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JellyPooga
2007-07-13, 07:59 PM
I've created a character, crunch-wise, but need some help on his personality/background (given that I've got his crunch down pat, I didn't think it belonged in the "character builder" thread). I've got some ideas, but I need to know if people think that they work and I also need a bit of inspiration on some specifics.

So anyways, here's the crunch I've got:

Race: Aasimar
Class (Level): Rogue (1)/ Bard (2)/ Paladin (4)/ Shadowbane Inquisitor (2)

Str: 16
Dex: 16
Con: 14
Int: 12
Wis: 14
Cha: 20 (22 w. Cloak of Charisma)

(These are from rolled stats btw, and yes, I realise that they're very good)

Feats: TWF (1), Oversized TWF (3), Power Attack (6), Sacred Healing (9)
Weapons: +1 Battle Axe, +1 Longsword, MW Whip, MW Dagger, MW Light Crossbow (50 +1 Bane bolts of various types, 50 mundane bolts)
Armour: +1 Mithral Full Plate
Equipment: Various bits and pieces of the adventuring persuasion (Survival Pouch, tent, rope, lantern, etc.)

Combat Style: Goes in with Crossbow. When in Whip range, draw and start disarming/tripping, fires off last crossbow bolt loaded (then drops Xbow). Draws Axe + Sword and lays into tripped/disarmed foes, with liberal use of Smite if neccesary.

Spells: Casts Bard spells (Undetectable Alignment and Healthful Rest...both 24 hour duration) before donning armour in morning. Only 1 Paladin spell, typically prepares Protection from Evil or Bless Weapon (Endure Elements if only expecting to travel that day).

Special Stuff: Lay on Hands + Sacred Healing + High Charisma means that he's got a fair amount of healing love to spread (for someone with only 3 level 1 spells per day). Daylight SLA + Pierce Shadows ability means that light creation isn't a problem, Darkvision covers emergencies.

As you can see, I've got the crunch-side down pat, no help needed there (I'm aware it's not "optimal" or whatever, that's not what I'm here for advice on). What I need now is a personality, appearance and background. Here's what I've got so far:

Personality
Name: Kyle Damarre (sir-name pronounced "dam-are-ray")
Alignment: Lawful Good (obviously)

Kyle is all business when 'on the job', seemingly cold-hearted, merciless, stubborn, arrogant and all those other traits that are typical of Paladins the world over. He uses intimidation as much as his blades to bring evil-doers to justice. When he takes off his armour and puts aside his weapons and gets a chance to relax, he becomes a completely different person; he laughs, he drinks, he smokes, he gambles and he...partakes of the pleasures of the flesh...in short, when 'off duty' he's not what you'd asociate with typical Paladin behaviour. A passing acquaintance would certainly not associate the man he saw earlier, clad in plate mail, bringing criminals to justice was the same man as the one in front of him, dressed in fine velvet and silks, sharing a bawdy joke with the tavern minstrel.

As far as Personality goes, that's all I've got so far. I feel it needs fleshing out somewhat and I need opinions on whether having a Paladin drink, etc. is viable...i.e. does it go completely against the grain of being a Paladin to actually enjoy the finer things in life (when he has the chance)? Also, is it unreasonable to have such a dual-natured character still be Lawful?

I would also like to put something into his personality about his use of the various weapons he uses...I mean, it's fairly unusual to make use of such a variety (sword, axe, dagger, whip and xbow) and I plan to have him make extensive use of 'tactical' fighting; trip, disarm, bull rush, grapple and the like, rather than simply bashing away with sword and axe. As such, I felt it neccesary to make a point of it in his personality and/or background, but I'm not entirely sure how to. Any help with that would be greatly appreciated.

Appearance
1) 6'8" tall
2) 210lb.
3) Golden Orbs for eyes that glow slightly when he's angry/fighting
4) Short Golden-Blonde Hair
5) Fair Skin

6)Bone-White Plate Mail (see Shadowbane pic in Complete Adventurer) when "on duty"
7)Colourful, yet tasteful, velvet and silk clothing to relax in (no jewellery, except his holy symbol)

The only thing I need regarding his appearance is whether he is Aasimar-like enough. Is glowing golden orbs for eyes and somewhat abnormal height distinctive enough? Or should he have some other distinguishing feature? When 'on duty' his Plate Mail will cover anything other than more intangible qualities (like an "air of calm" or whatever), so I didn't think it particularly relevant to have them, but I need some opinions.

