Let's Make a Character: NINJAS!

[Stormthroe]

Greetings Playgrounders!

So, after a TPK during the last adventurer's league game I was playing, Teclis, my Lawful Evil Necromancer, ended up tanking the party's two fighters on his own after they were charmed by a Cambion. It was both epic, and incredibly satisfying, but alas, we will be starting a new campaign with a new party come Thursday.

So, as a group we decided we'd like to run Rage of Demons, and from the rumors, I finally get to play a Drow! On one of my fantasy writing forums, I created a Drow ninja clan that works as zealous servants to a God of Murder, very similar to the Dark Brotherhood from Elder Scrolls. This is really the type of character I want to play since its rare that anyone gets to play Drow.

I'm definitely gonna have to go Way of Shadow monk, but I was curious; what are some of the more optimized builds out there for a ninja character? I figure after first level, dip three into rogue for assassin, then go from there as monk. Thoughts?

Also, as far as a roleplaying perspective, the character is going to be Lawful Evil. Essentially, his tenets require him to be loyal to anyone who holds his contract for as long as they do, which I will be giving a copy of to the party as his "patrons." Above this, he is branded a heretic by the priestesses of Lolth and general Drow society, so he will be vengeful from them. Also, as part of his religion, I will be requiring him to perform "beautiful kills," which will really be extremely creative and suitably gruesome ways to kill enemies, but it will also require him to kill once a tenday in character; regardless of if its an enemy, or if we spend a bunch of downtime, it must be someone innocent.

[Malifice]

Your PC is a serial killer? Sounds a bit more like CE to me.

Yeah man, shadow monk ties in with assassin really well. Use a shortsword as your monk weapon (so you can sneak attack).

Depends on if you want more monk or more assassin. Monk 17/ assasin 3 works. As does monk 15/ assasin 5 and monk 11/ assassin 9.

[Stormthroe]

The tenets are what defines chaotic evil. He won't be stabbing anyone; only those who attack him, or those he is directed to kill.

Serial killers kill for themselves. He kills on command XD

Shortswords are of course the preferred weapon (ninjato ftw!). Of those options, which mix lets me be the most mobile while balancing out reliable damage? I'm away from book to look up the stats and efficiency in each there.

[Malifice]

The tenets are what defines chaotic evil. He won't be stabbing anyone; only those who attack him, or those he is directed to kill.

Serial killers kill for themselves. He kills on command XD

Shortswords are of course the preferred weapon (ninjato ftw!). Of those options, which mix lets me be the most mobile while balancing out reliable damage? I'm away from book to look up the stats and efficiency in each there.

Your description above indicates he kills a random innocent person every tenday.

So yeah 'serial killer' kinda fits.

I honestly can't see anyone wanting to adventure with someone so deranged and psychopathic. Most certainly not good aligned PCs.

[Drackolus]

If you want mobility, you stop getting mobility from rogue with cunning action. You'd get a limited version of mobility from being a swashbuckler, but if you're stacking movement you'll probably get mobility anyway.

[Stormthroe]

"Sacrifices" each tenday. Pardon my language. However, I will redo that because I've not heard if Rage of Demons ever leaves the Underdark and murder on the surface is much less...accepted.

Also, Rage of Demons is in the Underdark; Good aligned PCs have little choice in the matter of working with an Evil aligned PC to escape Drow captivity.

Also, psychopathic and deranged can be very fun if played well. That's what makes the Dark Brotherhood in both Oblivion and Skyrim enjoyable. Governed tenets draw towards lawful; just because they are not virtuous tenets of truth, honesty, and defense of the innocent, does not mean they are any less lawful. Drow, as a society of murderers, raiders, pillagers, manipulators, assassins, and practicers of ritual sacrifice, are in most settings Lawful Evil as a whole.

Additional Edit due to working post;

As I said, away from book, but swashbuckler? I don't recognize it as a feat, and adventurers league requires fully legal characters so no homebrews.

[Drackolus]

As I said, away from book, but swashbuckler? I don't recognize it as a feat, and adventurers league requires fully legal characters so no homebrews.

http://dnd.wizards.com/articles/features/unearthed-arcana-waterborne-adventures

Not sure if they allow UA

[Malifice]

"Sacrifices" each tenday. Pardon my language. However, I will redo that because I've not heard if Rage of Demons ever leaves the Underdark and murder on the surface is much less...accepted.

