weapon fighting and SA will it actually be worth it, especially with int bonus as well?
Are there good cha magic items that are fairly cheap to help with cha rolls so I can still be a decent face even with the better fighting of option 2?
So many decisions! :P Sorry to drag this out but I'm super excited and want my first attempt at pnp to be enjoyable and sure don't want to get this guy killed after all this time working on him!