Background
- Started off in life as a Rogue and a Scoundrel (Rogue/Bard Class).
- Enjoyed a successful career as a pick-pocket, petty thief and con-man.
- One day, heard his "Call" to take up the life of a Paladin (Paladin Class)
- Fell out of favour with his Church because of his reluctance to give up his old way of life.
- Through sheer force of will and his celestial heritage, maintained his Paladin-powers, but uses them as he sees fit, not as a church or god thinks he should use them (Shadowbane Inquisitor PrC).

This is the part where I need most help/suggestions.

1)Is his heritage reason enough to keep his powers, despite defecting from actual worship of his patron deity (it's not that he's renounced the deity he used to worship, he just doesn't believe that he should be subject to that diety and its ideals)?

2)I need some suggestions for details on his life before his 'Call', how he got his 'Call' and quite how he fell out of favour with his Church. I also need a deity for him to have used to have worshipped, because I just can't decide which one might be appropriate.


Any help/criticism/comments are welcome, it'll all go into one big melting-pot and come out all shiny and new and (more than likely) completely different to the ideas I had when I first started creating this character. Thanks.

P.S. This entire character is based off of a REAPER miniature (http://www.reapermini.com/gallery/2600s/2683_G)I own (though you can't see it, he has a full backpack on, upon which is tied a crossbow. The rope-like thing tied to his belt on his right [just under the axe] is a whip. His left hand is resting on the grip of a longsword)

Damionte
2007-07-13, 08:31 PM
You seem to have it worked out already. Even the personality details. The things you are missing may not be things we can help you with as they're particular to your group sgame world. What gods are availuable? Is it common for Asimar's to intermix with the standard D&D races? What area's is it possible for him to have commonly come from? Is his church a general church or one asimars may deal with in particular? did his alignment align with that of his god?

Not really questions you can get help with. Some of those don't have "right' answers to them. And we don't know enough aout your world to help with the others. Even then, I don't see how much help we coul dreally be.

JellyPooga
2007-07-13, 08:51 PM
You seem to have it worked out already. Even the personality details. The things you are missing may not be things we can help you with as they're particular to your group sgame world. What gods are availuable? Is it common for Asimar's to intermix with the standard D&D races? What area's is it possible for him to have commonly come from? Is his church a general church or one asimars may deal with in particular? did his alignment align with that of his god?

Not really questions you can get help with. Some of those don't have "right' answers to them. And we don't know enough aout your world to help with the others. Even then, I don't see how much help we coul dreally be.

Ooh no, I'm not after "right" answers, no no no (:smalltongue:)...I'm just after ideas, the more the merrier. I'm after your thoughts on Paladins; specifically how loose his vows can be without taking the piss and whether the concept of a godless Paladin is viable or not. I'm after your opinion on Planetouched; should they be overtly noticable, or is a relatively minor physical oddity enough? Should they be mistrusted or accepted? Should they feel outcaste for their differences? I want to know what you think of the character, whether his personality is a good one...In short, I want your opinions.

With regards to "what's available", assume a standard D&D Core Setting, with Olidamarra, Pelor, Oba-Hai and that crowd for gods, Planetouched are relatively uncommon and only really seen in any numbers in the larger cities, villages are superstitious of anything out of the ordinary, but city-folk quite happliy rub shoulders with all manner of creatures. If you make as generic a game-world as possible out of the core books and the "Races of..." books, that's what we're dealing with.

With specific regard to this character, the church he belonged to is probably not going to be an "Aasimar-only club" and as far as alignment goes, from the point when he got his 'Call', he'll be LG regardless of what god he followed (stupid Paladin alignment restrictions :smallannoyed: ). Previous to becoming a Paladin he was probably either NG or CG, possibly even a shade of Neutral (depends on how much of a thief I decide to make him before hearing his "Call"...incidentally, another thing I need an opinion on - i.e. could I have him be a real scoundrel, CN pick-pocket type before hearing the "Call", then somehow turn LG to become a Paladin? If so, how/why would he make such a radical change in his life?)