Also, Rage of Demons is in the Underdark; Good aligned PCs have little choice in the matter of working with an Evil aligned PC to escape Drow captivity.

Also, psychopathic and deranged can be very fun if played well. That's what makes the Dark Brotherhood in both Oblivion and Skyrim enjoyable. Governed tenets draw towards lawful; just because they are not virtuous tenets of truth, honesty, and defense of the innocent, does not mean they are any less lawful. Drow, as a society of murderers, raiders, pillagers, manipulators, assassins, and practicers of ritual sacrifice, are in most settings Lawful Evil as a whole.

It's a personal bugbear of mine - the depictions of evil characters as psychopathic monsters. While they certainly can be, it's generally poor characterisation and imposes a massive burden on other PCs (even other evil ones).

Compelling evil PCs like Walter White, Tony Soprano, Titus Pullo and so forth can be a fantastic addition to a party. Sociopathic monsters who ruthlessly murder innocents for no real reason, don't.

I mean... even if you and I found ourselves in a survival situation, would you want to stick around with me if I started murdering a random person every week... just because? How could you hang around with me? Just out of common sense you'd at the very least put as much distance between me and you as you could. What if the party is good aligned? It's fair to say that most sane or decent people would probably kill or banish you for your horrific crimes rather than have a monster like that hanging aroind with them.

If you don't believe me, go camping with Charles Manson.

It just stretches my credulity that a group of G and N (or even E) aligned peeps would harbor, trust or even in any way tolerate such a monster in their midst. If I were playing in an AL campaign and a psychopathic PC who kills innocent people every week rocked up, I would immediately insist he be removed from the party to adventure alone or be killed to atone for his crimes (and protect the party) I certainly wouldn't want such a monster travelling with me (how could I ever sleep with him near by?). I wouldn't care how much he protested that 'he only kills NPCs either. The man is a monster of the highest order.

Perhaps to avoid such a thing, be a little more nuanced in your evil? You can lack empathy and live by a twisted code without being a psychopathic monster.

[Stormthroe]

That was the aim, mate.

I think you misunderstood me saying that his religion requires him to kill once a tenday; admittedly, rereading my worry, I can see the problem. Apologies!

My fantasy character on previously said fantasy site must let blood at least once per week as part of his Order's tenets; be it his own or his enemies'. Think, like, self-flagellation as a form of meditation. He had a preference to do it on others, but not opposed to doing it to himself.

The tenets I have are a twisted amalgamation of Riddick's Necromonger Creed, the Bushido Code, and the Dark Brotherhood's Five tenets. Only because I'm away from the sheet I wrote up at home, I will have to put them up later for some fine tuning.

I am much more nuanced with my evil, as you said, then I may have made it seem. You are mistaking me for a murderhobo; this is not the case, and honestly, even my evil characters frown upon chaotic stupid.

[Malifice]

That was the aim, mate.

I think you misunderstood me saying that his religion requires him to kill once a tenday; admittedly, rereading my worry, I can see the problem. Apologies!

My fantasy character on previously said fantasy site must let blood at least once per week as part of his Order's tenets; be it his own or his enemies'. Think, like, self-flagellation as a form of meditation. He had a preference to do it on others, but not opposed to doing it to himself.

The tenets I have are a twisted amalgamation of Riddick's Necromonger Creed, the Bushido Code, and the Dark Brotherhood's Five tenets. Only because I'm away from the sheet I wrote up at home, I will have to put them up later for some fine tuning.

I am much more nuanced with my evil, as you said, then I may have made it seem. You are mistaking me for a murderhobo; this is not the case, and honestly, even my evil characters frown upon chaotic stupid.

Yeah man, it was the 'murder a random innocent every ten day' that raised my eyebrow and slotted you firmly into the CE category (and at the high end of the spectrum!).

You gotta be careful with LE AL characters is all I was saying. It takes a high level of trust and maturity to handle an evil PC (and when done right it's fantastic) and you never quite know the maturity levels of your table at an AL event.

I think we've all seen that one guy who plays his evil PC like some kind of cariacature of Hannibal Lecter, murdering NPCs like its nothing and not getting why the party immediately draw weapons and demand he surrender, before trying him for his crimes and either hanging him from the nearest tree or exiling him. It's not fun for anyone.

