Axthen
2016-06-08, 09:04 PM
PAQ - personally asked questions.
Last night I was looking to make a character for a campaign that
A: Would be cool, 100% on style points, yet sensible (isn't just a one-shot wonder)
B: Not completely broken. (I have a bad habit of making 8-attack Dual-weapon 10-20 Crit-range with advantage on Str based rolls) So the DM just doesn't tell me to go sod off.
So with those things in mind, I'm looking for suggestions on this character to either: Add more coolness (if it lacks power that's fine, I'm not too concerned about that) Or adds interesting synergies/strategies that wasn't present before.
Welcome; Arturia Pendragon.
“Why did it end up like this?” My past flooded my mind as the air rushed past my face. Tears striped from my face by the wind.
I had a simple life with my parents. We were commoners in a trade town on the coast – nothing special. My father was a fisherman and tried his best to provide for mom and me. When the catch wasn’t good, we didn’t hate him. We pulled together and all helped out to get by. It wasn’t a pretty or easy life-style, but it was fun and I miss those days.
On my 13th birthday, a strange priest knocked on our door to congratulate me on my birthday. We never were religious as a family. That should have been enough to warn me of what was going to happen, but I was so caught up in being with both my parents all day (A rare, but welcome gift) that I didn’t pay any mind. That night, I had an odd dream chasing after a sword. It was a dream that I never experienced before, but it was so vivid. It appeared so real – it may have been looking back on it. The next day he came. He burned our town to the ground. Everyone was slaughtered – except for me. The priest came to our house. I looked out the window as my father frantically put out the fires that spread in our house. I never saw a more disturbing sight. Pure black ooze drenched his coat, his face transmogrified to be half-demon half-human. His eyes bloodshot and the smile… I could never forget that smile.
The priest broke down the door. Surprised, my father had no time to react to the flail that crushed his skull into his neck. His body spurted, unaware of what to do as it collapsed moments later. My mother, who was coming down the stairs, shrieked.
“Can’t have any witnesses can we?”
The words chilled me to my core. I was frozen to watch the horrendous acts he committed. After he was done – she was dead. Her body was strewn across the room.
“Yes. This is the one that I have been looking for.”
Before he could act I collapsed. My mind was unable to process anything anymore. ‘
I woke suspended in the air by chains. My shoulders cried in pain from supporting my body.
“So she is awake at last!” The priest said looking at me with his human façade.
I didn’t want to look him in the face, but my neck was too tired to move my head away.
“Don’t look so gloomy, my precious.” He said, moving over to a side door in the room. “I had to free you from those pesky people and that silly town. You are destined for so much more.” As he talked, he brought out a tray with several odd gems all about the size of a gold piece. I wanted to say something. I wanted to scream at him for what he did to my town – my parents. But my throat was coarse and dry, and my energy to stay conscious waned.
“Oh, I beg your infinite pardons, m’lady. I have yet you introduce myself!” He said cordially bowing his head. “I am Hextor, The God of War! As a god, I can answer any question, and possibly perform any request you may have.”
“Whe……… Where am I?” I muttered. My feeble attempt to speak made him laugh.
“Dear, you are at my Temple in Acheron.” As he spoke, he made hand-gestures that caused a small light to drift away. “I don’t permit many to live her for free. So consider yourself lucky! The only other person who is here besides me and you is that idiotic High Priestess of mine.” As if timed perfectly – a priestess entered as he finished speaking. “Good – good. Come darling. I have need of your services.”
The priestess simply nodded and walked towards me. My body wanted to run – it wanted to escape, but the chains kept me in place.
“First, we must brand you – you are mine after all now.” Hextor said as he conjured a brand from thin-air. The brand – a fist clenching 6 arrows – was red-hot. He pushed it into my right thigh. The pain of the brand pierced my mind, and my hatred for this man – devil faded away. “You see, this is no ordinary brand,” He sneered as he licked the brand clean of the flesh that tore away with it. “This brand doesn’t just make your body mind, but also your mind. I can’t have you not doing as I say, now can I?”
Hextor clapped and summoned the high-priestess to his side, handing her the tray of oddly-shaped gems. “I trust you to take care of this?”
The priestess simply nodded her head and bowed before him. As I watched, I noticed that there were small, odd blades on the tray as well. She walked behind me and after a few minutes of her touching my back – I felt a sheering pain before blacking out.
