Storm king thunder party suggestion

[giovaneduca]

Hello!
My party and I are going to finish soon PotA (I am DM) and one of the other guys is going to DMing Storm King Thunder.
Did you have any suggestions for new PC?
I mean: what PC will be thematically/flavoured/nice nice to play in this adventure? Not just builds but ideas and concepts! I ask beacuse the new DM and the other guys/girls are quite newbie (PotA was their first campaign ever) and I would like to suggest some ideas that will be right fit for SKT
Thanks!!

[Aembrosia]

Uthgardt Barbarian: Tree Ghost or Blue Bear Tribe. Nomadic/Primitive humans. Culturally abhor arcane magic. Ancestral enemies of the giants. Giant activity could stir up a bored Uthgar to leave their forests, join a new tight knit family (adventuring party) and hunt down giants. prefers any class except arcane casters but going wizard or sorc etc is just a deeper character reason to leave your tribe. If you like a premade background for this exists in the sword coast adventurer's guide.

If using Volo's Guide, choosing the race Yuanti COULD be fun but a can of worms nonetheless.

Good campaign to emulate Indiana Jones.



Waterdavian Noble background Lore Bard
Grassland Druid backline
Sorcadin folk hero background
Human Reghed variant clan Barbarian(or Fighter)
Criminal background UAranger y'know... for reasons.

Good races to slot in those roles in no particular order: Dwarf, Orc, Dragonborn, Human, Elf.

Backgrounds are more important than your class mechanics if you're roleplaying instead murder hoboing. You go for a diplomatic victory at the end of which you pit all of your supporters against one another and come out ontop ruling the world. It comes down to language proficiencies. The Waterdavian Noble Bard speaks bureaucrat. The druid speaks with beasts and plants, we mostly care about treants here. The Folk Hero sorcadin rallies the smallfolk to arms and negotiates terms with the various ancient dragons. The reghed goliath barbarian speaks Bothii and Giant, uniting the fractured tribes and translating for Giantkind. The ranger can go flash some gang signs somewhere they're here for the dps the huge deeeeeeps.

The spoiler is an optimized group that could RP their way through the book with decent potential to never participate in a combat until they're ready to start a war.
You might be interested in this thread: http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?504294-Ideal-Party-Composition-and-Character-Optimization-for-Storm-Kings-Thunder&p=21332777#post21332777

[giovaneduca]

Thanks for the hint and the link!!!

[Oramac]

Honestly, just about anything works for SKT. It's not particularly specific as far as backgrounds go.

That being said, a Dragonborn with a grudge against giants would be good, since dragons are ancient enemies of giants.

A dwarf would also be good, for similar reasons.

The aforementioned Uthgart Barbarian is excellent as well.

[Sigreid]

Could be fun to play a firbolg who is just stunned at the stupidity of the whole thing.

[giovaneduca]

We will use option only in the PHB, no SCAG, Volo's or UA.

[Oramac]

We will use option only in the PHB, no SCAG, Volo's or UA.

Well, that kinda sucks. :(

But going with that I'd say your best bet would be Aembrosia's suggestions.

Personally, I have a soft spot for Dragonborn. It's just too bad they don't get darkvision. I'm not bitter, I swear. :/

[Sariel Vailo]

i would have suggested goliath but thats out now im sorry

[Asmotherion]

Thematically-Wise, nothing better than a Dragonborn, Dragon Sorcerer to be a sworn enemy of Giants :3 If your DM approves, add him the Half-Dragon Template for a fully-Dragonic customisation.

Then, you have a Cleric of Behamut or Tiamat as good candidates. Perhaps a Kobold, as they, along with Dragonborns are the most likelly to be Clerics of a Dragon Deity.

A Warlock with an Ancient Shadow Dragon Or Dracolich Patron seem to fit the theme as well.

In general, consider the idea of Dragons=Giant's Nemesis, for a very thematic party, bound Hatered against Giantkind.