CN characters can offen be just as disruptive but for different reasons.

Some alignments just encourage caricatured extremes. LG is bad on the other end of the spectrum too.

I do love seeing a well played CE PC. Raistlin, Titus Pullo, Darth Vader kind of nuanced. Sadly in my experience they always come out more like the Joker meets Charles Manson meets the Blair witch.

[Stormthroe]

Quite so!

No; my evil characters tend to be much more focused. Lawful Evil is a personal favorite of mine; Vader, Magneto, Saryn Arterius, the Dark Brotherhood, arguably Doctor Doom and Scar from Lion King are all inspirational characters to me.

Often, my table has a younger crowd who play "chaotic neutral" characters that tend to just be chaotic stupid. My last character was a LE necromancer whose sole focus was to "make life a little bit more like death; ordered, perfect, and predictable" by controlling Death itself.

This character is not insane, not even close; he is disciplined to the point of zealotry. I'm working on a backstory now, but he behaves according to rules set by the Lord of Murder.

Now that I'm home, the tenets are;

1. Courage. Fear none but the Lord of Murder.
2. Fairness. No being is too noble, nor too decrepit to be spared death. Thus they are equal in the eyes of the Lord of Murder.
3. Etiquette. Be polite and be professional, but have a plan to deal out the Gift of Death to all those I meet.
4. Loyalty. The Lord of Murder is my God; my patron speaks with his voice.
5. Ambition. I must seek to better myself in the eyes of the Lord of Murder.
6. Creativity. For the Lord of Murder, Death is an art. Perfect it.
7. Faith. Hail Bhaal.

That is somewhat more specific to what I mean. He's not a 'kill on whimsy' person as much as a professional assassin; his order/cult would be hired by the shadier, and wealthier parts of Drow society to kill their rivals without being linked to it so that they can further their own agendas. He's based on the Assassins of Warhammer Fantasy, roughly.

[Malifice]

Quite so!

No; my evil characters tend to be much more focused. Lawful Evil is a personal favorite of mine; Vader, Magneto, Saryn Arterius, the Dark Brotherhood, arguably Doctor Doom and Scar from Lion King are all inspirational characters to me.

Often, my table has a younger crowd who play "chaotic neutral" characters that tend to just be chaotic stupid. My last character was a LE necromancer whose sole focus was to "make life a little bit more like death; ordered, perfect, and predictable" by controlling Death itself.

This character is not insane, not even close; he is disciplined to the point of zealotry. I'm working on a backstory now, but he behaves according to rules set by the Lord of Murder.

Now that I'm home, the tenets are;

1. Courage. Fear none but the Lord of Murder.
2. Fairness. No being is too noble, nor too decrepit to be spared death. Thus they are equal in the eyes of the Lord of Murder.
3. Etiquette. Be polite and be professional, but have a plan to deal out the Gift of Death to all those I meet.
4. Loyalty. The Lord of Murder is my God; my patron speaks with his voice.
5. Ambition. I must seek to better myself in the eyes of the Lord of Murder.
6. Creativity. For the Lord of Murder, Death is an art. Perfect it.
7. Faith. Hail Bhaal.

That is somewhat more specific to what I mean. He's not a 'kill on whimsy' person as much as a professional assassin; his order/cult would be hired by the shadier, and wealthier parts of Drow society to kill their rivals without being linked to it so that they can further their own agendas. He's based on the Assassins of Warhammer Fantasy, roughly.

Vader (and indeed the Sith code) is CE.

He literally betrayed everyone. The Jedi, the emperor (several times), his wife, his best friend, the Republic, the empire; he even betrayed the Sith code by training a secret apprentice. He never once kept his word (I'm altering the deal - pray I don't alter it any further). He acted soley according to his fear, anger and hate.

Never let anyone try and tell you Vader was anything other than CE.

Even as a Jedi there wasn't a Lawful bone in his body. He was famous for doing thing his way and not following orders. In the Clone Wars (as Annakin) he's depicted as CG.

As Vader - he's CE through and through.

[Mara]

Vader was the law though. He helped the Emperor to create a solid orderly Empire. Vader was a beacon of stability. A galactic empire was built on his shoulders.

One of the complaints of the prequels is that Anikan's behavior was so out of character for Vader. He never became Vader. He got the evil part down murdering children, but that wasn't really in character for Vader either.

