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Jimp
2007-07-25, 11:29 AM
For a new 2E game my group is starting I will be playing a Ninja with the Shadow Warrior kit (swaps some thief skills for some weapon spec bonuses). For various back story related reasons my character will be posing as a regular warrior.
Has anyone ever played a character who posed as another class before?
Does anyone have an advice for doing so?

Non-weapon proficiencies: Running (required), Blind-Fighting (different from 3.5), Night-vision, Healing. So these don't help too much with the posing.

Fixer
2007-07-25, 12:00 PM
A ninja posing as a warrior will have the problem of armor. You are limited in what sort of armor you can wear as a ninja while warriors have no such restriction.

Luckily for you warriors are easy enough to impersonate (except for the armor issue). Your THAC0 will be higher than a warrior of the same level but that won't be significantly noticable until higher levels. Your inability to gain as many weapon proficiencies will hurt your disguise but your ability to take more non-weapon proficiencies might help there.

If you are REALLY wanting to have a 2nd ed imposter build, try the Charlatan Bard kit.

Galathir
2007-07-25, 12:04 PM
I did it in a past campaign for a short while. Granted it was 3.5, not 2.0, but it was fun. I was really a Beguiler and for various reasons it was often beneficial to be seen as something else or someone else. I posed as a wizard, ranger, and fighter. I made use of several feats that altered my spells, and of course my mind-control and illusion feats. It usually worked pretty well and provided lots of rp fun. I'm not sure how it works in 2.0 but I would recommend it. See what happens.

Jimp
2007-07-25, 12:15 PM
A ninja posing as a warrior will have the problem of armor. You are limited in what sort of armor you can wear as a ninja while warriors have no such restriction.

Luckily for me we're starting at 3rd level and with limited gold, so sticking to cheap low end armors would not be as obvious a give-away as in 3.5E.


If you are REALLY wanting to have a 2nd ed imposter build, try the Charlatan Bard kit.
I would but the reason for impersonation is entirely fluff based and not a character concept.

Ditto
2007-07-25, 12:24 PM
You should play a Chameleon, and use Emulate Class Feature: Thac0.

TheElfLord
2007-07-25, 12:31 PM
What do you mean impersonating another class? Class is an out of character concept. You can have a bard, or thief serve in the military and therefor be a warrior. In most games npcs aren't going to ask, "are you a fighter or a ninja?"

Occupation and class are two seperate things, as shown in a ,classic OotS (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0209.html)

AaronH
2007-07-25, 12:35 PM
I think he is a ninja, as in a stealthy assasin, and doesn't want anyone to know he is such. Just a regular warrior here, nothing to see, move along....

Some classes do actually have a bit more then just out of character concept. A wizard is a wizard, no matter what you call it, no matter what he does for a living.

I once played a fighter who posed as a paladin. Holy warrior affiliated with a temple and all that. Didn't go well.....

FdL
2007-07-25, 12:38 PM
Yup, a Beguiler, in 3.5. I made her pretend to be a bard. Though I didn't know how to emulate the bardic music, everyone believed it.

Fixer
2007-07-25, 12:53 PM
Ninjas, in second edition, were required by class to have a 'cover identity' that they would impersonate. If it was discovered they were a ninja they suffered a loss of honor.

Telonius
2007-07-25, 01:03 PM
Who are you trying to fool? The players, their characters, or both?
(If your answer is "The DM," he will be justified in smiting you down).

MrNexx
2007-07-25, 01:46 PM
Instead of Healing can you go with Tracking? If you make that change, then you can make a very good go of pretending to be a ranger; you wouldn't be as good as a real ranger, but the low armor and stealth abilities are more easily explained. You can still try it, but if you do, buy a dog and have IT do the tracking.

What race will you be?

valadil
2007-07-25, 01:59 PM
I played a cloistered cleric who, through liberal use of Anyspell and the force domain, convinced the party he was a wizard. Well, "convinced" is an overstatement. They thought I was some sort of broken mystic theurge cheese. out of game. I wouldn't do out of combat healing, but players would wake up each morning back up to full hitpoints. On the rare occasion I needed to heal someone in combat I'd smack 'em with a wand while casting a cure spell and claim to roll UMD.

Eventually the character got so caught up in his wizard persona that he forgot he was a cleric entirely. We had to retire him a few sessions later. The really sad thing is that as old and delusional this character was, he was somehow the leader of the party.

Matthew
2007-07-26, 10:08 PM
Luckily for me we're starting at 3rd level and with limited gold, so sticking to cheap low end armors would not be as obvious a give-away as in 3.5E.

Yeah, should be fine, as 2e Ninjas can wear any Armour up to Chain Mail and use any Weapon or Shield. Pity this isn't a 1e Ninja, maybe you could adapt the rules? They were still in use for 2e Oriental Campaigns and Adventures.

Are you playing in an Oriental Campaign Setting?