Earthdawn build help :)

[bansidhe]

Should be starting a game of earthdawn with my wife and daughter this weekend,Ive only read a little so far and im not sure what builds too go for.

Heres our chars:

Me:Troll Warrior

Wife:Human Elementalist

Daughter:Windling beastmaster

Any hints or tips or even builds,we're starting at first circle,would be appreciated.

I do know that just making some would do,but I want too make sure they ,or we!,dont gimp ourselves in the first lvls as we do get emotionally attached too our chars!

This is third ed. an we are probably starting with Anyaras revenge.

Thanks in advance! :)

[Tengu_temp]

Note: I don't really have any experience with third edition, so I don't know how much of this still applies.

Warriors are hard to do wrong. Just make sure your physical stats and willpower are at least 14 each, and the higher the better. As a troll you can use heavier weapons in one hand - take advantage of that and wield one of them and a shield.

Spellcasters are tricky for two reasons. The first is that after buying 16-18 perception and 16-17 willpower, there's little left to buy other stats, which tends to leave you very fragile - especially if you're a human with no stat boosts. The second is that many spells require extra casting time, and that's not always worth it, especially for damaging ones. 9 damage every round is better then 14 damage every other round.

Windling beastmasters are pretty decent, but bear in mind that their damage potential is pretty low until you invest heavily in your claws. High dexterity will help you a lot in hitting and not getting hit.

[Diskhotep]

Elementalists are one of the most versatile spellcasters, and are useful in any group. As a Human, I wouldn't bother trying to max out Perception and Willpower. Get them both at the higher end of Step 6 so you can boost them to 7 later, and rely on your relatively cheap d8 Karma to make the really important rolls. Average out the other Attributes, favoring Toughness and Charisma over Strength and Dexterity.

For spell choices, start with 0-1 thread spells for combat. Earth Darts is a great staple. Out of combat, Heat Food will make you very popular.

[horseboy]

3rd edition everybody's karma is d6.

As far as warriors go Dex>Strength. The higher your dex the better chance you have of critting, the more often you bypass armor, the more overall damage you deal. Yet another reason T'skrang rule over everything. :smallamused:
As far as "build" goes, what are you looking for? ED has a lot more RP potential, so give me some angle for what you want in the characters.

Ardanyan's is very role play heavy, which is good. I almost turned it into a really neat campaign before my group imploded with work/kid/life conflicts.

[bansidhe]

Thanks for all the tips ,it has helped.

At the moment im still really reading through and learning myself ,coming from a DnD,NWN1,various others background.

@Horseboy,my wife and kids,19/15/8,havnt really played any RP games yet,apart from faerys tale with the little un ,this is my way of getting them more into it,hopefully!

Atm they are avoiding any thing non pretty!,im hoping as they learn more about the game and world they will try other races,but as long as they are having fun and learning in the younger ones case,im more than happy.

As for builds,RP is something i want too ease them into,but hopefully the stats they choose wont gimp them leading too dissapointment.

Even better,this weekend Little un and myself are off too leisure games in finchley to buy her first dice set and she gets too pick some figures out ,paint them up etc :D

[horseboy]

Alright, not that big a deal, let me get some sleep and I'll do a couple builds.

[horseboy]

I'm not going to do "all" the math, but just throw some guidelines your way. I've been playing 3 of the four editions of ED, and the big problem isn't "What edition" you're playing, but "how much of which edition, how much of the others," since there's so much backward compatibility.

Human Elementalist

Dex 14
Str 9
Tou 13
Per 15
Wil 15
Cha 15
Alternate: Klek ancestery, add +1 to Dex. They're an ethnicity of humans known for their grace and beauty who were ravaged with slavery prior to the Scourge.
This is a solid stat block with no great "OOOh, AAAhs" but no glaring weaknesses. Char is actually a useful tertiary stat for Elementalists. It helps prevent that whole "Yes, I finally have summoned my very own being from beyond! You! Fold my laundry, I comma-ahh! My face! Why is it eating my face! WHY!"