When I awoke, my body was covered in blood and my back was completely numb. As I looked around the well-furnished room, I saw a bath, and decided to clean myself of this blood. The world seemed crisper. I felt capable of doing anything and everything I wanted.
After that experience, the years went by like a blur. Hextor taught me warfare and fighting as he tempered my innate psionic abilities. At first as I used my powers my back ached and strained. But as I practiced, the pain stopped happening, but whenever I completely exhausted myself, I would cough up blood or collapse. Because of this, sometimes while he was teaching me, I would black out, and wake up in my room covered in blood. Whenever I asked Hextor about it, he scolded me, and I would black out again.
One day – I asked if Hextor could take me to the material plane for my birthday. I insisted that I had listened to him diligently for months now and that I deserved a reward. He reluctantly accepted to take me. I was overjoyed. It was my first time to be a real person in years. While walking through a busy street, a young boy, no older than five or six, accidentally ran into Hextor. I quickly shielded the boy and told Hextor to forget about him. But he wouldn’t. He wanted me to do away with him. I refused.
“This boy is still so young! He doesn’t know the difference between right and wrong! You can’t just kill him like this!” I yelled.
“And neither do you. I command you as my property to dispose of that insect.”
“N-” Before I could finish speaking, my mind was flooded with a desire to kill the child. My thigh burned as if it was on fire – my back ached. Before I could get back to reality, I was strangling the child with my own two hands. Tears ran down my face. I kept screaming “No No No!” Once the child stopped squirming between my hands, my hold released and the pain subsided. I looked back to Hextor as tears ran down my face. I knew at that moment what I had been doing… What I was being commanded to do by this tyrant for all these years.
“See? You can’t beat me. Your mind is pudding and your body is mine. As long as that brand remains on you, you will do as I say. But I imagine that is enough of you having fu-” before he could finish, his brother appeared with the town’s guard.
“Don’t try to escape Hextor, you have nowhere to run.” Herioneous said as guard and priest surrounded us. “You and your assassin are going to be punished for the crimes you have committed.
“You think you can stand up to me?” He said, enraged. “I command you to---” Before he could finish… I had cut off my leg. The brand bounding me to be his slave cut away. “I never wanted to hurt anyone!” I screamed as I collapsed – unconscious.
When I awoke, I was in a bed in a temple in the town that I was in. A priest was tending to me. As soon as she noticed that I regained consciousness, she yelled for Heironeous. And before I could mutter a word I was transported to another plane. I believed it was astral.
“You face serious charges for the crimes you have committed, assassin.” He spoke atop his throne of gold. “Do you have anything to say in defence before I give judge-” Before he finished, he noticed that I wasn’t paying any attention to him. My eyes were dull. I didn’t care anymore what happened to me. I was slaughtering innocent people – like my father and mother… or someone else’s father and mother for years… without even knowing…
“Do you dare ignore a GOD?!” His wrath boiling over. He stepped down from his throne and picked me up from the ground by my collar. I could feel his mind enter my own. But it wasn’t cold or ruthless like Hextor’s – this was warm and comforting. I may have blushed right then from such comfort.
After a few minutes, he let me go and I collapsed back to the floor – only now realizing I had two legs. “You had no intention of performing those acts.” He said as he sat upon his thrown once again, letting out a sigh. “As such, I shall pass judgement.” He raised his hand and a bolt of lightning crackled into existence between his fingers. “You shall serve me as a Hand of Heironeous. You shall go to plane after plane and stomp out evil wherever it may rear its head. You shall only use your powers for that which you desire. However – should I ever catch wind of you performing evil deeds of your own free-will with no other course of action available to you, or you freely take what is not yours – I shall smite you where you stand at that moment.” I raised my head to look up at him. His hair flowed with the wind as he struck me with the bolt of lightning. Energy coursed through my veins. My mind was refreshed and my body rejuvenated. Thread spun around me weaving clothes out of thin air to cover my naked body. I looked at him with curious eyes, and only muttered “Thank you.”
“Judgement has been passed. As long as you perform heroic deeds for those in need, and follow thine own path – my blessing shall be with you.”
