[3.5] Sophisticated Orc

[Thurbane]

OK, need some help for an NPC.

It's for flavour more than power, but I need it to meet the following criteria:

- Full blooded Orc (not half-orc, and not planar subrace - i.e. no water orc). Orogs etc. are acceptable.
- Does not wear armor (so I'm thinking Wizard, Monk or some other class expressly not allowed to wear armor).
- Must have as many of the "social skills" as possible (Knowledge [local], Diplomacy, Bluff, Sense Motive, Gather Information etc. Intimidate is not required), and as many skill points/level as possible.
- Elite array (15,14,13,12,10,8)

I know it's an odd request, but can you think of a way of making this an even semi-viable build?

Cheers - T

[AvatarVecna]

Cloistered Cleric could do decently, although social skills could be an issue...really, those Int/Cha penalties are the death of this idea, since getting all your social skills good will be...difficult. Maybe...

Venerable Orc Rogue with Int/Cha and social skills maxed out as much as possible. You'll suck at a lot of other things (like fighting) unless you really go all-out optimizing UMD, but it gets you your Gentleman Orc.

[ComaVision]

Intelligent-based class with lots of social skills and skill points that can get by without conventional armour? The Factotum! The racial int penalty hurts a bit but it's not insurmountable.

[Palanan]

An Orog beguiler would be my first thought, since Orogs don't have a penalty to Intelligence, and their Charisma bonus works nicely with the beguiler's social skills.

Beguilers aren't prohibited from wearing all armor, but they can get by with very little, and an Orog beguiler would make a great crimelord: magically manipulative, charmingly urbane, and able to smash people whenever necessary.

.

[Prime32]

Sharakim from Races of Destiny are a LG orc subrace with an Int bonus, who hate normal orcs and go out of their way to avoid being mistaken for them.

[Werephilosopher]

Sharakim from Races of Destiny are a LG orc subrace with an Int bonus, who hate normal orcs and go out of their way to avoid being mistaken for them.

Thurbane requested "full blooded" orcs though. However the fluff about Sharakim might be helpful for imagining this guy's mindset and personality.

[torrasque666]

Thurbane requested "full blooded" orcs though. However the fluff about Sharakim might be helpful for imagining this guy's mindset and personality.
He did however mention that Orogs were acceptable. So the Sharakim are probably out, but the Orog suggestion was acceptable.

[Telonius]

Is this for a heroic or villainous NPC? Nymph's Kiss can help out (slightly) on the skill points.

[Kantolin]

What levelish is the NPC? Is pathfinder (or more specifically, dreamscarred press) content okay?

[ZamielVanWeber]

Thug plus a positive int (tricky but doable) gets you a decent number of skill points. Add in Knowledge devotion for another and you can still be good at combat. Combine with Nymph's Kiss for ever more skill point goodness.

If you really don't care about combat something as simple as expert, factotum, or savant would work.

If it for an NPC you can also just roleplay him as sophisticated.

[Werephilosopher]

He did however mention that Orogs were acceptable. So the Sharakim are probably out, but the Orog suggestion was acceptable.

Woops, for some reason I read that as "Orogs are not acceptable."

[Thurbane]

I like the idea of the Orog Beguiler.

Sharakim are no good, even though they look like Orcs, they just aren't.

Level... hmm, 6-ish?

3.0 & 3.5 only please, no Pathfinder.

In regards to the no-armor, I suppose a class with light armor using armor with the Glamered property should be OK - so long as the Orc appears to be wearing a smoking jacket or similar.

Cloistered Cleric could work - the right domains and/or the City Slicker feat should get most/all of the social skills.

If needs be, I could slap the Prodigy NPC quality from DMG2 on him for a +2 bonus to Int...

[Troacctid]

Rogue seems to fit your criteria just fine. You get all the skills you need and enough skill points to take them (even with an Int penalty), although you may want to add the Education feat to get more Knowledges. Then prestige into Merchant Prince (http://archive.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/ex/20060308a&page=4) and become a respectable businessman (or business-orc, as it were).

[Mr Adventurer]

Just want to say that I love the idea of the Intelligence Prodigy Orc (I love a lot of DMG2 stuff!). As well as the ability score bump, it's +5 to Int tests, IIRC!

[Mr Adventurer]

Where are the 3.5 rules for Orogs?

[Inevitability]

Where are the 3.5 rules for Orogs?

They're in Races of Faerun, I believe.

[Andezzar]

In regards to the no-armor, I suppose a class with light armor using armor with the Glamered property should be OK - so long as the Orc appears to be wearing a smoking jacket or similar.Make sure to add a top hat and monocle.

Do orcs in D&D have facial hair? If so, he should also have a moustache

[Palanan]

Originally Posted by Thurbane
I like the idea of the Orog Beguiler.

The notion tickles me, I'll admit.