Talent options: Grab a second spell matrix. Spread talent point as evenly as possible. Put any extras into spellcasting then threadweaving.

Skills: Artisan: Sand Painting, Knowledge: Farming, Knowledge: Geology. Flirting, Taunting, climb, swim, search, Graceful Exit, Heartening Laugh, Physician.
Search, swim, climb are the generic skills you're going to need to deal with "basic" environmental encounters. The others are solid charisma oriented skills.
Spells: Heat food. The most broken spell in the game. It's a heal though, so nobody cares. Air armor, It's always on everybody, all the time. Earth Blend is handy, but don't stand out in the middle of everybody when you cast it. Then they can't see you to dodge you. Earthdart is an every-other round spell. Good for teaching the mechanics of the system, but slow rate of fire. Gonna need moonglow, being a human and all.
2nd circle Icy Surface, the second most broken spell in the game. Make sure you have a ranged option. Flame strike is a better combat spell than earth dart, but will melt the icy surface, just remember that.
3rd circle Plant feast. A lot less book keeping.


Windling Beastmaster

Str 9
Dex 15
Tou 10
Per 13
Wil 15
Cha 18

Talent Options: Sense danger is probably your best bet, though track can have it's uses. For RP heavy, 2 in animal bond and Unarmed combat, for combat heavy 2 in karma ritual and claw shape.
Skills: Artisan: Body Painting Knowledge: Racial Lore Windling, Knowledge: Legends and Heroes. Down Strike, Buzz (windling version of taunt), Wind dance (secret windling language), Etiquette, First Impression, Search, Silent Flight (Silent walk for windlings), Trick Riding
Animal: I'd go with a Kue. Lizard-cats are cool and you could play it up like the feathered lizard thing Obi-Wan was riding in-wait, forgot I repressed that movie. If herps are too into their uncanny valley, give her a cattle dog. That ought to keep her out of wells.


Troll Warrior

Okay, there's A LOT (notice how i spelled that, internet?) of different ways to go with a warrior.

Str 19
Dex 15
Tou 17
Per 12
Wil 13
Cha 12
Talent Options: Acrobatic Strike and Parry are good for Turtles, but is going to make Avoid Blow next to worthless. Air Dance is important for Alpha striking and Anticipate Blow later. Maneuver is nice if you know the fight is going to last more than a few rounds without someone dying. I'd lean slightly to Air Dance, as it can offset the init penalties of heavier amounts of armor, keeping you from going at "less than one" in initiative.
Skills: Craftsman: Gem cutting, Knowledge: Trade Routes, Knowledge: Mineral Lore, Search, Climb, Swim, Haggle, Resist Taunt, Either Second Weapon if you want to go Florentine or Second Attack, Missile or Thrown Weapon, and Etiquette. Trolls don't usually haggle, but you've been shut up with a bunch of non-trolls. The thinking is you have several of those skills to help you cope with their lack of honor.

[Tengu_temp]

Assuming the stats cost as much in 3e as before: for the elementalist, I'd go with 16 perception and willpower and 13 charisma, for the beastmaster I'd go with 16 dexterity and 14 willpower, and for the warrior I'd consider lowering some mentals and/or constitution to get 16 dexterity. If it's your first Earthdawn game, it probably won't go far enough that improving stats becomes worth it. At lower circles, it's much better to invest in talents.

[horseboy]

You'd have a point left over with the Elementalist so they'd have karma ritual rank x6 for their karma pool. Which is very handy.
For the beast master that's good if you're going personal combat heavy. I was going creature heavy with those stats. It's easier at lower levels with a windling to just have the critter fight.
For the warrior I was more worried about finally hitting circle 4 and getting thread weaving, only to need to open end multiple dice to finally get to use magic items. It gets really frustrating for new players. But yeah, if you don't expect to get that far, pump up the dex. It's important.

[bansidhe]

This is fantastic!,thankyou,thankyou very much for your work.

Please take a Karma point ,and, one "I helped an 8yr old girl who wants too be a ninja when she grows up" point,the latter i feel ,actually has much more karma!

Again ,thanks!