As I began to walk away, Heironeous beckoned me to his side. “I almost forgot.” He said quietly as he raised a hand to my head. “Some people on some planes will be extremely hostile towards dragons and any of their spawn.” He spoke as magic seeped from his fingers onto me. “I do not blame one’s past on their current situation. Because of this,” he paused, looking at my hair critically, “I shall hid your birthmark of being related to dragons. The blood will still run through your veins – however no one will see past this spell unless you tell them of it.” And with that he beckoned me away… As I walked away I heard him clap his hands behind me and the floor disappeared and I was suddenly in the sky. And here I am now.
“I guess this is what he meant by going to other planes...”
I included the backstory because I feel that what happens in a characters past ultimately decides who they are, and what they can do. I guess it's my own belief that creating a character without a backstory is baseless and just not that fun. (It's long - 2000 words)
Psychic Warrior 8, Silverbrow Human
Level 1:
Weapon Focus - Greatsword -Bonus (Soulbound Weapon ACF)
Tap Mantle - Time
Power Attack -Bonus
Expanded knowledge - Dimension Hop - Level 1 bonus feat
Level 2:
NA - SoulBound Weapon ACF
Level 3:
Linked Power
Level 4:
NA - Soulbound weapon +1
Level 5:
Metapower -> Hustle - Bonus
Level 6:
Leap Attack
Level 7:
NA
Level 8:
Psionic Meditation
Soulbound weapon +1
Level 1:
Call Weaponry
Dimension Hop - See Feats
Level 2:
Inertial Armor
Level 3:
Vigor
Level 4:
Hustle
Level 5:
Damp Powder
Level 6:
Power Weapon
Level 7:
Mental Barrier
Level 8:
Time Hop (questioning)
Also - are there any items that a Psion/Psywarrior particularly benefit a lot from? I know Power Links are a must have, but beyond that, nothing really seems "I need this naow" level of necessary.
Now for the PAQ:
Q: With the Soulbound weapon, it still has the same restriction on where you cannot let go of it for more than 12 seconds, correct? If that is the case, how is it possible to enhance/enchant the weapon? Such as giving it Holy? Would the owner have to be the one enchanting/enhancing? Or would it be possible for another to enhance it?
Q: "The weapon grows with you" (wizards) would that include, per-say, it taking on a pseudo alignment matching your own? Not as an intelligent item, but if you were to be blessed by a god would that blessing intrinsically be bound as well to the weapon/Would some of the blessing transfer over to the weapon because your souls are bound together? Or, another example, taking a multiclass level in Paladin and gaining "aura of good". Would your soulbound weapon also possess such an aura?
Q: This question's mileage may vary between DM to DM, but would it be plausible to use "Power Weapon's" Force to accelerate yourself forward by 'focusing' the manifestation of force into one precise point, and 'releasing' the energy all at once? I imagine such an action would require a 'hustle' to not use up a move action, allowing you to get your full attack after the maneuver.
Q: Would a Soulbound weapon hold the charge from "Empower Weapon"? I assume it would, but I only really started studying this class today (well yesterday, but sleep insomnia is real) so I don't really fully grasp all the nuances yet. I imagine SoulBound weapon is an entity (Entity used in the terms of games where trees are technically 'entities') that cannot exist, or is being forced to not exist in any plane of existence, and as such is only able to maintain its presence with the assistance of your manifestation of it. So my intuition says it would hold the charge, but would like confirmation.
Q: (not mechanic but RP) How would you guys (Mostly asking DMs) react if a player wanted their PC to have amnesia? I'm considering causing my character to have amnesia upon meeting the group, ergo temporarily forgetting the prowess she has in battle. I feel it would be a decent plot line (DM permitting of course) or interesting to see how the character develops over time from not having previous knowledge of her past. As time progresses, or based on certain events, her memories may trigger and her dormant psychic powers would activate.
Q: What would you implement for a balanced feat to convert HP to Power Points? I was thinking somewhere around 1/10 HP (Rounded down) is converted to 1 PP At will. This would allow PP-starving Psywarriors a little bit more breathing space, but at a serious cost (cause at lower levels, losing 20 hp for 4 PP may kill you). Any thoughts/possible recommendations for such a feat?
Thanks for bothering to read this thread! And thanks for any advice/tips you can give - Psychic warrior is so intriguing just on how many COOL THINGS YOU CAN DO!!!