[Malifice]

Vader was the law though. He helped the Emperor to create a solid orderly Empire. Vader was a beacon of stability. A galactic empire was built on his shoulders.

Can you give me an example of one code, orginisation or person that Vader didn't betray?

The Sith 'code' is CE. And he even betrayed that by getting a secret apprentice and finally renouncing it.

He never kept his word, and literally betrayed every person, agency and order he belonged to.

Even within the Empire hierarchy he simply did his own thing (subject to the Emperors commands, and even those he disobeyed from time to time).

He is extremely CE.

[Malifice]

He worked with the Jedi and Republic (doing his own thing) before betraying and destroying them. Then he worked for the Sith and the Empire (doing his own thing) before betraying and destroying them. He betrayed his wife, his master and best friend, the Jedi order and code, the Sith order and code, his secret apprentice, the empire, the Republic, lando calrissian - everyone.

He was literally the definition of CE.

[Stormthroe]

Pardon me, Mal, but that's really not the point of this thread mate. Honestly, you've been borderline argumentative since the first post, and while I appreciate the help you gave, I ask you to stop; if it continues, I'll pull the mods in. Just lay off it.

Back to the original topic, anyone who wishes to help me with the code I put up a few threads ago? I figure he will be operating on the same principle that the Dark Brotherhood does; he is loyal to the cult first, but to his patrons he will do anything for the right price as long as it doesn't conflict with his own creed.

As far as the build, I think the first level will be taken to go rogue and pick up another skill along with Sneak Attack, then level to Monk 1/Rogue 3 to pick up assassinate, before going back to monk to level it to way of shadow.

For those who have played these Ninja characters, what are some of the combinations of skills, abilities, and/or spells that you've used to great effect? Anything of note?

[Malifice]

Back to the original topic, anyone who wishes to help me with the code I put up a few threads ago?

Yeah, tone down the murder aspect. Have a believable human reason for it.

What's this brotherhood you speak of?

[Stormthroe]

The Dark Brotherhood (http://elderscrolls.wikia.com/wiki/Dark_Brotherhood) from Skyrim mate.

[McNinja]

Greetings Playgrounders!

So, after a TPK during the last adventurer's league game I was playing, Teclis, my Lawful Evil Necromancer, ended up tanking the party's two fighters on his own after they were charmed by a Cambion. It was both epic, and incredibly satisfying, but alas, we will be starting a new campaign with a new party come Thursday.

So, as a group we decided we'd like to run Rage of Demons, and from the rumors, I finally get to play a Drow! On one of my fantasy writing forums, I created a Drow ninja clan that works as zealous servants to a God of Murder, very similar to the Dark Brotherhood from Elder Scrolls. This is really the type of character I want to play since its rare that anyone gets to play Drow.

I'm definitely gonna have to go Way of Shadow monk, but I was curious; what are some of the more optimized builds out there for a ninja character? I figure after first level, dip three into rogue for assassin, then go from there as monk. Thoughts?

Also, as far as a roleplaying perspective, the character is going to be Lawful Evil. Essentially, his tenets require him to be loyal to anyone who holds his contract for as long as they do, which I will be giving a copy of to the party as his "patrons." Above this, he is branded a heretic by the priestesses of Lolth and general Drow society, so he will be vengeful from them. Also, as part of his religion, I will be requiring him to perform "beautiful kills," which will really be extremely creative and suitably gruesome ways to kill enemies, but it will also require him to kill once a tenday in character; regardless of if its an enemy, or if we spend a bunch of downtime, it must be someone innocent.

Regardless of how not-psychotic you're trying to make this psychotic character seem, if you were playing in my group, if you were the first person they met in the underdark, you would be the first thing they kill. Even if you are crucial to their escape from Drow captivity, they'd kill you after they got free on principle unless you left right away.

Just be sure the group is ok with it or at the very least don't tell the paladin.

[Kane0]

Sounds a lot like Grimnaw from NWN actually. I liked him.

"The silent lord take you!"

[Stormthroe]

The party is perfectly ok with it. Additionally, due to Adventurer's League rules, killing another PC is illegal.

Also, Kane0, that might just be the closest D&D reference ever XD I totally forgot about that bugger.

[Malifice]

The party is perfectly ok with it. Additionally, due to Adventurer's League rules, killing another PC is illegal.