:smalltongue:


Originally Posted by Mr Adventurer
Where are the 3.5 rules for Orogs?

They're in Races of Faerûn, pp. 71-73. They have a +6 to Strength, +2 Charisma, and -2 Dex and Wis, plus a number of other benefits (including 120' darkvision) for the low, low price of +2 LA. They do have light sensitivity, but tinted spectacles should handle that, and would only contribute to the dapper demeanor of a gentleman rake.

A sixth-level Orog would be casting second-level beguiler spells, including Detect Thoughts, Fog Cloud and Invisibility, and would net you every one of the social skills Thurbane was looking for. He would also have much stronger physical options than an ordinary rogue or beguiler, including a natural armor bonus and some handy resistances.

Socially adept, magically gifted and physically ominous--a good package overall.

[TheifofZ]

I don't see a single note in the original post that requires a high Int.

Orog Bard seems to strike just the right notes, to me.
Bards have access to most of the social skills out of the box (not sure about sense motive...) and a high number of skill points.
Including some form of Performance (Piano or violin are well known to be considered 'Sophisticated') does not hurt.
After that, the smoked glasses and smoking jacket come together perfectly.

[Palanan]

Originally Posted by ThiefofZ
I don't see a single note in the original post that requires a high Int.


Originally Posted by Thurbane
...and as many skill points/level as possible.

Seems a high Intelligence would certainly help.


Originally Posted by ThiefofZ
After that, the smoked glasses and smoking jacket come together perfectly.

Although I have to admit this is a great image. :smalltongue:

I could see an Orog bard as a very public character, while the Orog beguiler would be more suited for a hidden crimelord. The question is whether the local society is ready for an Orog bard giving a virtuoso piano performance on stage.

[Andion Isurand]

What about using a gray orc (http://archive.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/ex/20030301a) from the FR setting?

You could possibly make a "lesser" gray orc to do away with the +1 LA by giving it all the same racial traits as a typical orc, except the following:

+2 str, -2 int, +2 wis, -2 cha
Favored Class: Cleric

In any case, such a gray orc might do well as as the previously mentioned cloistered cleric if its skills you're looking for.

[Andezzar]

What about using a gray orc (http://archive.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/ex/20030301a) from the FR setting?

You could possibly make a "lesser" gray orc to do away with the +1 LA by giving it all the same racial traits as an orc, except the following:

+2 str, -2 int, +2 wis, -2 cha
Favored Class: Cleric

In any case, such a gray orc might do well as as the previously mentioned cloistered cleric if its skills you're looking for.where are the rules for the lesser Gray Orc?

[Andion Isurand]

I was just suggesting brewing a "lesser" version of gray orcs, similar to the lesser plantouched presented in PGtF.

Or one can brew a racial class level (http://archive.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/sp/20040213a) for the gray orc... but allow such a character not to take that level.


On the side, I would also consider giving gray orcs access to the Ancestral Knowledge racial feat.
In addition, I think all orcs with Light Sensitivity should get Darkvision out to 90 feet at least, so they get something over the Goblins and Dwarves and other races that get Darkvision out to 60 feet without Light Sensitivity.

[Thurbane]

The main reason for this build was that my group had a running gag about a 3rd party splatbook called "Guide to Orc Culture" or similar - it conjured up an image of an Orc in a smoking jacket, swirling a snifter of brandy...

My amazingly talented artist fiancée has started drawing a portrait of this character, so I thought it would be fun to make him an NPC in my game.

[noob]

Since he is an npc multi-classing into expert(or even commoner if he have very high int) and bard will allow him to have very high skill ranks compared to his CR(and be tough as hell)
if you are interested in anything else than skills then it is not the right idea.

[Suteinu]

*ahem* Swashbuckler. Cyrano de Bergerorc. This is an idea what's been bandied about before, and it always brings a big, tusky smile to my kisser ....

[mabriss lethe]

You could perhaps take a normal orc, add something like lolth-touched, dump str and con, pump your int.

[TheifofZ]

The main reason for this build was that my group had a running gag about a 3rd party splatbook called "Guide to Orc Culture" or similar - it conjured up an image of an Orc in a smoking jacket, swirling a snifter of brandy...

My amazingly talented artist fiancée has started drawing a portrait of this character, so I thought it would be fun to make him an NPC in my game.

At that point, throw caution to the wind and go full on normal Orcy-orc bard.
Put your highest stat into Int, spend a few spare gold on the skill-boosting items to help compensate for the low Cha, and voila.
Remember: 10 is the average human; a socialite might have 14 Int/Cha.
Only the very prettiest or social of critters manages 18 Cha, and it takes a full on genius to hit 18 Int.

[Andezzar]

*ahem* Swashbuckler. Cyrano de Bergerorc. This is an idea what's been bandied about before, and it always brings a big, tusky smile to my kisser ....This forum soo needs a like button.