Lemur
2007-07-13, 09:53 PM
No one said that paladins can't drink or do similar things, or if someone did, they're going too far. Of course, a paladin has to own up to his actions, drunk or not, so getting completely smashed probably isn't something a serious-minded paladin is likely to do. Also, for pleasures with more flesh involved, he might have problems later on (although depending on the campaign, you might never have to deal with them anyway).

I'd say that ordinary people wouldn't recognize an aasimar for what he is (they might not even understand what an aasimar is, depending on where they live). However, in a cosmopolitan area, the general public is probably going to be able to correcty identify him. In any case, whatever odd aspect an aasimar has is likely to catch the attention of people, whether they know what an aasimar is or not, making it easy for witnesses to remember "that guy" to potential bounty hunters/assassins/enforcers of the law/cloaked strangers.

Aasimar are probably going to be liked, or at least accepted by most (they have "good breeding") but mistrusted by underworlders or other unsavory types, even well-intentioned unsavory types.

For his personality, personally I'd leave it as is, and let it flesh itself out as you play. I'd even let his "call" alone for the moment, and determine it retroactively. If that's not your style though, I might have a few ideas.

These first two might seem cliche (and conveniently diametrically opposed to each other).

1. He used to be a cold-hearted, merciless, stubborn bounty hunter or law enforcer (maybe even hired killer) who was helped by a rather joyful paladin who demonstrated that helping people and being able to be merry is a nicer way to live than his previous life. The main redeeming factor would probably be respect, friendship, or admiration for said paladin (or other good dude, not necessarily a paladin. Being a paladin provides a better case for him being a paladin as well, though). Now he's somewhat happy go lucky himself, but hasn't shed his previous demeanor in combat and other life or death situations.

2. He used to be a happy go lucky minstril/artist/whatever flavor a rogue/bard could have, but some bad dudes Messed Things Up, so he decided to go around punishing evil. He gets paladinny whenever any bad dudes show up, but still likes to unwind and do his own thing when he has the chance, as he hasn't completely abandoned his free spirit.

3. Parental figure(s) (possibly his aasimar or half-celestial parent) have him become a paladin. Maybe he's not really interested in being a paladin, maybe his parents pressure is getting to him, or maybe he has no objections to being a paladin per se, but he still wants to have some debauchery in his life. Either way, he becomes a paladin, but during off hours, he likes to screw around, either because that's just how he is, or maybe if his parents were overbearing, he does it to spite them. In this version, his "call" is somewhat flawed, since it was imposed on him, instead of something he found himself, but has more twists to it than the previous two ideas.

JellyPooga
2007-07-14, 10:32 AM
For his personality, personally I'd leave it as is, and let it flesh itself out as you play. I'd even let his "call" alone for the moment, and determine it retroactively. If that's not your style though, I might have a few ideas.


1. He used to be a cold-hearted, merciless, stubborn bounty hunter or law enforcer (maybe even hired killer) who was helped by a rather joyful paladin who demonstrated that helping people and being able to be merry is a nicer way to live than his previous life. The main redeeming factor would probably be respect, friendship, or admiration for said paladin (or other good dude, not necessarily a paladin. Being a paladin provides a better case for him being a paladin as well, though). Now he's somewhat happy go lucky himself, but hasn't shed his previous demeanor in combat and other life or death situations.

Hmm, I quite like the idea that he was once a ruthless bounty-hunter or similar (perhaps he was an employee of whatever the local thieves guild was and...settled debts...for them). Not too sure about being helped by a happy Paladin which made him change his ways though...


2. He used to be a happy go lucky minstril/artist/whatever flavor a rogue/bard could have, but some bad dudes Messed Things Up, so he decided to go around punishing evil. He gets paladinny whenever any bad dudes show up, but still likes to unwind and do his own thing when he has the chance, as he hasn't completely abandoned his free spirit.

