King of the dwarves build

[Felvion]

So my players may meet the king of the dwarvenkind next session. In fact he's not the king stereotype, that one is dead. This guy is the youngest son of the recently murdered king. He's also the last one who can validly claim the throne since his older brothers are either lost or dead in battle and has to unite the whole-falling-apart nation under his crown blah-blah and all this kind of stuff.

What would you guys suggest as a suitable build for the young prince? Since he's the youngest and less noted there's not much lore around him (which means the party only knows the name since the bard rolled natural 1...) so i'm free to create anything i like. I regard him being around lvl10 . He doesn't need much of power, just something interesting and cool.

[Thrawn183]

Aristocrat 10. He has money. Money is interesting and cool.

[Inevitability]

Try to come up with an interesting backstory, and then make a character based on that.

In the medieval times, princes that wouldn't inherit the throne would often turn to religion, or become general. You could easily make him a marshal/cleric/paladin, maybe with one level of aristocrat to reflect his short time as ruler.

[Telonius]

How about...

Aristocrat2/Expert2/Dwarf Paragon3/Kensai3

He's the youngest son, so at the start, nobody really expected him to amount to all that much. He started off life pretty easily (Aristocrat), but then went to study a trade to give himself some grounding (Expert). He went through kind of an early existential crisis, where he wasn't satisfied with his work, and was developing his own identity (Dwarf Paragon). Finally, he's gained the perspective needed to devote himself fully to the service of king and country (Kensai).

[TheMooch]

Have him be a rogue/assassin and the one who actually killed the king but did it so that no one suspects him. He would have a plan to take over a neighboring dwarf kingdom through marraige to gain access to their wealth as well.

[Ansem]

Make a Duskblade trained with hammers to smite down his foes and call it Thorin Oakenshield with a darkwood medium shield with calling :P

[Honest Tiefling]

A blacksmith. He never expected to lead anyone into battle and maintaining, buying and building weapons for his brothers seemed like a good idea at the time. That way he would not be infringing on the glory of his brothers and he made sure they only got the finest steel/adamintine/whatever. Given how the other ones died, this probably helped them a fair bit.

Also, perhaps the dwarven ladies love a man with a full beard and good with a hammer (Which totally did not factor into his decision to become a blacksmith :smallwink:). Since the last king met with an unnatural death (Well, natural for royalty), him producing an heir might be an issue. As in, RIGHT NOW.

Unfortunately, (or fortunately?) he might have jumped the gun a bit and produced a bastard, who is going to figure in politics later. Either it could be used to shame the royal line, or the mother is interested in marriage and making a legit one this time. Perhaps someone will claim he was married to her in secret because of her low status, making the child the heir apparent.

[Ravens_cry]

Have him be a rogue/assassin and the one who actually killed the king but did it so that no one suspects him. He would have a plan to take over a neighboring dwarf kingdom through marraige to gain access to their wealth as well.
Hmm, maybe the players can do put on a play where the impatient heir to the throne poisons the king in the story by pouring poison in his ear. Then, realizing the king is a dwarf and drinks worse things as chasers, he just kills the king with his axe.
:smallbiggrin:
I am at least half serious.:smalltongue:

[HunterOfJello]

How many brothers did he have?

I would set something about the sons up in one of the pseudo-fictionally historical patterns of:

First Son: Trained to Rule
Second Son: Trained for Law (and always secretly to Rule in case his brother died early)
Third Son: Trained in the ways of the Church
Fourth Son: Trained in Trade
Fifth+ Sons: Trained in Battle (or if this is D&D, in non-clerical magic)

~

If you want him to not follow the Dwarven King Paragon trope, then I would make him either some kind of melee character in a class that dwarves wouldnt' normally take or a dwarf with one of the prestige classes from Races of Stone. Make him a wizard/runesmith (who casts in full plate), a psion/ironmind, or a druid/earth dreamer if you want him to be a price who followed a different path.