[rollingForInit]

I think anything works, but my group has felt that there's a lot of running around the wilds, and a lot of combat encounters where good range is nice. If I were to restart the campaign, I'd probably go with a ranger with the archery fighting style. You get the exploration benefits and the range, all in one. I'm enjoying my melee bard immensely, but I think a really optimised ranged explorer would've been truly awesome.

[Oramac]

In general, consider the idea of Dragons=Giant's Nemesis, for a very thematic party, bound Hatered against Giantkind.

All very true, but.......

Super mega huge game-breaking spoilers ahead. Don't read if you want the adventure to be a surprise.

The Big Bad at the end of the entire adventure is an Ancient Blue Dragon.

This could present problems if you make a character specifically aligned against giants, but in favor of dragons. More so if that character is a Blue Dragonborn.

[NecroDancer]

Perhaps a Goliath who's family was enslaved by a group of cloud giants when they moved into the mountains.

But the dragon themed party does seem cool. A feind warlock could have Tiamat as a patron seeing as she was (is) the ruler of the first layer of hell

[Sigreid]

How about a party of gnomes. The exact opposite of the giants. :smallbiggrin:

[Herobizkit]

I can't imagine playing SKT without a Hill Dwarf Storm Priest, unless maybe you're playing a (Human Paladin?) Shield Maiden.

[JAL_1138]

Bring a spellcaster with Hypnotic Pattern. When multiple giants start appearing in the same encounter, the ability to incapacitate a couple-three of them and focus-fire on one or two will save your life.

[NecroDancer]

Bring a spellcaster with Hypnotic Pattern. When multiple giants start appearing in the same encounter, the ability to incapacitate a couple-three of them and focus-fire on one or two will save your life.

Hypnotic pattern is overpowered you should try to get it if possible.

[giovaneduca]

ok for now two player are towards (remember we use only PHB for pc option):

dragonborn eldritch knight (she like the idea of a warrior with a magic help)

undecided race arcane caster (wiz/sor/war)

and 3 more pc yet to be decided :)

[Oramac]

Bring a spellcaster with Hypnotic Pattern. When multiple giants start appearing in the same encounter, the ability to incapacitate a couple-three of them and focus-fire on one or two will save your life.


Hypnotic pattern is overpowered you should try to get it if possible.

QFT. Seriously, you NEED Hypnotic Pattern. Ideally, you need two people who can cast it. In my SKT group, both myself and the Bard had the spell, and we were able to take beyond-deadly encounters and turn them into a cakewalk. To the point our DM said "don't mind me. I'm just here to track when the giants die".

[giovaneduca]

Ok here the news:

Black Dragonborn Elditch Knight
Tiefling Wild sorcerer
half orc barbarian
undecided player
myself (paladin oath of vengance OR fiend warlock)

What do you think? :)

[Sariel Vailo]

Oath of vengeance is fun. I played it but i had to be main healer.

[Temperjoke]

Ok here the news:

Black Dragonborn Elditch Knight
Tiefling Wild sorcerer
half orc barbarian
undecided player
myself (paladin oath of vengance OR fiend warlock)

What do you think? :)

There are benefits with either. If you take paladin, you'll have healing options which your group is lacking currently, but you've already got a strong front line. With a Warlock you get more magic power, along with other possible options depending on whether you go with chain, tome, or blade.

[JAL_1138]

SKT can be very difficult without some form of healing (even if just to get PCs back on their feet). Giants do a tremendous amount of damage and characters are likely to get dropped, especially at low level. Personally I'd say to bring a Cleric in any SKT party, but in the absence of a Cleric I'd say Paladin may end up being the better choice. UNLESS, that is, the Sorcerer doesn't take Hypnotic Pattern upon getting access to 3rd-level spells. I really cannot overstate that spell's usefulness in SKT—it might be more useful than healing, since it cuts down on the need for healing considerably.