Again, I quite like the idea of someone 'messing up' his old life being part of the reason that he abandoned it. Whether or not its the sole factor I'm a littel undecided.


3. Parental figure(s) (possibly his aasimar or half-celestial parent) have him become a paladin. Maybe he's not really interested in being a paladin, maybe his parents pressure is getting to him, or maybe he has no objections to being a paladin per se, but he still wants to have some debauchery in his life. Either way, he becomes a paladin, but during off hours, he likes to screw around, either because that's just how he is, or maybe if his parents were overbearing, he does it to spite them. In this version, his "call" is somewhat flawed, since it was imposed on him, instead of something he found himself, but has more twists to it than the previous two ideas.

Yeah, I'm not happy with this one....I don't see Paladin-hood as something that can be thrust upon you...sure, you could train for it, but that doesn't neccesarily mean that you'll get 'The Call'. Certainly his heritage is a lot to do with keeping his powers despite not following any god anymore, but I don't think it would be anything to do with parental-pressure.

Thanks for the tips...they'll go into the stew (I'll kep you updated as to any further progression) :smallbiggrin:

Bassetking
2007-07-14, 05:36 PM
Hmm, I quite like the idea that he was once a ruthless bounty-hunter or similar (perhaps he was an employee of whatever the local thieves guild was and...settled debts...for them). Not too sure about being helped by a happy Paladin which made him change his ways though...



Again, I quite like the idea of someone 'messing up' his old life being part of the reason that he abandoned it. Whether or not its the sole factor I'm a littel undecided.



Yeah, I'm not happy with this one....I don't see Paladin-hood as something that can be thrust upon you...sure, you could train for it, but that doesn't neccesarily mean that you'll get 'The Call'. Certainly his heritage is a lot to do with keeping his powers despite not following any god anymore, but I don't think it would be anything to do with parental-pressure.

Thanks for the tips...they'll go into the stew (I'll kep you updated as to any further progression) :smallbiggrin:


Pooga, I have some movie reccomendations for you to look into, for consideration for your character.

Specifically, Die Hard, and Lethal Weapon.

It sounds as if "Loose Cannon Cop, who plays by his own Rules" would fit your Aaismar well, and in reference to tying the personality to "Tactical" fighting; Bull rush, tripping, charging, flanking... Reference these movies. See if making it a facet of your character improvising upon the tactical advantages his environment provides doesn't help with that concept. (Bull Rushing a tavern instigator into a rain Barrel, and telling him to "Cool off" instead of trying to deal enough subdual to knock him out.)

JellyPooga
2007-07-14, 05:53 PM
Pooga, I have some movie reccomendations for you to look into, for consideration for your character.

Specifically, Die Hard, and Lethal Weapon.

It sounds as if "Loose Cannon Cop, who plays by his own Rules" would fit your Aaismar well, and in reference to tying the personality to "Tactical" fighting; Bull rush, tripping, charging, flanking... Reference these movies. See if making it a facet of your character improvising upon the tactical advantages his environment provides doesn't help with that concept. (Bull Rushing a tavern instigator into a rain Barrel, and telling him to "Cool off" instead of trying to deal enough subdual to knock him out.)

Heh heh heh....Heh heh heh Heh heh heh Heh heh heh Heh heh heh....don't tempt me...:smallbiggrin: I love those films (and their sequels) and it hadn't actually occured to me to relate this character to film at all...oooo, I'm getting all sorts of cop-movie (and cop-movie related)references appearing in my head now...Thanks for the tip :smallwink:

CASTLEMIKE
2007-07-15, 09:23 AM
Don't forget there are variant alignment paladin options in UA and the D20 SRD if you don't want to play a LG paladin.

JellyPooga
2007-07-15, 09:49 AM
Don't forget there are variant alignment paladin options in UA and the D20 SRD if you don't want to play a LG paladin.

Yeah, I know, but Shadowbane Inquisitor requires LG alignment too, so they're not really an option (unless, of course, I change that requirement...hmmm, it bears some thought...thanks for the reminder :smallwink: )