[Zetapup]

I'd probably go into deepwarden and fist of the forest for con to ac twice. It fits the flavor pretty well- dwarf blocks things with his chest. You'd want to refluff the fist of the forest to fist of the underground or something similar though. If you want to be silly, go monk and use his beard as his weapon. For extra fun, throw on a necklace of natural weapons with bizarre enchantments like sizing and throwing.

[Anxe]

Dwarven Defender? I've also done one of my Dwarf kings as an Exotic Weapon Master for the use of the Dwarven Waraxe

[Juntao112]

Also, perhaps the dwarven ladies love a man with a full beard and good with a hammer (Which totally did not factor into his decision to become a blacksmith :smallwink:).

http://th01.deviantart.net/fs41/200H/i/2009/022/8/8/The_Hammer_by_b_maze.jpg

I'd probably go into deepwarden and fist of the forest for con to ac twice. It fits the flavor pretty well- dwarf blocks things with his chest. You'd want to refluff the fist of the forest to fist of the underground or something similar though. If you want to be silly, go monk and use his beard as his weapon. For extra fun, throw on a necklace of natural weapons with bizarre enchantments like sizing and throwing.

Seems familiar. (http://www.minmaxboards.com/index.php?topic=6062.0)

[Zetapup]

Seems familiar. (http://www.minmaxboards.com/index.php?topic=6062.0)

That's it. I couldn't remember the name, just that it had deepwarden/fist of the forest and used its beard as its weapon.

[Ravens_cry]

Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon them.
I like the idea that the king was happy with whatever his career was before suddenly finding himself thrust into a position of power.

[Felvion]

Well the reason i first posted is that i knew there would be some busy days at work and my game is tomorow. I already had the character in mind but seemed too plain for my standards and needed some fresh eyes on it. Thankfully every reply helped me build a much better and interesting background.

So... Thanks people! Whenever I'm under pressure or/and in lack of time, i know i can rely on you out there!

[Honest Tiefling]

Please, tell us what you came up with and how the first meeting went!

[RedMage125]

I think if you want to do something really unusual, you should go wildly against the grain of what resonates as "dwarven".

A wizard, for instance. And not even an armor-wearing warrior/caster as someone else suggested. A studious, bookish, nerdy-type of dwarf who has been studying magic somewhere, loves books and reading, does not drink at all, or if he does, has a preference for fine elven wine.

You could get even more wacky and have him be clean-shaven. That'll really shock the dwarven people. A beardless king.

[Felvion]

Please, tell us what you came up with and how the first meeting went!

I would definately like to share the final version and the meeting with the players. I wont reveal a lot before some in game action cause i'm suspicious a player may be reading my posts....

[MirddinEmris]

Warblade/Deepstone Sentinel is a cool choice, i think.

[Suteinu]

Factotum 3/ Hit & Run Fighter 2/ Swashbuckler 3/ Dwarf Paragon 3/ Whatever thereafter.

His Craft skills of choice are Writing and Visual Arts. Social skills maxed. 2-Weapon fighting w/ a pair of basket-hilted handaxes. Improved Trip. Dwarven Lore background feat. Flaws: Insomniac and Gloryhound.

The seventh son of a mighty dwarven king, Ovthic (which means "Cunning Victor) is sent abroad when he reaches maturity. The common talk is that he was such an odd fit that his father just wanted to get him away from court, but the king actually sees Ovthic's value as an ambassadore and diplomat, for he can craft words like most dwarves craft stone and metal. Ovthic's unusual approach to life makes him an ecclectic young man, unfocussed in his identity but great at what he does, as serious about court as he is about his nightlife. He's also sensitive about his status as a not-very-dwarf, leading him to overreach at times to prove his dwarfhood when he does enter battle.

[docnessuno]

Ranger 4 / Dwarven paragon 3 / Marshal 4

Being the cadet child, he turned to the military career, initially serving as a pathfinder and explorer for the army. Thanks to his attitude and skills (and obviously his royal blood as well) he quickly rose in the ranks and became a mid-high ranking officer. He never wanted the throne and never expected it so he is rather unskilled in politics and government issues.