I want to make a character who summons by painting

[containscotton]

I'm new not only to these boards, but to dice games in general. And to D&D. Hi.

I think I've grasped D&D 3.5e--at least, I've read the first player handbook, and the online SRD. My DM, who's done this before, assures me that she'll handle everything else and the weird mechanical parts.

Now, I know I should start with something simple and powerful, like a druid, for my first game. But I'm too cool for that. I want to make a character who summons by painting. I don't care what the official fluff is, just the mechanical part where I use the Craft skill in advanced, and then summon the thing in-battle. My DM tells me that she has a lot of source books, and so I can use anything official that's not in a magazine. Also, she warns me not to step over tier 2 characters. She says that she's never told a new player to do this, but she's telling me specifically. I think that's a compliment. (?)

[Elric VIII]

Any crafter should work. You can craft scrolls of Summon Monster X spells and refluff them as magical paintings.

Artificer from Eberron Campain Setting is geared toward crafting items.

The Candle Caster from Tome & Blood is specialized in craftin spell candles that function similarly to scrolls. Those, too, can be refluffed into being magical paintings.


Also, as a side note, one of the powerful thins a Druid can do is summoning, so a focus on that will yield a relatively powerful character, anyway.

[Squiggles]

Maybe you can adapt spell thematics?

Also, I'm envisioning a giant painting of Vigo and rivers of ectoplasm

[Dr.Epic]

You want to make that one character from Final Fantasy? Or Rudy from Chalkzone?:smallconfused:

[containscotton]

You want to make that one character from Final Fantasy? Or Rudy from Chalkzone?:smallconfused:

I'm unfamiliar with both characters. What I was envisioning was a boss from a Kirby game I've played a while ago (don't even remember the name of the game... just the boss). He'd paint a car and then it would leap into the forefront. My original thought was, "SO COOL."

My DM doesn't want me to play tier 1 characters because she's afraid I will invariably abuse or optimize the system, as I've done with pretty much any game we've played together. So Artificers are a no-go. She says that she'll let me do with semi-broken characters, tier 2s, since I don't know enough about the game to break it with them. I'd like to prove her wrong, but first I want an awesome painter.

[Dublock]

I'm unfamiliar with both characters. What I was envisioning was a boss from a Kirby game I've played a while ago (don't even remember the name of the game... just the boss). He'd paint a car and then it would leap into the forefront. My original thought was, "SO COOL."

My DM doesn't want me to play tier 1 characters because she's afraid I will invariably abuse or optimize the system, as I've done with pretty much any game we've played together. So Artificers are a no-go. She says that she'll let me do with semi-broken characters, tier 2s, since I don't know enough about the game to break it with them. I'd like to prove her wrong, but first I want an awesome painter.

So no druids :p

But there are other methods for it besides Druids or Wizards (or Artificers)

I know the Kirby game, a good game but can't come up with the name on the top of my head...GBA I think.

[Glimbur]

You could represent spellcasting as painting pictures and play a class that is official and such: The easy way to do it is to be a full spellcaster: Wizard, Cleric, Druid, Sorcerer, Psion, Spirit Shaman (Complete Divine), Favored Soul(Complete Divine)... there are others. Of that list, Sorcerer, Psion, Favored Soul, and Spirit Shaman are Tier 2 (maybe Psion is Tier 1), so they could work. The spells you want are Summon Monster 1-9. There are many other summoning spells in the Conjuration school, so you might want to explore them. I like Spell Compendium and the SRD (http://www.d20srd.org/index.htm) for my spell needs: you get the most spells with the fewest books that way. A little googling found a Summoner's Handbook (http://community.wizards.com/go/thread/view/75882/19864066/Summoning_Handbook), but remember that it is rude to be more powerful than your DM expects. I suggest going over your capabilities before the first session so that no one gets nasty surprises.

Psion is different: they use psionics instead of spells. There are some mechanical differences, but honestly psionics is more like JRPG spells than regular (vancian) magic is. Here you will want Astral Construct for most of your summoning needs. There are handbooks and such.