Also, Kane0, that might just be the closest D&D reference ever XD I totally forgot about that bugger.

They can exile you though.

I would.

[Stormthroe]

That's nice; however there is no reason to. From what I understand, Drow are murderous and cunning by nature; my character will play the same. He needs the PCs as a means of escape, and depending on if they do, he will see them as a tool to be used against the people who imprisoned him for being heretical to Lolth. In return, he pledges his allegiance to them as his patrons; for as long as they hold his contract, he will do as they ask. Its a very simple arrangement that I feel your attitude is not accepting of, but very well.

[Malifice]

A group of people fleeing murderous evil drow have no reason to not want to travel with... A murderous evil drow?

I wouldn't trust (or adventure) with someone who defines themselves as 'murderous and cunning'

Maybe that's just me.

[PoeticDwarf]

If you go monk assassin, go for 17 monk / 3 assassin, 11 monk / 9 assassin, 9 monk / 11 assassin or 6 monk / 14 assassin.

[Citan]

The tenets are what defines chaotic evil. He won't be stabbing anyone; only those who attack him, or those he is directed to kill.

Serial killers kill for themselves. He kills on command XD

Shortswords are of course the preferred weapon (ninjato ftw!). Of those options, which mix lets me be the most mobile while balancing out reliable damage? I'm away from book to look up the stats and efficiency in each there.
Hi!

If you'd like a mix geared towards mobility, you have basically three builds that could work.
1. If you want to go Shadow Monk 11 to get the Invisible feature, then you'll already have very good movement. In which case Assassin archetypes meshes the best.
2. If you don't particularly fancy Assassin or lvl 11 Shadow feature, then you could...
a) Take Thief Rogue as a primary (up to 11) to get climbing/running extra mobility and Reliable Talent. But I think it's not the best choice, because other Thief abilities won't synergize well (unless you plan on using objects often). And I think anyways that as far as climbing is concerned, Thief's lvl 3 ability and Monk's lvl 9 are redundant.

b) Going Monk 9 at least for vertical/water walking and take either Assassin or Trickster. Why do I suggest this?

Swashbuckler: probably subpar for a Shadow Monk/Rogue build: you won't have good CHA, you can get the free disengage with Mobile feat, and you can easily get advantage on enemy anyways with your Monk abilities.
Thief: As said earlier, sub-par unless niche build or fluff reason (not the case here).
Assassin: No need to explain potential. :)
Trickster: it can bring many goodies to you in defense/manipulation/hiding to complement Shadow Monk abilities, if you want to keep your Ki points for other things such as Stunning Strike or you plan on getting Rogue main.

Whatever you choose, I'd suggest going both classes at least level 6 each. Rogue for Expertise, Monk for Extra attack and Ki-empowered strikes.

My main suggestion for build: Shadow 14 / Assassin 6.

+ Nice ki pool.
+ All Monk archetype abilities.
+ Great mobility (Unarmored Movement + Cunning Action)
+ Great defense (Diamond Soul + Uncanny Dodge + Evasion)
+ 2* Expertise (Stealth? Perception?)
+ a bit of Sneak Attack
+ surprise nova.
+ no class abilities redundancy.

- you only get low Sneak Attack.
- you don't get the interesting lvl9 feature, which you could want for your character concept.

>>> Basically, you're a Shadow Monk with surprise nova, free mobility and expertise in some skills.

Alternative: Trickster Rogue 14 / Shadow Monk 6, (only if you like Trickster for fluff or mechanical reasons).

I started with a more balanced suggestion to keep Monk's mobility at 9nth level, but it really makes an inefficient build. I kept it for reference in a spoiler in case you're curious. Anyways...

With Trickster 14 / Shadow 6, you can still sustain the teleport ability by using spell slots, keeping ki points for Stunning Strikes or Flurry. Although, with such a restrained ki points pool, your playstyle will obviously be different.

+ Good SA damage.
+ Reliable Talent (excellent in all skills you're proficient with) in addition to the dual Expertise.
+ Decent defense (Uncanny Dodge + Evasion), obviously lesser than previous build though unless you use spells such as Mage Armor (if low WIS), Shield or Mirror Image.
+ Decent mobility, although much lesser in normal situations (= if you can't use teleport, or you don't use spells granting extra mobility such as Haste).
+ Extra RP and combat versatility (Mage Hand and other cantrips, Blindness, Slow, Hold Person, Fog Cloud, Color Spray, Charm Person etc).
+ No class abilities redundancy.