Last night I was looking to make a character for a campaign that
A: Would be cool, 100% on style points, yet sensible (isn't just a one-shot wonder)
B: Not completely broken. (I have a bad habit of making 8-attack Dual-weapon 10-20 Crit-range with advantage on Str based rolls) So the DM just doesn't tell me to go sod off.
So with those things in mind, I'm looking for suggestions on this character to either: Add more coolness (if it lacks power that's fine, I'm not too concerned about that) Or adds interesting synergies/strategies that wasn't present before.
Welcome; Arturia Pendragon.
“Why did it end up like this?” My past flooded my mind as the air rushed past my face. Tears striped from my face by the wind.
I had a simple life with my parents. We were commoners in a trade town on the coast – nothing special. My father was a fisherman and tried his best to provide for mom and me. When the catch wasn’t good, we didn’t hate him. We pulled together and all helped out to get by. It wasn’t a pretty or easy life-style, but it was fun and I miss those days.
On my 13th birthday, a strange priest knocked on our door to congratulate me on my birthday. We never were religious as a family. That should have been enough to warn me of what was going to happen, but I was so caught up in being with both my parents all day (A rare, but welcome gift) that I didn’t pay any mind. That night, I had an odd dream chasing after a sword. It was a dream that I never experienced before, but it was so vivid. It appeared so real – it may have been looking back on it. The next day he came. He burned our town to the ground. Everyone was slaughtered – except for me. The priest came to our house. I looked out the window as my father frantically put out the fires that spread in our house. I never saw a more disturbing sight. Pure black ooze drenched his coat, his face transmogrified to be half-demon half-human. His eyes bloodshot and the smile… I could never forget that smile.
The priest broke down the door. Surprised, my father had no time to react to the flail that crushed his skull into his neck. His body spurted, unaware of what to do as it collapsed moments later. My mother, who was coming down the stairs, shrieked.
“Can’t have any witnesses can we?”
The words chilled me to my core. I was frozen to watch the horrendous acts he committed. After he was done – she was dead. Her body was strewn across the room.
“Yes. This is the one that I have been looking for.”
Before he could act I collapsed. My mind was unable to process anything anymore. ‘
I woke suspended in the air by chains. My shoulders cried in pain from supporting my body.
“So she is awake at last!” The priest said looking at me with his human façade.
I didn’t want to look him in the face, but my neck was too tired to move my head away.
“Don’t look so gloomy, my precious.” He said, moving over to a side door in the room. “I had to free you from those pesky people and that silly town. You are destined for so much more.” As he talked, he brought out a tray with several odd gems all about the size of a gold piece. I wanted to say something. I wanted to scream at him for what he did to my town – my parents. But my throat was coarse and dry, and my energy to stay conscious waned.
“Oh, I beg your infinite pardons, m’lady. I have yet you introduce myself!” He said cordially bowing his head. “I am Hextor, The God of War! As a god, I can answer any question, and possibly perform any request you may have.”
“Whe……… Where am I?” I muttered. My feeble attempt to speak made him laugh.
“Dear, you are at my Temple in Acheron.” As he spoke, he made hand-gestures that caused a small light to drift away. “I don’t permit many to live her for free. So consider yourself lucky! The only other person who is here besides me and you is that idiotic High Priestess of mine.” As if timed perfectly – a priestess entered as he finished speaking. “Good – good. Come darling. I have need of your services.”
The priestess simply nodded and walked towards me. My body wanted to run – it wanted to escape, but the chains kept me in place.
“First, we must brand you – you are mine after all now.” Hextor said as he conjured a brand from thin-air. The brand – a fist clenching 6 arrows – was red-hot. He pushed it into my right thigh. The pain of the brand pierced my mind, and my hatred for this man – devil faded away. “You see, this is no ordinary brand,” He sneered as he licked the brand clean of the flesh that tore away with it. “This brand doesn’t just make your body mind, but also your mind. I can’t have you not doing as I say, now can I?”
Hextor clapped and summoned the high-priestess to his side, handing her the tray of oddly-shaped gems. “I trust you to take care of this?”
The priestess simply nodded her head and bowed before him. As I watched, I noticed that there were small, odd blades on the tray as well. She walked behind me and after a few minutes of her touching my back – I felt a sheering pain before blacking out.