Pathfinder is kind of like a collection of house rules for 3.5, and they have a Summoner (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/classes/base-classes/summoner) class, but I suspect your DM wants to stay with 3.5 material. Also, the Summoner is focused on one special critter it summons rather than many smaller creatures.

The much harder way is to either find homebrew that does exactly what you want, or to write it yourself. Writing a new class is terribly easy... writing a good new class is much harder and it helps to have experience with what already exists. Therefore, I would suggest playing a spellcaster and describing your spells as paintings.

[Major]

The game was Kirby: Crystal Shards for the N64

Edit: Decided to add a picture.
http://images.wikia.com/kirby/en/images/3/38/K64_Boxart.jpg
^She's even on the box.

[WarKitty]

Well, what you want is any character with summoning spells and the ability to scribe scrolls cheaply. This probably means using a sorcerer and taking the summon monster line for your spells known, along with whatever other conjuration spells you want.

Since 3.5 crafting is expensive, you'll want to look into this list (http://brilliantgameologists.com/boards/index.php?topic=7274.0) of how to reduce various costs.

[Jack_Simth]

Maybe you can adapt spell thematics?
You don't need to.


You can let players describe the spells their characters cast. Don't, however, allow a player to use an original description that makes a spell seem more powerful than it is. A fireball spell that creates an illusion of a dragon breathing flame goes too far.

Simply describe the casting as opening to a page in a book you carry (which happens to have a bunch of drawings in it), and pulling the image off the page, tossing it into the battle. Mechanically identical to standard Summoning effects, and doesn't create the illusion that there's anything more powerful going on.

Mechanically, you're a Sorcerer who took Summon Monster a few times. No scrolls or rules bending needed.

[Cerlis]

just stay within the restrictions of a system. if a spell requiers somatic verbal or material components make sure they are used in the ink,or when you summon the painting, you just need a free hand for somatic which for you can be retracing the painting to release it, and of course verbal commands.

I'd like to point out that in races of stone there is a PRC for Dwarves that allows you to create Runes to replace somatic components, you can even give a tablet to an ally, and make a permanant one on your body. just replace the first two instances with Painting, and the second with "Tatoo of your painting" and you are gold.

If you dont like dwarves, i'm sure it would be easy to change some requirements, most of those classes usually say "If you want to try a different version of this class, just change this requirement to that requirement and replace all instances of this key word with that"

Between scrolls, Runes, and the fact that most spells have somatic components which would be you painting, you are gold
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Dont try any cheese like turning your paint brush into a wand or weapon so you can "Cast with a free hand" and still have a weapon in that hand.

Also i think i saw you say something about it being fun to break the game or whatever with a tier 2.
She doesnt want you playing a tier 1 because she doesnt want you to break the game, not because she doesnt want you to play a tier 1. Breaking it with a tier 2 will just make her like you less and make her more easily ban tier 2 for you and other people as well.
I suggest against this.

[Requiem_Jeer]

If i were you, I'd be a Psion (Shaper). Astral Construct has enough mutability that you could easily refluff it. As a bonus, you don't actually need the paintings. You could just be cultivating an image of a weakness where none exists.

[Tvtyrant]

Well there is http://www.d20srd.org/srd/magicItems/wondrousItems.htm#marvelousPigments and then Animate Objects to make creatures using painting. Or make walls between you and opponents with them.

[Elboxo]

Ugh not allowed to play Tier 1's... I would've suggested Wizard into a homebrew Geomancer/Geometer ( One uses runes for casting ) and made it you draw in the air and created a buffed creature. Actually you can prestige into a class called Agnostic Apostle, one of the features of it gives you Fast Healing on anything you summon, so a dip in that + Geomancer homebrew would give you powerful summons. Note that Agnostic Apostle only requires level 3 spells and some skills in knowledge, but either casters ( Divine or Arcane ) can get in. Also consider Psions, They don't need to move but you could perhaps augment powers with movements? Kind of like the Primal Casting feat in Frostburn.

[Amphetryon]

Spirit Shaman with Craft: Painting and some refluffing seems just about ideal for your purposes, really.