- Limited ki pool, limited spell slots, making resource management potentially hard.
- Very little damage for Unarmed Strikes (you'll essentially use ki points on Stunning Strikes).

>>>> Basically, this class can be nearly as good as the previous build but requires much more planning because, where the previous build has much defense and mobility integrated as class abilities, you'll have here to use spells instead.
As a counterpart, you can get many good abilities for you only accessible through Trickster (or spellcaster dip), that can make you even more mobile, offensive or defensive that the previous build, but only for a few moments.

So recommended only if you're used to juggling with limited resources or you like the spell possibilities.
Otherwise, favor the Shadow 14 / Assassin 6.

+ Increased versatility in combat and RP with spells (invisible Mage Hand, Mirror Image, Mage Armor etc).
+ Sustainable use of Shadow Monk features since you can cast Darkness as a Trickster spell instead of consuming ki.
+ Decent DA.
+ Still good mobility (that's why Monk 9).
- No "Invisibility" on action (lvl 11 Monk).
- More complex resource management (especially if you want to use defense spells).
- Less defense (no Diamond Soul).
- Class ability redundancy (Evasion).
>>> Mechanically, this is very complex to build and use, partly because going Monk 9 for mobility breaks evenly two archetypes that don't mesh well when balanced.



In any cases, Mobile feat is a given. :)

[Malifice]

From a mechanical standpoint I like Assasin rogue 11, Monk 6, BM fighter 3

[Stormthroe]

I appreciate it y'all! I'll put up a first game with the character, from now on known as C'tan, pending the game on Thursday.

[MrStabby]

I don't know if it is too late but for a different style consider a favoured soul/rogue. Use the trickery domain for ninja or possibly death domain for character reasons. This then gives you invisibility, fog clouds, mirror images, enchantments, hold person, disguise self, spider climb... all good stuff for a Ninja style. Level 6 gives you a second attack. As a lot of these do not need saves or attacks you can still keep a low Cha.

Top this off with either arcane trickster (more spell slots) or assassin to get the rounded feel. If you want a more combat oriented character you could add in a spot of paladin for smiting.

[Osrogue]

Okay, I have a question. How does the religion treat undead, and by extension, healing magic that undoes death?

While the religion itself is lawful, does it actively work for the decomposition of society, as in purposeful assassinations and espionage to cause instability and mistrust in order to weaken society as a whole by trying to keep peace from lasting, or does it work under the assumption that everything dies eventually?

Finally, is there a situation where a practicioner should be willing to take their own life, and would your character carry it out with absolute certainty, would hesitate, or know/think deep down that they wouldn't be able to follow through with it?

I think knowing just how much your character is willing to lay down for their beliefs is important for role playing a character heavily tied to a religion. Whatecer your answer is, it might give you ideas when role playing the religious assassin, and if you don't know, then your character doesn't know either.

Your answer might make for an good trait or flaw at the very least.

[KorvinStarmast]

Your description above indicates he kills a random innocent person every tenday.

So yeah 'serial killer' kinda fits.
He's not killing for himself, he's killing for the higher cause/faith/creed/law/code etc.

That's lawful, as evil goes.

For Stormthroe:

I look forward to seeing how the AL party does in your report/write-ups.

[Malifice]

He's not killing for himself, he's killing for the higher cause/faith/creed/law/code etc.

That's lawful, as evil goes.

For Stormthroe:

I look forward to seeing how the AL party does in your report/write-ups.

Oh I agree he is LE.

My concern is he sits on the monstrous side of LE. It may prove difficult for a party to embrace such a monster in their midst.

A Rorschach, Azrael, Casey Jones, Magneto or Punisher type LE for sure - that works. In the OP however this character however actively murders innocents (on a weekly basis). I can certainly imagine some G aligned PCs having major difficulties with it (in addition to any sane PCs). I certainly wouldn't want to hang with a serial killer.

Maybe that's just me though.

If you know your players in advance it can be worked around (sometimes) but a character so utterly depraved (serial killer on the scale of Jeffery Dahmer) certainly has huge potential for problems at an open table.

And an excuse of 'I only kill NPCs' can't really be argued in character (and never should be).

Would you hang with this guys character? Would you comfortably sleep in the same room as him?