When I awoke, my body was covered in blood and my back was completely numb. As I looked around the well-furnished room, I saw a bath, and decided to clean myself of this blood. The world seemed crisper. I felt capable of doing anything and everything I wanted.
After that experience, the years went by like a blur. Hextor taught me warfare and fighting as he tempered my innate psionic abilities. At first as I used my powers my back ached and strained. But as I practiced, the pain stopped happening, but whenever I completely exhausted myself, I would cough up blood or collapse. Because of this, sometimes while he was teaching me, I would black out, and wake up in my room covered in blood. Whenever I asked Hextor about it, he scolded me, and I would black out again.
One day – I asked if Hextor could take me to the material plane for my birthday. I insisted that I had listened to him diligently for months now and that I deserved a reward. He reluctantly accepted to take me. I was overjoyed. It was my first time to be a real person in years. While walking through a busy street, a young boy, no older than five or six, accidentally ran into Hextor. I quickly shielded the boy and told Hextor to forget about him. But he wouldn’t. He wanted me to do away with him. I refused.
“This boy is still so young! He doesn’t know the difference between right and wrong! You can’t just kill him like this!” I yelled.
“And neither do you. I command you as my property to dispose of that insect.”
“N-” Before I could finish speaking, my mind was flooded with a desire to kill the child. My thigh burned as if it was on fire – my back ached. Before I could get back to reality, I was strangling the child with my own two hands. Tears ran down my face. I kept screaming “No No No!” Once the child stopped squirming between my hands, my hold released and the pain subsided. I looked back to Hextor as tears ran down my face. I knew at that moment what I had been doing… What I was being commanded to do by this tyrant for all these years.
“See? You can’t beat me. Your mind is pudding and your body is mine. As long as that brand remains on you, you will do as I say. But I imagine that is enough of you having fu-” before he could finish, his brother appeared with the town’s guard.
“Don’t try to escape Hextor, you have nowhere to run.” Herioneous said as guard and priest surrounded us. “You and your assassin are going to be punished for the crimes you have committed.
“You think you can stand up to me?” He said, enraged. “I command you to---” Before he could finish… I had cut off my leg. The brand bounding me to be his slave cut away. “I never wanted to hurt anyone!” I screamed as I collapsed – unconscious.
When I awoke, I was in a bed in a temple in the town that I was in. A priest was tending to me. As soon as she noticed that I regained consciousness, she yelled for Heironeous. And before I could mutter a word I was transported to another plane. I believed it was astral.
“You face serious charges for the crimes you have committed, assassin.” He spoke atop his throne of gold. “Do you have anything to say in defence before I give judge-” Before he finished, he noticed that I wasn’t paying any attention to him. My eyes were dull. I didn’t care anymore what happened to me. I was slaughtering innocent people – like my father and mother… or someone else’s father and mother for years… without even knowing…
“Do you dare ignore a GOD?!” His wrath boiling over. He stepped down from his throne and picked me up from the ground by my collar. I could feel his mind enter my own. But it wasn’t cold or ruthless like Hextor’s – this was warm and comforting. I may have blushed right then from such comfort.
After a few minutes, he let me go and I collapsed back to the floor – only now realizing I had two legs. “You had no intention of performing those acts.” He said as he sat upon his thrown once again, letting out a sigh. “As such, I shall pass judgement.” He raised his hand and a bolt of lightning crackled into existence between his fingers. “You shall serve me as a Hand of Heironeous. You shall go to plane after plane and stomp out evil wherever it may rear its head. You shall only use your powers for that which you desire. However – should I ever catch wind of you performing evil deeds of your own free-will with no other course of action available to you, or you freely take what is not yours – I shall smite you where you stand at that moment.” I raised my head to look up at him. His hair flowed with the wind as he struck me with the bolt of lightning. Energy coursed through my veins. My mind was refreshed and my body rejuvenated. Thread spun around me weaving clothes out of thin air to cover my naked body. I looked at him with curious eyes, and only muttered “Thank you.”
“Judgement has been passed. As long as you perform heroic deeds for those in need, and follow thine own path – my blessing shall be with you.”