Guess my experience of AL and similar events is 'understated evil' can work. The Nerull worshipper with a scythe offering to join the party? Most sane people would say 'no way'.

This isn't a knock on evil PCs. I play them all the time. Its just a sane group of people hanging around with such a vile monster stretches belief a bit and is asking for trouble in most games.

YMMV.

[Stormthroe]

@Osrogue

To be fair, they treat them in much the same way as any other Evil organization would; as a tool to be used. If the undead can be controlled and worked towards their ends (as in, used to deliver death to others) then they will do so, but if the undead are hostile and present a threat then they are put down.

The organization itself does not care about society as a whole; everything dies eventually, their goal is to just quicken that for select people. Like the Dark Brotherhood, they deal death for a cause greater than any mortal creature can understand; it just so happens that they can be paid for their services as well.

As far as taking the character's own life, I am not making him to be zealous to the point of suicide; he would hesitate, as would any other rational creature that has a sense of self-preservation. Perhaps, he may be unwilling to do so and would deem those who commanded it to be unfit to command the word of Bhaal, or worse yet, false prophets. The character is willing to put his life in danger, and will take whatever contract he is given even if that might cost him his life; but directly killing himself would definitely put him at odds with his beliefs.

@KorvinStarmast
Definitely, thanks man. One more day, and I'm really excited to see where this goes.

@Malifice
D&D is not a place necessarily fit for believability.

In truth, yes, I would sleep comfortably in the same room as him; serial killers exist and part of their being is not being detected. I was never planning to just randomly stab someone in the street and be like "it was for religious purpose." However, sneaking into a window in the middle of the night and offering a ritual sacrifice to the God of Murder? Not a bad option.

Additionally, my table is not random people; its the same 6 or so each week and we all know each other.

Think of C'tan a lot more like Richard from LFG (pre current book.) He's capable of immense evil, but as the party is his patron, he will do as they say because he has a reason to obey them (seeing as they will hold his contract.) He will not harmt hem nor hinder them in any way so long as they are considered his patron unless they order him to do something like ritual suicide, as discussed above.

[Kane0]

Let us know how it goes

[Malifice]

@Malifice
D&D is not a place necessarily fit for believability.

In truth, yes, I would sleep comfortably in the same room as him; serial killers exist and part of their being is not being detected. I was never planning to just randomly stab someone in the street and be like "it was for religious purpose." However, sneaking into a window in the middle of the night and offering a ritual sacrifice to the God of Murder? Not a bad option.

Additionally, my table is not random people; its the same 6 or so each week and we all know each other.

Think of C'tan a lot more like Richard from LFG (pre current book.) He's capable of immense evil, but as the party is his patron, he will do as they say because he has a reason to obey them (seeing as they will hold his contract.) He will not harmt hem nor hinder them in any way so long as they are considered his patron unless they order him to do something like ritual suicide, as discussed above.

If that works at your table, then have fun mate!

[JackOfAllBuilds]

What immediately came to my mind for an assassin monk of a murder God:
http://static.comicvine.com/uploads/scale_super/3/38952/1643166-hidan__s_devotion_by_razzex.jpg

[Stormthroe]

No worries guys!

@JackOfAllBuilds
Honestly, if I ever acheive immortality with the character for any reason, that will definitely become a thing XD

EDIT:
First game happened. The party I had consisted of a dwarven cleric, a half-elf ranger, and a bunch of humans; two fighters, a cleric, and a warlock, along with C'tan the drow monk.

Overall, the party was wary of the Drow but not openly hostile; the human cleric, the son of a merchant, viewed him as a filthy and unclean creature and really only the dwarven cleric was openly hostile, warning the rest of the party to keep an eye on C'tan, of which the human ranger was more than willing to oblige.

After rescuing a madman that had stumbled out of the forest, first noticed by C'tan due to his keen senses even though the sunlight hampered his eyesight, the party clerics confronted him, claiming "his kind" was not to be trusted for their demon worship, and that any of the Spawn of Lolth should be put to the sword. C'tan's temper broke for the first time after that, and though up to that point he'd practiced a cool and collected composure, he fervently spoke out against the demon-worshipping practices of his kind and that he was no friend to the Priestesses of Lolth. Though the clerics were skeptical, the human warlock scrutinized C'tan's mind without the drow realizing it, and chimed in to defend him, claiming he spoke the truth.