As I began to walk away, Heironeous beckoned me to his side. “I almost forgot.” He said quietly as he raised a hand to my head. “Some people on some planes will be extremely hostile towards dragons and any of their spawn.” He spoke as magic seeped from his fingers onto me. “I do not blame one’s past on their current situation. Because of this,” he paused, looking at my hair critically, “I shall hid your birthmark of being related to dragons. The blood will still run through your veins – however no one will see past this spell unless you tell them of it.” And with that he beckoned me away… As I walked away I heard him clap his hands behind me and the floor disappeared and I was suddenly in the sky. And here I am now.
“I guess this is what he meant by going to other planes...”
I included the backstory because I feel that what happens in a characters past ultimately decides who they are, and what they can do. I guess it's my own belief that creating a character without a backstory is baseless and just not that fun. (It's long - 2000 words)
Psychic Warrior 8, Silverbrow Human
Level 1:
Weapon Focus - Greatsword -Bonus (Soulbound Weapon ACF)
Tap Mantle - Time
Power Attack -Bonus
Expanded knowledge - Dimension Hop - Level 1 bonus feat
Level 2:
NA - SoulBound Weapon ACF
Level 3:
Linked Power
Level 4:
NA - Soulbound weapon +1
Level 5:
Metapower -> Hustle - Bonus
Level 6:
Leap Attack
Level 7:
NA
Level 8:
Psionic Meditation
Soulbound weapon +1
Level 1:
Call Weaponry
Dimension Hop - See Feats
Level 2:
Inertial Armor
Level 3:
Vigor
Level 4:
Hustle
Level 5:
Damp Powder
Level 6:
Power Weapon
Level 7:
Mental Barrier
Level 8:
Time Hop (questioning)
Also - are there any items that a Psion/Psywarrior particularly benefit a lot from? I know Power Links are a must have, but beyond that, nothing really seems "I need this naow" level of necessary.
Now for the PAQ:
Q: With the Soulbound weapon, it still has the same restriction on where you cannot let go of it for more than 12 seconds, correct? If that is the case, how is it possible to enhance/enchant the weapon? Such as giving it Holy? Would the owner have to be the one enchanting/enhancing? Or would it be possible for another to enhance it?
Q: "The weapon grows with you" (wizards) would that include, per-say, it taking on a pseudo alignment matching your own? Not as an intelligent item, but if you were to be blessed by a god would that blessing intrinsically be bound as well to the weapon/Would some of the blessing transfer over to the weapon because your souls are bound together? Or, another example, taking a multiclass level in Paladin and gaining "aura of good". Would your soulbound weapon also possess such an aura?
Q: This question's mileage may vary between DM to DM, but would it be plausible to use "Power Weapon's" Force to accelerate yourself forward by 'focusing' the manifestation of force into one precise point, and 'releasing' the energy all at once? I imagine such an action would require a 'hustle' to not use up a move action, allowing you to get your full attack after the maneuver.
Q: Would a Soulbound weapon hold the charge from "Empower Weapon"? I assume it would, but I only really started studying this class today (well yesterday, but sleep insomnia is real) so I don't really fully grasp all the nuances yet. I imagine SoulBound weapon is an entity (Entity used in the terms of games where trees are technically 'entities') that cannot exist, or is being forced to not exist in any plane of existence, and as such is only able to maintain its presence with the assistance of your manifestation of it. So my intuition says it would hold the charge, but would like confirmation.
Q: (not mechanic but RP) How would you guys (Mostly asking DMs) react if a player wanted their PC to have amnesia? I'm considering causing my character to have amnesia upon meeting the group, ergo temporarily forgetting the prowess she has in battle. I feel it would be a decent plot line (DM permitting of course) or interesting to see how the character develops over time from not having previous knowledge of her past. As time progresses, or based on certain events, her memories may trigger and her dormant psychic powers would activate.
Q: What would you implement for a balanced feat to convert HP to Power Points? I was thinking somewhere around 1/10 HP (Rounded down) is converted to 1 PP At will. This would allow PP-starving Psywarriors a little bit more breathing space, but at a serious cost (cause at lower levels, losing 20 hp for 4 PP may kill you). Any thoughts/possible recommendations for such a feat?
Thanks for bothering to read this thread! And thanks for any advice/tips you can give - Psychic warrior is so intriguing just on how many COOL THINGS YOU CAN DO!!!