As the adventure continued, the party began to solve the madman's riddles and found themselves at a farm with dozens of nonhuman children. The party face, the warlock, split the party in two directions; a small group stayed to help birth some goats, while the rest were sent off to track down a lost child.

C'tan accompanied the group that went to track down the child, only because the ranger was busy helping birth goats so he was the only one with any sort of tracking skill if they needed to hunt down the child. The clerics and fighters accompanied him, but their tongues were mostly kept in check, albeit begrudgingly.

As they crested the hill, they saw two figures being harassed by a pack of wild dogs; one a tiefling child who matched the description of the child they were looking for, and the other an adult male fighting off the dogs with an ornate, silver sickle. The clerics, in their heavy armor, failed to do much, but with a sly grin and an order to get moving, C'tan lurched into battle, using his innate magical abilities to cause the dogs to hesitate a moment with a casting of dancing lights to swarm them with bright orbs.

As the rest of the party engaged the pack, the slower dwarven cleric was suddenly on his back as he was ambushed by a larger dog, and though he called out for help, none but C'tan heard him in the melee. Without hesitation, the drow ran to the cleric as he drew a shortsword from beneath his cloak as the cleric fought to get back to his feet. Driving the sword through the beast's throat, C'tan twisted the blade with a flick of the wrist, snapping the beast's neck. As the dwarf got to his feet, he begrudgingly thanked the drow, who responded with a wry grin and a reminder to "remember this," as he turned, drawing some wicked-looked shuriken (darts count-as) and hurling them at one of the dogs that had turned to face the other party members.

After rescuing the child, the man that had been defending him approached, thanking the party for rescuing them. He introduced himself as a member of the emerald enclave, and rewarded the party with a healing potion and his sickle; though the clerics insisted he keep it, C'tan was more than willing to accept the gift and claimed it as his own.

Meanwhile, the warlock and ranger had helped the goat give birth to several disturbing kids; each one was red with black horns and eyes and one had two heads, and each was warped by abyssal magics through a detect magic spell. Shortly after birthing the kids, the mother goat was healed by the warlock for minor damage from the pregnancy, however, he and the ranger were soon confronted by the rapidly growing two headed kid. Before they knew it, the goat was the size of a horse, and pawing angrily at the barn floor; very soon after, it attacked.

The ranger was the first to act, getting in between it and the warlock with her dual swords, but did minimal damage. The warlock began to use holy magic from his training as a priest to harm it, but soon the two-headed goat, which the ranger named Krampus, was joined by three of the other kids. The ranger went down quick, but a lucky save stood her back up immediately to take another hit. Soon, the warlock's casting and the ranger had put down the normal-sized kids, but the two headed goat-demon-thing had stomped the range down again to unconsciousness before the warlock finished it off.

Thus arrived the rest of the party on a scene of the warlock covered in blood, the ranger dead, and a whole bunch of dead goats. The clerics immediately accused the warlock of treachery (they'd actually left the table for a quick bite while the ranger and warlock got sorted out) but quick thinking on the fighter's part and a good medicine check later, and the ranger was on her feet to validate the story. Soon after, the party ate with the woman who owned this farm and were offered a place to rest for the night before moving on to investigate another farm nearby.

The party shacked up for the night at the farm, with a majority of the party sleeping in the barn, while the human cleric noble had his manservant pitch a tent. C'tan slipped out without anyone noticing, and climbed the barn to meditate under the moon.


Overall, the game went well; our cleric players decided to play very racially, which is fine, against my drow but it worked out well I feel. Sunlight sensitivity was occasionally pretty annoying; I cannot wait to hit the underdark where being a drow is less of a problem mechanically. Thus far, I've had no problems really from NPCs beyond the normal shock of seeing a drow on the surface. We did have a problem at one point with a player making a lot of racial slurs about my character that were somewhat offputting (I'm dark-skinned so....yeah, some of the terms weren't exactly welcome) but being as we've been playing together for a while now through Hoard of the Dragon Queen, I just pulled him off to the side and asked him to keep it kosher for me; racial slurs in game are fine, as I know people hate drow overall, but using life's derogatory terms in-game, especially with kids at the nearby tables, isn't really appropriate.

Next time, we will start with the first look at the next farm. Aught be a good one. Toodles.